534

Karl Marx
The Constitution of the French Republic
adopted November 4, 1848

Notes to the People.
Nr.7, 14.Juni 1851

||i25|No. I. The Constitution
of the French Republic
adopted November 4, 1848.

A rhetorical preamble introduces the Constitution, in which the following
passages deserve notice:

1. France declares itself a republic. 2. The French republic is democratic,
one and indivisible. 4. Its principles are Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and
its foundations are Family, Labour, Property, and Public Order. 5. Itrespects
the independence of other nations, and will make its own respected also. It
will undertake no aggressive war, and will never employ its force against the
liberty of any people. (Rome!)

Before the Insurrection of June, the National Assembly had drawn up a
constitution, which contained among many other recognitions of the rights
and duties of man, the following articles.

Art. 6. The right to education is the right possessed by all citizens to the
means for the full development of their physical, moral, and intellectual
faculties, by a gratuitous education at the hands of the state.

Art. 7. The right of labour is the right of every member of society to live
by labour. Therefore it is the duty of society to supply with work all able
bodied persons who cannot otherwise obtain it.

Art. 9. The Right to support is the right of the orphan, the infirm and the
aged to be maintained by the state.

After the victories of June 1848 had given courage to the middle-class, they
erased these three articles from

THE CONSTITUTION,

which now stands as follows:—

535

Karl Marx

"Cap. I. Sovereign power rests in the entirety of French citizens. It is
inalienable and eternal. No individual, no fraction of the people has the right
to its exercise."

"CAP. n. RIGHTS GUARANTEED BY THE CONSTITUTION:—

No one can be arrested or imprisoned, except as prescribed by the laws."
"§ 3. The residence of every one on French territory is inviolable—and it
is not allowed to enter it otherwise than in the forms prescribed by law."
Observe here and throughout that the French constitution guarantees
liberty, but always with the proviso of exceptions made by law, or which

may STILL BE MADE ! and all the exceptions mady by the Emperor Napoleon,

by the restoration, and by Louis Philippe, have not only been retained, but,
after the June-Revolution, immeasurably multiplied. Thus, for instance, the
law of the 9th August 1849, relative to the State of Siege, which the Assembly, and during its prorogation, the President can enact, and which gives to
the military authorities the right of bringing all political offenders before a
court-martial. It further grants them the power to enter and search any house
by day or night, to seize all arms, and to remove all persons not having a
domicile in the place declared under a state of siege.

As to strangers, the only "right" they enjoy on French soil, is to be arrested
and driven out of it, as often as the police authorities think proper.

As to Frenchmen, any French citizen can be arrested, if a single
functionary issues his mandate to that effect!

"84. No one can be judged by others than his natural judges. Exceptional
tribunals can be formed under no denomination or pretext."

We have already seen that, under "the state of siege," a military tribunal
supersedes all others. Besides this, the Assembly established an "exceptional
tribunal," called the "High Court," in 1848 for a portion of the political
offenders; and, after the insurrection in June, transported 15,000 insurgents
without any trial at all!

"§ 5. Capital punishment for political offences is annulled."

But they transport to fever-stricken settlements, where they are executed,
only a little more slowly, and far more painfully.

"§ 8. Citizens have a right to associate, to meet peacefully and unarmed,
to petition, and express their opinions through the press and elsewhere. The
enjoyment of these rights has no other limit, than the equal rights of others,
and the public safety."

That the limitation made by the "public safety," takes away the enjoyment
of the right altogether, is clearly shewn by the following facts:—

536

Beginn von Marx' Artikel „The Constitution of the French Republic...
Notes to the People. London. Nr.7, 14. Juni 1851

The Constitution of the French Republic adopted November 4, 1848

1. Thelibertyof the Press.-By the laws of August 11,1848, and of July 27,
1849, not only securities for newspapers were redemanded, but all the restrictions made by the Emperor Napoleon, and since, were renewed and made
more stringent.

The law of July 23, 1850, raises the security-||l26|money! and extends the
enactment of all weekly journals, magazines, periodicals, etc. Besides which
it demands that every article be signed by the name of the writer, and reintroduces the stamp for newspapers. Not contented with this, it imposes a stamp
on the feuilleton roman, the mere literary pamphlet, as well; and enforces
all this under the penalty of enormous fines! After the enactment of the
last-named law, the revolutionary press disappeared altogether. It had long
fought against persecution: week by week, paper after paper and pamphlet
after pamphlet, were accused, fined, suppressed. The middle-class sat in the
jury-box, and they crushed the working man's press.

