5. FRENCH HISTORY SINCE 1815. With the year 1815 (fall of Napoleon, Restora tion of the Old Monarchy), opens a new era in the history of France. It may be said that from that date up to 1870 all important events, in spite of their inevitable reaction, led gradually to the final destruction of the monarchy, the establishment of the republic upon a solid basis and the triumph of democratic principles. Be fore proceeding further, and for the sake of easy reference, it may be convenient to mention the heads of the state in their order of suc cession: Louis XVIII, King, 1815-24.
Charles X, King. 1824-30.
Louis Philippe, King, 1830-48.
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, President of the Republic, 1848-52.
Napoleon III, Emperor, 1852-70.
General Trochu, President of the Gouvernement de Is Defense Nationale, 1870-71.
Adolphe Thiers, President of the Republic, 1871-73. Marichal de Mac-Mahon, President of the Republic, 1873-79.
Jules Grevy, President of the Republic. 1879-87. Sadi-Carnot President of the Republic, 1887-94. Casimir Pener, President of the Republic, 1894-95. Felix Faure, President of the Republic, 1895-99. Emile Loubet, President of the Republic. 1899-06. Armand Fallieres, President of the Republic. 1906-13. Raymond Poincare, President of the Republic, 1913 Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI, was a liberal king, not by temperament but by cau tiousness, and not only tried' to preserve peace which was earnestly desired by the French people, but to act according to the spirit of the charter of 1814 which gave almost entire ratification to the chief reforms achieved by the revolution : equality of rights, political liber ties, a Parliament elected by the nation. Un fortunately the king's own brother, Comte d'Artois, at the head of a powerful party known as "Ultra-Royalists,x' checked in some measure that liberal policy. He wanted to restore the former regime of absolute monarchy and used to say that, for himself, he would rather be a simple joiner than be a king in the same capacity as a king of England. The Ultra-Royalists were responsible for what is known as Ter reur Blanche)) (the White Terror),— in oppo sition to the eRed of the Convention, — that is to say for the plunders and murders of the Bonapartists and Republicans (especially in the south of France), by their supporters who were more or less encouraged by the local authorities.
It is true, nevertheless, to say that under the reign of Louis XVIII, were adopted, for the first time in the history of France, those measures which are the necessary adjuncts of a constitutional and representative government: periodical election, annual vote of the budget, liberty of discussion in the chamber, and liberty of the press. In order to be an elector it was
necessary to pay taxes to the amount of 500 francs, and only those who paid 'taxes to the amount of 1,000 francs had the right to he elected. It must he remembered that the wealth in France is distributed into many hands, and especially at that time the men who paid 500 or 1,000 francs in taxes were relatively very rich; only a minority of the French people was represented in the Chambers.
Nevertheless, the liberal aspirations of the na tion were encouraged because it was the begin ning of a really liberal government. But it was only a beginning and the Ultra-Royalists who wanted to restore all the former privileges of the old aristocracy succeeded in stopping it,— but of course only for a time as nothing can stop the progress of true liberalism, once the movement is started.
The "Ultras?' were in fact strongly sup ported by the aristocratic governments of Europe: Prussia, Austria and Russia, that had pledged themselves to stifle all revolutionary movements and manifestations in any country. For that purpose, these nations who had formed the Holy Alliance (q.v.), had proclaimed that they had a right of intervention wherever and whenever the public institutions were threatened by a revolt of the people. In fact the Holy Alliance was growing anxious at the manifesta tions of liberalism in France, and at the Con gress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1819), they took occasion to impress strongly upon the French ambassador that if the French wanted to take care of themselves they should accept the pro gram of the "Ultras.o At about the same time (1820), the Duc de Berri, nephew of the king, was murdered by a lunatic named Louvel. The Liberals were held responsible for this murder on the ground that their moderation weakened the power and encouraged the criminals, and the Ultra-Royalists, supported by the Holy Alliance abroad, again came into power, which they retained till the revolution of 1830, under the direction of the Comte de Villele (1820-27) and the Prince de Polignac (1829-30). These two ministers wanted to re-establish the preroga tives of the ancient nobility, that is of the great landlords and the authority of the Church.