The New York Herald Newspaper, March 27, 1848, Page 1

os tmanenc nak gee NICOSIA, 5 COO IE i AA TEE RONNIE ET SE SOI SNUG Sam THE NEW YORK HERALD. © a Whole No, 5057, ~NEW YORK, MONDAY MORNING. MARCH 27, 1848. THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE. The Bvent, and Incidents Leading to the Fivent. SCENES IN PARIS. &e., &., See Panis, Feb 22, 1848, ‘The struggle between the government and the opposi- thon has commenced im France. The poliiiqué wrecon- ciliahle, as M_ de Remurat well called it,is now develop- ing itself Tha electoral banquet has been suppr. and the opposition retaliate by an impeachment of minir- ters—the rejectionof the impeachment to be followed by the resignation of ¢ large mass of opposition members, and the question of impeachment thus to be brought be- fore the country, shall, if ratified by the electoral body. be- come the rally cry of the opposition in parliament Such is a summary of the news in yesterdsy’s Paris journt It would eppear from the report of what took plac the Chamber, that it was only om Monday that ministers decided upon the necessity of proclaiming the banquot, and their resolution was founded upon th nifeato — in the opposition cirealar, of whic! yester- lay gave dercription. As this manifesto announced that the National Guards would take part inthe s~ sion,@ proclamation has been addressed to the National Guards, reminding them of their duties; ond as the stu- dents were tojoin, another proclamation forbids the as- semblege of any Bumber of personsin the streets. The proclamations were, writes our correspondent, pla- corded at the place of meeting in the course of the evening, where crowds had baen assembling all dey; but the fact of the suppreseion of the banquet, with all the atterdent circumstances, was not erally ko throughout Paris until the of the evening journals) The excitement c) yed was most ex- traordinary, It was by main struggle that # psper could be procured. and so toon as the fortunate parchaser hhad fought back his way, with the paper crushed in his hand, to save itfrom bsing snatched away, he was sur- rounded by a number of anxious listeners, to whom he read the contents by the light of the nearest lamp or shop window. In a time incredibly short, the papers had disappeared, and not one was to be had at all. After along interval, more papers were printed, and the boys who carried them to the stands at which the evening journais are sold, would be iutercepted, and the papers Forced feom them by competitors, who seemed ready to ice. Ada to this the spectacle of on m wagons occasionally arriving {fom Yet, strauce to say, the funds rose at the “Do not mind Vincennes. Passage de Opera thirty centimes. that,”’said a shrewd observer to our correspondent; “those speculators deal with immediate effects, and do not trouble their heads about distant contingencies. Asthey come. the speculstors will desl with them as marketable commodities.” Although the funds rose, the rumor haa got wicd of the intentions of the oppesiiion to impeach ministers, and having presented the act of impeachment to resiga en masse. Panis, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 1848. ‘This morning I was carly on foot, and the first thing that struck my attention was a troop of soldiers entering the hotel of a minister. For some minutes they were geen to spread through the court and garden, and then disappeared, in obedience, no doubt, to a prudent order. Shortly afterwards the Boulevards began to be fl with people, moving in considerable numbers and in the direction of the Madeleine, for it ia at the Cafe de la M eleing, at the corner of the Rue Royale, that the mer ders of the opposition are in the habit of meeting. Pro- ceeding towards the Bourse, through different streets, I eotld observe nothing of an’ unusual character. Peop! “were pursuing their ordinary avocations. Even the “sor glazier, with his frail load, was ti an quilly offerin fo wend windows. Ail looked peaceable and quiet. Whe. ver the proclamations were posted up, a crowd of curious Stopped; but still no excitement. A gentleman Sthom Tmt, told me he had been up to the Rue de Chaillot. ‘2"he banquet ground was occupied by milite- ry, but there w'as even ther. ne assemblege. I proceeded through the Patais Royal; all was quiet. I walked across the garden “{ the Tuileries, end, fur the first time, perceived a crowd standiag on the terrace overlooking the Place de la Consorde. It rained during the night; the ground was wet and the sky dull. There wie ieveral people moving about in the Place de Ia Con- corde, bat mone stopping At length, yout half- past 1Lo’clock, a dense masa of persons ged froi the Rus Royale, mostly wearing biouse, all marching abreast in perfect order, and shout- fog in chorus la Marsrillaise This 1 need not tell you was a direct violation of the proclamation agaiset atirouprments. 1 waited until the whole of the ‘vast arca was fille, and it nppeured to me thet they did not cress the bridge Ieaaing to the Chamber of Depu- ties, but tarned off to the right as if towards Rue Chail- lot.| No soldiers prosented themselves, but a few fire- ‘men coming from the Rue Reyaie with their brass hel- mets, come jokingly ssid, “you aro coming to extin- guish the fires,” and laughed As I returned I saw the troops turning out of the barracks of the Rue Neuve de Luxembourg, #8 if to take tuo procession behind, and i wade my way toa house near the hotel of the Prime Minister. Here I witcessed # long continued scene of the most dangerous excitement ; groups of persons be- gan to assomole to groan the minister, but they passed 32. At length I saw s crowd following four National <suards abreast, and this crowd stopped and groaned, and th n began to throw stones | saw some young Doys kiok at the gate, ons of whom took up a huge pa- ving stone and dashed it against the boards, and the prospect of # collision was growing imminent. A body bf Municipal Guards, commanded by a commissary of oli¢e in colored clothes, but wearing a tri-colored sash, Rarned out into the court, and deliberately losded their uns. They were then drawn up before the door. A Boay of Horse Municipal Guards rode up and dispersed the mob. Soldiers of the tine were drawa up along tho Boulevard side of the hotel, avd a line of Municipal Guards was drawn up in the garden, which is separated by a railing from tho Boulevard. The troops showed great forbearance. From time to time could be heard * Au nom de ta loi” from the mouth of the commissary of police, calling on the people to disperse, and from the people, * Vive la ligne,” intended to fatter the soldiers “then there would be a charge from the Municipal Guards on horseback, and the crowds would be dis- persed only to form again, until at last tho place rang with auniversal chorus of la Marseiiiaise. By about one o’cleck the avenues about the hotel were pretty well cleared, but above the part of the Boulevard whore there were no roldiers, a dense mass had formed onesch side. Two companies of horse Municipal Guards, each extending actoss the whole street, patrolied up and dowa, the mob at both sides sii!i singing and shouting, but the police, evidentiy not intending to proceed to vi- olent means #0 long as they confined themselves to noise Atone mowent, the cominissary of police had nearly Deen carried off by the mob. yet amidst all the provoca- tion I witnessed. I must say that the authorities displayed the most admirable temper and forbearance. 