Year: 1879

The American press looks with less intelli-

 gence on political movements in France, and

 with less sympathy for the new Republic, than

 one who had never noticed it's vagaries could

 have supposed possible, A mutinous Magyar

 or Polish aristocracy seldom fails to arouse a

 superabundance of American sympathy.

 Popular struggles in France are regarded with

 suspicion that would be unaccountable if his-

 tory did tell us how it arose. Eighty years

 ago, the French Republic was an important

 issue in American politics. Jefferson and the

 Democracy believed in the Revolution of '89,

 even through the Reign of Terror and the Ma

 poleonic Reaction. Adams and the Federal ists hated the great Revolution and every out come of that Revolution with all the bigotry of George III., Burke, or the English Tory. To this day French politics have been muddle

 to the American. He has inherited distrust

 of the Frenchman's capacity for self govern

 ment from his Federalist ancestors which col ors all his views of their proceedings. A reac-

 tionist dynasty in France can rely on ten times the American sympathy that similar power in any other European country could possibly command. Of late, indeed, the apparent sta bility and conservatism of French popular government has excited much surprise and some admiration among us. Let the French statesman, however, attempt any one of the reforms so obviously needed to strengthen the Republic, and there is a wonderful shaking of Yankee, heads, and newspaper protest against the exercise in France of what we in America consider the fundamental rights of popular government.

 The latest exhibition of this kind has been the numerous warning voices from the Ameri- can press against the socalled Ferry Education bill which last week passed the House of Dep uties. To understand the propriety of this measure, we must refer to the connection be- tween church, state, and popular education in France. The church, it must be remembered, is supported by the state. The Catholic priest hood, which is continually preaching sedition and plotting treason against the Republic are pensioners of the very government they are trying to overthrow. For three quarters of century past, they have favored every reaction against popular government. They have been Imperialist, Legitimist, Orleanist anything to beat Repubicanism. During all that time, with but very brief intervals of better govern mcnt, France has been ruled by combina- ton of tyranny and bigotry. The Bourbon or the Bonaparte who happened to be in power was generally in league with the priesthood. Each played into the others hand, and helped consolidate the others power The most i'm portant concession to the priesthood was the control of popular education. As long as the government and the clergy were in agreement, this plan worked nicely for both parties but, now that the clergy are to a man hostile to the government, it must be evident to any candid continue no longer. How long would any American political party allow such an embit- tered adversary as the French church control of popular education? How long would it be before their salaries were withdrawn, and the clergy left to the support of the people?

 The chief object of the Ferry bill, as we un derstand it, is to prohibit the employment of Jesuits as teachers. This order is the most vir- ulent section of the hostile clerical faction; it owes implicit obedience to a foreign master; and that master is pronounced enemy of popular institutions. If the measure pressed by the present government of France is objec- tionobio at all it is objectionable because it is half measure when the times require the com- plete emancipation of French education from Catholic control.