THE FRENCH MODEL REPUBLIC.

Si je crois rien de ce qu'on y rapporte,

Je veux, mes enfants, que le diable m'emporte.

BERANGER.

PURSUING in another form the subject which, by its extraordinary importance, has induced us to depart from our general rule of not touching upon political matters, we purpose, in these pages, to address ourselves to the task of examining the progress which the French Republic has already made, and what the measures are which have been taken by those at the head of affairs to insure its stability.

One fear alone assails us in making this attempt, and that is, lest the Utopian dream which was proclaimed at the Hôtel de Ville on the 24th of February, shall have utterly dissolved before these pages issue from the press-a consummation by no means improbable.

The first step taken by the Provisional Government, after having installed itself, was to make the declaration of "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity," which was henceforth to be the principle of the new régime. No words can be found more attractive to the multitude than these three, but, unfortunately, they run the risk of being misinterpreted: "Liberty," as it is construed by the mob, meaning a release from all lawful control; "Equality," a reduction of all to the same level; and "Fraternity," an unscrupulous appropriation of the property of others.

The more moderate members of the Provisional Government, adopting the pure idealism of Lamartine, did not hold with this acceptation of the terms; they believed, we are persuaded, in the possibility of practically enforcing their amiable theory; but we are by no means so sure that the section influenced by Ledru Rollin entertained corresponding notions; communism was the motive which stirred them to action; that word embraced the other three in the view of those who had all to gain, and nothing to lose, by the establishment of a new order of things. The latter did not directly say with Jack Cade, that "all the realm should be in common;" but if the dial spoke not, it still made shrewd signs, and pointed full in the direction to which events appear to be rapidly tending.

However, the declaration was made, so flattering to the feelings of a nation whose ruling principle is vanity, simple and compound; and the tricoloured motto was blazoned far and wide; it headed every decree, was plastered against every wall, was dinned into every man's ears, and the people, in parrot-tones, re-echoed the cry. The next step was to offer an explanation of the intentions of the Provisional Government in their laudable resolve to restore the golden age; a determination, by-the-by, that seems in a fair way of accomplishment without the aid of the precious metal which has given its name to that fabulous epoch. It was, therefore, proclaimed that every man should, at once, enter into the enjoyment of his full political rights, a condition to which we, as Englishmen, should be the last to object, were it not that our friends over the water put rather too large a construction on their newly-created privilege. It was made, like the magician's tent in the "Arabian Nights," of the most expansive materials; it could be adapted to cover one man, or contain a whole nation. Thirty millions of people were each promised every thing that a Frenchman's heart can desire. The exercise of their "political rights," gave them leave to meet wherever they pleased, say whatever they pleased, and, as a necessary corollary, do whatever they pleased; like Shylock,

they would readily "better the instruction." Jacques Bon-homme was not only to be an elector, but be capable himself of being elected; "his mouth was to be the parliament" of France, and, better still, he was to be paid for his legislative services. That no higher qualification than that of belonging to the soil was necessary to enter into the national convention, was afterwards declared by M. Carnot, the Minister of Public Instruction, who in a circular almost as celebrated as that of M. Ledru Rollin's, to which we shall by-and-by advert, made this announcement:"The great error against which the inhabitants of our agricultural districts must be guarded is this-that, in order to be a representative, it is necessary either to enjoy the advantages of education or the gifts of fortune. As far as education is concerned, it is clear that an honest peasant, possessed of good sense and experience, will represent the interests of his class in the assembly of the nation infinitely better than a rich and educated citizen, having no experience of rural life, or blinded by interests at variance with those of the bulk of the peasantry. As to fortune, the remuneration (indemnité) which will be assigned to all the members of the Assembly, will suffice for the maintenance of the very poorest." He was, moreover, to have as much work assigned to him as he chose to do-(no matter how it was to be found)-when not, of course, occupied by the cares of legislation. He was to share his master's,-no, his brother's profits, without contributing to his capital-send as many brats to the Foundling as Rousseau did, go to school or stay away if he liked it, attend church or synagogue as the humour took him, make war with all the world whenever he felt pugnacious, become peaceable when he was sick of fighting, and take the whole human race under his protection.

This is only a mild exposition of the views of the regenerated French republican. It never struck him that they were impossible. He by no means shared the opinions of a clever and profound writer who has recently said:

"Communisme, socialisme, partage des terres et des richesses, organisation du travail! autant de rèves inapplicables, réglemens impossibles tant qu'on ne pourra régler les naissances et les passions de la société humaine! Mais il y a des esprits qui se laissent séduire par la seule forme d'une pensée, quelqu'absurde qu'elle soit, et qui croient que certains enchaînemens de phrases présagent un enchaînement semblable dans les faits. Ce sont eux qui disent: Le monde a enregistré l'égalité devant Dieu au commencement de l'ère chrétienne, l'égalité devant la loi à la fin du xviii, siècle; il ne lui manque plus que de réaliser l'égalité sociale."

