New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-02-16
PRINCE JEROME NAPOLEON.
HIS ASSERTION OF DEMOCRATIC PRIN-
CiPLES.

"A
NJ RoUHER-LETrrR AvowING DEMOCRATIC
rpEAs-oUARRRL WITH AN IMPERIAIIsr DEPUTY
HOW THE PRINCE Is REGARDED By THE IMPE-
RIAIIsIS.
fyRon THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRibUsE.I
PARIS ian. @-When President Thers turned
Prince Jerome Napoleon out of France IN October
1872. he did resident ImperialiSts much service III
their misfortune; he gave them pretext to com
plain of illegal persecution. and relieved them OF
tho uncasiest Of bed-teOws. or late weeks tue
Prince has been dwelling in Paris too peacefully
for hs taste. His headquarters arc at tho hotei
BEDFORD in the Rue de fArcade. One OF the objects
of his stopping here is to be at hand to push MS
claim TO restoration to the army list ana pay rs
Major General Why his claim is not legally as VOL
founded as that of the Orleans Princes, IT ~ impoS
sbe for layman TO say. To be sure, these last nave
always been ready to fight and their worst enemies
do not question their physical courage; Dut the,'
hest friends cannot deny that all their brave deeds
by field and food would not have earned for MAJOR
Gan. d'Aumale or Admiral Joinvlle higher rank than
frat Lieutenant or past midshinman had these young
heroes been sons of bourgeois 25 years ago instead
of being sons of the bourgeois king Prince Napoleon
was Major in the Wurtemburg army and MAJOR
General in the French army, by similar favor ana
by AZ regular appointment but, though during his
period off French service his country was en-
gagged in three great wars III all OF winch he
assisted" his manly sword remains maiden.
He once had handsome offer OF private
combat from the exIled Due dAumale'
which ho declined. In the Crimea, for time, he
commanded "a division; but. once IN face OF the
enemy, il said to have yielded to a more pressing
call In tho Italian war he commanded an army
corps in the peaceful of the batte-helds OF that
campaign. In the last war, after the first unucky
battles III which he took no active part, he again
retired Oh a diplomatic mission to Italy, where he
remained till the fighting was over Irochu' III his
recently published book of selfdefense, reporting
some of the proceedings of council OF war held by
the Emperor after the early disasters of the cam
paig testles to the wisdom of the military views
expressed there by the Prince.
But though the witness is disnterestcd and prob
ably highly competent poor Trochu's testimony, in
the present preiudiced state of the public mind, Is
not calculated much to help any one III whose favor
il is rendered Nor does it, i'll the actual case, have
any bearing on the Imperial Major-'ienerals nm
happy reputation of not seeking that bubble IN the
lannon's mouth. Merited or not, this unpamy rep
utaion is borne by the Prince, and needs always be
kept in mind when attempt 10 estimate the bear
ing in France of any of his political OF mpohtc say
ings and doings. Every one recollects his various
guarrels with his cousin when Prnce-PreSldent ana
Emperor His steady dislike Of the Empress, este-
cially with respect to her ROmish tendencies, Is as
well known. From time to time and when occa-
sion pressed, there were sempublic reeoncilat0ns,
and he would make display OF his hdellty TO the
family and dynasty. of which but one worn Ola
body and fral boys life were III the way OF his
being the chief lie gave sound military advice.
80 Gen. TrOchu says, at Rather late
and critical moment for the protecting OF
oh. nf (
he gained claim to assist IN mourning at the
funeral of his deceased cousin. Already at Chisel
hurst when he offered himself real Napoleon and
next of kim rs INST Councillor of the Empress. guild
ing tutor of the little Prince and contestlng chief Of
the Imperial party, il was veXatiOus TO have the
offer refused Ii was an additional bitterness Of
vexation that all those offices from which he was
rejected were filled by his old enemy Rouher, or
executed under Rouher's general supervision.
The Prince has a more than ordinarily quick, per
ceptive intellect irritable temper and talent for
irritating abundance of ideas, and sad lack of judg
ment considerable wit and conversational talent,
and unguarded fondness for refreshing himself with
exercise of both. Furthermore, he has queer the
ory so long dwelt on a. to have become with him
conviction, that Napoleonism divorced from the
Church could be married and live happily with
Democracy if only he were head OF the family. l
suppose we may adu, without excess OF scan
DIAL that he sincerely believes himself to
be the only strictly Legitimate dynastic head of the
Napoeonic house 1t is natural enough. then, that
his discomfort with Rouher's exclusive cement
of the Imperial party policy, coupled with his rest
iveness of temperament gets the better of his scant
lnodesty and prudence now and again. When the
Bourbon intrigue last Autumn threatened to be
successful he broke out with earnest APP
prevail of the scheme for an intimate
ter-coalition of Bonapartists aud Republicans
he got small thanks from the regular Bonapartist
managers foropenly committing himself in the name
of Napoleonism to doctrine which they were all
beginning to practice. He has now kicked out of
harness again. and, in more unseemly fashion than
ever to the greater scandal of bystanders, of
whom, like the faithful party grooms of the Impe-
rial Pays do not mind kicking him back with rudest
disrespect to his princely person.
On the 10Th of January Prince Napoleon sent let
ter to provincial journal since reprinted in all me-
tropOlitan newspapers. too long to be. translated
here in full but spiced to q high relish IN every
paragraph. Here is a sample: What you are right
in saving, and what thank you for saying is that
belong to the Democracy by the ideas and opinions
of all my life. / have always thought that it
was impossible to found anything grand and
stable in France outside the Democracy, and
YOU are quite right in saying that there
is nothing in the pitiful spectacle now
presented to us of nature to make me change my
opinion" The writer goes on to condemn in the
strongest terms the recently passed municipal law
for which the Boneportist faction in the Assembly
yoted--the reactionary and clerical tenden-
cies of the present Government. BY una
voidable implication the Democratic son-in-law
of King Victor Emanuel and second princely
heir to the Imperial throne of France, condemned
aud, for his NapOeonic part Tepudiates, as repre-
sentatves of Napoleonism the Napoleonic group in