The French Government has repented itself in the matter of
the Commercial Treaty. The Free-trade interests in France, discovering a little late in the day that the negotiations had broken down, pressed their representatives ; the elections lodged power with M., Gambetta's party, and M. Gambetta is a Free- trader ; Sir Charles Dilke, passing through Paris, was able to remove some prepossessions ; and altogether, M. Tirard per- ceives that the prolongation of the Treaty of 1860 for three months is not so illegal as he said it was. It is to be prolonged for three months, beginning November 8th, and it is hoped that before the new year a satisfactory agreement will be arrived at. If it is not, England can wait, not dissatisfied to have her
hands entirely free as regards the duties on wine, or to be exempt from the reproach of theoretically preferring reci- procity to Free-trae. We are not much afraid of the " fair- trade " illusion ; but if it becomes serious, public speakers will be quite as well pleased to be without any treaty at alL Commercial treaties, however unobjectionable in practice, are in theory concessions to the idea that untaxed imports do us no good.
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