The climax was put on the system by the law of July 30, 1850, which
restored the censorship of the drama. Thus freedom of opinion was banished
from its last literary refuge.

2. The right of association and public meeting. — By the decrees of July 28,
to August 2, 1848, the clubs are subjected to a mass of police regulations,

20 denying them almost every liberty. For instance, they are not allowed to pas s

resolutions in a legislative form, etc. By the same law. all non-political circles
and private reunions are thrown entirely under the supervision and caprice
of the police.

By the law of June 19—22, 1849, the government is authorized, for the
period of one year, to suppress all clubs and meetings of which it may not
approve. By the law of June 6—12,1850, this power is granted to government
for another year, and actually extended to those reunions and meetings
relative to the election of Deputies, that may displease the government! The
result is that, virtually, since July, 1848, all clubs and public meetings have
ceased, with the exception of the Royalist and Bonapartist cercles.

By the law of November 29,1849, imprisonment for a period not exceeding
three months, and a fine to an amount not exceeding 3,000 francs, is decreed
against all working-men who may unite for arise in wages. And, by the same
law, these working-men are subjected to five years' surveillance of the police
(which means beggary, ruin, and persecution) after the completion of their
sentence.

So much for the right of association and of public meeting.

"§ 9. The right of tuition is free. The freedom of tuition shall be enjoyed

40 on the conditions fixed by law, and under the supervision of the state."

539

Karl Marx

Here the old joke is repeated. "Tuition is free," but "under the conditions
fixed by law," and these are precisely the conditions that take away the
freedom altogether.

By the law of March 15, 1850, the whole system of tuition is placed under
the supervision of the clergy. 5
At the head of this branch of government stands a conseil supérieur de

l'instruction publique, presided over by four French archbishops. It subjects

all the provincial schoolmasters, although elected by the common councils

or parochial councils, to the will of the recteurs, or rectors. The teachers are
placed in a state similar to military subordination and discipline, under the 10
rectors, mayors, and parsons, and the freedom of education consists according to the law already quoted, in this: that no one has the right to teach
without the permission of the civil and clerical authorities.

"811. The rights of property are inviolable."

"$ 14. The national debt is guaranteed." 15

"$ 15. Taxes are levied only for the public service. Every citizen contributes according to his property and ability."

CAP. m. — ON THE AUTHORISATION OF OFFICE.

This Chapter affirms —

"1. That all public authority is derived from the people, and cannot be made 20
hereditary."

"2. That the division of powers is the primary condition of a free government."

Here we have the old constitutional folly. The condition of a "free government" is not the division, but the UNITY of power. The machinery of govern- 25
ment cannot be too simple. It is always the craft of knaves to make it
complicated and mysterious.

CAP. rv.— ON THE LEGISLATIVE POWER.

The legislative power is vested in a single assembly of 750 representatives,
including those of Algeria and the colonies. Any assemblies that may be 30
called to revise the constitution must consist of 900 persons. The electoral
system is based on the population. Four paragraphs now follow, which it will
be requisite to give in full:

"8 24. The electoral franchise is direct and universal, the form of voting,
secret." 35

540

. 30

The Constitution of the French Republic adopted November 4, 1848

"§ 25. All Frenchmen, 21 years of age, in possession of their political and
civil rights, are electors without reference to any electoral census."

"8 26. All electors, 25 years of age, are eligible to be elected as representatives, without domiciliary limitation.”

"827. The Electoral Law will ascertain the causes which can deprive a
French citizen of the right to elect and to be elected."

The above articles are conceived in exactly the same spirit, as all the rest
of the constitution. "All Frenchmen are electors, who enjoy their political
rights"—but "the electoral law" is to decide what Frenchmen shall not enjoy
their political rights!

The electoral law of March 15, 1849, reckoned under this category all
criminals, but not political offenders. The electoral law of May 31, 1850,
added not only the political offenders, all those who had been convicted of
"offending against old established opinions," and against the laws regulating
the press, but | it actually established domiciliary restrictions, by which
TWO-THIRDS of the French people are incapable of voting!

That is what "the electoral franchise, direct and universal," means in
France.

"§ 28. No paid public functionary can at the same time be a representative
of the people. No representative can become the holder of a paid function
dependent on the constitution during the continuance of the legislative
assembly."

These two provisions have been limited by later decisions, and are, virtually, almost nullified.

"§ 30. The elections take place by departments, at the principal place of
the district, and by means of voting tickets."

"831. The National Assembly is elected for three years, when a new
election must take place."

