Sir Charles Dilke, at Chelsea, on Monday, took a mach
stronger line, and was at least as hearty in denouncing the German attempt to wrest Alsace and Lorraine from France at the cost of all this bloodshed as the Spectator. He thought, as we do, that our Government should formally acknowledge, as it has already in- formally acknowledged, the Government of National Defence which now rules France. It was the duty of England to protest in the strongest possible manner against the German annexation of Alsace and Lorraine. Sir Charles was well received, but when Sir H. Hoare raised the question of a defensive alliance between England and France, he was met with a cry of " No war !" which represents, we suspect, the real animus of our working-classes far more truly than the orators of St. James's Hall. The safe-selfish- ness policy for England appears, as yet, to be quite as popular in the working-classes as in the middle.
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