National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-06-09
THE RESTORATION OF THE
FRENCH EMPIRE.

We are now beginning to see the fruits
of '"The Day at Chiselhurst when num-
bers of the Bonspsrtists of France met 70
congratulate Napoleon W. on the occa-
sion of bis last birthday anniversary. Since
then his royal mother, the Empress Eu-
rie has been the recipient Of many
" favors, not only from Her British
80 but from the Czar-we beg par
10 ~ O. nperor of all the Russias. In
s%o,, ~n .,a - :, 1gramme briefly limited at
thon hos hoon m -ked out with unexpected
raniditv and sltbonoo \ it has not been com
pleted the progress made mas sp Ueen suLlctsn'
to arouse the Republicans o. fAnSe; Co. unuef
the leadership of Gambetta, TO- iun fsah-
zation of the fact that the H. enuins
struggle in that countryis betweenA 1sas-
partisan and Republicanism, When In his
recent address to the French people, Gam.
beta acknowledged this to be the "a It, be
forced the struggle and virtually opeSsd the
fight against the plebiscite upon, which the
young Prince Imperial and his friends
rely for their. success. One, Dr. eel i3Sica-
ton in proof of this assertion - the fact ths.
the press of the oivilize" World il now sf.
gageo IN ulscusst2 his speech and the
PioO4Oie SUES Il a pebliscitum, although
no preparation 5 have been made for the
!A'tei mere were no other reasons fol
NJ '..' ,enersl discussion would alone COM
pc. b; but there are other and convinc'
reasons. From the date when he was
':baptised by fire" to the present day the
Prince has been looked upon as 80 posi-
bility." Notwithstanding the disasters
which attended the close of his fathers life,
he has been the embodiment, physically, oil
the Bonspartist idea. He has been the cen
trail figure of those who have dreamed
about and longed for the restoration of the
Empire. The commercial SUCCESS Of the
nation under Napoleon satisfied the peas
antry, and more than gratifed the trades
people, while the experiment under Ihiers
and MacMahon has had anything but
pacific effect upon the minds of either tn
Bonapartists or the Legitimists. The latter
it seems, have failed to assert themselye
with sufficient prominence to entitle then
to recognition as a national party, although
they still adhere in the form of powerful
clique. ...-.....
We may therefore expect, before man
DAYS, to hear that q formal proposition 70
a plebiscite has been submitted. Gambett
cannot consistently, and probably woul
not object to the proposition, although b
might attempt to clothe it with such guard
as to secure what would be, from his stand
point, q fair election. On the other hand
the Bonapartists would be vigllant for tn
same purpose, and as . result Of this con
bination of effort, it is probable that fc
once in her history France will poll FIRE
and untrammeled vote on the question {
her governmental system. The .confdenc
which inspires both sidesin this impendin
conflict would lead the casual observer I
the belief that the votes would be sbor
evenly balanced but such Is not the fac
The Republic has been no less failul
than the Commune, and whatever Of con
mercial success, Of military glory and ger
eral comfort the French people ofsthe pre-
ent generation have enjoyed they ascrit
TO the Empire. They have viewed Il
governments Of N. NJ. Theirs and Ma
Mahon as transitory and as necessar,
pending the payment Of Bismarck
onerous war indemnities, and they sui
mitted to their domination because Il
pride of the snation was involved in Il