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population of Turkey, France did not encourage them to revolt; she disapproved all attempts on their part to shake off the Ottoman yoke, because such an act would inevit ably kindle a general conflagration. The policy of France towards Turkey was loyal; she wished her integrity to be respected at home and abroad. France endeavoured to impress the Divan with the idea, that the real danger with which the empire was menaced proceeded from its Christian population, and the cabinet was doing everything in its power to prevail on the Porte to better the situation of the latter, and to treat them with more justice and lenity. M. Guizot, desirous to prove the sincerity of France in that respect, then read a despatch addressed by him, on the 13th of December last, to the ambassadors at the foreign Courts, in which he protested against those insurrections, and denounced and disap. proved the machinations of the propagandist committees to rouse them to revolt."

And in defence of the conduct of the government in regard to the affairs of the East, M. Guizot, in the Chamber of Deputies, on the 19th of January, proceeded to examine the situation of the Eastern question when he accepted office, and read a series of diplomatic documents in proof of the active part which France had taken in its adjustment. In one of them, dated the 9th November, 1840, M. Guizot notified to the Pasha of Egypt that he had no assistance to expect from France; that the latter would not expose herself to the chance of a war for the sake of upholding his power in Syria, and that he had nothing left, if he wished to preserve Egypt, but to submit to the authority of the Sultan. France,

seeing that the very existence of the Pasha was menaced, interfered on his behalf, and Prussia and Austria had at first evinced an inclination to obtain better terms for him; but after the capture of Beyrout and St. Jean d'Acre those Powers declared that the events had decided the point, and that they could not undo by negotiations what had been achieved by the force of arms. M. Guizot then read various despatches, addressed by him to his government during the negotiations, and which demonstrated that he had met with support from the German ministers. One of those despatches was written by Prince Metternich, who declared that he would not co-operate in the overthrow of Mehemet Ali as governor of Egypt, and that if Austria abstained it was through deference for France. At a conference held in Constantinople on the 20th of December, 1840, between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Porte and the representatives of the four Powers, Baron de Sturmer, acting up to the instructions which he had received from Prince Metternich, announced that he considered the submission of Mehemet Ali to be sincere and complete, and that it should be accepted. M Guizot maintained that it was in consideration of France, that the conference had adopted that resolution; that the Pasha was not disturbed in the possession of Egypt, and that the principle of his heredité was conceded. In the course of January following the whole affair was arranged, and England, who had at first opposed this settlement, at last yielded, from the fear of Austria's secession from the coalition. The original hatti-scheriff, by which the power

and heredité of Mehemet Ali had been rendered illusive, was actually modified from an anxiety on the part of the Powers to be agreeable to France, and the hatti-scheriff of the 25th of May, granting all the reasonable demands of the Pasha, had been received with gratitude at Alexandria. On the 12th of June Mehemet Ali had assured the French Consul of his satisfaction at the manner in which the affair had been concluded, and he repeated his thanks to the same agent when the intelligence of the conclusion of the convention of the 13th of July had reached Alexandria.

M. Guizot then vindicated the motives which had induced the French Cabinet to re-enter the European concert. It was that concert, he said, that had insured, since 1830, the duration of general peace; it was that concert which had erected Greece into an independent state, and consolidated the power of Mehemet Ali, without producing the least perturbation. M. Guizot next proceeded to give a glowing account of the advantages which France had derived from her intimate alliance with Great Britan, that generous nation, he said, had been the first in 1830 to declare in favour of her revolution, and accept her alliance; and the events which had lately come to pass ought not to impair the gratitude which the French people owed to Great Britain. M. Guizot then defended the policy which the cabinet had pursued in respect of its abandonment of the policy of isolation, and its re-entering the European concert. He observed that by persevering in the policy recommended by the Chamber, France would have placed the four Powers in the necessity of

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forming a closer alliance. intention, however, was not to recommend the renewal of the alliance with England, as it would be arraying Europe into two camps

the despotic against the constitutional governments. France had assumed an honourable and independent position, and if she was not on friendly terms with some, her relations with all were regular and pacific. M. Guizot in conclusion, protested against the pretended debasement of France since 1830, and her dereliction of Poland, Italy, and other nations who had followed her example, and declared that at no former period did she hold a prouder rank among nations. As respected Algiers, France had proclaimed her firm determination not to evacuate that country, and no power now dared to disturb her in its possession. Speaking one day with Lord Aberdeen on the affairs of Tunis, M. Guizot assured his Lordship that France would not stop at any sacrifice to consolidate the security of her African establishments. Lord Aberdeen, after listening to him attentively, replied that he could make many objections to what had taken place since 1830 with regard to that question, but that, assuming the direction of affairs in 1841, he accepted them in the situation in which he found them, and that he now considered the occupation of Algeria as an accomplished fact.

