, 1892-12-31

with the names Of those who cashed them.
and they were all at the disposal of the
Committee whenever it received power to
compel their production. 1t is most lmpr0-
babls. almost impossible with French man
ners, and the feeling of Frenchmen as to
secrecy in pecuniary affairs, that any banker
of standing would have volunteered that
statement, unless it bore directly on the
Parliamentary inquiry. and after 1t has been
made, anything like the hushing up OF the
investigation has become practically lmpossl-
Bile. No Government could do it In the face
of the Chamber and the people; nor could
any Governments refuse any powers necessary
to obtain evidence. The Ministry who
declined would be themselves suspected, even !.
if they were not hooted IN the streets. Ihey
must yield, whatever the consequences and
we cannot doubt, either that they will yield,
or that the consequent revelations will 'nvo%e
a grave scandal, though it is p ssible that Ge
Weight Of ou4ra ed.opinion may fall upon the
Paris press rather than upon the Chamber of
Deputies or he Senate. NJ. Prinet's evidence
points tHat way. and SO does much Of the po-
pukar righteousness which has long been ac-
6ustomed to believe that the finance depart
ment of many newspapers in Paris is managed
by traders who seek for profit, rather than for
the enlight nment or protection OF the public.
So general. in fact, has the belief become, that
the scandal would fall rather fat but that SO
many Journalists are Deputie~,. and that the
waste of Panama money SO greatly iri itates
an enormous.section of the electors. Shares
of that kind in France are held in ve"y
small amounts. and as the@otal exceeded sixty
millions sterling;"a third of the householders
in France may Ire interested Ell her directly,
or through relatives aud friends. Ever" one
of these men is an %elector, anil every ole is
determined that, if his money has been ap- 4
propriated. unsuceSsfully, to illegal purposes
Justice shall be done, even If 1T should b
necessary, in order to do it, that Government
itself should be transformed. The Chamber,
as we see, dared not 60 to serious DIVISION,
even upon a question like the exhunatlon,
though the Minister of Justice had pronounced
it altogether Illegal.
The inquiry. and consequently thu exposure
will be ali tho more complete il the bett
class of Deputies of all parties agree IN the idea
attributed to M. Carnot. The President is
man Of probity, and he is said to believe that
the scandal can be turned to the advantage
of the Republic only in one way. and that ia
by an unhesitating publication of The Cham
bers. lie would make the inquiry thorough
and the punishmentS exemplary. 1t will
then be said. he thinks, that there was
corruption under he Monarchy Of July. but
it was patronised rather than punished and
corruption under the Empire, but II was
deliberately concealed. There is corruption.
nnhappily. under the Republic also; but then,
under that system, and that system alone, it
is exposed and punished. That lie a perfectly
sound argument, if only the country will
accept it; and it is possible that French
electors have by this tin t arrived at the
degree Of intelligence and self-control which
ia necessary to its hearty acceptance. They
may reflect that the power of selection TX
entirely in their own hands, and that when
the gully are once expelled, they have only
to send up honest men TO purify the Chambers
most efectually. Unfortunately, Frenchmen,
and er~~lfally French peasants, are a. to
Judge classes, rather than individuals. They
have boycotted all mobiles because some
mobiles would restore the regime OF privilege;
they Suspect all priests because some priests
are denationalised by their education; and
thew avoid the rich because some rich men
feel little sympathy when laws press hea-
vily on the poor. They may d:st'ust all
Deputies, If some Deputies are found cor
rupt. and long for the dictator who. at
least. will not take brides, and who will
not be bribed. IT is in this tendency to-
generalise that the political danger consists,
and We have yet te see if France has
got beyond the illusion that because cor
= H. o-,o "a ,,odnr q ~Snsaaa thoro.