, 1877-12-19

saaboard, SIZE cannot be Indifferent to any
scheme for The opening of the B~ospborus
TO vessels Of war. She has an historic, if
q sentimental, interest in Syria. The out.
RACES on the Christians of that provinces
prompted Napoleon III to send an Expe.
dition which was a practical satire on the
integrity aud independence of the Ottoman
Empire. France has interests of a more
material and vulgar kind in Egypt. Sh3
cannot be Indifferent to the future of q
country through which French energy
and capital cut the Suez Canal, Her
Statesmen must also be strangely dif-rent
from those OF Louis Poilllppe's reign and
the Empire if they do not anticipate that
the African possessions of Face will
some day be more extensive. Indeed, a
Frenchman might decline to admit that
England has a greater stake than his own
country in the future of the M9diterrane-
an. Statesmen trained in the school of
NJ. Guizot aud NJ. Theirs would have
scorntulIy pronounced such an idea to be
mere proviucialism. Nay, only a few
mouths ago the leaders of the Republican
Party were eager uhat the Duo DeCazes
should assert the interests and the duties
of France in the East with decision, and
they sharply criticized him because they
believed he was too timid. Bat no French
man now gives a thought to foreign poll,
cy, all the eager vitality OF tn nation be.
lag concentrated at Versailles
1t would be a mistake to suppose that
the ef4cement of France as u European
fore is the necessary result OF the war in
1870. She recovered from the trenen-
dous ca)amiiieS Of that contest wi h a speed
to which there is no parallel in modern
hi tory. The riches Of her soil, the in
dustry and fruga'i'y Of h:r peasants, the
intense patriotism OF her people, and their
brilliant intellectual gifts soon brought
her b lck to he front rank. She had it
ls true, neither the wish nor the power to
repeat the adventurous. restless, tortaous
foreign policy OF Napoleon III. Perhaps,
indeed, sh4 ad bpgun to suspect that it
was as much made up of charlataniSm
and vanity as of real craftsmanship. At
any rate, she gave Europe q pleasing sens7
OF quiet. But everybody recognized
that France had lost little of her real pow
err, and a fl .ltering tribute to her influence
was paid at the Conference in C,nsIantinO-
pie, where her delegate more than once
spoke in the name of the assembled Am.
bassadors. The policy of the Due Deca-
z9s was a subject Of real moment down to
a memorable date bat on the 10th Of
May Marshal Mac Mahon struck Franco
out Of the diplomatic lists. From that
fatal day to the present hour her people
have had time to think of nothing but
Ciericalisrn, Radicalism, the designs of the
Ilnperialists, The late ofthe Republic. They
have ceased to speak or think of the war ;
they do not ask what the Due Dtcazes has
been dol G and they would seem to
care little if their interests in the Levant
were to BE- sac iiced. Should the storm
continue for a few months longer, the
European settlement may be made with
little or no regard tor France. Let her be
plunged into the turmoil Of another DISCO
luton, ard her Government will have
neither the time nor the power to take
any effective part in arrangements which
may be of incalcuiable i,nportance to
Europe. While other States would bs
engaged in solving the problem how to
get the Turks out of q certain region with
out letting the Russians in, France would
be in the agonies of a Party struggle,
wage1 for the very existence of the Re-
public, amid such pleasant accompani-