New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-02-19
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| been acting solely in obedience to their natural
| taste for knavery and petty tyranny! What should
they dol Kicki Oh no, that would be against all
| tradition, every one Of these sage PolOniuses
stood meeky by while the ministerial Hamlet
pointed at the political heavens with his staff, and
made HIM acknOwlede that what he had just caleda
weasel was very like a whale. What all the Projects
did OF thought in their astonishment we may never
know. but some few of them showed delightfully."-
slavish spirit and came out with circulars 10 their
snbordnates as sweetly moral. and as ofty-wOrded
az the Minister'S own The conversion was too sudden
to escape the French perception of the ridiculous aud
for week shower of bOHmots and sarcasms was
rained down upon the Underlined Projects, from
the whole journalistic heaven. But people were not
TO be satisfied with promises of repentance and
with good advice to what was TO be done at
the next election. They kept Dagging AZ poor VI.
Olivier for something substantial, but il seems
| the Emperor could not make mp his mind to Issuo
orders to NJ Olivier to issue orders to NJ Valdr6me
to issue orders to the Projects take themselves Oh
and So as the so-called Prime Minister could not
really do anything, he did usual. that Is. he made
believe do something. The other day, therefore, Tho
Journal appeared with a page of matter pnrporilng
consist entirely of changes in the Prefecture end
Sub Prefecture. Now, at last we were really 10
have something, and cry ran zap TO Heaven OF
mingled joy and rage JOY of the Liberals Of every
shade from red TO rose-color; of the ConseTya-
tives and Imperialists But few hours suifced TO
change the note of JOY TO one of lamentaton, and
rice resa. The list, being closely ex-
amned proved to be merely another Of
those tame canards that NJ. Olivier is so
| fond of letting fly. hoping that its noisy
quacking will turn public attention from himself t
was found that of all the Projects only four have
been dsgaced, or-for that is rather strong term
have been simply removed from that particular Office
or put retrdite that is, sacrificed for appearance
sake" TO the many-headed beast the public. to lie
given equally good or better place as soon az
| the disturbance is quoted a little. The other
changes consist simply in putting in BIS place, and
| Is in C's while is comfortably installed in As The
vacant places have been filed with new and unrled
men, who will probably do when called on, al that
they are bid to do. OF course nobody is satisfied
with this pretended solution of the difficulty and
| the public asks Olivier for more, with daily
| pertnacty But, as | began with saying, how can
| he give much more without giving all and how can
he be expected to give ALL when that includes giving
| hmselfi
The new Press law, which has been so long prom
sed seems to satisfy few people as the business
of the prefectures 1t is ncOnceivable 10 an Amen-
| can why the Government should not see that IL ~
perfectly possible here in Paris in the year of grace
1870 do without any law of the Press at all except
some simple provision TO guard against open deiana
ton of character or indecency What harm has come
| from the almost absolute license that has been
allowed the newspapers here since the 18th Of
| August What but harm has come from every
| attempt to NEEDLE with the newspapers Bat no;
there is deep-seated dislike of liberty among what
are called the upper classes in France, and they do
| not relish allowing people to speak their minus
| freely on any subject. When Oyier's new law gets
fairly started the liberty Of the press will be taken
| away again for a season, and the newspapers
will be as dull as they used to be before Rouhers
time-Rouher, who with all his narrowness, was less
foe to liberty than his sleek and oily successor. AZ
you know Ollver's law has the air of being all on
the side of freedom Opinions to be absolutely
free. and only acts are to be punished But who is
| to INTERPRET when a sentence contains merely an
OpiHion and when il may be construed into an d1
against the Emperor or the Empress, or her SON. or
the Prince Napoleon or against the Church, or the
| State. or society, anything that is not to DO
touched' jury for whose intelligence IN Judging
of such delicate matters have absolutely no guar
| antee and who will undoubtedly make free press
| as impossible a free political meeting.
To turn from politics little, whichare saddenng
spectacle here at present, the latest sensation has
been produced by the reproduction of Victor Hugo's
tragedy Lucreta Borgia" which all of the world
that jam itself into the little Porte ST. Martin
Theater is rushing see. On the first night there
was an almost riotous demonstration on the part OF
the audience who would appear to have come for the
most part rather to give vent to their pentnp feel
ings against the Imperial family than 10 enjoy the
play Although it would seem to be impossible 10
find play less political in its illusions and sugges-
tons than the Lncretia Borga, the ingenious public
showed the most sensitive feeling for them. aud
| picked out plums innumerable. Every word that
could be twisted into fling at the Bonapartes men
or women. at the Pope, at anybody whom democracy
hates was greeted with such shouts made tho
little lath and plaster theater shake. In one box
Rochefort was seated with George Sand.
the caricaturist Gill; Francois and Charles
Hugo and Jules Simon. in another En-
lie de Girardin while the crowd eager for
prey sped out NJ Paul Cassaignac so hateful TO the
democracy for his extreme imperaliSt opinions, and
for his coarse and times brutal way of expressing
them At him they hurled themselves in the entire
act and Kissed and hooted to their hearts content.
and at last got his name twisted into the air Les
Lampions," which they shouted out with one voice.
and bitter voice it was. But Csssaignac took it all
az a compliment. He felt that he represented tho
Empire and that in default of the Chief of State.
that great ass. the public them asses as somebody
calls them) was kicking him, and what was that
to for SO he sat and looked about him through
his opera glass and whenkhe Lampions" shook tue
ceiling beat time TO the air on his beaver and az lass
made bow TO the crowd. as the play began AGAIN
You see what all this shutting down the steam here
in Paris means When once the pressure is fairly off,
look out for squalls
have mentioned George Sand, and her name
minds me that the last liyraison of her cotempo-
rariesv by "Ferragus is devoted TO personal and
.A.. lnI,..l sf, Il hal raa-