The Portland daily press., 1877-10-20
The French Situation.

The result of the elections promises to ex-
ercise no restraining influence upon the party
in France which miscalls itself conservative.
The President and his advisers are fatuous
enough to believe that they have gained in
strength because few Republicans have
been unseated in ACCOMPLISHMENTS that are
safe to give reactionary majorities when the
reactionists are united, and they persuade
themselves that these illusory gains are evi.
dences of change of sentiment on the part
OF the people. They proclaim that the Pres
ident will continue to rule in spite of the
Assembly, and that if the Senate refuses to
consent to the dissolution of the new cham.
Der the Government will dissolve that cham
ber by force.
1t will be remembered that by the coasti.
tuition of 1875 the French Government con.
sists of President, Senate and Cham
ber of Deputies. The Senate has three
hundred members, 225 elected by the depart
ments and rs by the Senate itself. The
Chamber of Deputies is chosen by popular
vote, one deputy from each arrondissement,
and an additional one for every fraction OF
population over 100000 which an arrondisse-
ment has. The number of deputies is 532.
The two chambers assemble every year on
the second Tuesday of January, and must
remain in session five months unless pro.
rogued. The prorogation must not be longer
than one month. The President himself is
chosen for term Of seven years by the
chambers in convention. He is only respon-
sible in case of treason; for all other acts the
ministry is held responsible to the Assembly,
as the English ministry is to Parliament.
The executive can only dissolve the Chamber
of Deputies with the consent of the Senate.
1t will thus be seen that Mcmahon cannot
constitutionally dissolve the new chamber
when it meets in November unless authorized
by the Senate. That authorization will not
be given-for this reason, if for no other: the
dissolution cannot take place without vio-
lation of the clause of the constitution, which
requires five months session with proro-
cation at the longest of month. So dis
solution would be in effect coup Getat, a
revolution.
The course the President seems bent on
pursuing is the unwisest which could be adopt
ed. His policy has consolidated all the fac
tions of the Left. The elections have helped
them. for larger majority might have led to
divisions. Adherence to his policy will keep
them united. The wiser way would seem to
be for the Government to yield something, to
adopt a conciiatory attitude, and so detach
the Left Centre from the formidable array
which confronts it. Thus, perhaps, the Pres
ident could win enough support with the
moderate men to ensure gains in the Novem-
Der elections which would give him full con-
troll of the Senate. Next month the coun-
ellis general will be chosen, and upon them
devolves the election of one-third Of the SEN
ate. The government means to contest these
elections as it contested the last. The result
will in all probability be similar. MacMahon
will find himself confronted by hostile SEN
ate and by Gambetta's alternatives, Sc sou-
metre on Sc demettre, Submit or GIT" Like
the negro preacher, he may prefer to take to
the woods, which he hopes to find full of SOL
diers. But coup d'etat is risky business in
France to-day.