The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-06
THE SUN, SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 1893

principle, no may object 10 the way in which un-
tried prisoners arc treated. and TO the wide pow
ors given 10 the police Of violating private donf-
oile. yet. ne these abuses In most cases moon.
mode only persons dangerous to society, he
does not deem It worth while to agitato for ro-
form. The sole occasion in French history, In
decd. when there was q great popular movement
reused in tho whole nation, was the FIRST and great
Revolution, the immediate cause OF which was
tho bad fhcal systom. oppressive to every one
except tho privileged. It IS also to DO noted that
there are no public opinions In France, as the
term 10 understood In England, or. at all events,
no means of expressing them. Tho spirit OF tho
press of the whole country. excepting in matters
OF local interest, is regulated by tho Journalistic
OF Paris, WHIT interpret merely tho
sometimes conflicting, sometimes unanimous, OF
the boulovards. and tho newspaper Is not used by
tho public for airing It's grievances by means OF
letters to tho editor. Moreover, the Legislature,
though called q Parliament, is not utilized, AZ
q parliamentary people would mako uso of 1t,
for quietly redressing the grievances OF the day.
Questions and deputations to Ministers. petitions
to tho two houses, pledges demanded OF mem.
bers, and, in fine, most OF tho normal methods
Of constitutional agitation nre Impractical in
Franco. This is the outcome Of a national ten
dency which has survived all regimes. Louis Ma
poleon may take down the Inscription Of Liberty
I eiu bho NAV theN V ~ ~ R..'
but, oil the time, tho French people like to be
governed: in the intervals of their revolutions
they prefer TO DO driven. not with q loose rein,
but so that they may feel the hand of authority
directing them. In q democracy which volun-
tarily confers on the State such arbitrary pow
ers to encroach on its personal liberty o special
Specification must be attached to that word.
Nv.
Although in France the principle Of liberty 10
more restricted in Its application than 1t is in
any other country professedly free, there Is no
doubt that many intelligent persons would like
to SEQ it moro literally applied. Even this can.
not be said of tho second great
| equality. Notwithstanding the official pretcn.
sion that equality exists among Frenehmen. 1t
Is, as q matter OF fact, Mother found nor Guilt
waited among them. It Is true that the first
stage Of the great Revolution did appear to pro-
duoe q relative measure Of equality in the
French nation. The abolition Of privilege md
the equalization Of all classes before the tax
g~athorer and the tribunals was such a change
from the oppression which had provoked
the upheaval. that men eScusably believed that
an era OF equality had arrived. Human passion
soon asserted itself. however, and the accredited
leaders Of tho movement, members of tho long
depressed middle class. revealed that their con.
ception of equality was equality not with their
interiors. but with people who pretended to DO
of superior rank to them. As was said sixty
years later by De Tocaueville. the word equality
on the lips of q French politician signifed. enc
one shall be in q better position than NINE
This, certainly, was the sentiment of the Jaco-
bins of the Terror. The motto of Camille Des.
mouths was No superior" and he proclaimed
It until. ut last, he had to recognize on the
guillotine n superior in Robespierre. The sea-
son, however, in which the guillotine did its
l~evelling work is looked back upon with ~satisfac-
ton by only a select few Of the sons Of the Revo-
luton. The revolutionary period which has
been extolled by Frenchmen of every party, ex.
cepting extreme Legitimists. is that OF the Con-
stituent Assembly. Just a year after this body
had in tho Teunis Court at Versailles solemnly
sworn not to separate before giving q %constitu-
ton to France. It paused on the way to sup
press all nobiliary titles and honorifc distinc-
lions. declaring that, henceforth. under pain of
fine and deprivation of civic rights, no French
man should take or keep tho title of Duke,
Prince. Marquis, Count, Baron, or similar style,
or use. under any circumstances, any appella-
ton but that Of his family name. Nevertheless.
q hundred years later. q generation that has
grown up under q republic in which nobil-
ity has no place. and claims to have in
herited the complete doctrine of 1888 and 1890.
reads in the newspapers any morning q list of
names of the frequenters of o Partisan place of
amusement, including moro French subjects
styled Count or Marquis than are to be found in
q volume Of st. Simon; while the republic it.
self allows tho members of its Legislature and
even Its salaried functionarics to deck them
selves with whatever title seems good to them.
Hero 1t should be observed that. though the
First Empire and the Restoration lavishly dis
regarded tho prohibition of tho Constituent
Assembly. Louis Philippe and Napoleon III.
conferred only a limited number Of hereditary
titles. SO, nearly seventy years after their
creation practically ceased, tho result of the
law Of 1870 under a republican regime
which processes to respect its principle, Is that
nobiliary titles have multiplied In France to an
extent which would have scandalized a king of
the ancient monarchy, who was the sole foun-
tain of honor. The notorious fondness of the
French for titles is illustrated by the fact that.
whereas in England. which is an unmilitary
monarchy. the importunates who infest the OK
it's OF London theatres deem that the surest way
of winning custom is by addressing o per-
son whose carriage they offer to call as
Captain" under the republic. In war
like but egalitarian France, a member
of the same disinherited class addresses
his possible client as IN. le Comte." or,
II unduly avaricious. as mon Prince" The
deduction naturally drawn is that an English
man. though he deprecates CONSUMPTION. and
| bhohsA 1855 oeAsh oASSt 81 Jaw Aosbo
OF most men now alive, been at war with a civil
lied power, has a human weakness for fighting.
and that q Frenchman. however sincere his Off.
cial creed that titular honors have no place in a
democratic State, has an equally human disbe-
lief that ordinary people arc the equals of per-
sons of rank.
Before glancine at the nobiliary titles used
by an everincreasing number Of French citizens
under the republic. Mr.. Bodley notices tho legal
lied mode whereby the Government countcracts
the principle of equality advertised In its revo-
lutionary device. The Legion of Honor founded
by Napoleon during the Consulate. and reorRan-
lied at various epochs. is pronounced an excel
lent institution of its kind. II 1t be for the
public good that a portion of the human COM
munity should be singled out for distinction by
the Government under which 1t exists tho broad
basis of the Legion Of Honor seems to present
certain advantages. 1t puts a widespread
premium on good behavior. Every citizen
"a u,..-.A 49, .-L &..k