The Sun. — London, England, 1870-08-19 00:00:00

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Id that 'or any- .iations rnment :w with is, and e again. look as present The moral, ht of. 6ine is upon o will being cl the 3rman mt to Gran- 6te fdr mbas f the Itates chon, ci off from THIS EVENING'S NEWS THE BATTLE BETWEEN METZ AND VERDUN. DETAILS OF THE FIGHT. A PRUSSIAN PRINCE KILLED FRENCH OFFICTAL ACCOUNT. PARIS, AUGUST 19 The following official despatch from the French head-quarters gives details of the engagement of Tuesday, the 16th inst. The corps of General Ladmirault formed the right wing. A battalion. of the 73rd Regiment of the Line destroyed a regiment of Prussian Lancers captur ing their colours. Many brilliant charges took place, in one of which General Legrand was killed. The Prussian GeneTals Wedel and Doerny were also killed, and Generals Greuber and Von Ranch wounded. It is stated that the Prussian Prince Albert, com manding the cavalry, was killed. At the close of the day w e were masters of the position previously occupied by the enemy. On the following day, the 17th, several engage ments took place near Gravelottes with the rear guard. The approximate number of the enemy's forces engaged on the 16th is estimated at 150,000 men. MARSHAL MAC-MAHONS' ARMY. A telegram from Paris, dated August 18 (Even ing) says :—The Emperor is still reported to be at Reims. The remnant of MacMahon's corps, which reached Chalons, on the 16th, numbered 15,000 teen. On the same day the forces assembled at Chalons amounted to about 80,000 men, but fresh troops were rapidly arriving. Since the 16th a few battalions of the Mobile Guard have been sent from Chalons to Paris. The Cloche has been suspended. LOSSES IN SUNDAY'S ENGAGEMENT. Another telegram of the same date states that the Prussian loss at the battle of Longeville on Sun day last was between 16,000 and 18,000 men. It is also said that the army of Plitice Frederick Charles was 250,000, aad that of General Steinmetz 70,000 strong, against which Marshal Bazaine has been contending since Sunday on the high roads between Metz and Verdun, which bifurates at Gra velottes. Despatches show that from Metz uo Verdun from Sunday evening the French Army has Been almost constantly fighting against desperate efforts by the Prussians to cut their line of retreat. NAVAL OPERATIONS IN THE BALTIC. The Gaulois says : The Baltic fleet has received orders to claim in each Prussian commercial port an i ndemnity of double the amount of the contribution exacted by the Prussians at places in French terri tOry, RUSSIA AND PEACE. An Eastern Budget telegram, dated Vienna. August 18, says :—Count Chotek, the. Austrian Ambassador at St. Petersburg, has arrived here. He reports that Russia ardently desires the restoration of Peace by means of a united action of the neutral l'ewers. MEDIATION OF THE POPE. The Journal de Bruxelles of yesterday publishes a letter, addressed on the 22nd of July, by the Pope to King William, in which his Holiness offers his Mediation for the restoration of peace ; adding that he has written to the Emperor of the French to the same effect. The Journal de Bruxelles 4180 gives the reply of Bing William. His Majesty says that he has neither desired nor provoked the war, and that he is ready to listen to the Pope's appeal to lay aside his sword if the in dependence of Germany be insured, and his Holi 4ess be able to give assurances of sincerely peaceful d ispositions on the part of the Emperor and guarantees against the renewal of the attempt to disturb the peace and tranquillity of Europe. THE CORPS LEGISLATIF. At the sitting of the Corps Legislatif yesterday, the Minister of War made the following statement : -- " An event has occurred which may seem to you to be of some gravity, but which is really very simple in its nature—it is the nomination of General Trochu as Governor of Paris. You are all aware that we could not afford to lose time, and that it is impor tant to place Paris in a state of defence—not t hat we have any cause to fear the arrival of the enemy between this and to-morrow, but it Was necessary to place at the head of the defences of the e aPital a resolute and energetic man. I had appointed General Trochu to the command of a corps d'armee, but I recalled him from the camp at Chalons. That is the sole r eam for the appointment. •A• despatch informs us that the dragoons and ""antry soldiers of the Prussian army made a re eftoaissance in the neighbourhood of Schelatadt. The pe asants hastened to meet them, and killed 10 of the ilragoons besides making some prisoners. Th e :ore of th e P russ i an movemen t is proved by e circumstance that the official Prussian Ga :tte simply mentio ns th e f ac t o f th e b a ttl e, and if they had gained the slightest advantage it oltolild certainly have been paraded as a triumph. With ut b e i ng a b le to give you extremelg good news, we can tell You that the Prussians have experienced such losses t hat they have demanded an armistic e i n or d er t o b ury tliair dead and remove their wounded. The accounts I have received from St Mihel inform me th a t the corps of General Steinmitz bas not been able t ti ° effect a junction with the Crown Prince." -Ile Opinion Nationale says :—" In spite of the great le es we have suff ere d, th e v i c t ory o f Vi onv ill e i s t h e sal vation of France." 1 . The Gaulois gives a f ew p ar ti cu l ars o f th e b a ttl e o f ' c olgeville, said to have been received from an eye-wit -1,88. He estimates the P russ i an l oss th ere a t 16 , 000 t o , (3 0 0 men, and says that n ear ly all the enemy's cannon feu into the hands of the French. According to the ria'llle writer, th e E m p eror h a d a narrow escape of b e i ng men Prisoner by a body of Uhlans, who seem to move about with the rapidity and impunity of charmed spirits. T he Prince Imperial, Prince Napoleon, and Prince Murat acco mpanied the Emperor to Chalons. • .A correspondent of the Carlsruhe Zietung gives an 14e ident of the war :—" In a hop plantation lay a cc:m llthof th e 95th R eg i ment an d some pioneers of the 1; Battalion, the latter armed w ith th e short ;attelled needle-gun .. The lieutenant-comma n der of 1 7" e last was described to me as a man of dauntless t n rav ez'Y and coolness, and some of his men related me with admi r ati on h ow s h or tl y b e f ore th e y ad to cross an uns h e lt ere d tract un d er a ha i l of bullets, and 4 4 Lthey i nvoluntarily ran, crouching and ducking down, he th ey along majestically and bolt upright. To these troops, 1- ered by the hops and tree truni:s, presently approached Retitle trot a splendid and perfectly fresh regiment of I,,oirassiere, Until within a distance of 50 paces, when the te nch wo r d o f comman d to push forward was c a ll e d ou t, our Men held the French to be Bavarians. No further a 'e ° ,! lb t was po ss ibl e , an d f or th e momen t our pos i t i on seemed I:arful one —it looked like madness to withstand these 1 t 8 , 3 ° 8 of caval r y, c h arg i ng w ith u plift e d sa b res — f i ne, 0 evir 46 *, and f or th e mos t par t g i gan ti c fi gures, for a , ;,, t o th 7antrY to withstand ; and so our fellows turned right about, to real-4 as fast as possible. But O ur Pioneer lieutenant stood firm and cried out, ' Children, ar e You going to leave me here alone?' And his brave `!ll°Nys instantly stood still, the infantry also, and at a few _ I'elas' distance fired rapid volleys. The regiment was Polirle c t away as if by an eart h qua k e, w i pe d ou t lik e a Penci l - stroke of indiarubber. The few who charged through ,'?