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attention ; but in this universal silence of men , and this dead pause of events , it makes an infernal noise , andpromotes the cause of religion ! The session of the Corps Legislatif has now been opened four weeks . A third of its constitutional session is expired , and its work has been limited to voting a project of law for the regularization of a credit of 5000 francs ( 200 ? . ) for arrears of leases due by the Ministry of Public Instruction , and a batch of bills of mere local interest . You will understand how the insignificance of legislative achievement imposed upon his Corps , is with Bonaparte at once a necessity and a calculation . He has calculated how to convince
the nation in this striking manner of the advantage that an executive which does everything possesses over a legislative mummy that does nothing . It is a posthumous argument against the Parliamentary regime . We might fairly conclude from these premisess that some day or other the Legislative Corps will be suppressed , since it is nothing but a cumbrous and expensive futility . The Constitution of January 14 has assigned to it only the most meagre functions . The Senatus Consulte of December , which modified that Constitution , still further mutilated and abridged their
functions by depriving it of the vote of the Budget in detail , as well as of cognizance of projects of law relating to concessions of railway lines , and to great works of public utility . No doubt , the present deputies get on very comfortably with their far niente functions , and take their humiliation very easy . Consoled as they as they are by a salary of 2500 francs ( 100 ? . ) a month , they will be by no means readily disposed to transgress on any occasion the limits of the temperate and peaceable repose to which the Bonapartist Constitution has liberally consigned them .
Notwithstanding , the Budget is about to be presented to them . It has been reduced , as I told you , 34 millions of francs ( 1 , 360 , 000 / . ) upon the express injunctions of Bonaparte to the Council of State . The Council yielded at once : and all the diminutions and reductions that these very Ministers had declared impossible before the Corps Legislatif last year , all the retrenchments proposed by the Committee of the Budget , through their reporter , M . Chasseloup Laubat , and refused—all are now found to be easy enough by the Council of State , and all are realized . Here again you trace the same tactics . If last year the Ministers had yielded to the Committee on the Budget , the Corps
Legislatif would have had all the popularity of the financial economies . Bonaparte took care not to give them such a chance . He refused them last year , to give himself the facile merit this year . Whereupon the Moniteur begins to chant in dithyrambic strains the advantages of the reigning Constitution , and its superiority over the Parliamentary regime . The Presse has shot an epigram at the Government on this subject . " Why , " says M . de Girardin , " do you discuss your acts in the Moniteur—why take public opinion for your judge ? You are the authority . Authority imposes its acts , and never discusses them . Herein , you are inconsequent . "
The subject , however , that just now occupies the attention nnd anxiety of the Corps Legislatif , far more than tho insignificance of its functions , or the extent of ita prerogatives , is the grand ball it is preparing to give at the end of the present month to Bonaparte and tho Empress . A former committee , which had undertaken tho initiative of this ball , was obliged to dissolve itself re infectd . After thin failure a second committee was formed , under the presidency of M . de Morny .. M . do Morny in his turn has resigned , with several of his colleagues . Tho survivors pursuo their difficult mission . Tho subscription list remaining incomplete
a groat act of solf-Hucrifico wivs required . ( II a fallu jrrendre un remede heroiqne . ) Tho committee huvo taken upon themselves to t « x tho deputies to the tune of 700 francs ( 28 / . ) each . This contribution is not voluntary , it is a compulsory impost levied on tho monthly Hillary of these loyal suilerers . The preparations , I may add , art ; said to bo magnificent . Tho temporary constructions in wood cost 40 , 000 franca ( 1000 / . ) , ' arid their decorations 15 , 000 francs ( 000 / . ) . Tho cost of the Hiippor ih fixed at 32 , 000 francs ( 1280 / . ) . The orchestra , conducted by Strau . su , are engaged for 5000 francs ( 200 / . ) . Tho . Iiirdin d'Hiver will furnish
flowers and shrubs for 12 , 000 francs ( 480 / . ) In short , tho total cost of t \ u \ fiUe \* calculated at from 100 , 000 to 170 , 000 francs ( 0800 / . ) . The invitations will not exceed 2000 . Bonaparte declared that tho bull of tho Senate wan too much of a mob-crush ( trap Coktie . ) On this occasion , thoroforo , thorn will only bo admitted tho flower of the aristocracy of our last now regime ( la Jlne Jleur deit marquis du nounean rfijime ?) Many of your compatriots who run iikkI after every Iinll Mint is given b y tlm now court , will bo disuppointed thin tiino . Only titled people will be admitted . Tho affair of the foreign correapondentu is not yet
settled . All the persons implicated in the matter will have to answer before the tribunals to the following counts of indictment : — 1 . Plot against the safety of the State . 2 . Illicit correspondence with foreign journals . 3 . Hawking ( colportaje ) . ' 4 . Secret society . The indictment is prepared . The Chambre des Mises en Accusations will render its decision in a week . The despotic and arbitrary regime is in full force . Two
workmen of Lyons had been condemned to six months imprisonment for belonging to a secret society . The Prefect of Lyons , by virtue of a decree of December , 1851 , rendered during the dictatorship of Bonaparte , has just sentenced these two citizens , by his own arbitrary will and authority , to ten years deportation to Cayenne . Prefects issuing decrees that supersede all criminal justice , and pronouncing sentence without form of trial , —such is the regime under which we live , and do nat move .
