New-York tribune., 1876-09-02


PARIS, Aug. l5.-Thc social system governing
marriage calls now foT particular attention Until
tie Second Empire, Society" meant in France
only the aoblesae ard those who were admitted TO
court. The first Napoleon did al lie possibly could
to keep to this tradition. and when he made The sons
OF village nnkeepers dukes and counts he encouraged
Their separation from the until ID bourgeois classes.
With the Restoration the old condition of things
| came back, with ono little modification derived
frcm English habits-namely, the fact that political
distinction put man Oh almost absolute equality
with the old families of the FaubonTe st. German.
| But the commercial and industrial classes the
properly socaea middle class, cut off as before
| from any possible communication with the sacred
| community called Society"
When Louis Philippe's limited monarchy was
established there new phase to be observed in
tie social constitution of France. There wore two
Societies." the Jacobite and the Wing The Eau
bourg st. Gerinain could no longer be said to rule
supreme or to constitute entirely the so-called so
cicty" of France, for of its members bad gone
over to the new order of things. Besides which the
Faubourg st. German chose to retire into it's tent
| and shut itself up With such centers as the
Broglies, d'Haussonvilles, MOl6s, Lafayettes and
many Others the July monarchy was able to con-
stitute Society" of its own, but with two excep-
tons it was every bit exclusive aud preudiced as
the other The two exceptions were that it was
politically liberal Whig and that il was not in the
| slightest degree clerical. The greed for money had
not predonnatcd over everything No great for
tunes had yet been made that by their
lavish luxury diew all eyes toward them,
and till the Empire of Napoleon III,
Society" in France meant the concentration of
all political social significance in the hands OF
small number of persons, from communion with
whom were absolutely shut out the mere money
getting or essentially middle classes. Fortune
hunting had gone On all the same, but with some
restrictions. Families bartered their sons for money
perhaps even more cyncally than now, but certain
standing was from time TO time required in the
bride, OF else, when il mere question of sacri-
fcIng a name for coin, 10 was stipulated that the
bride should know her own people no more. She
was to be adopted her family were ignored
Now this state of affairs kept the middle class
as distinct as ever from the upper, 1t was termed.
and on the contrary did not allow the old hostility
of 80 to die out As many event proved, there
did still exist in France strong, sensible, we'll
educated boaTgeoisic, from whom you might expect
support against mundane frivoity or basencss,
or bigotry. There was in France a modern-mnded
middle class working hard deserving, and convinced
that country can only be free and honored by the
individual worth and integrity OF the tOlers what
ever their sphere This b0Wgeosie feared no Jesuit,
and despised sincerely the useless emptiness Of the
mere Roblosse.
But this ceased with the Empire Of Napoleon Ill.
because more money became then the consecrating
medium. Gold lno matter how won) was the fons
hoaoris From this hour the bourgeois mothers bar
gained for arisocratic sonsin-law at lower price.
They gave readily their money bags, and even more
readily than before their daughters chances Of hap
piness-but they barganed for themselves well as
their daughters The family" was to be admitted;
and they gained their point. 20 long as there was
money enough TO pay Tin hard CASH for the son, no
matter by what means that cash was obtained, the
family producing said cash was welcomed together
with the bride. This il IS which has corrupted and
DESTROYED the middle class In France. BY sub
serviency, by hypocrisy, the middle class can now
which it could not neutrality-suspicious. a brilliant
status in the world Of fashion And it has become
universally subservent and hypocrltical. The con-
secrating medium is Clericalsm The Jssuts are
the ions konOs they arc the Crown aud they create
Peers and Peeresses!
am quite aware that il will be argued that by
this fusion no matter how brought about the neces-
sary advance toward the social liberalty of modern
times is secured. IL is possible that such may be
the result Is years hence and the rising generation
may in truth be the better for all this but for the
moment il has been the cause Of all that has so
threatened this country since the peace in IL The
overthrow of NJ. Theirs on the oath of May, the
establishment of the famous GourGHeent dc combat,
the attempt at Legitimist Restoration, the pill
prirnages to miraculous shrines the oppressive
Ordre moraln-all this was made feasible by the
corruption and unworthiuessof of the boageoise who,
even mere than the mere nobiesse, had grown TO
worship priests and gendarmcs, and to believe III
nothing save obscurantism and armed force.
This il IL which has really lain at the bottom OF
all we have witnessed the last three or four
years. This also will explain to you the tremendous
noise made about the words, new social strata"
These words struck at truth. When Gambetta
frat used them at Grenoblc Mt the end of 1872 he
did so without intent to raise any commotlon ne
stated what was aud what he knew to be a fact. H
was fact that unless a class Of hard working mod
ern-minded, capable and honest men were TO De
found somewhere and employed In the governing
work, the country could not be saved But Gam
betta like many othcrs was not aware OF now VIDE
spread would be the alarm AZ and resistance to these
rising denizens of the modern world. From the
hour wien he pronounced the term nourees co"ches
sociaLes the war famed forth il had smodered till
then. This was followed by the first timid reac-
tonary attempts, the determination to avoid the
mention of the Republic. Retaliation for TINS lay
in the Barodet election which led TO the downfall OF
NJ Theirs, the Septennate, and al those dire mis-
takes committed by Messrs. de Brogie and Bullet
which in the end have luckily landed France IN the
present Republic. But nothing OF all this wouid
have happened had the nation not lost all support
from what once its mainstay-from its LIBERAL
stanch, hard working, honest, middle classes.
We 90 down at once two steps and come to what
is termed in England the lower middle class; TO the
sons of the very small tradesman or OF the village
apothecary or schOOlmaster, to the men who must
work if they would live, and who, with the feariui
competition opening all sides cannot afford 10 40