•ere shot dow n b y ot h er troops. About 200, including the c olonel and other officers, were made prisoners." Carlist disorders have taken place at Tarragona; eenthouereseuni arlisedt has be en killed and th ree woun d e d. Next the transport of troops to Cuba and Porto Rico will FIE MONEY MARKET AND COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE CITY ; Two O'CLOCK, The Stock Markets generally are maintaining the im proved prices of yesterday, and in several cases a further advance has been established. The Funds are firm, and Railway Stocks are improving. Consols are now 91k to 92 for money, and 911 to 92 for account ; Three per Cent. Reduced, 912 to 92 ; New Three per Cents., 91 to 921; India Five per Cents., 1111; ditto Four per Cents., 101 to. 1001 ; Metropolitan Board of Works, 31 per Cent. Stock, 92k to 921. In the Foreign Market Brazilian Bonds of 1865 are 92 ; Egyptian Seven per Cents. of 1864, 84 to 86; ditto of 1868, 741 to 75 ; Spanish of 18V, 261 to 261; ditto of 1869, 26 to 25a ; ditto Quicksilver, 71 to 73 ; Peru vian, 84 to 861; Turkish Five per Cents. of 1865, 431 to 43k; ditto of 1869, 571 to 581 ; and Five per Cent. Italian of 1865, 77 to 82. Anglo Mediterranean, are 132 ; British Indian Exten sion 61 to 61 ; Falmouth, 91 to 9 1 1 ; British Indian Submarine, 71. The Railway Market—Metropolitan are 65 ; Great Eastern 351 to 351 ; London and Brighton, 39i to 89 ; Caledonian, 74 to 741; South-Eastern, 69; Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, 421 ; Great Northern, 118 to 120 ; ditto (A), 129.; North Eastern, 1401 ; London and North-Western, 1271 ; Midland, 1271 ; Lancashire and Yorkshire, 1301; Great Western, 69. Canada Six per Cents. are quoted 106 ; New South Wales Five per Cents., 101 to 1011 ; New Zealand Five per Cents., 991 to 99; Queensland, 1061; Victoria Five per Cents., 1014; and ditto Six per Cents., 113. In Bank shares Alliance are quoted 13-i ; Anglo- Austrian, 8 10 premium ; Chartered Meroantile,,26i ; Consolidated, 4 9-10 pm ; Imperial Ottoman, 12111 ; Lon donand County, 49 ; London and Westminster, 61; Lon don Joint Stook, 34 ; and Union of London, 35 37. In American Securities, Five-Twenty Bonds are quoted at 88 to 881 ; Ten-Forties, 82i- to 831; Erie Shares, 171 to 18 ; Illinois, 105 to 107 ; Atlantic and Great Western Consolidated Mortgage Bonds, 18 to 20 ; and ditto De bentures, 24 to 26. In Miscellane3us Shares Berlin Water Works are quoted 14 ; Viceroy of Egypt 7 per cent. Mortgage Loan, 76i ; National Discount Company, 11; and Peninsular and Oriental Steam, 41. The advices from the River Plate mention that the Montevidean Government have granted to Senor Marcoartu an exclusive right for 50 years to lay down a submarine cable from that Republic to the Brazilian Empire, to communicate with the West Indies and Europe. The United States' Congress at the late session appro priated $30,000 for an examination and survey of the Nicaragua and Tehuantepec routes, in order to ascertain the practicability of ship canals between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is understood that Captain Shufeldt will command the expedition, which is to be fitted out this month and leave in September. The Nicaragua route has long been considered by practical en gineers to be the one destined for completion. The attention of the European public was first prominently directed to it by a treatise written by the Emperor Napoleon while he was a prisoner at Ham, and it may be hoped that, notwithstanding his present peril, he will yet live to see in the consummation of that bene ficent project for the advance of commerce and civilization cause for a satisfactory retrospect denied' to military ambition. At the meeting of the North Australian Company (Limited) it was resolved not to depart from the claim of the subscribers for a return of the money paid to the Government of South Australia for the lands at the northern settlement of Port Darwin, which the Govern ment three years ago admitted to have been a failure, and which was then abandoned. At a meeting of the Mediterranean Extension Telegraph Company (Limited) a dividend at the rate of 3 per cent. per annum was declared on the ordinary capital for the half-year. The half-yearly meeting of the Great Western Railway Company will be held on the 31st inst., when several agreements will be submitted for approval. The general meeting of the Varna Railway Company is called for the 15th of September. The half-yearly meeting of the Titanic Steel and Iron Company (Limited) is convened for the 31st instant. MARKETS.—Tats DAY. MARK-LANE. The grain trade to-day has been quiet. The supply of English wheat has been short, but there has been a good show of foreign. For all qualities the demand has been inactive, at Monday's prices. The supply of barley has been moderate. Sales have progressed slowly on former terms. Malt has been inactive at late rates. There bas again been good supplies of oats in the market, for which the inquiry has been restricted, at late curren cies. Beans and peas have been quiet. Flour has been less sought after, the demand for barrels on French ac count having subsided. 'THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, AUGUST 19, :870. THIS MORNING'S NEWS, (CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAMS.) THREATENED STRIKE OF MINERS IN FIFESHIRE. THE BATTLE ON SUNDAY. A correspondent of the Standard, who writes from Verdun, witnessed the battle near Metz on Sunday. He gives the following account of the engagement :—"At one o'clock on Sunday afternoon, the 13th instant, the French army, 180,000 strong, was encamped all around Metz. Since the day previously a battle was considered as imminent. Several attempts had been made to draw the enemy out of the woods they occupied. The Prussian army of Prince Frederick Charles, or rather the c, r i m, now united, of Field Marshal Stein metz, 150,000 men strong, had taken its position on the road to Boulay, at the point intersecting that to Borny. The road from Bellenoir and Borny, up to the forest of that place, was occupied by the Prussians, part of their divisions being concealed by the woods. Skirmishing had been going on all the Morning, bnt it was probable that no serious engagement would take illace. At half-past one the French troops received the orders to retreat from their pusition, to go in the direction of Verdun, it was said. At two o'clock