The case of M. Emile Girardin in the Rrench Chambers,
after an eventful agitation, has terminated:in a way to disappoidt the lovers of political scandal : without examination or public dis- cussion, M. Girardin has been discharged by the Chamber of Peers. He was summoned by the Peers to render accounbfor asserting, in his paper La Presse, that peerages had been sold : a Commit- tee of the Deputies reported in favour of the permission that he should appear at the bar of the Peers ; and the discussion on that report gave rise to some strange scenes. Among the speakers was M. Girardin himself ; who stated specific instances in which Ministerial favours and titled honours had been given on corrupt conditions ; but the facts respecting the most notable of these charges—the sale of a peerage for 8,2001.—he declined to ex- plain, conceiving himself personally bound in honour not to di- vulge the names. M. Duchatel, the Minister of the Interior, did not disprove any of these charges • he only disclaimed having had any share in the transactions alleged. M. Guizot advanced as if to make a decided reply : be merely retorted a charge of corrup- tion. He read a private letter from M. Girardin to a person who had for a time edited M. Girardin's journal, and thus disclosed two secrets : M. Girardin is the son, of course illegitimate, of General Count de Girardin ; and M. Girardin had offered to ab- dicate the management of his paper for four months, so that it might Le secretly converted to a Ministerial organ, on condition that a peerage should be given to his father. To this counter- charge M. Girardin offered, no contradiction.
The Deputies decided that he should appear before the Peers ; which he did. But at their bar he made no defence ; simply protesting that he intended no disrespect to the Peerage, and that he was bound in honour not to bring evidence respecting the sale of a title. On that defence, as we have said, after a discus- sion with closed doors, M. Girardin was discharged.
