Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol IV. No. XX. January, 1852.Various
History
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol IV. No. XX. January, 1852.
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
"Well, then," proceeds the President, "I have asked myself whether, in
presence of the madness of passions, the confusion of doctrines, the
division of parties, when every thing is leaguing together to deprive
justice, morality, and authority of their last prestige--whether, I say,
we ought to allow the only principle to be shaken which, in the midst of
the general chaos, Providence has left upstanding as our rallying point?
When universal suffrage has again upraised the social edifice, when it
has substituted a right for a revolutionary act, ought its base to be
any longer narrowed? When new powers shall come to preside over the
destinies of the country, is it not to compromise their stability in
advance to leave a pretext for discussing their origin or doubting their
legitimacy? No doubt on the subject can be entertained; and without for
a moment departing from the policy of order which I have always pursued,
I have seen myself, to my deep regret, obliged to separate myself from a
Ministry which possessed my full confidence and esteem, to choose
another, composed also of honorable men, known for their conservative
opinions, but who are willing to admit the necessity of re-establishing
universal suffrage on the largest possible base. In consequence, there
will be presented to you a bill to restore that principle in all its
plenitude, in preserving such parts of the law of May 31 as free
universal suffrage from its impure elements, and render its application
more moral and more regular." The law of May 31, he says, was originally
passed as a measure of public safety, and of course now that the
necessity for it has passed away, the law itself should be repealed. Its
operation, moreover, has gone further than could have been foreseen. It
has disfranchised three millions of electors, two-thirds of whom are
peaceable inhabitants of the country. This immense exclusion has been
made the basis and pretext of the anarchical party, which covers its
detestable designs with the appearance of right torn from it, and
requiring to be reconquered. The law also presents grave inconveniences,
especially in its application to the election of a President. The
constitution requires that two millions of votes should be given for the
candidate before he is declared elected, and if no one receives that
number then the Assembly shall elect. The law changes the proportion of
votes from that originally established by the Constitution. The
restoration of universal suffrage is urged, finally, on the ground that
it will give an additional chance of securing the revision of the
Constitution.--The President says he is aware that this proposition is
inspired by his own personal interests, but he says his conduct for the
last three years ought to be sufficient to put aside such an allegation.
The good of his country will always be the motive of his conduct. He
concludes by saying, that, "to restore universal suffrage is to deprive
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account