Page:Haiti- Her History and Her Detractors.djvu/363

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Civil Wars in France
327

into the streets and massacred. Ney and Lebédoyère were shot, and the death sentences of the military courts were carried into effect within twenty-four hours.

The Charter of 1814 which was reenacted was unable to protect Charles X, who succeeded Louis XVIII in 1824, from the thirst for liberty of the French masses. The tendency of the new monarch to assume absolute power created great discontent among them. On the 28th of July, 1830, the inhabitants of Paris took up arms and fierce encounters took place at the barricades which were erected in the streets. At last Charles X was compelled to fly to England (August 16, 1830).

The Charter of 1814 was altered and Louis Philippe became King of the French (August 9, 1830).

There was fresh shedding of blood in order that the new dynasty might maintain its authority. The following year, 1831, a riot occurred in Paris, in the course of which the archbishop's palace was invaded and pillaged; an insurrection broke out also at Lyons. In 1832 and 1834 fresh riots broke out in Paris, grave disturbances taking place also at Luneville, Grenoble, Saint-Etienne, and Marseilles. Another insurrection which broke out at Lyons was quelled after four days of bloody fighting.

The opponents of the Government demanded certain electoral and parliamentary reforms; their demands were very moderate and did not include universal suffrage; they would have been satisfied with having the electoral qualification reduced from 200 to 100 francs, and with the "adjonction des capacités," i. e., the right of the participation in the elections of a certain class such as university graduates, public functionaries, etc. The refusal of Louis Philippe's government to grant these two reforms for which the public was so eager, provoked what Lamartine termed "the revolution of contempt." On the 22d of February, 1848, Paris was in a great state of agitation. On the evening of the 23d a group of citizens who were parading through the streets was fired upon by the soldiers. This was the signal for the insurrection. Next morning found Paris