"I shall immediately cause to be laid before you the accounts for 1824, the statement of the receipts and expenditure of 1825, and the budget of 1827. The development of our commerce and our manufactures daily augmenting the produce of the taxes on consumption and transactions, will allow an amelioration of the situation of the ministers of our holy religion, an increase of the dotation of several of the services, and make it possible to reduce, by nineteen millions more, the direct taxes, which have already been diminished this year. "You will rejoice with me, gentlemen, at thus finding, in the progress of our internal prosperity, means to redress the burdens which are the most onerous to the subject. "The legislature should provide, by successive ameliorations, for all the wants of society. "The progressive subdivision of landed property essentially contrary to the principle of monarchical government, would weaken the securities which the charter has given to my throne and to my subjects. Providence has intrusted to my care. You will not be more moved than I am at the inconsiderable alarms which still agitate some minds, notwithstanding the security we enjoy. Means will be proposed to restore the agreement that should exist between the political law and the civil law, and to preserve the patrimony of families, without, however, affecting the liberty of disposing of property. "This security, gentlemen, will not be hazarded, depend upon it; I will watch with equal solicitude over all the interests of the State, and I shall find means to conciliate what is required, by the exercise of legal liberties, the maintenance of order, and the repression of licentiousness." The superiority of the ministers, party which styled itself liberal, although opposed both by the and by the party whose creed, as ultra royalists and ultra religionists, went as extravagantly wrong the other way, was manifested by they carried the election of the the decisive majorities by which committee to prepare the address election of the presidents in the in the Chamber of Peers, and the Chamber of Deputies. In the former, one opposition member was chosen, the archbishop of Paris; but that was a compliment which the ministry allowed to be paid to his ecclesiastical rank. Of the the proposed introduction of the topics adverted to in the speech, law of primogeniture, the expres sions relating to the the recognition of the independ and ence of St. Domingo, were the difference of opinion was only matters on which much in the course of the debates up expressed the address: on each of them the Chamber of Deputies divided, but in all the divisions the ministers were triumphant. On the reg nition of Hayti, and the liberty f press, "The preservation of families leads to and guarantees political stability, which is the first want of a state, and especially that of France, after so many vicissitudes. "You will second me, gentlemen, in accomplishing the designs which I have meditated, and in the press, their majority ensuring more and more the happiness of the people whom Divine small; for on these questions they were opposed by the ultra alle 02 rents of both parties for reasons diametrically opposite to each other. The ultra royalists resisted the recognition of Haytian independence, because it was a sanction to revolt, and a cession of part of the territory of France; by the liberals, again, the conduct of the government was blamed, because the recognition had been an act of the crown, whereas they maintained that, constitutionally, it could take place only with the consent of the legislature. The former party held that the ministers were regardless of monarchy and religion by indulging the press with too great liberty: the latter party declaimed against them as persons who wished to lay it in chains, and extirpate all freedom of discussion. The whole address was carried, as prepared by ministers, by a majority of 174 votes against 87. The Chamber of Peers, however, made some modifications of the original address. Instead of the decided manner in which the law of primogeniture had been recommended from the throne, the Peers declared they would adopt such measures as "would not restrain parents in the disposal of their property," a provision inconsistent with the system of strict entails which formed part of the plan of the ministers; and in replying to that part of the speech which alluded to the press, they made reference to the rights secured by the charter, and, while admitting the law of primogeniture, although specially directed to maintain their own wealth and splendor; and the courts of law had always shewn themselves unfavourable to the extension of the majorat, or exclusive rights of the first-born. The lawyers, likewise, and even the courts had of late been displaying much zeal, and some independence, in defence of the press. Towards the close of the preceding year, the Royal Court had acquitted the editors of the Constitutionel and the Courier Français, who were under prosecution for political libels; and when the judges of that court waited upon the king, on New Year's day, along with other public bodies, to pay him the customary compliments, his majesty received them coldly, and did not condescend to make any other reply to their address than "I accept the homage of the Royal Court." (Je recois l'hommage de la Cour Royale.) On the 