The French Government is, it is said, in great doubt
as to the proper date for the new elections. They must be held before the end of October, but there is much reluctance to delay them to the last, as they may then occur under unex- peeted circumstances. It is rumoured, therefore, that the Cabinet has decided upon Sunday, August 18th, as the best date, one idea being that the Exhibition will not then have lost its pacifying effect. Many Republicans, however, object to this early date, as it will hardly leave time for the trial of General Boulanger—which hangs fire in a suggestive way—au as the discussions on the Budget will have just reopened the question of Republican extravagance. It is quite possible, therefore, that the date is still an open question, and will be ultimately fixed almost by accident, M. Constans, who is on no account to be superseded before the day of fate, selecting a moment when the pnblic mind seems favourable to the Republic. All these devices, suggested in the presence of a huge, silent, and nearly blind force like universal suffrage, seem very weak.
We may, however, calculate that, pending the Election, the French Cabinet will assail nobody, as even a rumour of war would increase the feeling, especially in the Army, in favour of a dictatorship.
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