ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE FROM FRANCE. Paris, October 12th. As you see,
the nomination of the President by universal suffrage has been carried by an overwhelming majority. It could not be otherwise. Any other determination of the House would have been a signal for civil war; the feeling in the provinces was too strongly expressed to be mis- understood. The Ultra-Democratic, which I called the Unitarian party, Slone was logical. It said, "The House is a constituent one; it is omnipo- tent.. let us at once decide that there shall be no President at all, and there will be no struggle about his nomination." The House declined, and did right; but to be consistent, it ought to have established two Assemblies, with a President as arbiter. We were then placed between two dangers: on one side, a President with a single House, deriving his powers from the same sovereign source, might prove a constant and unavoidable occasion of conflict, with no third power to interfere: on the other side, a President elected by the Assembly could not but remain its very creature; at the first misunderstanding he would have been blown upon as a candle, and we should have fallen irretrievably under the solitary, intolerable, an irresponsible tyranny of a single House, that is a Convention, that its Terror.
Having only the choice between these two predicaments, the House con- sidered that universal suffrage was still a chance, however weak, for se- curing the last remnants of liberty. I must say, that many, even in the Moderate and Conservative party, were of opinion that it would have been safer to leave the powers of the Assembly unimpaired; that the present House, although elected under the immediate pressure of the Revolution and the scandalous interference of the Provisional Government, was after 'all a moderate one; that the next would very likely be still more so; and that it would be better to be ruled by a moderate and conservative As- sembly than to expose the country to a conflict of powers, and possibly to an usurpation. That opinion, however, did not prevail, and we are now launched upon the dark and unfathomable sea of universal suffrage. What will come out of it? God knows. Our last hope is in that great Un- known the People. Who knows if there is not, in the deep recess of uni- versal mind, some latent and mysterious wisdom which we suspect not, and which may reveal itself unexpectedly. At least, such a vote will be more true and more pure and more disinterested than could be the vote of an Assembly. As well said Lamartine, you may poison a cup, not a river.
True; but this is the bright side of the medal: look at the reverse. Only judge universal suffrage by what has happened in Paris. Go back to the very day of the Revolution, to the 23d of February: there you see the whole National Guard raising a cry of" \rive la Reformer and, poor silly creature, unconsciously bringing down Monarchy. After Reform, Lamar- tine becomt s the universal favourite; and lasts about two months. Next comes Caussidibre, that vulgar, dirty, and shrewd juggler, who contrived to put the whole Parisian population in raptures by playing tricks. Next comes Cavaignac; who is already used up. And now comes Bonaparte, a kind of pretender, who is bottled up by his friends lest he should evaporate. And why, you might ask, this Bonaparte more than any of his cousins? Oh! simply because he has shown himself the most extravagant; because his foolish attempt at Strasbourg, and his still more ridiculous failure at Boulogne, have made him conspicuous; and we do like conspicuous people, never mind how.
Of course, I cannot tell how long Bonaparte will last. We are quick, here, in raising and destroying idols. I do not despair of seeing Queen Pomare, or M. Pritchard, or Lord Brougham, as candidates to the Preset- dqntial election. It will be an immense lottery, nothing else; and the re- sult of it depends mainly upon the time and the hour. That, at present, _universal suffrage would not be friendly to the Republican establishment, is manifest enough by the behaviour of the Republicans. All the Ministate and their friends have voted for the nomination by the Assembly; they aD not even attempt to disguise their want of confidence in the people; and they openly say, that in case of an immediate convocation Bonaparte would be returned.
There was one compromise which could have at least postponed diffi- culties—the House could have adjourned the Presidential election until alter the passing of organic laws, and preserved Cavaignac as President ir- removable for that period, that is, for about one year. That combination Cavaignac himself has destroyed beforehand; and I fear it has now become inapplicable, at least to him. You know that before the debate on the Pre- sidential question was entered upon, he officially declared, that as soon as that was settled he would call upon the House to fix a day for the election. That was a rather imperative, even offensive notice, that he would accept no provisional Presidency. I told you that if he persevered be would fall; and in fact the whole Government has been, and still is, in a crisis. It was thought at first that Cavaignac would immediately resign; his personal friends prevailed upon him to remain, but the trial will soon come. Cavaignac cannot recede. He has signified his intention of calling upon the House to fix the Presidential election for next month. On the other hand, a very strong party in the House seems determined to adjourn till the month of May, and to make both elections at once, of the new Assem- bly and of the new President. This is what the February party fear the most; they fear an Anti-Republican House, and an Anti-Republican Pre- - sident: what they want is, that the new President should find himself in presence of the first Assembly. But then, what would be the position of a President coexisting with not merely a legislative but a constituent As- sembly, which could still pass laws against him directly in his teeth? That is, you see, no light difficulty; and it must soon be settled. I be- lieve the Moderate party has formally proposed to General Cavaignac to maintain him as President for one year, irremovable, and with all liberty of changing and choosing his Ministers. General Cavaignac, it appears, has declined the offer, and still insists for an immediate election. He in- tends to make of that vote a Cabinet question, and to resign if he is in a minority: most likely he will be in a minority; and then the House will have to look for another provisional President. In that case, will the House name a President irrevocable for one year, or merely a Prune Mi- nister removable at will? That is a question yet unsettled. Many reports have been afloat about intended Ministerial movements. Members of the late Constitutional party—as MM. Dufaure, Vivien, BR- lault—are spoken of for a modification in the Cabinet. It appears to be settled, indeed, that M. Dafaure is to take the Ministry of Public Works, and M. Gustave de Beaumont, now Minister in London, that of the In- terior.
As a piece of news, I think I may tell you that the Common Council of Paris and the Etat Major of the National Guard intend to give a great entertainment in town to the National Guards who came to the rescue of Paris during the battle of June; and I understand that the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London are to receive an invitation, as a mark of grati- tude for the reception given to the French National Guards who have lately visited London : the People being now the Sovereign, it is its turn to pay visits, as Kings formerly did.
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