1 was told that in ths morning the f members of the Prime Mioiater’s family were sven to leave the Hotel, and what- ever faults the minister may himself bave fallen into, no ope could, 1am sure, help feeling sympathy for his sged mother, whose husband died by the guillotine, ont mariyrs of the fizst revolution. His daughters, also, are young and lovely, avd desoribed to be of most atfection- ate dispositions and uneffected manners. As for politi ‘sal opinions, [ rhsll only say tvat many sound headed « “ous think that Louis Philippe ought to have Pe. “Strom the King of Piedmont, the Grand Duke of abine “god other reforming sovercigns, and adopted Tascany, -4 the reform movement, which, however it and directs \ just leave the seeds of discontent be- may terminate, ~ his dynasty to standing perils. It is hind, and expot “aynounce @ law regulating the right not yet too late to. “<ises of electoral and parliamenta- of moeting, with pron. “" wight allay the terrible excite ry reform, whien, if done. “Ete neska whon I repeat ment which | this day have .”'.'on'the Prime Miniater’s that | saw an attack commenc.” Siren ational guards hote! from a mob, emong whom \~*!%, a ae ee ones shouting * Down with the minister,’ tn. tein pre: thrown, and preparations to broak ope.“ (1) BM et Be sence of the troops, whom I saw load the. 'f Muskels, yon must allow that asenguinary collision Ww» y nent. Panis, Thursday morning, Feb. 24, oy ‘The part of the city from which | writ in DOW « me As farasl o n but persons eutting md making baerrt regiment of in- nm up in front of hanvjs of the insurgents. Boulevards, nothing 's to be down trees, pulling ap pavemen cates, Theonly soldiers in right foutry and a squadron of caval: the Hotel des Affeires Kerang: z ‘The greatest delight was shown overywhero on (he annoumemont of the fall of the ministry. Tho mob de- nerted their barricades, and went in immense bodies along the Boulevards, for the purpose of seluting M Guizot with groaxs, and proclaiming their triumph. Everywhere they wont they forced tho inhabitants to iliuminate, ond the Rue de ia Paix, the Place Vendo the Bonlaverds, and, in fact, alle the best parts of Paris were illuminated as brilliantly ag it the groatest joy ex- isted, instead, as the fact was, that the city was in pos- session of themob ‘The crowd became at last so dense thet the gévérale wae sounded, and large bodies of troops were brought up for the defonce of the Affaires Et:an- gére:, Adout ten o'clock it unfortunately occurred to {he rioters co demand the rrlease of the prisoners, and a large vody went to the Palais de Justice for the purpose; but they were fired on in the Place de Grove, and great numbers killed, Others went towards tha Affuires: Et Fangéres, jor the same purpose, but some of them hav- ing unfortunately attempted to penstrate into M. Gui- ove offloial residence, for the purpose of forcing him to “wuminate in honor of bia own fall, the soliiers drove + a beck. A ruffvan then thrust @ torch into the face the. sof the soldiers, who fired his musket. This was Ofone ai for a general discharge from the whole of the the sign may conceive the oonfasion, for the Boule- line. You ded to oxorss. It was an immediate sauve vard was cro. vast number were killed and wouuded in qui peut, and —sther the number killed and wounded Uhe flight, Altog. “4 ftp gonsequonces, /a6 upwards of by that discharge au. \ wag a veneralory, “Aur ormes!’ forty, After thinthere * ipa, toute la race!” “A “Abas Louis Philippe! sation wag immense. They Vassassin!” and the exaspe. “a ever rinog the fighting returned to the barrioades; ax caption, joing on without inter. 2 ty,” on ‘The whoie of this morning the fighting is gom, m mo I writing immente cavalry and infantry’: are fin fo rected m tof every aver, The . wherever they show themselves, wel General Lamoricisre bas just tional Guards, received by the people. parsed in the Ni | ‘Guards’ maiform at the head of a Staft in tho om iteoe. He js cha ered by the people. Pp Feb. 24, Afternoon. In was on the evening of Wednes oy, at tarve O'oloek: | a council of mi that M Rembuteau, the Prefect of the Seine, waited upon his Majesty Louts Philippe, to inform him thet the Mu- nicipel Council had decided on demanding the resigna- tion of the ministry. His M: i diately convoked r8,and brought the subject before them. The ministers replied, ' Sire, renvoyrz-nous.”” Having accepted their resignation, the king sent for M. Molé, who replied that he accepted of the minisiére de Pémeute. The news of t signation of the mivistry speed like wildfire through Paris, and for a moment the ighting ceased In the evening, the Ruos St. Honore, St. Martin, and Rambuteau were illuminated; the troops hdrew, with the exception of those stationed in the ‘arrousel, before the Hotel de Ville and the about eme: streets, and then vanished in the distance, intermingling , by cries of d bas Guizot! Vive le Reformé! med restored; but about ten o’clock a dense sisting chiefly of students, was seen advancing the Hotel of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. — ato] by the detachment of troops on du j they endeavored to force the passags when the troops shouldered their muskets and fired Above sixty of the foremost fell killed or wounded. Thi sted the mob, and cries of ‘ Guizot shouted by some of the more furious 8 mediately erscted, and the deep tones of the toscin pealed from the towers of Notre Dame. VIEW OF FRANCE, BY AN EX-PRIVATE SECRETARY OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. ‘THE CONDITION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE PEOPLE The French, before the revolution of 1789, were divided into six classes—the clergy, the nobility, the parliaments, the so callled haute bourgeoisie (gentlemen, not nobles, but of inde- pendent fortune,) the merchants and tradesmen, and the peasants The only result of that revo- lution, and of all the other revolutions which succeeded one another, has been, the simplifi- cation of that division of the people. There are now but two classes—the persons employed and paid by the government (about 500,000,) and the rest of the people, nearly 34,000,000. In the former state of France, which was certainly bad enough, each of the classes, having opposite in- terests and conflicting pretensions, acted es a check upon the others; and, with the exception of the peasants, who were the victims of all, knew pretty well how to resist the encroachment of rival classes. It must also be admitted, that elements of independence existed in every one of these classes, and that hostility to the court was the predominant feeling of all; so that, in fact, the absolute power of the Ene was con- finedwithin narrow limits,and the public liberties were in some sort secured by party rivalries. The great evil was, the pride of the aristocracy, which was principally felt and resented by the townsmen of every rank, and by the pea- sants; and the exemption of the privileged orders from taxes. At present, nobility and ti- des are nothing inthe State. The only acknow ledged superiority is derived from holding office under government.