The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-09-08
La Lanterne.

La Lanterne. ,e
We publish to-day few extracts from No.
- Of La Lanterne, published in Brussels and
seized on the French frontier. They will suf-
fee to show at once the bitterness and the
energy with which Nj. Henri Rochefort, the
editor of La Lanterne and the acknowledged
mouthpiece of the ''non-satisfied" in France,
continues to attack Imperialism, or, as he
bluntly calls it, despotism. The fight of
Rochefort from Paris in order to escape arrest,
fines and Imprisonment has tempted some of
his foes to accuse him of cowardice-a charge
which they might have hesitated to prefer
against him while he was In their midst
Rochefort was well aware how vainly single
hand could resist the crushing weight and
pressure of the vast and complicated ma
chinery of an empire. His only safety was in
fight, and, moreover, his only chance Of con-
tinuing a struggle in which he has surely
betrayed no lack of courage. Even in Bel
GUM, however, 1t is doubtful whether he will
be permitted to indulge in direct personal
attacks on the Emperor and Empress of the
French. He may yet be compelled to migrate
to London, or, perhaps, to New York. He
may become as nomadic in his habits as GER
tain Confederate journalists were during our
late civil war. Thus the editor of the Memphis
Appeal used to migrate to Granada, to Chat
tanooga, to Meridian and to other points within
the Confederate lines, which gradually con-
tracted before the approaching federal troops
Here In New York M. Rochefort could avail
himself to the utmost Of the liberty, not to say
the license, of the press. Indeed, he might
prove useful in teaching Brick Pomeroy and
Brick Barlow how to shape with grace and
feather with fancy and sharpen with wit the
offensive personalities which they affect as
weapons, but which in their hands are equally
ugly, dull and pointless. He might show
them how exquisitely French skill can cook
and season even dish of scandal, instead of
serving it up disgustingly raw and bloody.
He would thus improve their taste if not their
tempers.
While the diatribes of Rochefort against Ma
poleon and Eugene and against prominent
courtiers are polished in form they are mex
cusably violent. The flashing blade which he
Yields is finely tempered and as bright as 1t is
sharp, but 1t is poisoned blade. He cut and
slashed with 1t, right and left, until moderate
men of all parties became alarmed. Few were
surprised when the imperial government deter
mined to disarm him. He had even furnished
fresh pretext to those who are in the habit
of asserting that the French are unfit for self
government and that with them liberty of the
press must always degenerate into dangerous
license. Some students of contemporaneous
political history are inclined to think that the
French Emperor, dreading the reactionary
storm which might follow too dead a calm, has
sought to break the treacherous monotony Of
apparently universal submission to imperial rule
by indirectly or secretly encouraging certain
convenient and easily repressible opposition.
They have imagined that RQchefort himself, as
well as Prince Napoleon, might thus be made
to serve, albeit unwittingly, as active instru-
ments in strengthening the hold of the empire
upon France.
But the hostility of Rochefort to the empire
is unfeignedly sincere. That he can no longer
manifest II with impunity at Paris is surprising
only w IuOse WIN W uOt unuoIbtuuo suo ooSAos
of the prodgious popularity and power 80
speedily acquired by La Lanterne throughout
France and Europe. After twenty years OF
enforced silence around the throne the partial
modification of the laws which had 80 long
restricted the French press gave this vigorous
and brilliant writer, who was one OF the prin-
cipal contributors to Figaro, ON opportunity
to break the silence by uttering what the
majority of the intellectual classes had so long
thought and felt In secret He eagerly seized
the opportunity. But even the notifications
which the press laws had undergone, Including
the change of jurisdiction from the Minister Of
the Interior to the tribunals, still left 1t as
perilious for the French journalist to oppose
the imperial government directly as 1t was In
the height of our late war for Northern
journalist to oppose the United States govern
ment The French journalist could adopt
only the Indian mode of warfare against the
government Rochcfort was obliged, like the
grave and reverend Acadcmicians, TO resort TO
''parallelism" and other ingenious means OF
opposition. The Emperor himself had not
disdained to try TO turn, these same guns
| against his enemies. Js they covertlv attacked