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    Louis Blanc Ox The Fuench Elections. We ...

    no easy matter to attempt any general movement , where twenty persona cannot meet with impunity . Well , this is the very reason wliy any legitimate mode of action must be resorted to , -which still remains open . The policy of abstention , advocated by some of our fxiends , is a fatal one . It could but serve to dishearten the good , to countenance the wicked , to supply the sceptical with a . mask , to betray the courageous , and to shield the cowardly . The problem -will not work itself out . In any collection of men , as well-as -in any single man , atrophy is the unavoidable consequence of want of exercise . If nothing be done , rest assured that , before long , the vitality of France will- dwindle into torpor , and from torpor into death . Besides , would not inertness be mistaken for assent ? Or could the sympathies of constitutional Europe be enlisted in favour of France , were Fxance herself unconcerned about her own fate ?

    On the other hand , it is natural enough that sincere and high-minded patriots should be deterred from joining in mock elections , with the view of electing mock candidates . For there is no speaking of universal suffrage . AVhat ! universal suffrage , where there is neither liberty of the press , nor individual liberty , nor liberty of privale correspondence , nor absolute liberty of mere drawing-room conversations I Universal suffrage , -where the threat of deportation is suspended over every man's head ; where fraudulent returns may be paraded about , without any one being allowed either to control them or to give them the lie ! Universal suffrage , -where the Court of Cassation has just declared that a slip of paper , bearing simply the name of a candidate , comes under

    the head of pamphlets amenable to police regulation Nq , no ; in the present state of France , universal suffrage is a universal sham . Nevertheless , let our friends go to the poll , if they think it propor , but so as not to sanction the existence of the Government by seeming to acknowledge tbe soundness of the principle on which it professes to rest . Let the world be made aware that the position of the Republican and Liberal party in France is that of a man who , being compelled to preserve his life , seizes a rotten stick , for Avant of any better weapon . N " ext comes the question , What shall the Republican or Liberal candidates do , if elected ? Shall they take the oath of allegiance to the Empire ? Shall they

    consent to be ranked amongst the mute servants of the new Court in the lobby termed Legislative Chamber ? Wot for a moment can such things be tJioughfc of . To vow allegiance to the Empire in earnest would be both criminal and suicidal . To take the oath as null and void would be dishonest . It was by breaking his word and scandalously insulting public faith tliat Louis Bonapartegot the mastery . Why , the nature of the proceeding was perfectly consonant with the nature of the aim ! It is not for us to crawl in the dark . Justice and liberty demand to be served in a manner worthy of them : it is not for us to endeavour to magnify lying into triumph . Bather submit to force in silent dignity than lower oneself on a level with a perjurer and forfeit the right of denouncing him . at the tribunal of all honest men .

    On the other band , to elect candidates without intending them to sit in the Chamber might appear childish , and would be of little or no avail , unless a course be adopted of a nature to create , not a- superficial agitation , but an emotion both deep and las-tLng . " Well , I think the pturpose would be accomplished if some persons in a high station were dctormincd nobly i ; o come forward on a solemn occasion , so chosen a 8 to attract the attention of the world , and then to give utterance to the feelings of indignation that fret in the hearts . For 39 doing no batter opportunity could be hnaginod than tbe ceremony of the taking the oath , a formality with which the Republican and Liberal candidates should refuso to comply , after strenuously stating their motives , and that with the undaunted resolution to insist if interrupted , and to resist if threatened , till they were subdued by physical force ait the risk of an immense scandal .

    After all , a scene of that sort would not be unprecedented . Every one knows how favourable was to the canae of freedom , under the reign of Louis XV III ., , tho fact of Manuel causing himaelf to be collared by soldiers on hia bench in , the Chamber of Deputies . Nover was he so much considened the tru e rcupreaontativo of the people as when ho had been brutally and unjustly dragged out of the House . It is true flint , under the reign oven of Louis XVIII ,, the peoplo bad more opportunities thanHney have now to vent their complainings ; and I co-nfeaB that , as matters ataud at present , any individual isolated protest would bo worso than useless , by casting the of the

    on party opposition at largo the shadow of a sad contrast But who can doubt that a collective display « f * ner » y , resulting from a previous understanding between all the canuidateB ' . eleoted , in a circumstance over whwjb . no veil aould be Bteetched , -would toll moat forcibly oa public opinion ? J In tho case of Louis Bonaparte's putting up with such an affront , the hold Mb government baa over bo many terrified minda would bo irrotriovabl y shukou . Would the representatives of the people bo committed to prison , tried , or driven out of the country without trial i Nothing could bo better calculated to imnresa every one with tho duty of civic courage Franco roduood to tho luat extremity , iwunta inon wlioao

    devotedness may be fruitful , on account of their talent , their position , and their fame . Devoted hearts throb undoubtedly beneath the humble garment of the workman or of the peasant ; but it is one of the most lamentable features of the enslavement of the press in France , that isolated and private sacrifices , however honourable , are lost , as they remain utterly unknown and cannot consequently contribute to arouse the sense of national honour . In the case ' a-lluded to , on the contrary , the example set on a most conspicuous occasion by persons standing , so to speak , 011 the top of the hill , could not fail to make a deep impression and to elevate the tone of public life .

