The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-04-28

ineffable- that the exercise of the right ordi-
narily confers. Shrewdly banking on this
small frailty, the Emperor 80 frames his
JiebtScitun that that to vote at all, you must
almost necessarily vote in its favor. Those
who oppose can scarcely vote against it other
than by not voting at ALL and, however easy
this may be for your patriot of the Rochefort
school, il does not suit the great mass. Ac-
cordinply, when the patriot from Paris pro-
ceeds to address jacques Bonhomme in the
provinces on the propriety of not voting,
Jacques is quite apt to say:-"Whereto serve
ballots but to confront the visage of the box !?
Am not ], jacques Bonhomme, for one
second in my life to be greater than even the
Emperor by reason of the ballot which hold
in my hand, while his Majesty himself
stands, hat in hand, a candidate at the polls,
soliciting the honor of my electoral acquaint-
ance p The patriot will be hard pushed to
answer this kind of thing; and accordingly
the Emperor wins the first trick by getting
jacques and Victor, and Francois and Jean
to the polls. Being there, with no very well
defined idea, one may swear, except to vote
somehow, the question arises, How will you
vote? Will you vote for liberal reforms-for
your right to vote, for the progressive glory
of la belle France, for this and other ptebiS-
cites? Or will you vote against liberal re-
form, to have an iron collar round your neck
like your great grandfather, and be ruled by
aristocrats? jacques. Francois, Victor, and
Jean, of course, shout ''Down with aristo-
Gratis !" and vote, every man of them, for
liberal reforms, the succession of the Prince
Imperial inclusive. And thus the Emperor
wins the second trick, and with that trick the
game.
1t has been the strength of Napoleon III
that he has been enabled at any time these
eighteen years to refer to that vote in 1852
when eight millions of Frenchmen indorsed
his course; and like strength, now that the
lion is old, he desires for his whelp. The
overwhelming probabilities are that he will
get it; that some nine millions of voters, a
full half over all in these United States, the
man and brother included, will authorize
the succession of the Prince Imperial; and
that in due time Napoleon ~ will issue
his DEGREES Shy the grace of God and
the will of the French people," Perhaps,
were the issue plain and simple, for or
against the Bonaparte dynasty, the result
might be different, especially as in the year
1869 the votes stood 1000, 900 Imperialist to
100000 Opposition; but, as it is, the dex-
trous wording of the pIebSscite will, almost
beyond doubt, Overwhelmingly carry the day.
From 1893 to 1852 no vote in France against
Dle6tSc5te has exceeded five per cent. of the
vote for the pLebiscite and upon the average
it has not been over half of one per cent; in
1852, out of every one hundred votes the EN-
peror received ninety-seven votes, and three
we're cast against him. With this showing
for seventy years of popular voting in France,
it is hardly to be supposed but that this pie.
btscite, like others, will sweep everything be-
fore it, Such, at least, is the presumption
from the figures; and very different presump.
tion it is that our electoral figures present.
We may do this thing better than in France,
but our returns show that, save in the great
ple6iscttes In the time of Washington, oul
popular votes on the Presidential issue have
been close-sometimes SO close that Lincoln
for instance, got in, in 1860, by but some
| 1900, 900 votes out of total of 4,700,O00
our peculiar institutions permitting this kint
Of fhinn -