The Parisian Prefect of Police, Keratry, has appeared in Madrid with the object of submitting two proposals to General Prim. The first is that France and Spain should enter into an offensive and defensive alliance, under which the latter country should send an army of fifty thousand men to the assistance of the French. The object of the alliance would be the common defence of the nations of the Latin race against the supremacy of the Germanic race. On Prim declining this strange offer (strange inasmuch as the Spanish support of France, which but three months before had in the most arrogant manner forced its own policy upon Spain, would be an unexampled piece of self-renunciation and a misconception of the clearest interests of the Spanish people), the French intermediary asked that at least a decree should be issued permitting the import of arms into France. This suggestion was also rejected by Prim.
The surrender of Metz is expected within the next week. Prince Frederick Charles desires, if I rightly understand, a capitulation on the same conditions as at Sedan and Toul; while the Chancellor, for political reasons, is in favour of a more considerate treatment of the garrison. The King seems to hesitate between the two courses.
The Chief said yesterday to the Mayor of Versailles: “No elections, no peace. But the gentlemen of Paris will not hear of them. The American generals who were in Paris with the object of inducing them to hold the elections tell me that there is no getting them to consider the matter. Only Trochu said they were not yet so hard pressed that they need enter into negotiations,—the others would not hear of them, not even of submitting the question to the country.” “I told him finally,” said the Minister, “that we should have no alternative but to come to an understanding with Napoleon, and to force him back upon the French again. He did not believe we would do that, as it would be the grossest insult we could offer them. I replied that it was nevertheless in the interests of the victor to leave the defeated nation under a régime which would have to rely solely upon the army. In such circumstances it would be impossible to think of foreign wars. In conclusion, I advised him not to make the mistake of thinking that Napoleon had no hold upon the people. He had the army on his side. Boyer had negotiated with me in the name of the Emperor. How far the present Government in Paris had the support of the people remained to be seen. The rural population could hardly share the opinion that peace was not to be thought of. He then gave his own view respecting the conditions of peace, namely, the razing of their fortresses and ours, and the disarmament of both countries in proportion to the population, &c. As I told him at the commencement, these people have no right conception of what war really is.”
The Nouvelliste being now the only newspaper in Versailles, and as it sensibly avoids unnecessarily hurting the patriotic sentiments of the French, the people here take some account of it. Löwinsohn tells us that the number of copies sold varies, some issues have been quite cleared out, while of others he has only thirty to fifty, and of yesterday’s 150 copies on hand. Up to the present his weekly balance shows no loss.
In the evening wrote an article for the Norddeutsche in which the following ideas are developed. The first condition upon which the Chancellor of the Confederation insisted in speaking to the various persons who have desired to negotiate with him respecting peace was the election of an Assembly representing the will of France. He addressed the same demand to the emissaries of the Republicans and to the Imperialists, and to another third party. He desires to grant all possible facilities for thus consulting the wishes of the population. The form of government is a matter of entire indifference to us. But we can only deal with a real Government recognised by the nation.
The Nouvelliste will shortly publish the following ideas in a French dress: “At the present moment in France, events are constantly occurring which are not only opposed to common sense, but are frequently an outrage on all moral feeling. Former Papal Zouaves, and not alone Frenchmen, serve without scruple in the army of a Republic which is governed by Voltairians. Garibaldi comes to Tours, and offers, as he says, what remains of his life to the service of France. He can hardly have forgotten that this same France, twenty years before, destroyed the Roman Republic, while the wounds which it inflicted upon his country at Mentana must be still fresh in his memory. Nor can we have forgotten how his native town of Nice was filched from the Italian fatherland by this same France, and that it is at the present moment only restrained by a state of siege from throwing off the French yoke.”
Delbrück mentioned that during the preliminary negotiations for the reorganisation of Germany, Bavaria laid claim to a kind of joint participation in the representation of the Federal State in foreign countries, the Bavarian idea being that when the Prussian, or rather the German, Minister or Ambassador was absent, the Bavarian representative should have the conduct of affairs. The Chief said: “No, whatever they like, but that is really impossible. The question is not what Ambassador we are to have, but what instructions he is to receive, and under that arrangement there would be two Ministers for Foreign Affairs in Germany.” The Count then proceeded to further develop this point of view, illustrating it by examples.
Monday, October 24th.—Strange news comes from Marseilles. It appears that the Red Republicans have there gained the upper hand. Esquiros, the Prefect of the Mouths of the Rhone, belongs to this variety of French Republicans. He has suppressed the Gazette du Midi, because the clubs of his party maintain that it favours the candidature of the Comte de Chambord, whose proclamation it has published. He has also expelled the Jesuits. A decree has been issued by Gambetta, declaring the Prefect to be dismissed, and his measures against the newspaper mentioned and the Jesuits to be abrogated. Esquiros, however, supported by the working classes, has declined to obey this order of the Government Delegation at Tours, and continues to hold his post. The Gazette du Midi is still suppressed, and the Jesuits are expelled. Just as little heed was paid to Gambetta’s decree disbanding the Civic Guard, which was recruited from Red Republicans, and is not to be confounded with the Marseilles National Guard. The Chief remarked with reference to this news: “It looks as if things were tending towards civil war; and it is possible that we may shortly have a Republic of South France.” I worked up this news into paragraphs, written in the sense of the foregoing comment.
At 4 o’clock M. Gauthier, who comes from Chislehurst, called upon the Chancellor.
Tuesday, October 25th.—This morning the Chief said, in reference to a statement in the Pays mentioning an indemnity of three and a half milliards: “Nonsense! I shall demand much more than that!”