The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-04
A NEW PHASE OF NAPOLEONLsT.

Il NE w IHbOb UT " Af1OLbONIOG
The present Emperor of the French, like
"Dogberry," is q man who has had losses:
he was not born to the purple, and he served
long and tolerably severe apprenticeship to
poverty and misfortune For a good deal
more than half his life, he was very much
down at the heels, and was obliged to play
the part Of shabby genteel gentleman with
but very few friends He had one object,
however, that he kept steadily in view, and
despite one or two slips that came near being
fatal, he finally succeeded in seizing the
auspicious moment and won the prize. 1t
might be supposed that his own misfortunes
would have inclined him TO advocate more
liberal ideas than were to be expected from
the hereditary princes of Europe, who had
been carefully educated in the belief of the
divine right of kings: but the man was and is
cold, selfish, and cruel. To re-establish the
Napoleonic dynasty, with himself on the
throne, and to transmit the throne of France
to his posterity, were the grand ideas of his
life, to which everything must be subordinated.
Shrewder and more polite, but without the
depth and genius of his uncle, he has managed
alternately to amuse, fatter and coerce the
French people into a seeming acquiescence in
his policy The shallowness Of his system.
however, is shown in the growing strength of
the enemies of the empire in the popular dis
content in all the large cities, and in the
exile of some of the most brilliant and pa
triotic Frenchmen of the day. The divided
strength of the opposition has, however, pre-
vented it from making itself heard with
effect until now, when the grand crisis of
another revolution is apparently looming up
in not far distant future; and there ap-
pears to be disposition to effect union
of forces for the destruction of q common
enemy.
The Emperor achieved a nominal victory
at the late elections, but no one knows better
than himself how near it was to positive and
disgraceful defeat. To accede to ths demands
of the opposition would be practically to give
up all that he has been laboring for, while if
he refuses to yield anything, the signs of
trouble ahead are so unmistakable that there
is no alternative but to make at least q show
OF llberallty. The moral effect of the late
elections is shown in the concessions made bv
the Emperor in yielding to the Corps Legis
latif the right to elect its own officers making
the ministers personally responsible, and per-
mitting them to be interrogated publicly with
regard to the policy of the government. If
these concessions were made with sincerity,
at least one great step would be taken in the
direction of constitutional liberty, but the
facts that have been elected as 20 the actual
intentions of the Emperor do not promise
that the proposed reforms will accomplish all
that is hoped of them by those who are anxious
to see another reign of violence and terror in
France avoided if possible.
At the opening of the French Senate yes
terday, NJ. Rouher, referring to the duty de-
Volved upon that body of examining the pro-
posed reforms, said he should inuuire
whether they were popular enough to 90
hand in hand with liberty, and at the same
time strong enough to resist anarchy He
was confident that the Senate would enter
upon this discussion with the firm determine
tion of interpreting the will of the country,
and that by the combined efforts of tne Gov
ernment and Senate more general harmony
would be established between the powers of
the State, and the institutions of the empire
could acquire renewed strength, lustre, and
popularity.
AS the Senate is the creature of the EN-
peror, its Interpretation of the will of the
country will most likely be depen-
dent on his opinion as to what the will of
the country is; and, until the Senate is an in
dependent body, it will never be anything
more than mouthpiece for the Emperor.
The ministers are also dependent alone upon
the Emperor, and while it is conceded that
they are to be considered as responsible for
their acts, they can only be impeached by the
Senate. This still leaves the whole power in
the hands OF the Emperor, while it affords him
an excellent opportunity to thrust some
of his unpopularity on the shoulders of his
nominally responsible agents How such
system as this can pacify the discomfort that
prevails it is not easy to see, and it is par
ticularly unfortunate for the Emperor that the
idea has become prevalent that he only made
these concessions through fear of conse.
quences. Such notion as this will not be
likely to make the opposition more tractable.
and there is still prospect of extremely lively
times in France before long
HARVARD vs. OXFORD.