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BONAPARTE (NAPOLEON III.) 53 Ity of the country. More than ever in need of the support of the masses, he followed up his various measures for the working classes by suppressing early in 1869 the livrets or service books which had subjected artisans to vexa- tious formalities. The controversy with Bel- gium in regard to the transfer of a Belgian railway to a French company, which for a time threatened complications, was amicably settled in April, but great agitation continued to pre- vail in Paris. The new elections at the end of May were attended with tumults in many lo- cal ities, the opposition carrying Paris, Lyons, Marseilles, and other cities, though the official influence in the interior, together with the votes of the peasantry and part of the clergy, resulted in an aggregate vote in favor of Na- poleon. Thiers, Favre, and Simon, however, were reflected ; Gambetta, Bancel, and Raspail were returned to reenforce the ultra radicals ; and Rochefort himself was finally elected in one of the metropolitan districts, at the same time with Cremieux and Emanuel Arago; while Emile Ollivier, a former liberal who had adher- ed to Napoleon, was defeated in Paris, and had to accept a seat for one of the departments. The aggregate of votes cast for the emperor had dwindled down to less than 5,000,000, while the opposition, including those opposed to per- sonal government though in favor of a con- stitutional empire, exceeded 3,000,000. Riot- ous demonstrations ensued (June 7-11) in Paris and other cities, amid acclamations in favor of a republic and against Napoleon. Over 1,000 persons were arrested, and the military had to restore order in Paris, Nantes, and Bordeaux. To calm the excitement, the em- peror proposed liberal changes (July 12) after the opening of the legislative body; dismissed Rouher, his strongest partisan, from the minis- try; appointed a new cabinet to mark the transition from personal and arbitrary to the new projected parliamentary and constitutional government ; and promulgated an amnesty for political exiles, which measure resulted in bringing back to France some of his most in- veterate enemies. The senatus consultum em- bodying the new reforms was adopted Sept. 6 ; but the emperor would not convoke the new session on the day prescribed by the new law. The opposition, led by Favre, proposed to take the initiative in opening it ; but in view of the public exasperation, they limited their demon- stration to the issue of a protest (Oct. 18) against what they characterized as Napoleon's new insult to the nation, and calmly awaited the inauguration of the legislature by the em- peror himself, which took place Nov. 29. Ol- livier now came forward as the principal spokesman of the new constitutional regime, with about 120 followers, the rest of the mem- bers being divided among the various shades of conservatives and radicals. In his exposi- tion of foreign policy the emperor expatiated on the advantages of the Suez canal, which he had labored to promote, and on the Egyptian- Turkish complication, in regard to which he sided with England in maintaining the rights of the sultan without compromising the in- terests involved in the authority of the khe- dive. Ollivier became prime minister on Jan. 2, 1870, and one of the first measures of the new administration was to remove Haussmann, whose administration of the prefecture of the Seine and stupendous enterprises had contrib- uted greatly to the embellishment and en- largement of Paris, but also to the detriment of integrity and financial stability, and to the disadvantage of the poor, whose humble dwell- ing places had been pulled down to make room for new boulevards and squares; while Odilon Barrot was appointed chairman of the committee of decentralization. Additional odium was cast upon Napoleon by the assassi- nation of Victor Noir by Prince Pierre Bona- parte, and by the letter's acquittal of the charge of murder at Tours, March 27. Yet he received an affirmative vote of over 7,000,000 on the plebiscite of May 8, in approbation of his reform measures, although Paris returned over 180,000 adverse votes, including those of many soldiers, and the majority in most of the large cities remained equally hostile to the emperor. Uneasiness in regard to foreign relations was revived by the appointment as minister of foreign aifairs of the duke de Gramont, who while French ambassador in Vienna had been noted for his hostility to Prussia. Olli- vier nevertheless persisted (June 30) in re- assuring the country in regard to uninter- rupted friendly relations with foreign powers. Great excitement, however, prevailed shortly afterward, when it became known that the crown of Spain had been offered to Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, a relative of the king of Prussia, and both Ollivier and Gramont declared (July 6) in the legislative body that such a candidature, agreed upon without the knowledge of the French government, would be injurious to the honor and the influence of the French nation. The emperor instructed Benedetti, his ambassador in Berlin, to require King William, who was at that time (July 9) at Ems, to prohibit Prince Leopold from accept- ing the Spanish crown. Despite the latter's voluntary withdrawal, the emperor was not satisfied, and insisted upon a personal pledge from the king of Prussia that no prince of Hohenzollern' would be in future a candi- date for the Spanish throne. It now became manifest that the emperor, despairing of sus- taining his power at home and of recovering his standing abroad, was bent on retrieving his fortunes on the battlefield, and on wreaking revenge upon Prussia for the success by which she had exalted the glory of Germany and dimmed that of France. Bismarck, the Prus- sian prime minister, declined to submit the emperor's new pretensions to the king; and as Benedetti was nevertheless instructed to in- trude them upon the Prussian monarch per- sonally, the latter declined to give another