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

I OUR COTEMPORARIES—This Morning

BISMARCK'S PERMS OF PEACE.

The Times, commenting on the German conditions of
peace, says :—We have seldom had reason to doubt the
accuracy of the information transmitted by our Berlin
Correspondent, and we must, therefore, suppose, he
had good ground for his statement of the terms
proposed by Count Bismarck in his interview
with M. Jules Favre. TheSe conditions were, of course,
by no means definitive, and no one can say for what
abatement of his dethands the Imperial Chancellor may
not be prepared, upon France evincing any real disposi-
tion to desist from further strife. Still, allowing for all
possible deductions, and repeating the conviction we
have always held, that France would be made
to purchase peace at a most ruinous sacrifice,
the alleged German proposals far exceed our
most gloomy anticipations. The • Conqueror de-
mands as the cost of the war an indemnity computed at
" ten milliards," or four hundred millions of our money.
We can hardly conceive an idea of such a sum unies.s by
comparison. It exceeds two-thirds of the present Na-
tional Debt of France ; it is more than twice as large as the
Public Debts of such minor kingdoms as Spain of
and more than five times our own yearly Revenue. A.
the price at which France would have to raise it, it woul,t
equal our whole National Debt. What the real expen-
diture of Prussia and her Allied States in this seven months'
war nciay have been we have no means •of ascertaining.
Besides the actual military outlay, the Germans may reckon
the pensions to be allowed to the widows and orphans
of officers and men fallen in battle, and, perhaps,
also the heavy burdens their country had to bear
iu expectation of the attack with which the French
Emperor's policy perpetually threatened them.
But, even making allowance for whatever claims
may be reasonably or unreasonably urged, we _
have no hesitation in asserting that the weight of
-Brennus' sword must be thrown into the scale before it
can be made to outweigh such a tremendous fine. The
payment of such a " pecuniary indemnity " seems to us
not even a question of justice or expediency. It is a
matter of sheer impossibility.

Reviewing the German demands on France, the Stan-
dard remarks :—To some cession of territory of course the
country must make up its mind, if it is prepared to make
peace now. But the cessions Count Bismarck now insists
upon would deprive France of all independence. How
false and ridiculous the German plea that Germany needs
better frontiers for her own protection 'is everybody must
see ; but even granting the justice of such a claim,
the pretensions to exact Alsace and Lorraine, Strasburg,
Thionville, Metz, and Belfort, would be an offensive and
not a defensive idea. If Germany should take Metz
and Belfort, France. and Paris would be at the mercy
of the German armies. We might just as safely have
allowed a French RePublic, Empire, or Mo-
narchy, animated by the bitterest hatred of Eng-
land, to hold Dover and Portsmouth. It is simply
impossible for any truly French representative body to
accept such proposals. A National Assembly, composed
of Republicans, of Orleanists, or of Imperialists, who
think only of obtaining power in Franc 6 to exploit it for
their own selfish ends, might agree to such a peace,
under which Paris would practically be governed by
the Prussian commander of Metz ; but an Assembly
consisting of men who have any thought for the
future of France, and any sense of honour, must reject
such terms. The exception cannot put France in any
worse case than she is. The losers, if the National
Assembly should reject such terms, would be the Ger-
mans who imposed them. They cannot annex France ;
they need urgently an end of the war. If their
proposals are rejected, they must fall back upon
the line of frontier they have demanded for their
defence, and must keep constantly ready to maintain it.
France can lose nothing materially, and will gain much
morally, if she refuses to make peace upon the terms
which Count Bismarck is reported to have announced to
M. Favre, and M. Favre is alleged to have heard before
he signed the armistice.