, 1872-11-06

to the monstrous and cruel rigidity of the
German resolve to make all the inhabi-
tants OF tit age liable to serve in their Ar
my from the first of this month. To talk
OF this, as some Of our papers have done,
as making the shortest work of an i~nevita-
bic, though cruel necessity, is incredibly
silly or wicked. AS we remarked last
week, the Rhineland when restored to Ger
many in 1914 was expressly exempted
from CONSUMPTION for six years, and it is
idle and false to say that time might not
do much to temper the fearful harshness of
the liability to serve in the army of your
conqueror against the country you have
always regarded as your own. The truth
Is, that the German authorities do not uunt
to reconcile the Alsatians to German rule
they prefer to get rid of them, and replace
them by Germans. Germany sees with
out regret" says the North German GU
aete, with brutal candour, ''those long
trains of eXiles who in the last days have
turned their backs on the Empire and set
their faces towards France, whittier their
Interests and %sympathies lead Them
NJ. Gambetta has been the weeks sub
Ject in France. The permanent Commits
sion has discussed and ce0sured NJ. Gam
BETA. The Russian Minister OF the Interi-
or has privately denounced NJ. Cambetta
to the President. The French Home Min
lSter (1I. Victor Lefranc) has declared N.
Canbatta the enemy Of the Government.
NJ. THEIRS himself, while impressing on the
Commission that Frenchmen 'don't love
each other enough, the astuto old litter
atuor IS reaIIy .going in, in his old age, for
the apostolic style, for hortatory benedic-
ton IN the manner of a sort Of Parisian ST.
J0hn,-haS warmly condemned n. Gam
betta's speeches, and declared that with re-
gard to his wish for the raising of a new
social stratum (c0achc s~ocialc), he (DT. Thi-
ers) knew OF but one class, ''the French
men OF France" One thing, however, M.
Theirs sees very keenly-that he gains
more and more security through the fear
OF Gambetta. Who can protect the Con-
servatIves OF France from NJ. Gambetta, if
not NJ. Theirs? From that point of view
NJ. Thiers feels it quite possible to fulfil
his W apostolic Injunction, and to love
M. Gambetta. In the meantime, NJ. Gam
BETA also loves N. Theirs, and has toasted
him In 4 speech at Annccy, though distin-
gushing him somewhat inyidiously from
the Assembly which elected him.
II the statement made SO circumstantial-
ly by the Times correspondent in Paris be
true, that M Timaschef, the Russian Min
ister of the Interior, privately qualified the
congratulations he had formerly addressed
to NJ. Theirs, and warned him that if NJ.
Gambetta made France a focus of revolu-
ton, it would be necessary for external
powers "to smother the flames, then
there is already something like a new Ho-
ly Alliance formed, which must have owed
its origin, we suppose, to the meeting of
Emperors at Berlin. Have these monarchs
really not learned enough by the great
French Revolution to be aware that the
invasion of France at that time stimulated
instead of controlling the democratic fury
Of the people Of course these powers, if
united, can crush France again when they
please, but to crush the spirit of revolution
IL