Nor were the authorities slow to decree these impossibilities. Decree followed decree like flashes of summer lightning; well, if they prove as innocuous !

First came the announcement that all objects pledged at the Mont de Piété, to the value of ten francs, should be restored to those who had pawned them; then, that the proceeds of the late Civil List, amounting to a million francs, were to be distributed amongst the workmen of France. One of their number appears, like the Apostle, to have asked himself "What is this among so many?" or, to have been endowed with a feeling of compassion for exiled royalty, somewhat rare in these stirring times. The story is thus told :

"A knot of journeymen joiners were conversing on the subject of the above donation, when the news reached them that Louis Philippe and his family had reached England in a state of complete destitution. On hearing it, one of the men present said,

"Sacristi! that is very hard upon them. I tell you what should be done. A million distributed amongst us would be but a few francs a-piece, let it be sent to the ex-king. The alms of the poor do honour to misfortune.'

Se non è vero è ben trovato!"

66

The conversion of the royal palace of the Tuileries into an asylum for invalided workmen, followed next, but a little difficulty lay in the way here. There were already men in possession," and they ably illustrated the truth of the adage which ascribes so much virtue to possession. What kind of people they were who asserted tenant-right, on this occasion, has been variously described-some have affirmed that they were escaped convicts, others, that they were unemployed workmen waiting for the promised wages, and others again (and this is by no means improbable), that the majority were medical students. But whatever name was given to them, that which they gave themselves was the most appropriate. They declared themselves inamovibles, and sturdily refused to evacuate.

"They were," they said, "the real captors of the palace, and had a right to remain." And to this newly-discovered "right" they held fast, refusing for a long time all terms of accommodation, or demanding large sums of money as the price of their submission. But even the founders

of the new Utopia closed their ears to these demands, and, bon gré, mal gré, this free and easy band of brothers was at length dislodged, marching off, however, with all the honours of war; that is to say, with as many changes of raiment on their persons as they could contrive to cram themselves into. By a subsequent decree we find that the head-quarters of the National Guards have been transferred to the palace, occupying the Pavillon Marsan, where the former heir to the throne, the Comte de Paris, resided.

Money having been granted and lodging-to a certain extentpermitted, an allowance of food was ordered. The bakers of Paris were desired to place at the disposal of the chiefs of posts of the National Guard one-fifth of their make of bread, to be paid for, however, by checks drawn on the Hôtel de Ville. How long this lasted we are unable to say, but, to judge by what took place during the third week of the Republic, we should imagine not long, when the Bank of France, having suspended cash payments, a check drawn on the Town-hall would probably be about as valuable as that commercial document familiarly known as a draft upon Aldgate pump! But while the body was thus taken care of, mental gratification was not forgotten, and a decree appeared, announcing that the annual exhibition of works of art at the Louvre would take place as usual on the 15th of March. As usual, did we say? We made a mistake. There was a departure from the system of preceding years, made in a spirit truly republican. It was impossible that the principle of "equality" could be carried much further, for it was added that no pictures would be rejected. A jury was named by "election" to receive the pictures, but as nothing could be refused, their critical powers were not subjected to any extraordinary test. The result of such an exhibition answered the probable intention of the projectors, for it could not fail to excite the mirth of "the unemployed," who flocked to the galleries of the Louvre, and when people are merry disaffection can hardly be rife. While on the subject of the Fine Arts, we may as well observe that the cultivation of other branches besides painting were not idle. Deputations in the inte

rests of the "singing" and "declamatory classes" waited on M. Crémieux to apply for extended powers, which, of course, he very courteously promised, though, in doing so, we fear, he ventured too far, for no art can improve a Frenchman's voice, nor can any thing be added to his capabilities for declamation.

These appliances, however, were partial, and were quickly succeeded by more extensive ones. It was established as a fundamental principle that every citizen was de jure, a national guard, and that he might become so, de facto, a decree appeared, informing him that he would receive on enrolment a franc and a half for daily pay. It has been calculated that the whole force of the national guard throughout France, stationary and moveable, might consist of about 2,000,000 of men, and the payment of these gentlemen at the above rate would form rather a lively item in the budget, amounting, in round numbers, to 140,000l. a day, or upwards of 51,000,000l. sterling per annum. How this was to be paid, the government of the model republic did not pause to consider; it was necessary, at any rate, to make the promise, that the unemployed might be kept in good humour. The scale of remuneration for the deputies sent to the national convention was not likely to prove of so ruinous a character, for although the number of members was increased to 900-(a pleasant little debating society, and likely to be very harmonious)-the pay was only twenty-five francs a day, or somewhere about 160,000l. a year. No great stress either need be laid on the sums allotted to some thousands of the unemployed, who were at once set to work, a part to repair the devastations caused by the barricades, and a part to change the aspect of the Jardin du Luxembourg, less, of course, with the object of making it more ornamental, than of giving occupation

to the labourers.

