New-York tribune., 1874-02-23
THE FRENCH PRESIDENCY
ITS TENURE DEFINED.
CIRCULAR OF THE DUKE DE BR0GLIE-iT


PARIS Feb Al it be true, as the Count de Clam
bord writes that God still loves His Franks, and
if the present ministry is 10 be regarded com
posed of Frapks,) il can hardly be for their frank
ness Whether from his inability or unwilling
ness Of plain speaking. the Prime Minister of
President MacMahon has no success IN making
intelligent people believe that what he saysis that
which he means. His lately voted and now dlhgeDt
ly enforced municipal law just furnishes new
double instance Of his equyocaton. In copy OF
The TRIBUNE that reached me this morning uDo.r
your usual heading of Foreign News" 1t IL dess-
mated the law "conferring on the Governments
the power Of nominating Mayors" To judge nom
the text of the BILL and from the arguments for ITS
passage presented by Ministerial orators while u
was under discussion. that is comprehensive def
milton. Butit is claimed now by the most authorized
and intimately inspired OF the Prime Minister'S or
gans that the law of Goth January has put an end
legally and by the effect of its PRONUNCIATION 10
the powers OF all Mayors IL may be said that, nee
the day of pTomulgaton, all the municipalities OF
France vacant" That is, without regard TO ~
ness TO the manner in which he has hitherto per
formed his duties, every Of the $1,000 and moro
elected Mayors and of his ddoins, henceforth holds
Office by sole tenure of Ministerial suhefance. With
this gross Interpretation, the law is actively en-
forced by the removal of all actively Republican
| DayOIs, however, HoutIdto poultlaIs, anu h'"'N'i
capable administrators and by the menace of reyo-
| cation held in erTofem over the rest.
In long circular addressed TO Prefects on the
occasion of the promulgation Of this law by tho
Duke de Broglie that Minister SAYS, with the char
acterstic final positiveness Of doctrinaire class
statesman by divine right: "A sad experiment has
irrevOcably condemned the system OF the direct
election of Mayors by the Municipal Councils" Tho
| irrevocably condemDable nature of system Of
which he ardent advocate under the EmPiIo
| from whose practice he has plagarzed his present
| law). and sustaner as against NJ. Theirs did not
reveal itself to him until he himself got possession
| Of power which needs the abrogauon OF that sys-
TEN for him to retain his authority. But the great
evil is about this other passage of the equivoca,ug
| Minister'S CIRCULAR "The National Assembly that
day Nov. 20 conferred for years the executive
power on Marshal MacMahon, whom on the 18th of
| May it had already named President of the Bepub-
lie The authority that it remitted TO him, and II
| which the Constitutional Commission has to deter
mine the exercise and conditions, is henceforth and
for the entire period fixed by the law raised above
| all dispute"
| If an honest Auglo-Saxon had uttered THE sen
| tence You would know that il meant--or that he
utterer meant. which is something ,diferent-that
President MacMahon is, and, up TO 1880. should 10
upheld against all cOmers. to be President tf the
| French Republic. HOW nearly 10 tudt ls Tue h'"b
ing of the Duke de Broge you cannot more than
conjecture. Meantime here the question is matter Of
| lively and serious discussion. Ii is wthal, some
what complicated. Why" ask some of the Leelti-
mists, whose aid was begged aud granted to secure
the massage Of the laws Of 18th of May and 20ih of
November does this last law have any more Of tito
iudisputable quality than that earlier law voted
by the same sovereign Assembly, and known a. fbe
| Right Constitution which conferred the executive
| authority on NJ Theirs for term cOiBcident with
the duration Of the Assembly,
The notorious fact is that when the Monarobical
coalition succeeded in turning out IhieIs IN May,
there nothing further from their intention than
the definite fixing of any one in his place I ~ DO
torious that when in November the royalist oonsIl
racy having failed as Legitimist and 0rleanlst con-
sprators mutually complain by the fault OF theo oth'r,
the disarrayed royasts again united with the lately
d, liant Impenaliss, the prolongation of the tenn
of Office and the Presidential title Of MacMahon wero
accented by Legitmiss only under the pressure q! Il
common fear of the immediate return 10 power ~
Theirs or some other honestly Republican chef.
The mere title OF President of the Republic. mnch
protested against by them at the time. was regarded
by them like the seven years term a. only a uo's-
sionol concession of their principle OF royal and o.
vine right not leading to consequence" lht Dlhe
de Brogie insisted on it with the other pupose Of
-
timid foasers on the right hand shore of The Leit
Center The idea of the Presidency was, with iLis
Mouarcheal faction of the coalition, that Mae
Mahon should keep the place warm for one oi Their
respective prncely candidates while each faction
could meanwhile await aud prepare the lucky
| chance. 70 the pretense now set forth IN the De
Broce circular, and the statements, urged WIN Va
nations IN all his journalistic organs, that Tie pro-
longation with. what rs worse the republican s'Sie
! Of MacNiahons office. is henceOrh set above dsens-
sion is now added the menacing intlmauon mat
persons who express doubts OF the same expose them
selves 10 grief There loud notes of open protest
uttered by the Legtimist organs, and questionable
minors Of discomfort from other parts OF tie FTeD,h
body polite.
The religion Of Henri V. fobds him to renonp'e
his divine right to the throne of France. his family
policy bids the Count de Paris 10 wait IN scrupnons
silence The semi-luson of the two aud of the par
tisaps of the two that seemed almost fact last Au
tumn seems now this Winter fallen away 10 fiction
| Extreme Right Legtimists are met in halfway cor
dality by Left Republicans ready to strike tins lD-
| terpellant blow at Orleanist Minister De BIoeGe
! whom the further Left dislike and despise but
whom the further Right hate with violence that
| triumpbs over contempt: "Wll you, yes or DO
finally now do what you never have done and repeat
with ineligible distinctness in the tribune of the
Assembly what you have written IN your circulaTr
Imperlalists SIT by and grin at the Dukes embarrass
ment. They love him as little as the rest. il be
wants their votes to help out his scant majority of
confidence be must fulfill his bad bargain with them
| for the settlement of the Imperial civil list.
GENERAL NOTES.