2 SEPTEMBER 1848, Page 10

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FkancE.—The National Assembly, which met at noon on Friday, spent four hours in hearing explanations from members on purely personal points arising out of the report and evidence of the Commission. The Morning Chronicle supplies an abstract of M. Ledru-Rollin's speech, which is at the same time more full and far more brief than the regular reports. "M. Ledru-Rollin began by alluding to an inquiry set on foot after the affair of October 1789, which according to his account was the sole cause of the sangui- nary excesses of 1798; and by analogy he contended that the inquiry of 1848 could only lead to a division among the true Republicans, if not to worse results. Be denied that he had occasion to defend himself against any imputations con- tained in the report. In June, was he not at his post? In May, had be not done his duty ? And for the matters in which he bad been engaged from the Revolu- tion of February to the meeting of the National Assembly, had he not been absol- ved from anything that might offend by the vote of the Assembly, that the Pro- visional Government had merited well of their country '? He avowed his circu- lars, and defended the Commissioners on the ground that nothing but a really Re- publican Assembly could consolidate the Republic. He then alluded to the pro- posed invasion of Belgium; with respect to which he gave not only absurd but contradictory explanations. In the first place, he justified the expedition to Ris- quons-tout, on the ground, which he knew to be false, that not only was a large body of the Ministers of Louis Philippe plotting at Brussels against the Republic, but that there were three English men-of-war in the Scheldt, ready on the first Movement iu Belgium to take possession of Antwerp; and then, with singular in- Consistency, he denied that he had given arms to the expedition; for, ac- cording to him, the arms of which the Belgian Republicans got possession at Lille had been provided, not for them, but for the National Guards. Hav- ing got over this aggression on a neighbouring state in this 'mingling way, he made a tremendous, and it must be said successful, onslaught on the Tillers and Odilon Beirut parties, whom he characterized as 'the Revolutionary authors of the Revolution of 1848.' In a strain of powerful invective, he taunted them with their impotent incapacity; and accused them of acting under the Re- public the same unworthy part that they had done under the Monarchy. They bad just ideas enough, he said, to clog the march of Government, but not sufficient to conduct the Government themselves. After eighteen years of opposition, they had contrived, contrary to their own wishes, to undermine and upset the Wear_ chy ; and when they had done so, they were completely taken aback by their own success, and had not an idea what they were to substitute. lie recommended to them not to recommence the factious system of opposition; which could not succeed, because, as they had no ideas under the Government of July, neither could they at the present day bring any to bear, which would remedy the evils with which the country was besieged.' This was the most successful part of X Ledru-Rollin'e speech. He afterwards entered on the subject of his own idea of a republic; but as he defended Socialist ideas in all their pruriency, and appeared to cast a slight on the idea of property, (the existence of which be went very tear to deny,) his remarks were very coldly received. Throughout his speech be dwelt strongly on the necessity of concord, as the first duty of all true friends of the Republic. When be closed, the few cheers he received came exclusively from the Montagnards."

M. Louis Blanc then read a written speech, of great length and ela- borate preparation. He was listened to with attention, but produced no lively impression on any section of the Assembly except his own immedi- ate party.

" There is onecircumstance," he said, in commencing, " which particularly strikes me in this debate, and that is, that the men who accuse us were avowed partisans of the Monarchy, and always combated the Republic; whilst we who are accused are, on the contrary, Republicans, are the men who have shed our blood, who have suffered for the Republic, who have fifty times risked our lives for it." The Re- publicans were persecuted by the party who fell; but when they obtained power, " they proclaimed the abolition of the penalty of death for political offences; they did not pronounce a single word of hatred, of vengeance, or of ill-will; they did not suspend a single journal; and they loudly proclaimed in the Government re- spect for the sacred principles which they had previously defended." He examined the charges against him relating to the creation of a Ministry of labour and pris. gress; it was with repugnance he had consented, on the representations of M. Arago, to accept the mission of the Luxembourg; and he detailed under what circumstances the decree reducing the number of working hours was issued. He noticed the facts set forth in the report of the Committee of Investigation; and declared that all the speeches he had delivered at the Luxembourg had been pub- lished in the Moniteur. If the speech brought forward by the Committee had not been reported like the others, it was because it was delivered on an occasion not connected with the meetings of the Luxembourg. The workmen had demand- ed his advice with respect to the elections, and it was on that occasion that he had delivered the speech in question into which, in the warmth of improvisation, some expressions perhaps exaggerated had slipped, which he would certainly have struck out (as was done every day in speeches delivered at the national taibune, and reported in the Moss' cur) if he had intended it to be published in the official Journal of the Republic.