But while money was thus freely lavished on one hand, a show of economy was made on the other, and a pompous intimation was made that in future the salaries of all employés, ministers of state, diplomatists, and others, would be cut down to the lowest possible sum. It may be observed, en passant, that as this measure was intended to apply to men who had never been in the receipt of any salary whatever, the sacrifice was not particularly great. Besides, there are expedients which form very good substitutes for high salaries, as was shown on the occasion of the dispute between M. Garnier Pagés and M. Ledru Rollin, when the former threatened to show to the people a bon for 300,000 francs, which the latter had drawn on the treasury, for what purpose is best known to M. Ledru Rollin himself. Some very ostensible displays of disinterestedness were made with respect to these reduced salaries, the most notable, perhaps, being by M. Cottu, who has undertaken the embassy to the Court of St. James's, for "the small charge" of 400l. a year! We apprehend he entertains the idea of rivalling his celebrated countryman, who discovered the art of living cheap in London by dining on that peculiar kind of bouilli, popularly known as cat's-meat!

In making the reduction described, it must, however, be borne in mind that the economy of the Provisional Government was purely prospective. The present moment demanded a vast expenditure, and money, or money's worth, was seized upon wherever it could be found. The crown jewels and the royal plate went first, and as fast as the latter could be melted down it was coined into five-franc pieces, bearing on them the effigy of Hercules-and his CLUB-the emblem of the Model Republic. April.-VOL. LXXXII. NO. CCCXXVIII.

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But this offered only a poor supply for the necessities of the state, and scarcely was the Republic a fortnight old, when a decree appeared which, while it held out "the guarantee of national royalty," (a very unmarketable commodity) as security for the depositors in the Savings Banks, virtually confiscated nine-tenths of those savings. It is true the interest on deposits was raised to five per cent., but a twentieth part of a poor man's capital is but a sorry substitute for the whole when he stands in need of all he can scrape together. Severely as this measure pressed upon native depositors, its effect was tenfold on hundreds of our unfortunate countrymen, chiefly of the class of domestics who, under the influence of that fraternal feeling which characterises the Model Republic, were driven forth from their city by the generous Parisians, penniless and unprotected.

Money was thus acquired by the government "quodcunque modo;" but there is something nearly as useful as money in conducting the financial affairs of a country, and that is credit. But credit became as scarce as coin-some of the leading banks in Paris failed, and then came a panic: the public thronged to the Bank of France to exchange their securities for hard cash; the run was tremendous, the people formed into a queue, as at the doors of a theatre (the drama at which they assisted may yet prove a terrible tragedy before the last act is performed), and on the evening of the 14th of March-nineteen days after the proclamation of the Republic-after paying away 110 millions in Paris alone, the Bank of France suspended cash payments!

In that position we leave it, while we briefly address ourselves to other matters-briefly on account of our want of space, not for want of mate"Each minute teems with new ones!"

rials.

As, according to the declaration of the Provisional Government, the revolution was not only made by the working classes, but for them, the latter did not suffer the grass to grow under their feet before they deputed a body of two thousand to demand the reduction of the period of labour from twelve to ten hours a-day, with other concessions, which of course were immediately promised by Messrs. Armand Marrast, Louis Blanc, Albert (himself a workman), and the other communist members of the "Commission pour les Travailleurs." No matter how greatly this domination of labour impeded the operations of the capitalists who employed the workmen, the measure must be adopted, for the "sovereign people" willed it. They even showed a desire for more when they found how promptly the first demand was acceded to, and thousands of workmen formed themselves into associations, and marched in procession through the principal thoroughfares of Paris, their mot de railliément being "nine hours' labour." At this rate they may speedily come down to the condition of the Utopian workmen, described by Sir Thomas More, who says, "They do not wear themselves out with perpetual toil from morning to night, as if they were beasts of burden; but, dividing day and night into equal parts, appoint six of these for work, their other hours, besides those for eating and sleeping, are left to every man's discretion." What the discretion of the Parisian workmen would be, with these terms granted, is a problem not very difficult to solve.

It must be observed that a distinction was made between Paris and the provinces; the campagnards gained only one hour in twelve, where the metropolitan labourers gained two; but then the reason is obvious, the one was only half as dangerous as the other. What shall we say of the