FRANCE. 



311 



able to the restoration, either of the Prince Imperial, 

 or of the Comte de Ghambord, or of the Comte de 

 Paris. 1 am, till 1880, invested with definite power 

 by the Constitution. I shall exercise that power, 

 according to circumstances, to its full extent ; but I 

 can pledge myself to no enterprise contrary to the 

 constitutional laws to which you, also, are subject. 

 IS or do 1 ask any pledge of you. It will, perhaps, be 

 necessary to demand a dissolution. If you accord it 

 me. I shall use it as well as possible. If you refuse 

 it, I should then have two forces out of three against 

 me, and should withdraw. 



The month's prorogation expired on June 

 16th, when both Chambers reassembled. ]n the 

 Senate, the Due de Broglie ascended the trib- 

 une, and read- the following message: 



MM. LES SENATEUKS : By virtue of article 3 of the 

 constitutional law of the 25th of February, 1875, the 

 President of the Republic is invested with the right 

 of dissolving the Chamber of Deputies, with the 

 concurrence of the Senate. This serious step now 

 appears to me necessary. I ask you to give your 

 assent to it. My ministers are deputed to explain to 

 you the reasons which actuate me. On the 16th of 

 May I had to declare to the country that disagree- 

 ments existed between the Chamber of Deputies and 

 myself. I showed that no ministry could maintain 

 itself in that Chamber without seeking the alliance 

 and meeting the conditions of the Eadical party. A 

 Government bound to such a necessity is no longer 

 master of its own actions. Whatever its personal 

 intentions, it is reduced to serving the ends of those 

 whoso support it has accepted, and to paving the way 

 for their accession. It is this to which I would no 

 longer lend myself. When such want of accord 

 exists between the public powers, dissolution is the 

 means provided by the Constitution itself for putting 

 an end to it. 1 should, however, have preferred the 

 date of it being delayed, in particular that before 

 separating the Chambers should have been able to 

 vote the budget of 1878. The month's prorogation 

 which has just elapsed might have served to pacify 

 men's minds and restore to t';em the calmness nec- 

 essary for the discussion of affairs. This result has 

 not been obtained. Scarcely was the prorogation 

 pronounced when more than 300 Deputies protested 

 in a manifesto, with whose terms you are acquainted, 

 against the use I had made of my constitutional 

 right. That manifesto has been circulated whole- 

 sale. A large number of those who signed it have 

 supported it either by their letters to their constitu- 

 ents or by speeches delivered at numerously-attended 

 meetings. Some, even under the protection of par- 

 liamentary privilege, have made use of such expres- 

 sions, that justice has had to proceed against the 

 newspapers which reproduced them. Such an agita- 

 tion could not be prolonged without causing profound 

 trouble. Those indulging in it cannot be surprised 

 at my summoning them before the country which 

 they have themselves addressed. I confine myself, 

 therefore, to asking the Chamber of Deputies to vote 

 some urgent bills which the patriotism of all parties 

 will surely not allow to be challenged. The dissolu- 

 tion, then, promptly pronounced, will enable the new 

 Chamber to meet in time to insure the supplies of 

 next year. I shall address myself with confidence to 

 the nation. France, like me, desires to maintain 

 intact the institutions which govern us. She desires 

 as much as I do that these institutions should not be 

 disfigured by the action of Radicalism. She does not 

 desire that in 1880 the day when the constitutional 

 laws maybe revised every thing should be prepared 

 beforehand for the disorganization of all the moral 

 and material forces of the country. Warned in time, 

 guarding against all misunderstanding and ambi- 

 guity, France, I am sure, will do justice to my inten- 

 tion, and will choose for her representatives those 

 who will promise to second me. You will feel the 



necessity of deliberating without delay on the im- 

 portant resolution whicii is submitted to you. 



This message was received with applause on 

 the Right, and with protests and interruptions 

 on the Left. It was finally referred to a com- 

 mittee. In the Chamber of Deputies, the ses- 

 sion was characterized as the stormiest for 

 many years. Every Deputy was present, feel- 

 ing that not only his personal interest, but that 

 of his party and his country, was at stake. The 

 session extended over five hours and a half, 

 and during most of that time there was one 

 prolonged roar of vociferations from one end 

 of the chamber to the other. After some 

 formal business, M. Fourtou, the Minister of the 

 Interior, read the message of the President. 

 The following paragraph is of peculiar inter- 

 est: 



The President of the Republic remains convinced, 

 after two sincere but fruitless trialsj that no ministry 

 can hope to muster a durable majority in this Assem- 

 bly without asking to be backed by the party which 

 professes Radical doctrines, and without thereby pro- 

 moting the progress of them. Full of respect for the 

 institutions which govern us, and resolved to main- 

 tain them intact, he thinks himself entitled to employ 

 all the prerogatives which they give him to resist 

 another step being taken in a path which seems to 

 him to lead to the ruin and degradation of the coun- 

 try. He has chosen ministers who share his idea in 

 this respect, and assume, in the eyes of France, the 

 responsibility of it. 



After it had been read, M. Paul Bethmont, 

 in the course of a speech, made 'the following 

 remarks : 



The reason for the proceeding of the 16th of May 

 was that the country was showing every day more 

 and more enthusiasm for the Republican Assembly 

 it had created. You have acknowledged in your 

 newspapers that you were in despair. Even in llle- 

 et-yilaine there 'has been a fresh manifestation of 

 opinion in favor of Republican institutions. 



At this point M. Mitchell cried out, " It is 

 false." The President saying, " M. Mitchell, 

 your words are very unbecoming," M. Mitchell 

 repeated his words. The President then said : 

 " And I repeat that you are guilty of an impro- 

 priety which requires a censure. I shall con- 

 sult the Chamber." The censure was then 

 pronounced against M. Mitchell, several mem- 

 bers of the Right, and M. Mitchell among 

 them, voting ironically for it. During the 

 whole of M. Bethmont's speech there were 

 heard imprecations and insults whicii M. Grdvy, 

 the President, declarc-d had never been equaled 

 in the annals of French legislative history. 

 After M. Bethmont, M. de Fourtou ascended 

 the tribune to speak on behalf of the Govern- 

 ment. The substance of his speech was as 

 follows : 



The disagreement between the majority of the 

 Chamber and the President of the Republic can onty 

 be solved by the nation. M. Bethmont's speech is 

 only a production of the protests against the act of 

 the 16th of May. The Government have regretted, 

 for the sake of the repose of the country, the false 

 alarms and unfounded disquietudes which those man- 

 ifestations tended to excite. They have regretted 

 that the voice which counseled pacification was not 



