The Sun.
London, England, 1870-10-25 00:00:00

THE PROPOSED ARMISTICE.

The Standard, remarking on the confident expectation
of its contemporaries that hostitities will be suspended,
says: No doubt both Governments would like to make
peace. The King of Prussia and Count Bismarck are not
ogres. They take no delight in slaughter or star-
vation, and they appreciate fully the danger of
their present position, and the fearful consequences
which must result to them if the struggle should be con-
tinued into the winter. No doubt, too, the Government
of the National Defence recognises on its part the fearful
consequences which must result to France from a prolon-
gation of the war, and they see that victory, if it is to be
obtained at all, would be bought only at the price of
sacrifices which would leave France beggared and
broken. There is will enough to make peace on the
part of the Governments, but unfortunately there is—
unless an immense change has taken place in the dispo-
sition of one or other within the last two or three days—
the most absolute disagreement as to the terms upon
which it should be made. The Prussian Govern-
ment say, we will have Metz and Strasbourg—that
is to say, French Lorraine, as well as German Lorraine
and Alsace ; the Government of the National Defence
continue to declare that it will not cede an inch of French
territory, or even any stone of French fortresses which
the German siege trains cannot batter down whilst
the war lasts. What prospect is there, assuming the two
Governments to maintain their respective pretensions—
and we have no reason to doubt that they do—of an agree-
ment as to the terms of peace? Aud if there is no agree-
ment as to terms of peace, the armistice would be—assum-
ing it possible—an absurdity.
The Telegraph, in commenting upon the proposals for
an armistice, says the success of the mediators, even in
this purely preliminary stage, is the more remarkable when
we observe that Prussia has already been preoccupied with
proposals of a totally different kind. It is notorious that
negotiations have for some time been going on between
Bazaine and Bismarck ; nor is it any secret that the
French soldier and the Prussian statesman have dis-
cussed larger issues than the surrender of Metz. It has
been proposed that the Prussian Government should
treat for peace with the Empress Eugenie, on the ground
that she must be deemed the legal Regent of France
until she shall be legally deposed by the French people;
to that end, the Empress was to visit Versailles;
and General Boyer, the trusted aide-de-camp of
Marshal Bazaine, conveyed those views to the illustrious
lady at Chiselhurst, not, we believe, without success. But
that design has manifestly been superseded by the larger
plan of the neutral Powers, which have proposed an
armistice, in order that the belligerents may be
brought face to face in the field of negotiation,
and which further aim at a final settlement of
the quarrel by means of a Convention. If they should be
successful, King William will then be able to treat, not
with a faction, with a Government, or a city, but with
the French people. If France is prepared to
make reasonably large concessions, she will be glad to
do so in the taco of day, so that, if the war goes
on, she may attest her readiness to have sacrificed much
rather than have renewed it. If either of the belli-
gerents should make peace impracticable, it will do so in
,the presence of the Neutral Powers, and it must so
far show its disregard for the deliberate judgment of
Europe.