Year: 1871

In these columns this morning, informs MS
that radical change in the French govern
ment is imminent. President Theirs, 1t
seems, has made up his mind to resign the
Presidency in favor Of the Duke d'Aumale.
Our correspondent states that the Duke and
the President have perfect understanding on
the subject. The new arrangement, it is said,
Is approved of by all the members OF the
Right. The Princes Of the House Of Orleans
are so far pleased with the proposed arrange
ment that they have agreed not to take their
seats in the Assembly until the new scheme is
ripe and ready to shape itself into visible
fact. The principal reason assigned for the
new departure-for 80 we must take the
liberty to call it's that the President feels
his inability to longer resist the forces Of the
Right, which have been sent up from the prov
inces. Another reason is that he has an in
creasing dread of the influence which Il is
known the imperialists have with the army.
There are those who think that the Duke
dAumale, who, like his father, is somewhat
of q trickster, may, once he gets hold Of
the reins Of government, cheat the Count de





however, that the army, by declaring for the
empire, may mar the plans Of Theirs and
| destroy the hopes of the Orleanists.


| Such is our latest budget of news from
France. We did not need this piece of intelli-
gence to be convinced that crisis had at last
arrived in the history of the provisional gov
ernment Of President Thiers. That crisis
was approaching has long been apparent;
and many weeks ago it was foreshadowed in
these columns Of one thing this despatch
makes us certain-it shows that the French
people as whole are dissatisfied with the un-
certainty which prevails. The masses of the
people, who care little for politics, demand
fixed government To them it matters little
whether the government be republican, mo-
narchicsl or imperial. What they want is that
an end be made to this provisional regime,
which, while calling itself republican, Is more
despotic than the empire but which is neither
republican nor monarchical, nor imperial.
Thisis the feeling througbou the country. With
| the politicians matters are entirely different.
Each party has its own scheme and is bent on
its own purpose The republicans are partly
L
they have not the substance. The imperial
lists are not altogether dissatisfied, because the
provisional government still leaves them
the army, on which, when the final tug Of
war comes, they know they can lean. The
Orleanists are impatient because they know
that but for the resistance Of the President
they could carry their purpose. Such is the
state Of public feeling and such Is the
attitude of the different parties. We have not
mentioned the legitimists, because we think
the time has come when they must be counted
out of the fight. No one is so fully aware that
such is the state of things as President Theirs
himself. For some eight or nine months he
| has been asking France to wait, and encourage
ing the belief that his plans were fully matured,
and that when the time for action came mat
ters would be found all right France has
waited; the political factions have been rea-
sonably peaceful; but to-day the original
uncertainty remains, and no man can tell
| what is to be the immediate future. Impa-
tience, it is manifest, has now taken hold Of
the nation and of all the political parties, but
particularly, it seems, of the monar chists, and
delay is no longer to be tolerated. The
President is convinced that he must do some
thing, or seem to be willing to do something.
Hence the programme sketched in our special
cable despatch.


Is the President serious in this proposal?
That is the question which many who know
France and French political parties will ask
themselves when they read the new pro-
gramme. Let US distinctly understand
what it is proposed to do. Arrangements
are to be made whereby the Orleans
Princes shall be enabled to take their seats.
So soon as they shall have taken their
seats in the Assembly President Theirs will
resign, and the Assembly will be asked to
appoint In his place the Duke d'Aumale.
| This is the plan. On the face of it it does
| look like an honest attempt to secure
| the restoration Of the House of Orleans.
1t is notorious that the Assembly is two
thirds monarchical, and 1t is not to be doubted
that if M. Theirs should carry out his avowed
purpose the Duke dAumale would be elected
President by large majority. But the ques-
tion remains-is President Thers sincere
Does he really intend to carry out this pro-
| gramme? Our readers must have noticed of
late that NJ. Theirs no longer terrifes the
| Assembly into obedience by daily threats of
resignation. That game is played out 1t
is no longer serviceable. May it not be that
| in this new scheme we have the old threat
| repeated, under new form? Arrangements
have yet to be made. The purpose is not to
be carried out Immediately. What If the
Assembly should again take fright and
seeing, after the resignation Of the President,
another war Of the factions, barricades, blood
and all the horrors of civil war, should
request him to abandon his purpose and