The Bien Public, supposed to be an organ of M.
Thiers, but really we fancy an organ of men about M. Thiers, suggests that universal suffrage should be limited by the adoption of twenty- five as the minimum age of the voter. Should this proposal be serious, it will be an immense advantage to the Imperialists, who have always been consistent in refusing to narrow the suffrage in any way whatever, and who will consider that a vote so limited does not in any way represent France. We cannot believe, however, that the plan will be accepted, for this very obvious reason. The single political advantage of universal suffrage is, that it reconciles representation and physical force, that the Council or man so elected has behind it or him the strength of the nation. To exclude all between twenty-one and twenty-five, is to exclude at least four- sixths of the whole fighting class, and place 1,200,000 young and powerful men outside the Constitution. That has been done in Spain, and the consequence is that the young, who are mainly Republicans, being unable to vote, descend into the streets.