[Here the Assembly adjourned for an hour, in consideratioft of M. Louis Blanc's great fatigue. His speech was resumed at eight o'clock.]

Referring to the affair of March 17, he stated that he had gone to his colleagues to inform them of the intention of the people to put back the elections. He went so far even as to offer his resignation; but it was not accepted. He went to the workmen, and employed all his influence to induce them to preserve order. The consequence was, that two hundred thousand workmen paraded the streets with- out uttering a cry of hatred. In fact, the attitude of the people was so admira- ble, that the next day the Provisional Government published a proclamation thanking them for their devotedness. He looked on M. de Lamartine's opinions as likely to win over to the Republic certain parties, as his were calculated to keep the working classes in order. That opinion he had sometimes expressed thus, "You are the guarantee of progress, and I am of order." Be denied that he had in any way contributed to the creation of the national workshops. They had been established not by but against him. He had never placed his foot within the doors of one of these establishments. Be denied that he had influence over the workmen found in them; and quoted two documents emanating from the national workshops, declaring that neither he nor the delegates of the Luxembourg were to be listened to in those establishments. Arriving at the affair of May 15th, he again declared that he deeply regretted that manifestation. M. Barbee had the day before promised him to prevent his club from taking part in the affair: it was quite incomprehensible what could have induced him to change his mind. He denied having been at the Hotel de Ville on May 15th; though he acknowledged that his heart was there because he was anxious about his two friends, whom he knew to be there. M. there, had spoken of offers made to M. Emile Thomas by him, and said that M. Emile Thomas had said to him "The deposition of M. Tre- lat is a lie." (Movement.) "I on my part," said Pu. Louis Blanc," deny that my visit to the work shop of Clichy was of a political nature; it merely referred to their association."

M. Trelat indignantly declared that this was the first time his word had ever been doubted ; and M. Louis Blanc) replied, that the lie lay. between M. Trelat and M. Emile Thomas; it must be either one or the other. M. Caussidiere then entered the tribune, with an immense roll of papers, and read his defence; dividing his subject into general facts, the affair of May 15th, and the insurrection of June.

He expressed his astonishment that the great services which he had rendered to the country could be unadmitted by the Assembly. However, his return as representative by a hundred and fifty thousand votes of the burgesses of Paris was a proof of how the public looked on them. He dwelt on the order which he had preserved in Paris; a matter of such difficulty in times of revolution. Referring to the address mentioned in the report as made by him to the Commissaries of Police, he maintained that his sole object was to set aside everything that could excite discord amongst the various classes of the population; and hence the strO expressions of that document. "In my circular," he said, "I recommended hackney-coachmen to be civil to the public, and to live in terms of fraternity with foreign coachmen." (Roars of laughter.)

As to the affair of May 15th, M. Caussidiere repeated the explanations pre- viously given to the Assembly, and handed in to the President several documents in proof of his assertions. Coming to the insurrection of June, he denied in the strongest manner that he had been mixed up with it. As to Chem', the bad character of that witness rendered him unworthy of credit. M. Canssidiere de- fended his private character, which had been calumniated. "Who could alleg:e any dishonourable act against him?" He called in question the evidence of N. Trouve-Chanvel. M. Tronve-Chanvel's opinion that Caussidiere had been im-

plicated in the affairs of May and June was of little value, being after all only an opinion. Alluding at great length to other testimonies against him he con- cluded by protesting his devotedness to the Republic. (Applause on the Left)

