The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-11-20


| which she now proposes, too, are 50 very near
the original propositions of Count Bismarck
that there Ia some reason to hope that peace
| will result from them. Assuming that our
| adyices from Tours are correct, England pro-
| poses, with the consent Of the French pro-
visonal government, that Prussia and her
German allies shall be Unidentified in money
for their expenses in this war; that the French
forresses on the Rhine frontier shall be levelled
to the ground; that the provinces Of Alsace
and Lorraine shall be made neutral territory,
like Luxembourg that the great Powers shall
| guarantee the fuhment of these conditions
by any future French government, and that
European congress shall assemble to settle
these questions and also to consider the great
Eastern question.
These terms, we say, in reference to France,
being essentially the ultimatum OF Prussia as
suggested by Count Bismarck month ago,
ought to be sufficient not only to suspend the
war but to bring about treaty Of peace. The
| considerations on the part Of all the great
Powers, excepting Russia, and including
France, urging them to peace, are such as to
justify hope of the success of England in this
movement. In the first place, England realizes
in this crisis on the Eastern question the extent
of her loss and the extent of her danger in
losing France as an ally against Russia. Earl
Granville, it may be presumed, in the next
place, counts with some confidence on q salts
factory settlement Of the Eastern difficulty and
the security of Turkey with tho release of
France and her three hundred thousand
trained soldiers of the empire now held as
prisoners Of war in Germany.
On the part of the provisional French gov
ernment, or that branch of it at Tours, which
a month ago would DO satisfied with nothing
short Of the expulsion of the last armed Ger
man from the sacred soil' of France, the
reasons for the acceptance of the terms of
peace now proposed by England are manifest.
Tours depends upon Paris and Paris upon
Tours. Gambetta and his colleagues at
Tours rely upon General Trochu and
his army, reported as exceeding two
hundred and fifty thousand men, and upon
Jules Favre at Paris, while Favre looks
for relief to Gambetta. Trochu has
been preparing for a grand sortie with the
approach Of supporting army from Tours on
the rear of the German line Of investment, and
Gambetta has mustered and sent forward to
Orleans an improvised army of perhaps not
less than seventy-fve thousand men. This
army attacked the comparatively small force
of Won der Tam at Orleans, drove it out, and |
for days march or so toward Paris, when |
achievements to Won der Tam stopped the |
pursuing French and reduced them to defen-
sive preparations. Next, We have despatch
from King William at Versailles announcing
the repulse of this French army along its
whole line. AT the same time Prince Fred
! erick Charles, with one hundred thousand men
| or more from his army of Metz, is rapidly ad
vancing towards Orleans, where the French
are reported to be preparing boats in antici-
patton of retreat southwark beyond the
Loire.
The relieving or supporting army expected
by Favre at Paris from Tours is thus cut off,
aud Trochu, unsupported, must cut his way
out or capitulate. Gambetta at Tours, one
hundred and forty miles away, understands
this, and Trochu in Paris will doubtless soon
understand it. Meantime the provisions of
the city are so far reduced that it is reported
that Trochu has resolved to eject ten thousand
of his destitute consumers to shift for
themselves outside the walls. For several
weeks he has been feeding Paris to conside-
rable extent on horse1esh, and while this con-
sumption of his horses has been thus rapidly
reducing them, the remainder, half starved,
can hardly be equal to the quick artillery
movements required in sortie. Trochu, then,
is in no condition to chatter about the terms of
an armistice or treaty Of peace. The only
difficulty is that Won Moltke, believing that he
has Paris on the verge of an unconditional
capitulation, may refuse any terms at this
iuncture short of an absolute surrender. This
is the great difficulty to the acceptance OF these
new propositions Of England for an armistice.
Bourbaki, in the north is so fettered in his
movements that he can do nothing for the
relief of Paris, and if the army of the south
can do nothing, then Tours itself is at the
mercy OF Prince Frederick Charles, and Paris
must succumb to starvation. We say starva-
ton because the revictualling of Paris, re-
fused some two weeks ago as condition to an
armistice, will hardly be granted now, when,
in view of the hardships of the winter upon
them the Germans will be apt to consider first
the question of their own supplies aud a
speedy ending Of the war as requiring the
reduction OF Paris
But even supposng that these overtures
from England come too late for an armistce,
short of the equalization Of Paris, we still
think that the terms indicated as basis of
peace are all that can in reason be desired
by the Germans. They embrace indemnity in
cash for the expenses Of Germany in the war,
and the Sound security Of an intervening neutral
territory AGAINST any further arrressinns from