the the:avant-garde division were crossing the Moselle on a pon- Oon bridge thrown across a few hours previously,and the luggage, material, and provisions of the army were cross ing the other bridges in the direction of Longeville. The equipages of the Emperor had already left, and Prince Napoleon first,and half an hour after the Emperor himself, were leaving Metz on horseback in the same direction. At three o'clock p.m. the 3rd Corps Decaen, the 4th Corps Ladmirault, and In Garde Imperiale Bourbaki were preparing also to leave their encampments, when suddenly the Prussians were seen to prepare for battle, some of their regiments taking positions as tirail leurs, some others preparing offensive movements in front of the woods of Borny, and in the direction of Grizy and Mercy les Metz. The intention was unmistakable. I was in it, in the very heart of it. I made up my mind to remain; in fact, all retreat was for me impossible, and it leaves me the advantage. to give you my ocular impres sions ; but I am so fatigued you must excuse my style of writing. The French troops, under the command of Marshal Bazaine, were composed of the 3rd and 4th corps and la Garde' Imperiale. They were fronting Borny, Grigy, and Mercy les Metz, the Imperial Guard forming tire reserve near the Fort de Quentin. At a quarter past four the attack commenced. A heavy fire of artillery was at once heard in every direction, the soldiers of the Prussian Landwehr heading the Prussian corps d'armde. The rnitrailleuses began their deadly work on each side. For me, confusion all around, mon falling in every direction, columns whirling around us, bullets whistling their deadly work through the ranks. It is awful to be cool in the middle of such a bloody holo caust, the cries of the wounded; the imprecations of the falling soldiers, the rage of their friends all seems fantastic and demonaical ; but no, it is not the night. snare ; a friend of my infancy is close me at the head of his battalions, the well - known Baron de Vatry, commander of the Voltigeurs de la Garde ; he reminds me of the danger I am incur ring without reason ; but his wordi sound like a murmur of the wind, he himself disappears in the smoke, and I continued to look and be certain that I should not come back to tell you my tale. A battery of artillery with a mitrailleuse was making fearful havoc in the Prussian ranks. I heard frantic bravos announcing its new exploits. The fire was so well directed, the prechtion so great, that each fire was positively mowing the Prussian ranks, who were fighting in a desperate. way, their artil lery replying to the other, and destroying French bat talions right and left. At seven o'clock p.fis. the Prussians were making a movement of retreat. A mitrailleuse had been twice taken from the French, and although it is only one of the hundreds of incidents of the battle, I mention it, as it led to an important result. For the last hour one of the greatest efforts of th i s French had had for object to dislodge the Prussians from the woods of Borny, their troops being protected by that natural rampart. The brave colonel of tr e 4th Infantry, 2ud division, in retaking the mitrailleuse, was the cause of an immense body of Prussians emer es ing suddenly from the woods, and precipitating themselves as an infuriated tor rJut on the French divisions ; it was only a pretext, for it was expected that the Prussians would follow the same tactics as at Forbach and Froeswiller, which con sists in keeping out of sight their masses, their best divi sions, and when the result of the battle seems to be in favour of their opponent, to change defeat into victory by that powerful movement of immense bodies of troops plunging suddenly on the enemy, but this time Marshal Bazaine had prepared a match for them. The Imperial Guard, commanded by Bourbaki, had been kept in reserve; their artillery, from a strong position, began the defensive, the grenadiers advanced, and from that moment till a quarter to nine you might have thought you were in the middle of the irruption of Mount Vesuvius; Fort de Quentin sweeping with its powerful batteries the flank of the advancing columns, regiments of cavalry charging on the wings ; at a quarter to nine precisely the Prussians were retreating, leaving from 23,000 to 24,000 men hors de combat. The French have lost close on 4,000 men killed or wounded. One hundred and forty thousand Prussians took part in the fight against 70,000 Frenchmen (positively). Owing to the Fort Quentin slaughtering the enemy, the guard, except its artil lery and a brigade of grenadiers, did not fight; they were kept in reserve to the last. During the combat the rest of the French army was retiring on the route to Verdun, and at nine o'clock I followed the Imperial Guard, retreating in the same direction, the day's work over, Providence having preserved me in safety. I did not fight. I Was a spectator who ought to have been near the staff or ambulances, but I was fairly caught in it. General Decaen has been wounded in the leg ; General do Castagny had an arm cut, and Marshal I3azaine himself received a slight contusion on the head. heard the sight of the champs de bataille was horrible in the morning. In retiring they marched over on dea A large meeting of miners employed at the Dysart collieries took place at Gillatown on Wednesday. After hearing the report of a deputation who had had an interview the same evening with the proprietor of the collieries, Lord Rosslyn, regarding certain grievances which they had complained of, the miners present employed at Lady Blanche pit, agreed to stop work on Monday if not allowed additional pay on account of the extra labour which the drain of the pit entails. The men engaged at another of his lordship's pits resolved to strike in forty-eight hours if not allowed one penny per ton additional for hewing head coal, or if the general working of the pit was not im proved. Great excitement prevails in Dysart in conse quence of the stand made by the men, who have also given their employer a fortnight's notice as a demand for an advance of wages to the extent of sixpence per day. loclies, who were in heaps in some spots. THE BATTLE AT VIONVILLE. How is it possible to reconcile these statements—so utterly opposed to each other ? Each army claims the victory. Each claims to have keld its ground. The French say the Prussians have had to seek an armistice; the Prussians that the French were driven back to Metz. How can we believe the French army retreated to Etain, if it was driven back into the fortress it had only just left ? How that the Prussians won a great victory if they had to seek an armistice? Can it have been that the French army was separated ; that a portion—the bulk, as Palikao calls it—retired towards Verdun, while a portion, intended, most likely, to remain at Metz, retired into the fortress? This is the only conceivable idea by which both can be reconciled. We cannot believe that there was any very marked success on either