11th of February, the minister of finance brought forward not only the budget, but likewise a project of a law for finally closing the public accounts for 1824, which had still been kept open in consequence of the pecuniary transactions conTM nected with the occupation of Spain. This latter was a sore and unpopular subject. France found the protection of Ferdinand a useless load upon her finances; the expenses of the enterprise had if the the evils and dangers of licentious- much exceeded the anticipated ness, expressed an opinion that reason, and the conscience of the public were its most efficient preventives. On both these topics the opinion of the higher chamber was greatly influenced by the lawyers. Even the great families were much divided in opinion on sums: it was with difficulty that Spain could be brought, even now, to strike a balance, and acknowledge a debt, and she had strained her resources to the utmost to be able to make, in the preceding month, a payment on account of 700,000 francs, not 30,000. [Q 2] These expenses were still more unpopular, and still more warmly was the final adjustment of them opposed in the Chamber of Deputies, because almost a certainty had been obtained, that great part of the money had been grossly misapplied by the frauds of the army-contractor, Ouvrard, and the peculations even of the generals who commanded the army sent into Spain; and it was maintained that no money ought to be voted for the service of that year, until these charges had been investigated, and all the transactions connected with the supplying of that army fully explained. M. Casimir Perrier said, it was evident that a dilapidation of the public property had been committed either by the superior authorities, or by their agents; and he moved as an amendment, "that ministers shall present, in the next session, the accounts of their operations relative to the war in Spain, and propose the definitive settlement of the ex Chamber of Peers now took up the case, as the alleged frauds of Ouvrard affected its character by implicating some of its members a accomplices. Some doubts were entertained of the power of the Chamber to proceed in such an investigation; because no peer had been distinctly named or accused and because there was no charge of high treason to constitute a jurisdiction in the peers. But, although there was no impeach ment, nor any complaint regularly made, it was no secret that the public voice loudly accused the highest officers in the army of having been participators in the contractor's schemes of peculation, and the name of the Dauphin himself, who had commanded the army, was not spared. Count Bourdesolle and general Guilleni not were specially pointed out as culprits, and the latter was return ing, or had been recalled, from his embassy at Constantinople, to meet the charges against him. The Chamber appointed a committee to inquire and report whether they could competently proceed; and, in the mean time, Ouvrard was kept prisoner in St. Pelagie, which hal formerly been his residence, under the sway of Napoleon, for pe niary debits of a similar descrip tion. The charges against hin were, that he supplied the army sent into Spain with articles in much smaller quantity, and greatly inferior in quality, to those spe fied in his contracts; that the prices fixed by those contracts were exorbitant; and that he had been able to affect this spoliation by bribing his superiors part of the plunder. It was only with this bribery and corruption that the The affecting the purity of their own penses of that war." The argu ment of the ministers was, that, in submitting to the Chamber the documents already laid before it respecting the expenses of sending the army into Spain, they had done all that the law required of them; that the expenses of the occupation were diminishing, and no new credit required for them; and that the effect of the amend ment would be, to postpone indefinitely the final adjustment of the accounts in question, and excite new discussion regarding matters on which the Chamber had already decided. After a stormy debate, continued during two sittings, the amendment was rejected, and the investigation and punishment of the alleged guilt were left to another tribunal. peers had any concern, as body; for the quantity, quality, and prices, of the articles supplied were mere matters of contract, and, even if the prices were exorbitant, that could only prove the rapacity of the contractor, and the ignorance or carelessness of the minister of war, in concluding the bargain. On receiving the report of their committee, they thought enough had been discovered to justify in quiry, and, by a large majority, a committee, consisting of the marquis de Pastoret, count Portalis, count Julien, and general count Beliard, was appointed to institute a supplementary investigation. The committee continued their inquiries till the middle of July, examining a multitude of witnesses and documents, when they presented a report, concluding, that there were no grounds for proceeding against counts Guilleminot and Bourdesolle, the two peers who, at first, had seemed to be implicated. The Chamber adopted the report; and, as there was thus no ground of accusation against any of its own members, declared itself to be incompetent. All the weight of the ministry was employed to bring about this termination of