CORRESPONDENCE.

Paris, 30th August, 1848.

My last accounts are down to Thursday the 24th, at post-hour. Until Saturday, the week resembled the one preceding the Four Days of June, in the agitation of the faubourgs and the disquietude of the orderly classes; similar scenes were generally expected. It was well known that not more than a tenth of the workmen and vagabonds who belonged to the ateliers had quitted the capital; that paupers, or the dependents on public bounty, had multiplied; and that the Red Republic felt itself as strong in numbers, at least, and steadfast in purpose, as at any period. Friday, the day of the discussion of the report and testimony, which was particularly mentioned to you last week, became that of special alarm. If the Assembly had not astonishingly restrained itself throughout its sitting of eighteen hours-if those violent emotions and altercations, to which French public bodies are subject, had been indulged, insurrection in the streets would, probably, have ensued, notwithstanding the vast array of troops, and the known determination of President Cavaignac, and the stern minister of war, Lamoricière.

At the outset, the President of the Assembly, Marrast, admonished the house of the superlative expediency of moderation and patience; the common impression that the sitting would be tempestuous, and exasperate the different parties to extreme courses, served, as often happens in such cases, to prevent the evil by the unremitting dread of it—a memento of caution and self-control. Two representatives, qualified to judge, and a member of the chief military staff, have expressed to me their belief that at least sixty thousand troops were on foot or held in readiness during the night, and every position important for defence was adequately occupied, independently of the force of the guards. The first appearances were everywhere akin to those of Wednesday; this description is

accurate :

Considerable movement was perceptible outside the chainber; workmen were collected down the quays, but not in the immediate neighborhood of the building, the guardians of Paris ordering them off, if they attempted to take up a position near the bridge. There was no extraordinary display of force visible, but at the top of the steps under the peristyle were placed two pieces of cannon, precisely behind two of the pillars, so as to be invisible from the front, but perceptible when the building was viewed obliquely.

Inside, the tribunes were all crowded at an early hour, the number of ladies being unusually great.

Not a few of the representatives sat armed with pistols and poignards. A portion of the galleries was appropriated for the wives of the members. Such of the wives as remained at home did not retire to rest; they despatched messengers, from hour to hour, who might inform them of the condition of things. Most of the ladies who entered the galleries, kept their seats until the close of the proceedings, and, when day broke upon them,

The house

showed faces as distressed and haggard as could
have issued from any scene of nocturnal dissipation.
Some diverting pictures have been drawn in my
presence by witnesses on the floor.
was never more full; and it held out wonderfully.
Cavaignac wore a plain civic frock coat; his uni-
form sedateness of demeanor, and the manly resolu-
tion and just feeling which he displayed when he
spoke, increased the impression of the great ma-
jority in his favor. Preliminary explanations of tes-
timony consumed a couple of hours; the chairman
of the committee vindicated the preparation and sub-
mission of the report and evidence, and Ledru-Rol-
lin, Caussidière, and Louis Blanc were heard at all
Rollin scarcely at-
length in their own defence.
teinpted a justification; he turned on the old mo-
narchical opposition, so numerous in the Assembly,
and declaimed with sensible effect on the blunders,
inconsistencies, and excesses by which they had
contributed to the ruin of the Orleans royalty.
This man is overrated in respect to talents and po-
litical qualifications; but he can harangue skilfully,
in a way to reach and embarrass his adversaries,
and win a momentary triumph over the antipathies
and judgments of his audience. He charged
Arago, his former colleague, with falsehood; the
illustrious savant firmly and peremptorily reiterated
his assertion, and was believed.
passed between two other members, Turck and
Baune, and then between Louis Blanc and Mon-
sieur Trélat, the ex-minister of public works.
Trélat repelled the charge with indignation; he
affimed that his deposition about Blanc was cor-
rect; Blanc rejoined that the lie lay between the
minister and the chief of the national ateliers; it
must be with one or the other. The house mur-
mured.