side. If the French checked the Prussians and made good their retreat, they practically gained a victory. If the Prus sians lost heavily, and yet prevented the Frenoh from carrying out their retreat, they practically gained a vic ' tory. Where are the French head-quarters? That is all we want to know to answer the' questions at issue. At all events, we are quite sure that, in spite of all difficulty of supply, the Prussians have pushed an army across the Moselle large enough seriously to impede Bazaine ; to force him to fight a general action facing to a flank, and to delay, if not entirely to prevent, his retreat. Bazaine held his ground with more or less success in a most critical situation. Suppose he had been really beaten, and driven northwards down the valley of the Mo nello' towards Vionville. In that case his army would have been hemmed in against the neutral territory, and it would have been foreed, sooner or later, to surrender. We have for days shown how this has been evidently the Prussian strategy. It has, up to Thursday, at all events, been foiled by the energy of Bazaine's troops. Why that commander was so late in retreating,—Why, before retiring, he allowed the Prussians to cross the Moselle in force is a mystery we cannot solve. If he had some deep suheme for using his fortress as a pivot to act on both sides of the river, he overreached himself. To have retired safely to Chalons, and there joined the reserves, was the best and only chance of success for the French army. Is it, or is it not, too late for this now ? Is the military situa tion of France really hopeless ?—Standard. The Imperial main army—still called " of the Rhine"— has been overtaken by what strongly resembles a grave disaster. On Tuesday it was aktacked by the Prussian Armies of the Centre and Right, and, after a fierce and gigantic struggle, lasting " from morn to dewy eve," was constrained to desist, at least for the time, from its attempt to retreat upon the Meuse. So, despite the differences with which the fact is set forth hi the German and in the French accounts, must we interpret the statements of the result that ,we made on both sides.. The first point whiel strikes the student of the telegrams is the fact. that the scene of combat was close to Metz—from which the official announcements of Tuesday in Paris led us to believe that the army was fully twenty miles away. The two extreme points of the French line, says Marshal Bazaine, touched Vionville on the left and Doncourt on the right, the mean distance being little more than ten miles from Metz. Thus the War Minister's announcement that the bulk of the army was concentrated at Etain, which is twice as far from the fortress as the actual battle-field is, turns out to have had no foundation ; and the hopes of a safe retreat to the Meuse, whichlthe Parisians were led to nourish, have vanished into thin air at the touch of yesterday's news. TAU difamilt to exblain why Marshal Bade bad not mace more rapid progress. We were told by the .em peror Napoleon that on Sunday afternoon half of the French army had crossed the Moselle ; and we know that at nightfall of that clay the rearguard, composed of Decaen's and Ladmirault's corps, had regained the cover i of the works. Yet on Tuesday morning, 36 hours later, the whole of the French army is found echeloned on the right and left of Eezonville, ten or eleven miles on the road to Verdun ; and when it was attacked by the Prussian cavalry of the Third Corps, it seems to have been continuing its retreat westward; that is, to have lingered in the neighbourhood of Metz for no profound strategic purpose, but simply through the fatal tardiness and trust in chance that had done so much mischief already to the armies of the Empire. Bazaine or the Emperor alone can explain why, having to deal with an active and a stealthy enemy, the army was sim .ply swung round with its face to home and the capital, and left in waiting for the attack which its commanders must have known was certain to come. The Prussians say that the enemy was greatly superior in forces; and if the whole of the troops we have named were engaged—as would appear from Bazaine's own despatch—At least 120,000 or 130,000 men fought on the French side. On the Prussian side we know that all the 3rd Corps, with parts of three others, took a share in the tight ; and such a force could not well number less than 100,000—though it would seem that some of the German divisions arrived only when the day was far spent. Two things are evident—that the battle was close and unattended with actual decisive victory on either side, so far as the fighting went, and that the French did not continue their retreat—Marshal Bazaine himself explaining that " he would delay further movements for a few hours, in order to largely complete his ammunition." But during the whole of Wednesday, ac cording to the Prussians, " the greatest tranquillity pre vailed ;" so that we are led to suspect that something more serious tnan mere expenditure of cartridges has embar rassed the French retreat. The official despatches have spoken lately of a great movement of concentration, on which the highest hopes were founded; but, if the Prus- sians stand in front of Mars-la-Tour, while Bazaines line stretches to the north-east of that place, and MacMahon and De Failly are moving westward towards Blesmes and Vitry, four days' march to the south-west, it is difficult to see how the movement is prospering, Let it be noticed, specially, that Bazaine's despatches describe the battle as raging between Vionville on the southern, and Doneourt on the northern, of the two roads from Metz to Verdun, which diverge at Gravelotte, seven miles west of the former city, and we shall find in the despatches themselves ground fo r th e b e li e f th at h e has been cut off. We have seen that he speaks of bringing up the corps echeloned to the right and left of Rezonville ; and Rezonville is three 2r four miles in rear—to the east—of the line from Vion ville to Dane,ourt. If, therefore, troops were so moved up from Rezonville, it must have been to face an enemy coming from the westward or south-westward—that is from the very direction towards which the French must advance to gain the line of the Meuse. The inferences from to-day's news are three : That the army of Bazaine has been cut off from the two other Fremth armies, seeking to effect a concentric movement and join behind the Meuse and in the plain of Chalons ; that he has been driven back on the fortress he quitted on Sunday, and now, to avoid starvation or sur render, must fight his way through ; and that the perfect quiet which reigned all day on Wednesday is but the pre lude to another huge conflict, the result of which will finally determine the question in whose hands rested the real victory of Tuesday.