The President here read a requisition from the Procureur-Gandral of the Repnblio, making the formal demand for authority to prosecute N. Mare Caussidiere and M. Louis Blanc as participators, in the affairs of May the

15th and June the 23d. General Cavaignac rose, and, amid some surprise, announced that the application was made in consequence of the judicial

inquiries which had elsewhere been conducted; though it had been thought fit to await the present discussion before the authorization was applied for. Long parenthetical discussions here arose, and several divisions were ta-

ken. In the first instance, it was decided par anis et leve, that the As- sembly should pass to the order of the day on the report of the Committee. A debate then arose as to whether the Assembly should vote at once on the authorization asked by the Procureur-General, or refer the question, as in ordinary cases, to the Bureaux of the Assembly. The feeling of the As- sembly was evidently in favour of an immediate decision, as a case of ur- gency; but the Ultra-Republicans insisted upon a division; and it was decided, by 493 to 292, that " there was urgency for the demand to prose-

cute."

_At this point Louis Blanc and Caussidiere left the Assembly. The As- sembly then decided, by a majority of 504 to 252, that authority should be given to the law-officers of the Republic to prosecute M. Louis Blanc, as having participated in the aUentat of the 15th of May; and by a majority of 477 to 268, that a similar authority should be given to prosecute IL Caussidiere.

M. Marie, the Minister of Justice explained, that for the affair of the 15th of May persons inculpated would be tried by the ordinary tribunals, but that for the insurrection of June they would necessarily be tried by the councils of war. This announcement seemed to operate strongly on the Assembly; for on the ultimate division there appeared 458 against and only 370 for an authorization to prosecute M. Caussidiere for the events of June, before the courts-martial. The Assembly rose at six o'clock on Saturday morning, after a sitting of eighteen hours; a length of sitting unprecedented in the French Legis- lature.

As soon as the authorization of the Assembly had been given, the Pro- cureur-General applied to the proper magistrates for warrants against MM. Louis Blanc and Caussidiere : but some formal delays took place—con- trived ones, as is alleged; and the police did not obtain the warrants till Saturday morning. "When they came to the houses of the two gentle- men," says the Gazette cks Trtlunatiz, "neither of them was to be found. They left their homes on Friday at seven in the evening, and had never returned. M. Bertrand, in the presence of the Procureur, made searches in the apartments of both. The papers found at hL Caussidiere's were taken to the Registrar's office; but the desk of M. Louis Blanc was put under seals."

In truth, IL Louis Blanc left Paris immediately, and gained the Belgian frontier by the Northern railway. K Caussidiare is thought to be hidden in Paris; and he is such an adept in ways of concealment as to be thought safe from the police. The correspondents of the London journals all concur in the opinion of the Paris press, that these escapes have been allowed by the Government.

In the Assembly, on Tuesday, M. Woirhaye read, for M. Marrast who was ill, the revised draft of the Constitution. The "right to labour" is removed from the preamble. The Presidential election is to be direct by an absolute majority of people's votes, taken by universal suffrage. The present Assembly to frame the organic laws. The President to be elected after the adoption of the Constitution. The Assembly to ,con- sist of 750 members, in lieu of the present 900.

At General Cavaignac's reception, on Tuesday, there were present, besides a large number of Deputies, the Ministers of all the Powers which have acknowledged the Republic. Among the carriages which were in waiting, a considerable number of omnibuses were observed, which had conveyed officers of the National Guard and other guests to the soiree.

The proceedings of General Cavaignac against the press have shocked the Paris journalists, and produced a protest from a meeting of editors. On Sunday a deputation waited on the President, and were received cha- racteristically. The General replied to them-

" In suppressing the journals whose attacks appeared to me dangerous to the Republic, I believe I fulfilled a duty. You journalists, you do your duty by pro- testing against an attack against the liberty of the press and the privileges of the writer. This protest is an act which does you honour; and, for the dignity of your class, I should have been astonished at your silence. I expected it." The Speetateur Republiectin, a semi-official paper, says that General Cavaignac added these remarks on the affair of the prosecutions, and on his own policy— "By the prosecutions ordered against MM. Louis Blanc and Caussidiere, I have given pledges of my firm will to serve only the interests of an honest and moderate Republic; but reaction must not deceive itself, and imagine that it can ever induce me to go beyond the limits I have fixed. Let the reactionists, then, be cautions in their language and their movements; for I am watching them narrowly, and will repress them severely. I know that the reaction is agitating in certain legions of the National Guard; but I am acquainted with those ma- ncenvres, and at the first demonstration I will crash them."

