The prospects of the Dissolution of the French Assembly are
rapidly improving. All fractions of the Left, with a moderation rare in French politics, have agreed as far as possible to avoid discussion, that the Dissolution may be hastened on, and on Wednesday the second reading of the Public Powers Bills was carried through in a single sitting. M. Malvin proposed that if the Assembly was dissolved, the Permanent Committee should continue sitting, but he was defeated by 604 votes to 23. The Duke de la Rochefoucauld-Bisaccia proposed to give the power of declaring war, without the previous consent of the Chambers, to the President, provided that President were Marshal Mac- Mahon, and made a speech, in which he said that a mere President of a Republic would find himself a pariah among Kings and Emperors. Of course this merely irritated the Cham- ber, and the amendment was rejected by 433 to 177, the minority being made up of Legitimists, soldiers, and the Marshal's personal following. Finally, the whole Bill was adopted by 547 to 97. The new political sense which misfortune has developed in France came out strongly in the whole proceeding, which has scarcely a precedent in her history.
