18 OCTOBER 1873, Page 2

A military tribunal at Paris has condemned M. Ranc to

death in contumaciana, nominally for joining the Commune, !which he did for a time, hoping to moderate its violence, but really for being a powerful aid to M. Gambetta, whom the tribunal cannot reach. As M. Banc is a gentleman, a scholar, about as much a Communist as M. Gambetta is, and a man of decided ability, he may one as President of the Republie, have the opportunity of heap- ing coals of fire upon the officers who condemned him. There is room for a good many things to happen in France, and it may be as well for all parties to remember that sentences of this kind only serve to deepen party passion and invite party revenge.