New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-07-21
WAR TOPICS.

1t would be remarkable if Spain, whose
action was the immediate cause or pre-
text for the. Franco-P russan quarrel, should
be able to avoid participating in the war about
the Spanish crown. Thus far she has not only
given no sign of getting involved, but she has
been counted out by both parties, and has
been courted by each of them.
The fluctuations in British consols in Lon
don during the war-furry have been less than
One-balf as great as those in American bonds
in the European market. The fall in our
ive-Twenties has been between 10 and II per
cent, while the fall in British cOnsols has been
between 4 and per cent.
1t is rather startling to hear of the "Mar-
"seillaisen being played in the presence OF
the Emperor in the palace of St. Cloud, for the
edifcation of the leading officers of the French
army there assembled. During the last twenty
years the "Marseillaise has not only been
prescribed, but has been regarded by the EN-
peror as the most dangerous enemy OF his
throne and dynasty-as subversive OF the
State. the social order, and the Church-as
more obnoxious than Rochefort, Victor Hugo,
or Raspail-as, in short, the most terrible and
atrocious embodiment Of the Revolution, or
the Spectre Rouge 1t has been as danger
GUS for Frenchman to sing the " Marseillalse
as to fling bomb at the head of the Empe-
ror 1t involved instant arrest, trial, and pun
ishment, if not the guillOtine itself If body
of curriers' attempted to sing it, they were fired
on by the troops; if n crowd of discontinued
students gave sign that they would like to
try it, they were marched off to Jail; if some
political Liberal, or enthusiastic Republican,
locked himself up in his chamber at midnight
and ventured to begin it under the protection
of solitude and darkness, he was sure to find
himself in the hands of a genddrme before he
got half through the first bar. To hear that
this terrific enemy of the Empire has been
patronized by the Emperor, has been admitted
to st. Cloud, and has been applauded by the
officers of the army, is more remarkable than
anything we have heard from France during
the last fortnight We can only parody the
language of Shakespeare by saying, 80, that
Napoleon should take into his mouth an
"enemy that is sure to carry oil his brains"
The rapid rise in gold in this market
during the last fortnight, and the consequent
depreciation in the actual value of our bonds,
have undoubtedly checked the shipment of our
Five-Twenties from Europe. The German
holders of our bonds are not willing to submit
to the loss which they would suffer by sending
them back for sale in this market under
present circumstances.
1t is to be hoped that neither our German
nor our Irish fellow-citzens will allow them
selves to get overcome with excitement about
the Franco Prussian war. 1t appears that the
first battle of the war for the Rhine has been
fought on the banks of the Litfy, in the gay
city of Dublin. We must not have anything
of this kind in New-York. Let our Irish
Americans and COMMUNICATIONS remember
that they are now neither Germans nor Irish
men, but Americans.
We believe that none of the Washington
correspondents has yet explained why it was
the House of Representatives broke out into
"applausen and expressions of satisfaction,
last Friday, when the Speaker read the
dispatch that war had been proclaimed
between France and Prussia. Was it because
our sanguinary Congressman rejoice in the
fact of war on general principlesY Was it
because they sympathized with both France
and Prussia, OF with Prussia only, OF merely
with Franceq Was it because they desired
the right side to win, or the wrong side to be
defeated Or are we to understand that the
cheerers cheered each according to the special
vanity of his own private Judgment, and that
the applause as totality had no generic
signifcance2 When there were cheers in the
British Parliament on the outbreak of the
Southern Rebellion, it was easy enough to
tell what the cheering meant; but can any
Intelligent and reliable" individual tell what
was the meaning of the Congressional cheers
of last Friday9
Now that NJ. Provost Paradol has closed his