[HUGO VICTOR]: (1802-1885) On the dangers posed by Hugo, Kossuth and other exiles

[HUGO VICTOR]: (1802-1885) On the dangers posed by Hugo, Kossuth and other exiles

[HUGO VICTOR]: (1802-1885) French novelist, poet and dramatist. PAULZE D´IVOY ROLAND (1812-1891) French civil servant who served as the Prefect of la Manche 1852-53. A fascinating pair of letters from Paulze d´Ivoy relating to Victor Hugo´s period of exile on Jersey, the first L.S., R Paulze d´Ivoy, two pages, 4to, Saint-Lo, Manche, Normandy, 2nd September 1852, to Jules-Francois Bouvattier, the sub-prefect of Avranches, in French. Paulze d´Ivoy informs his correspondent that he will continue to keep him updated with any information he receives concerning the manoeuvres and plans, manifest or supposed, of the refugees residing in the English Channel islands, continuing ´Ainsi, M. Victor Hugo, a son arrivee a Jersey, n´aurait pas tarde a fraterniser avec les membres du club demagogique de Saint-Helier, ou il aurait prononce les discours les plus violents contre le Prince-President et son gouvernement´ (Translation: ´Thus, Mr. Victor Hugo, on his arrival in Jersey, is said not to have been slow to fraternise with the members of the demagogic club of Saint-Helier, where he is said to have made the most violent speeches against the Prince-President and his government´) and further adding ´Les refugies francais et etrangers se concentreraient dans cette ile, et des rapports s´etabliraient entre eux et Kossuth, de retour en Angleterre avec des sommes considerables et avec des armes qu´il aurait achetees en Amerique et dont la destination n´est pas encore expliquee d´une maniere satisfaisante. D´un autre cote, on se serait enquis de Londres a Liverpool, si si on ne pourrait pas trouver a louer dans ce port, pour une excursion de huit jours, un bateau a vapeur de la force de 200 chevaux et de 25 hommes d´equipage. Quoi qu´il en soit de l´exactitude de ces renseignements et du plus ou moins d´importance qu´il faille attacher aux faits qu´ils ont pour objet de signaler, je ne puis que vous rappeler et vous retierer mes precedentes recommandations de prescrire un redoublement de vigilance sur le littoral de votre arrondissement´ (Translation: ´The French and foreign refugees are said to be concentrating on this island, and relations are said to have been established between them and Kossuth, who has returned to England with considerable sums of money and with arms which he is said to have bought in America, the destination of which has not yet been satisfactorily explained. On the other hand, enquiries have been made from London to Liverpool as to whether a steamer with 200 horsepower and a crew of 25 could not be hired in that port for an eight-day excursion. Whatever the accuracy of this information and the greater or lesser importance that should be attached to the facts that it is intended to indicate, I can only remind you and repeat my previous recommendations to prescribe a redoubling of vigilance on the coast of your district´). The second L.S., R Paulze d´Ivoy, two pages, 8vo, Saint-Lo, Manche, Normandy, 18th March 1853, also to Jules-Francois Bouvattier, in French. Paulze d´Ivoy writes, in full, ´Je continue a vous communiquer les renseignements qui ont pour objet de signaler les manoeuvres diverses inventees et employees par les refugies pour introduire en France les libelles et pamphlets politiques qu´ils font imprimer a Jersey. Ainsi je suis informe que, pour tromper la vigilance des autorites et dejouer la surveillance exercee sur le littoral, ils auraient cesse d´employer pour transporter ces ecrits sur la cote, des bateliers qui ne tardent pas a etre signales, et ils auraient imagine d´evider, avec une tariere a pompe, de longues pieces de bois qu´ils remplissent ensuite d´imprimes. Ces pieces de bois, bouchees avec soin, seraient jetees aussi pres que possible des cotes de Granville, Regneville, Carteret, Creances & Piron: elles seraient recueillies a maree basse par les affides. Il parait qu´on aurait aussi renonce a l´emploi des boites de fer blanc qui servaient au meme usage. L´attention de M. le Ministre de la Police generale a ete appelee sur cette manoeuvre, qu´il me signale lui-meme. Je vous prie de donner des ordres pour empecher qu´elle ne reussisse´ (Translation: ´I am continuing to send you information which is intended to point out the various manoeuvres invented and employed by the refugees to introduce into France the political libels and pamphlets which they have printed in Jersey. Thus I am informed that, in order to deceive the vigilance of the authorities and thwart the surveillance exercised on the coast, they have apparently stopped using boatmen to transport these writings to the coast, and they have imagined using a pump auger to hollow out long pieces of wood which they then fill with printed matter. These pieces of wood, carefully corked, would be thrown as close as possible to the coasts of Granville, Regneville, Carteret, Creances & Piron: they would be collected at low tide by the affidavits. It seems that the use of tin cans for the same purpose has also been abandoned. The attention of the Minister of the General Police has been drawn to this manoeuvre, which he himself has brought to my attention. I would ask you to give orders to prevent it from succeeding´). Some very light, minor age wear and a few creases and small tears to the head of the first letter. G to VG, 2

When the first President of France, Napoleon III, seized complete power in 1851, establishing an anti-parliamentary constitution, thus allowing him to become Emperor of the French (1852-70), Hugo openly decalred Louis Napoleon to be a traitor to France. The novelist moved first to Brussels and then to Jersey (from where he would be expelled after a few years for supporting a Jersey newspaper that had critcised Queen Victoria). During his exile Hugo published his famous political pamphlets against Napoleon III, including Napoleon le Petit (1852). The pamphlets were banned in France but nonetheless had a strong impact within the country, despite the best efforts of the police and authorities to prevent them entering the country, as demonstrated by the second of Paulze d´Ivoy´s letters.

The Hungarian nobleman and freedom fighter Lajos Kossuth (1802-1894), who served as Governor-President of Hungary in 1849, had been forced into exile during the revolutionary tide which swept across Europe in 1849 and, alongside his family and fifty loyal followers, made his way to England. Making the journey by boat, Kossuth arrived at Marseille and sought permission to travel through France to England. However Prince-President Louis Napoleon denied the request and the French authorities refused to allow the dangerous revolutionary to come ashore. As a result Kossuth publicly protested. Many of his countrymen wventually settled in Jersey and became well acquainted with Victor Hugo.