A French View of the War.
NEW YORK, Dec. 28.—A newspaper correspondent has had an interview at Bordeaux with Count de Chondourdy, Minister Delegate for Foreign Affairs, whom he describes as a grave man, but a free talker. In reply to an inquiry of the correspondent, the Minister thus gives his views in regard to the chances of peace: “At present, peace seems to be distant. Lamentable as the war is, peace on dishonorable terms would be inadmissible. It would change France into a third-rate Power. Prussia made a great mistake in not concluding a peace with Favre at Ferrieres. The civilized world will condemn her for her refusal to propose terms which might then have been arranged in a manner that would have been honorable to Prussia, without being humiliating to France. Not only might guarantees against future attacks by France upon Germany have been exacted, but the feelings of hatred and revenge, now sure to prevail in the future, might have been changed to esteem. All that is now impossible, and no ministry, or constituent assembly, or government, could for a moment treat for peace under the conditions now imposed by the Prussian government, for although there is hardly a man in France but laments the war, yet there is scarcely one willing to allow the government to give up any territory. Rich and poor unite in the opinion that the only thing left is to fight out the war; and if in so doing France is financially ruined, there will be the less for Prussia to take.” The Minister told the correspondent that he had great hopes that the Prussians would be driven out of France before long. “The present government,” he said, “is not fighting with obstinacy for political motives, but really with a fair chance of obtaining an honorable peace. Paris is able to hold out for a considerable time. The whole nation is armed, or arming. Three months ago it was difficult to inspire the people with courage; but now the government is obliged to restrain and check, rather than to excite, patriotism. We need arms and artillery it is true; but these are coming in every direction. We have an offer for more than we want from England alone. Happily all political parties are practically determined to allow the present government to do their best for the national defense, and have patience to wait. They do not raise revolutionary cries because events do not move quickly.” The Count then spoke of the present status of England, who he does not think has elevated herself in the scale of nations by her recent action on continental matters. She is now committing the same mistake that France committed in 1866. In order to have her neighbor chastised, she has allowed her to lie humiliated beyond endurance, and even allowed her territory to be violated. The correspondent asked, “But can England afford war?” Chondourdy replied: “There are other means beside drawing the sword by which a great Power like England can make her influence felt. These means she neglected to use, and she now finds herself insulted by Russia. The delays in the meeting of the proposed congress only gives Russia time to make her preparations surer in the coming spring. Prompt action would have been England’s true policy, and with Austria ready to join her, the moral and material support of England would clear France of her invaders in a fortnight, and show the rest of Europe that there is a limit which the most powerful armies must not pass. Such an alliance would be approved by the civilized world; for it would prove that it was not an alliance of conquest. At first, France was to blame for seeking a quarrel and making an aggressive war, although the people were not responsible for that. But now Prussia has rejected an honorable and lasting peace, and the sentiment of the world has undergone a change. France is now struggling for existence; and if she is crushed, England will feel the loss more than any country, and England cannot dream of the consequences. If she should allow France to be exterminated, Russia will then do what she pleases in the East, and Prussia in the West; and England, without a single ally, will cease to belong to the family of European nations, and will be reduced to a third-class Power.”