7 JANUARY 1882, Page 9

The negotiations for the French Commercial Treaty are broken off

for the present, and it seems pretty certain that the old Treaty will now be allowed to expire on February 8th,—that is, at the end of the three months for which it was renewed,—and that our trade with France will, for a short time at least, greatly. dwindle. It seems to be, however, confidently expected that directly M. Gambetta has pulled his Ministry together, and carried the scrutin de liste, he will give his attention to the sub- ject, and offer us a treaty which England can really accept. We only hope this may prove true. It is a pity that for the interim a treaty comprehending solely a "favoured-nation clause" could not have been concluded.