Rumours that General Boulanger contemplates a war with England continue
to increase. An agent of the Morning Post recently had an interview with the General, in which he hinted pretty distinctly that he should order the English out of Egypt, though he declined to say positively that he should meet a refusal with a declaration of war ; and the Liverpool Post of Wednesday prints a telegram from its own correspondent at Brussels, affirming that Lord Lytton has forwarded similar information to the Foreign Office. General Boulanger, says Lord Lytton, makes no secret of his opinion, which is that England should be attacked and Germany let alone. It is well to be ready for all things, and Great Britain is not half-ready ; but we fail to perceive how a war with this country is to gratify the French longing for the " Revanche," unless, indeed, she provokes it by the forcible seizure of Belgium. Belgium might be a compensation for Alsace- Lorraine. Otherwise, ten Frenchmen in twelve would consider a war with England a waste of resources sure to be wanted when the next German invasion comes. It is to be remembered, too, that General Boulanger desires Germany to keep quiet while he is climbing the hill to supreme power, and that nothing could better tend to make Germany neutral in the French faction-fight than an unfounded idea that his mind was set upon an invasion of these islands. Still, France may be in new hands in a month, and warlike hands ; and the larger and more efficient the home squadrons are, the better.
