The New York herald., 1870-11-27

cier whose versatility has reflected 80 much
credit upon the intellectual standard OF his
country, and who may, therefore, be deemed
a competent judge in the case, is reported to
have said, almos. at the outset of his recent
tour for the sake of peace :-"What matters it
to us whether the war be prolonged or made
of short duration? Wo are utterly ruined
already"
If this observation of great intellect was
founded upon practical fact, two months back,
how terribly the situation must have darkened
since then! In order to appreciate the extent
of the evil to nation which, only in June
last-less than six months ago-was con-
sidered the arbiter of Europe it may be
worth while to recall some disclosures
which were recently made in the
NouoelIiste of Versailles, by French
writer of ability, touching the financial condi-
ton, especially, of invaded and revolutionized
| France. Stating the matter as succinctly as
possible, the upshot of general review of it
| is that all the sums voted and raised by the
| French Chambers, toward the end Of Au-
| gust, are already spent A secretary of the
| Government of National Defence, or, as some
sarcastically style it, Irrational expense, has
| recently been on trip to England with the
hope of raising something from the British
capitalists on the strength Of the signatures Of
| Rochefort, Gambetta and the rest. But the
sum allotted in August was no less than
| 1000, ,000,0 900 Of francs; and, when we
mention it as being already gone, we must
remember the general ruin that has accompa-
MED so vast an expenditure. The war has
continued, cities have been bombarded, fields
have been laid waste and families have been
bsreaved or rendered housesss and homeless
in just the same manner as though not a sou
had been put forth to protect them.
1t is plain enough, however, that the blame
| of this result must lie with those who originated
the war and have keptit going until France finds
herself to-day in an abyss Of debt and loss
from which there seems to be no rescue. The
previous wars waged by Napoleon Ill. had
augmented the public debt of France by
1000, OOO, 900. 1t was in the summer of
1868 that the imperial government called
for that famous loan of $50, 000,0 900 for
national armament, which was so enthu-
|
operation of the entire people, whose
! zeal went so far that they multiplied the
| amount thirty-four times over, and thus
placed capital of $4,000, 600, 900 Of francs
at the disposal of the Emperor and his
| policy.
With this incontrovertible fact In view
| every thinking friend of France was amazed
at the loose condition in which the army,
| the navy, the commissariat and almost the
whole network Of national service was
found to be when the great strain sud-
denly came in July last; yet at that time the
| French government financiers had been COM
paratively moderate in their operations not
withstanding this wondrous ''erabnrr0s de
richesses." They had, to use their own
language, merely discounted the possible sur
plusage of the future national income. For
reasons never fully explained the public debt
augmented by total of 4,5OO, 100000 in that
very twelvemonth. The weight Of ber glory
as a controlling military and as a first class
naval Power, and Of her success in the grand
struggles Of diplomacy, transcendaat as it had
been, excepting in the fatal expedition to
| Mexico only, still cost France enormous sums
| But this expenditure was or seemed to be
redounding to the fame and the supremacy Of
the 'sgreat nation" in everything. Her
| capital was both the delight and the wonder of
mankind; her exquisite art and her profound
| science had been turned into channels so
practically useful and 80 acceptable, in every
land and cline, that her manufactures, great
and small, from the production of the most
delicate ''artscle de Paris" to the building of
stupendous steamships, were rapidly becoming
in reality what fashion had already made them
in fancy-the absolute models Of taste and of
serviceable value.
But why need we linger to remind any
one who has been living in our day of the
brilliant light which seemed to rest over
that part Of the earth's surface called
France and was seen radiatng from it
in ever extending and warmer reaches
of effulgence? Its splendor, its pre-
eminence, its apparently endless variety of
resources, its astonishing record of martial
achievement which reads like romance from
first to last; its unparalleled accumulation
Of artistic and literary treasures and the
peculiar charm that seemed to cling to the
! very names of the localities made forever
famous as the homes of so gay and gallant
race have all conspired to convey to the
remainder Of the enlightened nations the
impression of master people residing in that
space of territory chiefly bounded by the
English Channel the Pyrenees, the Mediter-
ranean and the Rhine. Arts, arms laws,
population, genius, soil, climate, situation,
products, skill, all appeared to have been
combined for them upon peculiarly favorable
conditions, and the Muse Of History seemed to
have dipped her pen in sunbeams when she