Year: 1870

An Embarrassing Question.


Bismarck expressed in graphic and witty


manner the object of the war on the part Of


Prussia in the remark quoted by one of our


special correspondents In converse ton on


the prospects Of the war with King William,


the King is reported to have remarked;-'sWe
are playing high;" when Bismarck replied,


''Oh, no, your Majesty, the stakes are only
two Napoleons" This has the ring of the
astute Prussian Premier, and expresses in the
most concise way the object In view. or
course every one will understand that the two
Napoleons are the Emperor and the Prince
Imperial, and that the meaning is, the Napole-
onic dynasty Is to be destroyed root and
branch This accords, too, with the declara-
ration Of King William at the commence
ment of the war. He said that the
war was waged against Napoleon, and
that the guaranty Of peace sought was
the overthrow Of the Napoleon dynasty. The
import Of this was shown, too, in those
memorable and significant words Of the King
on another occasion :-''The judgment of the
Almighty and Of men falls on him who forces
into wars of devastation two great and peace
able races living in the very centre of Europe"
Then the fact that the Emperor and the
regency uuder the Empress are virtually
ignored in the government and conduct of the
war shows that the imperial rule has ceased.
Nothing short of extraordinary success, which
would amount almost to a miracle under
existing circumstances, would re-establish the
power Of the Emperor, with the consent Of the
French people. The tone of the French press
is bitterly inimcal to the Bonapartes. One
leading Paris journal exolaims -'tAre we to
forget France and think only Of the Bona
parties, who think only of themselves9" There
may be several Bonapartists in the actual
government at Paris who might intrigue and
make an effort to re-establish the EN- |
peror; but it is not at all likely the |
French people would submit to this,
or that they can forgive Napoleon for the terri
BILE disasters he has brought upon the country. |
But if even such an effort should be made, the |
Prussians, 1t appears, have made the deposit
ton of the Bonaparte dynasty sine qua non
Of the war, and they are masters of the situ-
alton.


Still, the question arises lis it prudent or
safe for the foreign conqueror to dictate to the
French what form of government they shall
have or who shall be their rulerP Greatly as
they have been and may be humiliated in this
fearful conflict, they are still powerful and
proud nation. Any attempt to force partic-
ular form of government or dynasty upon them
might incite terrible revulsion and uncon-
querable hostility. The government they
might willingly choose for themselves might
be resisted if dictated by foreign enemy at
the mouth of cannon. Aud should govern
ment be forced upon them how long would
it stand after the enemy had lett the
soil Of Francea It might be, there
fore, a doubtful or an impracticable expert
ment for the Prussians to try. But, in the
event of the Prussians conquering a peace,
which seems likely now, who are they to treat
with? What government will they recognize
and negotiate with? We see no other way of
solving the difficulty than through provisional |
government for France. Who should compose !
that or how it should be formed will have to |



depend, we suppose, upon the French them !
the leaders of the people and |
in Paris. 1t may be the present |
legislative bodies or committee raised from
them; it may be an improvised government,
of the Legislature or the present
agents of the imperial government, which the
popular voice may indicate. Or General
m -. okt~o T. D.
now, may, under the pressure of necessity
and from an ambitious desire to hold
the helm Of. affairs constitute themselves
a provisional government, consent to the
deposition of the Bonaparte dynasty, and
negotiate for peace. We can hardly sup
pose the Prussians will insist upon the estab-
lishment of another monarchy than that of
the Bonapartes before treating for peace and
leaving France. We think Bismarck is too
prudent to insist upon such conditions. He
will leave the French to determine, probably,
their own government; will insist only on the
deposition Of the Bonaparte dynasty, and will
negotiate with provisional government


Of course these conjectures are predicated
upon the continued success of the Prussian
arms, of which there seems little doubt.
But here may arise an embarrassing and
disagreeable event to the monarchy and aris-
tocracy of Prussia though not to the people
of Germany. Should the French, amid these
terrible disasters and the failure Of dynastic
rule, be ripe for a republic, and proclaim one,
how would King William, Bismarck and the
civil and military aristocracy of Prussia, like
that? Not at all, we think. Yet can Prussia
say France shall not be republic? Can
she insist that the Orleans family
shall be restored and that France
must be governed BY monarchy? Though
she may conquer in this war, that would be,