—Telegraph. The importance of this sanguinary battle rests precisely on the point upon which the reports differ, whether the French were, at the close of the combat, masters of the field, and free to march whithersoever they liked, or whether they were, after all that bloodshed, forced back on their former position at Metz, and there to all intents and purposes shut up as in a prison. In order to satisfy ourselves on that score we have only to consider the date of Marshal Bazaine's offi cial telegram. The intelligence comes from Verdun, but it is forwarded from that place as coming from Marshal Bazaine's headquarters, about the locality of which we are left in the dark. Had the Marshal been at liberty to continue his route, either upon Conflans and Etain, or upon Mars la Tours and Man heulles, he would hardly have failed to inform the world of his happy release from his difficult position. The terrible problem how the Army of the Rhine is to extri cate itself from the trap into which it has fallen at Metz remains as far as ever from a satisfactory solution. The fortress and the army round it are now invested on all sides. Twice, and twice in vain, the French have attempted to fight their way through their foes. A third or a fourth effort can scarcely bring better success ; and the Army, even previous to its present close investment, had already been placed on short rations. The alterna tive seems either starvation within the fortress, or release by a capitulation. To this apparently inevitable conclu sion the French Commanders have been brought by their inability to choose between a timely fight and a timely retreat.—Times. Neither commander employs the word victory, although the Prussians speak exultingly of success. The Prussians declare that, besides having taken 2,000 prisoners, two Imperial eagles, and seven cannon, they have " completely succeeded, as the French have been prevented from continuing their movethent of retreat." This is the critical point in the despatch, and the Prussian statement is confirmed to a great extent by Marshal Bazaine himself when he forbears that he is waster of his line of retreat. The Marshal gives one most extraordinary reason for not moving ; he has used up his ammunition. It was so at Woerth, where it became impossible to continue the battle because the infantry had no cartridges. However the fact may be explained, these despatches make it clear that the French army, which three days ago we were told had reached Etain, had got on Tuesday, before this battle began, only nine or ten miles out of Metz. The resistance it met with on Monday must have been more effectual than was generally supposed. It is important to consiier the effect of this battle on the assumption that the Prussian state ment is substantially true, and that Bazaine's retreat is actually cut off. The Marshal's army was wanted at Chalons to form a compact and well-or ganized body of seasoned soldiers, around which the new levies of Garde Mobile, Gendarmes, Porn piers, and others might form themselves, and to give stability to the line on the field of battle there. For this purpose its presence is indispensable. No stand can be made at Chalons if the Army of the Rhine be not there. No General would think of opposing the enemy with only the raw troops to be found at Chalons. But further, the Army of the Rhine ie not urgently needed at Chalons, because another army than that of Prince Frederick Charles that of the Crown Prince is fast approaching that city, and Bazaine has been relied on to hold it is check. But Marshal Bazaine, if his position has been correctly apprehended, can only get to Chalons, or even to Verdun, by walking over the army which he fought on Tuesday, tint army holding the road against him. Under these circumstances there must be another bloody battle near Metz, for the army of France will never fail in its duty by abandoning the defence of the capital.—. Daily News. Who veered. POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-(Trig DAY.) THE STREET ORGAN NIIISANCE.—Antonio Buze, an Italian organ player, was brought before Mr Knox, at the Marlborough Police-court, charged with playing his organ in Down-street, Piccadilly, to the annoyance of the inhabitants, and refusing to go away when requested to do so. Mr. Samuel Bapter, of No. 10, Down-street, Pic cadilly, said that last evening he was sitting down to dinner when the prisoner began playing his organ. He went out and told the prisoner to go away, and made gestures for him to do so. The prisoner left off for a few minutes, and as soon as he sat down the prisoner began playing again, and as he was not very well, and was much annoyed, he gave him into custody. A constable said the prisoner was playing an organ, while the complainant was speaking to him. Mr. Knox, after cautioning the prisoner, fined him 108., or seven days. DRUNKEN NEIGHBOURS.—EIizabeth Howard, a lady like woman, described as a teacher of languages, residing at 159, Lupus-street, Pimlico, was charged, at the West minster Police-court, with being being drunk and in capable of taking care of herself, in Ranelagh-road, Pimlico ; and Mary Mills, described as &married woman, living next door to the other prisoner, was charged with a similar offence. In the case of Howard the police proved finding her in the street insensibly drunk. Mr. Selfe fined her 55., which was paid. In the next case the pri soner was found by a constable in a similar state. She was also fined the ordinary drunkard's penalty of ss. CRUEL DESERTION OF CHILDREN.—Sarah Mobbs, widow, aged 30 years, was brought up at the Thames Police-court, upon a warrant, charged with unlawfully running away and leaving her three children chargeable to the parish of St. George-in-the-East. Mr. Ralston, re lieving officer, of St. George-in-the-East, said the prisoner could assist in the maintenance of her children, but she cruelly left them in the street a few days ago, and they were brought to the workhouse in a most deplorable con dition. The woman pleaded that she was not in a condi tion to give one farthing to her children. This was satisfactorily disproved by Mr. Ralston. Mr. Lushington said if the prisoner could not support the children she ought to have gone into the workhouse with them, but she could not be permitted to roam about while her chil dren were maintained by the parish. He sentenced her to six weeks' imprisonment and hard labour. How PEOPLE ARE KILLED IN THE PUBLIC STREETS. — Edwin Bard, a cab driver, badge No. 742, was brought before Mr. Lushington at the above court charged with being drunk last night and unable to take care of his horse and cab, and also with driving against and upsetting another cab in the Commercial road. The prisoner denied that he was drunk, and said the collision was the fault of the other cab driver. Mr. Lushington said the prisoner had been drinking with his fare at many public-houses, and was seen by many persons on his box with his head hanging down and the reins loose in his hand, and that he was unable to guide his horse properly. The driver of the cab damaged was sober. He sentenced the prisoner to pay a fine of 155., and the proprietor of the cab to