The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1870-08-02
Tho Position OF France.

AAo uJ5teIy Wu1Cu III lkSt SuIIouuuelA
the secret treaty alleged to have been
submitted to Count Bismarck by Napo-
leon. or his Minister, is now all but
positively cleared up. It must be taken
for granted that, negotiation was pro-
jected in which the interests and peace of
Europe were to be alike violated. In
'the first place, the document published
lin London has not been repudiated by
the French Government. "A series Of
explanations" have been permitted to
come to US through indirect channels,
but they are one and all dishonest eva
sions of the question put by the English
Cabinet, rather than O frank answer to
it. It is stated, for instance, that the
French Ambassador and the Prussian
Minister only discussed the subject in
formally, and that the French Govern
ment knew nothing about the discussion.
This story would not deceive child.
The French papers also ask the world to
believe that the scheme was only broach-
ed in order to "test" Count Bismarck
an explanation which in itself goes far to.
ward convicting the Emperor Napoleon
of the duplicity laid to his charge. In
short, the evidence all leads to the coz
clusion that the treaty which the Lon
don Times managed to get hold of, by
means best known to itself, was not an
invention, but something very closely
resembling the document actually sub
mitted to Bismarck. Under these cir
cumstances, the New York Times thinks,
it would be impossible to exaggerate the
new difficulties which Napoleon has
created for himself. The contest which
he appears to have been 80 eager to
bring about, was ono fraught with so
much peril, that we might well suppose
he would have desired to postpone it rs
long rs possible. The opinion Of Eng
land was against him from the first, and
he has always shown extreme anxiety to
remain on good terms with that power.
The discovery of this secret treaty would
amply justify England in confronting
him with something stronger than moral
opposition. If, as is positively stated,
the disgraceful proposals of France were
instantly rejected by Count Bismarck,
the fact not only attests the superiority y
of the latter as diplomatist and states
man. but it will be quite sufficient to
insure for Prussia the steadfast support
of Great Britain. In other words, sup
posing that Prussia is ever in danger of
being struck down by France-a proba-
bility which grows smaller every day
there is no longer room for doubt that
England would at once step in to the
defence of her old ally, and that Napo-
leon would find himself 30 hopelessly
over-matched that no possible combina-
ton could save him. The Emperor s
denial of all knowledge of the outrage
proposed to Prussia in his name, will
not be beloved in any quarter. No one
will doubt that he is now endeavoring g
to wrest by force Of arms the prize
which guilty intrigue failed to secure.
The disclosure of this conspiracy
changes the aspect of the whole strug-
gle The attitude of Prussia, it is true,
is not affected by it; but France occupies
q position which threatens her with q
disaster immcasurably greater than any
she has sustained since Waterloo. While
pretending to be acting in good faith
with tho English Government, Napoleon
is revealed in tho act of contrivipg q
coup d'etat for parallel to which we
must go back to tho early days of his
rule. Belgium seemed so secure that no
one Of late years has believed in the re.
newal OF French aggression. Yet at the
moment the Emperor Napoleon has un-
dertaken tho gigantic task of "subdu.
ing Prussia, lie has managed, by tricl,
of inoonceivable baseness, to set England
at his throat. Henceforth, it is no long
er an issue between the North GERMAN
Confederation and Franco.
AN Indiana journal is trying to pro.
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