New-York tribune., 1870-09-20
WAR TOPICS.

Great Britain i'm this European crisis,
seems to be tortured by the memory OF her
past misdeeds, and trembling with the fear
of retributiOn. Suppose cries Ihe PdH MdH
Gazette the French Republic, eager to wipe
out the disgrace of the present war, should
some day help the American Republic to
avenge the Alabama wrongs; and then sup
pose the Fenians should take hand in the
fight (as they surely would want toy; and sup
pose another republic should rise up in Spain,
aud insist upon having Gibraltar; and suppose,
on top of all this, Russia should crowd us to
the wall in Asia; what pretty pickle
England would be in! True enough, the
prospect is not cheerful; and the moral of it
all is that for conducting TO peace of mind III
times of trouble, there is nothing Ike clear
conscience.
If it had been the purpose of NJ. Favre TO
defeat his own negotiations with Bismarck, 1t
is not easy to see how he could have gone
about it more eliectually than by the publica-
ton of his second diplomatic circular. He
fully agrees with the Prussian Premier in pro-
nouncing the Provisional Government irregu-
lar and unauthorized, and declares that 1t
cannot accept the terms which the Prusslans
offer as their ultimatum. Why then does he
insist upon an interview Perhaps frank
and informal conversation between the two
Ministers may facilitate later negotiations
and meanwhile NJ Favre and his colleagues
adopt the only course left them in fastening
the convOcation of the Constituent Assembly,
and putting the question of fighting or sur
render to the vote of the French people.
In his inaugural circular to the Projects and
Provisional Administrators of Departments,
Minister Gambetta declared that the new gov
ernment was ga Republic of war to the knife
against the invader" And yet it is evident
that the new Government has all along been
bent upon making submission with the best
grace possible. This ought not to surprise us ;
the action of Frenchmen is often wiser than
their talk. Even Jules Favre entered office
with declaration not much less violent than
his colleagues and at once turned all his en-
ergies to negotiations for peace.
"A great many journals continue to quote
the supposed declaration of King William that
he made war upon Napoleon and not upon the
French people, and to ask why, having cap
tured the Emperor, he does not therefore stop
the fighting and go home. THE TRIBUNE has
already mentioned that the King never made
the remark attributed to him. 1t was an error
of the Cable, by which 1--WE ourselves, in COM
mon with other papers, were at first deceived.
Mail adyices showed that what his Majesty
really said was that Prussia made war upon
the French armies, and not upon peaceable
citizens and peasantry.
1t is mentioned as an illustration of Ger
man system that the transportation of the
Kings armies was effected according to a
schedule prearranged in Berlin, regulating the
running time of every main and branch rail-
road throughout Germany, and so perfect were
all connections that not one train was behind
time. The movement of troops began, by
this plan, on the 10th of July-one day after
the declaration of war-and on the 27th of the
same month 100000 men had been transferred
to the frontier without the slightest accident.