The youth of the Faubourg St. Germain aped the court, and crowded round the priests and Jesuits; and Paris, to its great astonishment, once more beheld monks of all kinds proposing to confess the women, guide the men, and educate the children.

classes domi

The deputies speculated with their political functions; peers The higher of France gambled with the public securities; bankers monop-nated by olized the newspapers, which had been already decimated by spirit of gain; the laws of September. The Jew of kings and king of Jews had stifling of the won over the leading periodicals, and the voice of journalism press was stifled at the same time as that of the French tribune.

demoraliza

tion ends in

The evil suddenly manifested itself externally, and attacked General those who had hoped to profit by it. A terrible financial crisis and the obviously impending ruin of every branch of industry a financial aroused at once capitalists, speculators, manufacturers, and crash merchants from their lethargy. The result of the most desperate gambling in railway scrip, which renewed the follies of the Rue Quincampoix in the time of John Law, was the total ruin of most persons involved. With the exception of two or three directors of the Northern Railway, who had doubled their capital, and of Madame Adelaide, who, if report speaks true, cleared twenty millions, the remainder of the railway speculators were sooner or later involved in utter ruin by the varying chances of the game. The provinces, too, were deeply compromised; Lyons was a loser to the amount of something like fifty millions, whilst Bordeaux, Albi, and other cities of the south were unable to meet their engagements. All the great centers of commercial activity were depressed. The manufactories of Lyons, Nîmes, Mühlhausen, Rouen, etc., found themselves overstocked in consequence of the depression of commerce in general, without any home market for their goods, while the export market was closed to them by foreign competition.

Louis Philippe's government not only found opponents among those who thought that it was corrupt, but also among the politicians who wanted to turn the officials out in order to find places for themselves. It was especially

213. Louis Blanc's labor programme

The labor budget

of social reform to put through in their own favor and yet were excluded from voting. Great definiteness was given to these aspirations for reform by Louis Blanc's programme for social reorganization, which deserves careful study both because it was a prominent feature of the Revolution of 1848 and because it enjoys an important place among the various socialistic schemes of the nineteenth century.

ARTICLE 1. A ministry of progress should be created, whose business would be to consummate our social revolution, and gradually, peaceably, without injury to any one, bring about the abolition of poverty.

ART. 2. To effect this end, the ministry of progress should be directed first, to buy up with the public revenue all mines and railways; second, to transform the Bank of France into a national bank; third, to have but one grand national insurance office, to the great advantage of individuals and of the government; fourth, to establish, under the direction of responsible officers, large public warehouses, where producers and manufacturers could deposit their merchandise and provisions, for which they would have negotiable receipts of an estimated and determinate value, which should serve the purpose of paper money and be guaranteed to the full amount by the merchandise thus deposited; fifth, to open shops which would supply the place of our retail dealers, just as the public warehouses or magazines would take the place of the present system of wholesale business.

ART. 3. The ministry of progress would make out their special budget, the "labor budget," comprising the profits arising from the warehouse dues, railways, mines, insurance, and the bank; all of which are now employed in private speculation, but would, in the new system, be appropriated by the government.

ART. 4. The interest and the gradual repayments on the sums borrowed for the above-mentioned operations having been deducted from the labor budget, the rest would be

employed first, in establishing associations of workmen; second, in founding agricultural colonies.

ART. 5. In order to be entitled to the assistance of the government, every association must be established on the principle of community of interests, so as to be able to acquire in its progressive development an inalienable, ever-increasing, common capital, which is the only means of destroying all kinds of usury, and of preventing capital from continuing an instrument of tyranny, the possession of the implements of labor a privilege, money dealing a trade, happiness an exception, and idleness a right.

establishment

ART. 6. Consequently every association that would desire Regulations government aid must embody the following regulations in its controlling constitution. After deducting wages, interest of capital, and of workshops expenses of management, the profits should be thus divided into four parts: (1) one quarter to pay off the capital borrowed by the government for the association; (2) one quarter to be appropriated as a fund for the assistance of the aged, the sick, the disabled, etc.; (3) one quarter to be divided as profits among the members in a manner to be stated below; (4) the remaining quarter to form a reserve fund, the object of which will be explained further on. Such would be the constitution of a single association.