"§ 32. Its session is permanent, but it is empowered to adjourn, and must

then name a commission as its representatives consisting of 25 Deputies, and
the members of the bureau of the assembly. This commission is empowered
to summon the assembly in cases of emergency."

§§ 33—38. The representatives are re-eligible. They are not to be bound by
any fixed instructions, they are inviolable, and cannot be prosecuted or
convicted for the opinions they may express in the assembly, and they
receive a salary which they are not permitted to refuse.

As to the "inviolability of the representative," and his "freedom of expressing his opinions," the majority passed a new réglement after the 13th of
June, empowering the president of the National Assembly to decree the cen-

sure against a representative, to fine him, to deprive him of his salary, and
temporarily to expel him—thus utterly annihilating the "freedom of opinion."

541

Karl Marx

In 1850 the assembly passed a law by which representatives can be arrested
for debt even during the session of the house, and if they do not pay within
a given time, forfeit their functions as representatives.

Thus neither the freedom of debate nor the inviolability of the representative exists in France—but only the inviolability of the creditor.

§§ 39—42. The sittings of the assembly shall be public. Nevertheless, the
assembly can resolve itself into a private committee, at the request of the
requisite number of representatives. To make a law valid, it must be voted
by one more than the half of the representatives. Except in pressing cases
no bill can be passed that has not been read three times, with an interval
of five days between each reading.

This form, borrowed from the English "constitution,'
France on any important occasions—indeed, on those on which it might be
supposed most requisite. For instance, the electoral law of May 31 was
passed after one reading.

1

is not observed in

CAP. V.— ON THE EXECUTIVE POWER.

§§ 43—44. The executive power is entrusted to a president. The president
must be a born Frenchman, at least 30 years of age, and must never have
lost his qualification as a French citizen.

The first president of the French republic, L. N. Bonaparte, had not only
lost his qualification as a French citizen, had not only been an English special
constable, but was a naturalised Swiss.

§§ 45—70. The president of the republic is elected for four years, and not
re-eligible till after four years from the expiration of his term of office. The
same restriction applies to his relatives to the 6th degree inclusive. The
election is to take place on the second Sunday in May. Should the president
have been elected at any other time, his powers cease on the second Sunday
in May, in the fourth year after his election. He is elected by secret vote,
and by an absolute majority. If no candidate has more than half the number
of recorded votes, but at least two millions, the national assembly may elect
the president out of those five candidates who have polled the largest
number.

The president must swear fealty to the constitution, may submit propositions to the assembly, through his ministers, can dispose of the army, without
commanding it in person, is not allowed to cede any portion of the French
territory, nor to dissolve or prorogue the assembly, neither may he suspend
the authority of the constitution. He negotiates and ratifies all treaties, which,
however, do not become definitively binding till sanctioned by the assembly.

542

The Constitution of the French Republic adopted November 4, 1848

He is not allowed to undertake any war without the consent of the assemblymay exercise the prerogative of pardoning, but is not allowed to grant an
amnesty. Those condemned by the haute cour can be pardoned only by the
national assembly. The president may postpone the promulgation of a law,
and demand that the assembly deliberate thereon again. But such deliberation
then becomes definitive. He appoints ambassadors and ministers, and may
suspend, during three months, the mayors, departmental councils, national
guards, etc., elected by the citizens. All his decrees must be countersigned
by the ministers, with exception of the dismissal of the ministers themselves.
The president, ministers, and public officers are severally answerable in their
own departments for every act of the government. Every act whereby the
president may influence, delay, or prevent the due exercise of the functions
of the assembly, is an act of high treason. By such an act the | president
is at once deprived of his authority—it becomes the duty of every citizen to
refuse obedience to his mandates, and the power of his office devolves
forthwith on the assembly, the judges of the Haute Cour de Justice are to
meet without loss of time, and to summon the juries to a given place, to judge
the president and his accomplices.
The president has the use of an official residence, and an annual salary
of 600,000 francs, or £ 24,000. (He now receives 2,160,000 francs, or £ 86,400.)
The ministers have a seat ex officio in the national assembly, and may speak
as often as they choose. The national assembly elects a vice-president of the
republic, out of three candidates which the president may name within one
month after his own election. The vice-president takes the same oath as the
president, must not be arelation of the president, takes the president's place
where the latter is prevented from acting, and officiates as president of the
council of state. If the presidential chair becomes vacated through death, or
any other cause, a new election is to take place within one month.

CAP. VI.—THE COUNCIL OF STATE.

