is for ever to be deplored, for it has been purchased by the CHAP. blood of the French." 6 XXIX. 1832. declared in "Who is responsible for these disorders?" interrupted 75. the King; "who must answer for the blood which has Answer of been shed? The miserable wretches who took advantage and Paris the King, of the funeral of General Lamarque to attack the Govern- a state of ment by open force-to fire on the troops of the line and siege. the national guard? My duty was traced out in characters which cannot be misunderstood. The cannon you have heard is that which has demolished the barricades of St Méri the revolt is terminated. I do not know what can lead you to suppose that violent measures are to be adopted, but, rely upon it, they are loudly called for. During my ride through the city I repeatedly heard the cry, Sire, a prompt justice.' That is enough: but I trust justice will be able to resume its course without violence of any sort. sort. I see nothing in my conduct which should make me lose my popularity, if it is not the violence of the opposite factions. I know the press is constantly endeavouring to destroy me, but it is by the aid of falsehood. I ask you, Is there any person of whom you have ever heard against whom a greater torrent of calumny has been poured forth than myself?" The conference broke up with no other result but increased exasperation on both sides; and it soon appeared that the 1 OrdonKing had abated nothing of his firm resolution by their ance, June endeavours. Next morning there appeared in the col-niteur, ibid.; umns of the Moniteur an ordonnance, dated June 6, de- xv.196,197; claring Paris in a state of siege, and the most rigorous iii. 317,329; measures were adopted by the police against the secret 224. societies and the printing-offices of the liberal journals.1 7,1832; Mo Ann. Hist. L. Blanc, Cap. vi. 220, How necessary soever the ordonnance of June 6th, 76. to the state proclaiming the state of siege, may have been in this Resistance excited state of the metropolis, it met immediately with of siege, and the most impassioned resistance from all parties. licans, Legitimists, Carlists, Napoleonists, united VOL. V. Q legal deci Repub- sion on its in con effect. XXIX. 1832. CHAP. demning it as harsh and unnecessary, seeing the revolt had already been suppressed before it was issued. It was a more extreme measure than the ordonnances of Polignac, for it superseded, in all cases connected with the insurrection, the ordinary tribunals, substituted courtsmartial for juries, and, as explained by an ordonnance on the following day, applied also to delinquencies of the press.* This ominous declaration excited the utmost indignation in that numerous and influential body who, in a highly civilised state of society, live by inflaming the passions of the moment, whatever they are. The storm was universal, and violent in the extreme; and it was no easy matter for Government, resting on the support only of the military and civil employés, to make head against it. The general excitement was increased by the cool way in which the Prefect of Police, M. Gisquet, carried into execution the intentions of Government, striking on the right and the left without distinction; multiplying arrests of suspected persons of all parties, on very slight grounds, including several deputies, and breaking to pieces, without mercy, all the printing-presses of the Opposition journals, whether Carlist or Republican. All that had been made the subject of such reproach to M. de Polignac, when attempted, was now done by his successor, 239, 211; but done with tenfold severity and vigour. It was only xv.197,199; necessary to substitute the name of M. Montalivet for iii. 332, 337. that of M. de Polignac, and the indictment against the one would apply to the other.1 1 Cap.vi. Ann. Hist. L. Blanc, To give an air of impartiality to their proceedings, and * "Par la déclaration de l'état de siége l'autorité militaire est de droit investie des attributions qui, dans l'état ordinaire, appartiennent aux autorités civiles tant administratives que judiciaires. Toutefois l'intention du gouvernement du Roi est que, dans cette circonstance, l'action de la Justice militaire s'applique seulement aux cas spéciaux ayant rapport à l'insurrection, au soulèvement, à l'embauchage, à la séduction des troupes, aux provocations à la révolte, et autres circonstances constituant la complicité, et enfin aux faits tendant à troubler l'Etat par la guerre civile, l'illégal emploi de la force armée, la dévastation et le pillage public. Quant à la presse, les provocations à la révolte faites par cette voie et les attributs de l'ordre public sont des crimes justiciables des conseils de guerre.”—Ordonn., 7th June 1832; Moniteur, ibid. XXIX. 77. MM. de briand, Hyde de ryer. represent the insurrection as the combined work of the CHAP, Republicans and Carlists, the Government, at the same time that it ordered the arrest of MM. Laboissière, 1832. Cabet, and Garnier Pagès on the side of the Democrats, Arrest of apprehended also MM. de Chateaubriand, Fitzjames, ChateauHyde de Neuville, and Berryer as the leaders of the Legi- Fitzjames, timists. The arrest of so many noble characters, espe- Neuville, cially on a charge of which all the world knew they were and Berentirely innocent, excited the utmost indignation in Paris. The Government journals, in particular the Journal des Débats, were loud in its condemnation. M. de Chateaubriand had resigned all his appointments, and refused to take the oath to Government; but every one knew that he was incapable of engaging in a conspiracy, and least of all with the Republicans. He looked for the restoration of the elder branch of the Bourbons by a vote of the Chambers and constitutional means, and by that alone. The dignified manner in which he bore his captivity, and 1 Cap. vi. the delicate raillery with which he replied to the charges Ann. Hist. preferred against him, excited the admiration even of his xv.195,196; enemies.1* Nothing whatever was discovered to implicate iii. 330, 335. any of them in the proceedings which had taken place either * "In a letter written from prison to M. Bertin, the editor of the Journal des Débats, M. de Chateaubriand said-" J'attendais là, mon cher Bertin, votre vieille amitié, elle s'est trouvée à point nommé à l'heure de l'infortune. Les compagnons d'exil et de prison, sont comme des camarades de collège, à jamais liés par le souvenir des joies et des leçons en commun. Je voudrais bien vous voir et vous aller remercier. Je voudrais bien aussi remercier tous les journaux qui m'ont témoigné tant d'intérêt, et se sont souvenus du défenseur de la liberté de la presse; mais vous savez que je suis captif, captivité d'ailleurs adoucie par la politesse de mes hôtes. Je ne saurais trop me louer de la bienveillance de M. le Préfet de Police. J'ai refusé tout serment à l'ordre politique actuel : j'ai envoyé ma démission de Ministre d'Etat, et renoncé à ma pension. "Je ne puis donc être un traitre ni un ingrat envers le Gouvernement de Louis Philippe. Veut-on me prendre pour un ennemi? Mais alors je suis un ennemi loyal, désarmé, un vaincu qui supporte la necessité d'un fait sans demander grâce. J'ai fondé mon refus de serment sur deux raisons-1. La Monarchie actuelle ne tire pas selon moi son droit par succession de l'ancienne Monarchie. 