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Leader (1850-1860), 7th February 1852, Edition Country of 2, Page 7, LETTERS FROM PARIS. [Fkom ouu own Cokhes...

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      Meeting Of Convocation. Wednesday Having...

      "" aWBishop of London presented seven petitions , t Jslshop of Exeter five , the Bishop of Chichester *\ 7 the Bishop of Llandaffone , the Bishop of «? Asaph one , and the Bishop of Oxford two petifiont praying the Convocation might sit for the desnatch of business . ,. . ......... ., While these proceedings were going on m the Tiwr House , nearly thirty petitions were presented bv different members of the Lower House . The braver of the petitioners was for the restoration of the ^ no dic al functions of the Church . After all the petitions had been disposed of ,. a very anima ted discussion , in which the Bishops of London Exetev ( festerWinchester , St . Asaph ,

      , _ Oxford , Lichfield , took part , occurred , it being su 2 gested * hat an address to the Queen ,, praying for license to meet for despatch of business , should be presented to her Majesty ; but after about one hour ' s e ' Archbishop of Canterbury appealed to his r ight reverend brethren to forbear pressing the subiect at the present moment , when so few of Convocation properly understood its functions . However much synodical action might be desired , he . ( the most reverend prelate ) did not think that any good would ac crue from petitioning her Majesty ; for he felt quite certain that in the present state of the Church , and its multitudinous divisions , their prayer would never

      l ^ he Very Keverend W . Rowe Lyall , D . D ., Dean of Canterbury , Prolocutor of the Lower House , then appeared at the bar of the Upper House , and presented an address agreed to by the Lower House , to the effect that the House had received numerous petitions praying for the revival of Convocation . The Very Reveren d Prolocutor , in addressin g the Archbishop , said that the Lower House entirely concurred in the prayer of the petitions , and he was desired by the members assembled to request that the Upper House would take the subject into its consideration . After hearing the address read , His Grace th € Archbishop said that they would receive the address , and that it should have their best

      attention . , - The Prolocutor and the members of the Lower House then retired from the bar , anH proceeded to "thehuown chamber , and were aboutr to enter upon further business , when Mr . James Barber ( the Apparitor of the province of Canterbury ) summoned the members of the Lower House to appear before the Archbishop and the members of the Upper House , whereupon The Prolocutor ( the Very Eeverend W . Bowe Lyall , D . D ., Dean of Canterbury ) , followed by the members of the Lower House , again proceeded to the bar . Upon their arrival ,

      The Archbishop of Canterbury commanded Mr . Francis Hart Dyke toa-ead the following document : — "We , John Bird , by divine Providence Archbishop of Canterbury , Primate of all England and Metropolifan , President of the present Provincial Synod or Convocation of the Bishops and Clergy of the province of Canterbury , do by this present writing continue and prorogue the said sacred Provincial Synod or Convocation , and continue and prorogue all and singular the certificates or

      returns already made and delivered , and all others which have not yet been made and delivered in the same state in which they are now , until Thursday , the 19 th day of August next ensuing , to a certain Upper Chamber , commonly called the Jerusalem Chamber , situate in the deanery belonging to the collegiate church of St . Peter , Westminster , with further continuation and prorogation of days then following andplaceB , if it shall be necessary to be done in this hehalf . J . B . Cantttar . "

      At thef reading of this document the greatest surprise was expressed , and many of the assembled members did not hesitate to say that the proceedings were illegal , but of course there was no appeal .

      J Hew Strives To Imitate The Uncleit Feb...

      Feb . 7 , 1852 J Kft * 9 , 9 Kll 9 t » 123 ¦ ' ' """ """ ^** M ""^ ' ^^^ *~* ' " _¦ ¦ ¦ *

      Letters From Paris. [Fkom Ouu Own Cokhes...

      LETTERS FROM PARIS . [ Fkom ouu own Cokhespondent ] Lktteu VI . Paris , Tuesday February 3 , 1852 . After the stormy emotions of lust week there is little left for mo to write about to-day . * The Government of Louis Bonaparte seems to have paused in its career of violence before the unanimous manifestation of public opinion . The confiscation of tho property of tho house of Orleans has been , an d is still , tho incessant topic of discussion . I ' or a moment it was thought that the Government would

      repeal the decrees . An article in tho Conatitutionncl , which was interpreted' in this sense , hrt'd caused a rise in tho funds . This article was the subject of every conversation ; it wus supposed that the "cm'cos would ho flubmitted ^ to the Senate nnd to the Legifllfttivo body . But the aemi-ofHeial evening pivperH contained n disavowal of tho uriiclo in the (' omtitutionncl , whose director , M . Veron , was summoned by M . do Persigny , find ordered to submit , in luture , nil the proofs of his paper to tho censxirc , a lon nality from which' ho htul beon hitherto exclusively ""¦ 'roptcd . M . Voron promised , like a naughty boy , f " « o would ' nt do it again , " nnd so was forgiven , xno decrees will not be repeated . At the Elysee , " * e disastrous effect of tho decrees had not been

