The Sun.
London, England, 1871-02-20 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20,1871.

THE demeanour of the deputies who are assembled
at Bordeaux—the intolerant attitude of the majority,

And the appeals of the minority to the populace—is
not reassuring ; but the election of M. GREVY as
President of the National Assembly is a favour-
able indication which outweighs in importance all
others. The choice was nearly unanimous, and
in truth it deserved to be so, for M.

GREVY justly commands the respect of
all parties. He is a thorough but moderate
Republican. His principles have nothing in
common with the community of property
_ _

.•
schemes favoured by the Reds of Paris; his Repub-
licanism means solely the retention of the power
of Government in the hands of the people.

He bas what English Conservatives call " a stake in
the country ;" he is a native of the Department of
the Jura, and during the life of the happily buried
Empire he was the only Republican who could gain a
seat in a country district. The Democrats might win
in the large towns, but so long as NAPOLEON had
the votes of the peasantry, he was safe. Terrible,
therefore, was the consternation at the Tuileries
when M. GREVY, after years of retirement through
the coup d'etat, carried the Jura department in 1868
by such a signal majority that the GoVernment did
not oppose him at the next election. The
choice of such a man as President of the
Assembly is clearly a significant symptom, point-
ing to the adoption of that Constitutional
Republic which is by far the best solution of the
terrible problem before the French nation. The
Republicans have no reason to doubt M. CI-BEVY'S
fidelity to Democratic principles. He is one of the
most consistent of Frenchmen. The Monarchists on
their side may rest assured that he will never join
the ranks of the gentlemen just sent from Paris.
There is a special reason why this choice
carries with it much significance. In 1848
M. GREVY was member of the Constituent Assembly,
and moved the famous " Resolutions Gravy "—a
series of three amendments to the Republican Con-
stitution. The proposition of these amendments may
truly be said to mark an epoch in the history of Con-
stitutional Government. Their rejection on October
7th, 1848, by 643 against 158 was one of the greatest
disasters that ever befell La Patrie. M. GREVY'S
propositions were that the executive power should be
confided to a President of the Council of Ministers
who should choose his own colleagues, but who should
himself be chosen by the Assembly in secret ballot.
He wouli be elected for an unlimited time, but
would be always removable at the pleasure of the
Legislature. If this plan had been adopted, the
French constitution would have approached that of
England. The English Ministry is appointed by
Parliament for an unlimited time, and it retires as
soon as the majority of the popular House is against
its policy. Precisely the same would have been the
case in France. There would have been no Queen,
nor House of Lords ; but in England the political
power of those elements of the constitution is
declining regularly, and less and less yearly becomes
the difference between our own Monarchy and a
Republic on the principles of the " Resolu-
tions Gravy." Instead of adopting these wise
expedient the Assembly of 1848 resolved that the
President of the Republic should be elected by the
direct vote of universal suffrage. Lours NAPOLEON
was chosen. He speedily quarrelled with the Assembly.
When the difference became so great that one side
or the other must give way, the PRESIDENT had
recourse to the coup d'etat, locked up and transported
the deputies, and then appealed to a plebiscite,
a machinery which, carefully regulated, never
failed to support him. Twenty years of despotism,