NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE crisis in France has been staved off once more, but it was very serious. It seemed nearly certain at the beginning of the week that M. Rivet's proposition making M. Thiers Pre- sident for a term without right of entering the Chamber, and with responsible Ministers, would have been carried, and that M. niers, who intends to be Premier or nothing, would thereupon have resigned. In that case, the Assembly must have appointed a King, and so have driven the Republicans to arms ; or have selected a nonentity as President, and so have endangered the maintenance of public order. Even as it is, the compromise accepted, though it secures to M. Thiers the title of "President of the Republic," weakens his hands by refusing him the right of intervening in the debates, while it does not release him from the necessity of resigning when overridden by the Assembly. His term of office is,, to determine when the Assembly dissolves ; but he cannot dissolve it, and he is responsible to it, and the "crisis " therefore must be recurrent. Nothing is improved by the ar- rangement, but the Assembly will shortly prorogue itself, and the truce among the parties will probably endure for a few months more.
