FRENCH PARLIAMENTARY REPORTING.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4512, 6 September 1875, Page 2

FRENCH PARLIAMENTARY REPORTING.

(From the Pall Mall Gazette.) French Parliamentary reporting is of three kinds—the report in cxtenso, the compie-rendu analyse and the compte-rendu sommaire. All three reports are remarkably well done by a staff of twelve official reporters under the direction of M. Maurel Dupeyre - , a gentleman who has a hard time of it. In one sense, M. Dupeyre" is better off than any English reporter, for, as the sittings of the Assembly generally terminate by 6 o'clock, he has eight or nine hours in which to prepare his sheets for such morning papers as report the debates ; but it is precisely these eight or nine hours which are the most burdensome of M. Dupeyre"s life. No sooner is the sitting over than there is an instantaneous rush of members to the printing-office underneath the House. There M. Dupeyre, enthroned behind an inky desk, distributes proof-slips to the speakers of the day, and afterwards performs the editorial duty of seeing that the corrections added to do not much alter the text as originally delivered. M. DupeyreVs maxim is, "Touch the form, not the substance ;" and he finds very few members inclined to obey this rule. M. Thiers gives a great deal of trouble. To begin with, as his speeches are long, he usually take 3 three hours in correcting. He overloads his proofs with afterthoughts ; prunes his style, which is a trifle diffuse ; and cuts out whole paragraphs which sounded well in the Tribune, but which he sees to be declamatory in

print. M. Gainbetta, Monsignor Dupanloup, 3tf. Buffet, and M. Dufaure disdain to revise at all. M. Saint-Marc-Girardin used to add Latin quotations, and M. de Broglie has in-> herited this failing. M. Louis Blauc introduces quotations from his own works, and argues for his right so to do with a mild tenacity which always leaves him master of the field. MM. Tolain and Schoalcher (Radicals), who are moderate enough in "- - debate, come down laden with vehement diatribes, which they allege to have omitted from forgetfulness. But the two most ingenious manipulators of proofs are MM. d'Audifftet-Pasqiuer and Pouyer-Quartier. These gentlemen, being both authorities on finance, have shrewdness enough to know that nothing so rapidly empties a House as half a column of statistics ; so they reduce their financial expositions to the smallest possible compass, and insert in the proofs those carefully - compiled arrays of figures which the public reads with admiration on the following day. M. Dupeyre'has another intractable class to deal with in the persons of the members who stipulate for laudatory mentions of the effect produced by their oratory. One must have heart! these haggling gentlemen to understand what fierce combats of vanity can be waged over the French equivalents of "hear, hear," "cheers," and "loud cheers." The formulas of approval are at Versailles very numerous, consisting of "tres-bien," " applaudissements," " applaudissements sur un certain (or 'sur un tres grand') nombre de bancs,' and " mouvement general—triple salve d'applaudissements, l'orateur est chaudement felicite" par un grand nombre de ses colUSgues." Now, this last-mentioned can only be rightfully claimed by orators of the finest calibre, and even by these but once or twice in a session. Such is human nature, however, that many a spokesman who has strung together but half a dozen stammering sentences declares hotly that his efforts were rewarded by a "mouvement general" and unanimous felicitations ; nor are such contentions always intentionally erroneous, for deputies belonging to the same faction do form themselves into mutual admiration leagues, and shake one another warmly by the hand for very futile causes. Some deputies, over-timid of speech, have a trick of writing out their harangues beforehand, delivering but a tenth of them, and yet handing the entire manuscript to the reporters for the latters' greater convenience. It is not rare to find in such manuscripts that the orator has forestalled the judgment of his colleagues, and appended with his own hand the modest record of cheers and general enthusiasm. One of the Koyal Princes in the Assembly is alleged to have gone even/further. His speech being a short one,, he had learnt it by heart, but had arranged that at a certain point one of his friends should interrupt, so as to furnish him with the opportunity of making a witty retort. Unfortunately, the friend missed his reckoning. The Prince paused, as preconcerted ; no interuption came; nevertheless his Koyal Highness imperturbably exclaimed, "The homgentleman interupts me . . all I can say is," &c. And in the manuscript handed to the reporters the ejaculation never uttered was found faithfeJly chronicled along with the witticism whicfi was pronounced. Newspapers editors are entitled for a moderate yearly payment to receive either of the three reports drawn up by v the official staff (which reports, by the way, are revised by the Assembly's President, who has a right to suppress what he pleases) ; but most journals have also a reporter, whose business it is to sum up the incidents of the debate in a free-and easy style. These summaries deal more especially with the personal peculiarities of members, their infirmities of temper, the clothes they wear, and being generally interlarded with partisan comments, are at once more attractive and more calculated to mislead ' than are the ordinary reports. Under the Empire, editors were forbidden to print these compte-rendus paralUs, as they are called, it being well known that the public read them but too eagerly ; and really a study of the summaries in papers like the Figaro and the Rappd —to take the two extremes in opinion —-make one doubt whether it was wise to abrogate the Imperial law. Is respect for the Legislature much enhanced by such humorous reporting as this : —" M. X ascended the Tribune in the everlasting pair of grey trousers he wore last session. His voice has cracked as though he had spent the recess in shouting abuse at the tailor who wished to coax hi-m into ordering a new suit of clothes." . . . . " When M. Z arose there was a general murmur of ' Who's that V for the unfortunate man has allowed his beard to grow, and there is no end to the carroty furze which now bristles over his features." . . . " When M. A—— speaks he always asks for a glass of water and some sugar —not a glass of sugared water. Note the difference. The fact is he lets the water alone and puts the sugar in his pockets." These are very harmless quotations, taken at random, from columns in which jollity and scurrilousnes3 are admixed in about equal dose 3.