In the month of July, a most melancholy event occurred, which plunged the Royal Family of France into the deepest affliction. This was the sudden death of the heir to the Throne, the Duke of Orleans, who was accidentally killed by a fall from his carriage. The event is thus narrated by the Gazette de France :

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"This day (July 13) at halfpast twelve, the Duke of Orleans, who was to have set out in the course of the day for Plombières, where the Duchess is at present, was returning from Neuilly, after having taken leave of his family, when, at a little distance from the Porte Maillot, the horses of his carriage, dragging it with them, ran off in spite of the efforts of the groom, threatening to overturn it into the lower side of the road. The Duke, to escape the danger, threw himself out of the carriage, but so unfortunately, that his spurs (some say his sword), got entangled in his travelling-cloak. This occasioned a fall, by which the Prince received some contusions on the temple and the wrist. A congestion of the brain was produced by the shock. He remained senseless on the road; and was taken up and carried into the nearest house, occupied by a grocer; whither assistance speedily arrived from the Tuileries. He was bled almost immediately, but never recovered consciousness. Dr. Baumy, who was there, went into the house, and assisted Dr. Pasquier, the Prince's physician, who arrived from Paris.

"Louis Philippe, Madame Adelaide, and the Duke d'Aumale, ararrived from Neuilly and Courbevoie, almost immediately. An ecclesiastic of St. Philip du Roule, and the Curé of Neuilly were sent for. They could only administer extreme unction. The Prince died at three o'clock, in the house into which he had been carried, No. 4, Chemen de la Revolte. His body was carried to the Château of Neuilly, and deposited in the chapel.

"All the Ministers immediately repaired to Neuilly, and also MarVOL. LXXXIV.

shal Gerard and General Pajol. A Council of Ministers was held.

"The Duke d'Aumale, who was at Courbevoi, having received intelligence of the accident which had happened to his brother, wished to come to him in a hired carriage; but the carriage having broken down on the road, the young Prince proceeded on foot to reach his dead or dying brother.

"The Prince was setting out for Nancy, from whence he was to go to Plombières, where the Duchess is at present. He had expressed great joy at his journey, and great preparations were made in several towns. He was to have taken the command of a camp of 40,000 men. Who can reckon on to-morrow?

"This year has been remarkable for such lessons; Marshal Clauzel, M. Humann, M. Aguado, Admiral Dumont d'Urville, and now the Duke of Orleans!"

The Moniteur Parisien describes the manner in which the body was borne to the chapel :

"The body of the Duke of Orleans was placed on a litter, and carried by soldiers to the chapel of the Château of Neuilly. The King, the Queen, Madame Adelaide, and the Duke d'Aumale followed on foot the melancholy train, which was escorted by a battalion of the 17th Light Regiment. The soldiers had tears in their eyes. Behind the litter, mingled with the members of the Royal Family, walked the Ministers, officers of all ranks, citizens of every class, who had gathered on the first news of the catastrophe. Some ecclesiastics, who had also followed the procession, recited prayers beside the Royal deceased."

The remains of the lamented Prince were removed from the Chapel at Neuilly to their final [U]

resting-place in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, on the 30th of July. The mournful pageant was very imposing.

The procession began its march from the Pont de Neuilly; and was headed by the Gendarmerie of the Seine, followed by numerous bodies of troops. Six mourning coaches preceded the car, which contained the heart of the Prince, on each side of which rode an officer. After it came the Archbishop of Paris and his clergy, and then followed the funeral car, containing the body. The cords of the pall were held by Marshals Soult, Molitor, Gérard, and Vallée, and by the Chancellor of France and the Minister of Justice. The insignia of the Prince's orders were borne on cushions by three of his Aides-de-camp. Next came the Ministers of State, the Marshals of France, and the deputations of the Chambers of Peers and Deputies, the Aides-de-camp and orderly officers of the King and Princes, the Secretaire des Commandemens, and other officers of the Household of the Prince. The Duke's charger and his carriage closed. The Princes and the Marshals and Admirals were in two mourning coaches; ten more contained the household officers of the King and Princes. Several bodies of troops terminated the long line. After passing through the Arc de Triomphe, the cavalcade passed along the Champs Elysées, the Place de la Concorde, the Quays of the Tuileries, of the Louvre, of L'Ecole, the Place du Chatelet, the Point Notre Dâme, the Quay Napoléon, and the Rue Arcole, to the opening in front of Notre Dâme.

