M. de Freycinet obtained a great success on Thursday, in
resisting M. Louis Blanc's Bill for a plenary amnesty of the political criminals of the Commune. He not only defeated the Bill by the large majority of 198 (313 to 115), but he gained for himself great weight and consideration by the manner in which he did it. He said that a political amnesty was granted, not from consideration for individuals, but in the interest of society ; that to make it a measure conducive to the interest of society, it must be granted by a strong Government of its own free-will, and not conceded by a weak Government ; that the beat way, therefore, to render a complete political amnesty a possibility, was to strengthen the Government in all those reproductive works which tended to make a prosperous and contented France ; and that when, at last, the Government became the recognised centre and representative of a strong and happy France, then it might per- haps wisely concede of its own free-will a complete political .amnesty to offenders no longer able to disturb her tranquillity This pose of M. de Freycinet was very gratifying to the party -of order, without being irritating to the party of mercy. And it was very ingenious, too, as holding out a real motive to M. Louis Blanc and his friends to strengthen the Government, rather than to reiterate their assaults on it.
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