Mr. Bass, M.P. for Derby, on the contrary, in addressing
his constituents on Tuesday evening, expressed his belief, amidst "loud applause," that English "sympathies are now changing in some degree towards unfortunate France, laid as she is in the dust." "I think," he said, "it would redound, not only to the honour, but to the advantage of Prussia, were she to be less exacting ; and . I am quite persuaded that we shall never have peace in Europe, or peaceful relations between Prussia and France, so long as Prussia is in possession of French territory." All this seems to have been well received ; but when Mr. Bass went on to say, "I should not complain of Prussia's dismantling the fortresses on the frontier or annexing Strasburg, but to say that it is necessary for the protection of Prussia that she should have possession of Alsace and Lorraine appears to me to be ridiculous," there were, says the Times' report, "murmurs ;" but whether murmurs at the suggestion of the Prus- sian annexation of Strasburg, or at the unreason of her claiming to need Alsace and Lorraine, it is not quite easy to say. The middle-class mind seems, however, not to be very deeply interested in the question of the terms of peace, but rather quite content that France should reap as she had sown, so long as England is not imperilled by it. Alsace and Lorraine are understood to be outlandish countries, with mixed tongues, in foreign parts a good way off, somewhere between France and Germany ; can it matter much to which of these they shall belong ?
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