of liberty. It is of a different nature. Sovereignty in the order of heirship is a law of the unavoidable; and we must note well that it applies to Monarchies as well as to Republics. Man, considered as one of a community, is subject to unavoidable laws. If as an individual he is perfectly free, as a member of a community he is bound to live in subjection. He can neither choose at his birth his nationality or religion nor the laws under the power of which he is destined to live. All the acts of his life are governed by formalities to which he has never consented and from which he cannot deliver himself. The aggregate of these necessities compelling the submission of man constitutes the principle of sovereignty; by applying it to the life of nations we derive its succession, a principle which governs men and societies, a law belonging to the moral world and therefore beyond the control of man. This is the law which has been misunderstood, this the transgression against constitutional principles committed by French society, entailing nearly a century of misfortune on France. And in truth, if we consider the aspect of affairs throughout Europe, does it not seem as though some gigantic and universal design was being worked out against Constitutional principles? Even the mistakes so evident to all cannot account for the simultaneous, similar, and rapid changes. Do not think that it only needs a keener glance and a stronger hand to stay the course of events. In relation to great public events, men seem generally very insignificant; but to-day all stand paralysed before the irresistible: unprincipledness.
Unprincipledness: this is the disease. The remedy is known to every one. A false situation has been brought about by events and by the political mistakes of the Orléans family. The Orleans family then must have the courage to withdraw, and to assist France to escape from the chaos into which she is plunged.