The lie direct

Caussidière, the illiterate and traitorous ex-minister of police, read an interminable defence, He elaborated for him by a professional scribe. was made to call the attention and sympathy of the auditory to his aged mother, a hag, present in the galleries; and laughter was still more widely excited by the following topic:

Referring to the address mentioned in the report as having been made by him to the commissaries of police, he maintained that his sole object was to set aside everything that could excite discord amongst the various classes of the population, and hence the He quoted, strong expressions of that document. as a proof of his anxiety to avoid everything that might offend, his own polite language in his reply to the drivers of hackney coaches.

In concluding, Ledru-Rollin boldly pleaded the cause of socialism and the merits of the red republic. This identification could not but gratify his antagonists. They knew him capable of any association and intrigue-of any Jacobin doctrine and policy; it was well that he should take this unequivocal position. He failed in his object of provoking tumult, and especially of exciting the leaders of the old deputies, Thiers, Barrot, Dupin, to a battle with the republicans of the eve. They maintained deliberate silence; listened calmly and closely; seemed content with the success of the labors

of the committee with the country, and might well | took to read to them some pages of his book on rely on the incredulity of the house in regard to the Organization of Labor, a chorus up-roseall the alibis, protestations, and sentimentalities of "We do not want a new edition of that stuff; the convicted conspirators. They had done enough enough of it forever; the labor of hearing it is in delivering these leading spirits to the common worse than the galleys—les travaux forcés. You sense of the nation and the judgment of history. should be, yourself, in our place." At the time Ledru-Rollin uttered some curious notions touching the division on the authorization to prosecute was American situation. "You know perfectly well," calledsaid he, "that socialism desires the dissemination of property; this is right; for all republics of anGreat agitation was manifested whilst the vote was going on, and whilst the secretaries were recktiquity and the middle ages perished by the con-oning the bulletins, the members collected in groups centration of property. At this day, that mag- on the floor, conversing and gesticulating with nificent, that gigantic country, America, is keenly great energy. It was now broad daylight and the alarmed by the concentration of property. (Denials from the floor.) It would be difficult for me, you conceive, to answer interruptions which I cannot well understand; I have said, and I repeat it, and I shall not be contradicted by those who are aware that at this period, in North America, property suffers by concentration, and that the people de-members of the Assembly passed some hours with mand, not an agrarian law, but the distribution of the public domain of the state; the cry from one pole to the other is, Land is liberty!" He gave the English phrase. The Americans have a fine chance of liberty enough, on this maxim.

appearance of the chamber, with the decaying lights in the lustres, the worn look of the ladies in the galleries, (which continued crowded to the close,) and the feverish agitation of the house, presented a strange and unpleasant spectacle.

Three of the most intelligent and observing

me on Sunday last, at St. Germain. They related various pleasant incidents of the long sitting; and, among these, the following, which has found its way into a journal. At noon, on Friday, two young and handsome ladies requested one of the Some of the provisional government attempted, sergeants (huissiers) stationed in the galleries, to in their depositions, to throw from their own summon their husbands, members, to place them shoulders, on those of Cavaignac, the minister of in proper seats. The gentlemen named came at war, the blame of insufficient military preparation once, welcomed their partners, and handed them to for the insurrection of June. He did not deign to the reserved benches. A short time after, two exculpate himself, which he might have done; he other matrons, not quite so richly and gaily atwould not censure in his turn; he left the govern- tired, appeared, and requested the huissier to anment to its fate in public opinion. When the nounce them, in the same quality, to the two attorney-general demanded formally the prosecution representatives; he stared, and replied that the of Caussidière and Blanc before the civil and mil-wives of the gentlemen had just been seated by itary tribunals, Dupin moved the simple order of them; the new comers betrayed a lively surprise, the day on the report and testimony, to get rid of and looked at each other significantly; they insistthe political question or case. The committee re-ed that the representatives should be called; they quired no solemn sanction of their work; no one had travelled a hundred leagues, having been mistook the sense of the majority. The two con- alarmed for the safety of their lords by the dreadspirators were consigned to the attorney-general ful reports. The husbands again obeyed the sumfor the transactions of May, but they were set free mons; the parties embraced at once with edifying for those of June, because the latter would subject fondness. The bystanders, among whom were them to the courts-martial-a jurisdiction not some colleagues, did not learn the éclaircissements relished by the Assembly. The Mountain clam- by which the real wives were propitiated. Possiored, hooted, whistled, as soon as Cavaignac finished his impressive claim for the arraignment of Caussidière and Blanc.

