The importance of the French crisis is immensely overrated in
England. There seem to be a number of politicians who enjoy nothing BO much as thanking God that England is not as other nations are, and least of all as this France,—that England never changes her Ministers except in consequence of a regular party defeat, and that when he does, nobody predicts ruin to the Constitution. This is all quite true, but then it ie only their own ignorance which makes so much of the French recasts of the Ministry. Even if a dissolution Ministry is formed, there will be no catastrophe in France. M. Jules Simon would go to the country, would be probably defeated, or possibly victorious, and in neither case would anything dreadful happen. If he were defeated, there would be a Radical Ministry for a time. If he were victorious, there would be a Conservative-Repub- lican Ministry. But M. Grevy would remain where he is, in either case. The Republic would be safe, in either case. And Prince Jerome Napoleon would remain as insignificant then as now. It is only the enormous English pride of stability, which creates this delight in dwelling on an imaginary degree of French instability.
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