No. 215.
Mr. Washburne to Mr. Fish.
Paris, January 20, 1875. (Received February 6.)
Sir: There has been more difficulty in forming a new ministry than I had even anticipated. All the persons who were called upon by the President to construct a ministry declined undertaking the task, as they all believed that it would be impossible to obtain one which would have a majority in the Assembly. As the outgoing ministers had been requested to hold on to their places until a new ministry was formed, they are still in office; and it is now said that no change is contemplated until the constitutional laws shall have been discussed and voted upon. The discussion upon those laws will probably not commence before next week, and the opinion very generally prevails that they will all be rejected. It is very difficult to predict what will happen in that event. The situation becomes more and more embarrassing. A solution of the difficulty will probably be found, but what it will be no one can tell.
The result of the election which took place in the department of the Hautes Pyrénées, on Sunday last, for a member of the General Assembly to fill an existing vacancy, has attracted unusual attention in Paris, and, indeed, in France. It is a great and unexpected victory for the Bonapartists, and has created a panic among all other political parties. At the first election, which was on the 3d of January, there was no choice; the Bonapartist candidate receiving, in round numbers, 20,000 votes, the candidate of the septennate receiving 16,000 votes, and the republican candidate 13,000; while a legitimist candidate received some 2,000.
There being no choice, a second trial was had on Sunday last. The republican candidate withdrew, and recommended to the electors to vote for the septennate candidate. There was, therefore, a square contest between the Bonapartist and the combined opposition. The result is that the Bonapartist received 29,769 votes and the septennate list 23,115–—the Bonapartist majority being 6,654. The Bonapartist gained more than 10,000 votes over the previous election.
All the Paris papers are seeking reasons for this most significant triumph of the imperialists. It is to my mind very evident that a great number of voters who had voted for the septennate candidate on the 3d [Page 458] of January, voted against him and for the Bonapartist directly on the 17th when they saw the republicans supporting him. It is useless to seek for reasons after the election is over. The result is a Bonapartist triumph, and as such will have great effect on the political situation of the immediate future.
* * * * * * *
I have, &c.,