The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-29 00:00:00

GENERAL TP.OOHU'S MOVEMENTS.

There is at last, says the Daily News, some brisk move-
ment going forward within and around Paris. The inac-
tion which was wearing out the patience of both besiegers
and besieged has ceased ; and the Germans, for the first
time since they surrounded the city, have assumed the
offensive. That General Trochu proposes to dis-
sociate himself and hi 3 garrison from the fate
of Paris and the inhabitants is obviously a guess
on the part of the Germans derived from their
observation of the convoys which have been going to and
fro between Mont Valerien and Paris, and of the activity
shewu by the French in strengthening the fortified camp
which lies under the citadel. Should such be his design,
we cannot doubt that the starvation of Paris would be
the readiest means of reaching him. The Germans
will not accept the capitulation of the city,
leaving Trochu, like another Sir William
Wastic, to rejoice in his independence. The
Parisians themselves may " gar him gang duwn " by
signing a peace which will involve the resolute General
and his forces in its stipulations. And in the event of
General . Trochu really contemplating this step, those
convoys which have been remarked must have been
drawing away from Paris serious quantities of
the provisions which are as the breath of life to
her. General Trochu has defended Paris bravely
and well. He has, like Marshal Bazaine, twice endea-
vonred to break his way through the lines which were
hemming him round ; and twice has he failed. We learn
from Paris that the inhabitants confidently believed the
sortie of yesterday week would effect their deliver-
ance. . After this second failure, does Trochu,• like
Bazaine, wish to draw a distinction between the fortress
he has been defending and the army with which he has
been defending it? In the case of Bazaine the Germans
refused to entertain the proposal; and the army and the
citadel, conquered by famine, fell together.

THE COMMITTEE OF NATIONAL DEFENCE AND THE
ELECTIONS.

The Telegraph, in commenting on the determination
not to allow the elections in France, says : We cannot help
thinking that the advantages of convoking an Assembly
far outweigh any possible disadvantages attending the
step. If such a body, freely elected by populai suffrage,
should declare in favour of peace, then it would be clear
that the heart of the nation was not in the war, and its
prosecution would be hopeless. If, on the other hand,
it should be found that the representatives of
the French towns and provinces, coming fresh from their
cwistituencies, pronounced any sacrifice preferable to the
cession of territory, the effect of such a declaration, both
at home and abroad, would be incalculable. Nor do we
see any reason to apprehend that an Assembly pledged to
carry on hostilities to the last would interfere vexatiously
with the management of the campaign. The war by which
the Germans were driven out of France in the last century
was conducted under the control and direct supervision of the
Constituent Assembly, and yet the exertions made by
the country then were far greater than those now claimed.
And if the Assembly should revoke the ill-advised procla-
mation of the Republic, should declare the one duty of
the Government to be the prosecution of the war, and
should finally defer to the close of hostilities the
choice of the form of Constitution to be adopted,
the hands of the Executive might be immensely
strengthened. The war, it is often said, is
one between an army and a nation in arms. If the nation
is to win, the war must be conducted as a national war—
that is, the whole energies of the people must be exerted
without stint ; and such an exertion experience has shown
can only be made when a nation is in full possession of
its rights and liberties. No act of an English Par-
liament, or of au American Congress, has ever im-
paired the effectiveness of a national war ; and there is
no reason to suppose that a French Assembly would
prove less patriotic. Whether he would sanction the
Dictatorship of M. Gambetta or endorse the Proclama-
tion of the Republic, is another question; and it is
beause they are unable to answer that inquiry in the
affirmative that the Committee of Public Defence, out of
an honest but short-sighted patriotism, refuse to permit
an Assembly to be elected. It is not that tlyr lovg
France less, but that they love the Republic more.