- which placed him once more at the head of
an undivided party, same methods, whatever is the method of election. If pour out the vials of his scorn upon M. Dufaure, who had there is any difference, it is slightly in favour of each elec- confessed himself baffled by the veil which covered the result tor, whose importance under the new system is perceptibly of the next election, who had pointed to M. Barodet's election, diminished. At present, each elector votes, say, for ten Depu- which was a bye-election, and therefore uninominal, as a proof ties, and the advantage of corrupting him is very great; but at of the evils produced by the scrutin tie lisle, and who had the next election he will vote for only one, and the advantage admitted that scrutin de lisle was an admirable weapon for of corrupting him is lessened, while the means of doing it great crises ; on the Orleanists, who "confiscate power in the name are not enlarged. The Prefect has only so many places of that Revolution of July," which ended, not in a coup (Mat, to give away, so many promises to make, so many opportuni- but a coup de fourchette—it was the prohibition of a banquet ties of doing you an ill-turn to employ, whichever system which sent the Left in 1848 into the streets ;—and on the of election is adopted, and has rather more energy to use Government.; which had changed a Revolution into a wet-nurse— them all with when acting on a whole department than when the Septennate, which the orator assumes to be nursing Monarchy acting on ten separated fractions of it, some of which are —which "loved the practices of the Empire, though devoid sure to raise the banner of revolt.. We admit most fully that of the skill to use them," and which "will become Monarchical many of the most experienced Frenchmen, including M. Thiers, whenever it finds it useful to be so." All Deputies welcomed M. de Broglie, the Emperor Napoleon, and M. Ronher, have taken the speech, a majority congratulated the orator, but, never- a different view of this matter ; but while acknowledging their theless, the fears of the Conservatives and the self-interest of authority, we cannot falsely say we perceive the justice of the the Conservative Republicans, who feared exclusion from the fears and hopes on which their conviction is based. The cease--England will have no alternatives but to forbid inter- lists, proved too strong, and at eleven o'clock at night, a late ference,—that is, to enter upon a most formidable land war, a hour for France, the serial* de liste, under which this most war in which she could not hope for success except through Conservative of :Assemblies was elected, was abolished by secret exertions such as defeated Napoleon —or to protect her route ballot and a vote of 357 to 326. to India by occupying it herself. We do not believe that if The immediate effect of this vote, and it is one which may driven to such a choice, the statesmen now at the head of have weighed heavily with many Republican Deputies, is good. affairs will hesitate which to choose. Of course no such deci- It deprives the Marshal-President of every excuse for seeking sion has yet been reached in British councils. The Govern- a plebiscitum, or for selecting a Ministry from among poli- ment of this country does not frame policies to be carried ticians outside the Assembly, or for sanctioning a coup d'etat out whatever the circumstances may be, or arrive at im- in any shape or form. It enables the present Ministry, which mense decisions before the necessity for them has become is a feeble one, to go on preparing for the elections, and takes patent, and before anything is known of public opinion ; but out of their hands the strongest of political tricksters' weapons, that Mr. Disraeli had in his mind some such far-off, but still the right of altering the circumscriptions of districts at dis- visible contingency, we entertain no doubt whatever. If he cretion. The boundaries of an arrondissement can no more had not, his speech was a most imperfect reflection of his be altered than the boundaries of an English hundred, that is, mind ; and Mr. Disraeli, when such subjects are on the carpet, can only be altered by a Statute passed to repeal history and and he is too startled to indulge in epigrammatic fantasies about geography together. The cities, Paris excepted, which is a the necessity of the Temporal Power or about the Mountains Department also, will no longer be swamped. by their depart- of Rasselas, is a master of language. He believes that the talents, as the minor cities have been swamped by scrutin de Eastern question is on us, and sees clearly that if the Imperial lisle, and large numbers of medium towns will acquire electoral Powers quarrel over it, there will be deadly war ; while if they importance. A town of 30,000 persons is lost in a department act together, Great Britain must secure the safety of the key of 300,000, but is a most important section of an arrondissement
to her own house. of 100,000. The Ministry must begin its manipulations under the control of severe legal conditions, and is deprived of all the help it might gain from the apprehension of a use of illegal THE DEBATE ON THE FRENCH ELECTORAL LAW. force. All this is a gain for the Republic, if Republicans form