bly, the gentlemen, not expecting the advent of the latter, had allowed them to be personated, in order to place favorite acquaintances. On the 28th, the heat was so oppressive in the hall, that the body, in three hours, melted away to less than a quorum, and abandoned all business.

A member has observed to me-" We were, in fact, five hundred for all rigor of treatment; but some two hundred are timid, and the Montagnards are seventy or eighty." A mystery remains—the The three visitors above mentioned, spoke freely escape of Blanc and Caussidière; they might of the characteristic traits of the National Assembly. have been arrested with due activity; connivance Its general composition is moderate and conservaon the part of the executive is suspected, naturally tive, with a very respectable quantum of intellienough; flight would serve as conviction; their gence, knowlege, business-skill and habit, and trial might prove an occasion of bitter feuds personal intrepidity: but so large a multitudeand popular disorders. You will see that Blanc nine hundred-have not, even yet, become propreached Belgium where he was arrested and im-erly acquainted with each other; the best men prisoned; and then speedily released by order of have not therefore a confidence of unity and nuthe Belgian government. The chartists alone are merical strength: the distribution into external likely to welcome him in England. He fatigued clubs-réunions—estranges them by hundreds, the National Assembly excessively by his long- and lessens individual independence in the common worded and monotonous defence; when he under-discussions and action of the Assembly-each ré

union exacting fealty to the opinions and plans of its chiefs or its majority. Five or six hundred are sincere and zealous as to the adoption and fair trial of a republican constitution; the reasons, however, for distrusting the practicability of a republic, seem to them stronger than the grounds of hope. The president of the committee on the constitution remarked a few days before, gravely, to one of my guests, "You will see that we shall have less liberty under the republic, than we enjoyed under the monarchy." At a recent levee of President Cavaignac, he said to an officer just returned from Bordeaux, "You have a good number of republicans in your city." "Not one, my general," was the answer.

and the present Assembly is not to separate until it has voted the organic laws which are to complete

entirely remodelled. The principal modification in this part consists in the suppression of the absolute right of labor, for which is substituted protection within the limit of the resources of the state. The and encouragement accorded to the working-classes president of the republic is, as before, to be elected by universal suffrage and by ballot; but with this restriction, that he must never have lost the quality of Frenchman-a reservation inserted to meet the case of Louis Napoleon. The new draft maintains the amount of 600,000fr. as the salary of the presi dent. This point was received with a mixture of tives apparently considering the sum too elevated, murmurs and approbation, some of the representawhilst others evidently thought it quite unequal to meet the obligations to which the head of the state in France was certain to be liable. The represenApropos of the military; the colonel of a regi- tatives are, as before, to receive an indemnity which ment of cuirassiers, which was stationed on the they cannot renounce. Substitutes in the army are Place de la Concorde, on the critical 24th of June, again interdicted. This article was received with very decided disapprobation. A new article decides related, in my hearing, this anecdote. About that an express law is to regulate the cases in which 11 o'clock in the morning, a gentleman of fine a state of siege, or martial law, can be proclaimed. appearance, and well-mounted, accompanied by Lastly, the president of the republic is to be nomitwo other equestrians, rode up to him and ex-nated immediately after the vote of the constitution, claimed-"You are not on the right spot; follow, and I will show you where you ought to be." The colonel replied, "Sir, I obey no directions except those of my general."-" But, colonel, you do not know who I am; I am Lamartine."-"I am happy to see so distinguished a personage: I repeat, however, that I am at the disposal of my commander alone." The poet paused, as if disappointed, and then moved off, lowering his hat. Another of my guests, of unquestionable honor, related the mode of M. Guizot's escape from Paris, as follows: "Next door to him (the representative) is a lady who was the intimate friend of M. Guizot's first wife, and maintained with the minister relations of devoted friendship. To her he repaired, in the evening of the 24th February for refuge; she put him in an upper room in bed, drew the curtains close; caused him to be fed by a confidential servant; represented to her house hold, the patient as a female friend near her accouchement; on the third night adjusted a black beard and thick mustaches to his face, fitted him with a cap and blouse, and had him conducted to the northern rail-road station, whence he reached Belgium."

