The Sun.
London, England, 1851-11-14 00:00:00

FRANCE.

The Pays thus appreciates the relative positions of
the President and what we must now call the late
majority :
" The state of things has become revolutionary, thanks
to the law of May 31; the discussion in the Chamber
yesterday hid warned of it, and the reading of the re-
port of M. Darn confirmed the idea. In the discussion
on the disturbances in the Allier, no one was in his
natural place; neither the majority, no longer finding its
expression, its echo in the Ministers of the executive
power, nor the President of the Assembly, holding up
the Government in the person of the Minister of the
Interior to the ridicule of the majority; nor the Govern-
ment, hesitating between the majority, which it wishes
to bring back, and the minority, which it must seek to
rally; nor the Opposition itself, wavering between the
necessity which momentarily attaches it to the Minis-
try, and its principles which lead it against all the
former acts of the Government. Thus it was yesterday
a real confusion of tongues in the Chamber—a real want
of all parties no longer able to find their standard. The
law of May 31 causes a kind of ♦ertigo in the Assem-
bly. We saw one Minister applauded by the Opposi-
tion, and another provoking the applauses of the Majo-
rity. It was in ♦ain that the Minister of Public Instruc-
tion said that the policy of the new Ministry would be
the same as that of the old one. From the denegations
of the whole Assembly the Minister must have under-
stood that he was labouring under a complete delusion.
Between the two Cabinets there is all the distance
between the maintenance and the repeal of the law
of May 31—that is to say, an impassible
abyss. Circumspect as the language of the Mi-
nistry may be towards tho majority, it will change
nothing in the position of things, and will have
no other result than to compromise the two powers in
mutual concessions, which become impossible. The
Ministers would in vain promise the majority to cause
the law of May 31 to be respected, if it should be main-
tained. That is no longer in their power, and in pro-
posing the repeal of that law, the Executive Power has
lost the moral force which it would require to secure its
maintenance. All condescensions would only servo to
compromise men without changing anything in the ne-
cessity of things. They may besides have for result
to authorise the majority in persisting in its obstinacy,
by making it hope that the Executive Power will
abandon its initiative. This:prescription on the subject
of the law of May 31 evidently weighed on the discus-
sion which preceded the reading of the report of M.
Daru. It was like a sort of preliminary skirmish, in
which all parties sought their road without any one
being able to find it."
The Patrie says—" A considerable number of re-
presentatives belonging to the majority of the As-
sembly assembled to-day in the Ist bureau. After a
long discussion it was decided that if the principal
points of the law of the 31st May ought to be
maintained experience has, nevertheless, shown that
it is susceptible of useful modifications. The
meeting agreed that the discussions on the Bill
of the 4th November offers an immediate, natural,
and regular opportunity to discuss the amendments
of which the electoral law is susceptible. The meeting,
faithful to the sentiments of conciliation by which its
members are always animated, declared that it would
vote that the Assembly should decide on a second
reading of the Government Bill."
We read in the Bulletin de Paris:—

" The speech of the President of the Republic on
Sunday has produced the best effect on the army.
The officers of all grades, non commissioned officers
and privates, are all enthusiastic in their praise
of the language of the nephew of the Emperor.
The reception at the Elysk, on Monday was
therefore very brilliant. Never was there so great an
affluence of generals in the salons of the President, and
the members of the diplomatic corps who were present
may tranquillise their Governments respecting the dan-
gers of the situation, and respecting the disposition of
the French army."
This speech will, it is said, be made the subject of
interpellations in the Assembly. General Lamori-
ciere will ask the Minister of War what is the mean-
ing of the phrase " Follow me," addressed to the
troops by the President when the Constitution ex-
pressly forbids the President of the Republic from
ever personally taking the command of troops.