PROCLAMATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC. [From the Times, Dec. 22.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume V, Issue 393, 9 May 1849, Page 3

PROCLAMATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC. [From the Times, Dec. 22.]

We have received the following letter from our Paris correspondent : — At 2 o'clock on Wednesday, orders were forwarded by the Government to the Colonels of the 24th regiment of Infantry and of tiro regiments of Dragoons, to march their corps towards the National Assembly. At 3 o'clock two battalions of the former and a battalion of Gardes Mobile, preceded by a detachment of National , G turds, entered the garden of the Toiler ies, and advanced to the gatt of the Place de la Concorde, a general, Accompanied' by bis aide-d6-carap> and escorted by a (en tankers, taking bis stutimv .deae

to the Obelfsk. In the mean time the qaays adjoining the Palace were lined with dragoons. The presence of these troops, which nobody could account for, created much uneasiness, though in some groups a report circulated that the Assembly was about to proclaim the President of the Republic. It appears that the Government, on being informed that a demonstration was intended on the occasion of the proclamation of Prince Louis, and that the latter would be saluted by the crowd with the cries of ViveV Empereurf resolved to anticipate his installation by some days, in order to avoid a sanguinary collision, and the Prince himse'f gladly acquiesced in that determination. At half-past 3 o'clock, M. Marrast, President, took the chair. The Assembly was extremely numerous, and animated groups were to be seen here and there through the hall. Prince Louis Napoleon was not present at the opening of the sitting, but his cousin, Jerome Bonaparte, occupied his seat* The public galleries were crowded. In one of them we remarked the Princess Mathilde, sister of Jerome, and next to her M. Emile Girardin. Two aides-de-camp, appointed in the morning by the Prince, M. Edgar Ney and a son of General Pajol, were also present. No serious discussion could take place in the state of excitement of the Assembly, and most of the orders of the day were adjourned. Two applications for leave to prosecute Messrs. Causidiere and Turk, representatives of the people, were rejected. The committee charged with examining the electoral returns for the Presidency, not having yet completed its task, a desnltory discussion opened on a proposition of M. Rambourg to rescind the contract concluded with the Moniteur for the publication of its proceedings ; but the discussion was interrupted at 4 o'clock, when the members of the conimittee were ushered in. The President then called to the tribune M. Waldeck Rousseau, Reporter of the committee. M. Rousseau began by reminding the Assembly that, being itself elected by universal suffrage, it had wished that the President of the Republic should receive his powers from the same source, and derive the baptism of power from the same hands. The people had responded to that appeal. ,' Nothing could exceed the dignity evinced by the people on the occasion, and Europe would admire that grand and magnificent spectacle, and the calmness and freedom which had presided at the election. Not less than 7,349,000 citizens had deposited their votea in the electoral urns. The elect belonged to no party. There was no victory, no defeat ; no conquerors, no vanquished. After so calm, religious, and pattiotic a manifestation no man could presume to substitute the will of a few for the will of all. After an appeal to concord and the oblivion of all party feuds, the reporter announced that the votes had been divided in the following proportion over the surface of the country :—: — M. Louis Napoleon bad obtained 5,434,226 suffrage* General Caraignac 1,448,107 „ M. Ledru Rollin 370,119 „ M. Raspail 36,900 „ M. Lamartine 17,910 „ General Changsrnier 4,790 „ Votes Lost 12,600 „ Among the latter were many containing unconstitutional denominations, and the committee had besides denounced to the Minister of the Interior for prosecution a few inJividuals guilty of acts of violence. At Grenoble, in particular, public tranquillity- was slightly disturbed. The committee had, moreover, examined several protests addressed to it against the election of M. Bonaparte. In one of them he was declared ineligible, because he bad forfeited his rights as a Frenchman by his naturalization in Switzerland. The members of the committee, however, had, by a unanimous decision, passed to the order of the day on that difficulty. By the number of the votes and the regularity of the operation, M. Louis Napoleon was the really elect of the nation, and the Assembly had only to order that the Executive Power be transferred to his hands. After paying a tribute of praise and gratitude to General Cavaignac, which was ratified by the load acclamations of the entire Assembly, M. Rousseau concluded by calling on it to proclaim the President, and exclaimed, " Have confidence ; God protects France.** General Cavaignac having then ascended the tribune* said, " I have the honour of informing the National Assembly that the members, of the. Cabiuet have just sent me their collective resignation, and I now come forward to surrender the powers with which it had invested. rae % You will understand, better than I can express, the sentiments of gratitude which the recollection oi the confidence placed in ite by the Assembly, and of its kindness for me, will leave -in zay heart*'* This short addreiswas received with .deaf. -eaing ctie* ©i la RepnbUqae !'*

M. Marraat then rose and said :—: — "In the natt.e of the French people. "Whereas Citizen Charles Louis Napo'e on Bonaparte, born in Paris, possesses all the qualifications of eligibility required by the 44th Article of the Constitution ; whereas the ballot gave him the absolute majoriiy of suffrages for Presidency : by virtue of the powers conferred on the Assembly by the 47th and 48th Articles of the Constitution, I proclaim him President of the French Republic from this day until the second Sunday in May, 1852, and I now invite him to ascend the tribune and take the oath required by the Constitution." M. Louis Napoleon, who was seated near M. Odillon Barrot, then rose and advanced towards the tribune. He was dressed in black ; on his left breast was a crachat set with diamonds, and under his coat he wore the Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour. Having mounted the tribune, the President read to him the oath of fidelity to the Constitution, to which M. Louis Napoleon replied, Jelejure. He then asked leave to address a few words to the Assembly. The suffrages of the nation, and his personal sentiments, he said, commanded his future conduct, and imposed upon him duties which he would fulfil as a man of honour. He would treat as enemies of the country whoever should attempt to subvert the Constitution, and between him and the Assembly would exist the most perfect harmony of views. He would exert himself to place society on its real basis, and to relieve the sufferings of a people who had borne such generous and intelligent testimony. He would endeavour to restore to the Government the moral force of which it stood in need, and to maintain peace and order. He had called around him men distinguished for talent and patriotism, who, notwithstanding the differences of their political origin, would assist him in consolidating the new institutions of the country. He then eulogized the becoming conduct and loyalty of which General Cavaignac had given so many and such signal proof?, and pledged himaelf strenuously to labour to accomplish the great mission of founding the Republic, without recurring to the reactionary or Utopian means, and, with the assistance of God, he trusted to achieve useful if not great things. The speech was received with unanimous cries of Vive la Rtpubtique / an J M. Louis Bonaparte, having descended from the tribune, wiJni up tor the seat of General Cavaignnc and cordially shook him by the hand. The new President was then met by M. Odillon Barrot and his friends of the Right, who escorted him out of the hall. M. Marrast next announced that M. Odillon Barrot was charged with the construction of the new Cabinet, which would be commanicated by a message to the Assembly. The House afterwards adjourned.