The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1883. The Ministerial Crisis in France.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 855, 30 January 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1883. The Ministerial Crisis in France.

Of all the countries in the world France is assuredly the most unfortunate. Within the present century she has seen the downfall of taro Empires, she has been called upon to suppress at least three revolutions, and her fair land has been overrun by a victorious enemy. But when the Franco-German war was over, the insurrection of the Communists quelled, and the Emperor Napoleon forced to seek refuge in.a foreign land, it was hoped that France had gone through the worst of her troubles, and that she would at last be free from internal dissensions and outside interference. But it seems that Bonapartism is only scotched, not, as was hoped by all well-wishers to the .country, killed outright, and the death of Gambetta was the signal for the supporters of the dynasty of the late Emperor to again urge their claims to the throne. Had there been a strong, Ministry at the head of affairs, Prince

Jerome’s manifesto would have been, summarily dealt with, and the matter 1 would not have assumed the importance which it seems to have done under the present circumstances, Now we learn that M. Duclerc has resigned, and though it is not easy to say, owing to the meagre information conveyed in the telegrams, what has led to this, it is probably owing to a disagreement in the Cabinet concerning the proper course to be taken with the Bonapartists. It is not safe to predict what may happen in France; the radical changes that have taken place during the past few years make

it impossible to say what the people may do next. There can be no doubt that the Republic suffered an irremediable loss in the death of Garabetta, and it will be a long time before another man appears worthy to fill his place. His firm will, his indomitable energy, and his perfect fearlessness in grappling with difficulties that came in his way, fitted him to be the dictator, as he virtually was, to a nation like the French. One cannot help thinking how he would have treated this manifesto, which has created an excitement in the country out of all proportion to its importance. Still the chief object of the Bonapartists is probably to get themselves talked about, in this they certainly have succeeded. A distinguishing characteristic of the French people is that they do not possess good memories in political matters. If ex perience of the past taught any lesson to them, the very name of Bonaparte would be execrated. The first emperor was nothing more than a great soldier, whose ambition lost France many brave soldiers, and who left behind him a feeling of hatred for the country that found expression in the disastrous war with Prussia in 1870. And yet there was never a monarch who was more idolised by the people over whom he reigned than was Napoleon I, and it was the name of Bonaparte that enabled the nephew to establish the second Empire. It is an old story how the last Emperor of the French climbed to the throne on the shoulders of the Republic, and how he treated with contempt those who had assisted him, when he had no further need for their help. Surely one would have imagined that the war with Germany would have taught the conquered nation that the soul of good that lay in their evil fortune was that they were enabled to get rid of a man who had never benefited the country, and whose whole reign was full of chicbanery and fraud. But what is wanted in France is a leader. The death of Gambetta has deprived them of this, and unless there arises someone to take his place we fear that further complications will arise from this Bonapartist manifesto.