The New York herald., 1873-11-27
FRANCES MILITARY DICTATOR.
What a Four Years Presidency
Might Have Done.
WASHINGTON, M'MAHoN, GRANT

PARIS, Nov. 10, 1873.
The French rovaIists having failed in their efforts
to restore Henry W. are now trying to re-estsblish
Casarsm by prolongng Marshal MacManon's term
OF Presidency for 10 years. Liberals who has
looked upon the Count or Cbambord's collapse as
great victory for their party beginning to think
they were mistaken, and that repubhcanism might
have been better served In the end by few years,
regular monarchy than BY the grim military dicta-
torshp with which we are now threatened. 1t m
said that, in the frst panic which followed the
publication OF the Count OF Chambord's letter.
M Theirs was In favor OF prolonging the Mar
shals powers-or. rather, letting them continue,
which Is not quite the same thing-until the disso-
luton of the present Assembly. Supposing this
dissolution to have occurred in spring, after tho
new constitution had been voted, the country
would then have glided quietly out OF the pr01
Uts0rtura by the channel Of general election.
Nothing could have been better than such an ar
rangement, for M. Theirs could not himself have
commanded working majority in the Assembly
as at present constituted, whereas after q gen.
eral election when the sense OF the country would
have been taken on the question.
MONARCHY OR REPUBLIC sn
he could have returned to power backed by clear
majority Of members pledged to establish not
merely nominal but a liberal republic. Marshal
MacMahon held rom the nrst another idea, which
was this: He said, "Prolong my term Of once for
fixed period OF two or four years. in order that my
government may have some stability and that
may not be compelled to resign at any sudden
moment by capricious parliamentary vote"
This idea, though quite opposed to NJ. Theirs
views-which are tnat all definite election OF
President should be adjourned till the constitu.
tonal bills have been passed and until new
Assembly has been summoned-this idea was not
anti-repubican for II MacMahon had been appointed
President for the four years only, and had, at the
end OF that term, Loyalty resigned,
THE FRENCH REPUBLIC WOULD HAVE BEEN vIk-
TUALLY FOUNDED.
1t would have been an iron-handed sort Of rH
public, no doubt. The Marshal would have
handled the nation like fractous regiment; the
press would have been gagged, courts-martial
would have nourished, and there would have been
much less freedom on the whole than under con.
stitutional royalty But, on the other hand, two
great facts would have been demonstrated First,
that king or emperor Is not absolutely indis
pensable in France to the maintenance OF 0rdert
and, second, that soldier who has presidential
power entrusted to him will not always as q
matter OF course follow Louis Napoleon'a
example and strike o coup d'etat to get hims
self crowned. As result OF this, the number
Of royalists would have largely decreased;
repubicanism would have lost much Of its terror In
the eyes OF those sceptics who refuse to believe
that supreme power can ever be transmitted
quietly from President to another; and Marshal
MacMahon's successor, inheriting from him gov.
ernment well consolidated, could, without danger,
have inaugurated policy more liberal But 10
years. presidency will demonstrate or establish
nothing. 1t will only illustrate again what every.
body knows-namely, that If dictatorial powers be
connded for long period Of time to an energetic
general that general Will keep tight curb upon
disorder and avert revolutions. But the obvious
inference which the popular mind would draw
from this is that every successive President should
be an energetic general, appointed for 10 years.
And this is not republcanism; 1t Is C9sarism, and
worse than Casarism-
1T is PRAEToRIANIsM.
NJ Thiers Is naturally alarmed at this prospect,
and has appealed to all partisans OF free republic
to oppose it. Unfortunately Frenchmen attach too
great an Importance to words and too little to the
sense OF words, SO that there are numbers Of SO
called republicans who think that, provided
MacMahon be installed President OF the Republic,
and not regent or emperor, it is mmaterial
whether his term be for five years. ten years, OF
even life tenure. These politicians hold little
to liberal principles; they even dislike them.
For them the main point is that postage stamps
should bear the efigies OF 'sDame Republic;" that
the motto Tiberty, Equality, Fraternity" should
adorn the facades OF public buildings, and that
there should be no royal or imperial family tc
maintain. They argue, not without shrewdnes5,
that their opposition to royalty was based on the
conviction that government styling itself repub.
lcan can nowadays deal much more vigorously
with radicals than king can. "Under king or
emperor say they, ''every rogue who springs up
as an advocate OF republicansm becomes politi.
cal hero whom 1t is perous to molest He may
1a aivnp anfi hloan oil
not lessen his popularity and when revolution
happens he gets pitchorked into the highest Office
OF state. But under republic we can say TO such
men You have a republican form Of govern.
ment-what more do you wantf and If they
preach communism we can class them IN theiI
proper category as criminals who desire to prey
simply upon socetv.u These principles, which,
under the name OF conservatism y have become
new and significant element in French politics,
are just or the sort which commend themselves
most readily to the intelligence Of the timid mid.
die classes OF France and the stnl more
timorous peasant population. The growing ten.
dency among the people is TO recognize only
two parties in politics-that, is the "partisans oi
ordey,l men who have property OF some sort,
funded or landed and the "communists,n men
who have nothing and want to coniscate the
goods OF their bettets. Tell prosperous French
tradesman or peasant With an acre OF land OF
his own that the radicals have any object except
punder and he will not believe IT, Freedom ol
speech, freedom OF the press, Immunity from
arbitrary arrest, are all words that ring hollowy In
his ears. He VIII always believe himself free SO
long as he is the citizen OF republic, and he viii
cheerfuIy lend his sanction to the persecution or
suppression or all such radicals as may endeavor
to convince him OF the contrary. Therefore the
royalists, who now setting up MacMahon as
President for ten years, well know what they are
about Under cover OF the Republic they will
grind down liberty sternly and ptiessly as ever
the Napoleons did, and they will have, In short,
DgsPorIc MONARCHY IN DISGUISE
Americans, who are already discussing the ques
tion as to whether General Grant win be renomi
mated Tor third term Of ONCE, win do prudentIy