Year: 1870




| For nearly month now France has been
an Empire without an Emperor. When NapO-
leon left Paris it was announced that the En-
press Eugenie would act as Regent, ana tha1
he himself would take command of the army.
But she has shown herself to be as powerless
and HELPLESS in her nominal Regency as he
has shown himself to be imbecile and putty
as nominal commander of the army. She fg-
ured for moment in little theatrical spec
tacle at Cherbourg before the sailors, after
which she was seized with a panic, and her
authority as head of the State has been ignored
ever since that time He figured for moment
in an odd theatrical piece ON the nights of
Saarbruck, after which he also seems to
have been seized with panic, for ne has
made no pretense since that time OF exer-
cising any authority as head of the army
| In the mean time, the governmental
control of Paris-which now means
France" more than ever-has fallen INTO
| the hands of a Directory of Defense, which
Yesterday consisted of eight military and civil
| functionaries, but to which have now been
added four members of the Chambers. This
extraordinary body is possessed of supreme
power in all matters of administration, and
apparently in all matters of public policy its
DEGREES are issued without the authorization
of the Emperor, and without the signature OF
the Regent it holds in its control the des-
TIMES of the Empire. 1t may be said that the
dictatorship is in the hands of its head, Gen.
| Trochu, the newly-appOinted Governor OF
Paris and Imperial Chief of Staff, who COM
mands the army of the capital, who has is
sued procamatons in his own name, who has
enforced his will in regard to several important
civic matters, and who has promulgated ideas
upon public questions in direct opposition to
those of the Empire. We have no doubt that
| if Trochu finds himself embarrassed in any
way by the conduct of the other members of
the Directory, he will promptly dispense with
their assistance, and practically demonstrate
his possession of power against which they,
as well as the nominal Emperor and the nominal
Regent, are wholly helpless The necessities
of the situation and the precedents of the Ma
poleOnic dynasty, furnish him excuse, II not
justification, for this course.


In the mean time, the existence of this
Directory is proof of the virtual breaking
down of the Empire. The ordinary machinery
of the Government and Administration has
failed in this crisis and ruling power that
is practically revolutionary in its nature is in
possession Of all the authority that is now left
in France We do not believe, however, that
the Directory is yet in condition to take
ground against the Emperor nor do we be-
lieve that he has yet lost hope of resuming
his place on the French throne.


Napoleon the Third will never give up his
throne till he has exhausted every means OF
retaining it. He will sacrifice the interests OF
France, the name of the French army, and the
objects for which he declared war; he will
sacrifice anything and everything rather than
his own hold upon power. If the Prussians
were at the gates of Paris, and the cause OF
France were lost he would still have cards
that he could play in his own behalf IT, as a
soldier. he is an imbecile and a blunderer, he
is cunning and experienced as negotiator
and when desperation came to his aid, he
would play in way that might at least give
him a chance of saving himself from total
ruin. He would be able also to resort to more
than one expedient against internal as well as
external peril. If One-half his army were lost
he would still, in case he retained control OF
the other half have enough troops to crush
| any Republican or anti-NapOleOnic uprising
in Paris; and, succeeding even temporarily in
this, he would establish reign of terror simi-
lar to that by which he so long governed
France At all events, however these things
may turn out. it may be taken as certain
and it will not be hard of belief by those who
know the character and career of Louis Napo-
leon-that he will not surrender his throne
until every expedient of war and all the re-
sources of diplomacy and negotiation have
been exhausted


Every American Republican and every
enemy of Casarism and despotism throughout
the world will consider the war a failure, in
one respect at least, if he succeed. We trust
moreover that the people of France will ut
terly destroy the Napoleonic dynasty. We trust
we shall not, in any case, see it perpetuated
in the person of his son, or his cousin, or any
other member of the Bonaparte family. The
Bonapartes have been a curse to France and
to the world from first to last and now is
the opportunity to destroy them, root and
branch.


There is talk about the return of the Or
leanists to the French throne. We cannot be-
lieve in the possibility of this. We trust it
will never be realized.


What we desire to see established in France
at the close of this war is the Republic!