, 1875-05-12

pitch that would be sublime fit were not ridicu-
lous. The writers must have reached a stage
of moral disease in which they are unconscious
that they are telling lies, and they give the
mendacious process the name of "patriotism."
Nor can some of the journals be trusted to rem
der 8 truthful account of what our own news
papers say about France. They sometimes
fabricate under pretence of translating.
Thus, if a Partisan reads but a single journal
or even if he confines himself to all the journals
of a single party, he may live in a charmed
world Of falsehood. The news is mass of Sc
lected lies the reports of the speeches deliV-
cred by opponents are prepared lies; the per-
sonal descriptions Of those speakers them
selves are picturesque lies the accounts
of their motives are subjective lies; and
the comments on the events of the day are
rhetorical lies. The reader may not hear one
word of plain, unvarnished truth about politi-
Cal affairs from one years end to another. He
goes through life like a man in a nightmare,
haunted by grisly shapes and unspeakable
horrors of his own creating. We need scarce
ly add that we are not referring to the chief
newspapers of Paris. The Journal deS D6bat8
and the Temps are as fair and as serious as the
Times or the Pail Mall Gazette, and they do
try TO give a complete record of events through
out the world, although they are s~lendorly
equipped with machinery for the collection of
news In comparison with the great English
journals. But most of the Paris papers, we
repeat, are one-eyed and mendacious organs of
particular parties. Hence it is necessary to
read not one, but the whole of them. in order
to learn the news, or rather the opinions and
the fabrications, of the day. The reader must
fit from Radical to Liberal Republican, Con-
sentative Republican, Septennatist, Orleanist,
Legitimist, Catholic, Ultra Catholic, and Bona
partist journals, to get a complete picture of
the restless political life during each stage of
the tWenty-four hours. Nay, in separate organs
he must study different shades of all the vary
ing parties, if he wishes to correct one set of
lies by another. And such is the multitude of
papers that, if be should do his work faithfully,
he will have time to do nothing else. He
must begin at breakfast time with a crowd of
journals that will keep him busy until
luncheon. The afternoon papers begin to appear
by the time that he has snatched a hasty meal
and cleared his fatigued brain by a little
exercise. Then he must toll over another bun
die, until he has to repair his exhaust
ed energies by a late dinner. Nor is
he free during even the rest of the even
ing, for the Soir may appear as late
as nine, or even ten O'Clock, to round off the
fatigues of the day. When, before going to
bed, a man is able to condense all the mass Of
conflicting statements, rumours, insinuations,
%caIumnies, mild fabrications, and downright
lies, into an Ineligible record of probability,
he proves that he possesses a remarkably sound
mental and moral constitution. But six
months of such toll would drive most men raw
ing mad.
It is usual to explain these infrmitios of Par.
isian journalism by a few jaunty and trenohant
references to the notorious iufirmities of the
French character. The French, it is said,
have no common sense they will not listen to
reason, they do not care for truth, and hence
they are constitutionally incapable of ever pro-
ducing q Partisan Times. But it would be
much fairer to maintain that they are peculiar
ly gifted with common. sense, that many of
their national misfortunes have come from a
too great readiness to listen to reason, and that
no nation has given more splendid proofs of its
care for a Puritanic rigour of truthfulness.
Indictments against a whole nation are as difficult
to draw up now as they were in the time of
Burke. And if we glance at what the temper
Of our own Press was a hundred or a hundred
and fifty years ago, we shall see the necessity
of looking further for an explanation of the frag-
mentary, unfair, and mendaoious character of the
Paris journals than a natural disdain for reason
and for truth. The English Press of that time
gave 80 little intelligence and was SO tiny an in
stitution that it cannot, indeed, be fairly COM
pared to the French newspapers of our own day.
But in both cases the temper of the writing is
precisely the same. Swift's Eramansr treated
the Wings as if they were the enemies of the
--a~ % 49, Al. ~-.sk.~-o n1oIIo.