The death of M. Waldeck-Rousseau on Wednesday, from a disease
of the liver that necessitated two serious operations, is a great loss to France. He was one of those grave Republicans, never too numerous, who, while devoted to Liberal principles, are competent to govern even in dis- turbed times. He quieted the fierce passions excited by the Dreyfus affair, stopped the persecution, brought back the Army to discipline, and finally, by a wise amnesty, relegated the dangerous controversy to the domain of history. He was never very fond of office, being more attracted by his great practice at the Bar, and only responded to what he thought the call of his country; but had he lived, he would probably have been the next President of the Republic. He strongly desired to secularise education, but considered the action of M. Combes in summarily suppressing the Monastic schools rather too violent. He had retired almost entirely from politics, but friends and foes alike consider that in his death a reserve force has been lost to his country. It is, in truth, the difficulty of French Republicans that there are so few Whig statesmen among them.
Previous page
