We have endeavoured elsewhere to account for the extreme
weakness manifested by M. Thiers, but must here add that on Friday week he delivered a speech strongly protesting against proscriptions. " The territory of France is interdicted to no one, even in the interests of public order." He had not arrested M. Rouher, but had protected him to the Belgian frontier. He had not arrested M. de Cassagnac, though he had approved the con- duct of a Prefect who had hinted to him to retire to Italy, warn- ing the Prefect, however, that if M. de Cassagnac insisted on his rights, they must while he obeyed the law be allowed. M. Thiers took advantage of his opportunity to remark that he did not believe in any Bonapartist plot, which is doubtless true, as the first condition of any such plot must be a pronunciamento from the soldiery.
