Year: 1873

| ent contest IN France must have deep IN
terest. The republican form of government
under which this country has grown and pros
pered, may have its weak points here and there
but as government of the people by the
of hope to the oppressed millions Of other
nations less favored Take it for all
in all it has answered its purpose
admirably. What the royalist Englishman or
German imperialist has said of our failures in
one direction, OF our excesses in another, OF
our civil war, of the corruption in high places,
is met on every hand by the splendid front
which free nation makes, conscious OF its
strength and its rectitude Abuses we have
and have had, but they never yet in the coun-
try's history took the form of right,
rs they do where privileged class
are the abusers and the formulators of codes
of law and ethics. In matters of the kind
which our unfriendly critics fasten on the
final appeal is to the people, and when the
latter see their danger it is safe to count that
il will be remedied at whatever cost
The more unfortunate episodes of our national
progress have been favorite ''irightful ex-
amples' with the opponents of republicanism
but when these have failed, the lover Of caste
and kingship has had his ever ready spook at
hand wherewith to frighten old women and
children-the spectre rouge Of France. Among
the great nations Of Europe France has
oftener and more bitterly struggled to gain q
republican form Of government than any other
Goaded TO revolution by the evils of the old
monarchy she stood up alone in Europe to
assert the right Of the people to rule.
Infuriated by the conspiracies of the over
thrown aristocracy within and the coalitions
of kingly powers without, the revolution
turned its hands upon those it deemed respon-
sible, and wreaked that sanguinary indis-
criminate vengeance which has made SO
red ghost TO kings forever and rem
dered ''the Terror an inefaceable epoch.
Like all excesses, il defeated itself, and for
half century after the Republic was once
we'll strangled the suggestion of its reappear-
ance in France frightened old women and
children everywhere. In 1S4S the fame of
revolution in the name of the Republic broke
out in France and spread with i'll success
over almost the entire continent of Europe.
Republican 'ideos'' were once more on trial,
but the defence was so badly conducted that
the people handed over its conduct to an
adventurer who soon found means to betray
his clients. But after the collapse of the Sec
ond Empire republican form of government
came into being, not merely by chance, but
by necessity, and in this fact alone demon
strated that in spite of episodal abuses in gov
erning here and the existence of red ghost
in France, the Republic is the ultimate
form of government. That under these cir
cumstances, conspiracy of great strength
is struggling to drag France backward
into the folds Of the monarchy is
matter for the careful contemplation
OF the American people. 1t will show them
the value of every right which it is theirs to
guard. 1t should strengthen their resolve to
firmly oppose the foes of sound popular gov
ernment, under whatever specious disguise
they may appear. The conspiracy which
stands between the French people and their
right to govern themselves may never have its
exact analogue here, but many valuable hint
will be found in studying its attitude and its
acts.


The message of President MacMahon has
soldierly pointedness, and leaves neither his
opinions nor his desires in doubt It is
evident that In common with other mon
archists, the unexpected unmanageableness Of
the Comte de Chambord has soured the hopes
of MacMahon for time at least So he
asks for a strong government and is
ready to administer it if the conservative
majority of the Assembly will arm him with
the necessary powers. He will then see to it
that French newspapers, if they must be
bitterly written, shall derive none of their gall
from republican or free-thinking sources.
They may be bilious, but royalty or clerically
so. The Right received the message with ap-
plause, and moved in answer that the execu-
tive power be conferred on MacMahon
for ten years. Failing king to
hand, he was their man to o dot. The
attitude Of the republicans with regard to this
motion was a very weak one, because they
had nothing to propose instead which they
could hope to carry. Indeed, the prolonga-
ton of MacMahons power was their own last
resort The real fight will come up when it is
to be decided what are the powers which Mac
Mahon is to WELD.


The point taken on the message by NJ.
Dufaure was good one. He argued, and
with good reason, that ''the message Of the
Executive expressed the general desire for the
adoption Of definite government, but yet ad-
vised the continuance Of the present pre-
| carious regime There he struck o
note which the government must answer,
and very soon. A fortnight before
the opening, the provisional government was
accounted all but dead in the arms Of the
restored monarchy, and a cry for definite
government" was the best in the royalist
| rknerf0dre To daY they are in no hurry be-