, 1877-05-20

d nary constitutional outrage without cause
" proVocation. He has seized upon the intr
II ductlon Of bill to modify the stringe1
= press laws relative to criticism of Il
$ Parliament and foreign Powers as prete:
$ for breaking with the popular branch, il
4 su1ting the Prime Minister, and demandin
: his resignation and that of his colleagues, IN
. sending message to the House proroguin
t it and threatening its dissolution III
: House, however, has promptly accepted hi
= challenge, and issued its manifesto to th
nation protesting against the attemp
OF the President to hold the wi
OF Fmnce in check, accepting th
issue Of dissolution, aud summoning th
people "to pronounce between tho policy 0
reoct1on and adventure, placing everything
III doubt which has been laboriously achieved
during tho last six years, and the wise, firm
and pacific policy which you yourselre:
sanctioned"
What made the action Of the President
more extraordinary is the fact that he knew
when be broke with the Republican party
I he was playing Immediately into the hands
of the monarchy and Ultramontanism. Mac
AlAHos, as is well known, is Bonapartist and
an ultrnnontano but hitherto, like II.
THrEns, he has been conservative, and shown
q disposition to respect tho sentiment OF a
majority of the people. BY one act-and
that taken upon the thinnest protox-ho has
completely reversed his position, thus afford
| ing another melancholy instance Of the fnil-
ures that purely military mon make when
they are lntrusted with the responsibilities
OF administering civil Offices By this action,
however, whatever mny have been his mo-
tive, whether he intended Of his own motion
to defy the will Of the majority in the inter-
ests Of the monarchy, or was mislcd by de-
signing parties, he has placed himself in
sad dilemma, from which no will find greet
difficulty in cxtricating himself. Tho people
of France belong to three great parties. The.
t1rst and largest Of these is the Republican,
which, like the same party in this country,
represents various shades of political opinion
from Conservative to Radical, but all are in
favor Of responsible government. They arc
in favor of free government of the people
through members of Parliament freely elect
ed by universal suffrage, and Cabinet in
consonance with the sentiments Of the ma
]orlty. On the other hand, they are opposed |
to the temporal power of the clergy. They |
reject tho dogma Of infollibi1ity. They deny
the right Of the Papal Conclave to dictate to
or interfere with the politics Of the people.
They are bitterly opposed to any action of |
the Government which would nr1ay Franco
against italy in war to reinstats the Popo
as temporal Prince over tho States of the
Church. They are opposed to all dynasties,
either Bonapartist or Bourbon. The re-
nainder Of the people of France are divided
into two camps,-the Bonapartists, who
want torestore that dynasty to power By plao-
ng Prince LOUIS NAPOLEON EUGENE upon the
hrone, and the Bourbons. The latter in turn
resent two claimants,-the old Bourbous
claiming the throne for the Count DE CHAm-
'onD (HEsnT W and the Orleans branch
laiming it for LOUIS PHnppE, grandson of
LOUIS PHILIPPE Between these two camps
here is no agreement There is no more
Of sympathy between Bourbons {
nd Bonapartists than between Bourbons J
nd Republicans, It follows then, even if t
g succeeds in overthrowing the Republic
I'D setting up the rule of the minority. (
aat he must still be beset by the Bourbon q
nd Bonapartist factions, clamoring for their i
syorltes. sl g.. Both are nnder clerical control q
nd, whichever sids should win, Rome would
lie, leading to ciyil war, since the minority e
the French people are bitterly and unal- :
rably hostile to the subversion of their r
oerties to the dctation Of the Roman f
hurch. still greater danger would also n
ise, for if he carried out his programme P
ID put down the rule Of the majority, it IT
3uld at once arouse the suspicious Of Italy P
d Germany, who would have no faith in b.
otestations of the French Government in
lille under Ulramontano control. Italy. d.
til an army almost as strong as that liz
France, and Germany, with m army much | e.
onger, would resist tie inevitable attcmpt o,
restore the temporal power to the Papacy. vi
eir power would DO united, for the &c
Of Germany would no more on
erfere in favor of the French than they
in the war Of 1870. All roads forward
d the French President into danger His sal
y safety is in retracing his steps to con- orl
'utiond responsible government. oc,
z.
1T1sH NoN-1NTERvENTI0N SENTIMENT, mr.
+ there is one feature of the foreign COM sti
cations which have grown out Of tho Rus tie
Turkish war moro clearly defined than oil riv
ers, it is tho fact that the sentiment Of ant
British nation is all but unanimously div
rse to any course which may drag Great .Ne aue
tain into the war. All trustworthy reports ar an;
ee upon this The sentiment of the En-. ~,
b people is SO pronounced that it is dis tu1
lily stated that nothing short of a coup L
ut on the part Of Earls BEAco.sr1r1p and Eul
sBx can commit the Government to par- inf
patton IN the war, and it is almost as dis cne
tly stated that such action would be fol- saF'
ed by revolution against the Government t;n,