the constitution.

A Senate is not admitted, but representatives of the highest authority are prepared to urge this institution, with a conviction that ultimate success without it is impossible. The interdict on substitution in the regular army cannot prevail. Nothing more unequal or inequitable for individualsnothing more injurious to the loftiest interests and aspirations of a civilized people, could be devised than universal compulsory service; the largest portion of the youth, particularly, may prove far more useful and hopeful elsehow than in garrison, camp, or field-life. But the minister of war promises the annexed new plan of recruitment.

At present the yearly contingent is fixed by canton, in proportion to the number of young men inscribed. The consequence is, that there is a heavy charge left to the departments with unhealthy and weak populations, and an advantage to those with a healthy one. Henceforward the contingent will be also fixed per canton, but only in proportion to the service is to be either personal or pecuniary; once population fit for service. In principle, the military that the lot declares against a young man, he must Yesterday afternoon, the definitive draft of the set out; if not, he must pay a sum of money, just constitution was reported to the Assembly. The the same as the man declared to be unfit for service; twelve chapters, distributed into a hundred and for, whether fortune favors, or nature, or events, twenty-eight articles, commanded an attentive hear- have placed any one in the category of unfit for ing in full convocation. You may remember that he must aid in its charges, in one way or the other service, being left behind to the benefits of society, the instrument was first framed by a special com-by service or by payment of a sum of money. mittee of seventeen representatives; then thorough- At present, out of eighty thousand men called on ly examined in the fifteen standing committees, to serve each year, there are twenty thousand subeach of which delegated one of its ablest members stitutes, costing to their families about forty-five to communicate their conclusions to the framers, million francs. That tax, in place of being disand argue the modifications which it held desira-tributed amongst twenty thousand families, will be ble. The present text is the result of all the deliberations. You have an abstract enclosed, and

here is a brief notice.

The preamble, which contains the political declaration of faith of the French people, has been

extended to seventy-five thousand at least. In this way, the minister considers that substitutes in the army, to which system he is inimical, may be rendered unnecessary.

The question whether the Assembly should remain to enact organic laws, threatened discord; the

of rending its own work, the pact of its own safety and the public weal. The charter of 1830 was, no selves who destroyed it. Let us endeavor to make doubt, a very bad one, since it was the people thema better, and, above all, let us carry it into execu tion when it is made. Let us not inscribe liberty on a sheet of paper, and create despotism by our acts. To have liberty, we must truly love it and cherish it in our hearts. This is what must be understood in framing all constitutions, for without it even Solon and Lycurgus united would produce only a dead letter.

