The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1874-06-13
THE PACIFIC
Commercial AOOrrtl5rr
SATURDAY. JUNE l3.
OUR PARIS LETTER.

42L4-s aalE rsas --uHs
The session On the eve Of opening ought TO prove I
decisive one for France; but !, IS problemati;a! Il the
majority be in the humor 10 organize a Constitution
that would secure the country 2 few years Of repose.
Extreme deputies desire that Marshal McNahCn's
Office should cease 70 exist with his resignation or his
death. Moderate politicians demand that the Office
should be independent Of the holder. Ought 10 run
its full course Of seven years, and provision made
against the contingencies q q vacancy The sep
tenrate assert the latter, and the country IS Of the
same advice, j. an Institution; II Is only Mcmahon,
say the former. The consultation OF what exists
would secure the nation a fixed period Of repCse, anu
would be the Republic undergoing its training. This
is the solution evidently desired by the people and
what sober judges and the situation command, and
this solution, go simple and natural, is only possible
by the union Of the moderate deputies, who will have
the courage, If necessary who viii make q sacrihce,
10 vote the imperative laws that will regUlarize insti-
tutioHs and define the Government The President
must not be left without the Constitutional organizl-
ton his Office demands, and that he himself on &C
ceptatiOn Of its duties solicited. This is not q ques-
ton Of ambition for him, it is one Of dignity. He
belongs 10 no party, no faction. He appertains 10
the nation. The mOnarchists being in the majority
in the Assembly-an Assembly elected in a day Of
misfortune, - in February, 1871, cannot elect . King
Notwithstanding, as there are several Richmonds in
the field, but they can prevent the foundation Of all
that is not mOnarchical. This policy Of something
like spiteful helplessness cannot last. a grand coun-
try, indeed no country, can remain under a regime
Of the provisional, where nothing is defined, not
knowing what is to-day, what il will be tomorrow;
49, -4H So $500
drifting. A nation is not provisional. 1t has its
foreign relations, its obligations, its permanent inter-
ests in work, industry, and commerce; and to develop
seriously and securely Its activity, Ii has need, not Of
any Of those regimes which believe themselves 10 be
permanent, so much as a few institutions, that in
defining the situation would beget confidence.
There are people who assert the French are diff
cult TO govern. Where is the country, torn by so
many rival pretenders; that surpasses France in the
spectacle she now presents2 In the political subtil-
ties which are f~everishly and v%ehemently agitated
around them, the people take very little interest;
leading to-day, as yesterday. a life at once tranquil
and labOriOus, strangers to cabals, to the %intrigues
and passions Of parties, demanding only from those
who represent them, and who serve themselves
always with their name to not toy with their interests
and security, to not dispute with them the simple
conditions Of regular existence, and, holding to the
reality Of things, to permit them to breathe. to rest
and be thankful for at least seven years. The people
have now no higher ideas of saViours of society,
than as an ambition to possess power and advance
dynastic ends. Then they have succeeded so well
without any during the last three years, as to have
the presumption to dispense with them for seven
more. They pay taxes without a murmur; it is q
happiness; they feel their so doing benefits France.
Then the yield of taxes is on the whole satisfactory,
and is righting itself down on certain prolific sources.
The imports and exports are superior to 1869-that
is, TO the material prosperity of the second Empire.
What would all this be-what will it be-when the
political situatiOn1clears up and its horizon becomes
BRIGHT France has before her q future that her
ungenerous and immoderate conqueror may well
envy. She requires no bloated rmaments TO pre-
serve her autonomy; she is far distant, with all her
faction fights, Notwithstanding, from descending into
a military autocracy. This last experiment finished,
forever it may be presumed, at Sedan, where an
army disastrously, but not dishonorably had to capt.
ulate, and so expiated the thoughtlessness, the con-
tradictions, and the receptions Of the second Empire.
