Every French Government in succession seems to accept the same
theory of its own strength,—that it is always weak enough to be blown over by newspaper breath. The Minister of the Interior, who in 1869 argued that all Press offences should be sent before a jury, has just issued an order prohibiting the Ganlois and Constitutionnel from being sold in the streets and public places,.-.-a silly order, which immediately doubles the demand for the threatened journals in the shops. The cause is believed to be- the bitterness displayed by both papers against M. Thiers, the Gaulois in particular accusing Madame Thiers, a wealthy old lady, of something like corruption; but it is just possible that both. journals may have been implicated in more direct intrigues. Parisseems to have a scarcely credible story afloat of visits paid there by emissaries from Chiselhurst, or by the Empress herself.
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