your son, this noble standard will only proclaim enemies to the fac

tious.

"We return thanks to your majesty for the precautions which you have taken to protect our maritime commerce. Your prescient wisdom watches over all our interests, and the naval forces of your majesty, which have so often afforded timely aid to humanity, will maintain with equal devotion the honour of the French flag.

Sire, your faithful subjects, the deputies of the departments, deeply affected by your royal promises, will repeat them to your people. They will tell them that the most just of kings wills the assembling and maintenance of his armies, only with the view of preserving social order, and defending our country and our institutions from all contagious and disorganizing principles."

On the 10th of February, Villèle brought forward the budget, which, so far as regarded the present year, had been partially settled in 1822.

The grants for 1821, according to the minister's statement, exceeded the charges by 32,537,181f. which, in the account presented to the chamber in June, 1822, had been stated at only 31,542,405f., and estimated at that amount in the budget for 1822. The budget of that year also presented a surplus of grants beyond the expenses of 9,292,330 f. There was, therefore, a sum left unemployed for 1823 of 10,287,106 f.

In 1822, the credits granted, had been exceeded by 25,355,537f. in consequence of expenses not provided for by the law. The receipts of the same year, however, exceeded the estimates; viz. for re

The minister admitted, that the circumstances, under which these receipts and expenses were about to be placed, imposed the obligation of looking forward to the diminution which might occur in the former, and the increase which might inevitably arise in the latter. The estimates for 1823 had, however, been made on so low a scale, compared with the receipts of 1822, that there was reason to apprehend that the ordinary wants of the current public service would not be covered by the receipts which had been appropriated to them in the preceding session. [See vol. LXIV. p. 197.]

As to extraordinary wants, the minister said, it was impossible to foresee them with precision, and it would be contrary to the interests of the country, to publish beforehand

the detail of the armaments to which the government might think fit to devote its attention. We conceive, said he, that in such circumstances, our duty will be to confine ourselves to asking of the chamber a supplementary credit of 100,000,000f., which the minister of finance cannot touch, except to meet the extraordinary expenses in the different ministerial departments, in virtue of the royal ordinances, which, as well as all the supplementary credits, will be submitted to the ratification of the law, with the accounts of the services for which they might be required. A creation of four millions of rentes, added to 42,945,907f. of excess on the expenses of the services of 1821 and 1822, will complete for 1823 the means of satisfying the eventual and extraordinary wants for the service of this year.

The minister then took a view of the provision for the receipts and expenses of 1824. In pursuance of the charges, augmentations, and reductions which he stated, the amount of the receipts for 1824 would be 904,384,190f., and the expenses 903,770,014f., leaving a presumed surplus of the receipts to the amount of 564,176f. As the law was finally settled towards the end of the session, the ordinary charges were arranged in the fol lowing scale :

1. The expenses of the consolidated debt,

Francs.

The financial laws, in every stage of their progress, led to the most animated discussion of the policy of the Spanish war; and, the language which had been used in the English parliament being by this time known all over Europe, the French opposition summoned to their aid, as a powerful authority, the consenting voice of that country, where freedom and loyalty were alike revered, and inseparably blended together. In one of the debates, General Foy, in taking a rapid survey of the Spanish revolution, said, that it was reproachable with fewer excesses than any other in history. This remark having drawn forth violent murmuring from the right side, "Gentlemen," said general Foy, "this is not my language; it is that of an English minister, lord Liverpool." "What is that to

us?

What is this man to us? What is this man?" was the answer made from the ministerial benches.. General Foy resumed, "You ask what is this man? 1 tell you, he is one of the supporters of ancient institutions in England: he is one of the columns of the English aristocracy; a man respected in his country for his probity and moderation; and who passes for having no very lively affection for liberal ideas."

The ministers, especially Chateaubriand, were equally eager to support their system by the autherity of England, and by a curious mixture of gross ignorance, and illogical reasoning, found out, that their war against Spain was exactly analogous to our war with France in 1793. In this analogy, besides overlooking the wide difference between the situation and conduct of Spain in 1822, and of France in 1792, they forgot

is too often forgotten even among ourselves that in 1793 war was first proclaimed, and hostilities were first commenced, not by England against France, but by France against England.

"Our political interests are compromised, the revolution of Spain has destroyed a part of our commerce, and we are obliged to keep up ships of war to protect what remains, The war in Spain, by interrupting our relations with Spain, has reduced to half the value, land in the departments bordering on Spain. A great number of manufactures have lost their vent in Spain; our consuls have been threatened in their persons; in fine, our territory has been violated three times.

"War is then indispensable! It is preferable to this state of demi-hostilities, which has all the inconveniences of war without its advantages, and which exposes our soldiers to all insinuations of the agents of disorders.

"The violation of our territory is enough to justify our armed in tervention. England herself declared at Verona-Lord Welling ton said there, that the king his master, had no objection to make to the measures of France towards the Spaniards, and especially those to guard against the moral contagion of political principles and the violation of the French territory."

After a few other general remarks, passing to a review of the transactions at Verona, he said,

ing in moderation, and kings who were honest men. I recollect that one day the emperor of Russia said to me I am very glad that you are come to Verona, in order that you may become a witness to the sentiments of Russia. When social order is in danger, policy should neither be English, Russian, or Prussian; there should be a gene ral policy only admitted for the salvation of the people and of kings. Nothing seems more to my interest than a religious war with Turkey; but I have noticed revo lutionary symptoms in the troops of the Peloponnesus, and, therefore, I would not assist them. I will never separate myself from the monarchs with whom I am united. I have no need of aggrandizing my empire; and God has given me 800,000 soldiers, only to pro teet religion and the people.' A prince, who holds such language; will not propose any thing to France which will compromise her interests and independence. Thus, whatever has been said at Verona, the allied powers have never spoken of war with Spain, but have only been of opinion that France would be forced to wage war. At Verona no treaty bur thensome to France has been ́ spoken of, nor has any passed on the subject of marching foreign troops through our territory. What then did occur there only that the great powers, united with France, will give her all their sup

port,

and that France will preserve the high rank that is due to her in Europe."