It is curious, besides, to remark the view taken of the present political situation by La Réforme, the organ of Ledru-Rollin and Flocon-the journal whose editors and clique were associated with the National, as partners in the revolution of February, and the first division of the loaves and fishes:

representatives, ex-deputies, were supposed to wish | try was perfectly contented with it. It was the the early election of a new body, from the per- restoration which committed the unpardonable fault suasion that the commissaries of the provisional government and the allies of the red republic, who have seats, would be excluded; the legitimists might expect a considerable accession to their benches. On the other hand, the junto of the National and all its auxiliaries and dependents, and the Montagnards, naturally dreaded and deprecated a change, which, for them, must certainly prove disadvantageous, if not fatal. It was seen by the results of the elections for the municipalities and the councils-general of the departments, that the old republican school scarcely retained a footing in the interior. The voters, however, did not average more than a third of the qualified mass, and the supineness was with the party of order-the peasantry and the petty traders, who, if drawn forth on a great occasion, would preponderate incalculably more against the revolution of February and all the cabals and factions by which it was first turned to account. In many cantons, the number of voterswith universal suffrage-was not beyond that of the era of close monopoly under Louis Philippe. The reception of the articles, styled transient, which prescribes the continuance of the present Assembly, indicated a favor so general as to settle dispute. Scandal whispers that the per diem of twenty-five francs operates a little, for a large portion of the representatives came with lean purses. The patriotic wish to establish Cavaignac in power. It is calculated that the choice of the country may be secured for him. All the parties and journals, other than the legitimists, scout or affect to deride the notion of a majority for Henry V. However, the wind in the capital turns in his favor, and may THE demolition, by the present ministry and the blow strongly in many provincial quarters. What Assembly, of the decrees of the provisional governa strange dilemma, if the proscribed Bourbon should ment proceeds at a round pace. Those which be carried! Should his majority be very consider- abolished imprisonment for debt, and the tolls on able what old laws of banishment or new republican meat, and the salt-tax, and which limited manual edicts could withstand the momentum, especially labor to ten and eleven hours the day, and prohibif an Assembly favorable to an hereditary executive ited artisanship in the prisons, are all under condign be returned by the first elections under the consti- sentence. The minister of finance says to the comtution! Let me show you how a journal so impor-mittee-The treasury cannot part with the impost tant as the Débats treats the matter of the present eclectic constitution :

After all, one constitution more in our revolutionary history is in our eyes, if we may be allowed so to say, but an incident of the second order. In the matter of constitutions, we have completely exhausted everything. We must see constitutions at work. The best will be that which shall give to France, not the most words and the finest promises, but the most liberty and the greatest real prosperity. This depends upon the men who govern, much more than upon the letter of a constitution. The constitution of 1791 was not so defective as it has been represented. It would have worked well, if the men of those times would have suffered it. The Directory fell by the men who composed it, and not at all by the constitution of An III., which was as good for it as any other. The constitution of An VIII., had it been faithfully carried into execution, would have still left to France a great portion of her liberties. As to the charter of 1814, the coun

Thanks to our faults, to our follies, to our weakness; thanks to certain illusions, which will at a later period be fruitful in remorse, we are all laboring for the funeral of the republic! The republic! After five months, it presents the following balance-sheet: ten thousand men in prison, hunger amongst the masses, despair below, anxiety above, care everywhere; liberties gagged, glory absent; poetry, the arts, information, extinguished; an assembly which decimates itself, a burgess class which is irritated from suffering; and, for all hope, a constitution which is about to sprout up in the midst of these disasters. which we have hitherto done to continue the great Such are the things republic! Ah! they who died in February, are not the only martyrs!

Paris, 31st August, 1848.

on salt, as it is now collected, whatever the harın to the poorer classes or to agriculture; the necessities of the moment are too obstreperous to be resisted. He proposes a reörganization of the Monts-de-Piété-pawnbroking establishments, such as shall put them entirely in the hands of the government. The bill for taxing all income from all personal property is generally approved in the committees, as indispensable for the treasury.

Observe what the London Times of the 28th says of British fiscality:

There is no good in attempting to blink the fact that the budget of this year is very unsatisfactory. Our expenses are exceeding our income by no less than £2,000,000 a year! To make good the deficiency, there are three courses generally open ;— the first is to impose additional taxes; the second is to borrow money; the third is to retrench expenditure. The first was signally discouraged by the house some months ago; and the votes on the