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The History of a Crime, a novel by Victor Hugo |
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The First Day - The Ambush - Chapter 6. "Placards" |
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_ CHAPTER VI. "PLACARDS" On leaving these brave men I could read at the corner of the Rue de la Tour d'Auvergne and the Rue des Martyrs, the three infamous placards which had been posted on the walls of Paris during the night. Here they are. "PROCLAMATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC. "_Appeal to the People_. "FRENCHMEN! The present situation can last no longer. Every day which passes enhances the dangers of the country. The Assembly, which ought to be the firmest support of order, has become a focus of conspiracies. The patriotism of three hundred of its members has been unable to check its fatal tendencies. Instead of making laws in the public interest it forges arms for civil war; it attacks the power which I hold directly from the People, it encourages all bad passions, it compromises the tranquillity of France; I have dissolved it, and I constitute the whole People a judge between it and me. "The Constitution, as you know, was constructed with the object of weakening beforehand the power which you were about to confide to me. Six millions of votes formed an emphatic protest against it, and yet I have faithfully respected it. Provocations, calumnies, outrages, have found me unmoved. Now, however, that the fundamental compact is no longer respected by those very men who incessantly invoke it, and that the men who have ruined two monarchies wish to tie my hands in order to overthrow the Republic, my duty is to frustrate their treacherous schemes, to maintain the Republic, and to save the Country by appealing to the solemn judgment of the only Sovereign whom I recognize in France--the People. "I therefore make a loyal appeal to the whole nation, and I say to you: If you wish to continue this condition of uneasiness which degrades us and compromises our future, choose another in my place, for I will no longer retain a power which is impotent to do good, which renders me responsible for actions which I cannot prevent, and which binds me to the helm when I see the vessel driving towards the abyss. "If on the other hand you still place confidence in me, give me the means of accomplishing the great mission which I hold from you. "This mission consists in closing the era of revolutions, by satisfying the legitimate needs of the People, and by protecting them from subversive passions. It consists, above all, in creating institutions which survive men, and which shall in fact form the foundations on which something durable may be established. "Persuaded that the instability of power, that the preponderance of a single Assembly, are the permanent causes of trouble and discord, I submit to your suffrage the following fundamental bases of a Constitution which will be developed by the Assemblies later on:-- "1. A responsible Chief appointed for ten years. "2. Ministers dependent upon the Executive Power alone. "3. A Council of State composed of the most distinguished men, who shall prepare laws and shall support them in debate before the Legislative Body. "4. A Legislative Body which shall discuss and vote the laws, and which shall be elected by universal suffrage, without _scrutin de liste_, which falsifies the elections. "5. A Second Assembly composed of the most illustrious men of the country, a power of equipoise the guardian of the fundamental compact, and of the public liberties. "This system, created by the first Consul at the beginning of the century, has already given repose and prosperity to France; it would still insure them to her. "Such is my firm conviction. If you share it, declare it by your votes. If, on the contrary, you prefer a government without strength, Monarchical or Republican, borrowed I know not from what past, or from what chimerical future, answer in the negative. "Thus for the first time since 1804, you will vote with a full knowledge of the circumstances, knowing exactly for whom and for what. "If I do not obtain the majority of your suffrages I shall call together a New Assembly and shall place in its hands the commission which I have received from you. "But if you believe that the cause of which my name is the symbol,--that is to say, France regenerated by the Revolution of '89, and organized by the Emperor, is to be still your own, proclaim it by sanctioning the powers which I ask from you. "Then France and Europe will be preserved from anarchy, obstacles will be removed, rivalries will have disappeared, for all will respect, in the decision of the People, the decree of Providence. "Given at the Palace of the Elysee, 2d December, 1851. "LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE."
"Soldiers! Be proud of your mission, you will save the country, for I count upon you not to violate the laws, but to enforce respect for the first law of the country, the national Sovereignty, of which I am the Legitimate Representative. "For a long time past, like myself, you have suffered from obstacles which have opposed themselves both to the good that I wished to do and to the demonstrations of your sympathies in my favor. These obstacles have been broken down. "The Assembly has tried to attack the authority which hold from the whole Nation. It has ceased to exist. "I make a loyal appeal to the People and to the Army, and I say to them: Either give me the means of insuring your prosperity, or choose another in my place. "In 1830, as in 1848, you were treated as vanquished men. After having branded your heroic disinterestedness, they disdained to consult your sympathies and your wishes, and yet you are the flower of the Nation. To-day, at this solemn moment, I am resolved that the voice of the Army shall be heard. "Vote, therefore, freely as citizens; but, as soldiers do not forget that passive obedience to the orders of the Chief of the State is the rigorous duty of the Army, from the general to the private soldier. "It is for me, responsible for my actions both to the People and to posterity, to take those measures which may seem to me indispensable for the public welfare. "As for you, remain immovable within the rules of discipline and of honor. By your imposing attitude help the country to manifest its will with calmness and reflection. "Be ready to repress every attack upon the free exercise of the sovereignty of the People. "Soldiers, I do not speak to you of the memories which my name recalls. They are engraven in your hearts. We are united by indissoluble ties. Your history is mine. There is between us, in the past, a community of glory and of misfortune. "There will be in the future community of sentiment and of resolutions for the repose and the greatness of France. "Given at the Palace of the Elysee, December 2d, 1851. "(Signed) L.N. BONAPARTE."
"The President of the Republic decrees:-- "ARTICLE I. The National Assembly is dissolved. "ARTICLE II. Universal suffrage is re-established. The law of May 31 is abrogated. "ARTICLE III. The French People are convoked in their electoral districts from the 14th December to the 21st December following. "ARTICLE IV. The State of Siege is decreed in the district of the first Military Division. "ARTICLE V. The Council of State is dissolved. "ARTICLE VI. The Minister of the Interior is charged with the execution of this decree. "Given at the Palace of the Elysee, 2d December, 1851. "LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. "DE MORNY, Minister of the Interior." _ |
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