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Leader (1850-1860), 12th June 1852, Edition Country of 2, Page 8, CONTINENTAL NOTES. ENGLISH EDITOES PBQSE...

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      Letters From Paris. [Fbom Our Owu- Cobbe...

      with the recent events in France . One of these , written by a soldier belonging to the 6 th Regiment of Light Infantry ,, proves that the coup d ' eidt of the 2 nd of December , was to have taken place on Saturday , the 16 th of November . Orders had at that time been issued , recalling all the men absent on leave , to their respective regiinenfs ; that the coup d ' etdt had beien postponed" from the 15 th to the 17 th of November , and then again to the 22 nd . In order to accomplish the coup d ' etat , the regiments had been carefully isolated f rom each other , and from the people , and then , in the absence of any communication , or means of knowing

      the truth , the soldiers had been told , each regiment separately , that the army of Paris had declared unanimously for the President against the Assembly ; that theirreghnentwastheonly one whichhadnot pronounced , and it was dangerous for them not to join the rest . The men had then declared their willingness to act with the rest of the army . It is also proved , by the same document , that the 42 nd Foot , commanded by Colonel Espinasse , was the only infantry regiment favourable to Bonaparte . The most murderous orders were given to the troops by certain colonels . " You are about to engage in a sanguinary struggle , " cried Colonel Gardarens , to the men of the 6 th Regiment : *< the anarchists

      and the rabble have sworn to be revenged of their defeat in June , 1848 ; spare no one ; make no prisoners I You understand me , no prisoners ! Kill ! kill every man , woman , and child you see in the streets , " A representative having presented himself at the entrance of the Assembly , in the Place de Bourgogne , where the 6 th Keghnent was stationed , Colonel Gardareris galloped up to him , and , in a very coarse manner , said , " Now , sir , don't come here propaganda izing ! You had better be off , or I will have you laid hold of by four of my men , and put into prison . " " But , sir , " replied the representative , " who are you , who thus address me . " " I am a Colonel ! " " And I , "

      said the other , " am a representative of the people , and am going to the Assembly . " "A representative ! there are none now- ! " " But if there are no representatives there-is a constitution—there is law I" " You are mistaken ! there is neither one nor the other !—there are only bayonettes . " The same letter also furnishes some curious details as to the manner in which the voting of the army was managed . " Colonel Gardarens first began by closing ihe register in which would have been entered the names of those who voted against Bonaparte . ' It is quite useless to keep any such register , as I do not for

      one moment doubt the enthusiasm of the men whom I have the honour to command . We are the soldiers of Order , let us vote for Order ! ' He then signed the book , and passed the pen to the Lieutenant-Colonel and the other officers of his Staff ; to the Captains , Lieutenants , & c . As for the soldiers , as each man answered ' present , ' to the roll-call , his name was entered by the sergeant-major . A corporal having expressed a desire to write his nnmc in tho register himself , in order to hco how tho thing was done , was denied by the colonel . " This method of election in the army confirms all that has been said about the voting in tho rural districts during the election of Louis Bonapavtc .

      I have something of importance to communicate to you on tho subject of tho late presidential elections . Tho Emperor of Russia , being anxious to bo able to judge of tho rumours which had reached him aflbcting Bonuparto ' popularity in France , and being desirous of knowing how the elections really did take place , has employed a number of secret emissaries , whoso business was to proceed into the departments , to learn tho real opinions of tho people . Tho reports of tho emissaries unanimously prove that tho peasants generally are opposed to Bonaparte , that those who had voted for him now regretted it , and

      that many had not voted nt all . Tho result of this information will doubtlesH bo to influence tho relations of tho Emperor of Russia , and tho northern powers . Tho Czar has fixed upon holding another conferonco on this subject , at Warsaw , between Ruhhui , Prussia , nnd Austria . It iH Huid that u manifesto is being seriously contoinpluted , in which , after having laid baro tho usurpation and imposture of Bonaparte , ho would ho placed beyond the palo of tho law [ hors la lot ] , and war would bo declared against him . Tho invasion of Franco by tho allied powers would follow tho

      manifesto . Tho pretoxt would bu personal . hostility to Bonapnrto , tho roid motive tho ro-cdtubitalnnent of tho Bourbons on tho throne of Franco . Tho Comto do Chambord , it is « nid , has recently received an assuranco to that effect . He in about to proceed from FroliBdorfl to Wiesbaden , to receive the homage of the Legitimists , to whom ho will point out , viva voce , tho lino of conduct they must follow in future . This clover nmnnmvro compolH ovory Legithnint openly to come forward at onco , and take u . part in the grand dmiwi which is being propurecjlt Front tlus time there will be \\