      anticipated . " Two or three days' murmuring , ' it was said , " and then they will be forgotten . " It was not so , however . The sensation they created has been most -serious in all classes , even in the army . The provinces have been greatly agitated , and especially by the considerations on which the decrees are founded . These considerations are , in effect , nothing more nor less than the . revolutionary theory . of the maximum applied to large fortunes ; and you may well imagine how such a threat , suspended over the heads of the owners of property , has alarmed them . The anxiety of the Government at this effect of the decrees has been visibly on the increase . The prefects have been running up from

      the provinces to protest that they could no longer answer for success in the forthcoming elections . At length Louis Bonaparte has been compelled to render a tardy concession to public feeling . A note has been inserted in the Moniteur , to say that it was never contemplated by the Government to deprive the house of Orleans of the chapel and vaults of Dreux . It had been whispered that the Legitimists approved the decrees , but their written refusals to support the President are a sufficient reply to this report . MM . Berryer , de Falloux , de Vatismenil , de Noailles , & c , protested vehemently . MM . Berryer and de Vatismenil even acted as counsel in assisting the legal

      advisers of the house of Orleans to draw up the remarkable " Memoire" which has been published . It is certain , too , that many of the new Senators only consented to their nomination on the positive understanding that the decrees would be cancelled ; and they don ' t scruple to declare , loud enough to be heard , that they will not permit a question of public morality to be burked . Here will be food for plenty of scandal in the course of approaching events . The testamentary executors of Louis Philippe have resolved to appeal to the ordinary course of law . They are determined to institute proceedings against the State for restitution of the domains . MM . Dupin , Odillon Barrot , Berryer , Paillet , and Vatismenil , have claimed

      the honour of placing the property of the house of Orleans under the protection of the laws . They form part of the Judicial Council to the family . M . Dupin , for this express purpose , has returned to the profession of advocate , and has inscribed his name on the list of the Court of Appeal at Paris . In his private conversations he ^ no longer speaks of the Princes of Orleans but as his clients . It is he , too , who is charged with preparing the " Memoire Judiciare . " After the memoire will come the pleadings . If the ordinary tribunals declare themselves incompetent , appeal will lie , of course , to the Council of State . Hence the Council of State , which Bonaparte has declined to consult , will be invited to pronounce on the validity of his own decrees .

      This suit will be in itself an event . In the meanwhile the executors . have remitted to M . Bonaparte a solemn protest against the decrees of the 23 rd ultimo , and M . Casabianca , Secretary of State , was obliged to acknowledge its receipt . Moreover they endeavoured to get this protest printed at Paris , but formal orders had been given to the printers to refuse the use of their presses . I have before me , as I write , the copy of a letter written by Queen Amelie to M . Dupin , on the subject of the confiscation . Never and

      did a Queen speak with a more noble dignified simplicity . This letter , which is already beginning to circulate secretly , is calculated to excite in all minds a deeper disgust than ever against Louis Bonaparte . To the list of those who refused , the dignity of Senators , in consequence of these decrees , you may add M . le Comte de Jaubert , and M . Gasparin , formerly minister . The reply of the latter to the invitation is said to have been very dignified , but he has declined to publish it .

      M . le Due de Mouchy is in the same case . Bonaparte offered in vain the Secretaryship of the Council of State to M . Hochet ; and M . Sers , formerly auditor , and recently nominated auditor of the first class , haa ' resigned . The result of the refusals occasioned by these decrees haa been to bring into tho Council of State tho accession of the name of M . Michel Chevalier , who was not included in the original list , and MM . Dariste , Deujoy , and Bauchart , who were to have been only " Musters of Requests . " The absence of the name of General Gourguud has been noticed as very significant , us he accompanied Napoleon to St . Helena , and his whole life is bound up with the moat intimate souvenirs of tho Emperor . M . Sosthones de In Kochefoucuult , chair

      Due do Doudeimville , refused tho senatorial that was offered him . 1 called your attention in my last letter to the sorry find insignificant materials of tho Senute . Tho military is the dominant element in its composition ; not to speak of officers of the arfny , it includes not less than eighteen generals , tnx martihals , of France , eight admirals , and threo vieondmirala . It is to bo observed that neither the French Academy , comprising our groat literary names , nor the Academy of thoFino Art * , embracing our artistic celebrities in painting and sculpture , nor the Academy of Belles Lettrea , nor tho Academy doa Sciences , hftH obtained rt single nomination . Ams » s again a reminiscence of tho Empire . Bonaparte tUo Great used to detest tho thinkara , tho poets , the students , tho writers ; lie used to call them Ideologists *

