The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-02-05
France

All ewes are NOW turned to France, where
public affairs have assumed Il critical condition.
The concessions made by the Emperor, referred
to last week, have tended TO spur the people to
look for greater onos-tChat, no one, probably
not the people themselves, know or care Inns
state of things would of itself have been sufficient
to enlist the attention of the outside world,
had not a most unfortunate occurrence trans
pired. This was the shooting OF one OF the
editors of the MarseiHaiSe newspaper, by Prince
Pieere Napoleon, son of Lucien Napoleon, both OF
whom are members of the Emperor's family.
The story is told in full in another column,
among the European news. But whether, on
investigation. it proves to have been .justitiable
homicide or actual murder, its occurrence, just
at this juncture, is none the less unfortunate for
the Emperor's Government. The bulletin has
the following relating to 1t:
"The condition of things in Paris is evidently one
to call for firmness and moderation on the part of the
Government, and, thus far, those qualities have been
displayed to an admirable degree. The killing of
Noir. a friend of Rochefort, and hence a representa-
tive of the extreme Radicals, by a Prince OF the
Bonaparte family, is well calculated to be made a
pretext Of violence, far more so than the yearly
professions to the tomb of Baudin Gone OF the VIC
TINS of the barricades), against which the Govern
ment has hitherto deemed it necessary to take pre-
cautions. Yet it is plain that Louis Napoleon has
no personal connection with this homicide, and he is
the last man in France who would have willingly let
it occur. Nor does the Prince himself seem to have
been especially TO blame, if his own account be true.
He was perhaps imprudent in sending his defiant In
vitation for the .MarSeiIidiSe editors to call upon
him but he was aggravated by the lampoons they
had published against him. By his own account he
was slapped in the face before he fired and had he
not fired ON such a provoeation he would have been
posted as a coward. The other side of the story is
that the Prince himself struck the first blow and
the effort of Rochefort's friends is to prove that
the Prince deliberately decOyed Noir into a trap in
order to kill him. 1t will go hard with the Prince.
but it does not look probable, since he was only one
against two, and they armed, as well as he. In this
emergency much depends upon the judgment and
decision of the Ministry, whose measures thus far
seem to have been cool and determined. Louis
Napoleon must esteem himself lucky just now in
having u responsible ministry behind which to shield
himself and his wisest course was to leave the event
in their hands. They have declared that order shall
be preserved at all hazards and this will be a check
to the wild elements that would inaugurate revolu-
ton. Meanwhile the Ministry evince their sense of
to be tried as the law directs and still further by
ordering another Prince, Murat, to be brought before
the same Court to answer to a charge of striking Il
magiatrate, some time ago. 1t would seem that
Frenchmen now have n chance to evince their respect,
if they have any, for orderly Government and genu-
inc progress