      Legitimist Army and a legitimist General . The Princes of Orleans , as representing the hitherto dissidents , will be the first to render homage to the King of France . They will be folloyiredby the rest of the Orleanists . * While the storm gathers , Bonaparte is philosophically enjoying life . This new Louis XV . has installedlaislht Satr ^ Miss Howard , in the Palace of Saint Cloud , It is there he proposes to spend the summer with her . Cotillon IV . will give a series of fetes , at which the faithful

      will be allowed to assist . It was at one of these fetes last week Bonaparte and his roue intimates— -Saint Avnaud , Maupas , the Comte d'Orsay , Lavalette , and De Moray , each man bringing his mistress— -enacted the most frightful orgies . Everything which frenzied debauchery can conceive was perpetrated . It would shock your English ears to hear what has perhaps happened a score times already since the 2 nd of December . All Paris knows of the soirees of Madame Lehon ,

      Moray ' s mistress . We are too well accustomed to the eccentricities oi the entourage , to be surprised at the orgies of Saint Cloud . A vast system of espionage is organized throughout France , the ramifications of which extend to thp small towns and villages—" where , " says the circular creating a large addition to the number of the commissaries of police , " the spirit of hostility and anarchy still holds its ground . " We have now the police of the gensdarmes , the police of the commissaries , the police of spies and informers , and the police at the post office . France is

      now a complete net-work of police and espionage . The effect of this deplorable state of things is to destroy all private confidence . There is safety nowhere *—neither with relations nor friends . All conversation is completely stopped . In the salons of the fashionable world , at the least word bearing upon political matters the guests withdraw in fear , as though they were about being seized by gensdarmes , to be conveyed to Lambessa or Cayenne . The only confidences madeare within doors , between sworn friends . Yet notwithstanding all these obstacles , pamphlets and letters

      circulate in Paris with extraordinary rapidity . Every maix has four or five trustworthy , friends , to whom he communicate ? , or from whom he receives all the news . These , in their turn , have other friends . An invisible chain links these persons together , and it requires but a moment for any information to reach from one end of the chain to the other . In the provinces , however , the government measures destroy these facilities of communication ; for if two persons are seen much together they become the object of administrative rigours , and are immediately placed under the surveillance of the police , From that moment an agent of police fastens himself on their footsteps , and follows them

      like a shadow . It happened thus at Metz , where several persons belonging to the advanced democratic section have been placed under the eye of tho police . Incredible difficulties attend the leaving or returning to France . Women , who had hitherto been allowed to move about without passports , have been deprived of this privilege . Two ladies were arrested in Havre last Friday , and marched through tho streets of the town in the custody of seven gensdarmes , because they had not provided themselves with passports for England . Tho transportations are still going on . Tho steamship , La Ville de Bordeaux , has just embarked 24 political prisoners for Lambessa .

      While Louis Bonaparte is revelling m wealth and debauchery , Lainartino is suffering tho privations of poverty in Paris , and tho furniture of Victor Hugo is being Bold . Tho warnings" to tho press still continue . Tho TZnianeipaleur of Cambray having presumed to say that tho new reduced tax upon wine had « ot brought any relief to the people ( it having been shown that tho diminution only amounts to ono per cent . ) , tho prefect Kent n " warning" to the imprudent journalist , accusing him of endeavouring to throw odium upon tho President . Tho Aube has also had " warning , " for having said that M . Montulombert desired tho postponement of

      tho law on education , but that pome one more powerful was of a different mind . Tho prefect buw in tho hist phruHO " an allusion and insinuation too ovidpnt for tho Govorninont to tolorato . " Tho samo paper had Hind that , according to Bonaparte ' s constitution , tho budget must bo voted before tho 29 th of June , olherwi » e tho Government would dispense with tho consent of tho Legislative Body . Tho prefect accused tho Auhe for theme ntutoincntfl , " of having lowered tho dignity of ono of tho great powers of tho State , and of having endeavoured to " attach to tho government of thp Prince-President nn allegation , tho principle of which , if true , would provo tho arbitrary tmbstitution of ono power by another . " As though Bonaparte had allowed * We have good reaHon to believe thai ; Iho Fuuion is losa in favour at Cliiremont thfttt ut Ifrylwdwf , — [ J $ p . of leader , ]

      any such consideration 8 to weig h , with him on the 2 tt 4 of December ! r The Legislative Body will , on the 15 th or 16 th of June , discuss the budget . Many reforms , as I have already told you , have been introduced in to it b y the committee . Butwe have yet to see whether the Legislative Body will adopt them . \ . It has been clearly shown that the floating debt amounts to 750 millions , not 520 miliipris , as had been stated by the Government . It has also been proved that the deficit for 1853 , estimated by the Government at 80 millions * will in reality exceed 85 millipnsV Louis Bonaparte knew very well he was attempting a

      barefaced imposition upon the nation , as proved by his intention to levy 16 millions of additional taxes * 1 , A duty on dogs ; 2 , A duty on horses and carriages * 3 , A duty on domestic servants ; 4 > A new tax on sugar ' The three first are calculated tobringin , ID millions and the last 60 millions . By this means the deficit would be nearly covered , and the revenue increased to 1500 millions to suit the convenience of M . Bonaparte , The Eiysee is extraordinarily tenacious of haying these 10 millions ; and , to such ^ extent , that , in spite pf the constitution , the Xiegislative Body will meet again in October for the purpose of voting the new taxes by which they are to be raised .

