The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-10-16
GheGntelliqsuter.
The French Elections.


uined in iu policy Of May luSt--vir--
disolviug the Chamber with a view oI
securing mljority Of the membership BY
means ola new election, and thus hAr'
mOnilirs the legislative branch OF the
government with the new Ministry form.
ed Just before the dissoIasion,
oar readers will rrcolIect th,t Nc.
Mabon all at once changed his ministry
last .pring and reorganized it upon no.
called Conservative basis. The Republi.
can. the "ISft'') voted resolution Of cen.
sure, lod McMabon, IN hi. turn, avaiIed
himself Of his constitutional privilege
and di.soIved the Chamber, hoping there.
by to bring into power a Chamber in
harmony with his new Cabinet.
Mcmahon Is what may be called a
".uong government man. lis, perhaps,
hardly fair to call him Monarchi.t,
although his Bonaparte antecedeut5 are 20
decided that he may be cIas,ed a. reac,
ZIONIST against the present order Of things.
He leans to the old order the "ancient
regime and Identifies his career as =
soldier with the Second Empire. He is
looked upon with great favor by the ex.
Empress, and also by The Orleani.ts, to
whom he has been kind. The Bourbon
family, however, is not supposed to enjoy
any special countenAncs from him.
Oppo1ed to Mcmahon, although they
made him President for seven years, TO
succeed Thiers) is the radical Republican
element. The Republican strength be-
fore the dissolution was 1868 deputies
aglin'! all types and shades otoppOsitiOn.
Thi, strength was not all radical. There
wa, the Gambetta element and the Jules
Simon school, just a. our American Re,
publican party Tor Democratic, for that
n.ster) has its two wings. However,
they we're all Republicans in common as
against reaction towards Monarchy.
twill be seen by the disputche, that
the McSIahon ministry made most un-
bIushing attempt to impress and intimi.
date public sentiment. On Saturday last
they vent 40 far az to send word to the
provinces" that majority Of the depu-
ties were sure for the government, or
rather for the Marshal jmeanirg McMa.
hOn) as they expressed il. They sent
out manufactured quotation Of French
"rentes" government bonds) to show tha!
all tue monied people were of the same
opinion. The programme was to iden.
tiIy law and order with Mcmahon and 4
sense Of insecurity (even OF revO!ution)
with Reppblicauisn. This was a mott
disreputable proceeding, and one that all
fair men everywhere will fCorn, but it
was in keeping with the prosecutions
which have been visited upon such men
as GambettN ever since the canvass
opened.
A'to what i. thought OF Gambstla by
the French people, and as showing how
popular persecution makes a man, we
may point to the returns from his Ear
roRdiaemenl." His is the Wes,ern Re.
serve district. He ia returned by big.
ger majority than that by which Joshua
R.Giddings was sent back to Washington
after being expelled by tie Slayeocracy
on account Of hiS abolition heresy. 1t
doesn't pay for government to make a
target Of any one man in politics.
The question now is, will McMahou
combat the verdict oithe people? Gam.
betta'' manifesto was to the effect that he
should submit or resign. In this expires.
sion he simply embodied the English idea
and practice. When British Ministry
goes TO the country on an issue, and ia
not sustained, the Queen at once forms a
new Ministry from the opposition. She
sends for the recognized leader, as .he
did for PAlmerston VIXEN Gladstone was
recently defeated, and tells him 10 form
aninistry contOrmablc to public sen,i.
nent, This feature OF their government
i''he glory OF the English people, as we'll
II may be, and Gambctta meant nothing
more than this when he proclaimed that
AeAAhon" duty Waa to accept the yer.
diet OF the people or else step down and
out And yet for this declaration he was
sentenced to three months imprisonment
and dHe OF $1,000. His election, how
ever neutraIises this sentence by rein
'e'ting him with privilege from arrest
l0FAPoliticaI offence. Now that he comes
back to the Chamber, backed by an over.
NheIminE expression of the people, Nc.
NahOn will hear from him in still more
defiant tones. What the fiual result will
bei' matter not only of doubt bu. Of
grave concern.
IT. m.