French Ministry.
The Times, 1824-08-03T00:00:00

The' existence of our Government must appear problem to Ul those who consider Flrunce as a country having a representr1re cys- tem. It must be difficult to comprehend how a Ainiistry, or, to speak more psoperly,bow a Minitster ca swtand, when 6pposedbythe Uberals, the Ultras, and even the Clergy, in a countr, Where no otther parties exist which dare to show themselves. It ws natural to believe that the dismissal of Chateaubriand would ahake~ the power of Villele; and, in fact, all the friends of the ousted Mlinister loudly assert, that in losinig him the Government has lost its morel force. Neveitbeless, though. since the expulsion of Chateaub'rtud, two journals which were ministerial have become opposition,-.though the Clergy have assumed a hostile attitude,-t0hough the Coutrshave decided contray to the wishes of the Gos'eromeat,in the processes in- stituted against the journale of the two oppositionpatties,-though the Chamber of Peers has rejected a second law proJect; still A. de Viliele does not seem daunted, and by no means appears dispored to withdraw. Whence does he derive bisstrengtis? How does it hap- pen thtt numerous cnemies, regarded as formidable when acting in separatebodies, sink into feebleness when united? This problem I shall endeavour to solve, as its solution will enable your readers better to understand the events which occur in this eountry. The influence of the Liberal apposition in both Chamnbers is re- duced almost to a nullity. In the Chamber of Deputies the Liberals are only in the proportion of one to 21 - in the Chamber of Peers they are nearly in the proportion of one to 12. Out of the Chambers they indisyutably form an immense majority, but it is quite impos-. sible for them to exercise any influence on public affairs. Az there are no popular elections in France, and as every kind of association is prohibited, the party never can have any ptoper leaders or represen. tatives. Those who, on accoUnt of theit talents, their wealth, or their reputation, might serve as guides, are confounded *rith the multitude, and have no more power thate the most' obscure in- dividual. Besides, the working classes, including the peasantry, whosc influence was so much felt ih the revolution, rnow take much less interest in political discossions. The revolution hav- ing abolished tithes, and all the remains of feudal servitude, anda having established equality in the imprositi6n of taxes, and the free exerdse of industry, they conceive that they have nothing to fsar with respect to the security either of their persons or their property; and look for nothing farther. They do not perceive in what way their future condition may be affected by the _oent questions; and it certaitll-t would be expecting fronm them a rhore than ordinary degree of virtue, to suppose that they would venture to put the security they at present possess in hazard., for the hope of hereafter obtaining a still greater secirty. The Ultra opposition is far from bunICrous in the Chamber of' Deputies; and as the leaders of that party enjoy no confidence in the nation, their artacks serve to strengthen the Mtinisters in the opinion of that immense portion of the population which takes no part in the political discussions. and is hostile to Ultra principles. Out of the Chamber,the Ultra opposition is perfect)), insignificant,on accountof the very small numberofits partisans, and also on account of that indifference which counteracts the influence of the Liberals. The Ultra party, however, possess thne liberty of the press; and as they have nothing to fear from the Tribtnals, thev arc not sparing in the-ase of it: but tlat weapon is more injurious to tIhemselves than to the Mtinisters. It would be a strange way of seelk ing popularit, to insist on doctrines contrary to the public interest. To gain a hearing, it is necesrary to speak oflibertv,and to unrnask the errors of the Adininistratior,; and this, in fact, is what Chateauix briand and his friends are now doing. But what are the consequences of this proceeding ? In the first place, the propagation of principles which tend to annihilate the very party that promulgates therm next, the degradation of the chief men of that party. The dismissal of M. de Chateaubriand has brought about a complete exposure of a multitude of infamous manceuvres. The exprlled Minister has thrown lignt upon most of the odious transactions of' the Govern- ment, during the period of his administration. He has thus succeeded in disgracing his old colleagues, as far as such men could be disgraced; and as to himself, he has obtained all that a man, little respected. could obtain, by unmasking accomplices Df whorn he had reason to complain. The influence of the Clersv, though not great. goes on in a more steady and regular manner than that of any other party, because its !mieers are intimately connected, and maintain communications. with a considerable part of the population-uninterrupted commu- nications which the Government cannot prevent. However, this