réf. 24152 — Paris, Le Normant Fils, imprimeur du Roi, 1827. 16 pp. 8vo. Folded sheets, uncut. Larousse, Grand dictionnaire universel, vol. 11, p. 486. First edition. As a young liberal politician the author was noted for his publication concerning the freedom of the press, directed against Peyronnet; also this brochure raised much interest.Montalivet was peer of the Restoration, minister of the July monarchy and senator of the Third Republic. He inherited his father's title of count and his seat in the Peers when both his father and elder brother died in 1823. He advocated a constitutional course, opposed the Polignac ministry of 1829, and supported the 221 deputies who signed the address criticizing the king in March 1830.At head of title: 'Les amis de la liberté de la presse'.The Société des Amis de la Liberté de la Presse appeared briefly during the electoral campaign of 1827 when François-René Chateaubriand rallied Ultra and moderate royalists opposed to the Villèle government to protest censorship of the press and to elect deputies to the Chamber who would abolish censorship laws. Chateaubriand had become a dangerous opponent of the Villéle government in June 1824 when the celebrated writer had been unceremoniously dismissed from his post as minister of foreign affairs. The ordinances of 24 June 1827, which reimposed censorship on the periodical press, provided Chateaubriand with an opportunity for political revenge that he eagerly seized. Chateaubriand's society, probably never more than an informal grouping, formed early in June and included royalists, doctrinaires, and some members of the Center Left opposition that a common opposition, often personal, to the Villèle government, outrage at the reimposition of censorship, and admiration of Chateaubriand temporarily united in 1827. Meetings of the society brought together such figures as Prosper de Barante, the duc de Choiseul, the comte de Montalivet and the baron Hyde de Neuville, journalists like Alexis de Jussieu and Louis-François Bertin de Vaux and ambitious young intellectuals as de Salvandy and Villemain. Along with the more famous and influential society 'Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera', the 'Amis' had an impact on the electoral campaign of 1827. Indirect testimony to the government's fear of the society's effectiveness lies in the policies adopted by the postal service. Because it could not be relied upon to deliver political pamphlets to provincial cities and towns, trusted friends of the society had to carry many works personally (See: Historical Dictionary of France from the 1815 Restoration to the Second Empire).
