New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-12-19
FRENCH POLITICS.
INCREASE OF REPUBLICANIsM.


$3.50 communes. In all of them. except
tho3e in the Department Of the Seine uaris
elections were held last Sunday for municipal conn-
clors. Tho number Of councillors depends on the
category, tested by population. to which the CON-
mune belongs varying from ten councillors 1oi
cornmuncs of less than sol INHABITANTS tof when
there are more than 100000 to 80 or more for IL
great towns. The whole number Of councillors Is
more than 900 The result of the elections OF the
ed, far yet known here, and in 80 far as thy
have political significance, Is on the Whole Oh Goou
aspect and encouraging prospect for rcpuDlcanisi.
In the smaller clmmunes very generally, municipal
elections, turning mainly on questions of persons
ald local interests, have little or no direct bearing
the disputed great political questions Of the day.
Ia the larger towns Republican candidates, against
opposition or without declared opponents, have III
| the majority of instances been chosen.
What enhances the political significance of these
municipal elections is that they were held under the
new municipal electoral law, devised BY the d.
gec;ing class majority Of the Assembly last year,
with the sole view of preventing just such result
of the municipal elections III has now bcidlen'
Some Of ;he majority are already crying aloud for
| new and more efficiently restrictive electoral law
Ctcrauces mixed of fear aud contempt Tor the IN
| pertnently voting mIsses the new social strata
that crop out at the polls. are noteworthy IN all our
other wise dsc0rlant Paris organs of Conservatism
this week. While these journals are now alarmed
over this mOnstr0us democracy. born with teeth ard
voice, the inner hope, and confident belief Of
of the editors and their directing class fellows
is that ths direction Of tho worlds Affairs properly
belonging to their caste, can and must be brought
back to their hands by dnt of In.rigucs and "com-
binati0ns;" "conjunction of ccntcrs,' fabricated
uajorilcs, and voted paper resolutions III the Yer
| sales Assembly
Partly from refined lis,astc for the vulgar humors
OF popular election. partly from an old ingenious
notion which thcr ancestors vainly trusted to in the
First Revolution, those OF the " directing class
kept themselves aoof from the polls last Sunday
Let the Republicans have it all their own way tins
once leading as they swiftly must TO death. the
| stupid following people will revolt with horror ~
they Nisibly approach tie goal and thea IN rcyutn
will throw themselves into orr hands for prctcc-
ton" This doctrine, not unavOwed by many doctors
Of Ibis Political school, is push the fever TO ccnyui-
sioas in faith Of curing the commissions. That do
not exaSgcrdtc you Will find proof il The comments
OF several of tho leading Moua.clical papers on the
Issue of the municipal election at Marscilles. when
the Republican candidates proper were defeated by
the Radical Republican candidates.. ihS result Oh
divisions which Moderate Republicans have reason
to regret and in some part to blame themselves for,
made the NEST of by the Eoyali,ts.
| Next week the Assembly meets. Most Of the con-
lectures with which writing and talking French
pubhcsts and gossips idly entertain their leisure or
seriously employ their thoughts are worthless cx-
ccpt as cuIou,y Illustrating, by their numerous
and often nadctOry variety, the confLsion rest
lcssncss aud indecisIon of ideas reigning in the
minds of the MARSHALL resident and of ms hetcTo-
GeAc0ua Cabinet. OHc and another OF the Ministries
has its oloiOus organ i'll the Paris press cOurtcousy
styled scmi-oGicia such La Prcsse, lie NOai'cT,
etc. Thus the Duke d, Eroglic has his, the Erdac-is
and the Orleans princes have their intimate family
instrument, The J).Gaal d. Pats. Constantly used
for emission Of seriously scm:-olcial notes is ayas
Gel. graphic news agency. Wl,h.n the last tn
IIy every OF the Irs,..ed js4InIls just Ircn-
TONED has published. with tle color oi inspired
authorization, more or ! So positive anLclplt0ry
answer 90 several Of The IN 5. inpo.ttnt of the quc5
lions that have been propJuni.d Is 1t tn, inspired
answers dill not accord wish each other. La:,y the
Havas Agency set forth one refutinc several Of the
others. and s,rtightWaY the JJHrHqt Ofri the only
strictly official newspaper organ Of III Government.
with distinct fairness, contriict'd the iiayas
Agency assertion. On the next following days GER
tain of the miIi'crIly inspired organs still played,
with sli2lt variations, the lf-,aue tune pitched
by the llIv4s Agency. The fact of the case 50 ias
as il is Gimiy dsccrIiblr is that neither las the
Marshal President OF the /! ,ydhc have Ills di
yerscly roy ast Minister'S decided on any plan of
action, OF even of naotlon; Oh what to thak. say
do or even be. in the parliamentary campaign tha
formally opens next week.
A fw points Of certainty or Of extreme proha-
bility may be worth noting. The Marsnal-P,csdcHt
docs not 10 leave Office. unless in a coffin till
1882 The actual Ministry has not a supporting
asfit. 1
Assembly cannot couati,utlonall; organize. per-
sonaily OF leraonay,' the powers OF the Srpten-
nate Win thc talk about the organization. and
some attention to serious legislative work. ii viii
move along til New Year. Most OF it3 members are
as much afraid TO d solve the Assembly rs th"y are
incompetent to organize anything consttutIonally.
The appeal OF the President IF the Republic 10 mod
crate men OF all parties, uttered last Summer at
Itoyast de Bcoge's suggestion, means appeal 10
all moderate Republicans 10 put their rcpub tansln
in allegiance and enforce tho ranks of frankly
pronounced mentally preserved royalistS for the
sake OF " constituting" his authority preparatory to
its transmission to the ID ike dAumalo aS P.inre
President, and 50 on to nephew Count dc Paris as
King.
Suppose this Assembly after new proofs Of its i'm
potcnce to constitute does time this year dis
solve. The next Assembly, no matter what reStrlc-
tons could be introduced into the provisions OF
new electoral law must, in the main be the product
of universal suffrage and would, by virtue OF that
fact, be sovereign. That the majority of its MEM
bers would be Republican is highly probable; that
Royalis.s of all kinds would be in pitful minority
is certain that Bonapartists little scptennal-
Ist, pour le principe as the reddest of radicals is
equally certain How could MacMahon. then, select
q ministry from or sustain a ministry Tor himself
against such an Assembly. Dissolution is no favor
ito solution with the Marshal President. Suppose
this Assembly does arrive, by force of slight naJori
ties eminenty composed of the nOtorl
ously nOn-representative, well-nigh anti-national