The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-11 00:00:00

OPERATIONS IN PARIS.

The English papers were of course anxious to convey to
their readers an adequate impression of the great vote in
France. Not only was the occasion a momentous one,
but the working of the ballot is of especial interest at a
time when the means of introducing it are now under
consideration in the British Legislature. Not content
with the accounts given them by their regular correspon-
dents, some of the London journals sent "specials " to
watch the operation of the Plebiscite in different parts of
France. The correspondent of the Telegraph describes
what he saw on Sunday in the capital :—I confess
I expected to see some movement. As it chanced,
there had been more noise than is usual
even in that noisiest of thoroughfares during the whole
night, and no doubt we had had dreams of drums. But,
in fact, it was the same as any other day. A " St.
Lazare " train had just arrived, and the early employes
were passing into their offices, even though it was Sunday
and voting-day; long lines of whitewashed blouses whistled,
shouted, and danced to their work ; the heavy waggons,
laden with blocks which shall, " one of these four days,"
be the " New Grand Opera," lumbered past ; and the
six donkeys, salutem dando to men, and more to women,
jingled by with their confounded and confounding
bells. But of extra excitement, none. Several hours
elapsed, and the scouts who came in reported that the
city was as quiet as Paris ever can be, even at that early
hour. At twelve o'clock I went up the Boulevtrds to
the Mairie of the arondissement, in the Rue Druout.

There might have been fifty people, half of
whom were studying the bills of the night's Per.:
formance at the Grand Opera, the other half looking'
at the voting. In the court-yard of the Mairie, where find
many. many. of them'
.were christened and married,• 311;
where elderly men must have Seen crurious Politics;
performances, were grouped a company of Nationl
Guards, each man armed with a newspaPel'9, the
lounging as only soldiers on guard can do. Insiue
hall the voting was going on ; an Indian file (,f veto!
advanced to the urn, each chewed his name and a(l,-1q.;;9
and gave the folded paper • which concealed the " o°l
or " Non," to an official, who put it in the box, for such
it is. Nothing could be more rapid, simple, or secure
11,
the line advanced with hardly a halt. Though I had. :3
right the officials kindly let me enter, and I staY
some time ; there was then not the least excitemeak
but I hear the stream of bulletins had been ,°,?,,,P;
stantly flowing in since six. At another Pcfitne
place thore was a slight excitement, for
out of ten of the voters gave in their papers 01%
and they were all "Oui." In the streets there w.
nothing which could remind an Englishman of that not.'
hot, dusty transaction through which he has to g°,o
order to make his calling and election sure. No noise;L
colours, no flags, no " Vote for —, the friend of eve"
body," no music. In the streets I noticed two thing";
first that more shops were closed than ever there 001+
Paris, except on the Jour de l'An ; and, second, tli
there were a good many mounted orderlies going to 30_
fro, iergents de ville unusually rare, and the only suldie7
I saw were a fatigue party carrying bread and be
etil
For the rest, "Le Sport" breakfasted outside its liwelio
cafds—lounged about with cards and glasses. the
or three drags were paraded before the clubs, and g
largest pic-nic party, with the largest hampers, reied o
to the races. One couldnot help standing still, anl?ls
"Is this the eighth of May—is this the day of the Pie ley
cite—the day on account of which every barrack bristle;
with bayonets, and every general is standing at ease
the head of his division ? ' I answered myself by buYwega
the Illarseillaise, which had just reaPPe,,,,
after two days of confiscation, and not only confirmed
dubious opinion as to the day, but I also found in t'iit
extreme paper "a notice," which at first sight I thou,
might account for the peaceful state of things. jour.ll
as follows :—" We have reason to believe that a d
bance, far from displeasing M. Emile 011ivi,,„er'
woula rather gratify him, as it would enable. in
to proclaim the state of siege, or to take some otuete
exceptional step of the same kind. Now a ist°'of
of siege is the suspension of the laws and
individual liberty. It is the closing of public meet%
and the confiscating of journals and other things-
beg the citizens not to give this wished-for satisfactioa
to the Cabinet of the 2nd December. Let them rePlit
to all provocations by contempt, calmness—and by
voting." This advice, given at the last hour, sav°ll-
- of the intrepid editor of this paper ; but it tg,
I think possibly just a ruse.

