The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-05-27 00:00:00

touqribge Obserinr.

SATURDAY, MAY 27, 1871.

FRANCE.

The news which reached this country at the
commencement of the week, from Paris, has
been the most important in itself and in what it
suggests, of any Unit we have had since the out-
break of the ineurrection. On Sunday (strange
it is how many momentous military events take
place on the Sunday) the Versailles troops en-
tered Paris at two uitrerent points, by the gates
of Point du Jour and Montrouge, the ramparts
havimg beau abandoned by the insurgents. This
advantage was speedily loliowed up, and on the
following day about 80,000 trooes entered the
city. But we do not intend here to give a nar-
rative of events, referring the reader to another
part of our journal for details of toe important
news of the week. No one, of course, can fore-
tell the current of events, but certaiuly there is
now every reason to believe that the Commune
will fall and be shattered as was the Column of
Vendome the other day. Such &consummation
at all events is most devoutly to be wished.
The members of the Commune have shown
themselves to be not only the enemies of Paris
and of France, but of our common humanity.
They have desecrated cathedrals and churches;
they have shown themselves determined to des-
troy public buildings and monuments, solely be-
cause they are associated with imperialism; they
have exhibited their hatred of the commonly re-
ceived ideas of religion; they have spurned the
social tie of marriage; they have displayed a
hostility to the press which was never equalled
even during the rule of the ex-Emperor; and
they have acted with tyrannous cruelty towards
citizens whom they have chosen to regard as
spies. It would be worse than folly to expect
any good government from the Commune, and
there can be little doubt that tile overwhelmilig
majority of the population of France is utterly
opposed to Communist principles and practices.
The successes of the Versailles troops, there-
fore, must have aroused in France, as they cer-
tainly have in this country, hopes for some more
settled and precticable fona of governmenr.
Under what kind of government is France likely
to endeavour to work out the problem of peace
and security ? This, of course, remains to be
seen, and we can but speculate on the probabili-
ties of the situation. France is divided into
parts. There is the party of iiioderate Itepub
licanisin, as represented by M. thiers, according
to his latest prof-sauna, regardless of ilid Orle-
aniat antecedents; there is the cut-throat party
of ited itep..blicaoisin, the cap of lioerty, jetties
•Ii the guillotine; there is the Leg
p..r,y. with lienry Ci iq as a hero ; thei.
are tha (T.:ea iiists, who woo:a as a whole be
probably s dished with either the Due d'Aumale
or the Comte de Paris on the throne of Louis
P.iiilippe ; arid there are the Imperialists, who
lic,ire to returrt of Napoleon the Third, or, ii
default of t alt ..;eacy, till the PriuiceLnpe'
iii coo-5 01 ace.

We much doubt whether, after recent events,
Clare is y probAhi.ity of establishing a stable
Republic, seeing that nowcver moderate au.)
Republic miglit LA: to theory, so much latitude
iv.ui 4 aim,t neeessa, ly he given to the machi•
nations of the extrel,.e poly 111n1. 11,18

61.1141:4;41t. "44, .. a :,4I it is ius.
portant to Ic f the tirleanists sun
the Legitimists is the A-,embly were to consent
to a fusion they e•mi,l C-al Maali a majority oi
neirly 400 over th Republican party. Wid:
regard to liupelialist views. an evidently autim-
ritative statement. has h,2en put forward by tile
Lillian Observer, aid this statement is of so
reinaikable a character that we will quote it.:
Inicitig poiats. support.:rs of the Fan
pice," it ia s :id, " Lay, not ceased to exp... a:
tacit- willit,gims.„—and they are even now wilhug
—to forego the rights ti i y might chtim by rea-
-1-AM ei the popular votes given at diticrem tiOaH
in favour of the Empire, and to again submit
the Empire to the vote of the people. If this

proposition is not agreed to the Imperialists will
do what they can to vindicate the sovereign
rights of the people. They will never acknow-
ledge a Government forced upon the nation by a
foreign Power. They will never acknowledge a
Government that has not been approved by the
vote of the people, They hold that until such
a vote has been taken, the vote of May last must
, continue in force, as the vote of the people can
I only be rescinded by the people. For the sake
I of peace, order, and good government, the Tin-
' perialists hold it to be their duty to insist that
France is still under the rule of the Govern-
ment elected by the people." If this Imperial
programme is authentic it is impossible to deny
its fairness. The bitterest enemy of Imperial.
lain, also talks the most glibly of Napoleonic
promises and subterfuges. must admit that the
propmdtion to " again submit the Empire to the
vote of the people " is intrinsically fair, while
the allusion to the " sovereign rights of the
people' is all—co far as words go—.-that even
' Republicans could desire. Whether the ex-
Emperor and his friends will ever have the op-
portunity of again appealing to u pkhiseite re-
mains to be seen, and meanwhile we can but
heartity rejoice that that pernicious excrescence,
the Commune, is likely to be crashed,