New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-09-09
FRENCH POLITICS.
THE RECKLESS COURSE OF TIE MINISTRY
In FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

THE RECKLESS COURSE OF TIE MINISTRY
In FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
IFRoM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rkIBUsE.i
PARIS August %.
The town is so quiet that none OF the many ior'
eigners who stroll along the Boulevards couid
imagine that events of great national importance
are gong forward Those which are taking place IN
the Far East amount to nothing short OF acts OF
war against China. Before Parliament separated tho
Cabinet through the mouth of NJ. Chalemel-Lacour
entered into solemn engagement not to commits
itself to any belicose policy there without hrst
taking the advice of the Chambers. But now that
these bodies in recess Ministers 20 ahead. They
do not think that England will seriously oppose
them either in Tonquin or in Madagascar.
Their notion Is that if they allow. her
quietly to strengthen herself in Egypt she may let
them establish French Empire in the southeastern
corBer of ASIA 1t is hard to why Great Britain
should interfere to prevent them founding colony
which will never be colonized by French citizens,
and which is too thicky populated with industrious
Cochin Chinese to be turned into penal
settlement. Algeria has every advan-
tage for tho purposes Of colonization. and 1t Is
only separated by the Mediterranean from this
country. But although IL was taken IN 1880 from
the Dey, it is still cause of expense to France.
Unless the French treated the Tonquines and Ana
mites as the Dutch treat the Malays OF Java, the
territory which they are now endeayorlng 10 take
in the southwest of Asia will not be source of in
come to the exchequer and may be cause both
directly and indirectly of very great expense.
NJ Clemenceaus organ. La Justice. reproaches the
Ministry with having broken faith with the Cham-
Der. 1t regards campaign which certain 10 turna
great and friendly power-England-intoa an enemy
as thing to be deplOred by every patriotic French
man. But it will talk in vain so long as the Cham
mill tarv
place on the Red River or in the swsmps which lie
between the capital of Anam and the sea-
That city is the objective point of the little expe-
dictionary body under Admiral Courbet For somo
DAYS past the journals have been giving maps OF IL
and the inter-marine district Judging from tnens
should say that Hue Is place OF dfhcuit access
and that when once reached it would be terribly
hard place to take. 1t is 1913 kilometers from tho
sea- The piotage of the river leading I'd
il is most dangerous, owing to the NUMBER
of shifting sand banks and shadows. Access by
land is simply impossible Ships of deep draft could
not advance up to the capital of Anam, go tnas
to lombard It, unless from forts is out OF the ques-
tion The city of Hue is entirely surrounded with
wide, Fashioned canal. But Its chief de-
fences are swampy rlce-heids, DamDoo
groves and arms of the river Tho
water barriers constitute In themselves ver1table
Chinese puzzle In the southeast of China there
are hordes of fresh and salt water pirates. Inc
former make brutally daring soldiers on terra hrma-
Our bourgeois ministers In sticking their hand INTO
Tonquin have thrust 1t into bees nest and must
get terribly stung. !,
The msnacing article in The NORM
German Gazette of yesterday evening has gwen
nothing less than a shock to the trading ana
financial classes. 1t is only what might Dc e1-
pected by all but the Ministry. Their faulty was
"a in
way by a foremost member of the Cabinet The
chief editor of leading English journal
which has always been good friend to the French
Repubic wrote a confidential letter to gentleman
here about the bitterness which the Madagascar aud
Tonoun affairs were causing in England. 1t was
very clear statement not only of what people gon-
orally thought but of what Gladstone, Granville,
Sir Charles Dixie and even more advanced
Radicals than the member from Chelsea,
| said to the writer who is VIGOROUSLY a man of too
cold Judgment to be carried away by tbs crowd or
| in any way influenced by heeting popular emo
ton The recipient of the letter was authorized 10
convey the views thus set forth to any
French statesman who would be likely
to give them serious attention. This was
done The answer was: "All this is nonsense.
The editor in question wants to give himself import
anceD After short silence the political parsonage
in question added " 1t not bit of matter what
the English think. We know that they will always
he ayerse to our Colonial extension. Tue import.
ant factor is Germany. Now. 1t SO
happens that when last we received dispatches
from our Embassy at Berlin we were assured that
Prince Bismarck would be delighted If we could
take and hold Tonqun and the adjacent territories.
There were many Germans established in business
there and it would be greatly to their advantage 70
be protected by France from the sea aud fresD
water pirates"
The article of The North German Gazette is like thA
rumbling of distant thunder, which presages Storm
Ii will be deserved that Germany gave no sign Oh
hostile intent until the Ministry was launched I'D
an adventurous campaign, and until system OF
offensive and defensive alliance was entered into
between the Central Empires of Europe Italy and,
fortunate that the Duclerc Ministry by the prose
cuon of the Russian Socialist Krapotkne alienAted
the advanced Republicans throughout Europe. Up
nortunison of the KIND practISed by GamDettas
friends since the end OF 1881 has been neither hsh
nor flesh 1t has been despOtic IN Its instincts ana
contemplate in It's aims III ~ was not AZ tno
mercy of the Chamb Der and the ballot-box it would
have been worse than Royalty. Its COLONIAL policy
has been at foolhardy and tlmld w mere Foreign
countries wrong Is in supposlng tnat tue group
now in DO wer represent the nation. lney 40 not.
So little does the Chamber think the country 10
behind the Ministry that 1t ended the session ~
indictlng on the Ministry deep humiliation. Inc
bulk of the French people are Repnolican, nard-
working and, though Ignorant. very reasonaole.
In returning an immense Republican majority 70
the Councils General of the departments tney olo
not mean TO express approval OF what ministers
have been doing In the Far Eas