The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-05-19
PARIS VS.. FRANCE.
The Meaning Of the Great Revolution i'm the
French Capitalize Great Fight Between
City and Country.
From the London Economist.

From the London Economist.
We showed recently how wide the
chasm between the great cities OF France
and the country districts has grown
and this week we have evidence of the
full consciousness of the chasm in the
explicit profession of faith published by
the revolutionary party in Paris, which
declares for the independence and fed
Grafton OF the great cOmmunes OF
France, and for securing for the great
cities some guarantee of sufficient intiu-
ence over the central authority, what
ever that may be-" in order to prevent
their being swamped, as they have hith-
erto been liable to be swamped, in the
representatives sent up by the country
districts. This most dangerous revolu-
tionary proposal is, in some sense no
doubt, nemises Of the policy of the
imperial government, which, resting as
it did ON the ignorance and conserva-
tism of the rural population, found
itself compelled to readjust the electoral
arondissements, so as TO neutraliZe as
much as possible the influence of the
great towns. We often had occasion.
while the Emperor still reigned, to
point out. as the late NJ. Provost Paradol
pointed out in his last very instructive
book, that the first requisite of proper
reform bill for France would be such a
readjustment of the electoral districts
as should give the great cities of France
their fair influence in the National As
sembly. But this the Emperor, who
knew well that he reigned chiefly by
virtue of the confidence which the
timid and ignorant peasantry reposed in
him, would never grant; and now we
see the terrible recoil of the policy of
repression in this revolutionary demand
that France shall be virtually governed
! by the great cities-for that is really
what the new programme means-and
the rural districts kept down by the SUI
perior intelligence, force and wealth of
the municipal centers. This is the po-
litical ideal after which the Partisan
revolution declares itself to be an aspir-
ant. That Lyons and Marseiles, and
perhaps st. Etienne and Toulouse, more
or less share the same views, the recent
disturbances there seem to indicate.
Should Paris succeed in defying the
central power and establish herself as
an independent commune we may be
quite sure that such an example given
by the capital will soon be followed by
others of the great cities, which have
for generations back followed more or
less closely in the wake of Paris. And
the probable consequence will be the
disintegration of the State and q social
,oar of city against country. 1t is fright
full danger and one the magnitude of
which has really grown with the recent
attempts at a remedy. Louis Napoleon
saw the extent Of the danger in lS4S,
b and tried to remedy it by drawing from
the country an army which kept down
the capital and the other great towns
but then, as we have seen, he had to
prop up his policy by the political ex
pedient of alternating the political
strength OF the greater municipalities
, which he effected, after a fashion well
understood in political England, by
throwing great marginal districts OF
agricultural population into the "cir
SUBSCRIPTIONS of the more democratic
cities. But all this counterbalancing O
the great cities only piqued their vanity
and excited their vindctive feelings the
more, TILL at last we see that the quarre
OF town versus country is like enough
to become an open feud.
And perhaps the worst feature of thi
, new revolutionary cry is, that while i
2 is very exciting cry, cry which has
: very vivid meaning both for town an,
country, 1T does not represent anytbinI
4 of definite and ineligible policy TO
]. the future. The most dangerous of al
e social quarrels are those which begil
a before any intellectual or moral issue j