San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1889-05-16
French CenLennlaI.

Il
Tho Iast of the centennial, both
civic anl military, connected with
the foundation Of tho United States
Government closed few days ago
with the observance OF the anniyer,
sary of .hc Inauguration Of President
Washington. Tho first Of tho GEN.
tenn'al of important events leading 10
the establishm 1$Se constitution
nj system in FrirIg Sk place May
3. In the year 1914, during the reign
of Louis XIII, occurred the last meet
ing of the States General which open
ed previous TO the Revolution, Its
session closed in 1915. These bodies
con, isted of representatives OF the
clergy, the nobility and tho third es.
tate. or middle classes and constituted
a sort of nationa! legislature. In
the three centuries preceding that
time they had met thirty-tivo timeP'
and regulation was adopted to have
the meetings occur every two years,
bat it was disregarded. Louis how
ever, and his two Immediate success.
sors, believing that an assembly oil
prominent men selected by the King
would be more tractNblc, dispensed
with the services of The State General
and called gatherings OF notables IN
their stead. Louis XVI, the last OF
the French Bourbon monarchs OF
tho eighteenth century, though, find
ing the notables impotent, revived
tho States General, and they conven-
ed on May 5, 1889.
A grander body Of men never met
in legislative assembly in France
tban that which gathered at Versail-
les 100 years ago. Conspicu-
Gus among it's members were Lafay-
cite, the hero Of the American war
for independence; Mirabeau, the
statesman, publicist and leaderin the
revolutionary movement, with Lam
eth, Dupont, Sieyes and others equal
" illustrious. Shortly after the
opening of the session the clergy and
mobiles, seeing themselves surpassed
in numbers and in intellectual vigor
by the members of the third estate,
refused TO sit with them, and the lat
ter took the name of the National
Assembly, and became the govern
ing force in the kingdom. All the
power and prejudice of the upper
classes and the Government were
arrayed against the third estate, but
they triumphod ultimately. At first
they constituted the entire National
Assembly, but atlength p few members
of the other orders came in, and it
became fairly representative of the
nation. It remained in session until
September, 1871.
In tho two years in which the
National Assembly was in existence
that body framed the most impor
tapt Legislation ever adopted il
France up to that day. One of itt
first acts was the abolition of feudaI
privileges, which swept away al evil
dences of caste except the titles O.
nobility, and these were suppressed
by the Same body before its final ad
journment. Among the other meas
ures which it decreed were the free
dom OF religion and Of the press, thu
abolition Of orders of chivalry, thu
withdrawal of the right of pardon
from the King, and the suspension o.
the King pending the formation o
the Constitution, which suspension
became permanent 80 long as the
system of government then founded
Iremained in existence This is some
of the work of the National Assembly
which met on May s, 1889, and th'
French Republicans are showing (
lively sense of the proprietles in de
termining to have general observ
ance of the anniversary. On tina
day the beginnings were made in {
movement which resulted in thu
mightiest social upheaval in human
history, which crushed out the ole
regime, and which introduced tn,
principles and purposes of the mod
ern era into European politics,-St
! r H1oLo