The daily gazette., 1877-11-07
MINISTERIAL CHANGES IN
FRANCE.

Some weeks ago, when France was
on the eve Of q general election, M.
Leon GzmbettA, the acknowledged
leader of the Republican party, made
q speech to his2 constituents. as 1t was
his right to do, and enunciated the un-
deniable truth that II the President OF
the Republic were defeated by the
election of large Opposition majori-
ty, ne must s'submi: or retire." the
plain meaning of these words being
That he must dismiss his unpopular
Ministry, and select as his responsible
advisers statesmen more in accord
with the temper of the time the feel
ings of the cation. and the spirit OF
the constitution; II not, he would have
to resign, his continuance in office,
against the popular will, being possi-
BILE, then, only by what is called
coup d'etat, which might end in rev
olution. For uttering The words,
"submit or retire." M. Gambetta was
prosecuted, convicted without any
Thing like fair trial, and senten ced
TO imprisonment and fine. In these
words, few but terss, vonal Judge
saw accusation and insult TO fresi-
dent MacMahon.
On the other side of the Channel
the constitutional rule Is that when
the Ministry is defeated at general
election, or in the House of Commons
the Premier has an audience of the
sovereign, to whom he presents the
resignation of himself, and colleagues.
The sovereign has to submit. however
unwillingly and take a new Ministry
out of the Opposition, although some
members of this new Cabinet may,
then and long, have been personally
disllked by him. 1t was so in 1888,
when George Ill. had to accept Char
les James Fox, whom he hated pei
sonally aud politically, as his Secre-
taIy of State, and in lS4s when Queen
Victoria, on tue breaklng-up OIL tue
Melbourne Ministry, was found by
Sir Robert Peel in an Iony of tears
and storm of passionate grief when
he waited on her to receive her in
structions to form new administra
tiol. The time has already arrived,
it appears, for Marshal MacMahon to
submit or resign" Ia the course of
next'week he will probably have to
change, or at least to modify his
Ministry. Better this, no matter how
personally annoying Gas public ad-
mission of defeat) tnan attempt TO
carry matters with "a high hand
against the will of the nation. Mac
Mahon's Presidential term having
three years to run until November
10, 1880, he will, at all events, hold on
to that. ..1
Since the fall of the Second Empire
there have been frequent changes of
OF Ministers in France. III. Thiers,
made Chief Of the Executive Power
by the National Assembly at Bordeaux
in February, 1871, placed N. DufaUre
at the head of his first Ministry. A re-
construction Of the Cabinet made M.
CasimirP Peiier its chief, in May, 1872.
He was succeeded by tue DUO de
Bruglie, in November, 1873. There
Was another change in July, 1874,
when General de Chabaud LatOur and
the Duo Decazes obtained the highest
offices. After this the Buffet Cabinet
was formed in March, 1875. Next, in
December, 1876, Jules Simon formed
u new Ministry, which, in May, 1877.
was suddenly breken up by President
Mac uahon's own act, and the present
Cabinet, # which TWO docIrinaire
Dukes De Broglic and Decszes are
The nominated chiefs, While N. De
Fourton, M.ri,ter' vi the Interior,
man able audacious, tyIauical, ald I'm
fsIupulous, is the motive D wei
rhus, between February 1871, anu
the present time, tueIe has been "a
new Ministry in France every elev-n
moaths. On the contrary, since the
accession OF Q QIeen Victoria, in June,
1886, there have been only twelve
changes of administration, which
shows lhree years and four months as
the average duryuou of d British { abl