2. La Monarchie actuelle ne tire pas selon moi son droit de la souveraineté populaire, puisqu'un congrès national exprès a été assemblé pour décider de la forme du gouvernement."-M. DE CHATEAUBRIAND à M. BERTIN, June 10, 1832; CAPEFIGUE, Dix Ans de Louis Philippe, vi. 246, 247. 243, 245; L. Blanc, XXIX. 1832. 78. Proceed tial. June 22. CHAP. in Paris or La Vendée; and after a detention of a few weeks, during which they experienced the utmost courtesy from M. Gisquet, the Prefect of Police, they were all liberated. Upon the proclamation of the state of siege, two councils of war were formed, to whom the cognisance of the ings of the courts-mar- cases connected with the insurrection was committed. The officers summoned, however, evinced from the first the utmost repugnance at their invidious office, and they were so strongly supported by public opinion that it was more than doubtful whether their appointment would lead to any result. Two persons brought before the first council of war were acquitted; but an artist, named Geoffroy, accused of having taken a part in the insurrection of the 5th, and borne the chapeau rouge on that occasion, was convicted, and condemned to death. This sentence, however, was brought under the review of the Court of Cassation, by which it was set aside on the ground of the illegality of the constitution of the court by the ordonnance of June 6th. This decision made an immense sensation, as a victory over the Government; and it was so entirely supported by public opinion that Louis Philippe bent before the storm. By an ordonnance of June 30th the courtsmartial were declared dissolved in the capital, and retained only in the western provinces, where the Royalists were to be prosecuted. Nothing remained now but to bring the accused before the ordinary courts, where they fell under the cognisance of juries, and twenty-two of the leaders of the conspiracy were put to the bar in July. Sixteen were acquitted, including a young heroine named Louise Antoinette, whose courage had been signalised at the 1 L. Blanc, barricades; and six were convicted, and sentenced to variiii. 337,339; ous periods of transportation and imprisonment. They xv.199,202; evinced the greatest heroism and intrepidity during the trial, and on receiving sentence: most of them bore the medal of July on their bosoms.1* To the honour of the June 30. Ann. Hist. Cap. vi. 240, 248. * "The following procès verbal of the examination of Jeanne, one of the leading conspirators, will illustrate the indomitable spirit with which they were animated: "Le 5 Juin vous assistiez au convoi ?-Oui, monsieur. Sur les cinq heures n'étiez vous pas au carrefour St Mary ?—Oui, avec l'arme que j'étais allé XXIX. Government, it must be added that no capital sentence CHAP. was pronounced, and that one of the most serious insurrections recorded in French annals was suppressed without the shedding of human blood. 1832. 79. knife with Disappointed in their expectations of crushing the spirit of insubordination in Paris by the rude, though War to the effective, method of military commissions, the Government the press. had recourse to the slower but not less efficacious methods of continued detentions of accused persons in prison, and multiplied prosecutions against the press. Strange to say, amidst all their declamations in favour of freedom, the French had never thought of laying the first foundation for it in the limiting the power of imprisonment at the instance of the Government; and Louis Philippe took advantage of this omission to detain the persons arrested for the insurrection of June, eighteen hundred in number, for the most part eighteen months or two years in prison, without bringing them to trial. Nor was the war against the press, by means of prosecutions, less active. The number of these prosecutions, and the anxiety with which they were conducted, exceeded anything previously witnessed, not merely in French, but in European history. The restrictions so much complained of during the Restoration were as nothing compared to it. From the accession of Louis Philippe to the 1st October 1832, a prendre chez moi. Vous avez travaillé à la barricade-Oui, deux gardes nationaux ont été tués pres de moi sur le boulevard; on avait tiré sur nous sans provocation; je courus à mes armes. Navez-vous pas le premier commandé le feu? Non, une balle venait de m'atteindre au milieu des reins et m'avait renversé. Je me suis levé toutefois et j'ai tiré un coup du fusil, un seul, car ils avaient fui. N'êtes-vous pas resté toute la nuit sur la barricade ?—Oui, et je faisais feu. Ne distribuiez-vous pas des cartouches?—Oui, quand ils en avaient besoin. Le lendemain vous avez tiré toute la journée ?-Toute la journée. N'êtes-vous pas un de ceux qui tiraient des croisées de la maison No. 5 à la fin de l'attaque?-Oui, quand on se rendit maitre de la barricade nous n'avions plus de cartouches, sans cela nous y serions restés. Nous nous sommes retirés en traversant à la baïonnette la troupe de ligne." He was sentenced to transportation. It is difficult whether, in this interrogatory, the leading feature of the questions put by the presiding judge is most to be condemned, or the courage and candour of the accused in answering them is to be admired. Jeanne's mother, a Spartan matron, sat by her son the whole time of the trial, encouraging him by her words and example to persevere in his heroic demeanour.— L. BLANC, iii. 338, 339. |