for him and for some time was unable to proceed. At length, however, he read the following speech :

ties,

"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, there fore, have to deliberate upon the measures requisite for prevent ing, 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

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. Atma 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

ballot there appeared for M. Sauzet, 210; M. Odillon Barot, 131; M. Dufaune, 39; M. Gros Preville, 22; M. Dupin, 16; M. Berryer, 3: lost votes, 5.

As none of the candidates had obtained an absolute majority of votes, another ballot was had when M. Sauzet obtained 227 votes, M. Dufaune, 184; thus giving M. Sauzet a majority of 43 This took place on the 12th of August. The four Vice-Presidents of the Chamber were also all supporters of the Soult-Guizot Ministry, which thus displayed considerable strength at the commencement of the Session. The Regency Bill proposed by Ministers contained the following articles :

"Article 1. The King's minority ceases at eighteen years accomplished.

"Article 2. At the moment of the King's death, if his successor be a minor, the Prince nearest the Throne, in the established order of succession, according to the Charter of 1830, if he be twentyone years of age, becomes invested with the Regency throughout the minority.

"Article 3. The full and entire exercise of the royal authority, in the name of the King, belongs to the Regent.

"Article 4. The 12th Article of the Charter, and all the legislative dispositions protecting the person and constitutional rights of the King, are applicable to the Regent.

Article 5. The Regent makes oath, in presence of the Chambers, to be faithful to the King of the French, to obey the Charter and the established laws of the kingdom, and to act in every other respect in the sole view of the inter

est, and happiness, and of the glory of the French people. Should the Chambers not be sitting, then the Regent is bound to convene them within three months.

"Article 6. The guardianship and tutorship of the young King belong to the Queen, or to the Princess his mother whilst unmarried; and in the event of the demise of the Queen, or Princess, or both, to the nearest female branch on the father's side not married."

This bill passed the Chamber of Deputies on the 20th of August. M. Chapuys de Montlaville moved as an amendment, "That the Regency be confided to the mother of the minor Sovereign." It was rejected by a considerable majority. Another amendment was moved by M. de Sade, as follows: "At the close of the present reign, should the Prince, called to the throne by the declaration of the 7th August, 1830, not have accomplished the eighteenth year of his age, and until he shall have reached that age, the eldest of his paternal uncles shall be invested with the Regency." This amendment was condemned by M. Thiers, who declared that it would compromise the monarchy of July. The amendment was rejected. M. Odillon Barrot's amendment, fixing the majority of the Regent at twentyfive years, was also rejected. Another amendment of M. de Tracy, limiting the rights of the Regent, was then dismissed, amidst impatient cries from the Conservatives at the delays of the Opposition members. An amendment of M. Beaumont (de la Sauvre), proposing that the Regent should convoke the Chambers in twenty days, after the King's death, was likewise put to the vote, and rejected. Fi

nally, the whole bill was put to the vote, and it was carried by a majority of 216.

During the discussion on the amendment moved by M. de Sade, M. Thiers made a speech so strongly ministerial as to give the greatest offence to the Opposition generally; and he seems to have taken his own supporters completely by surprise, so as to give rise to the supposition that he meditated a coalition with M. Guizot, now that the death of the Duke of Orleans had put an end to all hopes he might have entertained of being invested with the office of Prime Minister, when ever that Prince should ascend the Throne. In the course of his address he spoke as follows::

"I see behind us a counter-revolution. I am not the dupe of its language. It tells us that it has been corrected. It pretends that it required the experience that the result of the Ordonnances of July taught. It declares itself liberal now, and that it leans on no foreign party for support. But counter revolution deceived the country once, and would do so again. It gave the Charter of 1815, promising to observe it; and when that Charter became serious and

efficient, it violated it. It pretended to be patriotic, and called Massena the pet of victory; but it shot Marshal Ney. I would never, as I never was, be deceived by their promises: that party must lean on the foreigner, because it has no support in the country, and because there are no hopes for its returning but by the same way it came in first. I am as much afraid of that party as I was in 1830; and therefore I now give my utmost support to the reigning dynasty. So much for the party

behind us; and now for what is before us. The Ultra-Liberals are incapable of either governing themselves, or governing the country. There is nothing but anarchy in them; and men incapable to come to any understanding as to the formation of a government. They are incapable of keeping order in a country, or of doing anything except repeating the revolutions of forty years ago, without the glory that then attended them. Such was that party in 1830, and such is it now. Honest men are obliged to separate themselves from those who attack the first principles of society. Beyond even the anarchists, there are, further still, men professing the most abominable principles. If the counter-revolution is behind us, here is an abyss before. Let us stand where we are, then, on the ground, where the Charter has placed us. Our labour should be to build, not to destroy."

A dreadful railway accident happened in the month of May this year on the line between Paris and Versailles, which is quite unparalleled in the history of railroad disasters. What is called the King's fete was celebrated at Versailles on Sunday, the 8th of May, by a display of waterworks and fireworks. After this was over a crowded train left Versailles for Paris, to which were attached two engines. Between Bellevue and Meudon the axle of the foremost engine broke, and it and the second engine were both overthrown, scattering their burning coals and ashes on the ground. A scene of horrible confusion now followed. The carriages were hurled over, and many of them took fire. The passengers had been locked in, so that many were prevented from

escaping; others, more fortunate, got out by means of their carriages being burst open by the concussion. The ill-fated travellers in the three first carriages were literally burnt to death, and most of the bodies were so reduced to a calcined state, that it was impossible to recognise them. Upwards of fifty persons are ascertained to have perished on this occasion-amongst whom was Admiral d'Urville, a celebrated circumnavigator. The number of

bruised and wounded was also considerable.*

In the Chamber of Peers the Regency Bill, after an unimportant discussion and futile opposition was adopted by a najority of 163 to 14, and the Chambers were then prorogued until the 9th of January, 1843.

For a more detailed account of this dreadful accident, see CHRONICLE for May.