Let me cite another fact . A personal friend of my own , M . Kelsch , retired lieutenant of infantry , condemned to twenty years of transportation to Cayenne , had escaped into Belgium . He returned , however , to Paris , and in close retirement had managed to withdraw himself from all observation , and to elude all search . At length he was discovered , and four police agents were let loose on him . To secure his person , they began by firing a pistol at his head . The ball fractured the temple-bone and broke the skull . Kelsch was carried , off in a dying state to the Conciergerie , where he now lies .
En revanche , the Capucins flourish and prosper in Paris . Their monastery of Mont Parnasse is quite furnished and ready for their early reception . If the dead they bury don't go to Paradise , it wont be for want of holy water . Apropos of burials : 30 , 000 men walked in procession on Monday last to the funeral of Madame Raspail , the wife of the distinguished chemist and Republican , now imprisoned in the citadel of Doullens . Had there been time enough to give ample notice of these obsequies , the democratic party , decimated as it is by death , exile , proscription , fusillades , would have mustered 120 , 000 devoted men last Monday . S .
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CONTINENTAL NOTES . Pbivate letters from authentic sources contradict the rumours of the Empress of the French being in an " interesting" situation . All the scandalous inventions of wicked tongues are thus dissolved . But " who shall decide ?" The Budget was presented yesterday to the Legislative Assembly ; the estimated expenditure exceeds the receipts by 1 , 388 , 630 francs , notwithstanding the long desiderated equilibrium . We have some reason to believe that a razzia by the myrmidons of M . de Maupas is in preparation against the chiefs of the Republican party in Paris . The coup is designed to rehabilitate the Minister of Police in the eyes of hia imperial master , after the ridiculous failure of the recent attack on tho correspondents of foreign journals . Tho demonstration in the streets of Paris of the thirty thousand Republican workmen who followed the wife of Raspail to her grave , has no doubt aroused tho apprehensions of tho Tuilcries , and renders the proposed razzia all tho more probable . Tho tenacity of tho republican sentiment in tho flower of tho French working classes , notwithstanding tho prevailing lassitude and disgust , and in spito of decimation by tho musket , the convict-ship , and exile , tho only fruit of tho heroic patience of February , and the untoward catastrophe of June ' 48 , seems destined to survivo imperial blandishments and imperial razzias . M . Raspail was ono of those condemned for tho affair of May 15 , 1848 . This imposing procession walked four abreast , and as they passed
through tho Place do la Bastille they solemnly and suddenly , as by a secret word of command , uncovered their heads to tho monument of liberty . In tho Faubourg 8 t . Antonio thoy woro ovortakon by a squadron of cavalry , which had boon hastily despatched to tho cemetery to provent any funeral orations over tho gravo of tho wife of ono of tho champions of tho Ropuhhc . Tho suicide of Mdllo . Marfcho , of tho Vaudeville , ia variously explained . That it had some relation to tho suicido of Count Cnraorata , all accounts admit , but of what nature that relation was is not publicly known . Tho immediate cauHO of Count Carnorata ' s desperate resolvo was heavy louses at tho Bourse , and tho impossibility of mooting his engagements ; but a certain jealousy ' appears to have nhnrponoil his despair .
MudoinoisoUu Murthe wad at Havre , whon the newu of that catastrophe reached her : sho hastened to Paris , and within nn hour after her arrival a Commiflsairo do polico called at hor apartments to rnako a perquisition into certain olfects of tho Count , alleged to bo in her posseHmou . Sho is said , too , to havo found letters on hor tablo , reproaching hor < iH tho oiiuso of his death . Others say that hor naino was ovon inontionod with bitter comment iu his will . However truo or falno may bo those rumours , certain it in , that Mdllo . M ., who was of an exaltS character , was ho affected by tho circumstances of tho suicide , and l > y tho perquisitions of tho commiesttiro do polico , that sho < lr < "HH < id hernolf in bridal costume , with an orango-flower wreath round hor bond , and a portrait of hor deceased ( uiKint in hor hand , and having locked horoolf into an inner room , lay down and nuffocat « d hotvolf "With tho furaofl of throe pans of charcoal . Madttttoitolle Mftffche tra * buried
on Saturday last : Bhe was followed to the grave by manf of the principal actors and actresses and dramatic authors of Paris . Mdlle . Doche was one of the pall-bearers . The unfortunate Mademoiselle Marthe was a fascinating and accomplished actress . She was engaged by Mr . Mitchell for the after-Easter season , at the St . James a Theatre . The whole affair of these two suicides , so illustrative of certain phases of present French society , has been shrouded in a mystery which only rumours have pierced . lord Stratford de Redcliffe has dined more than once with the Emperor ; has been received in private audience , and has had several interviews with M . de la Cour , the new French ambassador at Constantinople . He has left for Trieste , there to embark on board one of her Majesty ' s steam frigates for the seat of his embassy .
