The Sun.
London, England, 1871-02-04 00:00:00

THE SUN, LON DUN, SATURDAY , FEBRUARY 4, 1 t3'r

advocating peace. It is quite possible that M.
GAMBETTA may be urging a policy opposed to that
favoured by the majority. As a Minister he' has
no right to do this. Let him resign and become a
private individual, and he can then preach the doctrine
of his individual fancy. At the same time it is
obvious that the course adopted by the fiery Repub-
lican greatly diminishes the chances of peace. There
can scarcely be time for the Paris Ministers to undo
his work, if they be disposed ; and thus the whole
weight of official influence—a very heavy weight in ,
—France is already thrown into the scale against
peace. Should it happen that the preposterous terms
announced by the Berlin correspondent of the Times
be correct, or anything like an approach to
accuracy, the question is settled. M. GAM-
BETTA may drill his levies, and rest in peace.
No nation above the grade of the Bengalees would
accept such conditions. But there is not the slightest
reason for crediting the statement that has (so
alarmed the world.

ONE of M. Gar 's preliminaries for the elec-
tion campaign are characteristic of French politics.
He forbids the Orleanist Princes to present them-
selves as candidates, and likewise all persons who
have accepted office, whether high or low, under the
Empire. It is the custom of French parties to inau-
gurate an appeal to the free and independent
voter by excluding a good many persons whom they
very much dislike. If the Paris Ministers get the
upper hand of their unruly colleague they will, it is
to be hoped, reverse this decision so far as the
Orleanist Princes are concerned. The Republic
will not be well inaugurated by a proscrip-
tion of this kind. As to the Imperialists, nobody,
except themselves, will much care whether they are
proscribed or not. They deserve the punishment,
and it is not surprising that the Republicans should
inflict it. For nearly twenty years the officers
of the Empire have used their powers to crush and
degrade the men who did not like Imperialism. To
be a Republican or an Orleanist was to be deprived
of all possibility of advancement, not merely in
politics, but in the army, science, art, and
almost in literature. Throughout that period an
organised sy stem was kept up by which the man of
opposition was made well-nigh an outcast from
society by reason of his opposition. Most of the
enjoyments which make life worth having were
denied to him who would not bow before C/ESAR.
The innings of the other side has come now.

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

MUNITIONS OF WAIT.

According to a correspondent who writes to '
the Times from Berlin, an extraordinary con-
vention was concluded some time ago between
America and Prussia. The provision of Interna-
tion Law touching the export of war munitions, &c.,
does not forbid neutral merchants to trade in them,
but stipulates that they are liable to capture by the
cruisers of any belligerent :Am may be injured. The
treaty in question confirmed the freedom of neutrals
in the export of munitions, and then proceeded to an
agreement suspending the right of belligerents to
capture these neutral cargoes. In other words, if
Prussia was at war with France, America might
supply the latter State with arms ad lib. ; if America
were at war with any country, Prussia would have
the same freedom. The stipulation runs thus :
"To prevent all the difficulties and misunder-
standings that usually arise respecting the mer-
chandise heretofore called contraband, such
as arms, ammunition, and military stores of every
kind, no such articles carried in the vessels, or by
, the subjects or citizens of one of the parties, to the
enemies of the other shall be deemed contraband, so
as to induce confiscation or condemnation and a
' loss of property to individuals." One of the parties
to this treaty has bitterly complained of us for
merely abiding by the ordinary provision of inter-
national law and not interfering with the little
traffic in contraband now carried on by British
merchants. Was the like of this ever known before ?
The Prussians condemn Englishmen for conducting
a traffic in accordance with law, and subject to risks
laid down by law, and yet they agree with' another
nation to facilitate this very traffic by the removal
of all risks. Comment is superfluous.

THE NEW KAISER.

The Germans remain in great doubt as to the
proper name to be given to their Emperor. There
are various ways of tacking the words "Emperor"
and "Germany " or " German " together, but none
of them seems to give perfect satisfaction. " German
Emperor " has been tried in some official quarters,
but it is very awkward, and does not harmonise with
similar titles. " Emperor of Germany," which
appears to be the correct thing at first sight, does
not describle the actual state of affairs, for it
would plainly imply that the King of Bavaria and
his companions in misfortune were complete nonen-
tities. " Emperor of the Germans" is like Emperor
of the French, and has a revolutionary look whit
will not do at all. On the whole " Emperor In
Germany " seems best, and the Augsburg Gazette
says that "an analysis of the question " will appear
shortly, recommending the final and formal adoption
of this title. It is satisfactory to find the supply of
intellect in Germany so large that some of it can be
spared at the present time for occupations of this
kind.
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