Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 15, August, 1851Various
General
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 15, August, 1851
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
The question of the revision of the Constitution overshadows every
other. Apart from its mere partisan aspects, it is of grave and vital
moment to the cause of tranquillity and public order. By what would seem
almost an oversight, the functions of the executive and legislative
branches of the Government expire so nearly at the same time, that at
the period of the election there is practically an interregnum. The
election of the new Assembly must take place between the 45th and the
30th day preceding the expiration of the term of the present legislative
body. The term of the present Assembly expires on the 28th of May, 1852,
so that the new election must occur between the 13th and the 29th of
April. The term of the President ceases on the second Sunday in May, so
that within a month at furthest, possibly within a fortnight, both
branches of the Government have to be renewed. It is this which renders
the coming election so critical. The peculiar state of the suffrage
question furnishes another element of discord. The present Government
was elected by universal suffrage, every Frenchmen, of the age of 21
years, being entitled to vote at the place of his residence. But last
year, by the law of May 31, it was enacted that a legal residence could
only be obtained by a continuous habitation of three years. By this law
the number of voters was reduced from 9,936,004 to 6,809,281,
disfranchising 3,126,723 electors who had the right of voting for the
present Government. The validity of this law is warmly contested; and in
particular it is affirmed that at most it can only apply to the election
of representatives, which, in certain aspects, is a local affair; but
can not refer to the choice of President. It is said that at the
election these 3,000,000 disfranchised voters will present themselves,
and the responsibility of deciding as to the admissibility of their
votes will fall upon the officials of a Government whose term of office
is about to expire; and the duty of enforcing the law will devolve upon
an executive who is supposed to be hostile to it. Add to these the
different factions among the people, each seeking to carry out its own
plans, and it will be seen how pressing is the necessity of some strong
and permanent authority in the Government. This is the ground upon which
the Bonapartists press the absolute necessity of prolonging the tenure
of the President; and with this view they have urged to the utmost the
presentation of petitions for a revision of the Constitution, desiring
simply that the article which renders him ineligible for immediate
re-election should be annulled. These petitions have not been as
numerously signed as was anticipated; from present appearances, the
number of signatures will not exceed a million, of which not more than
one half are in favor of the re-eligibility of the President. These have
all been referred to a committee of fifteen, of whom nine are for and
six against a revision. Of this committee M.
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