The violence of these discussions led on one occasion to an exertion of power on the part of the ultra royalists, which showed no small confidence in their own strength. In the debate on the 26th of February, M. Manuel, deputy for La Vendée alluded to the conduct of Ferdinand 7th in terms of strong reprobation, and applied to his sway the epithet "atrocious:" the ultra members instantly exclaimed, that it was insupportable to hear the government of a Bourbon called atrocious! After considerable tumult, M. Manuel proceeded; "Foreign war would, instead of suppressing the excesses of civil war, only aggravate them. If they wished to save the life of Ferdinand, he implored them not to renew the circumstances which had hurried to the scaffold those whose fate inspired them with regret so intense." Cries of " You are justifying regicide!" assailed the speaker from the ministerial benches, "What caused the fate of the Stuarts?" added Manuel, "It was the protection of France, which placed them in opposition to public opinion, and prevented their looking to the English nation for support. Must I say, that the moment, in which the dangers of the royal Family of France had become the most serious, was after France, revolutionary France, felt that it was necessary to defend herself with new strength, and by an energy wholly new."-Scarcely

The following were the offensive words spoken:" Ai-je besoin de dire qu'au moment où les dangers de la Famille Royale en France sont devenus les plus graves, c'est lorsque la France,

had this sentence been uttered, when a general burst of indignation from the ministerial party was manifested: the members of the right simultaneously arose, and demanded that M. Manuel should be called to order. A violent tumult then ensued; and the president, after ringing his bell, and trying every method to restore order, or to procure attention, at last dismissed the members to their separate bureaux. They assembled again in about an hour. In the bureaux, a proposition was adopted, that a commission should be named to consider the conduct of the obnoxious member. Many members thought that a vote for his immediate expulsion should be passed: but this course was rejected on the score of irregularity. On Thursday, M. la Bourdonnaye brought forward a proposition for Manuel's exclusion: a commission was appointed to examine it; and on Saturday the 1st of March, that commission reported, that "< they unanimously recommended to the Chamber the expulsion of M. Manuel, on account of the speech which he delivered on the 26th of February, whereby he compromised the honour of his character of Deputy, and the dignity of the Chamber." On Monday the 3rd of March, this report was taken into consideration.

M. Hyde de Neuvill then spoke in favour of a more lenient course, and moved that M. Manuel, instead of being excluded absolutely and generally, should be expelled only for the session, leaving the ensu ing to resume proceedings or not,

la France revolutionnaire, a senti qu'elle avoit besoin de se defendre par des forces nouvelles et par une energie toute nouvelle ?'

agreeably to the sense of what might remain or become the majority of the chamber, by the changes which the elections might produce. This proposition was carried by a great majority."

* Mr. Manuel was born at Barcelonnette, in the department of the HautesAlpes, and was the son of a Notary, who sent him to Rouergue to be educated by an

uncle. The uncle, who was an ecclesiastic, soon observed or fancied, that his nephew, along with boldness of character, displayed, even in infancy, considerable natural talents. He sent him to Nismes to improve his education, whence he returned home from his studies at the early age of 15. He was about to embark in the trade, which the inhabitants of the Alps carry on with Piedmont, when the Revolution broke out, and induced him to alter his plans. In 1792, though then scarcely 17, he entered into the army, and served in the first cam paigns in Italy and Germany. He soon rose to the rank of captain of cavalry; but, about the time of the signing of the treaty of Campo Formio, when he had served six years, he retired from the army in consequence of ill health. At that epoch, French advocates were not required to undergo preparatory examinations: they were called "official defenders." M. Manuel performed the part of official defender for several of his friends. On these occasions his talent for pleading became known, and, determining to devote himself to the bar, he repaired to Aix, which, under the new government, was the seat of a court of appeal. There he applied himself to study, and was soon capable of appearing with distinction in his new profession. In 1815 he took an active part against the fanatics and aristocracy of Aix. After the return of Buonaparte, the business of the courts being in a great measure suspended, M. Manuel visited Paris: and he had not been long there, when he learned that two electoral arondissements of the Hautes Alpes had returned him a deputy. He wished to decline this honour, but being urged by his friends to accept it, he took his seat, and very soon became a leading man in the chamber. On the formation of a committee to draw up the plan of a constitution, in the name of the provisional VOL. LXV.

Notwithstanding this vote; M. Manuel, on the following day, entered the chamber, supported by many of his friends, and took his seat as usual. The president in formed him of the vote of Monday, and advised him to withdraw he refused, and declared he would yield only to force. The sitting and in the meantime the principal was then suspended for an hour ; door-keeperentered and read to him the order he had received for his exclusion. M. Manuel remained firm, and the door-keeper called in a piquet of the national guards: but the serjeant and his men, on being addressed by the members of the left side, declined executing the orders they had received, to remove the refractory member by force. This produced shouts of bravo! from M. Manuel's friends, as well in the galleries as on the floor of the chamber. The gendarmerie were then called in, who laid hold of him and hurried him out of the chambers, followed by all the members on the left side. After his exclusion, the agitation was such, that the president was oblig ed to adjourn the sitting. On Wednesday morning MM. Foy, Laffitte, and other members of the opposition delivered protest against the proceedings adopted toward M. Manuel; but the majority, on the principle that it was not competent to deputies to enter any protest, refused to hear it read.

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