The Sun.
London, England, 1871-02-13 00:00:00

THE ELECTION IN PARIS.

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In a communication from Paris, February 8, the
special correspondent of the Standard observes :—Even
already, people are beginning to ask themselves what this
National Assembly will be worth, and some of them to
discredit its authority beforehand. Conservatives, Catho-
lics, and very decided Republicans have here arrived at
the same conclusion : that the body elected under
such auspices and conditions as the present will
be rotten at its root. That they are right, as a matter of
argument, it would be difficult to disprove ; but that they
are wrong, as a matter of practice, may be seen by reflect-
ing on what would be the result if everybady
followed their example. There would be no
National Assembly at all ; one of the clauses of
the convention with Count Bismarck would expire
without a single step having been taken to establish peace
or to justify the continuance of the war. This reduc-
tion to absurdity of the principle of abstention is the
best answer 'to those who espouse it. Either war
must go on because nobody can find an escape
from it, or some sort cf National Represen-
tative Body must be convoked. It is this
conviction which is compelling men to take an
active interest in the elections this day, in spite
of their feeling that such unsatisfactory proceedings can
never by any possibility have been witnessed be-
fore. You must - attend the public meetings to
know how keenly the atrocity of the situation
is felt. I feel confident that the vast majority, and
even many of those who affect the contrary, are
thoroughly well satisfied at the ambiguous turn
things have taken. They are delighted to be rid
of the responsibility of voting on the question of peace or
war, with the conditions of peace before them. They are,
I will not say chuckling—this is not the moment for such
a sensation—but relieved, immensely relieved, that it dOes
not fall to them to be asked point-blank whether they
will cede Alsace and a good part of Lorraine rather than
go on fighting, and to decide in open day whether they
will adopt a list of candidates in favour of peace at a hard
price, or a list of candidates ready to vote war rather than
territorial cession. But why are they rejoiced and relieved ?
Because they want peace, and they will know they
will get it by this device without saying so. More
than that. It will be open to them to say
afterwards they never did want peace on such terms,
just as they say now they did not want war with Ger-
many ; and they will be able to lay the blame of territo-
rial cession at the door of the National Assembly, just as
they lay the blame of the declaration of hostilities at the
door of Napoleon 111. They wanted the war, and they
now want peace, but they have not the slightest inten-
tion of appearing to be responsible for either. The only
persons to be compromised are to be the elected ; the
electors mnst, at all costs be left free to swagger after
peace is made, to vow that they never would have signed
it, and to carry aloft the honour of France. They have
I had so many " traitors " that they see they will need at
least another batch before the affair is over, and they can
retire from it with honour. The history of this war, accord-
ing to the Parisian view, is already written. Napoleon
111. made the war, and the capitulation of Sedan. He