The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-01-21
The Signs Of Trouble in France.

IL begins 10 look as III DrlnCe NAPOLEONb
manifesto was intended TO take tho wind out
Of the sails Of much more serious legiti-
mist demonstration. The report that the
Comic DE CHAMBoRD was on the eve OF max
Ing an appeal to his adherents seems prob
able enough, In view Of the preparations for
IN armed instruction which are said 10 be
making In the west Of France.
Unless there Is much exaggeration In the
accounts OF tho extent and forwardness Of
the arrangements made for an uprising, we
must assume that the conspiracy Is Of long
standing, and that tho outbreak, II 1t comes
will merely have beon precipitated by GAM
BErTA's death. The necessity Of recourse to
violent measures has no doubt been plain to
the reactiOnist factions ever since the defeat
OF the BROGLIE-FoURToU Ministry at the
ballot box. But even from the point Of
view OF the most fervid advocates OF
monarchy, the overthrow OF the existing
regime must have seemed desperate under
taking until the suppression OF certain re-
Mgious orders and the disposition evinced by
the dominant element In the Republican party
to prosecute tho Catholic Church aroused
vehement resentment in the intensely devout
peasantry OF tho northwestern departments.
tionably exist in tho rural communes OF Brit
tany and La Vcnd6e, and according to our
kilograms they have been organized on
somewhat formidable scale by conspicuous
partisans OF the legitimist claimant Re-
lance, too, WAS probably placed on presumed
want OF unity and energy In the defensive
forces OF the republic, owing to the reaction
airy tendencies OF many officers of the army
and many mcmbcrs Of the magistracy. Nor
has It, OF course, been overlooked by the pro-
moters OF reaction that tho commercial class
has OF late evinccd alarm Mt the increasingly
bold attitude OF those extreme radicals whose
views are associated in the popular mind
with the excuses OF the Paris Commune.
That the Government itself recognizes the
need Of reassuring the burghcr class is clear
from the harsh proceedings which have just
been taken against the so-called anarchists
at Lyons.
But although there is much discomfort
with the recent working Of republican insti-
buttons, and although the loss Of GAMBErTA.
whose popularity was tower OF strength to
the present form of government, has dis
cOuraged some Of its lukcwarm friends,
France can have nothing to fear from
legitimist coup detat. Even II the explosion
planned In the west should not be averted al
together by the discovery OF the plot, 1t
could have no permanent results. A king
who claims to rule by inheritance will never
be accepted by the French people. Bona
partists, il they were united and had an
available candidate for the throne, would be
far more redoubtable enemies to the republic
than tho legitimists, for 1t is the essential
and captivating principle OF CGsarism to
acknowledge that supreme power resides in
the people themselves, and that plebiscite
alone can delegate the exercise Of executive
functions just now, however, there is no
representative OF the Napoleonic dynasty
who can command the undivided and vigor-
Gus support Of the BOnarartist faction, and
therefore the republic, for the present at
least Is secure.
The signs, however, OF commotion and dis
order exhibited in France demonstrate that
In that country republican regime is no
longer regarded by anybody as conservative
In tho sense which NJ. THEIRS gave the
word when he sought to recommend the re-
public to the law-abiding and property-hold-
ing classes. On the contrary, French rcpub-
lican legislation has shown of late marked
and seemingly irresistible drift toward radi-
cal Innovations which TO large part OF the
French people appear to threaten those
guarantees Of order and security whose
maintenance they consider the first and in-
dispensable duty of all governments. IN
less, therefore, republican statesmen manage
tOsecure larger measure of public confidence
than they have recently enjoyed, it can be
only question Of a few years when the
present scheme OF government will be super
seded by some form of CRsarisnl.