LETTERS FROM PARIS, BY 0. P. Q.

No. XVI.

APOLOGY FOR TILE FRENCH REPUBLICANS—CONCLUDED.

TO TOE EDITOR 01' THE SPECTATOR.

Parig, 18th Jane 1ti31.

Sot—The enemies of the French Republicans are more fottnitlable and more nu. nitrous in England than they are in France. In France, they are tildelly men who have either a direct and punitive, or an indirect and party interest, in oppoeing the establishment of a Republic—are, generally speaking, enemies to Metcalf of fticiels of libel ty—are men who enjoy (Irwin privileges and monopeliee of which they fear being deprived—and are much more concerned for the welfare of their steps, the prosperity of their bank., and the increasing, demands fie- their norm- factured goods, than they are for the excellence ut the laws, the integrity of the governors or the liberality of the inetitntions of dull country. They ere enemies to all changes—because repose and cobwebs, stillness and dirt, are in their eyes more desirable than agitation and cleanliness, refire' and purification. This is not the case with the eitemiee of the French ReptIldieaill in Great Britain. The French Republicans are aware, that some of the most talented, must learned, most upright, and even most liberal lien& of the jetpular mum in Europe, are in England opposed to the French Republican party. At the commencement of toy last letter, I stated the reasons alleged, and the objections made, by English Reformers and English pan iota to the supposed weamireA, supposed views, supposed designs, and supposed desires of the Republic:us party. The objections are principally English ; and I therefore reply to them, not iu a French jeureal, but in the English Spectator.

Accustomed as are the friends of liberty in Cheat Britain to the eteitily march of a regular constitutional Government—to parish meetings, county meetings, Reform meetings—to petition% addresses, resolution=—to all the machinery by which public opinion is expressed, and all the lawful excitement which is allowed and indulged in—the friends of constitutional freedom in your country cannot understand why the triimiph of Liberal opinions, and even of Republican sentiments, if national, cannot be secured by the menus resorted to,

in order to accomplish similar ends in Great Britain. But there is a vast deal of ignorance of France in all this—of her situation, her laws, her institu- tions, and her habits. We are constantly told by Eno„ Belt correepoudents end English friends, " %VIiy do you not meet in each COM thIllier To which the answer is—Becanee the law will not allow us; no, not even two or three at a time, to meet and discuss the conduct Of the Government, and the beet meaeine_, to be resorted to in order to save Fraiwe fleet the neceesity of leaking another revolution. In like manner, we are asked, " Wire 1110 YOU Noe errertoe ?" To which we reply—it is very difficult indeed to set up petitiens, when you may pot meet to epee ate to the language to he held. and ae to the form to be adopnd ; end when this petition must be t ,ken round from house to home, instead I t lying at the church or the tavern for signature. But, in spite of all th im diffi- culties, we do petition. Last seeidon, more than one hmadrad thousaud Fi en eh- tem petitioned for liketoril Reknit —all being men of character and honour, and having eyed a certain poeitiOn in life: and yet these petitions were unat- tended to—not reported-- not debated—neglected—beeintee, by the constitution of the Chamber of Deputies, all petition.; are rtfertell to Chmnii:aees ur Connois- sioes—are not presented or teed to the Chainher—cud are mete dusty prelt • smuts; a few of which get noticed of a Saturday, when inqiiing e c mere pressing than the petitions of the people occurs to prevent even that day from being occupied with their consideration. Petiticning, in Fiance, is a farce. The Chamber of Deputi,s, formed under the (testa: alive, pays tin at- tention to petitions; and thee the tight of petitioning is mutely Inenieel and wholly useless. In like manner we are asked, Wily WE DO NOT 1:LLt r DEPT:TIES; and Wily do we not send those Represcatetivis to the Climober who will cause our petitions to be heard, anal will raise their voices in behalf of the people? I will answer this question, whiell is one tenet intertetilia, arid Ding pressing, by recoeding, for your infurmation, a conversation which oc- curred in toy presence a few day, ago, between A. B. (an Eagliehman), ::: .1 Monsieur ARMAND CA lilt EL, the editor of the eVerionil, and trim of tire le •-r writers, if not the very hest, of i.e public an party. I cannot possiltly to the okeetion mere satiscola lily than in this way; and I cr:nr stun b, attent'on to the following convcr-atioa, which I shall report ece.iettint as it warred.

