Litchfield enquirer., 1877-05-24
The French Crisis.


 President MacMahon has finally yielded to the pressure brought upon him by the Conservatives, or the Right" as they are termed in France, and has dismissed the Liberal Ministry which has been ad- ministering affairs successfully for the past six months. The occasion of this sudden swerving of the Marshal-Presi- dent from the impartiality which has seemed hitherto to mark his conduct of affairs, is said to be the necessity the Conservatives are under to take some for ward steps for the recovery of the ground they have been SO steadily losing since shat spasm of fear. caused by the ex- excesses ot the Commune, which original ly gave them the power they have so gross ly abused. The local councils, through whose intervention Senators are chosen, are soon to be elected; and, in France, the central government exercises great influence on these elections through the prefects who inter- fere most unscrupously in aid of their masters at Paris. Of late, Minister Si- mon has been busy replacing Conserva' tive with Republican prefects, and the way seemed open to complete Republi- can triumph at the coming elections. when the overthrow of the Ministry, and the appointing of cabinet of Conserva- tives, places the Republicans once more in opposition to that official influence which is stronger Tn France than in almost any other country where popular forms prevail.
 The pretext for.this q etat is the failure of the ministry to oppose certain reforms which the Republicans of the Chamber of Deputies seemed strongly to favor. One of these measures proposed Q modification of the statutes limiting the freedom of the press; another, the passage of law requiring the municipal councils to hold their sessions in public. In very arrogant letter McMahon called Minister Simon to account because he could not restrain the Deputies from such legislation as this, which the Cabinet had decided to oppose. M. Simon replied that he was absent from illn ness when one of the bills passed, and had taken meas ures for it's reconsideration; the other, he affirmed, he had had amended so as to fully obviate the objections of the Cabinet. He thereupon rendered his resignation at an interview in. which the President avow- cd himself Conservative and declared that he could concede no more to the Re- publicans. The President then organized 8 Cabinet with the Due de Broglie, bit ter Conservative, at it's head, and has prorogued the Assembly preparatory to the dissolution which naturally follows, as the new Ministry could not by any possibility maintain itself in the present Chamber of Deputies. These extraordi- nary proceedings have caused great ex- citement throughout France; the Depp- ties, by vote of 355 to 154, have declared that they will only place confidence in a Cabinet free to govern in accordance with Republican principles, and they will prob ably pass vote of want of confidence in the new Ministry when they reassemble at the end of their months propagation. A dissolution will then follow. and if the Republicans are as true to their colors, as they have been, heretofore, McMahon will find himself face to face with a pop ular body that will compel the appoint ment of Republican ministry or an illeg- al appeal to force.
 The present constitu ton of France, it must be remembered, gives the President of that country power more nearly resem. bling those of the English monarch than the independence of an American presi- dent. Here, a President may retain a Cabinet that can command majority in neither House of Congress. In Fran ce, or in England. the ministry is directly re- sponsible to the legislative bodies; and 8 vote of want of want of confidence forces either a new ministry, or a dissolution, and an appeal to the people to decide between the obnoxious ministry and the parliament. In case the House of Com mons in England, or the Deputies in France, chosen on sucha dissolution, still contains majority hostile to the minis try, their withdrawal is inevitable and a new ministry must be formed that can command the confidence of the leglsla. ture. The important question now is whether MoMahon will yield to the popu. lar will if it should be expressed against him, or whether he will appeal from the people whose confidence he has not, to the army whose confidence he has.
 FAVORABLE SYMPToMs.-The Hampton government seems progressing favorably in South Carolina. There Is a Bourbon element there, as elsewhere South; but. it is evidently in minority. Justice Will. lard, the Republican Judge of the Su preme Court who took conservative ground last winter. has been chosen chief justice. and an able democratic lawyer hal bean chosen to a seat on that bench with