The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-11-18
The Situation In France.

The twenty-eight opposition French dep
uties who demand "tlo right of tho people
'to govern themselves" are considcratc
enough to say that they will use peaceful
means 'un.css an attempt Is made 10 silence
''them by force" However brave their
words, and however great their apparent
moderation, these deputies know perfectly
well that none but peaceful modes OF action
are within their power, and that the Man Of
Destiny has borne and forbornc SO long,
that the eighty thousand men who garrison
Paris will hardly he marched out to silence
hy force even twcnty-cighL proclaimcrs of
equal rights and freedom.
The policy of els not the policy of youth
Napoleon reflects, and doubts because he
reflects. The hesitation with which he is
charged may we'll he due, more to an anX-
ious pondering of the difficulties of the situ-
alton than to Il paralysis Of tho energy and
nerve which inspired him eighteen years
ago. For months past the Emperor has
allowed the tongue and The pen full swing
The restrictions OH the press and the right
OF meeting i'll public have become dead
letter, and rs was expected, both journalists
and mob orators make up for their long ST.
lcncc by II revolving display of coarseness
and indecency. Gleeiul paragraphists wrote
with brutal joy Of the ''mortal sickness" of
the,Emperor; they insultel the bones of his
mother and assailed tho honor of his wife.
And yet Napoleon has not, rs he might have
done, crushed out the rcvilcrs; nor has he
dispersed with the bayonet the meetings of
curb and gutter. Rochcfort, himself, is not
allowed the honors OF mnrtyrtlom, but il
permitted to return to the capital and bo-
come u candidate for tho Corps Lcgislatif
In this way the Emperor has shown the pco-
pie Mt large that popular leaders know not the
distinction between liberty and license, and
that the men who are dangerous when threat
ened with Cayenne or the guillotinc are
harmless rs sucking doves when tho official
hand is not raised against them. The pinch
OF powder confined in the crcvcc of the
rock may shattcr tho mass TO the base:
touched OIL in free air, it may scatter the
surface dust, but its breaking power is
nothing
1t was not to be expected that The most
violent members OF the opposition, when
freed from oil restraint would cOn!inc them
selves 10 words. They did attempt to fire
the Parisian heart and ma &c the Faubourgs
ripe for revolution. When tho 26th October
dawned Paris was filled with veteran SOL
diery. There was no concealment about It,
Before tho decisive moment came, the clanll of
the cavalry, the tramp of the infantry, the
rumble of the artillery were heard by all
Paris-by st. Antoine rs well rs by st. Ger
maine. The Emperor showed his strength,
and the opposition demonstration was CON
lined to IN harangue in the Place Vendome
by half crazy citizen. The 6omrgeoisie,
the rentic'S-or holders Of government bonds
and stocks-all who had something TO lose
by anarchy and riot, felt that they had
ruler who, whatever his faults, could give
security 10 their homes and save their prom
crty from destruction.
We do not look for u new and bloody Rev
olution. The holders OF the public funds, num-
bered ny millions, all the property y-liolders
in the towns, and the landowners in the
country, dread, whether They be Napoleon
Isl, Orlcanist or Republican, violent change
of dynasty. The opposition is not strong
enough to defeat the government in the
Chambers, yet it can do much to cmbarrass
the Ministers, and can, ii it will, secure the
adoption OF Indispensable reforms. Nor is
the Emperor disposed to be stubborn. 1t is
announced that lie will select as Minister s.a
"man who can command the support OF a
'majority of the Corps" This man will be
hard to find; but Napoleon may deem it
safer to throw some responsibility upon the
Chambers, so as TO secure in advance an
excuse for such action as may be necessary
In case Of Il new rupture.
The danger Of the situation lies in the fact
that the prestige of the Emperor is on the
wane. Mexico and Sadowa arc not forgot
ten; nor the boyhood of the Prince Impe-
rial; nor the ultramontanism of the EN-
press. With the French, as with the rest of
the world, to be successful is TO be great
They care little for the potentate whose
sceptre is distaff; nor have they any feel
ing save contempt for tho royal victim OF
misfortune. They require that France shall
be prosperous ut home and honored and
feared abroad, and may now begin to doubt
whether Napoleon can give them the fullness
OF their hearts desire.
Now, If there had only heen Scott, and
r. Hubbard, lnu Il CODStahutury nrmou ,uitl,