A. B. " Well, Mr. Carrel, shall you be returned Deputy at the a/Trend:He (kueral Elections? "

CA ei RCA.. " 1 suppose oat: I ant not a cantlidete anywhere."

A. Ii. " Why are you not a candidate ? "

CA RAC " Bee:1We, in the fleet plate-, I have peN-lilt objctitei, relate to toy personal situation, and ti llich prevent my cetilieg at secondly, I could do no good in the Chamber of Deputies, chided ae it v 100,000 Occults, who out of a total list itt taaeteel proceed to the • thirdly, I do not know of any Electoral Ctillege, where the Repel:lie:me without a union with some ether laity, have as ellectuts a Majority." A. B. " You do not then expect to see tuarzy Republicans elected as Depu- ties at the approaching election.: " CARREL. " Very few indeed. The reason is very easy to understate'. The electoral system tinder which we have the h ,iipiares to lire, ex- cludes the Republican party. The Republicans ere to be kited it, the seleees, in the University, in the 'kernels, among the National Guard., in the A cede.- mies of Science and of tae Arts, iat the Arne; and Navy. :mil even analeg pottion of the y ger Clergy: the !lei: Wilkens ate to he f•tind in the work- shops and in the manufactories. among the peasants anal the lab leers : bet none of these are electors. In Er:gland, you have a Me a year reined only ne- cessary, and that amounts to little sleet of univeesal selfrieso. With sash a representation, you are sure to get on in England. But in France, where pro- perty is so such divided, and where men have very moderate fortunes, the law requires that an elector pay 2.1N) francs or 81. oe TA RES per annum ; and if he does not pay this, be has no right to be represented. The con eemenee of this electoral system, and this enormous amount of quelification, has been, that out tpf thirty-three millions of inhabitants, there are only 200,000 electors: so that, allowing five persons as constituting the funnily of each elector, only one mil- lion of Frenchmen are represented out of thirty-three millions."

A. B. " Certainly that is a terrible system ; and you ought not to submit to it, after the Revolution of 1830. lint why do you not meet, and petition, and do as we did in England to obtain the Reform Bill?"

CARREL. " You do not seem to be aware, Sir, that in France we cannot meet ; that all associations are put down ; that petitions are disregarded, even when prepared ; and that their preparation is very difficult."

A. B. " Your position is indeed very difficult—much more so than I thought for ; but you must enlighten the people by means of the press."

CARREL. " This was our wish, and our object. We only ask for the right of association, for the liberty of educating the people, and for the right of hawk- ing about journals. 'With these weapons, and aided by these means, we should succeed. But the privileged members of the privileged Chamber of Deputies have, by a large majority, passed laws to deprive us even of the rights conferred an us by the Charter."

A. I3. "Yon have, then, no hope that the apprneelling Chamber of Depu. ties will he able to effect any vast grail for the country ?"

CARREL. " None whatever. The Minister, by means of fraud, corruption, promises of places, of local improvement% and of honours, will assure in a large proportion of the coileges a decided majority, composed of shopkeepers, landed proprietors, and manufacturers, who, paving the amount of taxes required by tlahseAv,i:a7r.:::lect.r:t:itleal to vote at elections, and who are a part of the privileged classes, who enjoy pateuts, privileges, and niceopolies, to the exclusion of the mass of

Are you, then, entirely without hope for France? and do you see your country abandoned to a futurity of corruption, intrigue, anti despotism ?" CARREL. " I am far front being without hope for France : but the conflict

will he long and deplorable, and it will be perhaps necessary at the end to resort to a revolution. it is possible, indeed, that France may open her eyes to the degradation of her position without, and to leer abased condition withiu—when a longer el-severance in the present systern shall hire convinced her that it most lead to bankruptcy, ruin, internal divisions, and foreign invasion. The day when it bite!' come will he terrible: but when that may be, I cannot predict. In the mean thee, we have youth for us; and we must labour on incessantly by every means in our power to enlighten the people, and show them their rights, interests, and duties."

