NEWS OF THE WEEK.
OWING to the great authority conceded to the Speakers of the two French Chambers, it has often been said that France is governed by a trinity of Presidents,—of the Republic, of the Senate, and of the Chamber of Deputies. M. Le Royer, the President of the Senate, has now resigned owing to ill. health, after having occupied his great position with undi- minished credit for eleven years. His successor has not yet been appointed ; but the Republican parties, who control the majority, have fixed upon M. Jules Ferry, who will therefore probably be elected. He is one of the strongest, and one of the most unpopular- men in France, being hated for his antagonism to mob rule, for his bitter anti-clericalism, and for his conquest of Tonquin, which dooms a certain number of conscripts annually to perish in the Tropics. It was said, when M. Carnot was elected, that, had the choice fallen on M. Ferry, Paris was prepared to descend into the streets. In this election he comes to the front again, and there can be little doubt that he is designated by his friends as an alterna- tive candidate for the Presidency, the idea steadily growing that the Panama scandals have ruined M. Carnet's chance. M. Ferry would probably govern more steadily than any man in Prance; but it remains to be seen whether his unpopularity, .alike with the Right and the Extremists, will permit him to be elected by the Assembly. A pl6biseige bears down any olnIosition, but not so a vote of the politicians.
