The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-11-29

pubic, The French Assembly seems 10 nave
taken for granted the statement of its Presi-
dent that its return gave the great city
new claim to the consideration of the world,
and to have addressed itself thereupon
without further waste of eloquence to It's
proper concerns as a representative body.
How much "tho legal title" OF capital OF
France may add to the glory or splendor OF
the great city, which IS the capital i'll virtue
of the facts of the case. and will con-
tinue to be the capital whatever it may
be called and without regard to the place
where Legislative or other assemblies may
meet, is perhaps point Of comparatively
little moment, and the representatives
that theme so small share of their atten-
tion. The return to Paris is an event RS to the
advisability of which all sorts of opinions
were expressed before the change was
voted Now that it is made it is well to as
sumo that it is for the best, and all friends
of France will sincerely hope there may be
no disappointment in this particular; but
if there is to be--if the putting OF the ma
tional legislature within the reach of the
mob of the great city is ever to make that
mob again supreme over the destinies OF
the nation-the fact must come in its own
time, as it is now too late to retreat upon
any argument of it's possibility.
Unfortunately, the return to Paris of the
deliberative bodies finds the Republic. in
so far as it is represented in these bodies,
in an attitude not uncommon in the history
of republican domination in France
divided in it's councils upon the expe-
diency of extreme measures and watched
by an attentive circle of desperate enemies,
waiting to take any possible advantage OF
its faults. Bonapartists, legitimists. Or
| leanists, as recognized elements Of chronic
enmity to the Republic, and ultramon-
tanism and socialism, as widespread
extravagances of opinion, stand ever
ready to rend the common enemy
| of all their schemes il through its
own plumbers it is put within the reach
| of their hatred. It may, we believe, be said
with entire confidence that the Republic in
France is absolutely safe SO long as it can
| fill the two conditions of securing popular
liberty and public order; but, unfortu-
nately, to say this is to state mere abstrac-
ton. The vital point is in the application
Of this truth-in the satisfactory determine
ton just what is the popular liberty that
must be secured and what is the order that
must be guaranteed. Republicans vary in
their degrees of faith in the republican
theory from those who take fair
view Of the relations of liberty and
order all the way out to those of
an extremely red hue, whose notion of
| liberty is that it must be measured by their
own will, and of order that any degree of it
whatever is tyranny. Many men honestly
republican, and not at all to be COMPOUNDED
with the communistic rogues and madmen,
differ positively as to whether certain laws
are oppressive or absolutely necessary fol
the preservation of public order. and the
difference is greater or less as the republi-
can is more or less Of the conservative OF
radical type. Between these extremes
| between the denuncjation of q certain
| liberty as wild license and of a certain act
of authority as an outrageous tyranny-the
government must guide the Republic, con-
scious that they are always in the presence
| of pretenders to empire and monarchy
ready to rush in like jackals if the Republic
only stumble in its path.
| Many prophecies have been INDUCED
within short time past that the present
Ministry would inevitably 60 to pieces
upon its first appeal to the majority in the
Deputies, and more moderate statements
of an opinion of the same nature have rep
resented that if the whole Ministry did not
| 90 out certain of its members certainly
would. But modification of the Ministry,
which may be due to considerations
altogether apart from the general attitude
of the government. should not be con-
a majority, and unless it is we do
not believe the prophecies to which
we refer have any other foundation
than the Imagination of opponents. We
have President Grevy's authority for the
statement that the Ministry is in full accord
on all the topics before it, and his opinion
that on the most important of the issues
before the country it can command ma.
iority. His declaration, very distinctly
made to our correspondent, will be found in
another column. It is full and clear upon
these two points, which are, in fact. the
ones of immediate interest in the political
concerns of France He is firmly convinced
that article of M. Ferry's bill will pass
and believes that the project for ''plenary
amnesty" has been determined against in
popular discussion. Our correspondent's
report indicates how much importance
public men in France now attach to with
holding words that may possibly be mis-
understood by the public, and conse.
quently how extreme is their reserve.
Amnesty for the communists-the vote