New-York tribune., 1895-12-22
TOPICS IN PARIS.
THE MUNICIPAL COUNC1L-THE RlDiCo'
LOUs ROYALTsTS-ZOLA FOR THE
ACADEMY.

It would be difficult 10 hnd IN al Eu-
rope a great city the municipal government
of which is in more fragrant opposition 10 the
National Government as well as 10 all the oe'
ter and more sensible class OF the population ina"
Paris Our city fathers are perpetuahy hy'hs !"
the face OF public opinion. and always p'aci's
themselves in a light that is distinctly wrong
Thus the other day. when the Car sent as pres
ent to the City OF Paris a magnificent jasper ana
bronze vase OF gigantic proprtions and stannihs
on a pedestal Of malachte. the value OF when is
enormous the City Council declined to take any
part In the ceremonies organized by the Govern
ment and by the Muscovte Embassy here Tor lts
reception on the ridiculous ground that the Rus-
sian Emperor had sighted the Councillors by au-
dressing to Prefect Of the Seine instead OF 10
themselves. The Prefect is virtually the Mayoi
of the metropolis. or rather species OF Mayor
and Governor combined. FOR, while he Po'seSoSo
an official residence In the Hotel de 'iiie' anu
attends the meetings Of the Municipal Coui'ci''
yet he is not elected by the latter put appoh'e"
by the Government, which ne represents III ''e
deliberations of the Council. AS such ne Ha'
right to veto and the result is that he IS almost
invariably in a state Of more or less open warfare
with the municipal government, the members
of which are intensely jealous Of his powers
and prerogatives.
Not content with IN" display Oh phu taS'o a.
the time of the arrival of the Cronstadt vase, 80
allied because 1t is destined to serve as a souve-
mir of the visit paid by the French fleet to Cron-
stadt two years ago, the members OF the muhici-
pal government have once more given the puphc
offence by refusing TO attend the offciai funerai
of Alexandra Dumas, at which every other pubic
bodv was represented Moreover they took occa-
sion to revile him in the most disgraceful fashioh
as a liar a coward and what not besides when
the invitation to the funeral was submitted 10
them for discussion. The cause of their AMI
mostly against this bright particular star OF the
French literary and artistic world was ietter
which ne had written in one OF the metropolitan
newspapers far back as 1871, denouhcihs ING
Commune and assailing with the bitterest lhVec-
tives the leaders Of that insurrectionary move
ment for the frigntful outrages which tney hao
committed Henri Rochefort happened to remen-
ber this letter. and republished it in his paper the
"Intransgeant," a couple OF days after the death
Of Dumas, with the consequence that the FariS
municipality which was until then prepared 10
take part In the funeral pointedly refraned from
doing
In fact our city fathers seem determined 10
lose no occasion to remind US that with rev
excent,ons thew are all either ex-members OF
the Commune themselves (some have been even
under sentence Of DEATH that they are the
sons ard relatives of people who took part in the
bloody insurrecton that followed the Franco
German war.
Parisians are, indeed. strange and para
doxical people. but of all the odd and illosicai
things that must be placed 10 their credit, as
suredly the Queerest Of all is the Idea on the
part of the metropolitan electorate to confide the
destinies OF their beautiful city to the very men
who in 1871 distinguished themselves by burning
down all the finest buildings and palaces. and
by destroying monuments such as the Colonne
Nend0me.
A question has cropped up within the last week
as to whether physician is bound in the same
degree by his professional secret a Catholic
priest who has received a confidence under the
seal of confession Under ordinary circum-
stances it is a matter Of course that the obliga-
ton of silence is Identical; but when the conf
dence Is in the nature of the revelation of a
crime the matter assumes a different aspect
Many people, and among them some Of the most
eminent members Of the medical procession, give
out the opinion that the secret Is to be MAIN
tained under all circumstances. no matter
whether the doctor has discovered the crime
during the course of his professional attendance
or when it has been impaired to him voluntarily
in the shape OF a confession.
But there are others, at their head Dr. Brouar-
del the most celebrated authority on medical
jurisprudence in the country and the principal
medical officer of the Government who roundly
condemn this view declaring that 1T is the
duty of a physician to impart without delay to
the proper authorities everything that he may
discover in the shape of crime in the course or
his practice. under pain of being held himself
crmnaIly liable by the State as an accomplice
in the event of his failure to do The discus
sion Is still in progress, and is followed with
great interest, not only by professional people
themselves, but by the general public also.
1t has been the misfortune OF the Royast party
in France that for several decades each or their
"coups" conspiraces or public demonstrations
has served TO excite not admiration nor yet pa
triotic fervor, but merely ridicule. Indeed, were
they all compiled together they would form the
libretto of a most entertaining comic opera-and
until the Duke OF Orleans and his friends adopt
some less puerile methods of promoting the Roy
alist cause in this country they can never hope
to be taken Eau serieux" by people imbued with
so keen sense Of the ridiculous as we are. The
latest manifestation. which took place the night
before last at the Porte Saint Martin Theatre. was
the most laughable of all. For two or three weeks
the leaders of the Royals. party-they are mostly
young men, the older having retired from
the political arena since the death Of the Comte
de Paris-have been going about with the air
of constructors as If weighed down by the bur-
den Of some awful and fearsome State secret.
When passing through Brussels the other day,
on the way to Austria. after being so numerically
snubbed and ignored by the British Royal family
during the visit Of his brother-ln-aw, the King
of Portugal to England, the Duke Of Orleans
held a number OF conferences with his followers,
who returned here looking even more important
and self-conscious than before. All this led to the
conviction that the Pretender had finally resolved
on some decisive action. on some piece OF daring
and courage that would cause the hearts OF his
countrvmen TO pulsate little faster. and to find
I'm him al last a worthy descendant Of King Hen
ry ". of glorious and popular memory 1t was
so evident that something was In the wind that
had the Government deemed 1t worth while It
would have had ample time to take all the nee