WHERE ARE WE IX FRANCE, IN JANUARY 1834?
co Tot: ninon oF THE sPECTAToR.
Paris, Ifertis January 1834. SIR—WE ARE MARciuND RAPIDLY TOwARns A 11EsToRATroN ! Do ROI be startled—do tail be ineredulous—do not shake your head or raise your eves, and imagine that I am dealing in hyperboles. Do not think that I mereliiu. tend to say, that we are adopting the principlea of the Restoration, or the policy of the Restoration—or the uarrow-ininded selfishness of the Restoration, or the extravagant expenditure of public money, so often and so justly condemned the Restoration. No, no—I mean a great deal more than this-1 do not speak of a quasi Legitimacy—or of a quasi Restoration to-day : but I speak of a bond fide restoration of the eldest branch of the !louse of Bourbon to the throne of France. Give me your attention—and listen to my facts. In November let29, I addressed my first letter to the -lbraing *Chronic/a.. If I recollect rightly (and I have a tolerable memory), I began my letter in these terms, " We are marching rapidly towards a Revolution." hue talented and elo- quent editor of the Chroniefe admitted the letter—but aecompanied it by his doubts. Ile was startled ! The nervous prom ietor would have given the leorld to have been able to find toe out in my :molly lllll us retreat (which vver since I have preserved), in order to beg toe IO lie lesS " decided " in iny language., awl more titeastirel in my predietions. Proprietors of papers are nervous front prin- ciple. But I wrote on—the Revolution came—and then 0. 1'. was a eau- juror !! Ile was no siieh thing. His only merit was ;in aequaintance with Mt- n-tan nature—an intimate knowledge of all that is passing- in the latent of French society—and a resolution to tell plainly and broadly all It . thought, all he saw, anal all he apprehended. If the Revolution of Itin0 had been conducted as it was commenced, we should have had, by this time, a Freneth Republic. But the " Orleanists" laid hold on the Revolution—the " !Mete iliaires " preyed Ina its vitals—the " Juste Milieu " sucked its life-blood ;—and now. in Jantiary we are marching, and that with extreme rapidity, towards a 12E., l'OR AT tots.
I shall not to.dity occupy you with a " history of the Revolution of I rs:A." It has been written by C.abot—and written by Berard—hut it will likewise be wi itten by O. F. Q. Nor ;LW I to.ility ab011t shoWily you how the vonduct and measures of the Orleanists, !Meta iiedroe, Just:. 31ilien, have tended to bring- about the state of feeling which now exists. Those who have doee me the honour to read, with any thing like attention, my correspondence with the Chronieb. during the List four years, Will know quite well- that I have told the peoitle of Great Britam, and the people of France, that ono of two einiseipiene.ts must result from the anti-national mode of the Government, and the eweession of Casimir Perier to niiice,—either the old :Mono the would ea:woe:sit the Revolution and the Republic -or else the Republic AI:milli vanqui,11 the! old Monarchy and the Orleanists, Doetlinaire,„ and .1114, Milieu. We have now arrived at the point when we can clearly foresee tlw end which is first, at least, before us—and when 11s:sky TAP Firm has more p Irtisatis amenag the French people (upon my word it is so) than the Thowe of 1430 " " Before, however, I proceed to present pal with some staitling and some im- portant truths—let me say one or two words as to the eventual list 'ties of France ! ! Let it be imagined by no one, be Ile Whig or Tory—be le: 111■111%11 OF Utilitarian—let it be imagined by none, that Hes: is :;•11 it Fier a is to be " the end of all I:evolutions "—and that Fram.e is to settle down under his " mild " and " benignant sway ! !" and that the old Freneli Mem:welly is ti be the result—final ! and glorious ! ! of all the talents, eloquence, bleed, treasures, saerifices and sufferings, endured by this country for the last finty rear,. The end of the Catholic religion is to conalto•t its tellowers and f Labial children to Paradise ; but still this Paradise of the Romanist inge-t be attained tieren411 Pur- gatory ! ! the end of all these eon:notions in France. stihI bo the te iumph of a cheap awl representative Government in tie farm ref a NA:a:lox:al. It eel:Imre : Init before we arrive et the goal we must pass ibian :II the jilt—for we are all wand:Mg, ail that with rapidity, Tow.■ it !,S A 111"STIAI ATiON DO you thilik my introduction long? It could not be well shorter. To ex. plain clearly what we mean to domonstrate, is the best way of being fully tinder- stood. Those who are l'arlisfs and !royalists will seize hold of my letter and read it with transport. 1 know this. Poor MIlows! let their joy be short. They will have their little day of life and gayety, !admit—but France is essen- tially and irrevocably Republican. For a while these prineiples ingey be and will be kept in abeyance—but there they are, principles still,--aeol one day, that which is now but a germ, or a bull, will be a fruitful, luxuriant, and expansive
tree.
Wr. ARE mARcIIIND RAPIDLY TOWARDS A RESTOIL‘TION 1, 'kW 110 I prove this? Let us see. The readers of the Spertatar are, I am told, an en- lightened angl a classical portion of the community. 1 am glad of this, because they will at once understand my sketch, and fill up for themselves my rough outline. Aly facts are too numerous to admit of my dilating on them—and they are too irresistible to be met by a mere off-hand denial.
