New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-03-02

to undertake the task Of forming ministry.
The Assembly to-day reelected M. Buffet its Presi-
dent by vote of 479 to &c. This majority larger
than the Assembly gave before for President.
shows that NJ Buffet will command strong majority
in the House II he succeeds in forming Ministry.
NM. Martel, D'Audeffret Pasquier, Kerdrel. and
Picard were elected vice-Presidents.
DEBATE IN THE ASSEMBLY ON THE CONsTI-
TUITION
TEMPORARY BREAK OF THE CoAIIUoN-How THE
MPERIALIsrs JUSTIFIED THEIR VOTE IN FAVOR
OF ELECTION OF SENATORS BY UNIVERSAL sUF-
FRAGE - MPERIOUs MESSAGE OF PRESIDENT
IMAGINATION
lFRoN THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIDuNE.l
PARIS, Feb. Is. - When I last wrote You the
National Assembly had voted, latterly by sus-
piciously large majorities, the framework Of a
Republican Constitution. Although the Dufaure-
WALTON scheme of Constitutional Laws was still
exposed TO third reading, with all the attendant
accidents of counter-amendments and, even If
once passed into forms of law, would
yet remain a dead letter unless its func-
tons were vitalized by the passage of
Senate law, an impression vergng on confidence
generally gaining ground that these difficulties
would be overcome. As an indication of public
opinion in this respect you will mote the! quota
tOns of the Bourse where Tuesday last the Five
Per Cents touched 102 With the body Of the people
unable to comprehend that their largo national in
terests should depend verbal forms and intrignes
of party politicians, the confident impression was
stronger. They were counting without that host of
Conservatives who habitually leave the people and
mean to keep the people out of their count gov
eIning body. That these directing classes" never
succeed in directing the country in the way they
would have it 90 does not suggest modesty to their
pretensiOns. The fact, for instance, that the 20
elections that have occurred since the oath of May
1873, have returned q Republicans and Bona
partsts teaches them nothing.
OF all this the Republican Deputies we'll
aware. Their conduct, however, up to the end Of
last week, was marked by notable spirit of con-
Citation, concession of important points dear to
them, and by great prudence. This was for the
eminent. practical purpose of obtaining, with the
help of exacting, timid converts from monarchy ac
ceptance Of the Republic as legalized. constitu-
tonal fact. Give u.s." says Labouaye 1.-THE Repub-
lie, and make it what you will. The country is
weary of the provisional it wants deinitive gov
ernment and accepts the Republican institutions.
In listening to its prayers we deem ourselves more
conservative than those who say: You shall pass
under our yoke or will prevent you from consti-
tuting government"
Now all The schemes for a Senate devised by the
the last bill reported from the Constitutional Com
mittee of Thirty, have object in common that
is to make of the Second Chamber an instrument of
moral order and of combat" against the democratic
republican order of things, and the lower popular
House OF Deputies, and to be kept in the hands of
the directing classes. 1t is essential feature of
all these schemes that the Senate in accord with the
President, have power to dissolve the pop
ular House that porton-in no case less than
oue-thrd-Of its members be appointed by the Pres
dent; that another pOrton-made up of certain high
officials in the army, navy, church, and civil service,
more than nIne-tenths of whom must be Imperial
lists, Orleanists, OF Legitimsts-be members
o6fco that the remainder be chosen from small cat
egories of eligible PERSONS by various small catego-
res of electors. The whole number of electors Of
all the select categories designated in the Commit
tees last reported bill would be less than 10000.
All of this signifies that its supporters, seeing they
are impotent for the moment to impose monarchy
on the recalctrant nation 10y of ChambOrds
honest Observation-Disclosures and the Count de Pariss
unlucky failure to connect his tri-color with
Hcnry's white lag), willing to cOncede the Re-
pablo, of which they will, by help of the monarch-
cal Senate. make the Duke diAumae the next Pres-
dent and future introducer of his nephew King.
SO, oh Thursday. Pascal Duprat brought forward
by way of amendment TO the Orleanist bill, reso-
luton that the Senate should be elected by unver
sal suffrage Beyond asserting the democratic
principle of popular election, the Duprat amend
ment enters upon no details whatever; leaves the
large question of eligible members their conserva
tive categories &C.. untouched. 1t was put to vote
and adopted by a vote of 322 to 310-a result over
which most Republicans for the rest of Thursday to
the afternoon of next day manifested great joy.
They must at the time have noted that the majority
list bore the names Of % of the "a Bonapartist Dep
uties and that excepting these suspicious allies and
the as suspicious abstention OF portion OF the
thorough Legitimsts the accidental majority would
have been minority.
The pretense of the Bonapartsts is that, for prin
ciple's sake, they must approve the universal SUI
frage idea of Duprat's amended Senate. as though
the last Bonaparte's Senate not composed OF his
personal appointees The patent truth is that their
adhesion, like the Legitimists' abstention, was a
clever parliamentary maneuver. 1t was the patent
way to defeat the legalzation OF the Republic.
With such provision attached to the Senate bu the
hostility Of the Oreanist directing classes to all the
rest of it was as surely secured.
The maneuver was clever certainly, but on Friday
Gen. De Cissey nominal chief of the Cabinet of
President MacMahon (which. utterly defeated three
or more weeks ago. gave then its resignation and
has held Office since merely, ostensibly and even
ostentatiously, as an irresponsible ad interim minis
try) assembled the tribune and there formally stated
TO the assumed representatives of the French nation
that the military President of the French Republic
held the Duprat amendment to be unacceptable, and
that the President felt it his duty to inform them
of that personal fact before they ventured on finally
asserting the doctrines of universal suffrage set forth
in the amendment You will not doubt that the |
Marshal ~ nrOorcss i'm his political education,