The French are greatly puzzled how to act in Anam.
The population is entirely hostile, and the Resident is compelled to restrain them through agents who act unwillingly and, therefore, inefficiently. He is anxious to annex ; but the Treaty of Tientsin prohibits annexation, and a new dispute with China is too costly to be contemplated. The French, therefore, have been driven, as the English in Bengal were once driven, to the expedient of changing the King, and have selected a new Prince from the Royal Family. That expedient, they will find, will not succeed, as the King, if a feeble man, will not govern; and if a strong one, will rebel against their dictation. The Indian expedient of leaving the monarch free, except in most serious cases, seems impossible to Frenchmen. They cannot endure, if they possess ultimate power, not to exercise it every hour, and over the smallest details of life and conduct. A French Resident not only suggests that a town is badly lighted, but settles the posi- tion of the lamps and claims the patronage of the lamplighters.
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