New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-05-02
in numbers, in wealth, and also, We may say whou.

in Numbers, m weAitn, anu A'sc We may say Htnous
presuup,iop. in morality and happiness, which is
adding colony 10 colony and conquest 20 conquest,
cannot be in danger OF decline, and that 20 look for
ward to an hour Of collapse or an epoch Of degrade
ton is absurd as was the conauct OF me iAp1tian
philosopher, who made themselves miserable about
he inevitable approach Of the earth to the sun after
long period of revolutions But II we ieei ourselves
yeuug and vigorous, If We are Just estaohshnS our
colonial system and taking possession OF our Asiatc
r,rr;re II we are building new Houses OF Parliament
s,,,t;rc national collections in the fine arts il
l. MOI he same with our nearest neighoor france
Is v.rv powerful much richer than she was she nas
a capital which is the resort OF the worIu' anu
Court which yields in magmneence 10 "o ~.
mt of late years, and especially since the
establishment of the Empire, there has been strange
detection among the educated classes ana all those
who think or profess 10 think on po,i'fcal suve.S
RAILWAYS gold coinage, increase OF trade ana llo'eese
of revenue have failed 20 restore cheernness 10
LARGE class of Frenchmen Amid the feast OF prosper
tv they have always seemed 10 sword suspehdea
over the country While all Europe has been sound
ing the praises of France, France ITSELF has been I'M
satisfied The De PrOfuRdi of the old political woiu
and the old literary world has mingled with the otciai
he Derm of the Imperial retalners. All TINS was 10
be expected. la France the liberty which was oaued
for during sixty years is exfnct-certany Tor long
time perhaps forever. Can We wonder, then that
the eminent men who gained fame and position amid
the contests of free political life should IN their OLD
age look with anger the destruction OF all lhey nad
founded, and anticipate emily decay for the country
The prevalent feeling which has resulted from these
augures of i'll has been deepened by the publication
of the last census The increase OF population during
the five wears ending 1886 was only 6,OOO souls.
while the census of 1916 gave an increase OF lOUOU
Now. as the Frenchman is not an emigrant, rarely
uniting his country TO cultivate The wldernesses at
the new world the antipodes, this almost impercep-
tible increase OF population is certainly discouragng
sign Not more than 10 600 French emigrate yearly:
il follows therefore, that the stationary character
which population seems now to have assumed mustre-
suit from some deficiency in prolific power, the conse
quepce of deterioration OF race or material obstacles
which society should remove. There does indeed, seem
TO have been lately a rapid dimnution the rate
Of increase until in the present day the increase mas
almost vanished. But for more than half century,
the French have not been prolific people In i'sV
the nopuation numbered 10 800 600; that IL, It was
almost equal TO the population of the British Islands
AZ the present day. At that time, Great Britain hardly
contained more than 10 100000 souls, while Ireland,
with some T. eco 600 more was rather burden than
sunnort We NAV well conceive the advantages whicn
our rival had in those days from her superior numbers,
and admire the courage with which our ioreiathers
were always ready for war with France, country
which had an effective population OF nor lar
from three times their OWL but now .nligs
have indeed altered. The British people have IN
crea sed and multiplied and replenished the eath IN
a manner beyond example. Frenchmen may laugh
at our large families, while their own househods are
limited 10 two or three but have certainly the best
Of IL since within the last two generations we have
been able not only 10 assist in popuatng America and
coonizng Australia, but We have actually raised our
home population to something approaching equahty
with the French. If We take Great Britain alone we
find that the population has considerably more than
doubled since the French Revolution, while that of
France has scarcely increased more than 50 per cent
Notwithstanding Irish famnes and English strikes,
cholera and short harvess, the number OF children
BON has been continually in enormous excess over the
deaths But in France lind that every natural or
political calamity checks the increase in marked
manner In lS47 the of births over deaths ell
nnAA- 81 nt.tf haa aratfn anI
this small excess was again diminished to H. 600 by
the cholera of lS49 Things grew worse after lS)l
under the double influence of scarcity and war, till IN
1854 and 1855 the deaths for the first time exceeded
the births Thus learn the astonishing fact that at
the present time the population of France actually
diminishing although emigration has almost entireiy
ceased. War succession OF bad harvests, the grape
blight and the disease Of the skworm, are all pointed
TO as having share in producing this startling result
but we cannot but feel that there must be some cause
deeper and more abiding than any OF these. For the
last thirty years. at least, the proportionate increase
has been ably essening, and the present time only
witnesses the change from increase TO dmnution.
This il fact which may somewhat justify Guizot OF
De Tocqueville in their mournful tone
France has certainly changed in character since her
Revolution. Before that great convulsion the French
had good deal of what consider more exclusively
AngloSaxon qualities. They eoonized and conquered
they settled Canada, where they keep their ground 10
the present day; they planted Louisiana assembled
the Mississippi, and nearly succeeded III checkng ,ne
ted States. They got the start OF us in India, won
battles formed alliances, and almost effected what
Providence eventually reserved for England. Their
fleets even as late as the American War, were equal
TO ours in strength and fought against us without dis
grace. Their merchant marine was to still Ia
Ter period almost equal to ours in tunnage.
But within the present century the two nations
have gone different ways. How much we have
changed it is unnecessary to say but certainly France
seems to have lost much of the energy and vitality of
the old times. The excessive development OF the
military system in Europe and the attention paid to
strictly Continental concerns, have turned the French
from the field on which they wrestled with us under
the elder Bourbons. They do not trade and COLOMBO
as they used Manufactures, mostly OF an artistic kind
and agriculture, carried on in comparatively priml
tive fashion, the occupation OF the people, and
these do not give the energy and spirit which more ad
venturous employments infuse into population. II
we add to this the land system which the Revolution
has established and the parcelng out OF nheritances
which are too small properly TO remunerate labor,
we may partly explain how 1t is the French, with oil
their taste and genius, are smten with inertness and
sterlity Yet we cannot believe in the decay OF our
brilliant and highspnted neighb0rs France has gone
through trials which might have destroyed nation Of
less vitality. Revolutions, prescriptions, wars In
which the youth Of the country persisted literally by
the million political insecurity, Communstic agitation
have all tended to misdrect her aims and cramp her
energies. When consider all, the wonder Is that
the French should have achieved so much. II should
be remembered that our own population only began
10 increase after our political troubles were over. We
NAV then hope that with continued tranquility 10
France the future numberings of the people will ex-