an affair which threatened ultimately to involve themselves; for, although money had undoubtedly been lost to the nation by an improvident bargain, Ouvrard would have little difficulty in allowing that he had taken for his goods the highest price he could obtain: and the negligence or incapacity of those who had contracted with him on the part of the public, would not have added to their popularity. Alluding to the religious jubilee which had just been celebrated over the Catholic world, and the universal absolution of sins which was its greatest benefit, the duke de Choi In the budget for the year 1827, the expenditure was estimated at 915,773,042 francs, and the ways and means were expected to produce, taking as the basis of the calculation the income for 1825, 916,608,734 francs, leaving a disposable excess of 835,692 francs. The expenditure of 1824 had been originally estimated at 990,119,582 francs, and had actually amounted to nearly two millions and a half more; but the revenue for the same year, estimated at 992,333,953 francs, had exceeded that sum by more than two millions and a half. The revenue required to meet the expenses of the present year was greater than that required for 1821, by 35,371,340 francs. This had arisen partly from an addition which had been made, since the latter year, to the permanent debt, partly from naval expenses to complete the operations of that department in the colonies, which would not be incurred again, and partly from remittances allowed from the revenue of the post office, and other branches of revenue. On the other hand, the ordinary sources of revenue had, during the same period, been increasing. In 1821, they yielded 891,614,678 francs; while the gross produce for the present year would be We find towards the end of the year the following paragraph in one of the French journals (November) M. Ouvrard is to appear "On Tuesday, the ninth of this month, before the tribunal of the Correctional Police, on a charge of corruption; M. Berryer, jun., has undertaken his defence. The second part of the Memoirs of Ouvrard, in respect of his life and financial operations, is announced for speedy publication." 916,608,734 francs. The report of the committee of the Chamber of Peers on the budget, was "By the attentive examination which we have made of the expenditure, we have seen, that, if there are several heads under which a reduction may be justly hoped in future, and some which might receive a more useful application, they are collectively useful and judicious." In the Chamber of Deputies great diversity of opinion prevailed regarding the purpose to which the excess of revenue over the expenditure should be applied. Some members proposed that the duty on strong beer, others that the duty on cider, should be reduced, and others that, in the rural communes, houses of only one story, and the rent of which did not exceed fifty francs, should be exempted from the door and window tax. All these propositions were rejected in favour of the motion of the minister of finance to employ the surplus in reducing the land-tax. Twenty-five millions were voted for the civil list, and seven millions for the Royal family. On the vote for the expenses of the minister of justice being proposed, M. de Labourdonnaye accused that department of protecting and rewarding criminals, and declared that he would never consent to vote the public money to a minister "in whose hand the sword of justice was wielded for the protection of assassination." This charge excited much confusion in the Chamber, till the member explained himself by saying, that he had documents in his possession which proved, that, in Corsica, several assassins, under sentence of death, and others against whom proceedings were commenced, had been set at liberty by the order of the minister of justice, with an injunction to pass into a foreign country. The minister admitted the fact, and justified it on the ground that from the effervescent nature of Corsican passions, it was impos sible to maintain absolute order in the island, and it was necessary to countenance the expatriation of some persons condemned for homicide committed from revenge. But surely it is a new doctrine both in politics and morals, that in proportion to the aptitude of danger ous passions to break forth, the means intended to weaken them should be diminished, and that punishments ought to be more mild and rare, precisely where crimes are most frequent and atrocious. The Papal government has sometimes bribed bandits from their calling by pensioning them off; and they have thus, at least, one motive to good conduct, and the means of living without rapine; but it is very doubtful whether even such a system has ever pre vented a robbery or a murder. Relegation from Corsica can scarce ly be an evil, and supplies no mo tive for controlling the angry passions whose indulgence have produced it. To improve and maintain the internal communications of the country, 422,000 francs were voted, in addition to 28,000 francs for new works, and certainly, consider ing that thus only about 17,000 were to be expended upon all the roads in France, it is easy to be lieve in the justice of the com plaints, made by some of the men bers, of the state in which the roads were kept. The annual expenditure, however, upon canals, and other public works, had been gradually increasing. |