tions of the

same trade to

The next thing would be to connect all the associations of All associathe same trade, so that they might be bound up in one common interest. Two conditions would be enough: first, to deter- be united mine the cost price; the amount of legal profits would then be fixed above the cost price, always considering the state of the industrial world, so that we might establish a uniform price and prevent competition between establishments of the same trade; next, there would be established throughout all the associations of the same trade not an equality of salaries but a proportional scale of salary, because the material wants of life are not the same in all parts of France.

Having thus established solidarity, or community of inter- Establishests, among all the associations of the same trade, it would be ment of general solidarity necessary to give the crowning touch to our edifice whereby we should establish order on an everlasting basis and prevent trades

among all

the possibility of war, hatred, and revolution. This would be done by establishing solidarity, or community of interest, between all the various trades and all the members of society.

In order to effect this, two conditions are requisite. Ascertain the sum total of the profits of each trade, and divide it equally among all the operatives. Then make a mutual assistance fund of the various reserve funds mentioned above, so that any branch of trade that was prosperous one year would, by this means, assist any other that might be in distress. This would furnish a certain amount of capital belonging to all the members collectively. The distribution of this capital would be intrusted to an administrative council regulating the affairs of the whole body of united branches.

The government would gradually develop this plan by a series of successive measures. No one need be injured. The government would have its model institution, and private associations would be carried on at the same time. But so great would be the advantages of the government system that all private undertakings would be gradually attracted to it by the all-powerful influence of its superiority, so that it would form a center from which all other associations would diverge, as the stone thrown into the water becomes the center of innumerable circles that continue to spread and enlarge themselves indefinitely.

ART. 7. The agricultural colonies would be founded with the same object and based upon the same principles.

Section 58. The Second French Republic

The various elements of opposition to Louis Philippe's government finally forced the king to dismiss his unpopular minister, Guizot, and later the more radical republicans succeeded in February, 1848, in overthrowing the monarchy altogether. The provisional government, which was then set up to manage affairs until the new constitution could be established, immediately issued the following proclamation.

In the name of the French people:

of the

A reactionary and oligarchical government has just been over- 214. The thrown by the heroism of the people of Paris. That government overthrow has fled, leaving behind it a trail of blood that forbids it ever to Orleanist retrace its steps.

monarchy is

by the

The blood of the people has flowed as in July; but this time proclaimed this noble people shall not be deceived. It has won a national provisional and popular government in accord with the rights, the progress, government (February and the will of this great and generous nation. 24, 1848)

A provisional government, the result of pressing necessity and ratified by the voice of the people and of the deputies of the departments, in the session of February 24, is for the moment invested with the task of assuring and organizing the national victory. It is composed of Messieurs Dupont (de l' Eure), Lamartine, Crémieux, Arago (of the Institute), Ledru-Rollin, Garnier-Pagès, Marie, Armand Marrast, Louis Blanc, Ferdinand Flocon, and Albert (a workingman).

These citizens have not hesitated a moment to accept the patriotic commission which is imposed upon them by the pressure of necessity. With the capital of France on fire, the justification for the present provisional government must be sought in the public safety. All France will understand this and will lend it the support of its patriotism. Under the popular government which the provisional government proclaims, every citizen is a magistrate.

Frenchmen, it is for you to give to the world the example which Paris has given to France; prepare yourselves by order and by confidence in your destiny for the firm institutions which you are about to be called upon to establish.

The provisional government wishes to establish a republic, Provisional -subject, however, to ratification by the people, who shall be government immediately consulted.

The unity of the nation (formed henceforth of all the classes of citizens who compose it); the government of the nation by itself; liberty, equality, and fraternity, for fundamental principles, and "the people" for our emblem and watchword; these constitute the democratic government which France owes to itself, and which our efforts shall secure for it.

desires a republic