New-York tribune., 1910-05-22
THE NEW FRENCH HOUSE
Changes Ensuing Upon Election
Have Deep import.
Paris. Nav IN

ton cannot fail to exercise a profound
I influence upon the course of French pol-
i,ics during the next four years.
In the last parliament the ministerial
majority was mainly composed of the
Radical and Radical Socialist groups.
and it was so large that no possible COM
! bination Of other groups could stand
against it. For this reason the two
Prime Ministers who successfully han
died it. n. Clemenceau and NJ BRAND.
were absolute masters Of the situation,
and had always at their hands a per-
fectly docile and effective instrument for
the execution of their plans.
In the present parliament NJ. Brands
task will not be quite SO easy. The
Radical and Radical Socialist groups.
which for voting purposes in the Cham
ber are practically identical, have lost
twenty eight seats. while the Unified, or
CouectiEist, Socialists have Won twenty
seats. and eight seats have been gained
by the Republicans Of the Left. who.
though in no sense the allies of the Re
dictionary or Royalist groups, are never
theless a moderate party. strenuously
~
always in sympathy with some of the
more advanced and Utopian schemes
which from time TO time have figured
in the ministerial programme.
Consequently. the bloc" as the min
isterial majority in the last two parlia-
ments was called, Will now have opposed
to it a stronger and more compact So
cialist minority than has yet been seen
in the French Chamber, for the indie
pendent Socialists have lost five seats,
and number now only twenty-five Dep
uties. as against thirty in the last par
lament, and it will also have to calcu-
late with the increased power Of the Re
publican Noderates.
The Conservatives lose one seat, and
are siXty-nine Deputies instead of sew
enty. as before. The Nationalist are
sixteen instead of twenty. The Progress
lists. the most moderate of the Repub-
Iican groups, lose one seat. and are sixty
six instead OF sixty-seven. The COM
bined groups which stand for moderate
liberalism and are hostile to a Socialist
revolution thus nearly outbalance the
bloc" which has a numerical superb
ority Of only twenty-seVen seats.
II is easy. therefore, TO foresee that
NJ. Brands remarkable powers of diplo-
macy and oratorical persuasion will be
taxed to their utmost during the forth
coming session in order 10 keep good
working majority together. and doubt
less he will feel it incumbent upon him
TO make some concessions to the moder-
ating spirit of the Republicans of the
Left. The battle between Collectivist
Socialism. led by NJ. Jaures, and anti
revolutionary liberalism viii be all the
fiercer in consequence, but instead of the
bloc making concessions to Socialism,
as so frequently happened in the last
uaIIiament, il viii now be the Moderate
Republicans who viii receive its favors,
and thus strike the balance.
Although this will involve a certain
change of attitude on the part of n.
BRAND, there is no doubt that the
change will be welcome TO him, and that
he viii continue TO dominate the situa-
tion in the mastery and masterfuI way
which characterized his craftsmanship
in the last parliament, and gained for
him the reputation Of being the greatest
Prime Minister which the present re-
public has yet known.
With a, wise anticipation Of the re-
suits which these last elections would
give, NJ. BRAND has for some little time
past been displaying a more and more
conservative spirit. The stern energy
with which he forbade the CollectiVist
o-iS iafa
den on the occasion of May ! gave them
foretaste Of what his attitude would
be toward the revolutionary groups in
the present Chamber. He has had his
ear TO the ground, and recognized be-
fore any of his ministerial colleagues
that a period of "detente.'' d slowing up
Of party contentious and the establish
ment Of a more conciliatory spirit be-
tween the different Republican groups in
parliament. was what the country needed
and would insist upon having. This is
what he is both willing and able to bring
about.
His chief business will consist in keep
ing the Liberals together. so that they
may present an undivided front against
the increased forces of the Revolution
airy Socialists. who. though constituting
a hopeless minority by themselves. are
flushed by their relative success at the
polls, and are in a more effective state
Of disciplined organization than they
have ever been before.
A striking feature of the new parlia
nent is the number Of new Deputies. of
whom there are 206. more than fifty
more than there were in the last Cham
Der. This Is looked on as supplying an
other clear hint or the part of the cleo
torate that with. new blood there should
be a sinking Of old differences and an
evolution toward cohesion and sim
plicity in the future conduct Of the ma
tons affairs. The fact that one Of the
main issues of the election was the ques-
ton Of proportional representation also
accounts for so many new Deputies nav
ing been returned. The partisans Of the
"R. p" as this proposed electoral re
form is usually designated, assert that
they now have a large majority in the
Chamber favorable 10 their scheme. and
that its passage into law Is hencefor-
ward merely a question of date.
Among the newly elected Deputies
whose names did not figure on the last
nh, I,a va