e*^ ANNUAL REGISTER, 1814- 



contract debts for their support, 

 divided their creditors into two 

 classes, public and private. In the 

 first rank of these he named Eng- 

 land. " Could you wish (said he) 

 that she should have it in her 

 power to boast of having maintain- 

 ed, for so many years, the family 

 of your Kings, without an offer 

 from France of the payment of her 

 advances? In vain would proud 

 England object that she had only 

 followed the example of France by 

 returning to the Bourbons what 

 Louis XIV. had done for the 

 Stuarts, whose posterity still fills 

 the British throne. Let us do our 

 duty ; the English will do theirs," 

 In the second rank he placed those 

 generous men who had sacrificed 

 their fortunes and those of their 

 children to these august personages; 

 and he was persuaded that sooner or 

 later theFrench people would do j us- 

 tice to such virtuous magnanimity 

 and misfortune. After dwelling 

 for some time upon their case, he 

 ended with moving, " that the 

 King be humbly requested to com- 

 municate to the Chamber an ac- 

 count of the debts he contracted 

 during his residence abroad, and 

 to present a law for accelerating 

 the payment of those debts, consi- 

 dered as the debts of the State ! ! 

 This motion was warmly support- 

 ed, and unanimously ordered to be 

 taken into consideration by the 

 Committees. A resolution was 

 .framed upon it, 'vhich was after- 

 wards unanimously acceded toby 

 the Chamber of Peers. 



On Sept. 13, the minister, M. 



.Ferrand, presented from the King 



.to the Chamber of Deputies, the 



plan of an important law respecting 



emigrants, the object of which 



was, the reBtoration of all such emi" 



grant property as was not already 

 appropriated to the public service, 

 or sold to individuals, to its owners, 

 or their representatives. In hi» 

 introductory speech M. Ferrand 

 observed, that the designation of 

 emigrants applied to a portion of 

 his Majesty's subjects, was as false 

 in principle, as it had been disas- 

 trous in its consequences. They 

 were persons who, while thrown 

 for a season into foreign lands, had 

 lamented over that country which 

 they hoped to revisit. Rigorous jus- 

 tice then demanded that those who 

 for twenty years had submitted to 

 so many sacrifices, should be re- 

 stored to that share of their pro- 

 perty which had not been disposed 

 of. In the preamble of the law 

 the King repeats the engagement 

 he had contracted of maintaining 

 the sales which had already been 

 made of national property ; after 

 which, follow several articles rela- 

 tive to the retention or restitu- 

 tion of the property of emigrants, 

 the claims to profits received, ar- 

 rears, instalments of purchase mo- 

 ney due, &c. This law being re- 

 ferred to a committee, its discus- 

 sion produced long debates at seve- 

 ral sittings of the Chamber, by 

 which it appeared that great suspi- 

 cions had been excited respecting 

 the future security of the private 

 purchases and public appropria- 

 tions of emigrant property. An 

 article apparently for the purpose ^ 

 of obviating such apprehensions 

 being added by the Committee, the 

 object of which was to render the 

 present measureof relief final, with 

 regard to the emigrants, it was put 

 to the vote and rejected. 



For the purpose of supplying the 

 deficiencies in the clerical e8tub» 

 lishment of the Gal lieu chureh* 