      The nephew simply strives to imitate the uncle . It is but the crow imitating the eagle . It may also be remarked that not one of his cousins bearing the name of Bonaparte is included in the Senate . As I informed you a fortnight since , the old King Jerome has been appointed President of the Senate . His want of money is proverbial , but his pecuniarypretensions surpass all . belief . He had already been in receipt of 60 , 000 francs as "Governor of the Invalides . He solicited of his nephew the . title of marshal in order that he might get the 40 , 000 francs of salary attached * to that rank . Louis Bonaparte now proposes to give him 200 , 000 francs as President of the Senate . Jerome has just declared _ -. . . ' ' M ¦ /• a ¦ • l . A . - At _ " _ ** A

      to his nephew that the sum is insufficient ; that it was for the name of Bonaparte that the French People had given him seven millions and a half of votes , and that he ( Louis Bonaparte ) ought to think himself most fortunate that the brother - of the Emperor had not claimed the inheritance for himself before allowing the nephew to enjoy it . It is uncertain whether Louis Napoleon will yield . He is sorely afraid of his uncle , who knows all the family secrets , and might , possibly , take it into his head to reveal to

      France that Louis Napoleon is not a Bonaparte at all , for the simplest of all reasons—that the old King of Holland , Louis Bonaparte , was incapable of being a father . I will tell you an anecdote on this subject which was current in Paris shortly after the elevation of Louis Bonaparte to the Presidency in 1848 . He appointed Leon de Malleville Minister of the Interior . The Minister had not been installed two hours before he was summoned by the President , who immediately confided to' him that in the archives of the

      Ministrythere was a certain document relating to his father Louis , King of Holland , and that he desired it should be searched for . M . Leon de Malleville gave the requisite orders ; the document ( it was a letter ) was sought and found , and brought in a case to the Ministry of the Interior . Louis Bonaparte demanded to have it . " See it , Yes ; but have it , No ! " * replied the Minister . The law forbids it , and my responsibility to the whole country compels me to oppose the demand . " For two days there was parleying ; _ but at last Louis Bonaparte , reduced to extremes , announced the removal © f M . Leonde Malleville in the Moniteur . took possession of the with

      casket which M ., de Malleville ^ iad sealed up a written report of his so doing , broke the seals himself , and seized the famous letter . Now this ^ document was a letter of Louis Bonaparte to his brother , General Bonaparte , in which he related confidently that , after a debauch in Italy , he had contracted a disease which had rendered an Operation necessary : an operation which rendered him incapable of being a father . Of the children of H jrtense Beauharnais not one , in fact , was by Louis Bonaparte . The eldest , whom ( before his divorce from Josephine ) the Emperor had designed for his successor , was the son of Napoleon himsvlf , who had given in marriage to his

      brother , Hortense Beauharnais enceinte—Hortense his daughter-in-law , dishonoured by the husband of her own mother . The second son , Louis Napoleon , our President of to-day , is the son of the Dutch Admiral Verhuel , who served against England in the operations of the Camp of Boulogne . Louis Napoleon resembles him in features , in character , and in habits . Admiral Verhuel , phlegmatic and obstinate as his countrymen , was addicted to strong liquors . The third son , who died in 1831 in the Italian war of independence , was the son of , I don't remember whom . The fourth Bon , no less a person than M . de Morny , the Minister of a few days since , was , honestly , an

      illegitimate son , having been born after the divorce of the Queen of Holland . father is Count Flahaut . Imagine how urgent it was for Louis Napoleon , elected President of the French Republic , to get hold of and to efface the mysteries of his parentage ! The peasantry believed he was the nephew of the Emperor : his real origin would have entitled him , perhaps , to aspire to the dignity of Burgomaster of some Dutch village ! This breaking of the seals , this theft of the national archives within a few days after his accession to power , made a good deal of noise at tho time . Explanations and in fact demanded in

      were imperative , were the National Assembly ; but it was at that time tho interest of the Conservatives to coax Louis Bonaparte , whom they sustained in his policy of crushing the Republic . The interpellations had no result . Now , although this letter of the ex-King of Holland hus beon destroyed , there still remains a living witness to its contents , in tho person of tho old King Jerome , who tit least is a real Bonaparte . It may bo conceived how lively an interest Louis Napoleon huri iu keeping him quiet , and in cramming his mouth that ho may not talk ! iSo ho will bo pure to have inoro than tho 200 , 00 p francs which was offered to him , and which he refused as—not enough .

      Unhappily , the state of tho finances ia far from satisfactory . All the functionaries , in the apprehension of a catastrophe , lire anxious to lose no time in discounting future contingenccs : they have all solicited increuaed salaiios : to aBHuro their zeal , till that they have asked ia promised ; but tho deplorable con-* <« La voir , Oui j mate Tavoir , Non . "

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 7, 1852, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_07021852/page/7/