      The Government , seeing the end of the session at hand , has quickly expunged from the " project of law /" on the departmental and communal administration , the clauses relating to the nomination , of general and muni-i cipal councillors . The ' ?¦ resignations " which cbnthiiiQ to come in , threaten to leave the departments and coua « munes without any local government whatever j to obviate this inconvenience , Bonaparte proposes to assume the right of selecting froih a list three persons , chosen by universal suffrage , the councillors required to fill the vacancies in the departments arid communes . S .

      656 The Jleadeb, Csa^Tmba^

      656 THE JLEADEB , CSA ^ tmBA ^

      Continental Notes. English Editoes Pbqse...

      CONTINENTAL NOTES . ENGLISH EDITOES PBQSECUTED IN PABIS , BY

      PEOXY . The other most prominent fact in the Parisian news of the week is the invitation to the correspondent of tho Daily-News , and of two other London daily papers ( the Chronicle and Advertiser ) , to visit the Director oi the Press at the Prefecture de Police . The Director , M . Xatour DumouHn , received them , we are told , with the most perfect courtesy . He stated that the tone of correspondenee , and of the leading articles traceable to that correspondence , has become so outrageous in its attacks On tho " elect of eight millions , " that the lYerioh . Govermnetife canno longer tolerate such an abuse . That , howeverwilling to allow the English , correspondents to send news , and .

      even to furnish them with early and . exclusive inforjnatoon . forbidden to French and continental journals—however jxidisposcd to deprecate oppositiori- ^ -it would not Buffer \ no name of the " chief of the state" to be " dragged in the mire . " Tho correspondent of the Daily News says , he was then given to understand that if either the Paris letter of tho Daily News , or the leading articles of that paper , contained any expressions outraging tho person of the Prince-Prdsidcht , ho would bo considered as the responsible person and bo forthwith expeUed from Franco . It « was found that this measure did not Buffico to put an end

      to tho practice of insulting the head of the French statei m the English press , it would then become the duty ot tuo French Government to deliberate upon what further measures would bo necessary . . Tho correspondent explained how completely foreign to the political direction of the journal was his ofhee , ana that tho truo remedy of the aggrioved Government lay either in nn Engliah court of law as in tho Emporora case , or in diplomatic representations . But M , -Latour Dumoulin concluded by declining to accept the irresponsibility of correspondents . So the first blow at the EngUsU press is etruok .

      Wo Briofly Alluded In Our Last Number To...

      Wo briofly alluded in our last number to an offonwvo articlo in tho Constitutionnel , by Granior do Cassagnat , t , hr « atoning Belgium witli a war of tariffs , if not of f » ° "> and ovon « io closing of tho frontiers and ports ot ¦*«""» againHt all trade with that kingdom , if tho Belgian olootors did not , at tho approaching elections , chooso cftnaidates opposed to thoir present Ministry and favourablo to tho preHent Government of Franco , to which the ; n »«» t ( r nanco in oflieo of a liberal Bolgiun cabinot would bo considered an act of hostility . . , onJnfc TIjo Belgian Minister in Paris made a formal c ? mPl al "J of this inHult to an indopondont etato , and vya » . J" * ""? : by tho Minister of Foreign AHah' 3 < hat , tho M antww Wasthoonlv official ortran of tho Government , no coi

      plaint could bo founded on an articlo m tlio i *™'"" tionnol . LuBfc Saturday , howovor , M . Granlor returnea v > tho charge , d <) cliu ing thai / it was not in his own nain 0 " - he had written ; but tliat , boforo venturing on e <> B"'j anddolicato a Bubjccl , \\ o liad taken caro " to aW ™ * tho BontimcntH of the Chief of tho State . " Ho « v « n mVijjJ tho Bolgiiui Minister , if ho ehould have any doubt o n Huhjoot , to ascertain their con-cotnoss by appJy'j'S ; " ., President hijnaelf . Such an a / Ilrmation , coupled witn u President ' s name , compelled the Belgian Minister torn maud Airthor and more catocorioal oxplanaupnfl ; auu

      Sunday last tho Mofiitcur contained Iho foflowing ^ municatcd pai'agnu ) h i « - ~ . ,. .. . in tn thu It h very imtural that peoplo ehould » tUpibuto to ug Qovwmnoftf tli » idew put forth Vy the jowvmU KvW ««

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), June 12, 1852, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_12061852/page/8/