In France, said Voltaire, the fruitfulness Of the
soil repairs the follies committed by the people. Just
now much anxiety is felt about "the state of the
crops.' The sudden out burst Of heat has so pre-
cociously advanced vegetation, that any %"nipping
FROST may prove TO be a disastrously killing one.
What a blessing if all the bad weather could be con-
centrated on politics, and the eloquence of politicians
frozen up like the sounds of Munchausen's trumpet.
1t is quite in the spirit of the times that spring
should arrive by express, as a surprise. Meteorolo-
gists are as active as bees exhuming the histories of
parallel springs, when peaches appeared with the
flowers of May, and grapes in the leafy month of
June. True as the needle to the pole, the swallows
are in the H fRafii Af ehIT5ySmheYheP PS8ffanEa6p9fes yy SO the insects
favorite amusements for children in the Champs
Elysees is to purchase tiny balloons, suspend an
enormous hannetOH therefrom, and let both mount
as high as they please, these aerial races seem to
afford much pleasure, and are etiicacious in making
the boldest child good. During hot weather Parisians
live as much as possible in the open air, when the
season is cold they seek refuge in the cafes; but very
seldom in any case remain at home. Some theatres
close, TO reopen as soon as possible, for they have
during summer an exclusive public-provineials and
tourists, as well as an exclusive repertoire. The
open air entertainments display much improvement
this season; managers have shown themselves to be
more enterprlslng, ana directors have bowed TO the
changes Of time, for there is q dash of sObriety
entered into French manners since 1870. Persons
are not so easily g pleased with a rattle, tickled with
q straw The police Surveillance being more min
ute, has compelled the disappearance of many licenses
winked at under the Empire. 1t is felt that citizens
may be entrusted with the duty Of censors, and per-
mitted to walk without the go-oart. Take for ex-
ample the Mabille, the rendezvous of fashionable
vice. By a figure of speech this jdrdiR was sup
posed to be devoted to music and dancing, and was
the first lion that visitors went to see on the sly, on
arriving in Paris. Strangers might calculate on
encountering each other there, though the meeting
was not desirable. Since the death of Chicard, the
Mabille has no artistic for the cdncan business; zinc
palm trees, garlands in gas, and ennui-sueh are
the great attractions.
The question Of pilgrimages has been resolved; no
monarchical emblems are to be carried this year, so
the saints will come in for more. Indeed after the
hard labor last year at new and also forgotten
shrines, to find the Comte de Chambord a voluntary
exile, or a casual visitor still in respect to France,
and his nephew Don Carlos returning from Spain in
seven league boots, these results are trying for in
dustrial piety. More time will be left perhaps TO
pray for France. The royalist journals have held a
congress TO concert measures to ensure the restora-
ton Of their King. Before business commenced, n
solemn musical mass was celebrated, after which
succeeded q dejeuner-both excellent prelimiuaries
for transacting affairs. Time will show how far this
new attempt viii be rewarded. The Comte de Cham
bOrd has little faith in it. Could any Of his part
rams succeed at a single general election. that would
be q proof Of grace, akin almost to & miracle. The
Republicans continue TO reap all such worldly sue
cesses, do not drag prayer into politics, and never
injure their voices by "hollooing and singing of
anthems" for the success Of universal suffrage, self
Government, and liberal Institutions, and their
"superfuity Of nsughtiness =" does not seem to be
greater than that of their rivals. Many doubt also
if Providence be interested in the race for the throne
Of France.
France is on the eve Of putting an end to the pro-
ducton, not Of adult, but Of infant ~prodigies. who
are in connection with the professions of aOrobats.
sweeps, ballad singers, organ grinders and beggars,
q fraternity counting in France 5,S7S members, ex-
elusive Of those unknown to the police. The infants
Of this troupe know neither childhood, home, instruc-
ton nor religion. Their condition is as shameful as
it IS miserable. Some come from Italy, but the ma
jority are French; formed by joint-stock companies,
or commission agents. \ young sweep earns for his
employer about 3O0f during the season, receiving
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