OPERATIONS AT LYONS.
The special correspondent of the Daily New hos . o
selected Lyons as a favourable point of view for obseole
the working of the Plebiscite. Writing on SundayPr,
says :—The advocates of the ballot may derive a fax°l.lth
able illustration of their views from the tranquillity I'3
which the Plebiscitary voting is passing here to-dolt
There is certainly no indifference ; but even in the 1105 d
excitable quarters the business is of a grave an „
even mournful character. No one would Or.
• to
pose that the result of the vote to-day's 13 Le
affect not a mere seat in the Chamber, but
very basis of the supreme power. The Lyoullt,
are early risers. Many shops in the principal thorong!e
fares are open and the peoule astir in the streets bef°,,
half-past five in the morning. There is nothing the.le,
fore remarkable that, here at least. a considerable numbs;
persons were waiting at the polling places of r
various sections to record their votes even before the hoil,!0
of six, when the business commences. At seven
stream at the Palais des Arts had become sufficient`'
steady to keep the Bureau in constant employment. In
convinced that in the great towns at least, the votin6,.e
conducted in such a way as almost to preclude t%
possibility of fraud. The secret of this is summed
in the word " publictity," which is the cherished Inc".;
of the. Opposition. Every act, in fact, must be doneir
public, and if the president and his assistants are P 3
one moment left alone, it is the fault of the electors
only, and the want of organisation among thel?'
Nothing, indeed, can well appear more simple than tte,
whole business of secret voting as practised ,
France : nor is it easy for anyone who in
once ' witnessed it to understand the plea
sidst
impracticability which is sometimes heard on our
of the Channel. The business is conducted by 'wit
is called • the " Bureau," consisting of the preside], ,
who is either the Mayor or one of the principal member;
of the Municipal Council, and who is assisted by fcl„f
assessors, being the two oldest and the two youngest,i;e
the electors present. This is undoubtedly a defect in
system, as there is nothing in the law at least to P,r',
vent all these persons being of the same political pity.
In practice, however, this inconvenience does not ails!,
In the cities, at all events, the opposition party is org3
nised, and care is taken even by waiting at the doors t,
the building that at least one very young or very o't
voter of anti-Imperialist views shall be among the f:10
• lit
who enter the election chamber. Even before daylight
this morning ardent members of the Non-party wig"-
have been seen stationed before certain public buikling3,
and waiting patiently for the hour of six. Thus it invi,s‘
riably happens that the Mayor or his representative, 11
is in fact a Government official, finds himself watched
checked in his operations by more than one pair of eyes
and ears. Under these circumstances, it is not easy t°
see how the President, even if so disposed, could influence
the proceedings. A low table is placed transversely
across the room, on which stands what is rhetorical-IF,
called, " the urn," but is in fact an oblong deal b°x
of about three feet in length and one in depth, havitir
at the top a slit like that of a letter-box. The press
dent sits behind this box, fronting the entrance t°
the cha:x ber. On his right and left are the assessor?,
who take notes, for their own satisfaction, of each voter 31
arrival. The American maxim, " Vote early," is Welt
observed by the Lyonnais ; but the complement of this
maxim which -recommends them to " vote often"
Each
certainly not within their power to follow. Be'cl
voter who presents himself at the table hands
a document establishing his quality and 'identity
to the President, who reads aloud the name ant
number, and taking the voting paper, which rals
be folded, drops it into the slit of the box. "I'"
document already referred to is then handed back to Or
voter, a corner having previously been torn off—a certain
sign that the vote has already been given. All this is co 11"
__
tinned until six in the evening—exactly twelve hours d
when the scrutiny is commenced by the same persons 0,,
in the same public way. So far the proceedings are open
to no objections ; and the bitterest enemies of the EtuPir
do not, I believe, allege any unfairness. In fact, the ollq
complaints I have heard refer to the circumstance that
the bulletins bearing the word " Oui," which the Govern
i
went have distributed in millions, are printed on paper u°
such thinness that the printed word can be read tbroue;
and of so rare a make that an Imperial bulletin can, by
this circumstance alone, be recognised at once. Even to'',
difficulty can, however, easily be overcome by a votes
using a Government double-folded bulletin, upon which 113
has first simply run the pen through the word " Oui,” an,
substituted his own favourite monosyllable. Of con'
this does not apply to the army, whose votes, thong'
governed by the same electoral law are taken under
regulations which are but imperfectly known to the out.
side world.