A. B. 'r Are you, then, opposed to the alliance of Carlists and Republicans at the approaching elections? "

CARREL. "11104 decidedly I am. There is not, and cannot be such an alli- ance. There may be an alliance between the Monarchicel Opposition with the Legitimist% to overthrow the Ministry and its poising.' Both having Monar- chical views and principles, they may coalesce to secure this result. But there can be no coalition between the Republicans aud Legitimists. In fart, the Legi- timists would be gout fools to make such a bargain ; for how few electors are Republicaos, when compared with Legitimists! In several colleges the Royal- 1.ts can carry the elections of such urn as ClIATEAURRIA Fizz-JAMES, or: NEUVILLE, BERRYER, and Jeer:ea ; but I 414) nut know the college where there are Republican electors sufficient to carry a Reptab- lican cautlidete without the aid of another party. If we Republicans were re- presented in the nation, at the electoral colleges, and in the Chambere, we should Lot have so inteill right to complain : but we are excluded, by the law which reclaims diet every elector pay a sum of 8b per annum as taxes. 1Vith the ela.etions, then, the Republicans en masse have nothing to do: and I am op. lased to all union between the Ca 'lists and our pal tv, as I disapprove of te- seri itie to bead means even to accomplish a good cud—fur with me the end does nest j!i.tify the inearrn."

A. B. "At what age may a person who has the right of voting give iris vete:"

Cat n "When he is twenty-five years of age. But in order to exclude a i u, a needier of young men who have attained the !equine' age, from the rhzlit of veting at the approaching elections, the Government has fixed a period much earlier than necessary, that live years may now elapse (in the event of the

('leather net before dissolved) prior to the men who have now twenty. ve years of age It iiiig called upon to vote. If the Government had acted with foireese, it would hare adjourned the elections till after the harvest :eel vintage, aud iilloweil all these young men, who are new twetity-five years old, but have not yet inecriboil tin it names, and cannot legally du so till the auttintu, to vote at the next elections?"

A. B. " Then, by this manoterre, the Government has excluded a liege body t: citizenswho even pay the 81. taxes, fame the right of vu tiag at the next elec- time, heat:isle they were more liberal :tad progressive ill their opinions than the C.:Atka:a ? "

(Is ii r: "Precisely so. Under all these circumstances, the Republicans

en masse militant take ant' interest in the approaching elections : though, here and there, some will be elected, in consetpience of the Legitimist patty giving. them their votes to throw out a Ministerial candidate, still on the whole i:,m ltepufrieaus are by the electoral law, and by the pree-ieg 1111 at this titre of t! year the guet Id elections, witully excluded from the electiues."

This was the conversation. What- can I say more? :Shwa then, that sante

C has led his life in jeep:Italy at Rouen, even if it be not sun at the in-

s ..1 writing, in cuneequence of an unfortunate aceident to Zr small boat in

• e • alert town; and Pew-melt CoNster., his limb his companion, his and Iris fellow -seitierer too in the cause of liberty awl virtue, ' teiatient, has met sviill a too sudden mid it wilily grave. leariner, untainted his character; he wee retitle, :eieerolte, die- a i eat aeal stern laterality, and of adsnewhelged evert!' ; and the ee-eetie, but sound and phikeopliival enemy of corruption, cowardice, e. :esl e

atess, ilv:ice, and sire. I lis death at this 11E)111:!ItI is a public ; espe • ei mile at a time when every expedient is resorted to, to purchase tire suffrages of the tettriaitie, aid einrupt the young aud inexperienced by splendid promises of wealth, power, piece, :mil honours. Although this ta stialleity to the worth and tire telenie cif the di parted Coese IL is a little deviation tlom the Ortlet of this

y, t I most be excuse-I for a digression which was natural, and which was tiietatol by feelinge of gratitude and respect.

The Republicans, I have shown, are not few in numbers—do not resort to force ei a stileaitute far right, or to physical strength in the place of moral in- flective : the Republicans have Leen persecuted—have greatly suffered and :neatly larleieite: the Republicans are excluded from the el:jirvnweut of repre- sentetive tit.;lits; and cannot even avail themselves of the press, of associations, or cf the distribution of popular it:urn:11s among the poor, in order to secure the suceess of their principles and system. Those who oppose the Republicans make the laws, and laws against them. Those who make the laws, refuse even to examine the petitions of those who object to the laws which are made against them. And even those who would have the tight of being electors in the au- tumn, are deprived of the privilege of voting, by a Ministerial trick, which, with- out any majairity whatever, decreed that the elections should take place it June instead of October.

Your obedient servant, O. P. Q.