The eldest branch of the House of Bourbon is praised by the :Ministers of Louis Philip—not merely in pr haute (for in all private circles, (uizot and Broglie, Ilumann and their partisans, speak of the eldest branch with devotion and awe, love and veneration )—but in public also—in the Chamber of Deputies —at the Tribune—in the Chamber of Peers--in written and prepared speeches before-hand—net delivered in the heat of the moment, but stolionsly arranged in the study or the boudoir, for the ears of the French Deputies! The Itestora- tion is eulogized by Count Roy to a listening and applauding Peerage as the most economical awl u.ell-regulated portion of French history. The Restoration is cited by M. Guizot is the periogl when Frenchmen enjoyed the greatest amount of true awl rational liberty !! I cite his words when I say this—and these words will not easily be fiergotten. The Restoration is quoted by the :Minister of Finance of Louis Philip as the basis or foundation of all financial measures and financial regulations—and when any plan of the Doctrinaires is entbreed by them in the Chambers as particularly worthy of attention and respect, it is said " this was done in the reign of Louis the Eighteenth "—and that is considered as a sure and certain p::ssport. This conduct of the Ministers of the Royalty of I AM is necessarily followed by the Deputies thems.lves. The pensions granted by the Restoration are preserved. The orders and distinctions established by the Restoration are landed and re- tained. The old favourites of the Restoration are provided for. The Ministers of the Restoration are appointed to any office they may "condescend " to accept. The Ambassadors of the Restoration are now the Ambassadors of Louis Philip. The Alen of July are treated with disdain, insolence, and scoffing. The Ber- ryers and de Lamartines of the Chamber are listened to with profound silence and deep respect—while the Pages, the Brillievilles, the !Acmes, aye—aye—and the LA PAYETTES of the nation too, can barely obtain the right of speaking to uproarious bankers and enraged Doctrinaires. When only a few days since, Berryer, the Royalist, declared that with the liberty of the press a Government in France was impossible, the Centres applauded, smiled approbation, chuckled 1),:tonewil and Get ard- what I1M t Chambt r do ? Why, the pensions to the t•.vo former were granted-but those to the two latter were not. Sonit, booked, supported them all-- but this he did as a soldier, and not as a Minister. !le took good cam to make the distinction. But why were the pen. ions to the widows of Dannwsnil and Gerard refused ? 1 will tell you- Dann wsnil, a( the Governor of the CICoteau of \'incennes, had o limped the Re-do. tathol - had to fused to give up tile keys of the citadel to the Allied finces - had threatened to blow up the whole fintress, and with it the Fauboong of St. Atiteine at Pat is, rather than yield-and had remained during the Resto- ratiou !-epatated front a family he hateol, and from a dynasty he retold not tolerate. This was enough to Seellre the rejection of the pension, :oat it was refost oh The ease of Gna n was yet more striking. I saw him on the WgIIINFSDAV, tile serond day in the (peat-yes, the truly great and tl My memo- rable week of July 18:10-at rive in the RUC Ile la l'Aix on hor ebae!,-- head the mob-- pot to rout the soldiers of the Line--attack them in the Mare Velar:ow, and compel them to yield tl:ir arms and even to joiu the people. I saw this- and multitudes SILW it. ThiS WaS a critical moment. Tlw name of " Guard " was every whoa e pronottneed-atel his conduct was afterwards:101loweol by other oflieers. But GeraPI hal the way -and aided, therefore, in overthrowing that Government which had been imposed by foreign troops-and which load main- tained it•Alf against the sensibilities and wishes of a who de population. Yet though (10-carol has died peor-though his widow has lout :to inadequate pension and though to honour the Revolut ion of July that widow was entitled to the pro- feel ii ', and soilles of the Chau:her-yet her pensiou 0-is yesterday rejected be 170 against the pension a Daumesnils relict in like manner refused he 145 :Igahost 10 I ; whilst the peseion of Jourdan was carried loy 21:1 agaiien and tiro of Deelen by 190 against Nj. 11111 perceive, then, that Jounlan's widow, W110 was dear to the Restoration, bad her pension voted (justly, I oh nit) by 21:1- 1:eearn's wion,W'A pellsil/11 (Dot olkosive to the Restoration) voted by a few kss, namely, 190-11):onno sttil's widow, obnoxious to tlw Restoration, be.- catevi,H let-band opposed the Allies and Louis the Eighteenth, refused hy 115- and ( it it widow,who represented the Revolution of Its:10, refused her pension by the greatest number, viz. by 170!! ! Yes ! yes ! we ate marehing rapidly towards a boon; fide Restoration. Tut: Ent.< Tons are imilating their Deputies-as tlw 1)(1)ot:es are imitating the Ministers of the Royalty of IS:10. It is essential, however, that you should undo stand that the electors in France are a small body-a very suuutuil hody_ only two hundred theusand out of thirty -three millions of souls. The electors, them are not France-but they are rentiers-proprietnis of landed and other prop,rty- are manufiteturers and shopkeepers-and have it marked, a decided influence over those who depend Oil them as workmen, labom & rs, and apprentices. Well, then, it is a fact --and a fact which we sho.tdol do ill to conceal-that tlte electitms of Deputies during the past year have been Restoration elections. The men of July have beelo rejected. The men of the Doctrinaires Itave been ac- cepted. " Order-Ololer"-loas been the password at the Electoral colleges— :nut the Carlist and Ron alist candidates have in very many eases been neatly elected. Iii IA:10 and I s:fi, the disciples and agents of the ohl regime hid them- skives in the vales of the rocks-and no darkness was fro obscure for their sus.