pay £3 10s. for the damage done. The prisoner's master thought it a hardship upon him that ,he was to pay the damage caused by his servant's negligence. Mr. Lushington said the law madc, the owner of a cab liable for the acts of his servants as far as damage was concerned, and that he could sue the prisoner and recover the amount by process in the County Court. ROYAL (HIGHBURY) BARN GARDENS AND ALEX ANDRA THEATRE—On Monday next (the 22d inst.) . and following day, Mr. Giovannelli, the persev e ri n g proprietor of these we ll-known gardens, will take his annual benefit, and as his friends appear anxious to avail themselves of that opportunity for expressing their sympathy with him for the way in which he has recently been victimised by a contemporary it is probable that the attendance will be unusually large. The occasion will witness, among the numerous other amusements, the production of a new burlesque extravaganza, entitled " The Seven Champions of Christendom,- or, Good Little Saint George and the Naughty Snap Dragon." WAR NOTES. FRENCH PREPARATIONS.—It is believed that a new army will be formed up at Chalons, and that the war will be commenced again from that place as a base of operations. The time necessary for doing this perfectly would not exceed one month ; but even within a fortnight it is supposed that an army can be got together in finitely surpassing that of the Prussians in all points whatever except numbers, and even in this particu lar falling very little short of them. There can be no doubt whatever that the authorities are getting an enor mous number of volunteers—so many, indeed, that they cannot make room for them in the ca,serne : , and are giving them money to find their own lodg ing - 8. These men are of every class archi tects, merchants, clerks, mechanics, &c. ; and, although not very powerful- looking men, they will, no doubt, be able to stop a bullet as well as the cor responding individuals in the Prussian army, which is said to be mainly composed of men of the same descrip tion. How such men can be mad e use f u l i n t h e b eg i nn i ng of a campaign Heaven only know s ; b u t th e P russ i ans h a ve managed it somehow, and of course the French can do the same.—Paris Correspondent of Telegraph. A FRENCHMAN ON FRENCH MANAGEMENT.—Re gimentaI officers, soldiers, and those citizens who have held communication with the army, are unanimous in declaring the ignorance and infatuation of our Generals. Whilst the youngest cadet of the enemy's force is perfectly acquainted with the topography of France our Generals do not even know their own country. The little square maps which were distributed the other day all merely ridiculous scraps of paper ; the staff map, of which we possess far too few copies, has not keep pace with the changes of the country, and such and such a strategic road, finished five years ago or more, is not even marked upon it. One of my friends met a gene ral galloping full speed down the valley of La Behren bach, turning his back upon Phalsburg, whither he thought he was going. In Lorraine, as in Alsace, the inhabt, tants, offered *lir, seryices tothe G 914914=4qm to give the generals inforthation, others to examine thp neighbouring woods. Their offers were declined with lofty contempt. The French army does not reconnoitre for itself, and does not want other people to reconnoitre for it ; it thinks itself able to do everything, and the result has shown how well-founded was this belief. Our officers affirm that in these three battles they have been made to abandon excellent positions, of which the enemy has in• stantly taken possession. The cavalry swears by its great gods that it was brought to Woerth expressly to be massacred without advantage. At Saverne, on Thursday night, there were two magnificent regiments of cuirassiers. At the moment when they were turning in under their tents the order came to leave immediately for Haguenau. Soon two other regiments of a similar arm descend from Phalsburg, and take the same route. Forty-eight hours later the relics of these four regiments rally themselves as well as they can at Saverne, in the most pitiable condi tion ; many of the men afoot, without helmet or cuirass : omens woundea up pn foundered horses. They tell that, whilst waiting for M. de Failly, a bloody interlude was played at their expense. They were hurled at charging pace upon the hop grounds where an invisible enemy mowed them down with impunity. Not one had the chance to redden his sabre's point, and their losses are enormous. —Edmond About in. the Soir. OUR COTEMPORARIES---This Morning THE MURDER AT MANCHESTER, An Irish labourer named Patrick Durr murdered his wife at Red Bank, one of the lower districts of Man chester, early on Wednesday morning. The accused was brought yesterday before the magistrates, and his son gave evidence against him. He stated that when his father and mother came home on Wednesday his father made a noose in a rope and fastened it round his mother's neck. His mother screamed when the rope was made tight, and his father then left her awhile, But returning shortly after, he said "She's not dead yet," and pulled at the rope until she was. THE CASE OF SHOOTING AT A MAGISTRATE. John Pimlott Brearly, of Dorking, was yesterday committed for trial at the next Essex assizes, by Lord Braybrooke and Mr. Smith, on the charge of shooting Captain John Bardoe Bowes Elliott, a magistrate of the county. The prisoner made a long defence in which he charged the Captain with living with his (the prisoner's) wife, who had left him, and he declared that the magis trate had endeavoured to drive him (the prisoner) away from the country. Captain Elliott admitted having been intimate with the prisoner's wife in India, the result of which was a child, but he denied all knowledge of her since. THE FIFE MILITIA AND THE WAR. Previous to their recent disbandment at Fort Geo rga the Fife Militia, considering it probable that this country would be involved in a general war, placed themselves at the disposal of the Government for service in any part of the world. The wish of the regiment was communicated to the proper quarter, ands letter was published on Wednes day from the Lord-Lieutenant of the county, as instructed by Mr. Cardwell, conveying to the regiment the thanks of her Majesty's Government for the offer of their services. BRUISING, NOT WOUNDING-. A curious point arose on Wednesdoy at the Liverpool Assizes in connection with the case of Switt, a barman who was indicted for woundin g hi s mas t er, a well-known Liver pool publican. The attack which Swift made was a most murderous one, but as it appeared in evidence that the skin was not actually broken, and though the bruises were very grievous, the indictment for wounding could not be sustained, and as the grand jury had been discharged, a bill upon another count could not be brought in. The prisoner will, however, be detained till next assizes, when the charge will be renewed in proper form. MEETING FOR THE AID OF TITE WOUNDED. A meeting was held yesterday at Cambridge for the purpose of raising funds and materials to aid the sick and wounded at the seat of war. The Mayor of the borough presided. Resolutions were carried appointing committees of ladies and gentlemen. Among the speakers at the meeting were the Rev. Sedley Taylor, Professor Hum phreys, Mr. Watenhall, and others. A subscription list was opened. From present appearances very consider. able help will be afforded by Cambridge. DUBLIN ELECTION. HALF-PAST ELEVEN. Corrigan (Liberal) King-Harman (Nationalist) 728 Majority for Corrigan All quiet. TWO O'CLOCK. Corrigan. (1) 3,402 King-Harman (N) Majority for Corrigan . 