The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-09-22

crime ~ December ,. 1851.
-
v.
On the fac. % ihings. therefore. under
the French Constitution 81 1875. the Partia-
ment with the Cabinet. it's organ Of initia-
ton, execution and administration may
apply to itself the saying. -Lti1f. c'ssf moi"
II then that sovereign authority the Pariis-
ment irresponsible? Cannot the judges
themselves he judged? To the question
Quis cystodiet cus,odes, the Constitution re-
turns no answer. The Deputies. the Sens-
tors are legally responsible to nobody for
their votes in Pa ment. They are under
no control but hat Of the suffrage which
elected them. The only threat they have
TO fear is that Of not being reelected. Does
the voter. in his turn. incur no responsibility
with reference To his voter Suppose that
he has made a grave mistake and that the
country is suffering. that minorities are OPP
pressed. that the independence or welfare
Of the nation il jeoparded. where. when
and 10 whom shall he render ~ccount2 So
far az the organic law is concerned, the
reply is: Never. nowhere. to no one. Public
prosperity. national interests. jlssice itself.
have no other recourse but violent revolu-
ton ana the verdict OF history.
There always remains. however. one
supreme appeal. which is not mentioned
in the Constitution. but whose possible
unmentioned ole il never absent from
the thoughts Of public men; the appeal
to public opinion. Public opinion 10 at
once the conscience and the vital instinct
of the nation; il is the expression OF its will
to live. The people, being q sovereign. 10
also a Judge. Our author recalls that
Sir W. Arson in his book on the British
Constitution recognizes that there is no
ultimate sanction for the actions Of dele
gated power in a Parliamentary regime
except social conscience and national good
sense. There he Tocaueville also placed
the supreme recourse against the errors
OF a democratic regime. Without any
hesitation he demanded entire liberty for
the press. THE more ] look upon the in
dependence OF the press in it's principal
effect said he. therein following John
Stuart Mill. -the more I become convinced
that among moderns that independence
10 the capital and so TO speak constitutional
element Of Liberty" Public opinion does
not. of course. find ito sole medium OF ex-
preston in the press. IL needs more than
the press; 10 il a stream infinitely more
powerful. broader and more equable than
that which feeds the newspapers. Flowing
from the very soul of a State or OF q city.
It owes it's strength to the social authority.
Of which II IL the perpetual and spontaneous
e~n,anation.
NJ. Hanotaux goes IN 20 remind US that
the apord Of the Greek city-state has now.
thanks to the modern ease and rapidity OF
communication, become widened a. far rs
the boundaries Of q great country. The
People, now an actual eye or ear witness Of
debates, decisions, events, though remain
ing by the family hearth, judges its masters
and judges itself. 1T Ia for the People that
discussions take place, for the People that
the immense apparatus 10 SGT in motion
which gives publicity to every action. every
saving Of those who are in authority; for
the People that solemn parliamentary in
auiries are opened (when the last con-
stitutional resources have been exhausted);
the People armed with but one weapon. end
aiming at but one sanction. namely. Light
Blame, even when unexpressed In print.
falls upon the guilty like a judicial sentence;
public esteem soothes many q good citizen
whom party caprice has hurt. Public
opinion often reviews convictions rendered
by courts n Jur1es, ever dissatisfied-
vide the Dreyfus case-until real justice
shall nave been done; because for nations.
as we'll as individuals. justice means the
same thing as happiness.
Thus in the eyes OF NJ HanotauAit is
the authority of public opinion. which
though present is invisible. that has re-
lieved the greater number Of modern con-
stitutions from a too frequent recourse to
brute force. II is public opinion that comes
| to the assistance Of wisdom and persuasion
! and imposes them upon interests and pas
| sions. Ii was owing to public opinion that
the principle OF mo c~onstraint." looked
! upon at first ms a bold and impossible
| novelty. came TO he introduced into poll
tics. Faith in the justice and equity Of the
greater number Of citizens 10 the funda-
mental implication in the French Constitu-
ton Of 1878. which inaugursted q sincere
Application Of universal suesass. That
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