¢All that are not.employed— dukes, counts, plebeians—are equally crushed uader the administrative despotism, and equally helpless in defending either public or private rights against the encroachments ot the govern- ment. Thus, the anarchy of castes, existing preside to the French revolution, has been succeeded by their annihilation under the ty- ranny ofan irresistible aud irresponsible power. STATISTICS OF THE FRENCH POPULATION. The population ot France is, at present, above 34,400,000 ,inhabitants, who are disseminated over the country; not, as in England, congre- gated at many points in large masses. Wi ith the exception of Paris, there is but one city, Lyons, containing 100,000 inhabitants; eight containing trom 40,000 to 70,000; and about twenty-five con- (aining more than 20,000. According to the last census, 7,650,000 inh »bitants live in 2,194 cities or towns (reckoning as such, places with a popu- lation of 1,500 or more individuals), and 26,600,000 live in 35,900 rural communes (vil- lages and hamlets). 2 his obviously indicates, that agriculture is the employment of the greater part of the popu- ation, as will be seen from a division of the in- habitants, according to their occupations :— 1, Agricuiturists of all ranks, with their fa- miliet tase ee eens . sess 18,260,000 2. Tradesmen of all kinds, MiG ispecies ‘ 6,990,000 3, Manufacturers, bankers, mero! 4,190,000 & 760,000 5 People of independent property, w trade or profession, livisg on their in- come Se ese veces s . 640,000 6 Funotionaries paid by the government... 1,096 000 7. The army the navy,aid; State pensioners 620 000 3, Paupers..seeseeee 1,855,000 WaMali tos a0 were opie tere 84,400 000 With this view, I proceed to a subdivision. The three,first classes—the agriculturists, the tradesmen, and the manufacturers and mer- chants, are composed of masters and servants, or workmen. The following table will show ia what proportion they stand:—- Classes. Masters. Servants—Workmen Agriculturista 4.000 16,866,000 Tradesmen 5,812,000 Manufacture! 3,426,000 Total... 26,104,000 The result of this subdivision is, that the three classes are now reduced to two. The first, composed ot 3,326,000, devoting their capital and their intelligence to the pursuits of agriculture and industry, are, in some sort, independent. [he second, amounting to 26,104,000, have no other capital than their bodily strength, which hey let on hire to those who compose the first. Chis is the working class, owing their daily bread to their daily labor, aud precluded by their poverty and their occupations from all participa- ion in municipal or political action. Adding to their number the poor, the indigent, estimated us 1,855,000, we have a total of 27,853,000 indi- viduals completely shut out from civil life; in one word, the French helots. Persons living on their income, and those en- gaged in learned or scientific professions, form ‘he superior class, being more independent, either by their fortune or by their acquirements. Finally, by adding the state pensioners, the army and the navy, to the paid functionaries, we ob- tain acomplete classification ot the population of France, as follows:— Ist claee—The working classes, the poor, the heiets . * eeeeee 27,959 000 2d claecs—Agriculturista and ind tstriels.... 3,326,000 3d class—Learned and scientific professior nd people living on their income... . 1,400,000 4th clats—Paid officials, army and navy. 1,715 000 Total. secsecseeeeeeeseees 34,400,000 We now begin to perceive the causes of the power of the French government, and of the lethargy of the people, under the uncontrolled absolutism of their rulers. We see that the go- vernment has not to contend against 34,000,000 subjects. 27,959,000 of these subjects are of ne- sessity helpless. They have no means of influ- egeing the legislative or ministerial measures; they have no time to attend to them; nay, they caunot know them. They can, indeed, teel them; they feel them, in the view of a scanty meal, surrounded by famishing children, or at the sight of the tax-gatherer and of the gendarme. fhe only rigat they have, is that of being s:tis- fied with their halfration. Pay they must, or go to prison, A curse, many curses, may swell their bosoms, but there they must remain entombed. Resistance is impossible; they are isolated—they are disarmed. Furor arma ministrat? True; but, poor fellows! they know that three glorious days and aday of magnanimous triumph, leave their families without bread during tour days, and, besides, may atterwards leave themselves without work during many months. The government has to contend only with the second and third classes, amounting to 4,726,- 000 individuals; but, besides being supported by 1,700,000 functionaries, with 500,000 well- loaded muskets, and thousands of cannons al- ways prepared for wholesale murder, the French rulers have many other means of preventing all resistance onthe part of those classes. Ona that head no fears can for an instant be entertained. We must remember, that itis from amongst the members of these classes that the govern- ment choose the honorary officials, as weil as those who, although unpaid by the treasury, de- rive a good income from their offices or monopo- lies. More tian one third of these two classes must be deducted from that numerical force, and he enrolled in che opposite ranks. The conflict, then, i8 between 139,000 independents and 3 ow dependents, the government having a mujorl y oF must still be increased by the addition MT thoes candidates for office whi know that their only charice of getting anything is, by outstripping ‘the holders of o: them- selves in their zeal for the support of the go- vernment. _ 5 Besides this, many of those bolanging to the second class are Very little, if at all, above those of the lowest, the helots. What is a poor coun- try baker, or smith, or grocer, or joiner? Yet they form the half of the second class, with the retail dealers and small shopkeepers; so that more than half a million must again be deducted from the independent portion. They, of neces- sity, are dependent on the mayor and the clergy- man of the village. ¥ As to the rest of the two classes, there is nothing easier than to prevent their being ar- rayed against the government. The French rulers know that well, and they act accordingly By customs duties, protective taxes, and premi- uma, they have set the agriculturists against the manufacturers; the manufacturers against the colonial interest; the colonial interest against the tradesmen and merchants; and each against