The elections for the Councils of the French Departments show
150 gains for the Republicans,—another sign that the Reactionaries and Monarchists of all shades of opinion are losing ground, and that the Republic will soon be uni- versally accepted, if not in theory, at least in practice. There were still Jacobites in 1767, but they were only Jacobites in name. France is going through the same ex- perience. Till recently, the anti-Republicans had majorities in eleven Councils ; now they only control seven in all. It is a noticeable fact that M. Wilson, M. Grevy's son-in-law, who was implicated in the decoration scandals, is among the men who have found seats. He headed the poll in the Indre, but will have to undergo a second ballot. Evidently the men with damaged reputations think there is nothing so cleansing as a popular election. Soon, the word " candidate " will be believed to be derived from the desire of the person seeking election to get himself whitewashed.
