The Sun.
London, England, 1870-09-22 00:00:00

GERMAN PEACE VIEWS.

Herr Von Sybel, the illustrious German historian, con-
tributes a 'lengthy article, to the Cologne Gazette, in which
he elaborately examines the various conditions of peace
which have been put forward. The theory that Germany
would remain content Without territorial aggrandizement
has much, on considerations of civilisation and humanity,
to recommend it ; but in this case it would be a great
error to adopt such a mild policy. A French Republic, he
insists, has always been so incapable of lawful freedom
and peaceful neighbourliness that the welfare of France
and the peace of Europe are ten timesbetter secured under
Napoleon 111. than under the Paris Government of Messrs.
Gambetta and Rochefort. There is nothingin aßepublican
form of Government to constitute any guarantee for
France, in fact several of the leaders of the present Go-
vernment have displayed the greatest hostility to the
strengthening of Germany. (Herr' Von Sybel ought to
make himself quite certain of this fact.) It will never do,
therefore, he argues; for the German Government to
give up any of the fruits of its victory because a Repub-
lican Government has been set up. Herr Sybel, however,
strongly deprecates an aggrandizement which would lead
Germany into the fatal path where the mediaeval em-
pire found transitory glories and enduring decay. The
object should be a strongly-defended, compact, and national
State. Hence he advocates such an extension of the
frontier as is necessary for protection against French
attacks and for internal consistency. This end is gained
by the acquisition of Alsace, German Lorraine, and the
district of Metz—i.e., the territory naw constituting the
government of Alsace, separated from French Lorraine.
This would be for Gerniany shb,ply,the acquisition of a
good defensive frontier, while the area ios_t b
would scarcely exceed that of Savoy and Nice,
annexed in 1859. -

The Cologne Gazette has likewise a remarkable " editorial" -
article on this important question. It is, compared with
the customary effusions of the German press, of singularly
mild and pacific tone. It strongly protests against any'
annexation of French territory which is not purely Ger-
man; and on this principle it conceives that no, ground
exists for depriving France of Metz, which ii just as
French as Paris is. " The whole of Germany. was
determined rather to
,plunge into a fearful war
than to permit the French flag to . float over
the former fortress of Luxemburg ; and why
should we desire to place . our German flag
upon the fortress of Metz, and . offer, a perpetual cams
belli to the French—not only to the lovers of fame, glory,
and conquest, but also the most moderate and temperate
Frenchmen?" The Cologne Gazette rejects the principle
that one nation has a right to advance its boundaries into
the territory of another in order to secure a frontier
better adapted for strategic purposes :—" When we
declare that we cannot defend our frontier with-
out annexing portions of foreign territory, whether
small or large, every, small nation has :the 'same right to
follow our example. They could with the same, if not
greater amount of justice, declare that for their defence
against such a powerful nation as ours has become they
require a line of frontier strategically defined, and draw
those lines of demarcation through. our .possessions. The
customs of all people and countries are based upon the
supposition that one man enjoys equal rights with hiS fel-
low-man, And the same principle must be applied tothe
laws and_.pustoms •of nations. We are no .41olig
t
pp_w_e:thil4liciugh to annex .a large portion of French%ter'-
-ritory, but were we so
.to., do we should for a "tr.i:il
,a,igrandjeienunti_pf territoyY..dytw down upon our ow -
,heads the Lettx,dlipArusta.ard llatred of every other nation,
and we should .40, dkr.e.to hope or imagine that all the
heavy sacrifices we ijay.o-made would secure us a lasting
peace. We repeat our earnest desire for peace; all that
which is German, or where the German element prevails,
but not that which is French, and has been so for ever;
for the possession of even a portion of any such territory,
however great or small, would be - a conquest in every
sense of the word, and , conquests are the curse of the
[ human race." , -

THE FpitTUNE OK, THE EMPEROR
NAPOLEON.

The Times makes the following very noteworthy state
ent respecting the `` large fortune " which the Emperor
Napoleon is supposed to have accumulated during his
reign :—Unless we are misinformed, the Eniperor
Napoleon, who has been the Chief of the French State
for nearly twenty4wp years, and its almost absolute
master for nearly eighteen, ' retains no private property,
.. • ••
but a small cottage
.whai cable to hira from his mother.
Call it rashnesss, Call' it-overweening confidence]
1' or call it a generous craelessness, it is proved
by the event that he did not devote his
reign to the accumulatiOn' of money. What-
ever he has received from Prance he has spent in the
country, in accordance with the social system which was
established with the Empire. That system was, no doubt,
extravagant in the extreme. No contemporary Sovereign
has held such a Court. The Ciar; who owns vast domains
I . .
aas his private property, besides ignoring the limitations of
Civil List iii'dealing with the 'public Treasury, could
not I
maintain such splendour. The Sultan may squander
millions but his Oriental' magnificence has been
.mere shabbiness' by 'th'e' .'side' 'of Paris. What j, our
~
own Court is we all 'see, and, '-' as we'. know its .'bosh;
we may, when we compare it with that of o tlui.
French Emperor, forni some judgment of his expenses'.
Napoleon 111. will leave his Gernian place of captivity at
the end of the war almost as poor a man as he was when
he entered France inlB4B. The EMPress has, indeed, het-
jewels, gifts at her marriage and on her fate dayS ;- but
these are her private property, the State -jewels being
now in the hands of the French Government at Tours ;
she has, besideS, an hereditary property in Spain, and
the Prince Imperial has a house which has been be-
queathed to him near Trieste. This, we believe, is all
that remains to the family which lately were supreme in
France.