allthe rest’ The merchant of Havre is intent upon the annihilation of the sugar manufactur- ers of Arras. The iron master of the Haute Marneknocks down the wine grower of the Gironde; and the royal forester levels his gun at the coalheaver. “This is, ac- cording to the doctrine of la pondération des Forces, the political equilibrium of the popular classes. Such is the political science of the new conquerors of the Gauls. i , Mere again occurs the question. How can an intelligent and enlightened people allow them- selves to be misled by such doctrines, and tram- pled upon by such doctrinaires? Let us,in an- swer tothis question, consider the intellectual condition of the people. . The published or spoken accounts of our Ev lish tourists in France, the self praising and bombastic comptes rendus annually presented and printed by the minister for public instruc- tion, and the amazing number ot literary pub- lications, however bad they be, have not prepared my readers for hearing that, with the exeeption of the Russians, the French are probably the most ignorant people in Europ . Such, however, is the fact, as establisied by other comptes rendus, also annually presented and printed, by another equally high authority, the Minister of the War Department. [t is known, that the stability, the hohor, and power of the French governmentreston a standing army, 400 000 men strong; and that every year 80,000 men are drawn by lot,for military service, trom among all the young men who, during the year, have attained their twenty-first year of age. To ascertain the progress of popular instruction, the recruiting and civil authorities have been en- joined to examine and report the educational con- dition of all the young men at the moment they are brought to be drawn. pete The official returas, presented by the Minis- ter, on the instruction of this class of the popula- tion, recognise three degrees of ignorance, and three of instruction. ‘aking these returas as the basis of our calculations, we find the follow- ing results for the whole of the population:— lst—Unable to read and to write. sees 16,855,000 2d—Able to read, but not to write. . 7,097,000 8d—Reading and writing, but incorreotly. 6,968 000 4th—Reading and writing correctly... 2,430,000 5th—Having the elements of classical edu HOM see eee ete cases seenccess 735,090 6th—Having completed their classical studi 316,000 Total... cee sees eee ers 34,400,000 _ I must observe that, in the preceding computa- tions, I have applied to the whole population of France an average which, according to the offi- cial returas, applies only to the virile population. it is known that, all over the continent, but par- ticularly in. rrance, the instruction of young girls is considered, by the laboring classes, as much less necessary, and is much less attended to, than that of their boys. I cannot, theretore, be accused of exaggeration, when, overlooking this fact, and extending to the whole the results of the investigation made on one half, and which cannot, by any certain process, be made onthe other half of the population of France, I conclude that two-thirds of her population are in astate of complete ignorance; one-fourth is ina state of comparative ignorance; one-fourteenth part only can read and write correctly; and not one in ahuadred has completed a ‘course of classical studies _ A point, which appeats to me of the utmost importance, 18 to ascertain, as far as possible, in what proportion the four classes of the popula- Hon paaiciners in the six degrees of ignorance or of instruction, as it may lead to the discovery of the real causes of the moral weakness, and of the consequent violence of the goverament. The following table will answer the purpose: — Cvasses OF THE PorvLaTion Degrees Work'g Agricul- Learned Paid Total. of Igno- Classes, turatists| Prof.§in- Officials rance § Helots lanu- dependent Army & instruc: facturers property. Navy. i 421,000 758,000 219 ¢00 604, 340,000 789,000 436,00 2,430,080 248.000 2 222/000 735,000 46,000 201,000 67,000 315000 Total..27 959,000 3,326,000 1,400,000 1,715,000 34,400,000 The first observation which the foregoing ta- ble suggests, is, that, in the distribution of in- struction amongst the four classes of the popu- lation, the govermental and administrative class 13 far’ from having any advantage. The third class, although less numerous, reckons 436,000 individuals, having received a classical or com- plete education, and only 625,000 ignorants, (the children of that class, whilst the governmen- tal class includes only 299,000 individuals com- pletely educated, and the number of ignorauts amounts to 980,000. ‘i The second class, the ugricuiturists and the manufacturers, is also much superior, with re- gard to instruction, to the governmental and ad- ministrative class. Besides 759,000 individuals having received a good general education, there we find 294,000 men having the advantage of a classical and scientific education. Finally, the governmental class does, not include the fourth part of the educated portion of the people, and therefore the doctrinaires are not justified in saying that their government rests upon l’aristo- cratie des lumidres. " But to have the condition of the people still better understood, and to appreciate with still treater accuracy how France stands with re- gard to her government, we must again proceed to another sub-division of the population. Ot the 34,400,000 inhabitants, more than the half are excluded, by their sex or age, from all civil or political action. We therefore must withdraw them from our calculations. The number of females ia France is. +e @ 17,282 000 Under 21 years of age 8 287.000 Of 21 years of age or abo" « 8.955 000 The total of the male population ++ 17,168,000 Under 21 years ofage. .. eee 8.252 000 Of, or above 21 years of age 8,916,000 Thus the active part of the French population, Jes citoyens actifs, those who are entitled to civil rights, amount to 8,916,000; and those really compose what we cail the French people. _ These ‘citoyens actifs” belong to the four classes in the foilowing proportion— Ist—The workiag classes and paupers. . = 6,585,000 2d—Manulacturing, trading, and agricultural 927,000 ‘and independent 425.000 979 000 08 Ath—Paid official f Total... .ccerescceees 8,916,000 It is of some importance to know in what pro- portion general education is diffused amongst the four classes of active citizens; and it 18 shown in the following table— Active Classes Citizens. Educated. Uneducgted. Ficet. soe 66 585,000 894 000 5,591,000 927000 882,000 45,000 425,000 -10.87,000 + 989,000 637,000 302,000+ The superiority of the third and second classes, with regard to mstruction, over the class of placemen, is now evident. In these two classes, therefore, the faults, the abuses, the misdeeds of the government cannot pass unobserved, un- resisted or unresented. The only resource of a bad government is to weaken resistance, and to prevent resentment from becoming rebellion; and that isdoue, asI stated before, by giving about 280,000 honorary offices and monopolies of protessions and trades to their favorites in those two classes. This gives them a numerical majority of 280 over their opponeats; and then every thing is carried on as it pleases the ruling party. Yet it isnot so much on account of their in- tellectual qualificatioas, as on account of their property, that the government favors or disre- gards the members of the several clusses, Pro- perty is every thing, and therefore | must try to give an idea of the distribution of property, and * In this class not only every one is educated, but also 672 women or youths under twenty-one moo 1 sppet that Of every 1,000 conscrite, norance. « do not know their alphabet, ° bf ‘of the supposed incomes, in the tollowing table of the direct taxes:— Tazes paid. Supposed Income. Proprietors. m to ‘rom to 1,000 fr. any amount. 