The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-01-26
poliheaL.
Fyom the Boston Courier
Caudttion and Prospccts OF the Fre"c"
Houublfc.

From the Boston Courier.
Condition and Prospects Of the Fre"c"
80, ,ra,ouiI for am unusual space,
in an unnatural position, perhaps, put sun iran.
ouil Speculation was never more a. ias 4,S. = !.
now ia in looking for the end or uaeo VI 's
state of reposc. 1t was brought I I~',;s nnIson
tsas the man 10 put Frenchmen tosleep. HOW long
will their present doze continue-what dreams OF
smnire. what realities OF usurpatlon may take
nisrrs ere thew wake? Will another violent over
pr, mi q new face upon the republic! Will it
onietlv dissolve and settle into solid monarchy,
or viii the French people, the National Assembly,
and the President, be contented TO have the present
forms of the government untouched, anu HlaAe e"e
best of their condition.
All these things are possible The President
may govern France, or the Assembly may govern
the President this point is not settled and neither
party is yet quite sure how 1t stands AT TINS mo-
ment. the President seems to have the vantage
ground He has felt his way to supreme power
Tor q short distance ahead, and hnds his iooung
for one step, perhaps Tor two. Anolner eau 5
tious grope will re- assure him: bold push, and
then decisive blow afterward, may secure all that
he wishes for One word, said Danton, contains
the secret of all revolutions Frenchmen,
above all other men, believe IN success nar'y
do they believe in any thing else. o.,
All we can gather from the prevailing tone o. tne
French press, and the general complexion OF o.. INC
accounts from Paris, is, that nothing Is more hK.y
popular element in the French government. fresi-
dent for ten ycars-Presdent for hfe-and then
emperor seem to be easy, natural, ana IN man
ner necessary steps in the career OF TINS new lhh
of destiny - as the common apprehension repre-
SCENTS Louis Napoleon, indeed, 10 not strong
man bv nature or by education, but he Is strong
bv accident. His strength consists in the widely
spread persuasion that he Is necessary 70 france;
and that if he falls, order and property Will fall
with him. The immense majority OF the people
simply demand tranquility. They are. compare
tiyeiy indifferent as to the donor or the means
The fact that Louis Napoleon Is In the possession OF
power and that it cannot be torn from him with
out struggle, will insure him the support OF All.
except those extravaganza political ianatcs caiiea
the Red Republicans, and the equally cxtravagant
Legitimiss IL he remains quiet, steadily eniorces
the law maintains good order, and contents him,
self with laying well considered schemes OF social
improvement before the assembly, the chances are
that, rather than the risks o new cleo uon' the
people will call for revisal of the constitution and
make him president for ten years, or president ior
life Let him be successful in war, though he never
sees battle field, and he will have the army ON
his side The army, not the people, made Napo-
leon emperor; it may place the crown on the head
of his nephew.
Many will ask, how can the French do these
things, or permit them to be dones How can they
consent to see that fabric Of political liberty which
they have reared at such expense, completely over
throwp.-the labor of years scattered to the winds
in single day, and no help left them but to begin
all their experiments anew! The truth Is, that
self government, in the proper sense OF the word,
is a thing utterly impossible IN France at the pre-
sent moment The materials for it do not exist in
the temper and disposition of the people. We do
but repeat the statements OF cool and impartial oh.
servers on the spot, when we say the public mind
in France 10 unhinged and unsettled to an extent
almost unparalleled in the history OF civilization
Nothing is regarded as fixed or permanent Every
kind of civil authority il discredited. The law IL
erudgineiy obeyed as a matter Of temporary ex-
pediency, instead of commanding cheerful and ba-
bitual obedience as a. principle The true objects
and limited capabilities Of government are univer-
sally misunderstood. Nome serve 1T from patriot
ism, or a healthy sense Of duty. The ambitious
and enterprising look TO it for the means of ad-
vanceinent, and the laboring class for bread Re-
lance regular industry is rarity; and consid-
ering how often the scum OF society has been thrown
to the surface, TO glitter for period during revo
lutionary disturbances, we can hardly wonder at
the prevalent demoralized and morbid state Of
mems minds. This decentralization Is faithfully re-
hected in the Legislative Assembly. We look round
il in vain for fixed principles comprehensive views,
Incorporating integrity. Almost every states
man orator Of hrstrate eminence, or even pre-
tension, is VIGOROUSLY engaged in some intrigue
other, for his own personal aggrandizement, or is
carefully holding back, for fear Of compromising
himself by any premature indulgence OF patriotism
generosity. All individuals and all parties stand
in false positions with regard to each other; they
neither cooperate, check, nor balance, in man
TO help the course OF government or evolve any
clear and appreciable system Of political order.
There IL, in fact, no system of government in
France-there is only an apology for one.
Aware of all these facts, as the French people
must be, 10 a considerable extent at least they de-
spair Of achieving political and social millennium
by new revolutions. Barricades have not pur-
chased bliss for the builders, and they profit
in pulling down a government that another may
start up 20 be pulled down likewise. They begin
TO discover a truth which they should have had in
possession at startingthat liberty is valuable, not
end, but a means ; that life and property.
and public order, Of more value than theories
and paper constitutions in word, they find
that revolutions do not pay.
In the days Of Julius Cesar the Gauls were fc-
kle; they tickle still. They will probably keep
up the forms and symbols of n republic some time
longer; but the tendency Of things among them is
decidedly toward a one man power What acct
dental influences from German wars, Austrian in
trigues or Muscovite encroachments, may come in
to disturb the existing current Of feeling il is inn
possible TO say; but France wants master, and II
she cannot find il in oligarchy of statesmen, she
must look for IL in an emperor.