The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-06

of the later pages Of his second volume. But as
tho o opinions are based on the present con-
dition Of political parties, and thus have to dc
with the actual workings Of the existing regime
they had better he reserved for another notice.
We pass, accordingly. TO the inquiry, How far
have the capital aims OF the hrst brenoh
revolution. tho aims embodied in the
words. liberty, equality, fraternity, been ful-
filled under the Third Republioi 1t IL In three
chapters OF tho first volume that tho fate OF
these principles 10 considered at length, 1t is
noteworthy that on the third occasion when
Franco established q republican form OF gov
eminent, namely, In 1875. the National Assem-
bly, Mt Versailles voted n constitution contain
ing no declaration Of principle and no promise
OF liberty. Once organized, however. tho Third
Republic set UP again the motto which the
French President had removed from public
buildings when he rooted up the trees OF lib
crty planted BY the enthusiasts OF 1S4s. IL
the inscription on coins and on public build.
ings, "Libcrte. Egalit6. Fratcrnite." were
recognized as merely an official badge. one
would take no moro serious notice OF 1t than
OF the heraldic motto Of a distinguished family
referring to some moro or less authentic ndven.
ture In It's history, out Of keeping with tho char
acter Of its present members. The chief objec-
ton to It would be its length, as, printed In black
characters. IL often defaces q handsome monu.
ment. and one could wish that tho Third Repub-
lie had chosen O less s%prawling device like the
s.. p. @. r. Of the municipality OF modern Rome.
which, for other reasons. is equally inapt. Our
authors observations have convinced him that.in
France. liberty is q mere subject Of tho classroom
and the library, and that the association OF the
idea OF liberty with the French Revolution. or.
at all events. with that phase of 1t which estab-
lished the republican form of government, is
rpraIv ronuopftopa II xvaa 0p1v vyhan fha allied
anti.revolutionary aovereigns in 1s14-15 forced
back its ancient line of kings on Franco TINT the
country began to enjoy n taste of the liberty
which the philosophers had preached, and which
the revolution had checked while making a
great parade of the principle. 1t certainly is not
in his boyhood that n Frenchman has much prac.
tical experience of liberty. He reads about it
in antiquity and in French philosophy, out
when he gets up from his books his surround.
ings mako him feel that what he has learned
about liberty has no moro practical bearing on
modern life in France than tho geography Of the
Odyssey or the agriculture Of the Georges. Mr..
Bodley has noted that a Frenchman often likens
a lyc6e or college. in its interior economy
to a barrack or to a prison, and. un-
less he were a day scholar, looks back
to his school days as a period of
servitude in which, sleeping and waking, he
was subject to perpetual espionage. There is.
our author notes. no sadder spectacle on the
gay scene of Paris than that of the mournful
professions of bearded youths in collegiate uni
forms promenading the Champs Elysees
under the eyes of their ushers! 1t Is true. on
the other hand. that, during the rest of his
career. a French citizen OF law-abiding tempera-
mont may not experience any unpleasant en-.
croachment on his liberty; the notion that a
resident in France Is the prey of constant OF.
Hrial uayoftop Ia prnnounce6 ayapparatad 0nr
author. for his part. knows of no country where.
under normal circumstances, life can be en-
joyed more TRANQUILITY. 1t Is. at the same time,
pointed out that he is exposed to accidents
which remind him that the chief tangible re-
suit of the French Revolution was the voluntary
submission of tho nation to the tyranny of abso-
lutism. as the following case will show. A COM
mercial clerk. after his Days work, Is showing
to his children in q popular history pictures
illustrating the imputed horrors of the Bastilo.
Tho good father explains to his sons tho nature
Of a iettre de cdchet and the iniquity of q sys-
TEN. destroyed by the glorious revolution.
which permitted a citizen to BIO thrown into
prison without trial. Suddenly. q knock is
heard at the door. A police officer enters with
o warrant to arrest tho man on the charge Of
defrauding his employer. He protests his inno-
cence, but is carried off. So far the proceedings
might have occurred in any free country, even
In the case Of a mar u~njustly taken into GUS
tody; but the next steps, which a whole genera
ton under the Third Republic has submitted
to, are not suggestive of life under a democrat
ic, parliamentary regime. of which the official
fete Is the anniversary of the fall Of the Bas-
tile. The accused person Is locked up in solitary
confinement, shut of from communication with
his family, and. in private audience. interro-
gated day after day by magistrate who strives
In o~fort nm oynua1 NTaonyyhi1a ali fhA forraa
of the police are at work to got up evidence
against the untried prisoner. Of the nature Of
which he is kept ignorant, while the Juge din
strtLction. in his interrogatories, uses tho craft
Of q skilled expert to drag admissions from the
mouth Of the man bewildered with the isolation
of captivity, sometimes browbeating him with
threats. sometimes inventing the fiction that an
accomplice has proved his guilt. Until the TWEEN
t~y-eighth year of the present republic the &C
cused was not allowed to consult a lawyer for his
defence until he was finally committed for
trial. 1t was only the other day that q charge
was made in this particular. Criminal pro.
cedure has at last been somewhat modified In
the twenty.eighth year OF the republic by the
efforts OF NJ. Constans after the exposure of tho
evils Of the secret instruction by an eminent
public prosecutor. But law reformers are skep.
tical about the practical results of the reform
(which permits an accused person to employ an
advocate during the private preliminary in
quiry). as there Is no prospect of the Magistracy
adopting or Of public opinion enforcing the
doctrine which presumes tho possible Innocence
of an untrled prisoner. The system OF secret
instruction" hourished intact during q gener-
alton of democratic rule. sometimes. indeed.
criticised in the press when 1t gave rise to
some glazing scandal. such as the suicide Of
an unfortunate conscious Of innocence. yet
crushed with tho anxiety of his situation. or
when an eloquent advocate. by picturing to
the jury the hardship of the ordeal. restored his
client to his family broken in health and for
tune. The prolonged tolerance of such a system
in a nation where universal suffrage is supreme.
and where the freedom Of the press In denounc-
ing institutions is Of unbridled license. has
shown that idea of liberty has in France q pccu-
liar and special Specification.
Mr.. Bodley directs attention to another.
though less tragic. experience of tho national
conception of liberty which may befall a French
citizen suspected of mere irregularity. To real.
lie the plenitude of his privilege in living
Yndar m rApuh1ic ho Loo n HE hon,a 49, l.-A