The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-02-08
What Victor Hugo Thinks.

HIS VIEWS ON THEIRS, GAMBETTA, AND
FRENCH AFFAIRS IN GENERAL.
[From an interview of World correspondent with
the Poet.l F....
You ask me what 1 think of Thiers. 1
have no hesitation in telling you that think
him a meaner spirit than Louis Napoleon.
Those who call him great statesman know
as little of the man as they do of French his
tory 1t r little man and little mind-in-
capable of learning anything from the exper-
fence of the past; incapable of conceiving a
liberal plan for the future. His name will go
down to posterity gored with the blood of the
misled men he massacred in streets of Paris.
Tens of thousands fell under his chasJepots.
Napoleon le Petithas been surpassed by Thiers
lie tres Petit. If indecsion blended with cru
city make statesman, then the chouette
drown OWL which presides over the govern
ment at this moment may take rank as the
greatest living statesman; but If clear-sight-
edness and mercy be the distinguishing marks
Of the great leaders of humanity, what is NJ.
Thers?
You ask me what 1 think of NJ. Theirs
present government. L will tell you frankly
my opinion. 1t has long ago ceased to rep
resent the country. Composed for the most
part of men who were hastily elected for spec,
ial purpose of coming to terms with the enc
my, it is now usurping the place Of the real
representatives who are waiting for dissolu-
tion. M. Thiers knows that, and as long as
he is able he will keephis satellitas about him.
If another Chamber were to be elected to-
morrow, M. Theirs power would crumble in
to dust. His home policy is to hold the
sword of state by the handle and give the
blade to the people; his foreign police to hu-
NOR Bismark by acceding to all his requests,
and delaying measures like that of compulso-
ry military service, which might enable us to
lift up our heads again. In his conceit he
NAV think it the first duty of every good pa
triot to keep Theirs in Office, but whet er he
be sincere or not his government is based on
corruption, let it call itself provisional, repub-
lican, or monarchical.
The due de Chambord is an anachronism;
the feur de lis would never live in modern
French soil. The due dAumale is valiant
soldier in the republican army, but he has as
little chance of wearing crown as he has of
being president of the republic, and suppos-
ing either to be probable, he is not the man to
have any influence over the destinies of
France. The Orleanists will always be pull
ed down by the men of their own party, and
the leader or representative of these men Is
Thiers, who is now intriguing to place the
due dAumale in such position that when
the Assembly is ripe for the change the due
may assume the presidency. The result of
this maneuver will be that M. Thiers will
practically retain his power of interference,
and continue the double-dealng game he has
played all his life. No; there can be nothing
to hope from that quarter.
There is but one man at present in France
for whom would vote were the presidency
vacant. That man is Gambetta. He is
great and true citizen. He has proved him
self practician as well as theorist. His
ideas are moderate and at the same time they
are infexible. Another reason why the ad-
vent of Gambetta to the influential post of
president appears to me highly desirable is,
that his popularity is more or less spread over
the length and breadth of the land. He could
at this moment command majority In all the
different shades of republican suffrage. 1t is
| In him that we must place our confidence
when it comes to pitched battle between
Bonapartists and free citizens. His absten-
ton from the National Assembly, or rather
from an assembly Of intrigues will increase
his authority with the people, who respect
him for the,dignity and reserve he has shown
since the conclusion of the war. Then there
is the necessity of the French nation taking
its revenge on the Germans, a necessity
which is doubly painful as it implies the
maintenance on a war footing of 600, 900 men,
and delays the triumph of social liberty at
home and abroad. Gambettas experience in
the government of the national defense would
| be particularly valuable in another war, for
though some people think that peace ought
| to have been concluded after Sedan, NOBODY
| can deny that he accomplished astounding
! faats with the moor. terrified material he had
at his disposal But all this is mere supposi-
lion. fear that we will have to wait many
wears vet before we can organize a revenge or
a republic. have faith that we shall ulti-
mately be able to secure both, but not in my
| time,