The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-10-15

floor of the House, so that the country may
have some better means of finding out what
the Executive is doing than the gossip of
Washington correspondents and the ca pGrte
statements of hostile and expectant Congress-
men, There is generation growing up |
rapidly to whom the controversies on which |
the Republican party is trying to live come |
only as a tradition of q state of things of |
which they have had no experience, and |
which will not be much longer amused by
catch-words, and to whom the old po ,itician
and his esquire the old editor are becoming a |
pair of ancient and diverting persons, whose
battle cries are curious, but not exciting.
THE WAR QUESTION AND IT'S POLITI-
CAL FEATURES. u
From the M r Herald. -ia
The report of NJ Jules Favre on his mis-
sion to Prussian headquarters, shows more
clearly what was apparent before-the i'm
placable character of the war on the part of
Prussia. 1t is now, to all intents and pur-
poses, a war against the republic of France
and against republican institutions and ideas.
II is Just such war as the Holy Alliance of
monarchs waged against the first French re-
public, only in the present case the King of
Prussia is fighting it single-handed and has
no armed allies, though he has the goodwill
and moral power of the crowned heads and
aristocracies of Europe to back him. 1t is
monarchy, the French Imperial Government
and other monarchical governments of the
Old World to favor the Rebellion in the
United States, with the hope of seeing this
great republic destroyed. This course is
natural enough, however impolitic it may turn
OUT for republcanism is standing protest
against the ruling monarchical families alb
solutism and privileged orders, which regard
the people as their inheritance just as men do
their real estate.
Count Bismarck has said that Prussia is
not making war on the republic If we can
rely upon the reports he has been careful to
reiterate that on several occasions as If he
were conscious of the enormity of fighting
the liberal ideas of the age and saw the neces-
sity of appeasing the rising indignity of
poudlar sentiment in the world But his acts,
or the acts of his master, King William, show
the contrery-show, in fact, that the object
is to break down the republic in France.
King William does not fear France so much
as be does the republic. No doubt he is
greatly embarrassed as to what government
can be established there and the part he
should take in deciding such an important
and delicate question. Though he made war
at first against the Bonapartes, and though it
was said he did not wage war against the
French nation or people, only as a necessity
to put down Napoleon, whom he designated
as the disturber of the peace of the world,
there seems little doubt that he would now
gladly restore the Bonaparte empire, if that
were possible, or he would recognize an Or
leanist or any other royal pretender rather
than see the republic established. But he
cannot see the way clear to any such result.
! The consequence is he continues this fright
fully bloody war against the French nation
after the first and only ayowed object was at
tanned.
1t might have been possible to have main
l~.-. Il
| France had the King of Psussia negotiated
peace with Napoleon Immediately after the
battle of Sedan. Or if the Emperor had de-
| clined to negotiate and preferred to remain q
prisoner in the hands of the Prussians until
| the war should be absolutely closed, either
from fear of returning to Paris or to embar-
rass the situation of things, there was the
regency to open negotiations with y Had the
King acted on the spur of the moment then
he might have treated with the regency in
PARIS, or, at all events, before it left the soil
of France. But after the Emperor became a
voluntary prisoner-for he could have fled to
| Beleiuh-and the Empress, with the Prince
Imperial and the whole of the imperial gov
ernment, had abandoned France, what was
there to treat with but the provisional gov
ernment of the newly proclaimed republic?
The opportunity was lost to the King, and
the prosecution of the war from his stand
point then became necessary. The character
OF the war was changed at once. 1t was, as
we said before, no longer against the Bona
parties, for they had all fed, but against the
nation and the republic.
Our remarks with regard to the embarrass-
ing situation of affairs caused by the hostility
of the Prussian monarch to republioanism
apply also to the great powers which have
refused to recognize the republic. England,
Russia, and Austria must be blamed, and
especially must England, for the continuance
of the war and the present embarrassing stu
alton. Had these powers, or had England
even, followed the example of the United
States, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Portu-
gal, infecognizing the republican provisional
government Prussia could not have refused
to treat with it, And why should they not
have done so? 1t was the only government
possible. IL was to all intents and purposes
de .facto government, to which the whole
French nation gave virtual adhesion and sup
port. Had it been kingly government in
stead of republican one, neither England
nor the other powers would have found any
difficulty in according IL recognition.
We may regret that Jules Favre and his
colleagues did not accept the terms Bismarck
said he was willing TO grant for an armistice,
exacting and humiliating as they we're, But
why was the Pussian monarch SO inexorable9
He bad nothing 10 fear. His position gave
him ample guarantees without demanding
humiliating terms. His conduct has all the
appearances of purpose to crush the republic
bv embarrassing its government and reducing