9 000fr. any amount. 19,900 500. 4500... 9,00 28 800 52.500 ‘The total number of the tax-payers being 9,165,- 000, whilst the number of “active citizens” is only 8,896,000, it followsthat among the tax- payers there are at least 500,000 females, or mi- nos, to make up the difference, and to account tor the indigent adult who do not pay. . The first’class of the population, the working class, pay almost the whole of the taxes under forty tranes. Every individual of that class in the country fortunately has a house, a most miserable one, perhaps, but still a house of his own, andasmall plot of garden attached to it, where he grows vegetables in sufficient quantity for his family. Many have an orchard, and some as have half an acre, an acre, or even more of ble land, to grow corn, or to feed a cow, or a jew pigs. The average amount of their earnings is 450 franes, (£18) a year. With this, a laborer keeps his family, and saves afew francs every year to purchase a small parcel of land. — The taxes, from forty to 200 franes, are princi- vatly paid by the second ciass, and by the fourth. A small part of them only is paid by the learned or scientific gentlemen belonging to the second class, who pay the highest rate of taxes; and thus the third class, the least numerous, has the greatest share in the distribution of wealth, and of education. We have now a complete idea of the state of the French population, with regard to iis divi- sion acording to sex, age, education, and pro- perty; but we have something more to say on the condition of the 8,896,000 aduit individuals really composing the French people, and called “active citizens” because they exercise their civil rights: The rights of a Frenchman, when he becomes a citizen by completing his twenty-first year, are the following :— 1st. Lo draw lot for the conscription, and, if the chance {s agatost him, to be made a soldier, and pass the dest part of his life, if he does not lose it, in scouring Europe under @ Napoleon: and, under the Citizen King, in a career of butchery, pillage, and devastation in Africa, or even in France. Nesriy a third part of tho young men who arrive at twenty-one years of age, are annually compelled to exercise this right. Those who draw a good number have the right of composing the moveable natioual guard, and of being called to active ey, service, if the exigencies of the government re- juire 9 2d. The right of paying the capitation tax, (le contri- bution personnetie), and the licence duties (les patentes) The right of paying all the other taxes is epjoyed by all persons, without regard to rex or og when they have any Peary. ‘The former is a pri’ he 84. The right of acquiring or disposing of property by sale or mortgage; of contracting binding obligations of any sort; of suing or bsing sued in any court of civil law; of being appointed trustee to orphan or lunatic relations: in one word, of conducting his own and his fami business as he thinks proper, subject to the legal and fiscal, or other regulations, imposed by the government, ach are the civil rights of the Freach citizen. They are more properly called individual rights, as they refer only to the private acts of indivi- duals, and not to their conduct as citizens, as members of a community, or of a political body. As members of a commuaity, the citizens have, or at least ought to have, communai (or, as they are call-d, municipal) rights; and, as members of @ political body, they ought to be allowed to exercise political rights ‘Thisis not the case. Uhe municipal and political organization of France, having for its object only to strengthen the inflaence of the government, cannot be founded ona popular basis. That organization now demands our attention, and we will begin with the municipalities. THE MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION. f _A commune, as has already been stated, is either a city, a town, a village, or a group of small villages, or hamlets. a mayor, ene adjoint, or assistant, in communes containing less than 2,000 inhabitants; two ad- joints in the communes having from 2,500 to 10,000 inhabitants; and one adjoint more for every 20,000 inhabitants above 10,000, in all the other communes; together with a municipal council composed of ten members for 500 inha- bitants; twelve, for from 500 to 1,500; sixteen, for from 1,500 to 2,500; twenty-one, for from 2,500 to 3,500; twenty-three, for from 3,500 to 10,000; twenty-seven, for from 10,000 to 30,000; and thirty-six, for above 30,000. The municipal councils are elected, not by all, but by a part only of the “active citizens” of the commune, in the following proportion:— There are ten electors tor every 100 inhabi- tants in the communes under 1,000 inhabitants. Above 1,000, there are, for every additional 1000 five electors for every 100 inhabitants, till the Pag is above 5,000; when the proportion is our electors per cent. for 15,000, and then three per cent for above 15,000 inhabitants. The electors are the highest rated people of thecommune. This does not imply that they are the rich of the country—quite the contrary; most of them are hardly above the working clases, or are contounded with them, for the greatest number of these electors belong to the rural communes, under 1,000 inhabitants. The uumber of those communes 1s 34,500, and their population is about 24,800,000 inhabitants; and, ian many Gf those communes, the highest tax- payer could not be a communal elector in a more populous locality, or in a town. The municipal electors of the rural communes not only belong to the poor classes, but also to the ignorant classes! asit is principally in the villages that education is most neglected, 17,800 of them having no communal schools. There, then, the government has not to fear meeting with much opposition from the electors. Being poor, they are dependent; and, being ig- norant, they can be imposed upon, and therefore their number may be large without any danger. But, in the towns and in the cities, where there are wealth and education, independence and knowledge, there is need of precaution; and the number of the electors must therefore be re- auced,in proportion to the importance of the place; not, as