§§71—75. The Council of State is merely a deliberative body, for considering the propositions to be submitted by the cabinet — and those that may
be forwarded from the assembly.

CAP. VII.—THE INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION.

This chapter deals with the clerks, the principal magistrates, the common
and provincial councils. The only article of consequence, and one that is
made use of to the fullest possible extent, is the following:

543

Karl Marx

$ 80. The general councils, the cantonal councils, andthe common councils
may be dissolved by the president with sanction of the council of state.

CAP. vm. —ON THE JUDICIAL POWER.

Generally speaking, this chapter merely reproduces the enactments of the
Emperor Napoleon. The following additions are, however, deserving of
notice:

"881. Justice is exercised gratuitously, in the name of the French
people."

This is so little the case, that one is not even beheaded for nothing!

§§ 91—100, treat of the Haute Com de Justice, which is alone empowered
to judge the President, before which the ministers can be arraigned, and all
political offenders the National Assembly may think proper to send before
that tribunal.

This "High Court" consists of five judges that the court of Cassation, (the
highest tribunal of France,) elects out of its own members, and of thirty-six
jury-men taken from the general councils of the departments, by an entirely
aristocratic body. The only individuals hitherto tried by this tribunal, are the
accused of May 15, 1848 — (here the names of BARBES, BLANQUI, and others
rise up in judgment!) and the deputies compromised on June 13, 1849.

By the law of August 7, 1848, all those who cannot read and write are
erased from the jury list, thus disqualifying two-thirds of the adult population!

CAP. IX.— OF THE ARMED POWER.

The entire of the old military law is leftin existence. The crimes of the soldier
are not cognisable before the civil tribunals. The following paragraph illustrates the spirit of this constitution.

"8102. Every Frenchman is liable to military service, and to serve in the
national guard, with exception of those cases provided by the law."

Every man having money, can absolve himself from the obligation of
service.

The working classes are entirely excluded from the ranks of the national
guard, by the law now under consideration, the second reading of which has
been already carried! Moreover the President has the right to suspend for
one year the national guards of every parish—and, actually, throughout half
France, the national guard has been dissolved!

544

The Constitution ofthe French Republic adopted November 4, 1848

CAP. x. — SPECIAL ENACTMENTS.

"$ 110. The National Assembly confides the Constitution to the vigilance
and patriotism of the entire people" — and confides the "vigilant" and "patriotic" to the tender mercies of the Haute Cour! — JUNE 13!

CAP. XI.— ON THE REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION.

"$111. Should the Assembly, at the close of its session, express a desire
for a total or partial change in the Constitution, the revision shall be proceeded with in the following manner: — The wish expressed by the Assembly
cannot become law till after three successive debates, which must take place

after the interval of one month between each, and can be carried only by

three-fourths of the votes, those voting being not less than 500 in number.
The assembly called for the purpose of the revision is elected for only three
months, and must not, except in very pressing cases, entertain any other
question."

Such is the "Constitution of the French Re||I29|public," and such is the
manner in which it has been used. The reader will at once see that from
beginning to end it is a mass of fine words, hiding a most treacherous design.
From its very wording, it is rendered impossible to violate it, for every one
of its provisions contains its own antithesis—utterly nullifies itself. For instance:—"the vote is direct and universal,"—"excepting those cases which
the Jaw shall determine."

Therefore it cannot be said that the law of May 31, 1850 (disfranchising
two-thirds of the people,) at all violates the Constitution.

The Constitution constantly repeats the formula, that the regulation and
limitation of the rights and liberties of the people, (e. g., the right of association, of the Franchise, the Freedom of the Press, of Tuition, etc.,) shall be
determined by a subsequent ORGANIC LAW,—and these "organic laws,"
"determine" the promised freedom by destroying it. This trick of granting

30 full liberty, of laying down the finest principles, and leaving their application,

the details, to be decided by subsequent laws," the Austrian and Prussian
middle-classes, have borrowed from their French prototypes, the same thing
had been done in the French Constitution of 1830—and in those previously
enacted.

People! Make up your minds as to DETAILS, as well as to principles, before

545

Karl Marx

you come to power. Therefore the struggle was fought in the English convention on this very point!

The only clauses in the whole constitution that are positive and definite,
are those on the election of the President ($ 45), and the Revision of the
Constitution, ($111). These are the only provisions that CAN be violated,
for they are the only ones that do not carry their own contradiction with
them.

They were aimed by the Constituent assembly of 1848, directly against
Bonaparte— whose intrigues for the Presidential office alarmed the deputies.