On the arrival of the procession before Notre Dâme, at three

o'clock, a salute of twenty-one guns was fired by the battery of artillery stationed at the back of the cathedral. The body was placed on the superb catafalque, erected in the church. Vespers for the dead were then performed; and the Princes returned to Neuilly, where the King remained with the rest of his family.

The sudden death of the Duke of Orleans gave rise to a controversy, which was for some time keenly debated in France. This was the question of the Regency, in case of the demise of Louis Philippe, during the minority of the young heir apparent; an event which, in all human probability, would occur. The choice of a Regent to govern France during such minority, seemed to lie between the Duchess of Orleans, the widowed mother of the Comte de Paris, and the Duke de Nemours, his uncle. But as this subject was discussed in the chambers, we shall reserve it for our account of the debates that took place there.

In consequence of the death of the heir-apparent to the throne, an extraordinary Session of the French Chambers was convoked in July; and on the 26th of that month the King, accompanied by his four sons, the Duke de Nemours, the Prince de Joinville, the Duke d'Aumale, and the Duke de Montpensier, opened them in person. At that time, the body of his eldest son, who had perished by so melancholy a death, lay unburied; and an unusual interest attended this meeting between the bereaved father and the representatives of his people.

The King entered the Chamber amidst deafening shouts of "Vive le Roi!" He burst into tears, and sank down into the chair provided.

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"Under the grief which oppresses me, deprived of that dearlybeloved son, whom I considered destined to replace me on the Throne, and who was the glory and support of my old age, I have deemed it imperative to hasten the moment of your assembling around me. We have together a great duty to fulfil. When it shall please God to call me to himself, it is necessary that France, and the Constitutional Monarchy be secured against being for a moment exposed to any interruption of the Royal authority. You will, therefore, have to deliberate upon the measures requisite for preventing, during the minority of my beloved grandson, this immense danger.

"The calamity that has befallen me, does not render me ungrateful to Divine Providence, which still preserves to me my children, worthy of all my tenderness, and of the confidence of France.

"Gentlemen,

"Let us now secure the repose and safety of our country. At a later period I shall call upon you to resume your accustomed labours relative to state affairs."

The whole scene was a most affecting one, and is thus described in one of the journals of the day :

"The King's emotion was so great, that he found it impossible to give utterance to the words. He made the attempt a second time, and again he was unsuccess

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ful. The auditory burst forth into one long cry of Vive le Roi!' which seemed to give him courage. He at last found utterance; but his voice was thick, husky, and broken with agitation. At the word 'consolation,' the King could no longer withstand the torrent of his grief. He laid down the document, and burst into tears. The whole auditory was deeply afflicted; and we do not exaggerate in saying, none present could resist the contagion. Loud, longcontinued, and reiterated shouts again grected him. Again he resumed and his voice became stronger, until he spoke the words 'mon fils,' where it again faltered. At ma tendresse,' tears again prevented his proceeding; and the shouts of the auditory were again necessary to give him confidence to conclude. At the end, his Majesty rose, crossed his arms on his breast, and, in an effusion of gratitude for his reception, after bowing to the Chamber, sunk back on his seat and sobbed convulsively, hiding his features in his handkerchief. It was altogether one of the most affecting scenes we have ever witnessed; and it was long before the persons present could recover from their emotion. After the Speech, and after having bowed to the Chamber, the King advanced to the front of the estrade, and repeatedly acknowledged his affectionate reception. The cries of Vive le Roi !' were again loud and long-continued at his departure. The whole sitting lasted exactly twenty-five minutes."

A trial of strength between the Ministry and the Opposition took place on the question of the election of a President of the Chamber of Deputies. The ministerial candidate was M. Sauzet, and he ultimately succeeded. At the first

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