The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1893-02-02
TIE FRENCH REPUBLIC.
Comparison Of the Form Of Gov
eFnment With Our own,
FEW POINTS Of RESEMBLANCE.
More Nearly Aka 70 the British Mou'
archy-Its Weak Points-The Presi.
DENTAL system at Fsplt-The Com
stitation Not an Exact Eit-Medl'
OcEs Statesmen,
go car.nondrno. o. ~ hlala.no.t


the French republic for analogles to our
own, and some points Of similarity We
find, but mot nearly so many as the
Identity in name would encourage us
to expect Instead Of calling France
our sister republic it would be more APP
propriate to speak Of her a. q dlstart
cousin. II iaapite true that she has, as
her executive head, q president, and
equally true that abe boasts a senate
and house which bear q close re-
semblance to ours. II ia true also that
both the president and the legislature
are creations Of the people, and that
they emanate, either directly or in.
directly, from the broad principle OF
~uniyeFsal outrage, The voting priv
ileee Ia enjoyed In France by every
male citizen who has attained his
majority, the only conditions being that
he shall have resided for ak months be-
fore election day in the township. where
he proposes 10 exercise this privilege,
andiahall mot have entailed upon him
sell. by bankruptcy, crime or military
service, any legal disability. The last
effort Of theFrench assembly TO restrict
the franchise proved decidedly dlsas-
trous. II was when, during the presi'
dency OF Louis Napoleon, three million
wore excluded by extending the resi-,
dental requirement. totthree years. The
annulling Of this act was the winning
card in thelSogp dstaL the sequel show
ing that the French people were de-
termined to retain their voting rights
even II to do so they had to change
their form OF government.
Aside from the points d. resemplance
indicated above, the republic OF France
and the republic Of the United States
have in practice little real affinity with
each other. They belong TO the same
family, but show widely divergent fea'
lures, In cranial contour, these sister
rephblicil are much the same, as. you
alsoltindthem TO be when you look at
their feet, which rest in both cases
upon manhood suffrage. To carry out
our anatomical analogy still further, we
find also that they are much the same
insthose organs Of vitality upon which
the character OF their legislature de-
ponds. Perhaps. too, the arms, repre-
eenting the executive agencies, are very
similar, iorthe French president does
his work just like our own, through q.
cabinet OF ministers, aud these are
technically men Of his own selection.
Here, however, marked Emergencies
begin to appear, and in pursuing the
subject we soon discover that after all
the two bodies are less distinguished
for their rRsemblapce to each other
than for the many things in which they
ditier.
AKIN TO A MONARCHY.
The French republic is more nearly
akin To the British monarchy than to
the form Of government under which
Americans live. The president is
wholly irresponsible, just as the queen
is, the real governors being the mem-
bers Of the cabinet. The French 'cabi-
net, too, is entirely at the mercy OF the
chamber Of deputies. and at any mo.
ment, by avote withdrawing confidence,
IL can be oyerthrown. This is decidedly
English. and just as the queen, when
one cabinet is overthrown, is affected
by such an incident only to the extent
Of having 70 set up another, so i is In
theory with the president Of the French
republic. Naturally, In these circum-
stances, French cabinet ministers, like
their confreres in England, have a seat
and voice III the legislative assemblies.
In point of, fact, French ministers have
privileges Of this kind superior to those
OF the English. When MIR. Gladstone
ispremier he cannot speak in the up
pef house because he Is only a member
OF the lower house, aud, similarly, Lord
Salisbury, being only a member OF the
upper house, cannot defend hia policy
in tho house OF commons. But mem
bets OF the French cabinet have equal
rights in both houses, and they are al
lowed to deliberate and speak in these
bcdies-though not TO ~vote-eyen when
IL happens, as II occasionally does, that
they are without bona ide membership
in either the senate OF the chamber Of
deputies
In tho relation OF French ministers to
the law making body, the difference be-
tweenthat Republic and our own is az
great as IL could possibly be. Thus,
while the American President will
change his secretaries one at o time, as
circumstances may seem to demand,
and will sometimes get almost to the
end OF his term with tho staff selected
at the beginning, and may do this even
though his policy 10 opposed by both
branches OF Congress, the French presi-
dent Ands cabinet making one Of his
chief occupations. II is also q point oi
peculiar peril in the French system, fol
II occasionally h%appens-as II did re-
Gently with President Carnot-that the
difficulty OF suiting his cabinet to the
wishes and whlms OF afckle chamber
will make him desperate enough tc
think Of resigning. And this reminds
ustof still another difference between
the two republics. II 10 proverbial oil
our own Presidents that they die, but
never resign, whereas In France resig.
nation 10 the common presidential
destiny Both Of N. Carnot's immedi
alto predecessors went out In that way
and the Lesson oil this coincidence would
aeern to DO that for q country 80 giyer
to change las Franco 10, and governed o.
she 10, q presidential term Of sever
years % too long.
eIioRTgn TERMS NRRpRD.
We are decidedly Of opinion that the
French government would gain In sta
bility II tho term Of the president vert
reduced TO four years. Every resigna
ton produces a'criais. II shows clearly
TINT tho French constitution 10 not al
exact 2ht, that IL fails 10 work Ia JUS