The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-01-02
THE NEW FRENCH MINISTER.

AN ENGLISH TRIBUTE TO AN EMINENT FRENCH
sTATEsMAN-How THE LOVE OF FRENCH
POLITICS IS ELEVATED BY DISTINGUISHED
LITERARY MEN-M. sIMoN's oRAToIIcAL
AND ADMINISTRATIVE ABILITY
From tho London Times. Dec. 161
That NJ. Jules Simon should have become the Prime
Minister oil France fact of much interest and con-
siderable Importance. His Is one OF many
proofs that nowhere the highest prizes of political
life more open than in France to unaided personal
ability. Coming to Paris as poor youth, NJ. Theirs
first won distinction journalist; VI. Guizot was
Professor at the Sorbonne before he acquired the op.
portunities OF becoming statesman and NJ. Jules
Simon was distinguished Professor OF Philosop ply
in the college before he display cd rare parlia-
mentary talents He has risen to tho first rank IN
Assemblies which. whatever else they may have
lacked, have been richly furnished with ability
Tho striies at Versailles are apt TO make careless
lookers-on forget how many distinguished men SIT in
the Senate and the Chamber OF Deputies. The National
Assembly is far better representative than tho
AcaGemy OF the culture the literary genius and the
general ability Of France. The general standard OF
oratorcal power If not high It was In the best
days OF the constitutional monarchy is least equal
to that OF any other parliament Europe; but IL Is
profound mistake To suppose that the strength the
Assembly Is wasted in talk. The best OF work
bodies often models OF llcid. condensed
and precise exposition They could scarcely be any,
thing else, in fact, when many OF them up
by the best writers OF country which has rival in
the art of literary style. In France OF letters
covot political distinction far more than IN
country, and whether or not that practice does good
TO literature, men like Guizot, Theirs, Villcman,
Cousin and Do Tocquevile must certainly help
the standard OF dcbste. NJ. Jules Simon belongs to
the same class Of political men. His books alono
would have gwen him considerable rcput ation and
he speaks even better than he writes. AS
he has few superiors even among nation OF orators,
end In persuasive power he has scarcely
rival. No SO skilfuy sootbc an angry
audience by an air OF profound decroncc By
silky insinuation OF hated opinions and by TOUCHING
those springs which his opponents share IN
common with himself. Nor, when ho has gained AT
tenton by these rhetorical batteries can any one
launch out more fierce invcctvcs or rise to
sonate appeals.
TIIg Against TIE sxrrsyyArE
His combination Of these diverse qualities was bril-
liantly displayed In tho famous speech against
scptennatc, TO which Marshal MacMahon referred tho
olhcr day. 1t soothed the Right by an eloquent dc.
scripton OF tho incomparably great country which
royaisis as well rs republicans served and IT de-
lighted the Bonapartists by It's acknowledgment that
II djctalors wcro an evil, Napoleon ut least !,
great dictator. hut between each string OF soft
batteries the orator inserted subtle, singing and
passonutcy eloquent description OF foyaist intrigue,
which drove the Right Wild with Jury. Referring
their frantic Efforts TO make the Ccmtc dc ChomDord
abandon the white flag, he SAID that they had
dcmncd France-ihe great France ol tue Revolution
ana OF Napoieonic glores-to listen at the door oil
princes 10 know her fate But tho climax Of tho
speech was cool, artistic and ironically polite
preston OF amaZoncnt az the fact that they had made
q hero oi Marshal MacM ahon who had not the lineage
OF the Comtc dc Chambord the intelligence the
Come dc Paris nor tho military genus OF Napoleon
That by far the boldcst attack ever made
the Marshal IN tho National Assembly, and, Us he him
self has confessed, his friends nave never allowed
him TO forget II. They seem to have said that no
ought 10 punish the sarcssns OF NJ. jules simon by
exciuiing hun RON tho CaDlncL But the Marshal has
too much common to be miscd by those Halter
ers. Although he must have WINGED under shower
OF unfamiliar sarcasms, hc has generously admitted
said that he bears him grudgc Sun, II IL some
what startling TO hnd that the who satrizcd him
In 1873 rs his Prime Minister ~ 1876. The authors OF
the ~cpcnnato would have laughed prediction that
ir.ould soon havo TO give the urst Ministerial office
to tho most eloquent OF Its opponents. Nor is II NJ
Jules Simon who has come thou.
STILL PROFOUNDLY RLprBfIcAN.
AS he has said m the FIRST oil his Ministerial
speeches he remains profoundly republican, well as
profoundly CONSERVATIVE and yet the Marshal has
found hun necessity II rrrurts may be trusted that
necessity has bvcn confessed author OF the Sep
tennate the Due dc tiroAtu, auI has been made pc
cuarly unwelcome by sunt turr -rriOu- passages IN
NJ jules Simon's career tu.n fn- fh,toficui attack
the President OF the kspu,ir ai,nuurh never
bind partisan OF the Empire iiaisha, MncAlntvh has
won his military honors On s Uattic irils, aud
he may be excused Tor dlsiking tue Deputies ny
whom II was oyerthrown. ''Tho men OF thu 4th VI
September" Will never be forgiven by the imperial
lists, and one of thvse revouIonisIs was u. jules
A0