clerical influence has been in a great measure the work of the Mi- n:sters, who for these ten years past have done every thin- in their power to augment it. A part of the population has willing-ly de. ferred to the authority of the priests; but another part, much more considerable. has resisted it. BY repressing the pretensions of the bishops and the scminaries, Mr. de Villele has acquired a certain de- gree of popularity, and some disposition is shown to pardon his financial measures in return for Ihis resistance to the clergy. That re- sistanceplaces AN. te Chateaubriand in a very aukward situation. I If he dhetres to the dergy, he must complctely rensunce aLl the popularity which he might hope to derive fro. his opposition to the Ministers ; if lit abandon that parry, he will lose all the advantages it has afforded him, and the Ultrass will cease to rccogn.ze him as their chief. The inertness of a considerable lart of the population. and the divisions among the others. is one of the causes of Il. de Vil- lele's power; a stiU tmore influential cause is the Royal favous, which every Mlinister is sure of retaining as long as he can arbi- trarily dispose of the fisances, and sa isfy some sympathies and some antipathies of the Court. The Duke of Feltre.. who was !llnrister of Wrar after the second restaration. acquired a high de- gree of favoar, because he contrived to divert frotn his budge: 30 millions in favour of the civil list. He was turned out. because he had not the address to conceal this defalcation. llU. de Cazes found in the secret funds of the police, and in the agerts belong1ing to it, the means of satisfying bDth cupidity and vengeance. His credit weakened,and his means declined; and he fell wben he had no more service to render. It is now M. de Villele's turn. The duration of his power will 7not depend on the will of the Ultrms or the Liberals, or the hos- tility of Al. de Chateaubriand, or the ill-humour of the Bishops, or even on the opposition of the majority of the Cham- bers, so long as that opposition shall leave untouched the financial operations of the MIinistry. His stay in office u'W depend upon the address with which 1I. de 'rillde shall cottinue to dispose of the finances, without the public being able clearly to perceive the I application of the money. It will terminate like that of tiie Duke of Feltre and Al. de C,dzes, as soon as he shall cease to be able to satisfy the constantly renewed wants of the Court. This is nothing new in France. Before the revolution Mlinisters used to be treated in the same manner. Tbe Court was always war?nly attached to Liberal Ministers, but never regarded any as such unless they had both thle inclination and the power to supply abundance of money. It is either from want of sufficient penetration to discover this po- licy, or of courrage to speak the truth, that otrjourjnals and our poliE ticians throw out so many false conjectures on the Miinisterial changes. When the Chamber of Peers rejected tlte law for reducing the interest of the debt, it was predicted that .1. de Viliele, who had supported it. would fa_L and that the favours of the Courtwould be showered on Mi1. de Chateaubriand, who had opposed it. Had it been inquired how the Court would be affected by the adoption or the rejection of the measure, then a certain predictien might have been pronounced. When the scandalous bargains relative to the Spanish war wvere discussed, all the MAinistcrs, one only cxcepted, disclaimed the responsibility. Al. De Villele rook the ersponsi bility on hitnself. The simpietons of every patrt OVfl1 *". that he was ruined; but like a prudent man he tool: s 'ere' vie`w of the matter. He considered that he would be es!e"-ed ftr oin an act of devotion, and he was not deceived. Eis M6 predicted when the Chamber of Peers rejected his prr,e;t r thcNtnneries,but as that defeat i2 no way affected ilit tn`eCita PROWs the prediction again failed. Finally, it thought w be all over Wien him iwhen he offended the clergy, and ordered thl. :.ublislters of lt Archbishop of Toulouse's letter to be prosee-- lve'ry of then believed, that so pious a Court would scnrifice the MIinister of Financ to the Minister of Religion : but tilis cotjecture also proved erroneous, and the Finance Minister maintained aU his credit. The men who vaunt theirexclusiveloyalty, and lhe Ca.holic priests, have fallen into an error, which they now begin to perceve. They believed that the Court adhered to them on their own account, out of gratitude fo r their devoted attachment, or from a cor1.. munity oF feelings and opinions: they now find no atten_ tion paid to them personaU y,-that their attachme n t is to, tally disregarded-thzt their opinions are solely estimated according to the inflaence whieh they may have in filling the budget. The secret of .L de Villele'a power being now known, the Ultra will doubtless endeavour to overthrow him, by rigorously s6cutidZing his acounts in the Chamber of Peers. If they sbould succeed in closing up the source of his influeuce, they -ill indisputably