The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-04-06
Louis Napoleon and France.

The news from Europe by the Baltic, which
we publish to-day, indicates that the regime Of Louis
Napoleon is still firm and northumberland that,
from all appearances, it il likely to continue for
years TO He has not, as yet, taken the title
Of Emperor, but there are symptoms sufficiently in
dcative Of his intention to assume it ere long On
his return to the Elysee from review in the Grand
Square Of the Tuileries, the 2lst ultimo, he
greeted with enthusiastic cries Of " Vire PEmpe-
re,r;' and we weuld not be surprised if he submits
the question to the army and the people--as he did
the coup d'ttat; and if he does, there is not the
slightest doubt that they will elect him Emperor by
seven eight millions Of votes and he will then
have the title confirmed by the legislative corps.
When the French President achieved the coup
d'Gtaf, all Europe and America were startled, Md
it predicted, every side, that his fall would
be as sudden and complete his usurpaton. We
did not concur in these prophecies, and we stood
almost alone in views of the probable results Of
this master stroke of revolution. We founded our
opinion on a knowledge of the character Of the
French people, the history Of the country, the genius
of its nstit utions and the distribution Of its landed
property. The issue, so far, has proved that we
were right in the estimate we had formed. II was
confidently asserted that the dictator would not
retain the power he had grasped for month
perhaps not week; that he would be either assss-
sinated or overthrown in the whirlwind Of now
revolution. Four months have since elapsed, and
neither event has happened, is there the slight
est probability that either one or the other will
take place for the next ten years. Instead Of
the people, to whose judgment he submitted the
propriety and policy Of the step he had taken,
condemning him us usurper, they ratified
a,.l all hat ha had Irr hx, r,r
larger vote than that by which they first
elected him President-by the largest, in fact, ever
given for any man in France, any nation in the
world--seven millions and half Of the SURFACES Of
the electors, nearly the whole voting population.
He thus made an elective autocrat by the voice
of the people; and the inference is that they
Guided this anomalous form Of government suited
them better than any other that had ever been
tried before. Various experiments had been made
from time to time, but all had failed; and the coun-
try at last discovered that a representative auto
crazy was the thing most adapted to its institu-
tons and particularly to that which is the basis Of
all government in every nation-the ownership Of
the soil. Let how the fact stands.
in France, the proportion of landholders to the
population is greater even than in the United States,
and the suffrage being universal, is still more ex-
tended than it is with in certain States. The
controlling and preponderating interest is the landed
proprietary which one to eleven Of the whole
populations; in other words, every second head of
family throughout the entire country is landhodcr.
In this respect, both France and the United States
differ widely from England The proportions Of
population, voters and landholders, in the three
greatest countries in the world are as follows
Population Voters Londtoliers
United states ......... 25.OooOoo 35OOOO0 100000
France ............. .S5ooOooo 100000 100000
Great Britain & Ireland. 10000 600 100000 1900
Thus in the United States there is one voter to
every seven, and landholder to every seventeen
of the population; in France, voter to every
four, and landholder to every eleven; in Great
Britain and Ireland voter to every thirty, and
one landholdcr to every Cos of the population.
Hence il may be seen that France has equality
without liberty while England has liberty without
equality. America has both liberty and equality in
perfection France and England are gradually and
slowly tending towards the model Of this country
France 10 its liberty and England to its equality.
France is without aristocracy, having in its first
reyolution-which was enkinded by the example
Of the American reyoluton-got rid Of its
mobiles at fell swoop, and divided the
land among the people; but it is without any
fixed fundamental principles Of nberty-any theory
to fall back upon in times Of convulsion, and
to work out to its legitimate consequence, such az
the Magma Charta and the Bill Of Rights in Eng
land. or the constitution in the United States.
Hence, when the opportunity offered Of establishing
either limited constitutional monarchy like that
of England with checks and balance Of power and
the operation of public opinion, republic like
that Of the United States, the people we're not pre-
pared for it, and could not appreciate principles Of
liberty to which they we're unaocustomed The
government Of England, on the other hand, is that
Of an arstocracy in practice, while in theory aud
machinery it il popular and free and if revolu-
ton now took place in that country it would proba-
bly, result in representative federal democracy
England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland constituting
sovereign States united into one British republic
80 thoroughly do the English people understand the
theory of liberty familiar they with its great
principles, and much Of it do they practically
enjoy in trial by jury, hoJoas corpus, free press,
and the right Of public meeting and discussion.
This was reason why the English colonists SO
rapidly constructed the constitution Of the United
states and established this model republic. All
that England would want, tomorrow, for her per-
feet freedom and prosperity, would be the cxtirc-
ton Of the hereditary nobility. distribution o:
tho soil like that Of france, aud tie same cxton-
sion Of suffrage among the people.
France has these two great fundamental cend-
tons offreedom; yet she has no liberty at all. but
France is happy, while England is miserable. The
re, olution Of 1889 gave the Of the people the
fruits Of liberty, which they have enjoyed since,
and they TO little about the tree ITSELF go
long asthey possess its products. Though in point
Of government Paris is France, and the ruler or
ru'ers Of the capital necessarily govern the whole
,mn'y; yet the rural population seem to be indie