man conditions of peace as regards France will be governed by two
principal factors with respect to their chief issues.

The first is the complete unanimity of the Emperor and the Chancellor
that _no population, not speaking German, will be incorporated in the
German Empire, or obtain representation in the Diet_. Germany already
has sufficient trouble with the foreign element now present in the Diet.
Consequently there can be no question of any considerable acquisition of
territory from France, but the demands of Germany simply extend to the
_iron-ore fields of Lorraine_, which are certainly of considerable
value. For France these mining fields are of far less consideration
than for Germany, whose immense iron trade is far more in need of the
iron mines.

The second factor is that the Germans, owing to the strong public
opinion, _will never consent to Belgium regaining her liberty_. The
Chancellor of the Empire has, as long as it was possible, been opposed
to the annexation of Belgium, having preferred, even during hostilities,
to have re-established the Belgian Kingdom. It is significant that the
military authorities have prohibited the German press from discussing
the question of the future of Belgium. It is evident that there has
prevailed a wish to leave the question open in order to insure a
solution offering various possibilities. But subsequent to the discovery
of the Anglo-Belgian plot, as previously stated, all idea of reinstating
Belgium has been discarded.

The annexation of Belgium, however, makes it possible to grant France
less stringent conditions. So long as Belgium--under some form of
self-government--is under German sway there is no hope of revenge of
France, and the conviction prevails here that after this war France will
abstain from her dreams of aggrandizement and become pacific. Germany
can then make reductions in the burdens laid on her people for military
service by land.

To arrange the position of Belgium in relation to Germany will be a very
interesting problem for German policy.

It is obvious that the annexation of Belgium cannot be defended from the
point of view of the principle of nationality. The Belgians--half of
them French, half of them Flemish--undoubtedly deem themselves but one
nation. As a mitigating circumstance in favor of the annexation it is
urged--above and beyond the intrigues carried on by Belgium with the
English--that Belgium, in days of yore, for a long time formed