The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1873-11-06
Gambetta.

Gambetta.
The two greatest orators in France
by which is understood their power b
move the feelings Of the people-ar,
jules Favrc and Gambetta. The frs
has 30 lost character, both in iudgemen
and az a man Of action, among his col
leagues, that he does not appear in hi
seat in the assembly, The blatant de
iance about not surrendering a foot 0
wall or an inch of territory to the Prus
SLAMS, and the breaking down and weep
ing ut his interview with Bismarck
were too much for his countrymen, ant
they covered him with re]proaches ant
ridicluc. His conduct on these coca
sions have even lessened the effect o.
his pleading before the %cOurts, where
he was oncc a powerful advocate. Gam
beta has not lost character like Favre,
but il is the subject Of no little discus
sion. Most Of his friends aver that he
is as strong in the council chamber as
he is in the tribune or in the reunions
Of the people, but there are men Of his
party who distrust his judgment aB Il
leader. He showed, from the fall Of the
commune to the late elections, an adj
mirablo discretion, but committed a
serious slunder in putting forward ex-
treme radical candidates in opposition
TO the conservatives favored by Theirs
for this aroused the a~pprehonsions OF
tho right in tho chamber, and drove
| them into that union which overthrow
the old president. The republic was
slowly but surely gaining ground,
every day, under the rule of Theirs
who understands his people and his
epoch ms well as any man living when
the impotence of Gambetta, in thrust
ing forward his crude men, some of
whose skirts were stained with the blood
of the commune, alarmed those who had
something to stake in the country, and
formed tho present tripartitc coalition.
Those of the left center, sharing the
opinion Of T~alleyrand that in politics n
blundcr is Il crime, are naturally bitter
against this young chief for interrupt
ing rs he did the growth and develop
ment of the republic. On the other
hand, the friends Of GambettH say that
the zeal of his followers in the extreme
left got beyond his control, and that
they imposed their candidates upon him
and especially Barodet, whose election
stirred up the right to relentless battle.
In this there is probably some truth,
for Gambetta il n shrGwd politician
and he must have seen, by supporting
Theirs in II sufficiently conservative |
TO maintain his power, TINT no
his natural SUCCESSOR. Gam
as the fiery orator of the tribune,
whore he appears M if led by impulse
.lOno, is deceptive. He knows what he
4 doing when he looks ~ if burning to 5
white heat, and his words aro AZ dis I
~ if he wrote them down in the {
mict of his cabinet. He iR one of those
men who, beginning their political life {
II agitatorR, become conservatives after {
ssumIng the responsibilities Of power
md it il safe TO predict, if Gambetta
proves successful, five or ton years {
renee, TINT no man will be II stoutor de-
endcr Of the then existing institutions
han he. His position Mt this time il n
singular one; he strides the left and the
Extreme left, n foot in each, and oven
reaches to tho edge Of the left center.
il the political friend of Theirs as
we'll M Of Jules Favrc and of Ranc, and
no has done more toward keeping the
three divisions together in Legislative
action than any other man. His aiiinl-
ties are more pronounced for the left,
and his manifestation Of friendship for
the extreme left is probably for the
purpose of using it to arrive at the pos
session of power. The extreme left is
turbulent, with something of the spirit
of the commune, in tho way Of sacriiic-
ing its favorites, and this doubtless
Gambotta is we'll aware Of hence, the
day when no shnll have climbed to the
place which ho covota. if he over docs,
one Of his first acts will probably be to
draw up tho ladder after him aud leave
his radical friends below in the lurch,
whoroupon there will Of course he the
usual chorus about being betrayed.
%SCribncr's Magazinc.