Marshal MacMahon has made an address to several Deputies -which
makes his position quite clear. He will serve as President till the vote is taken, say 12th November. If the vote is Mon- archical, he will obey the Monarch. If it is Republican, he will help to serve the Republic, which must then be definitively pro- claimed. But he will not be stop-gap for either side, especially not for the Republican, whose opinions are not his, and will defini- tively terminate his Presidency. This is straightforward, and considering that he pitches away £40,000 a year, is disinterested ; but it imposes on M. Thiers the necessity of taking the Presi- dency, and finding a good Minister of War. General Chanzy has refused for the present, there is no Republican Marshal, and M. Thiers may be driven back on General Faidherbe, a qualified soldier, but rather too Radical in opinion. He could find plenty of younger men, but the Army likes men who have commanded in the field.
