, 1881-04-27
unhasting, uresting march ofM. Gambetta
towards supreme power in France. Though

1HAShAS ONO LA viz OtS
unable to regard him with the devotion
exhibited by some of our Radical ~frients,
and even distrusting him on som subjeeds
more especially religious tolerance, re
have always pointed to M. Gambetta as
the man who, in the great struggle of 1870,
revealed most of the qualities which mark
a born ruler of men,and who would one day
for good or for evil, be the first mar in
France. He has simply justified that
anticipation. Since we first defended the
"fou furieux" from the misrepresentation
OF the British public, he has risen by slow
graduatlons III the estimation of France,
until he has become the most powerful
polltlclan IN his, country, a man who can
make and unmake Ministries, the object of
attentive and even anxious study to diplo.
matists, and has obtained the h%nbounded
confidence of Liberal electors. His extra
ordinary and not quite accountable hold
over the springs of power was revealed in
the organisation of the Senate, in which he
won for Republicans a majority of life seats,
in the overthrow of Marshal Mac Mahon
without a coup 1etat, and in his amazing
victory at the elections, which produced q
distinctly Gambettist, though divided and
often incoherent, majority. 1t is even more
distinctly revealed in the occurrences of
this week. There can be little doubt that
'NAJ oNAOh0 IoANJ III CAO OAhulOOA shllCAuN.
ing Republicans as we'll as Reactionaries;
partly from political Judgment and partly
from private interest, is opposed to M.
Gambettas scheme of election by Depart.
mental list. Many sincere Republicans do
not like 1t, as leading to o Dictatorship.
No secret enemy of M. Gambetta likes il,
and he has many enemies. The local
Republican magnates dread it. for they
may be left out. The crotchety Republi-
cans dread it, for they will be omitted.
The Clericals detest it, for they fear NJ.
Gambetta, who can control himself, moro
than M. Clemenceau, who would soon pro.
duce a reaction. The Legitimists abhor it
for i'll their silent struggle with the " other
Monarchists" they know the Bonapartists
will win. M. Grevy, though not as obstir
nate about it as the Times reported-the
Times, for som reason, looking askance
at NJ. Gambetta- distrustS the project; and
the Premier. M. Jules Ferry, openly avows
that he is determinately opposed to it. 1t
was imagined that in this situation the
Government would decidedly and officially
resist the proposal, and that then the
Chamber, demanding a vote by ballot,
would venture to throw it out. Those who
thought thus however, under. estimated NJ.
Gambetta's powers. He made no speech
and no fuss, but he personally saw, some
times at his own breakfasts and sometimes
elsewhere, almost every doubtful Deputy.
he exerted all his powers of explanation
and persuasion, he interviewed the Minis.
tiers one by one, he left on all minds q fix
ed persuasion that he, who seldom mis-
reads the electors, was resolved upon his
plan, and when the first struggle came,
the strongest weapon of the Opposition
was found to be broken in the hands.
The Government could not act. Accord
ding to accounts which are almost official,
when NJ Grevy called the Cabinet together
he found that not only were the two
leading Gambettists, NJ. Co~nstans, Min
lister of the Interior, and General Fare,
Minister OF War, in favour of the Scrutin
de Liste, but that eight Ministers in all
had become convinced either that the mea.
sure should be carried, or that it was mex
pedient for the Cabinet, as a Cabinet, to
oppose it. Only the Premier, NJ. Jules
Ferry, and NJ. st. Hilaire were heartily
for a contest, which it was evident would
shatter the Cabinet to pieces. M. Grevy.
therefore, true to his idea of the Presiden-
cy and its function in the French Constitu.
ton, though retaining his opinion of the
measure, declared a crisis inexpe-
dent. and sent M. Jules Ferry to the
Parliamentary Commission now studying
the subject, to announce publicly that the
Government would remain neutral. In a
very remarkable speech M. Ferry declared
that, although he thought Jbe question
one on which a Government might proper