A correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette, apparently well informed,
made on Friday a statement which if true overshadows all other news from France. He affirms that if the two elections of Sunday, one for the Gironde and one for the Haute Marne, should go against the Government, Marshal MacMahon will appeal to the country with this question :—" Does the nation confirm my elec- tion as President of the Republic for seven years ? Yes or no ? " The answer would possibly be Yes,' and in that event the Republic would be established, and Marshal MacMahon might 'venture to meet a new Assembly without fear of dethronement. It is said that the Bonapartists will resist and the Legitimists Will abstain, but if the vote is 'Yes' the Marshal will have no need to care for either. If the verdict is 'No,' however, he will have only two alternatives,—to leave the Assembly to elect his successor, or to put this new question to the people, "The Bourbon Monarchy, the Bonapartist Monarchy, or a Republic ?" or which -would be much better, "Henri Cinq, Napoleon IV., or M. Thiers '?" it seems clear that the notion of an appeal to the people in some way gains ground, but we shall not have long to wait to test this statement.
