Of course there cannot but be some anxiety as to
the part Napoleon will play towards Spain. He cannot wish to have a great republic just now set up in his immediate neighbourhood, and yet he cannot wish to interfere actively in a country where French interference has always portended calamity for France. Least of all, with Prussia looming so big on his eastern border, can he wish to be involved in a violent quarrel with 'so obstinate a nation as the Spaniards. If the Spanish. Government succeed in suppressing the revolt, Napoleon will, no doubt, give much wise advice in favour of moderation. If they do not, and the throne is actually abolished, according to the present revolutionary programme, it will be a critical moment for the Empire. At present the French Government seems to be in rather better luck. Immediately after the Government success in the department of the Var have come two other Government triumphs, one in the second circumscription of the Nievre, where the Government candidate for the Legislative Body, M. Bourgoin, has been returned by an immense majority (nearly 12,000) over M. Girerd, the Opposition candidate ; and another in the department of the Moselle, where M. Lejoindre, the Government candidate, was elected by about the same majority over the Opposition candidate, M. Pouguet. All this is soothing to the Government, and therefore favourable to peace.
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