pieious ILIA (.011SeleIRTS. But now It is pet the reverse-now a
electors than one who declares Iii mm- a l'ai. an ; •! d any Inle S1111111(1 dare tO
8110W " the Cross °filth! " at lois breast -or the riband ill the cross in his button- bole-he would baldly find in many colleges an elector to name and another to second his nomination. The Rotvalist electors in 18:31-:32--and a portion of
18:1:3-alid not dare to go to the elections. They said, " shall be laughed at, spit upon, and made jest of-as belongittg to an old and exploded faction ;" but now, the Gazette, the it'enocnteer, the Qom/Mien/a!, awl the almost innumerable Royalist prints in the Departntents which have sprung, up counsel the Carlists to hasten to the ballot ; and, in spite of the oath of allegiance re- quired, to take that oath with a mental reservation-meaning all the time to insure the triumph of !hairy the Fifth anti Legitimacy. Turn from the electors to the National Guards-and they also are marching with rapidity towards a Restoration. The King of Belgium, because he is a Re- volutionary King, or born nf the Revolution of Brussels, was tie:awl with neglect awl conteMpt by the National Guards of l'aris. The officers of the National Cuatols, elected hi thentselves, are no longer selected by the privates for their aptitude ;mil mil:nary knowledge- hut for their political opinions; and those who belong to the Revolution--w Ito opposed the Restoration -who during Six, tt•en yeats if Jesuitical Government, reinained iii obscurity, preferting to eat their dry crust, and assuage their thitst with cold water, to is a Govern- ment they despised, and a flintily imposed on them by foreign troops-are now once more sent back to their retreats-are now looked upon as dangerous linen, because they have served the Revolution-and are now supplanted hy those who praise Louis the Eighteenth as the best Monarch France ever knew-and speak of the Restoration as the period of national glory, prosperity, and honour ! ! ! The officers of the National Gualds are now en masse (I know there are ex- ceptionis ), 101 matching towards a Restoration ! !! Atal then look at the Theatres ! ! pieces are there represented which in and 16:1:2 would not, could not. have been pet formed-for the people would have torn up the benches, and insulted, nay, a item-Led the toors-sto manifest are the allusions to Legitimacy and the ehlest branch of the I louse of Bourbial. But now, Retory the Fil.th ap- peal' really on the stage, and the hoxes and galleries applaud the Pwstoration. Look at the print-shops ! Not a caricature of the eldest branch-but ti - sands of the ( tole:mist family ! No ptorehasets of prints of the Citizen Royalty ! lout thousands sold of Ilenry the Fifth-411e sister of the youog Prince-his 4i good ! ! " tolother-(n hat next ?)-and even the Duke and I hit rhess of :Ingot:- rine are sold on the boulevards by hundreds-whilst for months you may per- ceive the liken( sses of the latMly of the new inonarelty neglected and unsold.
And then till nu to the " music "oral the " songs " of France in January 18:14!
Do we lair tile Jun/sell/oast! and the Parish/tow! No the clung art, the licensed ton.ieians in Paris :ore proltillited by the pollee limn playing them-aud eVell the little Savoyard lads, with their blind 'Mee in their cages awl their " hiuul oly gurdies " ate commanded by 2oloosieur Gi• vet tont to sing er denee to any " but tlw genteelest times ! !!" or in other wen's, to abstain from all airs which ate Revolutionary !! ! mu the songs which are pithlished Ito longer con- tain any impeals fin liberty-for Poland-for Italy, so f.uir and it so etisi teed- but the 1011;alleesveak of " hemry "-of the " ;deem "-of the " proscribed " -and Ito "gentlewoman " or ••!!,irl of expectations" wonlol dare, in sowiety, to sing tnu ti r, or utter words which were ever known ta he popular with, or admired by the mass of the nation. Believe me, I am revoriti:e.r, faee:. I know what is passing in society. I neither live in a cellar nor a garret. I know what is doing in the salons of the capital, as well as in those of the provinces-and 1 telloil that a " Man of the Ilarrieades "-a " Item of July "-one who had " Linen any part in the Revolution of Rti(1"-woulti lie " scouted " front " gen- teel society," .inol might sue in vain for the hand of even the daughter of a Cap- tain of the National Guards.
1 must close. I ought not to do so-lout I must close. On some other duty,
'IT ml te of the Opposition, dining the ensuing session, it
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