THE debate at Versailles on the Electoral Law ended on the majority ; nor can we think the ultimate consequences Thursday night in a decided, though it may be a barren, of the vote will -prove so very disastrous. The con- victory for the Conservatives. Up to the last moment the vinced advocates of scrutin de lisle produce three argu- result was doubtful, and the Government became so alarmed menu against the scrutin d'arrondissement, but while we that early on Thursday it was announced that even if defer to their judgment on their own countrymen, we defeated the Cabinet would not resign. The Left had in attach to only one of them considerable weight. They fact on Monday seemed to be masters of the situation. It say that in districts so limited as the arrondissement the in- was understood that an amendment, prepared by M. fluency of prejudices will overbear the influence of ideas ; that Delsol, restricting the suffrage to persons who had personal weight, such, for example, as that of a great pro- resided within the Commune for two years, would prietor, will affect the electors ; and that the Government will be supported by the Cabinet, but the Assembly showed be able to make itself, through its officials, severely felt. The itself so determined to support the proposal to enforce first argument M. Gambetta himself rejects, and it is certainly only six months' residence, voting the first paragraph illusory. We are talking of one election, the next, and not almost unanimously, that the Government retreated, and of a century of elections, and for this one election, the obvious asked for a slight change of words to give them time to issue, "Shall the Republic stand ? " will be brought before consult, and on Tuesday the more Democratic arrangement the electors plainly enough. A single speech from M. Thiers, was passed without a division, and with the addition of calling on the people to remember that this is the issue, will' words which make it imperative that a dissolution should effect that, and send the electors to the polls sufficiently edu- be decreed before 31st March, 4876. It looked as if the cated on that one point.. The weight of individual influence Deputies had returned to Versailles satisfied that they in France, again, may be greatly doubted. No coercive power must be Liberal, and although the party failed to defeat belongs to any proprietor in the cities, and not much, except a proposal which makes active officers in the Army and Navy in Brittany, to any proprietor in the Departments. The electors ineligible for the Chamber—a proposal intended, it may be, to do not love the grandees as grandees, they are entirely pro- centre military ambition in the Senate—the Government still tected by the ballot, and they are just as likely to punish considered defeat a possibility. On Thursday, however, they interference as to quail under it. The bureaucracy alone has were relieved from their apprehension. In vain did M. Ricard, serious coercive power in France, partly because of its immense Reporter to the Committee on the Electoral Law, in a speech direct authority, partly because it is more trusted than any which reads as if it had been spoken by an English Constitu- other corporation — Englishmen always assume that the tionalist, argue that under the system of elections supported people hate it, which is entirely incorrect, no modern by Government—a member for each arrondissement, and eineute having been directed against it—and partly because one more for each 100,000 or fraction of 100,000 persons it can if it pleases act on system and continuously for within the district—the towns would be over-represented ; a long period of time. The Government has an immense that many eminent men (the Due de Broglie, for example) lever in this bureaucracy, but we do not see why it is to• were sure of defeat in their own districts ; and that all Napo- work so much more strongly in the arrondissement than leon's Assemblies were elected on the " one-candidate " system in the department. M. Buffet, one would think, must know, (scrutin uninominal). In vain did M. Gambetta, in a speech but the reason for his conviction is not readily apparent which is pronounced by all parties the great effort of his life, to outsiders. The pressure from the centre must be applied which held furious opponents chained in silent admiration, and through the same persons, on the same men, by the
Presidential election of 1848 was carried in the teeth of the Government, which was in the hands of Cavaignac, and of the entire Bureaucracy of France, which was exclusively Orleanist, and we cannot see why the independence then shown should not be displayed again, more especially as the ablest officials, who are Bonapartists, will not strike with their whole strength for the "wet-nurse" of the Monarchy. M. Gambetta evidently -doubts at heart the importance of the struggle, though he prefers the scrutin de liste as yielding more decided majorities ; and with him we believe that, failing a coup d'etat, the struggle will lie exclusively between the Bonapartists and the Republi- cans, and that till the Republic has discredited itself by allow- ing social disorder, the Republic will win.
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