New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-03-14

H;t be true as was credibly reported, that the
Emperor has expressed his WEAKNESS and Vexauoh
at the longdrawn discussion of the press Ia" III inc
Legislative, he must be as little content Win 'he u
cidents in the midst of which that Dody temporarily
s;onyuoa its lahors ON the subject last Monday In
aha way of home politics they ore still the chefest
theme of talk and writing. They take an extrlnslc
shade of interest for His Majesty and the public from
the fact of their occurring on the 2th of February
the anniversary of a somewhat similar adjournment
of the Chamber of Deputies sitting in the same hall
for the last time in 1S4s They are connected with
long story that dates from before SadOwa My
account of them in the forced brevty of paragraph
or two must be rather indirect and crcnmstantlal
though not an evasive one as persplcuous secretary
Seward Mould say SIN ma Iob ~ wetSere would saw
son the 10th of December last Mr.. kerveguen re-
vived in the Corps Legisatif shameful charge
against certain French newspaper specially mean
ing every understood the Steele and the OP,n-
NdtORaleof having received large sums of money
from the Government of Prussia TO defend the acts
and policy of that power toward Austria, before
badowa In support of that charge he read at length
from Belgian newspaper the ANONYMOUS arti sa
accusation was first printed. Observe that MeSsrs
Havin and Guerout editors of the Steele and Opinion
RaHORdie respectively, both members OF the
Chamber: that the President offered no obstacle 10
the Juggling in of this newspaper scTeed into the
debates that he theoretically repTessed Guerout IN an
attempted protest against the lbeln all of which
tolerance and intolerance he was well sustained by
the majority who are so afraid of the license OF the
press. The next day Hayin and GuerOult proposed
10 Kerveguen to submit the question TO jury OF
Honor. The proposition was accepted. Each party
chose two juIymen from among the members OF tnef
Berger the hfth Juryman and their PRESIDENT rive
more honorable men could not be found IN France.
They held numerous sessions. heard DOth parties
and their attorneys, and various witnesses, anu
labOriOusly examined the subject from every
point of view and by the light of all the testimony
ffered by either party The decision they arrived at
was that the calumny had no foundation, and that
Kerveguen had no excuse for reproducing as ne ao.
and explanations fills IN PRINT little more space
than the twoyear old bbelous article OF the Belgian
paper which kerveguen read from the tribune OF the
Legislative. Last Monday Mr.. Havin mounted the
same tribune To read it to the same Assembly that
had listened complacenty TO the false accusation OIL
two of its members. He had previously informed the
presiding officer of his purpose 10 do sO every mem
Der of the House was aware of his purpose lie be-
gan with few predatory remarks that were soon
Interrupted by noisy confusion in the House. There
upon the President advised him TO silence; Havin
tried to 90 on the confusion lneTeased members OF
the majority began shutting out of the hall; the Pres
dent insisted that he should be SILENT and with that
declaring the session closed, decamped The majority
left in mass; the Left renamed III their seats one
proposed to name new Presidents; from one of the
galleries came a cry of VtUe la GGacke! Suddenly the
gas was turned down, and the members of the Lett
had to grOpe their way ont of the hall in darkness
What most attracts attention in this business, up
60 this stage are these two salient points: mem,
Der of the House is protected by the President and
the majority in the largest liberty of debate, long
as he uses il TO attack Liberal members the accusa
ton is heard IN tul the defense Is RESTRICTED, Hnly
refused the President and the majority are so lost to
sense of their common dignity, and grossly offended
an the person of two members Of the minority IN
overwhelming sense of party pTedominanee. With
four days to think the matter over, the rational
members of the majority are coming TO suspect that
they have made bungle ia this brutal appliance OF
might against right that this gross refusal to suffer
two of their own body TO make their defense as pub
he as the attack which they encouraged, will be
indged by the public and decided against themselves
should note here that the man who presided oyer
the Chamber on Monday and Tor the Jew RreGedi9g
JerOme) is supposed by some TO be related. by.
blood, the late Jerome, brother of the first Napo-
leon. He is hot partisan and eminent leader OF the
ultra reaction party-chet OF the Arcadnns lie
was made Vice. President OF the Legislative on occa-
icons toward NJ. Theirs by Minister Rouherl, when
Schneider was named President Schneider is COM
petent for the position but was obliged IN these last
days to temporarily retire from 1t by reason OF sore
throat and ertinctiOR de roJ. David tyerome) took
the chair, utterly unpractieed IN the delicate duties
of his Office carrying 10 10 hs partisan feelings lack
ing GOODNESS of judgment and, above ALL tact. lie
not only let gross injustice happen but ne dld not
cover il with any show of cleverness under the de-
cent mantle of accepted formalites. He let what
Schneider would have kept within the limits OF an
incident, grow to the proportions OF q rumpus ana
threaten a row. TO quiet which, and its possible
grave consequences he had 70 appeal to the gas man,
who put ont the lights.
is less noticeable for his ineciency rs presid-
ing officer for the echo OF interest that still sounds
and resounds in public talk and print and for the Gu
mnlating proof II furnishes of the wOful want OF po
htcal tacticians from which the present regime suf
fers The actual personal regime Is fatally CONDEMNED
and slow surely dying by virtue of its seHimpoSed
law. 1t needs the highest, best-develOped political
intellects attorneys for its advocacy and defense
culture nearly impossible The result is that the
Government is in wOfuest straits to find among Its
faithful officials man tOerably capable to manage
parliamentary debate, to preside with decent tact
the debate. The logical tendency OF the regime
of the past II years is to kill ont the old existing
and to prevent from developing the new statesmen.
The Emperor has enslaved himself to the vice of his
own system. Suppose that he wanted, tomorrow to
take new more less liberal Ministry; the last 10
years of political life, cTaInped under ms suicidal
Fegme has not left him. furnished him, three pos
sible practiced statesmen TO choose out OF nearly
forty million of FTenchmen.
And 50 he is sadly forced TO accept Jerome David
for occasional Presiding officer OF the Legislative.
Accepting the J. David, he must accept ms conse-
quences. pretty proof of that unhappy necessity
incidents OF the session of the Chamber of 2lst
February These incidents are very imperfectly
reported in the nORear and the journals of the fol-
lowing days. / have, and follow report made by
an intelligent FTenchman, who was present the 2lst
This was during the Press law discussion details Of
which. for that day have not space TO recOrd
the essence was that opposition members maintained
proofs in hand that Government journalists were
permitted to indulge in abuse Of their opponents to
a degree most severely punished by Government,
when uT s by member Of
the P9 feeling rt6 himself ms b touched
alive defiant coarsely irritating wo DIS, and
answers replies rejonders, followed quick and loud.
David LJerome shut down talk at last, when as he,
little partisan man, thought his friends had arrived
at their best chance Of triumph Bully Cassagnac
was not 50 easily content and made arrangements
for hree ducIs with many members OF the Left be-
fore thew had left the house One of the three mem
bers challenged TO mortal combat by this practlced
bully and dsgracefully skilled swordsman, Emil
Olivier. Emil Olivier replies to the shameful
appeal 10 brute force to decide political question by
repudating the right OF any one TO eall him to ac-
count, outside of the Legislative hail. Tor words
uttered therein, But in further response to Bully
Cassagnac's shameful swagger--which has gone so