Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1870-08-10
Impeachment of Napoleon iI.-A Bit.

Impeachment OF Napoleon HL-A Bit
ter Article.
The Paris Soir publishes from the pen of
M. Edmond About the following review of
Napoleons official career, and statement of
the sufferings he has entailed upon France:
MAY be mistaken but it seems to me
that we are now beginning to pay very
dearly our collective abdication in 1851 and
1852. A people may imagine itself in clo-
yer when it has relieved itself from the
trouble of managing its own affairs, and
when it has confided it's destinies to the
hands of bold and able man. The con-
stitution leaves to this man the power of
commanding the land and sea forces, de-
claring war, and making treaties of peace
and alliance. What an excellent pretext
for humble individuals to spare themselves
the trouble of thinking about public mat
tiers, and laying themselves out to make as
much money as possible in their own pri-
vate occupations. But let us suppose that
the master elected by the people has more
imagination than genius; that he has the
appetite of conqueror without the firm
ness and the settled purpose necessary to
success; that he reckons too much upon
his star, and expects from luck and the
mistakes Of others the results which he
ought deliberately to prepare for himself.
Let us suppose that he lives from hand
to mouth, tempting fortune instead
of making himself master of it. Always
advancing. drawing back, and oscillating
between the possible and the impossible,
and what is more serious, between the Just
and the unjust; now champion of right,
and tomorrow champion of state necessi-
ty; revolutionist or reactionist, Just as
1t may happen, and ever ready to make
hash of his principles for the sake Of expe
dlency, it is not at all impossible that one
line day 100000 of men may rouse
themselves and express their dissatisfac-
ton IN way not easily to be dealt with.
FIenchmen, my good friends, only think
of the great things which you have done by
procuration within the last twenty years
On your behalf your governors have dream
ed for the conquest of the world, and uni
versal monarchy, or at least the supremacy
of Europe, with the extension of your
frontiers In 1849, when you were nomi-
nally republicans, you violently put down
the Roman republic; you fought in Italy
for that divine right which you have sup.
pressed in Paris; you restored the pope,
who dees not thank you. and pays
you with all sorts of affronts. At
not weaken Russia; you sacrificed
a hundred thousand men, and
spent milliard of money, with no other
result than to draw down upon you the
hatred and rancor of a powerful nation. =
1t is true that Turkey owes you debt of
gratitude for having postponed the solu-
ton of the great Eastern problem; but
wretched Turkey would be of no use to
you in case of war. In Lombardy you
weakened Austria, aggrandized Victor
Emmanuel, and favored the fusion of small,
harmless states with a great power. And
now you have been clever enough to allie
v1ate that power which owes everything to
you by keeping it out of its capital. After
having grasped q real nation around the
email king of Sardinia, you have forced
that regalantuomo to be your enemy. You
have sought adventures in China and Mex
leo. The great American republic was
from its beginning the friend and ally OF
France. You constrained it to forget
that it owed its existence to you.
In the war of the secession, when
you should have sympathized with
the cause of the north, you shut your
ear to the principles Your interests as
J GU understood them led you to side with
the south, but you had not the courage or
the sincerity to act upon your opinion.
You only gave to the slavery party a hest
tating and sterile support The union was
restored in spite of you, and its first move
ment was to make you evacuate Mexico. In
Germany you tried surreptitiously to weak
en- Austria by Prussia and Prussia by Aus
trla. Your diplomatists, who are suppos-
ed to be the pick and choice of human
ability, warranted success. After long
and ruinous war the Austrians, your secret
allies, who, you had calculated, would be
the vlctors, We're beaten, and the Prus-
slams, your enemies, became masters of
Germany. Prussia allied herself with TIA
ly, and your only compensation in the ALI
ance Of Austria, who, thanks to you, is re-
duced to the last degree of impotency.
Such, my dear French people, is the result
Of your campaigns and your negotiations.
Peace and war have been almost equally
fatal to you. And you may be very sure
that, on the first opportunity, Prussia, Rus
STA, America, and Italy will be ready to
combine to pay off old scores. This cleo
ton of king of Spain may be as good an
excuse as any other. "