New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-03-04


family are buried forever.
That family has been The greatest scoaFge ana e"S
rrer ristsd upon France, or IN recon- enoS "po"
II uust be conceded that both nephew ana unoo "oro
able internal Administrations but tho ordor anu system
which nre,ed in their interior management WIS per
80, a., the art of collecting taxes and eOnscrptng
,d,ora 10th OF the Bonapartes depended upon their
s,rn noicy for influence and consideration at homo,
aud eaob WAS FRUSTRATED and crushed by the reool Of
,hls fayorte engine The frst and the second Empire
alike ended in convulsion and storm, in the humiliation
o France and the fall OF ts capital Both OF tho Bona
pares were overwhelmed by foreign begun without
necessity upon cgregious miscacuation OF results
Each of them i'm the hour OF final disaster made
surrender of person to the enemy against whom no
had been fighting. and they alike disappointed in
the advantages they expected from a incon-
sistent with elevation of character.
ave trust that this terrible repetition OF the terrible
lesson OF 1915 may France of foolish attachment to
her worst scourgc The chief of Comparison
its subordinaton Of domestic foreign policy; and
France onght have learned by this time that nothing
could be more rulnous her true interests. What dill
she gain by all the unequdcd spendor OF the first Naro
Icons victories and his brilliant career Of conquest
Nothing In the end but vain ecat. Every rood Of those
conquests wrcsted axay by the disasters which
attended his downfall, leaving nothing but the
remembrance OF barren military laures And
at what o fearful cost we're those laurels pur-
chased The taxes collected during the eleven years OF
the first Empire equal to all which were collected
during tia sixty three years OF the splendid and warke
gn ~ Louis XIV Under the first Napoleon, Franco
sacrificed Ave millions OF Frenchmen. most OF them in
the flower their age That prodiga squanderng OF life
and treasure was price TO pay for the glory Of be-
ing governed by The most successful butcher in the an
nails Of the human The second Empire did not
make such Wholesale sacrifices to the Mooch OF war; but
the policy of the Empires substantially Identical
The main prop both vast army, the support Of
which cntailed grinding taxes upon the people"
Comments By The Tribune.
The above does not materially differ from
the average sentiment of the civilized world at
this moment. But how was it when Napoleon
III. was the gorgeously bedizened and ostenta-
tiously prOdigal master of FranceY Were there
not many Americans base enough in their wor-
ship of successful villainy to crowd his recep-
tons and scramble for tickets to his ballsf
Did not The Herald-which never strikes
man except when he is down-gorify him as
an astute, able, far-sighted mOnarchY How
many characterized him then as The World does
without objection to-day?
TIE TRIBUNE has held but one opinion OF
and maintained consistent attitude with re-
gard to him. in his most palmy estate, we
recognized and rcprObatcd him as the perured
thief of a nations liberties, the Infamous
assassin OF those who held him to the oath he
was ostentatiOusly breaking. Since he per
fdiously conspired against the republic whereof
he was chief, we have known him as a less
excusable and more vulgar villain than Dick
Turpin or Jack Sheppard. Nothing IN his
Imperial policy has ranked him i'll our judg-
ment as statesman of even moderate ability;
and, when his power seemed most firmly
established ard buttressed we bated no jot
of orr confidence that the justice of God
would yet vndicate itself in his precipitate
and ignominious downfall.
Shall the lesson of that downfall be lOstF
Shall not those who breast the pillows of sue
cessful wrong take heart from this example of
righteous retributionf Had the elder Napoleon
been east in truly heroic mold he would
have charged and died with tho Old Guard
at Waterloo. Had The heir of his throne and
policy been of that mold, he would have
broken through the cnvclOping Germans at
Sedan and taken u remnant OF his army to
the defense of Paris, or left his own among
their thick-strewn corpscs on the red field
where they died with their faces to the foe.
Kings, from Saul of Israel to Louis Of
Hungary, have died thus, and no man ever
questioned the fitness of thus ending life and
reign in one browning disaster. But these
Bonapartes, real and false, seem alike unable
TO acquire power with decenCy or resign 1t
with dignity.