New-York tribune., 1874-01-01
FRENCH POLITICS.

POLITICAL ASPECT OF Ifib bhhA'
NOW IMPERIALISM AND REPUBIIcANIsM "Ekh IN
yo,y.n-PuBIIc sURPRIsE-BAzAINEs CONDUCT
- .,. prout, Ar CORRESPONDENT OP THE TRIBUNE
p.p,s Dec 15-Ihe condemnation to military
accradation and death of Marshal Bazaine pV .ne
nnan,nons voice of his seven judges, accoinpaniou
nv II not conditioned on, the unanmity OF 'heir
simultaneous recommendation of him to the mercy
of his fellow Marshal aud the prompt result Oh 's
~..on,no,dation in n remission of the public cere
,no,vof daoradation a Communication of the mlldcf
rs,naty of death to Imprisonment for twenty years
that ia for life viii be to you, before TINS reaon'
vou like facts of ancient history IL VIII seem u"
most AZ ancient rs the condemnation OF maishhi
Ney. whose scnptured image and mohuhenV VI
honor stands erect for the peoples admiration on
tho SPOT where he was shot TO death nity yo'
no tbis very December; as ancient as the con-
sennaton in 1872 for the capitulaton of Bayien IN
1903 of the as brave Gen. Dupont, who, three years
later was French Minister of War. That NJ. Bazaine
no longer Marshal after long, patient, thoroughly
fair trial. was Justly condemned and as nightly
recommended to mercy, is not likely to be disputed
by anv foreign military man or statesman He
,gond say the sad business is well ended. But mere
he Bazaine question which was raised nearly three
wears ago of which the Judicial trial with Its SEN
f.nce and its Communication are but the central Incl
dcpts s still and will remain for this generation at
least matter Of grave and passionate debate
Like every question Of any general interest in this
country i. is entancled with party preJndces and
nassions that is with the seething political, social
religious fe1ment of the time. lt was the patriotic
desire Of Theirs to prevent this Bazane element
from being cast into the already too ehervesclne
csldron. His rolitic purpose was to cast aside and
oovsr m bv an as large rs practicable white sheet
IL. ,tlot.1 tnaly1 Of IN mi N
cast bv the war and the Commune. Whether he,
remaining ia what was fgurativcly styled Power
cluld have kept tho French from their favorte
p,slirle Of doing their private washing before
All sneering OF plying or amused Europe
iscg,te doubtful. After the 9th of May the public
trial q, Balliue was unavoidable. BY an unavoid-
sble implicsion il was tho trial of Gambetta twho,
when Metz fell proclaimed the Marshal a traitor,
and so sTread into trial of the Government OF
National Defense and envenomed the debate on the
inmesrte wen or i'll done facts, and the in prin-
eiple. general merits and dement's, essential supe
ri,rities aud inferiOTities of Imperialism and Re
pubhc4-ifm
Itmay have been q mistake in policy and in logic
for any class of Republicans, yet more for the Bona
partsts TO ro,o-niza much worse to insist on. the
identification of their cause with the cause in hear
ing before the tribunal at the Trianon. But IL was,
end quite naturally, mistake in which the Bona
psrtigs. from the outset mistakenly committed
themselves much deeper than their opponents.
Nothing bur an excess Of party spirit lin the formal
expression 4 which few reckless openly to
INDULGE could inspire q doubt as to the honor, hon
esty, Intellectual capacity. and technically special
compctence Of the tribunal The worst that could be
said OF its Pre- id2nt the Duke d'Aumale, is what
has been said with every variety of emphasis, that
he Is an Orleans Prince, to his grade of Major
Goueral as Kings sou by a few unquestiOnably
Lravoly fought fights with Algerne Arabs that he
Is prlsun.ug TO SIT in judgment on an Imperial
Marshal Of France who had his high promotion by
forty years Of courageous hard campaigning IN
Africa the Crimoa and Mexico That dAumale did
prove himself quite unexceptionably competent to
the fuilhncut Of his peculiarly exceptional and
difficult functions rs President of the courmartial,
is not reasonably questioned to-day, nor is it by any
one openly denied.
II must appear to any outsider, whatever may be
bis opinion respecting the Imperial policy that pro-
voSed tho great war or the Gambetta policy that
s-oye 70 carry il ON, respecting what might have
b.cn The issue OF Bazaines hazy polItico-military
scheme that in the presented to the tribunal
at the rriaUon. military judges. restricted by the
lett,r Of the storlly, positive military code
could not in honor and conscience, render
another verdict than that they dld last Wednesday
night And vet II came with something like surprise
% Che public ear. It is not true, as Bonapartist
prints arc fond Of insisting on and bowling over
that from the crowd waiting for news of the decls
ion at te -, Lazare station here of the Versailles
Railway. there rOse a bestial shout Of delight oil
hearing the death verdict. II is true and quite
expfcab.e not 10 say eXcuSable and justi-
fable, that t1e popular sentiment was graft
fcd by this assurance of the death
penalty pronounced against a greater criminal
than k-7sd ever was, or any other swiftly con-
deu1oJ leader OF the Commune. Nor is it to be de-
niod that lively Republicans in their gratifed con-
temptation OF the Just verdict were inclined to give
precedence 20 their partisan national feelings. Was
an Admiral Byng shot once! L. is a justice
to Bazane to record the fact that he bore the trial
wei, ;he result nobly, and the communication with
political discretion. W. II. II.