CHAPTER XXXIII. FRANCE FROM THE SOCIAL ESTABLISHMENT OF LOUIS PHI- XXXIII. 1834. 1. defeats of licans. FROM the overthrow of the throne of Charles X., in CHAP. July 1830, to the result of the elections in October 1834, France had been in a continual state of turmoil and disquietude. The anarchical faction, by whose temporary Repeated union with the bourgeoisie that revolution had been effect- the Repubed, but who, by the establishment of a regular govern- July 1830. ment, had been, as they conceived, cheated out of its fruits, had been indefatigable in their efforts to overturn the monarchy of their own creation; but all these enIdeavours had been in vain. The Government of Louis Philippe had succeeded, in the first moments of popular triumph, in obtaining a vast increase to the army, the affections of which had been cultivated with the most sedulous care; and by its aid, and the support of the bourgeoisie, now thoroughly awakened to a sense of its danger, they had succeeded in repelling all the attacks made against them. The suppression of the insurrection in Lyons had dispelled the dreams of the St Simonians and Socialists in the manufacturing towns; the defeat of the revolts at the Cloister of St Méri and the Rue Transnonain had dashed to the earth the hopes of the Republicans in the capital. The Royalists in the west had been equally unsuccessful; and the failure of the risings at Marseilles. 1834. All CHAP. and in La Vendée, even when animated by the presence XXXIII. of a heroic princess, had left them no hope, for a long period, of reinstating their affairs by force of arms. the discontented parties were worn out and discouraged by these repeated failures; and men now found to their cost that there is no government so powerful as that which immediately succeeds a successful revolution, and no prostration of the public liberties so complete as that which follows the triumph of an insurrection commenced in their name. 2. the Cham ber, and July 31. The elections of June 1834, as already mentioned, Opening of carried on amidst the terror produced by the recent Republican outbreak, so cruelly repressed by the slaughter great majority for in the Rue Transnonain, had given the Government so Ministers decided a majority in the Chambers as to leave the discontented no longer any hope of being able to disturb it. In his opening speech on 31st July to the Chambers, the King said, with truth: "Wherever criminal enterprises have induced a deplorable strife, the national cause has triumphed; the National Guard and the army, whose noble devotedness you will appreciate as well as myself, have repressed disorder with as much energy as fidelity; and the peaceable execution of the laws passed in the last session has proved the weakness of the anarchists, and restored confidence to the nation." The first vote of the Chamber, on the trial of strength for the election of its President, seemed, as already mentioned, to justify this confident tone: for the Ministerial candidate, M. Dupin, had 247 votes; the Opposition, M. Lafitte, 33; the Royalist, M. Royer-Collard, 24; M. Bignon, the 1 Ann. Hist. Napoleonist, 4; and M. Odillon Barrot, the representative of the Extrême Gauche, only 3. The ministerial 523, 531. triumph was complete, and nothing remained for Government but to make a good use of its victory.1 xvii. 260, 269; L. Blanc, iv. Napoleon had shown that he knew how to make use of such a situation, when, after the battle of Marengo, he said, in answer to those who were speculating on the causes of his success, XXXIII. 1834. 3. changes; Gérard suc July 18. Everything has succeeded with me, be- CHAP. cause I was for all the world a LIVING AMNESTY." Napoleon was right but it belongs only to the noble-minded to carry out these noble words; and it is not to be for- Ministerial gotten that, even in his case, no less than an hundred and Marshal thirty of the most dangerous Jacobins had been trans- ceeds Mar ported en masse, on pretence of their accession to the in- shal Soult. fernal-machine conspiracy, without any trial, by a measure, as he called it, of the "haute police." No punishments had yet been inflicted for the late serious insurrections; and the King thought, with reason, that justice must be satisfied before the voice of mercy is heard. In addition to this, there were less creditable reasons which led to the amnesty at that period being refused. The little, and indeed all ordinary men, are devoured by little jealousies, personal irritation, and ignoble thirst for vengeance. These difficulties ere long appeared in the Cabinet itself. The question of a general amnesty was brought forward in the Chamber, and, from the numbers on all sides interested in it, excited the warmest interest. Ministers, however, were divided upon the subject, and not less upon the reduction of the army, which was loudly demanded by the Chamber, and as strongly opposed by the veteran general. This led to a change., Marshal Soult, whose age and infirmities rendered him little qualified to sustain the labours of office, resigned his situation as Prime