New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-10-12
rrrNcu EnRELGN POLLCE.

!
decade has bcwildeIcl and irritatcd friends
and foes. Since the establishment of the Re
public the Nation has been converted into
vast camp. Compulsory service has been intro
duced the largest and cOsticst military estab-
| lishment in Europe has been maintained ana
an immense sum, aggrcgatlng N4OO,OOO 900
in the course of dozen years, has been cxpend-
cd in the construction Of fOrtresses and IN the
renewal of all kinds of machinery and supplies.
But the diplomatic prestige of the Nation has
steadily declined. France has remained passive
| on the Continent ncglecting to improve It's po-
! sition at the Congress OF Berlin and creating
distIust now in Rome and again in London, by
its meddlesome policy abroad. In Egypt 1t
surrendered ITS ground without a struggle, al
though the Liberal Government in England
added to its own cmbaIrassmcnts by its pune
tiliousncss in adherng to the Dual Protecto-
rate At the same time, Tunls was greedy
snatclcd and there were Spasmodc displays OF
activity at the ends of the sarth-n Madagas-
car on the Congo and in Anam and TOnquin. So
impulsiycly and rccliessly was this career Of
adventure entered upon that the most ordinary
precautions of diplomacy were neglected.
Italian resentment was excited 10y the acqulsl-
ton Of Tunis English susceptibility was
wounded mt Tamatavc and the risks Of war
with China were thOughtlcssly incurred. The
complications arising from the reception of
King Alfonso in Paris are of n different nature,
hut they tend still further to impair the pres
tige of French diplomacy.
II Is interesting to observe what "A sagacious
aud patriotic Frcuchman can sag in defence Of
a foreign policy which is condemned in every
1 n e.. IL.
cusscs this subject with commendable candOr
in the current number of The FOrtRigh1y Re
rieU. He contends that France has devoted
all her energies since her great disasters to the
duty Of rccuperatOn, and that neither Prussia
after jena, nor Russia after SebastOpo, nor Aus
tria after Sadowa, pursued that aim with more
resignation and COnstancy." "All this work.
lie adds, has been done in silence, without
display or pr0yOcatiOn.n lie admits that at
the bottom Of every Frenchman's soul lies a to-
nacious hope, or at least a vague desire, that
Alsace and Lorraine may some day be re-
gained but he denies that there is any serious
thought of an onslaught upon Germany. The
Nation is conscious of its renewed strength and
knows that it is now IN IA state &c support war
even with the strongest assailantj yet It il pa
ciic from choice, prudent from instinct. If va
Tious expeditions have been undertaken dur
ing the last five years. circumstances have forced
the hands of various Ministries. The principal
cause of this activity in remote quarters of tho
earth has been the prevalence Of IN opinion,
:" as well in Europe as among barbarods tribes,
" that the French Nation was far more feeble
sand pusillanimOus and passive under rcbu1s
than really was the case" This opinion is as
/, r.,
nate absteniion OF the Government in the
Egyptian crisis, and this, he is careful to ex-
plain, was owing TO political discussions rather
than to any deliberate design of non-intcrven-
ton. That abstentiOn, he adds has been BIT
terly regretted, and, in consequence Of inacCion
on the Nile, a new impulse has been given to
colonial schemes in Tonquin and elsewhere
For such enterprises, he contends, the French
have a natural aptitude, and when the policy of
organizing colonial forces, which shall be dis
tinct from the National Army, is once adopted,
he assumes that the position of the Republic as
Il Continental Power will not be affected by
foreign expeditions and entanglements.
This is the best defence the foreign policy of
France has yet had. The sacrifices which
have been made year.aiter year by citizen-sOl-
dicrs and taxpayers in performing military
service and supporting the army budgets have
rendered the Nation sensitive to the imputa-
ton chat it is powerless and spirtloss. In Ed
rope its duty is to stand under arms, conscious
that every year it is gaining strength; but its
spirit has been relieved by displays of ACTIVITY
aud enterprise In the colonial field. This
seems reasonable explanation. TO this is
added the.inherent weakness of every Ministry
that is formed. So uncertain are the conditions
of political support that a firm and courageous
policy cannot be adopted, even in so important
a crisis in foreign affairs as the organization of
the Egyptian expedition. When the Govern
ment at home ia so unstable, ambitious diplo-
matte agents in Tunis and TOnquin are certain
to act Independently Of Instructions and to