The French Chambers are much employed in preparation for the
general election, which is expected to take place about the beginning of August. The Ministerial strength has been tried, and not found wanting. The great speeches of Guizot and Thiers were electioneering speeches—announcements of the grounds on which the rivals are preparing to appeal to the con- stituencies throughout France. As orators, Guizot and Thep are not unequal, though very dissimilar : widely different, both are effective. As statesmen, they perhaps approach more closely than would at first sight appear : both are literary men still More than men of action. This feature, however, is most obvious in Thiers : in him the brilliant and the love of the brilliant predominate, and impart an unreal character to his pro- grammes of policy ; he speaks for effect, and says what he thinks will produce an effect at the moment; hence his speech of this year often contradicts that of last year. Affecting the re- putation of a dexterous intriguer and daring performer of coups d' etat, he is ambitious of being that of which -he is only fitted to be the historian or panegyrist. Men admire, but distrust him. With less of brilliancy and more of sentiment t a just estimate of his own powers has made Guizot take a very dif- ferent line : he is at pains to be consistent and plausible ; though the litterateur predominates over the statesman in him equally as in Thiel's, he knows better how to act the statesman's role. There is on the whole, too, more of sincerity in Guizot than in Thiel's. It is the cue of the latter at present to be the leader of a Constitu- tional party : but he is not the man to allow forms to stand in the way of his ambition. Guizot, on the contrary, too clear- sighted to attempt in the young Constitutional Government of France the strict observance of constitutional forms which the practice and precedents of a century have made possible in England, will probably be found adhering More closely to such a policy as a constitutional Minister ought to pursue. From the majority obtained by the French Ministers in the late division in the Chamber of Deputies, it does not follow that they Will be equally strong after the elections. When we consider, however, how much of Guizot's atrength is attributable to his success in creating 1M iMpression aim Witlin safe tith*ster, great influence exercised by the ExecutiVir in the elections by the centralization of appdintments, the pee& polity ofthe
and the growing impdrtance of the inhstrial inteltsts, it is scarcely conceivable that the Conservative party, the party of the Peace Minister, can be materially weakened.
