New-York tribune., 1868-07-31

mltty Oiu enillleS were dying out Win Olu eDemIeh
s phenomenal age told in his favor so did the splr
tied and spirituel resistance which as Grand Master
OF French MasOns of the Scotch Rite he opposed to
Government In 1862 when il appointed Marshal Mag
nan Master OF the Grand Orient chief of all French
MasOns, and showed in spite of his age and the age
that the pen IS still sometimes stronger than the
sword, and that General may be vanquished by an
Academlelan. In fact the nOnogenarian seemed cut
down IN the young growth, the aftermath, of popu-
anty that needed only few years more perhaps TO
equal the first and only yield in that kind which he
enjoyed IN 1897 If he enjoyed 1t, 1t was IN the hne
quality of the old man that his enjoyment was quite
independent of bs popularity.
1t il said, let hope with truth, that Viennet has
left memoirs: let us also hope that Government will
suffer them to he presently published: 1t appears
lean periodicals that persons expecting those
of TalleyTand SOON They will be disappointed.
The thirty years after his death" which the old fox
fixed as the term for their publication, did expire
last May. But the person in whose control they
WERE NJ BacOurt, if memory serves left orders at
his DEATH in 1863 that their publication should be de-
ferTed still twenty years. more cTrcnmsantial
statement of this fact may be read i'll The TRIBuNEs
Paris correspondence for latter May or early June,
1865. The reason given for this adjournment was
that the Memoirs would be offensive reading to
some persons still living-the cOtemporaries of
the malicious author, or their descendants
and other relatives. If consider the
state of the authors affections toward the first Ma
pOeOn-e especially in the latter part of the Emper0rs
reign-we infer that prominent among those persons
must be, what the very shrewd Ialleyrand never
dreamed COuld be- the third reignlng Napoleon. III
is not however pretended that the last-named per
directly inteTefered 10 prevent the puDcatOn al
though his Government is scOnstantly interfering wlth
the book press well the periodical press say
his government but this fault is not peculiar to the
actual regime lt ls one of the many bad grOWths
from the morbid passion for regulating the arrogant
pretentOn to parental authority which IN greater OF
less degree for the most part greater Is common 10
! French administration nnder all regimes
To begin with, even hook-sellng is still privilege
exercised only in virtue of license granted ana
TevOcabe bv Government. Books and peroucais
! that shopkeeper is permitted 10 sell are not SUI
ered to be sold at street stalls and III railway stations
except in virtue of another specific license. Book
pedders lcOIpOransl can sell no books or pamphlets
that have not received police stamp, which, tbeO,
reticallv signifies that they have been examined ana
approved by the Commission of Colportage. Ihis ls
a permanent commission, created by law passed III
lS49 the early TeactiOnary stage of the second Re
public The OStenSible and partly sincere purpose OIL
Its trainers was TO protect community from the lou
food of printed and engraved cheap nasIlhess CIT
culated through the country by ltlnerant dealers.
Undoubtedly the effect has been TO partially purify
the peddlers' packs; but the lnanlty, the helpless
stupidity of many the gross decency of some OF the
books they sell by authority Indicate very queer
notions of morality on the part of the Commission.
The political ethics of it's members, on the other
hand, are OF the straltest sect OF lmPeIlail
conservative orthodoxy. As general thing no book
whose author is known as a political Llberal-no
matter what Its cOntents-can receive me stamp
An essay ON kitchen gardening signed victor Hugo
would be sternly rejected by tins puritan cOmmis'
sion, on the only ground they reject anythlng-the
ground of It's c0rruptng influence on the
popular reader They refused their exc
quatur 10 volume OF collected speeches
delivered by some Liberal memDelS OI INC
Legislative in the debate on the new Press law CD,
serve that these speeches had all previously appeared
in the AOHtea, and IN dozens of other Journals ana
their authors had received from the Legislature IL
self permission TO reprint them IN book form 10
another volume of opposition speeches on the new
Army law, peddlels license was indeed granted Inc
Minister of the Interior explained, and Justified the
distinction the other day, by saying that the later
volume contained in one of the speeches. an inter
cOlated response by the talking minister so that the
bane was corrected by the antidote; while the other
volume presented the rural populations with purely
One-Sided, and therefore unfair argumeitauol'
WheIeupOn Jules Simon asked why Minister houheI
and other One-sded speeches, pure and simple. were
stamped and peddled. And, of course, got no an
| swer.
But Minister Rouher in course of this same debate.
revealed more instance of the parental Jeal
Ousy with which Administration oyerlooks the read
ing for the subject baby million. Minister Mel OF Inc
War Department tancyng that "A nice BellO-l'aillco
patriotic book put INTO their hands Just AT TINS time
would aptly combine amusement WIh instruction.
ordered one OF that sort from the hstOilOglac cltih
of his department, Mr.. Camille kousset an otherwise
reputable writer and author OF Hisi0yB o. Lo",3's
and hs Administration. The subject Whch Mf.
ROusset worked up TO order was the history OF the
Republican Armies and the contest between the
Revolutionary Armies and Prussia. IN lGc} IhetW
chief morals run through the book. and projecting
both ways like skewers through tukeY OF Ihanks-
giving, were, doubtless, frst: that France. being
/ French, could give Prussia, being mere German, a
basting any time: but secondly: that she cOuld DO
il much more readily and effectively nhder the
new army organization now than she dld IL theh
bv mere dnt and vim OF undlsclplined Volunteers
| Well the book was done and ready "a serve up III
feulleton slices in the morning NOHite"r-a news
paper that is relieved by administrative authority,
in drectes violation of law of the taxes that near
ruin all other political journals and Is consequently
sold by its favored prOpretOrs at lower price win
greater profits in larger quantity than any of its
competitors can possibly afford, pocket OF arrive at
respectively. But Minister ROuher, who IS II posi-
BILE more parental than Marshal Mel, and, III ms
quality of Minister of State has higher authority in
general and is responsible political editor OF the
MoRitevF naivey told the House that after some
hours of hard reading in the Ms. which Mel was 50
tckled with he had decided that its insertion IN The
Mopif6W just at present would mot be prudent