The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-03 00:00:00

The great leaders of the Monarchical party, with
whom he had been formerly connected, disap-
proved, it is needless to say, of the tone and ten-
dency of the new journal, and two of his ablest
disciples and personal friends, M. Berryer and
M. Laurentie, strongly condemned the course on
which he had entered. These were men deeply
versed in politics, and whose judgment was
entitled to great weight.
Thus we have characterized the doctrines, and
described the writers of the A venir.

The warnings of the wise, as well as the judg-
ments of the French prelates, and the final decision
of the Holy See, were in a moment of calm and
candour confirmed by the Abbe de la Mennais
himself. He said on one occasion to his friends :
"It is, perhaps, as well that the Avenir has been
suppressed ; for, had it continued, there might,
perhaps, have been a conjunction between the
Catholics of France and the revolutionary party."
That such a remark was well founded, two facts
may serve to show. First, we find about a year
after the publication of the Encyclical, " Mirari
Vos," the Pere Lacordaire contending with the
Abbe de la Mennais,* that it was extremely impro-
bable that in their lifetime the Republican form
of Government should take root in Europe—a
circumstance which shows the close connection
between the principles of the Avenir and a Re-
publican, or (what would be the same in France
and other large countries) a Revolutionary Govern-
ment. The fact, too, that at this very time the
work entitled "Paroles d'un Croyant " was com-
posed proves that the Liberalism of the Arenir
contained the latent germ of the frightful Jacobin
doctrines professed in that book. Hence the Abbe
Gerbet in replying to his former friend and master
after his apostacy, writes that in the " Mirari
Vos " Pope Gregory XVI. had shown himself to
be a prophet as well as a teacher.— Westminster
Gazette.

* See his Letters to Madame Swetehine

THE THEORY OF MINORITIES AND AIR,

MILL'S PRINCIPLES.

In all states of civilization and in all repre-
sentative systems, personal representation, Mr.
John Stuart Mill contends, would be a great im-
provement against class predominance. The per-
sonal representation of every voter, and therefore
the full representation of every minority is, he
argues, the most valuable of all protections. It
is the safeguard which is to be found in the
principles of democracy itself. It is not only the
best safeguard, he adds, heaping up his argument,
but the surest and the most lasting, because it
combats the evils and dangers of false democracy
by means of the true, and because every democrat
who understands his own principles must see and
feel its strict and impartial justice.
On Mr. Mill's principle of personal representa-
tion, the right of minorities to be represented
cannot be disputed, for it is a step in that direction,
but from that principle also follows universal
suffrage, the admission of every " person "—a de-
signation which Mr. Mill invented in order to in-
clude women—to the franchise. Ile is consistent
and true to his principles in advocating the right
of minorities, which is but an instalment of his
ideal of perfection—personal representation. And
this ideal of political perfection is, further, merely
the political development of his philosophical creed
which recognises no supreme and ultimate authority
outside or beyond the mind of the individual.
But how can they who are opposed to the prin-
ciple of individualism in politics as well as in philo-
sophy support a theory—such as the right of mino-
rities—Which creates a double will, a double con-
science, a double voice in an organic body, which
not only weakens the force, but destroys the col-
lective character, the unity of an organic whole ?
To ensure the due and full representation not of
persons but of classes, of communities, of interests,
let the constituencies be as numerous and as varied
in character as possible, but do not destroy their
organic character, their collective will, by introduc-
ing the right of individuals in the body to dissent
from the collective voice and vote, and by a con-
trivance contrary to the analogy between human
and corporate nature, confer a double voice and
will on one organic body.

On what principle, if in an organic body mino-
rities are to be represented, can the theory of per-
sonal representation be rejected? Of two things
one : either admit personal representation, or,
rejecting the representation of individuals—one or
many--keep to the representation of organic bodies,
of communities, of classes, in which the individual
will is represented in the collective will. How to
arrive at the knowledge of the collective will is a
matter of detail, of expediency ; the simplest and
the least artificial method is the wisest and the least
liable to error. But every method which tends to
weaken the organic unity of a constituency strikes
a blow at corporate representation, and leads by
a logical necessity towards the principle of personal
representation, towards individualism, which is the
characteristic and the bane, as we urged in these
columns a short time ago, of modern society. But
precisely because the right of minorities is a step
in the direction of personal representation, is a
consequence of individualism, is it supported by
Mr. Mill and the whole school of philosophical ra-
tionalists. " Without some plan of the kind " (the
right of minorities), says Mr. Mill, "itis • impos-
sible to have a representative system really ade-
quate to the exigencies of modern society." But
what are the peculiar exigencies which Mr. Mill
alludes to ? Does modern society require to
be governed on new principles, or only by new
methods ? We are living in an age, as Mr. Mill
elsewhere says, in which, whether we will or not,
we are entering on new paths, we are surrounded
by circumstances wholly without example in history,
and the wonder would be if exigencies so new could
be dealt with in a completely satisfactory manner
by the old means.

We agree with Mr. Mill that we are surrounded
by circumstances wholly unexampled, that we must
consequently adapt our means to altered circum-
stances, and expand or modify institutions so as to
bring them into true harmony with the growing
wants, the widening knowledge, and keenersympa,-