 Although still a republican, Ollivier was a moderate who was prepared to accept the Empire in return for civil liberties even if it was a step-by-step process.The imperial decree of 24 November, permitting the insertion of parliamentary reports in the "Moniteur", and an address from the "Corps Législatif" in reply to the speech from the throne, were welcomed by him as an initial piece of reform.This marked a considerable change of attitude, for only a year previously he attacked the imperial government, in the course of a defence of Étienne Vacherot, brought to trial for the publication of "La Démocratie".