    Another and no less important advantage of the course I suggest would be to place Loiiis Bonaparte in the alternative either of acknowledging his defeat in the face of the world , or outlawing , in the person of their representatives , these very electors from whose will he professes to derive his power . "Would not "Europe at last and for ever be undeceived were Louis Bonaparte brought to stifle the voice of that very sovereignty of the people by which he dares boast of "being supported ? Let him lay bare the only true foundations of las dominion ! By what means the above-mentioned scheme might be best carried out , is a . question which our friends in France must know how to solve . At all events , I trust it caanot be deemed impracticable , as requiring too

    large an amount of devotedness , in a country like France , where men have always been found in thousands ready to stake their fortunes , their domestic happiness , their homes , and finally their lives , for the sake of freedom . Every page of our modern annals speaks to the French workmen of the indomitable courage of the people , and if the leaders of the bourgeoisie want to- be told of the duty that devolves upon them , they have only to look a few years back to the history of their own fathers . There they will see how the members of the Third Estate succeeded in vindicating their rights . The recollections connected witli that immortal date , Twentieth of'June , 1789 , are still living . " Was the situation then less gloomy than it is now ? Was the future

    less clouded ? Far from it . Th « despotism to be confronted , at that period , was possessed of all the moral force and of all the prestige naturally imparted to it by centuries ; it had not been recently baptized in blood ; it was not the offspring of a nightly surprise at the hands of some men of desperate fortunes , supported by drunken janissaries ; it was not lorn of " the bold stroke of the insolvents . " Yet , the representatives of the Third Estate did not hesitate a moment . On the Twentieth of June , at Versailles , they found the doors of the National Assembly shut , and the house invaded by guards ; they were kept waiting in the rain , in the mud , and waited long to no purpose ,, amidst the sneering laughter of the courtiers and the clash of s-words . l > id they grow

    disheartened ? Did they think of death ? No ; they calmly repaired to the tennis-court , and there , within a miserable hall consisting only of four naked walls , but , in the ^ fine words of Bailly , " widened by the majesty it contained , " they took <* od to witness that they would meet in all placea , under all circumstances , wheresoever two or three could get together , until they had done what it was their mission to do . The mad counsellors of the king had imagined that nothing could be easier than to scatter lea gem du Tiers like as much barn-door poultry . But , aa Carlyle says , Barn-door poultry fly cackling ; national deputies turn round lion-faced , and , with uplifted hands , swear an oath that makes the four corners of France tremble . "

    This is the heritage which those who have it from their fathers are bound to transmit to their sons . Will it be observed that the heroes of the Second of December are determined to shrink from no wicked attempt ? So be it . The question is whether a sufficient number of stout hearts be willing to put that audacity to trial two or three times more ; for those are greatly mistaken who think that despotism can live long by a series of coups tVe'tat . The most robust man sinks very soon into exhaustion when kept in a continual state of

    frenzy : so , despotism will soon bo exploded if brought to burst into repeated fits of violence . It is not every day that a simple mortal , however conscious of his power , can make chaos subserviont to his infuriated passions . Satan himself , na described by Milton , would not have been able permanently to ride tho whirlwind . Unfortunately , terror always outlives tho fact I > y which it was begotten . Long after tho real danger is over , dread remains . Hence , tyranny happens to last where it has no Htrength of its own . It is only fearful because overfeared . Make up manfully to the apeetTe , it will vanish .

    For my part , I have no doubt that France will , sooner or later , redeem hor honour . She bears within her wherewith to astonish mankind under various and unforeseen aspects . What unexampled fatigues and sufferings and struggles has » be not already gone through ! How often did she not omorge from beneath accumulated ruins with frosli vigour und unimpaired youth ! Thank God ! France is not like those heavy cavaliers of tho middle ngos , all cast in iron , who , once brought to tho ground , could no longer move . Slio will rise again , and will answer to > tho call of thoso cnpablo of loving her above oil , if they bo daring . Bo bo . Louis Blanc .