The statements with which our Paris correspondent has furnished us from time to time , with respect to the intrigues going on at Rome , to procure the Pope for the coronation of the Emperor , are strongly confirmed by the remarkable movement of a distinguished French diplomatist . Some time ago , M . De la Cour , late French ambassador at Vienna , was appointed to Constantinople . The other day he set out for his post from Paris ; and it is a fact worth noting , that instead of going direct , he has been ordered to call at Borne by the way . "What increases the importance of this fact in our eyes , is that M . De la Cour has been appointed from Vienna , and as Austria is believed to be the secret dissuader of the Pope against crowning another Bonaparte , we may fairly infer that he is considered a man likely to overcome the Austrian scruples of Pio Nono , or rather of the cardinals . Is M . De la Cour the last card , or is he the herald of success ?
In the Second Chamber of Prussia the important question of reconstructing the First Chamber , b y vesting exclusively in the Crown the power of nominating members , hereditary or for life , was carried , on the 10 th instant , after a short debate , by an immense majority ; the numbers being 241 to 70 in favour of the bill . The upshot of the new commercial treaty , and of the protracted negotiations between Austria and Prussia , seems to be that the cabinet of Berlin has yielded to that of Vienna , and has abandoned its independent policy in the direction of Free-trade , to the Protectionist tariffs of southern Germany . Political apprehensions have precipitated an ill-considered adjustment , to the sacrifice of . important commercial advantages . The appointment of plenipotentiaries for the conference on the customs question is now completed .
Professor Gervinus ' s " Introduction to the Nineteenth Century , " has been condemned to be burnt . There is no Phoenix so dangerous as a burnt book . The distinguished historian intends to banish himself , when his period of imprisonment has expired , and to take up his residence at Bonn . _ . . The chief news from Vienna is the public thanksgiving of the Emperor , at the cathedral , amidst great pomp and ceremony . The official and semi-official accounts certify that his Majesty was received with acclamations in the streets , which were lined by the trade guilds . He looked pale and worn , and the members of his family displayed great anxiety for his health during the day . He has since been to the opera .
Marshal Haynau , and the Archbishop of Vienna , by name Milde , died on the same day . Tho Viennese , who are scarcely less determined punsters than the French , perpetrated the following mot on the occasion of these two deaths : — " Haynau ist mit Milde gestorben . " ( Haynau has died with clemency . ) The Archbishop ' s name , Milde , signifies clemency . It is thus that despotism is tempered by—puns . While the Austrians are reinforcing their army in Lombardy , the federal authorities of Switzerland aro by no means Win . It is understood ihat both tho federal and
cantonal executives , havo called out portions of their forces . The Swiss Government seem disposed to present a bold front ( at leaat , bo far as diplomatic notes enable us to iudge ) to tlio Austrian demands : and tho Swiss peoplo seem fairly aroused by tho wholesale expulsion of tho poor Ticineso . What it will all lead to ia a matter of groat uncertainty ,- but tho diplomatists say the Swiss question is becoming " serious , " " alarming , " " complicated : " that tho French Emperor has been appealed to , and that he has , while courteously receiving the representatives of tho Swiss , urged thorn to incense Austria as lit . tlo us possible-. whether its turn will
Piedmont looks on , wondering como next . One of the Piodmonteso journals hints at strong protests addressed to Austria against tho confiscations ; und at the possibility of reprisals against Austrian subjects in Piedmont . It in strongly bolioved that Austria really intends to ontor tho Tioino , and that tho atluir of tho Capuchins is but an excuse for an attack upon tho liboral institutions of tho Federation . t Tho Governor of Milan hns issued adocroo releasing tho citizens from further necessity of illuminating their windows at night , navo in tho enso of a gun fired from tho citadel as a ni ^ nal of alarm , upon which thoy tiro enjoined to illuminate instantly , und to desert tho streets . IVeithnr at Milan nor at Homo tiro citizens allowed to approach sontrios .
From Italy wo havo tho « amo dreary record of terrorist proclamation ^ murders by court martial , atranglings , shootings , confiHoations . Even tho Austrian' JAoyd ° f Trieste estimates tho valuo of tho properly sequestrated in Lornbardy at F > , O < H > , <)< X ) liro . The report of an attempt upon tho life of tho King of Naples turns out to bo pure invention . If it can bo said to bo founded on fact , that fact wan tho thrashing administered by tho King in person to two lazznronl , who , mistaking him for a " rich Englishman , " intercepted bin path , and pastured him with iiiflolont portinucity for alma .
Letters from Palermo , dated tho 8 th instant , report Uio discovery of a wido spread conspiracy through Sicily . About a hundred pooplo had boon thrown iuto juribon , and h royal reiim of terror was Bgain established I > y military
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272 T H E L E A D E R . [ SatubpaIt ,
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Leader (1850-1860), March 19, 1853, page 272, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1978/page/8/
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