M. LOUBET.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6452, 5 April 1899, Page 1

M. LOUBET.

m THE NEW PEESIDENT >0F FRANCE. [From Oan Correspondent. j LONDON, Feb. 24. The election of the Frenoh President last Saturday passed off perfeofcly quietly at Versailles, and excited less commotion in Paris than anybody anticipated. Of course i there were the usual " excursions and alarms" in certain well-known quartets. •Paris wouldn't be Paris without them. But they didn't amount to very much. The new President received a sultry reception from a -Nationalist mob gathered in the - square outside the St Lazare station, who hailed him with howls of " Panama, Panama!" mingled with "Conspuez Loubet J" and adjurations to " Resign." Later the same crowd enabled the mountebank Deroulede to fire off a very dangerous speech, the burden of which was " Down with (the .present Republic" and "Long -live the Republic of the people." These cries so inflamed the would-be rioters that thoy stavted running " amok" towards. the Rue de la Paix. Fortuntaely, the police were for , once on the gui vive, and quickly scattered them all ways. At Versailles the day opened : peaoefully, and; shortly befoie noon special trainß began to land Congressmen, invit6d guests and sightseers. Mrs Crawford, whose chatty account of the proceedings iB the .most readable supplied by the Paris correspondents, says : — "The lunch at the Hotel des Eeservoirs is always a picturesque feature at Presidential elections., The crowd .there is so great that unless you secure a table the day before by dispatch ypu haye.no chance •of finding room; It was as lively as usual. .'Ladies regard it as a privilege to be invited to Congress at Versailles/ although there is not much to see. I think that writers •on Presidential elections all fall into a mistake in describing this event ns a thing to see, instead of as a thing to .hear. Ido .not mean speeches, for none are allowed, but interriiptions during the vote, cheers at the opening and close, gossip in the .lobbies, rumours, the uew President's speech of thanks at the little private re- . ception after the election, and table talk at the Hotel des Reservoirs. Of course there is good deal to see, but the essential traits ,of a Presidential election, that cling to the memory after years, and help to fix one's •.ideas of French history, have been acquired by hearing. " I confess I never get blase of the lunch at the Reservoirs. It is really a ,pionic in ithe country, and a prospect of some mild . excitement after the coffee. Old. acquaintances, are found again. There is not a trace of mourning. I do nob doubt that ladies would have Versailles toilettes, just . as they have Grand Prix toilettes, but the .French Constitution has made no allowances .for this, and there iB no time. The consequence is that the toilettes are of last .autumn. A very fair-haired young man, with lightrblue eyes and a p*le pink complexion, had forgotten to secure a .table, . and . was running about. He was Count .Boni de Castellane, the husband >of Miss . Gould, and now a deputy. A Jules Verne billionaire would have bought the Hotel des Reservoirs on the spot, and turned out the • diners to make. room. He behaved,however,, in a matter-of-fact and sensible way. He asked permission to dine at a little table, and seeing that his neighbours were taking.vin ordinaire, he had tho good taste .to askfor yin ordinaire also. " After lunch all adjourned to Congress, .and on the way I learnt that it was tt Bill. against the Court of Cassation that -.wrecked M. Dupuy's chances. Deputies .thou^ht.he was good enough for a Premier,, ,but ' they had lost , for him the respect! whioh a Presidential candidate must com-! .mand. M. Loubet on his appearance in; ,the Congress House was received with a' .manifestation similar to the one in tfiei •Senate, on ..Friday, but. on a larger scale, i .Members, rose and cheered and applauded. 1 .From the galleries it could be seen, merely by. counting the hands that clapped, that ;it.was an almost certain win. louring 1 tbo woting the.Nationialists attempted disorder. That political mountebank Deroulede went

,up to thq tribune, and, addressing M. Loubet in the chair, called him * Panamist, inquired what reply he would make to M. de Beaurepaire's charges. -'None. Tour ■conduct is beneath my notice- Leave at .once the Tribune/ M. Baudrj d'Asson, a \wealthy Royalist landlord, n_tf«d for his .eccentric freak?, patting his $aper in the ibox, cried 'Vive la Roi!' but two Republican .deputies who expected &6me scene ■rjuietly shoved him along. At a little 3>ast thrqe the news circulated in the . lobhies that M. Loubet had been elected by 483 .votes to M. Meline's 27ff„ and M. Ca«aignac!s .20. The result was deceived ■with ringing cheers on the Centre £nd the La£t, the Right remaining unresponsive, but ideceut.fyad silent. A few cries were I lieaaid^ ' Dawn with the forgers,' •' Vive ! rurniee,' ' Down with the Jews/ but these cries were drowned by cheers for the Republic." PERSONAL DETAILS. Thflße.BOJilie no doubt tlmt m».ny Congressmen were largely influenced to vote for M_ Losdaet .because of his simple manners and general lack of pretentiousness;. The Into President*, inclination to apej Royal state was a constant irritation to] Parliamentarian visitors to the Elysee. " What we want/ said a voter <on Saturday, "is fl President who will npt be too fine to jump on a, J bus when ho gets caught jin the rain. Also a man without aay sert aS past— political financial, or even domestic." M. Loubet's past is open to all. T«i can read every line of it in " Men of liio Time." There is nought cub rosa. Tlie new President belongs, like Eaure

to the middle-class provincials, who — eolid and reliable — aie the real backbone of France. His father was a well-to-do farmer. His brother-in-law is a prosperous ironmonger at Montelimar. Emile Loubet wanted to be a farmer, but his father thought him out of the common, and insisted on bringing him up as an avocat. He fully justified family expectations, and in due course became v. prominent public man. But success never altered his bourgeoise tastes. Even his enemies on the PreES (and they are numerous) admit that his tastes are thoroughly domestic. He dislikes showy society, likes to spend his evenhigs at home, and is a' great reader. He is not rich, neither does he covet wealthier honours, but he is notoriously strong in financial questions. M. Loubet has lived many years in an unpretentious flat in suburban Paris, aad dined off white oil-cloth in the pines of a linen tablecloth. His hands an, figuratively speaking, clean, but his baard and clothes are untidy, thus contrasting with Felix Fauie. Tho family of the President are by no means ovorjoyf-d at his prospective yrandeur, and 1 c himself takes matters very soberly. " There w 11/ he said to his exultant private secretary. "be more worry than honour, and m^ra tinsel than true glory," His old mother's heart sank wlien she heard that ho might next day be head of the State. To lie , mayor of Montelimar, senator of the' Drome and president of the Senate was surely enough to satisfy any reasonably ambitious man. However, sho was too far off to understand exactly how things were, and therefore thought it better to give no advice. Madame Loubet's brother, M. Picard, the ironmonger at Montolimar, was seriously dismayed at tho prospects of his brother-in-law's further elevation. He know that it would lead all the officeseekers in the Department to assail him with begging letters for his patronage. All this, of course, is very French, very provincial French. The narrow respective lives of such folk run in clear-cut grooves, and to be hustled out of them, 3veu though it means social promotion, is iiscomforting.