New-York tribune., 1876-05-13
FRENCH POLITICS.
CONDUCT OF THE NEW LEGISLATURE

,,, rror, An CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRTBUNE'J
p.,, ,rr;i oo-At last all masks are being
rs,'1 and uen are fighting honestly and face 10
snoo Ono draws breath freely now, and there is u"
cheating no pretense no hypocrisy, no resort u tIe
,oso t,;.Lories of cowarliCe. The attack Oh 'ho
,l,iter of Public Instruction, and above aii' the
It,or of tlo BisboD of Orleans, opened the way 10
irc,,itv i'm tle coming contest, and the dlscuSso"
y, tbe iuoniry touching NJ. Ge Nuns eeciloh n,i9
lert mo vail untorn. This debate was unuouoouiy
the most interesting witnessed ID the ClanD'''
or perhaps in any assembly, for many ye'is' Du'
how il came to bo what it was must oe e@P'A''''''
The active Intervention of tie Clergy III 'he 0'''i
of the Comte de Nun suggested the ne'eS'S VI
ipouiring what had been done but at iIst no
i,,n,rtouce WAS attached to the affair than 10 'ho
circumstances OF an ordinary election. 20 nucn was
tbi, the case that the family NJ de Nun asAe" P,'
yote friends to obtain many absentees rs P'''-'io
All this on both Sides without any acrimohy ""u ~
perfect good humof. , ,,nhors
of chers did withhold their vote lne ,,i'pD'
of tbe debate came ont through N. dc Nuns OWL.
- o,d tIe entir, Left and large number oi
,odor,te I iberals seized the point" OF the matter
rr Tho first fine thcn u. de Nuns absolute frahh-
ss ,,,rlJ not have dOne much--certanly hothIhS W
udr necessary the inqury-since every one hhe"
tbot hs was the champion OF the Church' an" .noy
bouored him for avOwing maniully uh"eI "hat '""
uer he fought. But when he advocated the ilshV VI
tbe clergy 20 do whatsoever they chose accordS 70
tLemrre dictates Of their conscience thrh iee' CIo
intervention of Rome became too palpabir' anu INC
raol and daneerou, state of things wa disclosed.
I'D, what Won will as .ertcd II. do Mum " you can't
make pubic functionary out Of cure or a bi'i'p
There lies tho whole dispute: tho State says ali
ccclesia ties are mere public fucuoharleS' III"
paid rs such; but if they arc not pubic Ia'c'i'hF
ries. why are they paid II bishops ana cures owe
obedience TO the Pope and tho Vatican, leu tlo VAT
lean and the Pope provide for them ana 'hci. emu
uucnts procecd from the mass of the faithful, by
free subscriptions and fts Here is he question ol
the Free Church in free State raised At once M.d'
Nn, stat,I nliy.ly what he naIgcly believed. lie
did not mean any cunning device; he was himself
per,uadel at ecclesiastics had moral right to IL
dependence. and that a bishop RANGED infinitely
above a civil almiBistratOr-wa' in fact only bound
IN obey hi. own conscience. Therefore lie SIMPLY
-.ated as a patent fact, and one which every one
ulmiltcd Of lursc, that priests were not iuhc'ioh
sries NJ de Nun really revealed the necessity Ia
modern tines Of the separation OF Church ana 9'a'',
inst ~ it Il understood by the most advanced ana
"infdelp of the Republicans.
:, far for the large outline OF events: but in their
detail what was relief tO every mind busy upon
the political condition of France, was the manner IN
which the Nun debate was cOndncted No lriNer
.b bcct was ever more conrteOusiy diacus'eh. Never
since he has spoken in public. has Gambetia shown
l,,.elf 80 M lifted for parliamentary life as in his
appreciation OF ". de Mnn's position tine other dry
Here WAS poycr-real power--the power that can
afford to be kindly true. When Gambctta welcomed
II. do Mum to the Chamber. spoke Of him as a fresh
Montal-.nbert, and advocated his presence III iae
Uouse as = worthy, honest enemy, he did more for
tic can.s OF tho Republic than could achieve ton
elections IN which his own name should como out oI
the urn Tic proof of this lies in the attitude OF The
Chamber during the debate. aud in the way IN
which it has been commented on since in salon and
street.
TIE Left listened 10 VI. de MN. Tho Right Gem
ter and even Right arpllvdel Gambcua dmIng his
sprerh. When the eX-Dictltor asserted that the
ey-caya.y officer was worthy of beng priest"
the rndro House laughed and N. de Nun bowed
sailnsly to the orator. All this in ~ much goou
huu,r asu.od !, bs felt when "old Pam" wouid
worry and mar D1zy" at st. Sicphei . ana y'''
Iagar saw nothing half so grave has occurred here
since the war.
NJ. Ganbetta. be it said was totally wron9 IN
ILeI,ine =. ue Nun TO MoA,aembert. y. DO Mur Is
n fae-lookin, brave sincere yOunE gentleman, " I'D
h., al hIs command Hood OF sonofous ")i''S lha'
elu l.tle but that act pOtenily over weak men and
hyscncal women ; bat ho il 40 M1niaicr.tert, nor
ever wa. b.. 1aat falls him which maad honia-
cmbel-ihe vigorous ai'l3r, the absolute 1hirst LII
the freedom aud dignity of .he human race. Mon
taembcT3 died OF the inactiou {" hi'h &c '2'iisn
condemned hiD. deyoured h!s O"n n'a't' ana uc'-
paired when Rome received the aspirations on when
his generous nature had lived but W. de Mnn hates
frecdcm-he Is of the present fqpai school and pms
ms faith upon S,liabuse,' aud gc1dagmeS andthc
de-;ructIo of the unlimited pronunciation Of Scen-
,tor rtc hcnr;,, (1ialet IT. ~ Wnn Montaieni
bcrtl Then be is q MORTAL amboF' reversed"
On the other ha-d. IL you wish 90 gain . really i'm
partial notion OF what the equilibrium OF tLo prcs-
ont new French Lo zslaturo is, loo at the amnesty.
This is perhaps altogether the most wonderful occur
reuCe rs far the majority goes, since the famous
vote of Tho 2Jth of February, 1879, which set up
tho Republic through the unconscious VIII of
clcrico- Royalist hssambly If 'hcro was one thing
of which everybody felt ccrtain--fronds and enc
mics-it was t.at the present majorty-tho Rad
icalD majority, ~ 1t has heon tauutmgy called
would vote the amnesty with noisy enthusiasm. and
bring the Executive into the necessity of ts first
conflict The Only hope, ana that vague one, was
that perhaps the Senate might De induced oppose
the nleasIr and force on rtconsid"rdiou Uf tho
D and thu- AT all events gam tllo. The iiTst SIR
prise caused by tine senate Itself. In tho ccc-
tons FOR h. BugUanStO discuss the project and draw
up tne rcpon--thc overwhelming majority of votes
was for the mcubcrs who had distinctly stated that
thcy did not approve of general amnesty.
no feeling at the cud of that first
trial was one of almost myStiGcation.
Where or earth did all these Conservatives como
from ~ was tho spontaneous cry of the astonisicd
public I'VE were told that The Senate was a hot
bed Of Radcalisml Where, then, have these grayo
and reverend scigriors been hidingp However,
after al 1t might be a sudden revelation Of >Jsislom
and statecraft that had broken IN upon the mtn-
-, Z iIlis lntrnlnn nnnr lInlIa O. ,,n.r