itis said, because they would be too nu- merous, but, in order to be enabled to influence « majority of them. The proof is, that without any qualification, most of the functionaries, and any one having a retiring pension of 600 francs, are, ex-officio, inunicipal electors. _ The municipal electoral body being thus con- stituted, it isplain that the government has no reason to fear much for, the composition of the municipal councils Liberals, oppositionists, may be elected; nay, in some cases, the ma- jority of the councilmen may belong to the op- position;but the government is always certain to obtain the election of five or six of its supporters, and that answers all its purposes, since it enables it to choose a mayor and the adjoiats from amongst its own partisans. Tn the towns of 3,000 inhabitants, or more, the mayors and the adjoints are nominated by the King. In all the other places, they are appointed by the prefects; and these officiais, although un- paid, are, partreularly in the rural communes, the wost subservient of all the functionaries. The government well knows how much a half- educated peasant is jealous of his authority, and fond of exercising it over his betters. So the mayors and their assistants are generally chosen, not from amongst the old lords of the manor, who are, for the most part, legitimists; or from amongst the best educated, these being generally liberals; but from that class of men, who, con- scious of their personal interiority, are always inclined to make their superiors feel their offi- cial power. There is hardly an example of the mayor chosen by the King or tve prefect, being the member of the council who hes obtained the greatest number of votes. By such means, the communal adminstration is reduced to a very simple process. The minister transmits his commands to the pref cts; the pretects trasmit them to the mayors; and every one obeys and submits. The muncipal councils have no means of op- posing the execution of these ccmmands. These councils cannot meet but when called on, or allowed to do so, by the preteet; and they cannot discu: in their assembly, any other pratter thar that specified in the instrument of theirconvocation. If they act contrary to this, all their deliberations are void; and, as they cannot legally meet without having first asked permission from the prefect, and at the same time announcing the object of their meeting, it is evident that the pretect, by refusing the neces- sary authorization, is always able to defeat their objects. ‘his is not all. If one of these municipal ‘The communal, er municipal authorities, are,- councils, assembled by order or permission of the prefect, to disenss a question, comes to a de- cision contrary to the views of the prefect and of the government, the prefcet is euthorized to quash and annul that decision; and, if the coun. | cil persists in its opposition, a royal ordinance, on the demand of the prefect, pronounces its dissolution. There are, at this present moment, many municiralities without councils, on ac- count of their having opposed the mode of re- censement (the census) ordered by the minister of finance. The communal electors, in such ecireum- stances, are generally disposed to side with the municipal councillors; and to re-elect them, when dismissed for having done their duty to their fellow citizens To guard againt such re- election, the king is authorized to suspend the municipal elections, and to appoint mayors, ad- joints, and councilmen ot his own choice Such is the law passed in March, 1831, eight months after the revolution of July! r We must not imagine that it is only whee in- terfering im political matters, that municipal councils are exposed to the rebukes of the pre- fects, to suspension or to dissolution. They have no oceasion, no oppurtunity for considering political questions, and they do not attempt to transgress the prohibitions ‘They attend to the interests of their localities The maintenance or the establishment of a school; the repairing of a church, of abridge, of a road, at their own ex- pense, and according to their own views; the regulations for keeping the streets in proper or- der, are the only subjects which they ean dis- cuss, and that only after having first asked per- mission of the sub-prefect, who refers the de- mand to the prefect, who grants or refuses the authorization to summon and assemble the coun- cil Not a frane can be expended for any pur- pose without that authorization. ? The communes, before the revolution, had some property in woods and lands; but that pro- perty bas generally been taken from them, and now their only revenue is a per centage (centimes additionnels) on the direct taxes. That revenue not being sufficient to cover the expenses, in the large communes and the towns, they provide for the deficiency by the oetrois, the duty imposed upon the provisions introduced into the place, and by more additional centimes; but they can- not do that—they cannot even meet to consider the necessity or the practicability of the mea- sure, without the assent of the prefect. Of course, the representatives of the prefects, the mayors, scarcely ever fail to execute the or- ders transmitted to them, and often go heyond their instructions. The municipal councils can- not prevent it. They have no authority but when assembled; and the mayors are not inclined to propose their convocation, in order to have their own misconduct inquired into. The prefects can order the assembling of the councils when they want their approbation to carry any measures; but those measures being frequently not for the interest of the communes, but profitable only to the government, are accord- ingly rejected by the councils, which is generally the cause of their suspension or dissolution. At their regular quarterly meetings, the municipal councils have no other power than to receive and pass the accounts presented by the mayor, of the authorized expenditure of the commune during the preceding three months. Most of the coun- cilmen, in the rural communes, know very litile of reading and writing, and still less of arithme- tic. Noy, many thousands of the mayors them- selves, Galo to the uneducated class We may infer, then, that those accounts, however Unsatisfactory, are hardly ever found tarit with In the towns and large cities, this is not case. Tiere the members of the councile do n Price Two Cents. with them, and whoever commands them will always succeed in Paris. Do not miataders'and me—TI kaow that ¢ are many pire, ¥ od t tie f ueu hea ha the b 44 reed heir country; but I would ask wii | : tonie show? Look back atthe Reiga of for, republic, consulate, enpire, restoration and finally the fllen coastiontional mot vot low will each compar the other? Ace no the advant to n fivor of the latter? When tor yeara his the kingdom enjoyed euch repose? Wan has she been more respected at homes and abroad? When has her commerce and mion acute been more flourishiog or in 4 more healtay condition? [ should like to know when.