, 1876-01-01

either stupid or are not in essence thoroughly
French. Napoleon III. had this callousnesa
and was not stupid, but it was because he
was not, of his inner nature, French.
With much of this argument Englishmen
will not agree, believing that every power in
the State, if left alone, will find its proper
place, but it is certain that cool Frenchmen Of
great experience and strong Liberal convictions
do believe it, that it is one of many reasons
why they admit that government must be
"strong," and that it is the true ground of the
public tolerance for laws which strike US as
outrageously oppressive. Nj. Gambetta would
admit perplexity on the point as freely as M.
de Broglie. The statesmen may be all wrong,
and are certainly wrong thus far, that freedom
has never in France been honestly tried, for
Louis Philippe, if he did not dragon the Press,
did corrupt it but the statesmen rule, and the
problem is,-given their conviction to discover
q Press Law which shall not seriously interfere
with temperate discussion, and shall secure in
France that result which in England is secured
partly by law, but chiefly by opinion. Jour-
nalists here cannot pillory the Queen, or &C.
cuse Mr.. Disraeli of being bribed, or descant
on Mr.. Cross's habit of granting immunities
from the laval Of which things have been
done against French persOnages by French
journalists since 1848-WithOut penalties quite
Us LluCu hl6dutu do LC"FJ hhC0' ~ u 0JNtCHiJ
in fact, as the late MIR. Mowbray Morris
showed the House of Commons, is one of rigid
though invisible repression. Napoleon tried
to solve the problem by investing the Execu-
tive with the power of suppression and no
doubt he did solve it on one side, but then, on
the other, he abolished not only free discussion
but the whole race of "publiciSts." John
LemOinne was a mere survival, and had the
Empire lasted, publicity in its highest sense
would have become extinct. M. THEIRS tried
freedom, modified by absolute power in the
military oOmmandants Of great cities but
that scheme, though not, as he worked it, fatal
to all discussion, is fatal to all exposure Of
military abuses, and to all tranquility on
the part of publiGists, who, if not tranquil,
become savage. Nj. Buffet, again, is trying
legal repression, but he takes power to re-
press so many things that be is landed in
the old dilemma, that if he uses his powers i'm
partially and steadily there win be no free Press
a. all, and if he does not use them impartially
or steadily, there will be either license, in the
French Statesmen's sense, or unfairness Of
the kind which proyokes Revolutions. A cen
sorship would be easier to work than his Bill,
and French experience in the theatres shows
that a very strict censorship is consistent with
vitality but besides the physical difficulties,
which are nearly insuperable, and the pnbIio
hatred of the system, no censorship in France
would be, or could be, fair. The dominant
party would never be content merely to pro-
tect the State, but would always protect itself
as the Monarcbists did when they allowed
"Rabagas,' which was a satire on the Left,
and withdrew a play-We have forgotten its
name-which was perverted into a satire on
the Extreme Right. Compulsory anonymity,
if it could be secured, would gradually ameli-
crate the French Press, by extinguiShing per-
sonal interest and vanity, but it cannot be Sc
cured without the consent Of those affected,
who will not consent. You could not suppress
a paper, because NJ. About always began his
contributions with the letter A. Si6yes, if he
were alive, and making Constitutions, would be
desperately tempted to place in the Cabinet a
Director General of Publicity, with very great
powers, but compelled to use them on his res
possibility to the Chamber but he would, we
suspect, find himself in the difficulty that no
competent man would be found to accept the
office. He would be sure, like the Censor OF
Plays, TO make occasional %blunderS, and then
his life would be such a torment to him. The
Press would be apt to combine for his destruo-
ton, and against a combined Press resolved
" to employ the microscope" to report, that is,
every word, gesture, or expression ofthe victim,
no French Parliamentary official could stand a
month. He might as we'll live under a colossal
lens. There is, in fact, no plan which, under
the conditions we have stated, is perfectly sa-
tisfactory, and only one we know Of which might
reasonably be tried. It is not quite certain that
n - IL Ns.sI T%- r ISInI