The Constitutionnel is indignant at the Government measures, but shows its feeling only by coming forth without any leading article. A Legitimist insurrection took place at Montpellier on Tuesday last, but was almost immediately suppressed. The Prefect and two Magistrates were wounded, and a gendarme killed; six of the insurgents were wounded.

Ieerr.—No specific change has taken place in the position of affairs; except that fresh rumours continue to come out respecting the progress of the negotiations. We take the latest, from the Times. "Austria does not refuse the proffered mediation. She merely expresses a hope that, through the intervention of the Central German Power at Frankfort, peace may be directly concluded between Marshal Radetzky and King Charles Albert. Baron Wessemberg declared to Lord Ponsonby and M. de Reizet, that if, at the expiration of the armistice of the 9th instant, peace were not concluded, Austria would have recourse to the good offers of England and France."

The Piedmontese Government is stated to have made a formal request that Marshal Bugeaud be allowed to head the Italian armies, and been re- fused by General Cavaignac.

AUSTELL—Commotions have been renewed in Vienna, on the 21st of August, occasioned by an attempt to reduce the wages of the workmen em- ployed under Crovernment. The students sided with the malecolatents, and their joint forces came in conflict with the Burgher Guard. One of the guards was killed by a woman with a sword; but eventually, after a brief contest, the Guard restored order. On the 23d, there was a more serious affair, in which several of the people and some of the guards were killed On the 24th, Government issued stringent proclamations against meetings Organized more perfect defences for the city, and arrested numbers of the ringleaders.

In the Assembly, on the 22d, M. Doblhoff stated that the French Re- public had been acknowledged by Austria.

DENMARK.— The Rob Roy steamer, which left Copenhagen on Sunday last, and arrived at Hall on Thursday, brings the intelligence that an armistice was signed at Malmo on Saturday the 26th of August, to con- tinue until the let of March 1849; and it has been sent to Berlin for ratifi- cation. Itome.—The overland mail brought to London, on W esday from Calcutta to the 8th, and Bombay to the 20th July. , The news of the successes of Captain Edwardes against kilftskrijNiseion-t4 firmed generally, but official details are still wanting. Two battles have been fought, in each of which Moolraj was beaten, and at the last date he was closely invested in the forts of Lahore. The first battle, on the 18th of June, was commenced by the forces of the Nawaub of Bhawulpore, be- fore Lieutenant Edwardes Joined, and was doubtfully waged till he came into action and effected a complete rout of the enemy. The action was at Noonaree, on the left bank of the Chenab; and is described as follows by Peer Ibrahim Khan, the British agent at Bhavrulpore, who was present.

" Nominee, 18th June 1848.

