11. Goblet, the French Foreign Minister, took occasion on Thursday,
a propos of Herr Tisza's speech, to inform the Chamber and the world as to his view of the foreign policy of France. It was, he said, a policy "absolutely pacific." France is calm, seeks no adventures, and attends to her domestic affairs. Is not the very preparation of the coming Exhibition a proof of it ? Order was never so secure, and agitations do not matter "in a country which is so easy to govern, which has never broken into revolutions except when its Governments have compelled it to do so," and which is so attached to its freedom. "We no longer allow ourselves to be troubled by alarming reports from abroad, by articles in newspapers, by accidents which occur unexpectedly." "If, however, some neighbouring State, within the limits of its right, thinks it its duty to order measures more or less injurious to our interests, we shall endure without useless complaints what we are unable to prevent; we, too, reserving the power, when it appears useful, to take measures conformable with our interests and within the limits of our rights—being resolved, at the same time, always to secure respect for our national dignity." This speech is pronounced most dignified, and if its author had adhered a little more closely to fact, it would be so. Unfortunately, France is not easy to govern, and whenever she moves, is felt in the world as a disturbing force.
