The Portland daily press., 1881-10-14
[London TRUTH
Rouher and Louis Napoleon

ROuher and Louis Napoleon.
A few weeks ago NJ. Rouher made his fare
we'll bow to the world, at the comparatively
early age of Go. Lord Palmerston only became
Premier at 20. Lord Russell became Premier
for the second time at 49, Mr.. Gladstone will
be u in December, and looks as il ne had
plenty of work in him yet. And yet M. Rou-
her does well TO retire. It is no mere tautology
10 say that imperialism in France fell with the
Second Empire. The show was over and the
shoxmsn's part was done. The p ppet strings
had been broken, and the puppets, rudely kick
cd about, lay sprawling on the ground All
that was left was to withdraw, with such dig
nifty as the circumstances admitted of. Not
that M. Rouher despsired Immediately after
Sedan. Blessed With astonishingy good
opinion of himself, he attributed all his mas
ter's reverses TO the simple fact that he
Rouher) had been ousted from Office in 1869.
Caesar passed away, Caesars wife eigned, or
pretended to, in his stead. For the next six
years it was NJ. Rouhers thaAkless task to ex-
plain hard facts to lady who preferred fan
cies. 1t must have been terribly difficult to be
explicit without seeming rude. The Prince
Imperial understood his fathers old adviser
well enough; but the Empress was mistress of
the purse, aud entertained sovereign con
tsmpt for common sense.
Called to the bar in 1888, Ronher took ten
years ie make himself name and comforta-
BE little sum to spend on elections. By the
time he was 80 he earned about Ell 900 wear
by his profession, which means that he was as
high ON the ladder as an English barrister who
earned three or four times as much would be
in our DAYS. In 1913 he was sent up to the
hN not tina dara
ment of Puy-de- Dome, and Immediately bid
Cor office. Louis Napoleon SOON heard of Rou-
her and lost no time in hiring him. Liking o
govern himself, he wanted obedient servants,
end R5triIvr WAS roeay to obey or do anything
else that might be agreeable to the dispenser
OF patronage. Within a month of completing
his IS h year, the provincial advocate was
named the Minister of Justice. 1t was about
that time that happy caricature represented
LoGis Napoleon as presiding over council OF
headiess Ministers. Rouher certainly possessed
8 head, bat was careful on ordinary occasions
10 put it in Ma Docket. All be cared for was
b know the Princes mind. That once ascer
tanned, it was his ,siness and pleasure to find
him in reasons aud arguments for doing what
what he pleased.
For the seventeen years between 1852 and
1866 he was always in office of some kind or
another. His prime duty was to act as spokes-
man OF the EN- sire, and to organize the claque
N the Chsmb of Deputies. He had 10
talk, and TO see that Deputies appsuded; also
that they interrupted speakers of the Op
position. He did bis task, if not well, at any
rate, thoroughly His method was an extreme
ly simple one. To all my criticisms on the
imperial Administration he had one answer:
THE Emperor is the savior Of society. Attack
this Government and you endanger society
There is no choice for France but between the
rule Of Napoleon III and the horrors of '93.''
By dint of reitersting this argument in a
thousand various ways, Monsieur got good
many Frenchmen and even some Englishmen
who ought to have known better, TO believe
i'm