, 1877-09-12

al HI PEI lecG auH&uEy' ne NhPoleOnlc
position is adicaEfdHferen from that Of.
other dynasties. Other Houses rest their
" claims on some Right Divine Of an origin
&. too sacred to b@. explored. Some semi
mythical hero perhaps carries their autho-
rity into the clouds of heaven. 1t is not
so with the B~onapartists, There Isl indeed,
q Napoleonic legend, but the Second EN-
pire, like the First, boosted to- be an or
ganiz2d democracy and the pretensions Of
the Prince Imperial do not rest on the
hypothesis Of some right to which the
assent of the people is demanded, but on
the ground that in his person, and under
the organization of which be would be the
head, the supremacy Of the will Of the
people would be proclaimed and establish
ed. The Empire is thus put forward, like
the Republic, as q form Of democratic or
gaaization and if it is ever re.established,
it will be because the French people pre-
fer it to the alternative offered for their
acceptance. It'cannot be denied that o
quarter of a century ago they did most
deliberately testify their preference Of the
Imperial system. When Louis Napoleon
was elected in opposition to General Ca
v%aignac, the choice of the electors was
perfectly free. They rejected he repre-
sentative of Republicanism, a man who had
proved his sincerity and bis worth, and
they accepted in his stead an aspifant WHO
had at that time nothing to recommend
him except that he was the ipheritor of
ImpeIialist traditions. Candid men, while
regrctting the vote that re-establisbed the
Empire, must acknowledge that it was in
the main q free vote. The reality Of the
preference exhibited in the first election of
Louis Napoleon canno. be disputed and
for many years he consolidated the power
his name first gave him. Under him, if
rot on account Of him, France became
materially prosperous, and for some eigh-
teen years the pride of the nation was
g%ratiied by the rank be held in the Euro
pe3n system. His final disastrous collapse
and The ignominy lie brought upon France
made him for a time an object Of popular
execration, but 1t would be yash to con-
clude that the memory Of the brighter side
Of bis rule may not revive, and his son be
called back to France to set up once more
a golden image in which the Democracy
may worship itself.
The chances of the Empire depend upon
the sObgiety of the Republic which will
certainly be first put upon its trial. If
through its faults or its misfortunes the
Republic should decline into anarchy and
confusion, the advantage it now has in
comparison with the Empire will be lost.
1t may still be remembered, though not so
keenly as at first, that the Second Empire
ended in the humiliation and spoliation of
France, but it will be said the Republic
offers no immunity from disasters and has
lapsed into degradation through its inhe-
rent weakness. If the day should ever
come when this may be truly spoken, the
opportunity of the Prince Imperial will
not be far off. The moral for those who
wish to prevent this co%nsummation is that
they must study to maintain the sobriety
of Republican Government under all temp
tations to swerve from it. The worst enc
mics of the Rupublic are not those assail-
ants who endeavour to aiscredit it with
their wild aspersions, but the men, affect
ing to be its most ardent disciples, who
Tecklessly expose its moderation to suspi-
cion. The Republic thus requires to be
Vindicated from NJ. Rochefort, not from NJ.
Paul de Cassagpac. The latter might say
what he p~leases, and his accusations would
recOil upon himself, if men like the former
did not give them colour and plausibility.
The especial danger in such circumstances