Minister on the 18th July, and was succeeded by Marshal Gérard, who made it his principal object, by repeated and earnest declarations of a determination to economise, to allay the terrors of the large body in the xvii. 271, Chamber, which was, with reason, alarmed at the enor- viii. 17, 19. mous expenditure of Government.1* * The immediate cause of Marshal Soult's resignation was a division in the Cabinet, in which he was in the minority, whether the governor of Algiers should be a civilian or military character. The Doctrinaires contended for the former, the Marshal for the latter; and the King agreed with the first, and sent the Duke of Rovigo, upon which Soult resigned. This, however, was rather the pretext than the real ground of his retirement. The true reason was his 1 Ann. Hist. 277; Cap. CHAP. 4. "Vainly," said M. Dupin, from the President's chair, XXXIII. « has the Chamber proclaimed, in three successive ad1834. dresses, that it is indispensable to bring down the expenses Declaration to a level with the revenue, and to labour incessantly to Ministers in restrain Ministers within the limits of the budget. The economy. contrary has constantly come about: the expenses have in of the new favour of variably exceeded the receipts, and the limits even of the vote of credit have been frequently outstepped. Yet the Chamber of Deputies enjoys the initiative in France; it fixes by allocation to each department the burdens which are to weigh upon the country. It should no longer tolerate the system of forcing money from the treasury, by coming, after it is over, to pay expenses which, despite itself, have been incurred." These bold words were hailed with rapture by the Opposition, who considered them as a declaration of war by the President of the Chamber against the Ministry; but they were ere long re-echoed by the Prime Minister himself. "The same desire of economy," said Marshal Gérard," which animates the Chambers directs also the Government; it is for it a question of honour and interest. The first rule which I have laid down for all the departments of government is to 1 Moniteur, abstain from all votes of credit, and even, if possible, to 1834; Ann. keep their expenditure within the sum voted." These words diffused general satisfaction, and materially added to the popularity of the new Minister.1 Aug. 10, Hist. xvii. 271, 287. But it was not so easy to get over the question of an amnesty as over that of economy, for there was justice to decided opinion that, in the disturbed state of France within, and its threatening relations without, no reduction of the army could be effected with safety— a point upon which it was well known the majority of the Chambers was on the other side. The force of the French army at the period when he resigned was as follows: Infantry, Artillery and Engineers, Gendarmerie, Total, -CAPEFIGUE, Dix Ans de Louis Philippe, viii. 18, 19, note. 205,100 49,000 28,800 28,500 312,100 XXXIII. 1834. 5. Ministry; Minister. be satisfied, animosities to be satiated with vengeance, and CHAP. terrors to be allayed by severity. Marshal Gérard, with the feeling of a brave soldier, openly inclined to the humane side forget and forgive was inscribed on his Change of banner. He supported that opinion with the utmost Count Molé vigour in the Council; and the same view was warmly Oct. 29. espoused by the Liberal press, which was naturally anxious to obtain a screen for their political coadjutors. But the King and the majority of the Council regarding such a step as an indirect censure on the measures of severity which had been adopted, and perilous, before terror had been struck into the disaffected of all parties, were equally decided on the other side; and the consequence was, that the Marshal resigned his situations both as Prime Minister and Minister at War. The King conferred the latter office, which could not be a day vacant, on Admiral de Rigny, who was transferred there from the Foreign Affairs; and he intrusted Count Molé with the arduous task of forming a Ministry. This proved, however, a more difficult task than had been anticipated; and for some weeks there was a sort of interregnum, with no Prime Minister at all. Albeit the King of the Barricades, Louis Philippe was not yet broken in to the constitutional maxim, " Le Roi règne, et ne gouverne pas," and no small difficulty was experienced in reconciling his inclinations with the views of the majority of the Council. At length the difficulties were overcome, and the Moniteur of 10th Nov. announced the new Ministry as follows: The resignations of MM. de Rigny, Thiers, Guizot, Duchatel, and Hermann, embracing the whole strength of the Doctrinaire party, were accepted, and the following gentlemen were appointed to the vacant portfolios the Duke of Bassano was named President of Moniteur, the Council and Minister of the Interior; M. Bresson, 1834; Ann. then ambassador at Berlin, of Foreign Affairs; General 290, 292; Cap. viii. Bernard, of War; M. Charles Dupin, of the Marine and 50, 51. the Colonies; M. Teste, Minister of Commerce; M. Nov. 10, |