"This day, in conformity with the request of Captain Edwardes Sahib Balla- deer, who was crossing the Chenab river with his forces, I marched with the whole of the Nawab's troops from Loaree, where I was encamped, to this place, which is two coes from the former, and nearer to the Chenab, for the purpose of drawing off the attention of the enemy's force. It was joined by a few of the troops of Edwardes Sahib shortly after; on which the enemy, who were very near, commenced firing their guns. We arranged our ranks, and commenced firing also; but were so low that we could not make any impression on the enemy, or even see them, they being on a rising ground, and at the same time able to see us perfectly well. The battle commenced at eight o'clock in the morning; and two hews after, at which time we had sustained great loss both in men and horses, killed and wonnded, Edwardes Sahib, with a regiment and six guns, effected a junction with us; and the cannonade was kept up on both sides for six hours longer. Manen-nd-Deen Khan, Kardar of lihanpur, Captain MTerris Sahib Ba- hadoor, Captain Jadah Ram, Jemedar Stirfuraz Khan, together with others of the Nawab's officers, were in such a state of trouble and confusion that I cannot write a proper description of. They were constantly boasting of their prowess, and what they would do. but yen will soon hear from others of the state they were in. The Dadputrah's also, who were constantly bragging, did not join in the battle, but re- mained in their own places like so many rats. We were in this state, with no peace or quietness from the balls of the enemy, when Edwardes Sahib, with the Nawab's officers, made an attack on the enemy's forces, with whom they fought sword to sword and hand to hand for near an hour; and altogether, after nine hours' hard fighting, the enemy retreated, leaving a great quantity of baggage and the like behind them, and six out of the nine guns which they had with them in the hands of the furious heroes of this army. "By the favour of Almighty God, I, together with the whole of my people, al- though we were in the battle, are all in safety. I never experienced such a time before except at the battle in the Punjanb." The loss on Moolrers side, at first computed by thousands, appears to have been 380; while Captain Edwardes lost 100, and the Nawaub con- siderably under 200. Captain M`Fenis was among the slain.

A curious fact is mentioned by the Delhi Gazette: amongst other prize property taken in this action, was nearly the whole of the clothing of the Fourth Regiment of Native Infantry, which was captured at the cont- mencement of the Sikh campaign, while on its way up from Sukkur to • Ferozepore.

Having gained the victory, Captain Edwardes sent some troops to take possession of Soojahabad; which task was accomplished without difficulty, the Killadar readily tendering his submission and giving up the keys.

The second action was fought under the walls of Moult= itself, on the 1st of July ; uninteutionally on Captain Edwardes's part: he intended only to shut up Moult= till reinforcements arrived. The only account of it is given in thee/30a Gazette of the 8th July, as follows— The united forces of the Nawab of Bahawolpoor, of Lieutenant Edwardes, General Cortlandt, and Seik Emam-ood-deen, amounting to 18,000 men and 20 guns, were attacked on the morning of that day by the whole available force of Dewan Moolraj, numbers not known. The united army moved out to the of Sadoosam to meet them, and a general action of great severity was the result. It lasted six hours; and ended in the complete defeat of Moolraj, who commanded in person, and was knocked out of his howdah by a cannon-ball striking it: he escaped on his horse into the city. The action ended under the walls of Mennen. Lieutenant Lake commanded the Daoodpootras, and behaved with the gallantry that might have been expected."

Letters announce the death of Colonel Sutherland, Political Agent in Rajpootana; one amongst the most distinguished of our Indian soldiers and administrators.

There is no other intelligence of moment from India.

UNITED STATES AND MEILIC0.—The mail steam-ship America arrived' at Liverpool on Wednesday, with advices from New York of the 16th, and from Halifax of the 18th August.

Congress adjourned on the 14th, after a session of eight months and a half.

The Irish in New York were "sympathizing" very strongly with the rebellion supposed to be raging in their native country. At an immense meeting, held on the 7th August, this language was held-

" Friends of Ireland! Now or never ! The blow is struck; the contest is now waging; it is now ten days old. Smith O'Brien, denounced as a traitor, with a price set upon his capture, maintains an unequal war on the heights of Oahir- moyle; Dobeny is at Slievanamon; O'Gorman is raising Limerick; Dillon and Maher are struggling for Waterford. Why sleeps the Irish blood in America? Precious hours are being wasted; precious-blood is flowing. The dying call for vengeance; the living hope of Ireland implore your aid. Let us promptly answer the call. Awake to instaut action."

At another meeting, on the 11th, "Mike Walsh" held forth thus-

" We want a man at the head of our Government for the next four years who is pledged to be a violent opposer of the British Government. (Cries of " Fax, that's the talk, hurrali!") . . . . We want a man at the head of the Government . who in the death straggle between the oppressed and suffering people of Ireland, will not prevent their sympathizing countrymen from invading Canals and teeing it, in order to cripple the resources and military power of the tyrannical Govern- ment which oppresses them." (Tremendous applause.)

From Mexico, the statement of the total defeat of Paredes is confirmed.