    SPEECH OF THE EMPEKOR NAJPOL EOH ON THE OJPBN 1 NG OF THE LEGHSLATIVE SESSION . The Emperor delivered on Monday the folknvinn- Sneer ) , to the Senate and the Legislative Body : — ° ieecu " MM . ks Se ' natews , MM . les Deputes , ' " Last year , ¦ my opening Speech terminated with an invocation for Divine protection . I asked of Heaven to guide our efforts in the path most conformable with the interests of humanity and civilization . That praver seems to have been heard . ^ " Peace ha . s been signed , and the difficulties of detail consequent on the execution of the Treaty of Paris have been successfully overcome . " The dispute which has arisen , between the King of Prussia and the Helvetic Confederation has lost all war like character , arid it Is permitted to us . to hope for a speedy and favourable solution .

    " The good understanding between the three Protecting Powers of Greece renders useless any further pro longation of the stay of tbe English and French troops at the Pirusus . ^ " If a disagreement to be regretted has arisen with regard to tke affairs of Naples , it must be imputed to the desire which equally animates the Government of Queen Victoria and my own to act everywhere in the interests of humanity and civilization . " Now that the best intelligence exists amongst all the great Powers , w « must earnestly set to work to regulate and develop at home the stren gth and the wealth of the nation . We must struggle against those evils from which a society in a state of progress is not exempt .

    " Civilization , although it has for object the moral amelioration , and the material prosperity of the greatest number , marches , it must be acknowledged , like an army . Its victories are not obtained without sacrifices , or without victims . The rapid roads which facilitate communication and open to commerce new paths , disturb existing interests and cast into tbe background districts -which areas yet deprived of them . That useful machinery which multiplies the labour of man , replaces it at first , and . leaves momentarily many hands unemployed . Those mines , which spread abroad in the world an amount of coin hitherto unknown — that increase of public fortune ' , which multiplies tenfold the consumption —tends to unsettle and . to raise the value of every article . That inexhaustible source of wealth called credit

    brmgs forth , marvels , and yet the excess of speculation entails mucli individual ruin ; h . ence the necessity , without stopping its progress , of aiding those who cannot keep pace with the rapidity of its advance . " Some must be stimulated , others stayed ; but we must nourish the activity of that throbbing , restless , exacting so-ciety . which , in Fiance , expects all from the Governmen t , yet to -which the latter must oppose the limits of possibility and the calculations of reason . " To enlighten and to direct , that is our duty . The country prospers , it must be allowed , for , notwithstanding war and famine , the progressive movement has not slackened . The produce of indirect taxation , which is the certain sign of public wealth , surpassed by more than fifty millions , in 185 G , the already extraordinai'y receipts of 1855 . Since the re-establishment of the Empire the revenue has of itself increased by two hundred and tea millions , without taking into account new taxes .

    " Nevertheless there is great suffering amongst a portion of the people ; and , so long as Providence does not send us a good harvest , tho milliouB given by private charity and by the ( jjovornmeni will only be feeble palliatives . " Let \ i 8 redouble our efforts to remedy evils beyond human , foresight . " Many departments have been this yeav devastated by inundations . I have every reason to hope that Science will succeed in subjugating Nature . It concerns my honour that , in France , rivers , like revolutions , shall flow within their true course , never again to quit it .

    " A cn « He of uneasiness , nut less grave , exists nt men ' s minds . When a crisis arrives there is no species of false rumours or of false doctrine that is not propagated by ignorance or mischief . Lately , it has oven boen successfully attempted to render uneasy tb-G industry of the nation , as if th « Government could wiali aught but its development and prosperity . The duty , therefore , of good citizens is to spread abroad everywhere the wise doctrines of political economy , chiefly to fortify thoso thnid hearts who—I will not say at the iirs-t breath of ill-fortune , but at the least halt of prosperity—spread discouragement mid jiugment uneasiness by imaginary alarms .

    " Having : regard to the various requirements of our position , I have resolved to reduco expenditure without suspending groat \ vork « , without compromising tho employment of labour—to ( liniininh certain taxed without detriment to tho tinunccB of the State . The budget of 1868 will lie presented to you , with the expenditure balanced by tho receipts . All foreseen expenses have been therein included . The produce of the lato loans will Buflieo to liquidate tho cost of tho lute war . " Evory department of tho public service has beon provided for wiLhout our having to in » ke any now appcul to the public credit . The army and navy oatimates have hcen reduced within duo limits so aa to piedoxvo

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• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 21, 1857, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_21021857/page/6/