oblige him to retire: but as they are well aware that their zeal in this re. spect is not o f a k ind caltultd to conciliate the favour of the Court, they will endeavour to undermine hito by other means, unless the spirit of vengeance make them forget all the calcutihtixt of prudence. I have observ ed, that in order to mnintain his credi t, a M1inister mist lend h imself to certain sympathies and antipathies. It i chiefly against such of the o ld Nobility as took p art w ith the r evo. ltion and re main true to their riinciples, that the latter feeling is directed. A man risen from the lower orders mBay exparien ee SOtat indulgence when he sbows a seal for liberty antI eauality, but one WhOse ancestors once followed the CoCrt, a a who received d Poyal fav0lours Seed expect no patdon for being a Liberal. A man of this descriptior infalUlbly exposes himself to the bitterest animosity on account of the principles he professes, the influence of his example, ana bis desertion. Accordingly, as you may have observed, all fa- vourite AIlinisters have taken care that some affront should be given to every pubUc man of the class of the old nobility who has dsispleased the Coourt by his opinions or political conduct. All thle zeal of the favourites is displayed against Ml. de la Fayette; not in consequence of any personal hostility towards him, but be. cause to affiect to dislike him is necessary to the preservation of their influence On this subject I could make you acquainted with a mul- titude of facts, but I sball confine myself to the mention of what has late occrrred at Havre. General La Fayette resolved to embark at that port on board the American ship Cad mus, it order to pay a visit to the United States The news of his intention having reached Havre, a great ntynber of young mren laid a plan for meeting him end escortinig him. Wishing, however, to avoid any appearance of a mob, they re- pairel separately to EIomleur, two leagues distant, which they made their place of rendezvous. About 11 in the imorniing 40 young gentlernen on horseback and about 30 carriages, had asserbled at the appointed place. A Dauch greatd number was expected, but the Prefect had prohibited the post-master from sending out hlis horses, and only those previoualy hived could be obtained. At 10 at night General La Fayette :in his carriagc, accompanied by the escort which had miet him at Honfleur, and followed by an immense multitude on foot, arrived at the gates of Havre. As a mark of respect, all the crowd uncovered, but not the least noise, not a word was heard. It seened as if the people wished at one and the same time to give proof of the preseuce of despotism and of their regard for one of the oldest defenders of French liberty. Thegates were opened, but no sooner had the Generaf's car- riage passed titan they were shut, and the horises, carriages, arid crowd that followed, all driven back by Swiss soldiers and gesi- darmneS upon a very narrow bridge. The crowd then proceeded to another gate, but half an hour elapsed before the horsemen could enter. They were not allowed to pass the gates otherwise than in pairs, at the distance of 15 paces from each otler. Hlitherto perfect calmness had been nLaintained, and no dissatisfaction was audibly expressed, but discontent at length broke throrigh all restraint, and loud exclamations were heard on every side. The multitude, after being prevented from accompanying MV1. de la Fayette quietly, rush- forwarid to his hotel, through files of gendarmes, patrols, and po- rra>ents, who were drawn up before it. lSext day all theAmerican ships in the harbour hoisted their flags, and the American Consul waited on the General. The American sailors had formed a plan for celebrating the event of his embarka- tionAbr the United States, b.t to prevent any manifestation of their feelirrgs, the authorities of Ifavre issued an order requiring all the crews in the harbour to remain on board of their vessels. After re- ceiving numerous visits, the General set out in his carriage for the harbour. He passed through the town accompanied by a mnost nu- merous retinue, at the head of which were S0 young gentlemen dress- ed in black, and uncovered. All the streets, quays, and windows were crowded. When the Cadnsa was about to leave the port, the people hurried to the gates intending to proceed to thir jetty, anti there bid a last adieu to the General; but this was foreseen, and they were not permitted to pass. The draw-bridge was raised, and the Swiss soldiers cut offall appToach to it. The crowd then has- tened to the harbour, leaped into the boats, and in a moment the Cadmus was surrounded with a swarm of small craft, and cries of " Vive La Fayette," to xvhicls the American sailors replied by cheem, which resounded on the shore. The local authoritiep,in obedience to superior authority, did every thing in their power to prevent this manifestation of public feeling, but without success; and on this occasion P11. de Villelc has miore reason to boast of his zeal than of his aldress. FRENCH MINISTRy. PAYIS, JULY 29.