The eternal contradictions of this Constitution of Humbug, show plainly
enough, that the middle-class can be democratic in words, but will not be
so in deeds—they will recognise the truth of a principle, but never carry it
into practice—and the real "Constitution" of France is to be found, not in
the Charter we have recorded, but in the ORGANIC LAWS enacted on its basis,
an outline of which we have given to the reader. The principles were there
—the details were left to the future, and in those details a shameless tyranny
was re-enacted!

The excess of despotism reached in France will be apparent by the following regulations as to working men.

Every working man is supplied with a book by the police—the first page
of which contains his name, age, birthplace, trade or calling, and a description
of his person. He is therein obliged to enter the name of the master for whom
he works, and the reasons why he leaves him. But this is not all: the book
is placed in the master's hands, and deposited by him in the bureau of the
police with the character of the man by the master. When a workman leaves
his employment, he must go and fetch this book from the police office; and
is not allowed to obtain another situation without producing it. Thus the
workman's bread is utterly dependent on the police. But this again, is not
all: this book serves the purpose of a passport. If he is obnoxious, the police
write "bon pour retourner chez lui" init, and the workman is obliged to return
to his parish! No comment is needed on this terrific revelation! Let the reader
picture to himself its full working, and trace it to its actual consequences.
No serfdom of the feudal ages—no pariahdom of India has its parallel. What
wonder if the French people pant for the hour of insurrection. What wonder
if their indignation take the aspect of a storm. They were merciful in 1830,
they were merciful in 1848; but since then their liberty has been trafficked
away, their blood has been shed in torrents, every prison in France is crowded with life-long captives, —15,000 were transported in one mass and the
dreadful despotism we have described rests on them now. What wonder that
the middle-class should fear the people, and that they should strain their last

546

The Constitution of the French Republic adopted November 4, 1848

nerve to keep the hour of retribution in abeyance. Butthey are divided among
themselves. They have too many conflicting ambitions, and foremost on the
cards stands

THE GAME OF NAPOLEON.

The question now is, shall the presidential powers be prolonged, and shall
the constitution be revised. Napoleon cannot be re-elected, without an open
breach of the constitution for Istly, he cannot be re-elected until after a
period of four years from the expiration of his term of office; and, 2ndly,
the constitution cannot be revised except by a majority of two-thirds. Such

l o a majority in favour of that question does not exist, therefore, a constitutional

xk

re-election is not possible.

The only alternative for Bonaparte is, therefore, to defy the constitution,
take up arms, and fight it out, or a legitimate surrender of his functions at
the time prescribed. In the latter case Cavaignac will become President, and
the REPUBLIC of the MIDDLE-CLASS will be perfected. In the former the
issues are more complicated.

The game of Napoleon, therefore, now is, to work on the discontent of
the people. The middle-class are the enemies of Napoleon,—the people know
it, and there is one bond of sympathy between them. He, however, shares
the odium of oppression jointly with the middle-class; if he can cast it off
his shoulders entirely | on theirs, one great obstacle will have been
removed.

This he is endeavouring to do—as proved by his recent speech at Dijon,
where he says: "Every bad law has been enacted by the assembly, every good
law that I proposed has been rejected or mutilated by that body. They have
thwarted me in every attempt to better your condition, and raised obstacles
against improvement where none existed."

Thus he is endeavouring to guide the lightning, from his own head on to
that of the assembly. Meanwhile, the army are more with him than with the
latter body,—and such is the misery of the people that almost any change
would be for the better in the estimation of the many, while the enlightened
are but the minority.

Therefore, supposing the middle-class to risk the struggle under Cavaignac, on finding Bonaparte determined, the people would certainly fight
against them—and Bonaparte would be fighting with the people. Combined,
they would prove too strong for the assembly. But then would come the
critical time; the assembly finding that the people were about to conquer,
would prefer the lesser of two evils. They would prefer an Empire or a
Dictatorship of Napoleon, to a Democratic and Social Republic, and would.

547

Karl Marx

therefore, come to terms with the President. The latter dreading, as much
as they, the democratic power, would accept their aid. The army, or aportion
of it at least, would have become still more attached to Napoleon by the
excitement, peril, and "glory" of strife; and the struggle would then assume
a new aspect, that of the army and the bourgeoisie against the People. The
issue depends on the courage, sense, and union of the latter. The game of
Napoleon, is, first to play off the People against the middle-class. Then to
play off the middle-class against the people and to use the army against them
both.

The future is pregnant with great events, and the present of France is one
of the most interesting studies history affords. |