New-York tribune., 1870-11-17
THE SECRET hfsToKY or W. OLIVIER.

| the Tuileres an anonymous report on the
political condition of France, drawn up Ill
October, 1868. The writer seems to have
recognized the truth which subsequent events
have brought SO painfully to the knowledge OF
the French nation, that the IsOcial and moral
enervation brought on by the imperial system
has been accompanied by corresponding de-
J cay of political talent The class of men com
| petent to Gil high public trusts has long been
| dying out as the manuscript expresses it. Ia
"matierc minist6riabe SO rar9fc." Not only is
the material for possible ministers growing
scarce, but it is hard even to find good pre-
! feet. The adroit statesmen who served the
Emperor so well in the first years of
his reign are dropping OF or growing
| old and tho civil service ia invaded
| by degenerate sort OF "ddhdySme"
Another report, presented to the Emperor by
one of his confidential officers Of state, an
alyzed the mati6re minist6ridble which still re-
mained, discussing the characters Of available
| candidates with amusing fraDkness and not n
little acumen. One of the statesmen portrayed
| in this document was NJ. Emile Olivier. He
| was person Of marked talent, according to
this imperial essayist, tainted indeed with
some pestilent liberal heresies but not irrecon-
cilable. 1t would be easy to satisfy him with
q few triilng concessions, and ne might be
made useful.
There was TO serious thought at that time
of making Olivier q minister of state; but in
a little over q year the Emperor determined
to try the experiment. 1t succeeded to
marvel. There was great fund OF
| latent imperialism in the heart of the
Liberal doctrinaire, and it needed only very
small concessions indeed, nay, the pretensc of
! them was enough to convert him into the En-
peror's most attached friend and most service
| able instrument. To be sure, he was jealous
of his independence in small things. He OBJ
| iected to enter the Cabinet unless he could
enter bySdaylight with due form and ceremony.
| There were long and tedious negotiations be-
fore he would take Office but once installed as
Minister of Justice and head of the Cabinet, it
was wonderful to see how rapidly he accom-
Inodated himself to the tricks of Napoleon
ism, and how effusively he gave his adher
ence to q policy against which his whole
previous life had been protest. He had warned
the Emperor not to make war, reminded him
| that the time for checking Prussia was past
! assured him that he could not consistently OPP
pose the consolidation of Germany, and if he
attempted to do SO lie would infallihly be
crusbed yet he became the mOuth-piece of
| the declaration Of war, and entered upon the
struggle, rs he told the world, with light
| and joyful heart. lie diNpprOved Of the pie
| bsctum of last May, well knowing that it
was to be ON impudent fraud, and yet the latest
collection Of secret documents found at the
| Tuileries shows that he promoted it with the
zeal Of thorough courtier. One might have
supposed that the department Of Justice, even
| in France, would be excused from the task of
corrupting the suffrage; but it was not so,
and Pietri himself could not have more
| efficiently worked the engines by which
| French governments manage elections than
the high-minded Liberal who was sup
| posed to preside over the administration of
justice throughout the Kingdom. "Tell all
the JUICES de pair he telegraphs to the Pro-
cureurs Generaux in the various departments
that | shall be pleased to see them in the
Plebisctary Committees" Judges were ap-
pointed to administer the will of the Emperor
and Incidence in the manufacture Of govern
ment majority was as bad an ofense as q lax
dispensatiOn of justice. "They write me from
Moulins," runs another dispatch, "that the
President of the Tribunal gives the example
Of an apathy bordering on hostility" The
| attitude of The clergy was the subject of great
anxiety and much correspondence. The Bishop
OF Mines gave a great deal Of trouble After
several reports about this prelate have been
made and cOntradicted, the Prefect telegraphs
the following statement of the "last situation"
VIII write nothing, get nothing said in
pulpit Conscience requires not to ab-
stain, but will not recommend 10 vote
=" OH. If the elector demands formally what
"he ought to do, the clergy would engage him
ito vote affrmativcly. This support, almost
negative, is completely insufficient" The
Procureur General Of Montpelier thinks ait
would be desirable to use all possible influ-
"ence on the personnel of the Public Instruc-
" ton and the railways" The Mayor of Es-
pahon tells NJ. Olivier, on the 9th of May,
" AT the sight OF your letters oil the mons OF
my canton have succumbed to attacks of
sudden apoplexy. We shall bury them on
SUNDAY" The PIocureur General Of Besan-
con telegraphs that the Doubs newspaper Will
contain violent article; shall it be seizeds
Certainly" answers the Liberal and consttu-
honal Minister; seizures are the most useful
of measures" The police plot of a Demo
cratic insurrection seems to have really terri
fed NJ. Olivier: We cannot believe that bo