954 ONE (*LOCK. Corrigan (L) King Harman (N) 2,079 Majority for Corrigan CLOSE OF THE POLL. Corrigan (L) King-Harman (N) 4,494 3,417 Majority for Corrigan The Mersey Docks and Harbour Board at their meet ing yesterday decided to form a committee with special references to the defences of the port. At the Liverpool assizes yesterday, before Mr. Justice Lush, James Joseph Tully Egan, described as a commis sion merchant, has been sentenced to eight years penal servitude for forging orders upon Mr. Mayer, a Liverpool jeweller for the delivery of cash boxes deposited with him for safety by local merchants. Joseph McEvoy a porter whom Egan employed to obtain the boxes was sentenced to 18_months imprisonment. THE BANK OF FRANCE. The return of the Bank of France for the week shews the following changes as compared with that of last week : INCREASE. Francs. Bills discounted ... ... 168,000,000 Notes ... 84,000,000 Private accounts 28,750,000 Advances ... 2,750,000 DECREASE. Cash ... Treasury balance ... ... 122,000,000 ... ... 54,000,000 BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS. An Account, lursuant to the Act 7 and 8 Victoria cap. 32, for the week ending Wednesday, Aug. 17, 1870. ISSUE DEPARTMENT. Notes issued £33,812,460' Governmt.. Debt..£11,015,100 Other Securities.. 3,984,900 Gold Coin and Bullion Silver Bullion £33,812,460 BANKING 1) X 33, 812,460 Proprietors' Capi tal Rest 3,472,079 Public Deposits (including Ex chequer, Sav ings' Banks, Commissioners of National Debt, and Div. Accounts Other Deposits.. Seven Days and othor Bills.. ?ARTMENT. Governint. Secu rities(including Dead Weight Annuity) £12,483,861 Other Securities 21,886,759 Notes 10,276,425 Gold and Silver (loin 5,845,420 20,442,729 807,345 -... _ X 44,620,573 £44,620,573 HEALTH OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN.-At a time when war is devastating the fairest countries of Europe, and when the columns of the general press pre sent us with only too many subjects for painful reflection, it is especially gratifying to find that they also furnish incidental evidence, on which we may rest with entire satisfaction, of the restored health and strength of her Majesty the Queen. We observe that the Queen travelled on Tuesday from Osborne to Windsor, with so little fatigue that she was able not only to hold a Council on Wednesday, but also to start on the same evening for the Highlands, a journey of more than 600 miles, to be performed by eighteen hours of almost uninterrupted rail way travelling. All Englishmen will rejoice at such signal proof of her Majesty's remarkable capacity to sustain both bodily and mental exertion of a very arduous kind ; and to undergo fatigue from which many of her subjects would have shrunk with feelings approaching to dismay. If her Majesty's restored powers and recovered energy had been displayed entirely in her devotion to the cares of State, we might perhaps fear for the permanence of the improve ment, and might tremble lest a high sense of duty was prompting her to self-sacrifice, which we might after wards have occasion to deplore. But the great value of the evidence to which we point rests upon its being yielded, partly, at least, by exertions from which it would have been possible to refrain ; and, while we look upon it as being medically complete, we venture to accept it as a happy augury that in future her Majesty will be more seen by her attached and loyal people. —Lancet. THE COLLAPSE OF FRANCE. The Times asks what will be the consequence of this defeat (for such it regards it) of Bazaine :—lt is not the loss of a division that is now revealed, but the result of Tuesday's conflict leaves France in a position so critical that the blow suffered by MacMahon becomes com paratively of small importance. The immediate conse quence is that Marshal Bazaine is isolated at Metz. He has attempted to effect a retreat which ought to have been accomplished last week, when it was proposed and rejected because of the moral discouragement it might oc casion, and now that the attempt is made it is defeated at the outset. Right and left of the road are two armies which will not allow the French General to withdraw his troops. Marshal Bazaine is shut up, foiled in the attempt to get out. He must try again, and perhaps again, for we know there were not suffi cient supplies at Metz a week since, and there must be less now, but in every successive sally the enemy will be better posted to drive him back. He can neither get out or maintain himself in the fortress, and a capitula tion still more disastrous than that of Ulm seems immi nent. But what will be the value of the forces collected at Chalons, unless they act in support of the regular army ? The survivors of Marshal MacMahon's Corps are few, and the Garde Mobile and the Sapeurs Yom piers cannot be expected to fight a battle by themselves. Is there any force can bring to the relief of Marshal Bazaine by helping to raise the siege of Metz ? It is con fessed there is none. The Marshal, unassisted, must ex tricate himself from his position. What if he fails because the feat is impossible, and is reduced by sheer necessity to submit to adverse fate? Just as these is no force France can now bring to his relief, so there would be no force then adequate to cope with the vic torious Germans when they resume their advance. THE PROPOSED TRANSFER OF TERRITORY. The Standard affirms that there could not exist any element in Europe so dangerous to the peace of the future as France despoiled of any part of her old possessions. Even supposing that the French were so thoroughlybeaten and humiliated now as to consent to part with Alsace and Lorraine, or even Alsace alone, it is certain that she would never cease to intrigue and to agitate until she had either got back this territory or had obtained compensa tion in some other direction. There could be no true national government in France—Empire, Republic, or Kingdom which would rest quiet under the shame and injury of the loss of Alsace. As for England, let her consider how far it would be to her interest to have her neighbour in a chronic mood of discontent and longing—whether the desire for extended frontiers, baffled in the East, would not return with new vigour to the North. Let her reflect, moreover, that Germany, content with Alsace and the Vosges