The republic., 1851-06-14
THE REPUBLIC.

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1t is unfortunate for the republic that its defence
and its cause are avowedly given up and made
over to the Left side of the Assembly. For it is a
very common belief that project which the Noun
tain sustains, bill which the Democrats support,
must naturally SAVIOR of Red Republicanism. and
have no very remote connexion with the guillotinc
II is OF equally general credencc that propositions
which draw forth the opposition Of the Left, and
convert the Mountain for the time being into vol
cano, must be such as tend to strengthen the
OF society and protect the interests property and
religion. Besides being in decided minority, they
have many prejudices to contend against. There
are few fre-caters among them, upon whom the
mantle OF Robespierre has fallen there several
disciples OF Louis Blanc, one two advocates OF
the equal division Of property, half dozen beiev-
ers Ia St. Proudhon and the uselessness of all gov
ernment. These all vote with the great body of the
Left, or the Repubiqus aoancee; and on constitu-
tonal questions the Repblique Hounste ct Moderee,
or the adhersnts of Cavaignsc and Lamartine, lend
them their operation-or about thirty votes. The
| Lett, as general thing, is noisy, unparament-
airy, and extravagant; but it 10 continually made
to vince under adverse votes and enormous majori-
tes while 1T certainly has sincere conviction that
IT ls defending and sustaining the right. The ma
Jorty, on the other hand, is tyrannical and,over-
bearing. The president calls Mountaneer to or
der; he persists explains the censure is called
for, Put to vote. and carried by resistlcss major
| ity. But a member of the Right is safe from such
| infctions. The Left, by whatever name it may be
called, whether Mountain, or Red Republic, or
culottes, has always defended the constitution
whenever it has been attacked. II has left tsyote
on record against every violation Of that instru-
| nent 1t rose, as one man, n opposition to the law
OF last year that mutilated the electoral franchise,
| becatlse that lau W vyaa ola
| ton Of the constitution. 1t brought its whole
force to bear against the bill that shackled
the liberty of the press, and that condemned
every journalist to sign his name to every ar
| ticle ne may write, because there can be no
such restrictive construction placed upon the
clause of the constitution which guarantees free
| dom oil speech and freedom of print If it were
not for the Mountain, revision, in monarchical
sense, might be voted to- morrow; but, as in re-
| public monarchy is inadmissble, it will oppose re-
vision for any such purpose. At present the Noun
tain is the conservative party position into which
| they are forced by their being in the minority.
No doubt hthey held a plurality in the Assembly,
we should be glad of some party behind who
should check the precipitancy Of their movements,
and act, in turn, drag upon them. But the
odium which clings to their skirts ia not entirely
deserved. They are placed in a false position by
pearing in the wrong by the traditions which they
have inherited from the republic Of 1913; by the
leayen of the subversive doctrines Of the Ledru
Rollins and Leroux OF our own days; and, lastly,
| by their own violence and incorporate language.
| The passport system has been for some time
undergoing notifications in France. The i'm
mensc increase of travel between here and England
within the last month has had the effect of show
| ing the authorities the monstrous annoyances to
which voyagers subjected by the formaIties at
tendant upon crossing the channel. Besides the
passport obtained here, it has always been neces-
sary to buy, bribe, or emugge on the coast, whe-
ther at Boulogne or Calais, permis d'embarqus-
ment, before setting foot upon the steamboat. The
delay thus occasioned usually caused the passen-
gers to miss the boat, to the infinite delight of
mine hosts of that region Mr.. Leon Faucher,
Minister of the Interior, has just addressed an or
der to the Project of Boulogne, directing him to
dispense hereafter with the special perrnit and to
offer every possible facility to travellers passing
| through that town. The agents of the passport
office have been oyerrun with business since the
opening OF the Exposition, and it is perhaps in be-
| hall OF his WORKOUT underlings that Mr.. Leon
Faucher has given these liberal instructions.
| The agent of the Cunard steamers here lately
advertised in Gaiignani that the baggage of those
who should take passage to America by their
| boats would be conveyed from Havre to Liverpool
| gratis. He now makes another advance, and Of
ers to- carry the individuals themselves for nothing
| This Is much like the means resorted to by two
| stage coach proprictors in America when a rail-
| road was put into competition with them. They
| ran opposition lines on route in Massachusetts.
The iron horse took away the bulk ofihe traffic,
leaving only about enough for the support of one Of
the stages. To obtain this patronage, both COM
panies made the most heroic sacrifices. They
| both reduced their fare from one dollar TO IL.
| cents; one furnished an orchestra of fiddle and
a hageolct, which discoursed sweet music from
seat on the top OF the coach, and the other
| provided their customers with dinner at the
| halfway house. II is difficult to say whom the
| Cunard managers expect to seduce by this invit-
| ing offer. II cannot be the Americans for as a
| general thing, they prefer to pay for what they
| get, than to take it as gift or gratuity per-
son who would spend couple Of days ard lights
in the English and st. Georges channels for euch
a motive, might with propriety be said to be in
sraits for money. Mr. Donald Currie's bulletin
will probably be harmless, and the straightfor-
ward, above board management of the American
lines of steam packets between the two worlds will
only appear the more striking by the contrast.
The Academic Franchise, which has lately lost
one Of its members, NJ de Fcetz, critic upon lite.
rature and the fine arts in the D6bGts has Just filed
| the vacant scat by the admission Of M. Nisard, a
political writer of ability in the same journal
Strange to say, the gentleman upon whom de-
volyed the duty of introduction and reception, NJ
Saint Marc Grardin, is also one of the editors of
the Journal des Debats, and monarchist bred in the
j bone That one newspaper should be represented
in the first literary body the continent by three
Of its principal writers ID striking evidence of the
talent, the influence, and the social position OF
nswspaperia literature in this country. The press
guides and directs public opinion here, while with
usit rather follows it. though ofeourse giving con-
| sisency and weight. Mr. Nisard's address on the
occasion Of his Inauguration was unfortunate
| in one respect. He took occasion to indulge
in some invidious remarks against the repub
lie, probably out of compliment to the we'll
known monarchical tendencies OF the Acade
| my. The audience received them in silence but
| the republican journals make them the subject Of