New-York tribune., 1876-11-25
FRANCE AND TURKEY.
TEE DIVERSE RACES OF FRANCE.

THROUGHOUT FRANCE-FRENCH INDIFFERENCE
REGARDING THE TURKISH CoNFLICr-AIE RE-
SUITS OF A GENERAL WAR.
iFRoA A REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUHE'I
BIARRITZ, Oct. 81" How very curious it is, the
total absence here of everything French" This
was the remark made 10 yesterday by an English
lady who has for the first time come into this ex-
traordnary Basque country 1t is entirely true;
there is nothing French n any part of the land after
you approach BayOnne The people of the latter
place are absolutely of no nationality whatever.
No one acknowledges them, and they acknowledge
none But at mile inland, behind Barrtz, you
are among Basques-exciusively, purely BaSques-
who have nothing and will have nothing, in com
mon with either of ther frontiers. They hate the
Spaniards and despise the Gauls Their contempt in
this latter arises mostly from the fact that what
they sec of French people chiefly Parisians One
consequence is that they are fall of tho conviction
that Frenchmen can neither walk nor Tide. Now,
Basque from the age OF ten till his death always
walk for ten twelve hours at stretch at the SAME
light easy steady, swinging pace and as Tor horses,
why from cradle to grave he is an absolute CcntauT
For this reason if any foreigner is looked upOn with
favor in this singular region, it is the Brton, but
above all the Scotchman. He can ridc and nc
really can walk / could instance some dozen
Anglo-Saxons land two or three ladies' who are re-
as compatrots, and who on any public emergency
would have perhaps evcn-nore influence over them
than chiefs of their own soil.
But this, added TO various and long made expert
ments of my own, personally leads me 70 question,
scarcely if at all studied by those who try TO OBJ
serve France and which may one day have more
practical result than the ordinary of politicians
would believe. ] aludc to the so-caed "hcmo-
geneity" of the French nation. From north to
south and east to west one is called upon by the
orators and writers of all countries 10 admire the
perfect homogcneousness Of France And when
even moderatc-mindcd Frcnchmcn alludc to the
advantages they possess over almost all other con
tncutal countries they invariably adduce, first, this
entire cohcsivencss, aud usually say: THAT has
been our salvation" Now there is little founda-
ton in fact for this "a for many Other proyerbial
mistakes. man who knows this well is Prince
Bismarck. and one who knew it before him was
Cavour. In 1856 after the peace of Paris, he was
wont 10 say in certain intimate circles lamong
others al Mime. de Crcourt'sl If chose to play
bad trick to the French Government ] need only
further movement for annexation TO Switzerland
in Franchc Comte, or a cry for autonomy in Brit
tany! You would soon see what French homo
gcncity meausw
1t certainly is true that. except in few central
provinces under the atmosphere rs IL were OF Paris
you are constantly met By the phrase, Pray reflect
that am not n Frcnchman have 40 drop OF
French blood in my veins; | am of 5uch and such
race" Norman a Breton sturdily repudiatos
any admxture Of She Galc nature. Onc is Norse-
man. the other Celt. The PIovcncal is q Greek,
Ssracen, Phmniciau, an Euuecau. rs the ease may
beat Aries hc IS = Roman, az Avignon pure sub
iect of the Pope whether he hc a Christian or Vol
taircau-thc Laugucdocian IS o SpIniard, and the
LorTliucr Teuto-Goth. One and al Of these will
invariably. if you talk with them on the ethno
graphic point Of descent place their own particular
ist element high above the French one, which rs
simply political even rather administrative. l
would not be supposed 10 attach greater value 10
tins state Of things than is Heced do not pretend
70 say chat France i in danger of falling 10 pieces
or that the work of foreign annexation could be
carried ON rccklcssly or wholesale In every direc-
ton; but what do mean 70 say-bccaus" it is ahso-
lutely truc-s, that the so much yarlt"d homo
ceneity7 of France Is an artificial one and rests on
Institutions not the inborn feelings Of The popua-
tions Of the soil. This is in fact the only excuse
land very Sufficient one il isl for tho maintenance
by every successive government of the principle Of
excessive centrazation 1t is the strong The unes-
capable centralized power OF tine French admins
tration alone which constitutes the homogareity
Of France. The Emperor Napoleon III. knew tins,
and Gambctta knows il thoroughly and the great
clamnrcrs for decentralization lthe LcCitimistsl
would also acquire an equal knowledge II amy mis-
fortune placed them Tor six months at the head OF
ailIiry.
The chief subject on which I'll this may bear is,
before long, on that OF Al,acc-LoyTaiuc, and
later on that Of alliances in any future wax, II
the peace of Europe ondurcs FOR very few wears, It
is in my mind great question whether the German
provinces OF France will have any desire 70 revert
10 France. have some cause TO believe thatiheir
greatest effort has been made; that habit and reli-
gon were the origins of the FIRST "spurt' OF revolt
against Prussian mot GermanD rule, and that by de-
erees as time goes by the proCallic sentiments will
gradually die out, and leave nothing in the shape Of
"a weeping Ycneta behind. Now 10 this hangs a
most important part of what may become the poiti-
cal complications of the next five or Xix years.
Should n real war break out within that period
one / mean in which two three, or four Of the six
Great Powers should take part, France would begin
by absolute inaction she would keep herself to
herself" with positive anectation, estrangiug and
isolating herself totally from every This must
De her policy, because here would be her power. As
things went on she would ho naturally the mark for
two of the bellCcrent GOyemmcnts-England and
Germany. For in a case like that and fighting
merely for her own selfish interests, not for any
"idea" or dream, France could command money 10
no matter what extent; and let il not be forgotten
she is with England the one oaly European Power of
whom this can be said. Then. OF course, comes the
buying back of practical French cooperation. Where
is the price In the restitution Of the two provinces.
II is nowhere clsc But then great deal would de-
pend upon the condition Of public opinion in those
Provinces and we are thus brought back to the i'm
porance Of what is or is not at bottom the force Of
the liomogcneity Of France
With q view TO this, the present aspect Of matters
in the East has moro Importance for France than
the vast majority of Frenchmen believe. The over