Parisian Notes.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVI, Issue 6, 1 June 1888, Page 5

Parisian Notes.

Gbnebal Boulanger's military degradation has resulted in his political advancement. So far is it from being true, as predicted, that his being deprived of his plnme and charger must reduce him to insignificance, that fear of his influence has been infinitely increased. The Extreme Left and the Socialist Workinemen's Confederation have each issued a manifesto against him. The former protests against the intrusion into politics of military leaders a« not only a menace to the institutions j£ the country, but as weakening, through division, its strength against a foreign enemy. The latter likens the General to Oavaignac who reddened the pavements of Paris with the blood of the people, and accuses him of aping Bonaparte, who, it says, nevertheless, before he seized on power, had, at least, blackened his epaulettes iv the Bmoke of powder burned in battles successfully fought for the fatherland, M. Boulanger's military honours, it adds, were gained in the contest with the Commune— against the wounded in nn hospital and the vanquished in their prison. It recommends to the General the example of Hoche who left to the ability and virtue of the citizens the foundation of the republic on fieeand equal institutions, and who did not compromise the safety of the country by creating divisions in the face of exterior danger. BoulaDger, himself, meantime, is so confident of his popularity that he refuses to make any personal canvas of the electors of the Nord to represent whom he is a candidate, but openly declares that his written circular must result in Lis return by an overwhelming majority. His principal points are the necessity that exists for preparing for war without desiring it, and for a dissolution of the Chamber with a revision of the Constitution. He besides, strongly condemns the Senate and accuses the generals who pronounced against him of being actuated by motives which they dare not avow. And there can be little doubt that the General's confidence in the masses is fairly justified. He has many qualities to make him a popular hero and has done much to secure the favour of the people. With the army he is prime favourite, and deservedly so owing to the manner in which, while in office as Minister of War, he attended to the comfort of the soldiers. He also took advantage of opportunities to show himself considerate and merciful towards the working classes, and, although the Socialist confederation accuses him of winning his honours against the Commune, it is generally remembered that at that time when the fighting was done he exerted himself to obtain the acquittal of che prisoners. He is, besides, a handsome, daßhing, man with pleasant manners, conscientious and hard-working m the fulfilment of his duties, and in his family a model of all that is honourable. What further adds to his present chances is the acquittal finally of M. Wilson, known to be his enemy, and who, in the reversal of the sentence passed upon him, and in etcaping the punishment that was felt to be his due, has become more than ever an object of popular dislike and contempt.

General Boulanger's claim that a revision of the Constitution is necessary, has been made the means of turning out the Tirard Ministry— of whom all that can be said is that, even in these times of worthless and feeble French Ministries, they were remarkable for their insignificance. It is somewhat suspicious that the motion, taken by the Ministry as one of no-confidence, and which was proposed by a henchman of Boulanger's, was supported by a dependent of M. Clemenceau's, M. Cl6menceau, nevertheless, having himself signed the protest against the General issued by the Extreme Left. It is true, however, that the motion was acceptable to men of all parties their hope being that the proposed revision must result in something favourable to their own designs or desires. M. Johbois, for example, supported it on behalf of the Bonapartiets, and M. Baudry d'Asson on behalf of the Boyalists. The new Premier is M. Floquet, notorious for the insult offered by him in 1*67 to the Czar Alexander 11., when his Majesty visited the exhibition at Pariß.— Vive la Poloffne, Monsieur — " Long live Poland, Sir," was the cry with which this enthusiastic friend of liberty and enemy of all that was royal or imperial, greeted him, so thoroughly arousing the Imperial wrath that, it is said, his Majesty raised his cane with the intention of chastising the offender with his own august hand. Floquet, however, was punished by the impediment thus placed for some years in the way of his political advancement,' and his promotion to the Premiership has now only been made possible by the pains taken by him as President of tne Chamber to conciliate the Russian Government and obtain forgiveness. One of the wiitiest satires published for some time is the imaginary scene in which M. Albert Millaud depicts the dinner given lately, but previous to his elevation, by the new Minister to the l-vussian ambassador, M, de Mobrenbeim, and which is supposed to have crowned the forgiveness at length accorded to the offender. M. Floquet belongs to an extieme party, the Radical Left, which is only not as extreme as the Extreme Left, and his Government may be expected to be as extreme as prudence will permit of its being. In his declaration to thu Chamber and the Senate, among the rest, he pledges himself to proceed with the work of secularisation, inherited by the Republic from the Revolution. The necessity felt by the

