New-York tribune., 1875-01-25
FRENCH POLITICS.
CONFERENCE OF PARTY LEADER

|
| [fRoM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRIDUyE.l
PARIS, Jan. 6.--Taking advantage of the tempo
rary closing of the Versailles theatre Marshal Mac
Mahon improyised some private political meetings
| last week. Seeing that year had passed with no
| constitution for the Septennat, and seeing that
the majority that begot it had gone to pieces.
he invited fourteen Deputies to come and talk over
matters with him. OF these fourteen gentlemen.
three, Dufaure, Leon Say, and Casimir-Perier,
are OF the Left Center three are of the
moderate Right lLegltmists), one is a moderate
| Donapartist the remaining seven are of the Right
Center (Oreanist. There were eleven Monarchsts TO
three Left Center Republicans. This is the first
time he has put in practice that appeal to moderate
men of all parties" mentioned at Lille last Septem-
ber. 1t is small beginning, but it is beginning,
| and not wholly without promise. It is
| true not single member of the Left
| tkepublican proper was invited, but one Of the
! best accredited ministerial organs finds it fit
to apologize for the omissOn-though the apology is
an odd one: If the Left is not represented in the
conference it is because the President of the Repub
lie could not well call to political men with wnOm
| he has never been in relation Among The COM
pany were the inspiring Duke de Broglie of course,
and two Of the OreaDists members of the Cabinet
the Duke Decazes who is the able One and the Min
| ster Of the Interior
last week. The comprehensive question before this
extra-p parliamentary House was how to pass to a
more less long road from the blind alley in which
| parties now turn. The solution by dissolution
| was, If possible, to be avoided THE question
was how change the dscordant conservative forces
OF the Assembly into marching majority. This i'm
| piled the questIon-what line of march can q 80
composed majority follow The Moderate Legit-
| mists consent to personal Septenndt; the
| Orleauiss will permit an impersonal Septenndt;
| the Moderate Republicans demand Republican
| Sept:nRat The comparatively rational Right are
ready to organize the powers" of the Marshal, on
condition that the day he dies OF resigns that Or
ganzation dies and the Assembly, recovering its
| sovereign Constitutional rights, can proclaim the
| monarchy. The Orleanist Dlke de BrOg.ie and his
followers want to organize the powers in such way
that in case of the Presidents death. a
substitute (the Duke dAumale, for example,
be becoming President of the Senate they
desire to fabricated be at hand to continue the sys
TEN of Government till Nov. 90 1882 This ingenious
manner of defining ludefniteness aud transitorily
establishing instability, is prolongation of the
Duke de BrOglies Truce of Parties" till 1880, for
the purpose, meantime, of combating the two great
National parties of Republicans and Imperiallsts,
and constructing q royal road across the face and
eyes of the country, for the joyous advent Of King
Louis Philippe III.
The essential Characteristic of the Republican
Septenndt is set forth in the Casmr-P5rier PROPOSE
ton, and lies in regulated provision for the trans
mission of the powers from the person of MacMahon,
if he die voluntarily retire before 1880, and
beyond the date of 1SSo Thus the Re-
publicans of the Loft Center propose. land
they are sustained by Gambetta and all
old Republicans but few Extremistsl along
Jit fha fore yeor NJ
present Executive chief. Government whose exist
ence shall not hang by the thread of mans life,
or be cut short of Nov 90 $780, They seek to
ingtitute order of policy, not TO constitute"
o temporary party machine. The Government
of France to-day j. republican. They do not ask
that it he formally and needlessly proclaimed
such; they insist only that it be legazed as such.
Il lives They demand that its legitimate right to
live be formally recognized They do not make
the id,e demand that the Legislature hedge it about
by artificial laws against the natural law of salec-
ton, and all the i'll chances that it must meet with
in the struggle for life They only pro.
test that 20 ignore 1t, except openly to
combat it, to choke its voice and hamper
is sturdy limbs is not giving it fair chance of life
and growth in it's own French home. How moderate
is their demand is patont by that clause in the
CasimIr P6rer proposition which distinctly protects
the right of revising the Republican constitution,
of which it offers the elements and provides for
the free exercise of that right.
The three schemes were talked about for three
days together bv tho invited delegates of the Mod
crates and Of the two Ceners in the hearing of the
Marshal Duke, and with dissertations from the
subtle mouth of the inspiring Duke de BrOglie. But
the conference broke up without conclusion. Yet
there il slight sign of promise to the hopeful IL Is
something gained that the Marshal, VINO could not
properly invite the men OF the Left, with whom
bo had never been ia relation" should at this late
day ask to be put in relation with men of the Left
Center. with whom, up to last Wednesday, bis polit
ical relations have been equally foreign 1t
IA eaid that the honest" soldier agree
ably surprised and favOTaby impressed by
the gentemanly manner and apparently rather
sensible remarks of his three Left Center guests
Nobody ever sincerely accused MacMahon of being
great statesman o general; but 1t Is only this
excess of French party spirit that denies him de-
cent mOdcun of common sense
The conference, whether, as is said, Of Mac
Mahon's own initiative or, believed, of the Duke
de Br0gle's suggestion indicated willingness to
learn at any rate seems to have evoked capacity
for learning pleasantly surprising to the liberal world
There il visible certainty or two. IL the monarch
is President of the Republic has not gone far toward
republicansm during the holidays, he has moved.
To invite to a conference as he did, unwiilinRy
convicted converts from royalty TO repub-
licanism, is curiously significant phenome-
non. The President is borne involuntarily
by the fatally drifting force of things toward re-
publican democracy. The walls that issue in these
DAYS from the organs of the Monarchcal parties do
in their honest dolefulness, cheerfully inspire the
Republican hearts. W. H
PRESIDENT MACMAHONs MESSAGE.