— Now all has been changed by the vets of a few designing politicians, aad I rather think matters have hain a little farther than even they im tended. : But if they are to have a republic, then T hops the people will insist upon niiversal suifrare— give the eystem a fair trial—let every Fre nn of twenty-one years of age come up to ‘hs polls and give his vote; and my on it, two years would not roll sround before the very men who have stirred up this voleaas, would (if their heads are left on their shoulders.) gladly wel- come back any member of the Orleans family The French are no more fit for 1 republic tnan the Americans are for 2 moaarchy. i Thus, in conelusion, [ would args that if Louis Philippe has erred, (which is not my opinion,) do not let his many virtues be forgot- ten; do not let the many advantages whieh have accrued to France from his reiza, be sw illowed up or unheeded, and universal condemnation, amounting almostto execratioa, fall upon the nead of one who has ceriainly dene so mueh tor la belle France. AN American Crrizsn Crxcinnatt, Mareh 8, 1848. The late Legislature of Ohio will be long re- membered by the people. Perhaps 80 wise, 60 calm, so dignified a body never before assembled iu the State. All whose names are enrolled on the journals will doubtless look back to the ses- sion of 1847-8 with peculiar pride, and their chil dren and children’s children, will, in time to come, recur to this period with exultation. Oh, most wise and patriotic men, how much do the people ewe you for your noble deeds! As a spe- cimen of the dignity of their proceedings, I may reter to the rebellion of the fifteen loco-toco Senacors, for uo other reagon in the world than because, by the division of Hamilton into legis- lative districts, the supremacy of their this city would be endangered. An a this affair has already been published in the Herald. | 2 A specimen of the wisdom of our Legislature may be tound 1n the new law in relation to bank- ing. That law makes it unlawful for any bank, broker, or private banker, to deal in the notes of any bank, save those of the State of Ohio, and all debts contracted tor such foreign paper, with any bank or broker, is declared null and void, provided the paper is obtained for cireulation within this State. I send you a copy of this ex- traordinary enactment, which it may be well to publish 7 Ke ‘ The operation of this law, if its provisions were strictly enforced, would produce most se- rious consequences. We have not enough of domestic paper for the business of the people, and consequently the notes of the Indiana and Kentucky banks have found their way into the State, and coustitute a large proportion of our cirtulating medium Withdraw these notes, and we will not have money enough among us soeasily submit to the discretion of the muye and to the will of the prefects. They a: cast re sent the abuse of authority on the part of those functionaries, and seize every opportunity of stigmatizing their acts, when they can do no more. The fact is, that, of the 2,200 own coun- cils, more than sixteen hundred are ta oppo tion to the system of the government, aad itis principally on that account that the goverament has so-completely. crippled the wutural authority of those municipal bodies. é The mmuntcaeel councils are renewed one-half every three years; and every three years, after the election of the new councilmen, the mayors and adjoints are appointed. All, however, may be, and generally are, re-elected. a I conclude the exposure of this mockery of a municipal administration by an enumeration of the electors and agentsi— The numberof the ive citizens” is.... ‘The communal electors amount to . .. 795,000 The communal counsilmen. ... 426,000 In this new division of the population, we have, Ist, 6,101,000 active citizens debarred from all participation, even in the commuaal cen- cerns; 2nd, 2,795,000 whose interference is limi- ted to the election of councilmen, who are pro- fessedly chosen to manage the affairs of the commune; 3d, 426,000 communal councilmen, who are, by law, prohibited doing any thing un- der any circumstances, but what pleases the king, the ministers, the prefects, the sub-pre- fects, the mayors, and the assistants. Yet is this the only institution which really proceeds from any considerable portion ot the people, and which can be said to belong to the people, from the condition, the habits, the occupations, the interests, the feeling, the amount of property, and the degree of instruction or of ignorance of the electors and the elected Bad as the law is, it does not answer all the pur- poses of the government. In almost aise one of the municipal councils, there are, at the least, three or four morally independent men, who lead, their colleagues; and, if they cannot propose and pass any of those measures which they consider beneficial to their localities, they oppose, as fur as speaking and voting can do it, the official measures which they deem injurious or obnoxious to their fellow citizens. They feel their impotency, they claim a real muncipal authority; and, almost every where, the councils are arrayed against the authorities which they are bound to obey. Before long, then, the law of 1831 must be altered; the number of communal electors and councilmen must be considerably educed, so as to ensure the submission of all 8,396,000 Whe French Re ‘olution of 1945.Phe Other Side. “Now nono so poor as to do him reverence.” Mr. Eprrorn—i have been very much sur prised at the universal condemnation of the fallen dynasty of France. Looking upon the reign of Louis Philippe as the very best that ever existed for that country, and accustomed as Thave been to read inall the journals the most extravagant eulogiums on all his measures, it has been with great astonishment that [ have not heard one voice uplifted to stay the torrent of most patriotic indignation against the measures which have produced such astounding results Any person ot ordinary capacity, who has paid attention to the proceedings in France for the last year, must have foreseen that a crisis was impending which required the most vigo- rous exertions on the part of the government to avert. I look upon these reform banquets as akin to the Jacovin clubs of the last century; and so, doubtiess, did the government of Louis Philippe. As they were entirely contrary to law, it was clearly the duty of the ministry to put them down. But let us suppose that this ban- quet had taken place—what would have been the result? Can any one doubt? Look at the pro- gramme. A double line of National Guards, (of course subscribers to the banquet,) through which were to pass, first, the superior officers of the same guards, then the invited guests and subscribers, then the National Guard, in columns, according to the number of their le- gions, then the students, who, when there is any disturbance, always act their part, then Nu- tional Guards from the city and neighborhood, close the cortege. Now, can any one imagine that this imposing procession, end all the attend- ing circumstances, would not have called