Ministry for proceeding with some degree of caution is,' nevertheless, shown by their transferring the department of worship from M. Lockroy, at first appointed to administer it, and whose methods of dealing with it must have been fast and furious, to M. Deluns Montaud, who may be expected to go a little more slowly. The other important appointment is that of M. de Freycinet as Minister of War. this Statesman being supposed to favour the revanche and to be bent oa the recovery from Germany of Alsace Lorraine. M. M6line, a Moderate replaces M. Floquet as President of the Chamber, the Totes having resulted in a tie between him and M. Clemenceau, by no means a Moderate, and suspected to have been supported by some Deputies who desired for their own purposes to promote to the place the man they looked upon as the worst possible. The decision was made by seniority, such being the rule of the House:

Straws still continue to show how feeling inclines between France and Italy. A boat from a French port is foiced by stress of weather to take refuge in an Italian harbour just across the frontier. The refugees, consisting of a man and boy, are subjected to all kinds of inconvenience and demonstrations of ill-will, and one of the customs* officers goes so far as to repeatedly fire on the man as he is retreating in French waters. — A train on its way from the Italian frontier to a French city is assailed by stones thrown from a mountain above the line— and yet another train is similarly treated, and public opinion cries out that Italians are the offenders. At Genoa ah actor comes on the stage in the uniform of a French soldier, and so great an uproar ensues among the audience that the manager is obliged to come forward and promise he will not in future engage French singers. The events in themselves are trifling, but, taken together, and in union with other matters of a similar kind, they are not without a particular significance.

Secularisation is, indeed, moving on apace in France, and has hardly any need of Floquet or Lockroy to give it a fresh impetus. The cur£ of Saulchery, for example, has just been coademned by the tribunal of Chateau-Tnierry to fifteen days' imprisonment for calling the Government " detestable." The Appeal Court at Amiens has, it is true, mitigated the penalty to one of 50 francs fine, but even that is monstrous, consideriag the nature of the offence. How can any sincerely religious man— priest, layman, Catholic, or Protestantlook upon a Government that wages relentless war on religion as anything other than detestable. But such is freedom nnder the secularising rigime.

A number of fashionable ladies have established a club in the rue Royale. Their intention is to follow the example of their husbands, and spend an equal number of hours daily in free and easy intercourse. French society is advancing in all its ranks.

The President of the Republic has recently lost his father* The funeral was conducted religiously, the ceremonies taking place at the church of Saint- Philippe dv Roule. The cortege, on its way to the cemetery of Pere-Lachaise, met with a slight interruption in the shape of an attack made by the mob on the carriage that contained M. Jules Ferry— who was obliged to make his escape as best he could by the assistance of the police. M. Ferry must recognise that the Secular Education Act, in which he bad so large a part, has not as yet succeeded in working wonders of humanity and culture among the masses. Is it ever destined to do so 1 But, at least, M. Ferry has a secular sage's reward.

The episcopal jubilee of his Eminence Cardinal Lavigerie has been celebrated at Algiers with great splendour. His Eminence received on the occasion a large number of gifts, several of them very costly and beautiful. A massive gold chalice, and a cross and ring ornamented with rubies and diamonds, are mentioned as especially magnificent.

For some time past a hope had been gaining ground that Germany would reconsider her determination to remain the possessor by force of the unwilling provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, and that she would make provision for the peace of Europe by restoring them to France. The proposal had been openly made by the eminent Spanish statesmen, M. Enailo Castelar, and it was generally looked upon in Franca as reasonable and deserving of consideration. Mgr. Freppel had replied to M. Castelar in a letter in which he acknowledged the force of his reasoning, and himself dwelt upon the evils to be avoided, A peaceful solution, wrote the Bishop, was the only one to be looked for as successful. Should the matter be contested in war, the victor and the vanquished would alike remain in their former state of mind, and war would be still the future resource, and could only be finally hindered by the extermination of either nation. But France and Germany, added the writer, were both alike necessary to European equilibrium, and the development of Christian civiliza* tion. A war of extermination on their part, would besides be especially insane, because, except for this one question, there was no point of contending interests between them. A peaceful solution therefore, was demanded in the name of religion and humanity, and this solution could only consist of the surrender to France of AlsaceLorraine, ©a the accession of the Emperor Frederick, the hope referred to had become stronger. The manifesto issued by his Majesty had excited admiration, and it was proclaimed that a n«w Marcus Aurelius had appeared. The result, however, has been disappointment. The philosophic promise of the first daya has not been fulfilled, and the expressed determination of the new Emperor to remain in fast possession of the conquered provinces, and to continue the attempt to Germanise them, has completely dissipated all illusions. It is felt, therefore, tha~; the new reign offers no guarantee for the peace of Europe, and that the pledge given for the maintenance ot the armaments of the Empire in all their strength, is only consistent and in harmony with the situation accepted by bis Imperial Majesty. The wipdom of M. Castelar, like that of mauy other men, at all times of the world's history, bids fair to be proved only by the events consequent on the neglect of the advice given by him.