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The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia
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In a 1867 conversation reproduced by the Paris journal, Emperor Louis Napoleon shared with Mr. R- his abandoned plan to turn France into a republic if his son, the Prince Imperial, had died, but now seeks to blend Empire and Liberty for his heirs.
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Louis Napoleon Interviewed-His Hopes for His Recovery.
The journal Paris, in its political column, reproduces the terms of a conversation which, it says, took place in 1867, at the time of the exhibition, between the Emperor of France and Mr. R-, the head of a United States family with whom Louis Napoleon has remained ever since his residence in America on terms of affectionate intimacy. It was, says that journal, 'shortly after the illness of the Prince Imperial. Fears had been entertained that his life was in danger, and the Emperor, who adores his son, was still haunted by the phantoms of the child's malady. If I had had the misfortune,' said His Majesty, 'to lose him, and if I had been convinced of the impossibility of having another direct heir, I should certainly have put into execution an extraordinary project. I should have given France the privileges, liberties and institutions of a Republic; I should have decided to become the first citizen of my country, after having restored to it all that the necessities of policy have compelled me to deprive it of for a time; in a word, I should have rendered impossible, after me, any other form of government than the republican, the only one which, wisely understood and applied by an energetic Power, suits the temperament of the French people. But the dream must be renounced, as a father has no right to destroy his son's prospects. I shall endeavor to find the means of reconciling two principles which seem incompatible-the Empire and Liberty. My heirs will reign, and France will only lose a distinctive epithet, the name of a Republic.'
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Foreign News Details
Primary Location
France
Event Date
1867
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Event Details
In 1867, during the exhibition and shortly after the Prince Imperial's illness, Emperor Louis Napoleon discussed with Mr. R-, a United States family head, his hypothetical plan to establish a republic in France if he lost his son and could not have another heir, restoring liberties and making himself the first citizen. However, as a father, he renounces this to preserve his son's prospects and aims to reconcile the Empire with Liberty, allowing his heirs to reign under a republican name.