out an immense number of spectators, and that the go- vernment, for its own security, would not have had all the troops under arms? | ‘To every mani- festation, song, toast, or sentiment inside, an immediate respense would have been made out- side, and some very patriotic chiffonier from the cité, had only to cry out what avery fine thing it was to mourir pour la patrie; another to biow out the brains of some unsuspecting officer, the Marseillaise, & bas Guizot, then mourw Patrie again, then the barricades, then ler ur la pub- communications. for ordinary business purposes, and our com- meree must seriously suffer. But no one has aay idea thet the law will be carried into effect. In order to obtain the notes of the banks of other States, a man has but to say that he wishes to circulate them out of the State, and all is right. Bat this does not exculpate the whig majority, who passed the law, and upon whom the respon- lity rests. Not at all. They had the will, not the wisdom, to do a mean thing. Last night, the anniversary of the battle of Cerralvo was celebrated at Washington Hall in « spirited manner, on which occasion a splen- did sword was presented to Major Giddings, the hero ot that memorable contest. It was the gift of the brave regiment which he then led to victory. : : A most melancholy occurrence transpired in Cherry Alley a few nights since, at the residence of Mr’ Thomas Andrews. Mr. A. and lady were abseat, when one of her children went near the grate, by which her clothes caught fire, and be- lore assistance could be obtained, she was vurned to death. What a scene was presented to the afflicted mother on her return! A young girl, about eighteen years of age, whose friends reside in Newport, Ky., opposite this city, committed suicide a few days ago, un- der peculiarly distressing circumstaucs. She had been the victim of seduction and abandon- meut, and for the last few years had lived a life of shame. Ia despair, she took the last leap, and now rests from her sorrows in the voiceless tomb. The funeral! of the brave Captain Irwin, U.S A., who died at the city of Mexico, and whose remains were brought to this city for interment, took place on Thursday last. The military were out, and a vast number of cit 3 joined in the procession. He was a fine officer, and ‘every inch a man.” Ephraim H. Eastman was arrested last week, in his room, at the National Hotel, for counter- feiting. He was entrapped by a policeman, who went tohis room to **purctiase”? seme of the money ; about $20,000, composed ot counterfeit notes on the various Western banks, was dis- played to his astonished eyes, by the unsuspect- ing Eastman, aud while negotiations were going on, the guilty man was arrested by several other officers, who, according to previous arrange- ments, came inatthat moment. Eastman has been duly committed, and will doubtless be con- victed and sent to the penitentiary. Old Rough and Ready to General Scott. Heap Quanrens, Any of Occuration, Camp near Victoria, Mexiso, Janu ny 15, 1847. Sin:—In a communication addressed this day to your rtaff officer, | have replied to #0 much of your letter of the 6th inatant, and its enclosures, as reiates to points of jetail; but there are other and grave topi those communications, to which I deem it my right my duty to reply direetiy. The amount of force to be drawn from this frontier, aod the manner in which it is proposed to wit had never fully come to my knowledge until y though hinted at in your note of November you, (eneral, relieved me at once in the whole and assigned me to duty under your order, or allowed me to retire from the fleld, be assured that no complaint would havo been heard from me; but while almostevery man of my regular force and haif tho volunteers, (now in respectable discipline) are withdrawa for vice, it seems that | am expected, with less thi sand regnlars and a volunteer force, pertly of ne’ to hold # defensive line, while « large army of more twenty thousand nion is in iny front. I speek only of a defensive |'ae; for the idea of asta ming offensive operations in the direction of San Luisa by Mareh, or even May, with sach troops ay can then be 1c my disposition, inquite too preposterous to be enter. tained fora moment. After allthat | have written t the department on the subject of such operations, | find it difficult to believe that { am seriously expected to undertase them, will the ex(raordinarily limited means a6 my disposal { cannot misunterstand the object of the arrangs ments indicated in your letters, I feel that | have jort the confidence of the goverament, or it would not h.re saffered me to remain, up to this ti ignorant of ite intentions, with so vitelly affecting reste committed omy charge. But ho er much I may feel pereonally mortified and outraged at the o urse pursued, unprece- dented, at least, in our own history, | will carry out in good faith, while I remain in Mexico, the views of the government, though | may be sucrificed in the effort I deaply regret to find ip your letters of January 3,to Major General Butler and myself, su allusion t> my po- sition here, whieh I can but consider an !nsivaation that {havo put myself, willingly, out of the reach of your I beg leave to remark that the move- meat of the troops in this direction, and my own march hither, were undertaken for public reasons, freely ast forth in my reports to the adjutant general, one of them being my desire to place in position for embarkation to Vera Cruz, should the government order an expedition to that point, the force (two thousand regulara and two thousand volunteers) which | reported might be spared for that service. I have the honor to be, general, Your obedient servant, Z TAYLOR, Mejor Gon. U. 8. Army, Commaauing. Mejor Gen. Wixrienp Scort, lique, then the flight of the meilleure republic and grand finale, the sacking of the ‘Lutte and the Palais Royal, where tne afotesad po triotic chiffonier and his co federates x: i riously drunk trom Camour de la patric. ou Now, seriously, Mr. Kditor, ts not all this true? And what is the object ? | answer,a sug | gle for power. Will any one pretend to ss Garnier Pogés, Odillon Barrot, Leon de Mahe ville, or any other of the fifty-three deynties who | igned the act of accusation, love their couatry any better than Guizot, Sauzet, Salvandy, or the conservative deputies? No, no—a thousand times no. The first mentioned had the mob yes correspondence will be foun Commanding United States Army, Brazos Island, Lexon. risFACTION FROM ENGLAND.--We published rday 4 patagraph, oa the authority of the Vew York Herald, regarding the suspension from ofilce 1 Capiain May, of the steamer Toyiot, and promisad to sive the correspondence between the American minister to Londow, and Lord Palmerstoa, oa the sahject. The nother column; but to state tha! Captain May, who was the com- the ‘Teviot when thy occurrences detailed 8. wo are glad mander of took place, is now commander of the Royal Visil Com~ ‘steamship Medway, at present lying ia our har- —Kingaton Cam.) Journal, Feb. 12.