New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-06-09
THE PARIS COMMUNE.

| during the last twelve months, those originated
| by the revolt of Paris have doubtless wrought
her the deepest humiliation. Defeat after
crushing defeat dealt by the sword of united
| Germany was obviously hard to bear; but
| Gallo spirit found consolation in epigrams
which derded the uncOuth bearing and
| awkward manners of the victOrS, and portrayed
the immense superiority to theirs OF French
wit, French grace, and French taste TIC
surrender coveted territory and pay large
amounts of treasure as the price of an indis-
pensable peace. are undelightful; 10 one cal
doubt the unpleasantness of such discipline
but then this war is not the last and won't
the naughty cOnQuerOrs of to-day catch 1t
when zoe have them down next time, as we
have so often had them bcfOreY Thus the
ugly toad Discontinue wears a precious
though not obvious jewel, and the most
utter disastrous overthrow is Gghtened Ivy
the cherished hope of 4" Better luck next
" time"
Not so with Civil War. It's victories are
barely less deplOrable than defeats; its
clouds have no silver lining its calamities no
alienation. France is hardly less humbled by
her triumph over revOlted Paris than by her
| discontinue at the hands of hostile Ger
many At the very best, her successful
campaign against her own capital has
intensified the miseries and the modification
of her preceding overthrow And she cannot
| in this case, console herself with the hope of
future revenge for present humiliation. For
all that the Paris revolt and its bloody sup
preston have cost her, she has but the lessons
they have taught; and these are as available
to other nations as to her.
The French Republicans-whO are mainly
denizens of cities, especially of Paris-have
always assumed a primacy and a right to lead
which were justified neither by their principles
nor their practical wisdom. The Republic log
ically involves the right of the people to
choose their form of government and to give
| it a hereditary chief if they see fit.
One might be abstracuy as thorough a
democrat as Rousseau or Robespierre and yet
freely admit that a chief magistrate chosen
annually by universal suffrage would not an
swer for China nor for Mexico in the present
mental and moral condition of their people.
| He who does not realize that diverse forms of
! government are adapted to different stages of
| human development is blockhead; if, real
| ling he will not admit this truth, he is
| knave.
The Working Men (Ourriers) of Paris are
unquestionably more intelligent and politically
more capable than the rural peasantry, who
constitute a majority of the French people /;
but this fact gives them no right to rule and
guide the Nation as they MAY from time to
time see fit. Yet this questionable right they
| have missed no chance to assert: hence
the sanguinary horrors of the Reign Of
| Terror; hence the day of the Armed
| Sections; hence the recent revolt of the
| Commune When the Second Empire
| fell beneath the weight of its chiefs
blunders and crimes, the Republicans
| seized the despots forfeited scepter and or
gained Provisional Government after their
own heart This Government, virtually
| confessing that it had no legal right
to rule, promised to call, aud actually
did convoke, National Assembly, to con-
vene at an early day; but they soon
allowed this purpose to be Overruled and
the call to be indefinitely postponed. 1t
was obvious-indeed, confessed-that this post
pOnement was impelled by apprehension that
Z" the monarchical parties" would elect ma
| jority of the body; as it is now asserted that
they did when at length the rOut of the
French armies was so utter that an Assembly
had to be called, since Bismarck would only
make peace with government which France
had somehow sanctioned.
Gambetta, it will be recOllected undertook
at this juDcture to palsy the National will
by decreeing ineligible to this Assembly all
who had been trusted by the BOurbOns or
Bonapartes when in power; but Bismarck in
terposed righteous veto, and France
was, through such interposition, allowed
an untrammeled choice. The Repub-
licans had all the machinery and patron
age of government in their hands; they had
appointed their own Projects and sub-Pre-
fects they conducted the election and counted
the votes: 50, if the monarchists Gas they
ASSERT elected a majority, is it not obvious
that the People are averse to any such Republic
as the "OurrierS" Of Paris desire 7
! The revolt of the Commune was an attempt
of Two Millions Of people to dictate form of
government to ThiIty-four Millions, who nat
urally hold that they have some rights which
the Two Millions are bound to respect. The
| Commune says "Nay: We Two Millions are
"wise and intelligent; you Thirty-four Mil
| "lions are foolish and ignorant: so submit TO
"our dictation or we give you war; Hence
the late desolating conflict.
It does not matter that the Two Millions
would probably have made Constitution
more to our liking than the Thirty-four Mil
lions will we dispute their claim to constitute
themselves guardians and trustees of the
rights of the majority. An aristocracy of the
workbench is as Objectionable in principle,
and would prove as tyrannical in practice as
an aristocracy of landowners or hereditary
warriors France has stamped under her heel
the insOlent pretensiOn of the Capital to give
lay to tAs Nation; and for this no heartily