Proudhon took no part in the Revolution of February, as he was not a politician, holding that all forms of government were equally vicious, and it was of little importance whether this or that party triumphed. He held himself aloof from any participation in the events which were transpiring until the political revolution was past, in order then to make his power more effectually felt in the settlement of social questions. In April he became editor of the _Représentant du Peuple_, and in June he was elected, by a large majority, to the Constituent Assembly as one of the representatives of the Departement de la Seine. After he had seen the various social parties retire, defeated, from the scene, one after another, it became his turn to present positive measures of social reform. He had combated all socialistic sects, while maintaining persistently his position as a friend of the poor. What had he to offer, now that he had assisted to overthrow every plan of improvement which had been proposed? On the 31st of July he brought forward his scheme of organization of credit, which would guarantee labor to all in the only effectual way, as it would furnish every one with the instruments of labor. What this was we will consider presently. It is only necessary to state that it was rejected by the overwhelming majority of 691 to 2.[123] He attempted the execution of his plan without the aid of the state, by the erection of a bank, which failed about April 1, 1849, after an existence of a few weeks. Thus ended the attempt of the last great French socialist to carry out a scheme of social and economic regeneration. Proudhon’s paper was suppressed, but it reappeared twice under different names, before the arrest and sentence of its editor to three years’ imprisonment for breaking the press-laws terminated its existence. During his imprisonment he wrote his “La Révolution Sociale Démontrée par le Coup d’État du 2 Décembre”—“The Social Revolution Demonstrated by the Coup d’État of 2d December” (1851). This created a sensation, and six editions were sold in less than six months.[124] His imprisonment terminated on the 4th of June, 1852, and he retired to private life. He had been married in 1850 to the daughter of a merchant, and it is said that his conduct as a husband and a father was exemplary. It is necessary to mention only one other work which he wrote—viz., “De la Justice dans la Révolution et dans l’Église”—which appeared in 1858.[125] He shows in this book that outside of the Catholic Church and Christianity there is no God, no theology, no religion, and no faith. Has Proudhon become a Catholic and a conservative? By no means. He immediately proceeds to demonstrate that the Church is ever in conflict with justice. The book was seized eight days after its appearance, its author tried, and sentenced to a fine of 4000 francs and to three years’ imprisonment, which he escaped by flight to Belgium, where he remained until an amnesty