The New York herald., 1869-06-16

show that We, more than two thousand miles
| away, exaggerated the situation in France.
We had prepared the public mind of this coun
| try to regard the elections in France as test
| of the French estimate of Napoleonism. The
facts which the elections brought out justified
our strongest statements. The result of the
Paris elections was 80 clearly, so fully, so
| emphatically anti-Napoleonic, that no one, no
matter what his previous opinion may have
been, was left room for doubt. The response
made by the other large cities and generally
throughout the departments was quite as de-
cided and quite as unmistakable. Paris, the
large cities generally, the intelligent sections
of the departments, have all spoken with one
voice, and that voice has, without any quail
fcation, condemned the one man government.
The situation is not much altered to our
view by the explanations which the govern
| ment, through the acknowledged official jour
nails, has given to France and the world. That
the government was fully aware of what was
to happen and had taken all the necessary
precautions to prevent serious results seems to
us rather confrmatory of our views than
otherwise. When praise is meted out Is,o-
rally to the troops for their patience, irmness
and moderation in suppressing the disturb
ances it convinces us, if conviction were neces-
sary, that anti-Napoleonic feelings were mani
Tested, and manifested more strongly than we
have been encouraged to believe. Even the
government and the government journals can
not disguise the fact thai the situation really is
serious. Documents of secret societies have
been seized, but only through the instrumental
ity of paid spies and hireling agents. This, how
ever, is not all. The Duke de Persgny is
deeply exercised by all that has happened. He
has written to his friend Olivier, the one
French statesman who has advocated the joint
cause of Napoleonism and liberty, admitting
the wisdom of Olliviers position, and going in
for the empire and liberty on the ground that
a just, firm government can bear the existence
Of every liberty. The Duke de Persigny thus
admits that Napoleonism, if it would live, must
change its base. From the fact that Baron
Haussmann has resigned his position as Prefect
of the Seine it is not unreasonable to conclude
that the Duke de Persigny foreshadows the
future policy of the government.
Looking at all the facts of the case and
giving them liberal Interpretation, we can
come to no other conclusion than that the
policy which the Emperor for seventeen years
has been sedulOusly pursuing has been en-
dorsed by the country and admitted by the
government. 1t is now made abundantly
l..
take; that his ideas, grand as some of them
have been, have not laid hold of the French
mind and that France now, in place of being
driven, must be humored, flattered, yielded
to, and otherwise gently led. 1t was evidently
Napoleon's opinion that if France could only
be dazzled by imperial splendor and success,
France would be satisfied No doubt he was
80 far correct. The Russian war, the Italian
campaign, the Grand Expostions, the costly
improvements of Paris, all for time had
good effect. But wars and expositions are ex-
pensive, and so is the remodeliny of great |
city like Paris and, unfortunately,
the Emperor has lived long enough |
to allow the expenses incident to such UNDER |
takings to loom too prominently before the |
public mind. This, however, does not fully |
state the case The French people not only
now see the costly result of this splendid and
protracted show; they have been feeling and
they are now feeling, that the success which |
for time gratiied their vanity has of late |
been totally wanting. The Mexican blunder,
with its tragic results, still pains them. His |
interference in the affairs of Italy has been to
them doubtful benefit. His policy with re-
gard to Prussia is on all hands admitted to |
have been failure. He attempted too much |
and accomplished too little. After seventeen |
years of pretentious and rather brilliant impe- |
rialism, France discovers and hesitates not to |
not what she thinks she ought to be; that ter |
she is too straitened that among |
the Powers Of Europe she is no longer the |
first, and that liberty, except in form in
which liberty is an insult, is denied to her cti-
zens. In other words, France has declared |
that twenty years OF universal suffrage, |
coupled as universal suffrage has been, with |
has been mockery and sham.
The question which more than once we have
asked already is still the prominent question
of the hour-What will Napoleon do? Events
have proved that to pursue the policy which
has become identified with his name would be |
fraught with serious danger. His embelish-
ment of Paris, which has made that city at |
once the most beautiful city and the most mag
niicent fortress in the world, has not done so
much for him as he expected. A rising in
Paris Is now at once more difficult and |
more easily put down. The days of /
barricades are gone. But Paris is not |
France in the old sense any longer |
The sympathy between the heart and the ez-
tremities is as strong nay, stronger than ever.
II Is this strength Of sympathy, in fact. which |