New-York tribune., 1867-04-06
At 1T AGAIN.

At IT AGAIN.
France and England, in their modern disputes
about moral and material plcccdency, wagcd
with solemn sclf-complacency upon one side oi
the Channel and vivacious vanity upon the
other remind us of nothing more folcibly than
of pair of old bIuiscrs who, having become
through service or scnility unfit for the pIac-
teal encounters of the ring, fight woIdy battles
over their beer aud make tap-rooms resonant
with their theoretical dcianccS. From the day
of Agincourt TO the day of Waterloo these
rival powers settled their differences by lul-
mistakablc and nadouncd fighting; but since
the 18th of June, 1915, they have done nothing
but scold each other like fiSh-wiyes, anxious,
indeed to have the last word, but equally fearful
of losing time aud their market in the delay
of an actual fstc duel When the putatye
son of IIoitcnsc gave his lcprosied check to
the grand daughter of old George a sharp ear
might have heard the silver clnkins in the
purses of either monarch 1t was a stock oper-
alton, and il was 80 understood and from that
moment, powcIs which had lived in dread either
OF English insOlcncc, on of English equity
knew that bills of exchange had taken the
place of protocols and treaties, and that the
balance of power had been superseded by the
balances of the ledger. The old traditional
hate. il il true, remained but it was
modified by the same sclf-iutcrcst Which
keeps brokers from wrestling bodily in
Wall-st., and breaking each others heads
at the sacred board. There Is IN eternal
squabble, and IN amistice without peace and
without I'm cnd. This one cliticiscs the other rs
ancient virgin No. tears 10 tattcis the virtue
of ancient virgin No. ., who, at the very mo-
mcnt. over her own Bohca, is engaged III u
like acidulous chatter. II would not be- easy to
discover the Use of this ccasclcss elimination
and rcclimination; hut, at any rate, IL Is, to
paItic, not in interest, sufficiently diycrling.
This chronic wianglc has recently been unu-
suay lively. The faithful NJ de Persigny,
true 90 the Imperial subtcrlugcs and succeda-
nouns. has discovered aud declared that there
i, no good in responsible Minister'S and that
France H. rs England would have been, better
"without them OF course at such piece
of Gallo impudcnce The London Times is
awake aud bristng in au instant. The right
and the duty of frcc-born Englislmlu TO kick
out Ministers and to kick them in, and 10 save
his country by gilzzlmg beer at general cleo
tion. is among the most holy 0f right, and the
most responsible Of duties The two nations
are not, of course, 10 bc compared. England
is real and France is ideal. England is the
land of common sense, and France Is the land
of poctical and political distractions. England
has been governed by the great Walpole, the
remarkable Chatham, the Pit, and the PcclS, by
thcaIi.toeyacy, hearty and ign9,snt o, the Tories
and by the alistOclHcy, grsplng ana lacIlonS'
Of the Wings. Meanwhile-and here We i6uSr
quote the language of The TimeS-Fancc "has
"bcen governed 10y cardinals. bv queens by
"mistres,cS, by mriguerS, 10y theorists, 10y every
class that disdainS responsibility and pushes
right, or Il sentiment Or Il creed. 0r sch>nl To
Its fatal conclusion without check or rcmol>c.
A Frcnchman's knowledge of English history Is
usually So limited that VI. dc PcrSgny may be
auitc incapable of striking back with the fine old
plea of "lou re another" but, poor aS it l.
under ordinary circumstances, this. We think,
would bc the best possible rctort for the French
impcrialist. At any rate, it would have the
merit of literal truth. England has certainly had
her share of prcstly rulers, from Wolsey To Laud;
and if her bishops have not now the power
of the COmptonS and the AttcrhWieS. il
is because religion of certAin sort has lost it,
hold upon the English mind. and Englishmcn
are no longer to bc swaycd by the influence of
the establishment. If France has been governed
by queens and 10y mistreSScs, 50 the first En-
glish Charles was swaycd to his destruction by
his wife, the second 10y his harlots; 81 James
III. divided his devotion between priests and
pcttcoats; so the first two Georges shared
what little power the Wing aristocracy had
yielded to the throne, each with harcm
more remarkable for numbers than for beauty.
The diaries of Walpole and of Dodingt0n
are certainly not deficient III the scandal of
Intrigue and hardly record anything save
the eternal maneuvcring of the great Wing
families If there ever was 70 Minis
ter strong in purchased Parliamentary
majortics, it was Mr.. Pitt, who all his life was
contending for "a theory and making war for
the sake of ga sentiment" which was poetry
in Burke but policy in his disciples-a policy so
wasteful, SO absurd, and so mpracticable, that
it has been abandoned forever by English
statesmen. At no time have English politics
enjoyed that delightful immunity from " theo-
I" res' which their culogists claim for them.
Theories cost Charles l. his head and James
III. his crown theories brought over William
and Mary, and theories fixed the succession in
the Hanoveran line. England has been fortunate
enough TO insure the advantages of freedom
without the horrors ofrcvOlutiOn; the "damnable
"work of government" was accomplished long
ago within her borders; she has been fortunate
in people slow to anger, and with 10 natural