Year: 1871

Now that the Franco-German war is ended,
and that Germany is left to proceed with re-
construction, and France left to decide upon
her future form of government, the facts of the
hour, so far, at least, as this people and nation
are specially concerned. point to an era of
peace, and, what is better, an era of good
feeling.


All things taken into account, the United
States have never been in so high favor the
wide world over as they are at the present
moment. Our praises are being sung in every
capital of Europe, and wherever in Asia
or Africa or South America there is an inde-
pendent government the representatives of the
United States are singled out for special honor.
We have no reason to say we are unworthy of
the respect which is paid u.s. We have been
at the trouble of teaching the world
the excellence Of republican institutions.
We have experimental so successfully
on the principle of selfgovernment
admiration, but of envy. When the war in
Europe began the United States Legation in
Paris was trusted more than all the Legations
of the world combined During the war
Minister Washburne, who, to his own praise
and the praise Of his country, remained in
Paris when the representatives of almost
every other nation abandoned it, did noble
service, not to the Germans alone, who
placed themselves under his protection,
but to almost every other nationality.
He alone, Of all the foreign Ministers,
comes out of this war with honor. We have
Great Britain, and to-day Great Britain,
through delegation which represents at once
dignity and scholarship and good feeling seeks
in our national capital an honorable settlement
of all outstanding questions as between the
two governments and peoples on honor
able terms. We have not the slightest
doubt that the Joint High Commission will sue
ceed in removing all cause of difference
from between the two governments and
peoples. In other words, it is next to impos-
sible to resist the conviction that the two
great English speaking peoples have got over
their latest and their greatest difficulty. The
latest and not the least important piece of
news from London is to the effect that,
whereas the new Russian loan is despised and
treated with worse than contempt at the Stock
Exchange, the American loan is warmly en-
couraged.


These are all promising signs. At the pre-
sent moment the world is sick Of war. 1t is
felt and confessed to be an unqualified curse.
The universal desire is for peace. Nay, peace
is loudly and imperiously demanded. What is
now wanted to secure a lasting and worldwide
peace is good understanding between the two
great English speaking peoples. They, more
than all other peoples combined, represent the
wealth, the intelligence, the enterprise, the
progress Of the world. United there is no
force to resist them. Germany, as is well
known, has enough on hand. France is fairly
bound to keep the peace for at least-well, as
long as she can. Let us hope that the
spirit of the United States, which is peace
and good will to all mankind-a spirit which
is now fully shared by Great Britain-will
soon extend over all the nations Of the earth,
and that the energies of the peoples will find
sufficient scope for exercise in every form of
rivalry but the rivalry of brutal war. All hail
to the era of peace and good will With the
London Times on the one side of the big pond
and the NEW YORK HERALD on the other and
both of them sensibly regarding the higher
interests of humanity, we cannot doubt that
the era of good feeling is about to be success
fully established.