frontier, would not be indifferent to the exten sion of French influence over the French-speaking pro• vinces of Belgium. As to the argument that Alsace and Lorraine were once portions of Germany, and that they are peopled by a German race, that proves too much, if we adopt it as a reason why France should be despoiled of these provinces. Is it to be accepted as a rule among the European Powers that the political boundardies of the State should be co-terminous with the limits of race and language ? Is there to be no statute of limitations in respect to conquests by one country from another ? If this is so, we shall have to make the map of Europe anew, and there will be no end to the changes. THE RUMOURED NEGOTIATIONS. The Post says the public may disabuse their minds once and for all of the notion that negotiatians are at pre sent pending with a view to peace. Those who are mapping out the precise conditions are talking in the dark, ignorant of the secrets of the future. Both the foreseen and unforeseen have yet to play their part. More battles must be fought, and the triumph of Germany be final and com plete before France can, with any respect for her dignity, listen to any overtures. Unless the fortune of war should prove unvarying, and carry the Prussians to Paris, the French cannot be expected to treat. The temper of the army, of the nation, and of the capital amply proves this position. It is still firmly believed by the French that, in spite of their recent disasters, they can drive back the Germans and rescue the provinces to which the King of Prussia has appointed his governors. Whether they can effect this or not, the nation is bound to make the effort, if they are not pre pared to forfeit their old traditions and their reputation as a brave people. When the French have either turned the tide, or are hopelessly overwhelmed by the invading wave, it will be time for Neutrals to attempt pacific in tervention. As yet, the moment has certainly not arrived. THE BATTLE OF TUESDAY. On Tuesday last, says the Daily News, the 'French fought, against their will, the great battle of the cam paign—and lost it. That is the eventful news of the day, which comes as certainly out of the despatches of Marshal Bazaine as out of those transmitted from the Headquarters of the Prussians. The result is at best, viewed with sole reference to the fortune of the day, a drawn battle ; but with reference to the objects for which the French were avowedly fighting, it is a veritable disaster. Marshal Bazaine's army is lost, and the serious words in which he announces his position shew that he fully comprehends its unspeakable gravity. If we had not a line from the Prussian side we should be able to see clearly that, after the battle of Tuesday he will never lead his army to Chalons, or place it where it can deliver the capital. The Yorkshire Post, commenting on the battle of Tues day, says it is manifestly the object of the P ru s s i ans to harrass in every possible way the retreat of the French, and if possible to prevent their junction with the reserves at Chalons. No sacrifice is apparently deemed too great to prevent the re-formation of the French line of battle in front of Chalons. The advantages which the assailants at present possess, are directed with persistent energy against the retrogressive movements of the French, and the Prus- Flan commander does not spare his own troops in the effort to weary out and destroy those of his opponents before they can be moved where they might withstand him. Marshal Bazaine is in a position in which even a series of victories would be ruinous. Until he can effect a junction with the troops at Chalons, he can only fight at a disadvantage. THE COMPLETION OF ST. PAUL'S—The Merchant Taylors' Companyhavepromised a donation of 500 guineas to the fund for the completion of St. Paul's. This is not their first gift to this great Cathedral. Their name ap pears for 100 guineas in a former subscription list. METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS.—The fol lowing are mentioned amongst the names of the candi dates for the chairmanship of the Metropolitan Board of Works :—Colonel Fraser, Mr. Ayrton, M.P., Lord Robert Montagu, Mr. W. Hawes, and Mr. J. Runtz. As the election will not take place until the 23rd of Sep tember, it may be assumed that some of these gentlemen will retire before that time ; and it is not improbable that other names will be added to those already given. UNFOUNDED REPORTS.—The information given by an evening contemporary r e specti ng th e movemen t s of Prince Achille Murat is of precisely the same value as its recent account of the arrival of the Prince Imperial in London. Prince Achille Murat has not returned to this country, and therefore the whole story, with the insinuations involved in it, falls to the ground. Another paper has asserted that Count Benedetti had been in England on an important mission, because he was among the passengers from Dover to Calais a few nights ago. This rumour is founded on the fact that a son of the count's has just returned to France to take arms in the Garde Mobile.—Post. THE GERMAN WATERING PLACES.—The Burgo master of Ems writes as follows—" The transport of troops towards the frontier of France being nearly over, the theatre of war, thanks to the valour of our soldiers and the skill of their generals, being removed far from Ger many, and still further yet from our peaceful . NTlley, many of those who interrupted their. cure, or wished m d here finish to visit our baths, will perhaps like to hear that during all these weeks of bustle and alarm a pretty larg e m tinumber i ofr ofc ourupr persona Nassau rswithouton f r r o a railroads l a d l s gltog nations tso disturbance. remainedaine Now, th e again regularly, we are in the same direct communication with all the large towns of Germany as before, and, the Rhenish steamboats going from Lahnstein up and down the Rhine, we may well say that Ems is not only a quiet and healthy, but also a very agreeable abode for all those who have to use our baths." THE MYSTERIOUS MURDER AT BROMP TON. — Nothing has yet been discovered to lead to any clue to the perpetrators of the murder of Samuel Lee, the pot man of the Drayton Arms at Brompton. Even the slight grounds which at first existed for suspecting several per sons have been satisfactorily cleared up, so that the cir cumstances are more inexplicable than before. One of the men at first suspected was a labourer, who on Satur day evening had plenty of money, and purchased a new suit of clothes, but the whole of his timeron Saturday afternoon is satisfactorily accounted for. Suspicion next fell upon a man absent from the works on Monday, but it is proved that he was _ away unwell, and his time on Saturday is also accounted for. On Thursday all the men latterly employed on the works were at their employ ment, and it was ascertained that they were living at their homes, .D. 1 and L the with kept ender ill be ding ogr&. idian the Ltish was