The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-02-21

monarchy than she is now. Nor do We think
France would be. N. Guixot breads repub-
lie because he sees in it, inevitably. the return
Of the Commune. We insist that the causes
Of the Cummune lie deeper than any form of
government We never see phenomena of that
nature wantonly, spontaneously breaking out
among civilized nations. When the smoke
rises from Vesuvius and darkens the sky we
may surely expect the flames and the streams
Of molten lava. We know there are fire and
death in the mountain, and that they must
come. So when we see in a country like France
painful, terror-inspiring. sad exhibition like
tho Commune we are bound to think that
there is that in the social and moral condition
of the people that menaces and will ever con-
tinue 10 menace the worlds peace until the
cause is removed. No mere form of govern
ment will avoid this. We had constitutional
monarchy with M. Guizot himself, and he is
certainly most "enlightened' man, and it
ended in riots and revolution-almost Com
mune. We had that superb Second Empire,
gaudy with all kinds of imperial glory, and
Immediately after the Commune. No one is
more responsible for the Commune than Ma
poleon III. He should have ruled his France
so that the Commune would be impossible.
You cannot prevent the erupions of Vesuvius
by boarding over the crater. The longer you
keep il covered the greater will be the erup-
ton. the more desolating and widespread
the ruin You may put a standing
army and constitutional king and
tho Church and all ''the enlightened
men, on tho top of the political crater in
France. but il will break out some day or
other unless the cause is removed. A govern
ment, be IL republican or monarchical, owes
something more TO the people than order.
When people are truly happy and all rights
are respected, when labor is generously re-
warded and the workingman sees something
more in his life than four francs day and
beggary in his old age; when a government
recognizes that St Antoine has rights as
sacred as St. German when ignorance is
made crime and education duty and the
way to honor when kings cannot wantonly
in an hour send . haf million OF bright
eyed. strong-limbed men 10 cut the throats of
another half million, carrying desolation and
death 10 q million of homes. then we shall
believe there is an end Of these awful trag-
edies like the Commune. Do these fiends
burn libraries. then teach them to read.
Do they destroy property. then give them a
chance TO acquire it, Make the return of the
Commune impossible by eradicating the
causes that led to it,
Our criticism upon NJ Guizot is this:-
That he would board over the crater in France
and put q king on it, when his duty is 10 see
what causes the internal commissions and
destroy the cause He does not see that in
France there are no political questions TO be
compared for O moment 10 those terrible
social questions which. indeed under
lie all government and forms Of gov
We have escaped them here
because we have land in abundance
and are free from those three evils of the
older nations-a standing army, an aris-
tocracy and an Established Church We have
had periods Of moral decay. We had slavery
and Tammany and Erie. and Dishonor sitting
in the seat Of Justice. and statesmen who
dared 10 discuss reputation. We confess
these sins with humility, and had we time
could continue in spirit Of self-criticism and
show the causes of this shame, and where in
our own way we have erred as greatly as
France. Let IL suffice that the better spirit
came in the end and the devils were cast out
that we destroyed slavery, overwhelmed Tam
many, reformed Erie, punished judicial dis
honor and made reputation an infamy. We
may sin again, but in the end the better spirit
will rule And in taking leave at this time of
the venerable and illustrious statesman whose
views have graced our columns, let us pray
that he may live 10 see his own dear and
beautiful France controlled by the same
better spirit, the evils which brought the
appalling disasters Of 1870 utterly cured. and
the still greater evils which famed out in the
Commune and its horrors patiently discovered
and firmly destroyed. for this Is the very
duty of all Frenchmen who love France
When IL Is done it will be time b say whether
she is worthy Of u republic or still clings 10
throne
The Case of vice President Ceifss.
The Credit Mobilier infamy presents no
more degrading chapter than that which re-
cords the fall Of Vice President Colfax The
story Of this unfortunate man presents not
single point that can excite popular SYM
pathy. A low-priccd corruptionist. he has
added falsehood 10 his other offences. and