The Sun. — London, England, 1870-08-30 00:00:00

THE WAR. THE POSITION AT PARIS. SUNDAY. The hostility between the Government and the various sections of Liberals is becoming more and more pro nounced. There can be no question, in spite of denials, that the Empress has requested General Trochu to resign, and the Governor of Paris has declined—itself a fact full of significance. Then the Minister of the Interior has just told the people that they must prepare in earnest for a siege ; it is coming surely, and there can be little hope of its being averted. This announcement removes all doubt as to the real position of affairs. For one terrible long week the Parisians have been kept quiet by pro mises of great news and assurances that triumphs would soon be announced—only it was needful for military pur poses to keep the proceedings of the generals secret-for time. The inhabitants of this city clung to the notion. The wish was father to the thought ; they had no iifficulty in persuading themselves that great deeds were hand. But now the scales have effectually fallen from th eyes. They no longer can persuade themselves, that this grim announcement of a coming siege is other than the forerunner of more revelations of disaster. Success on the part of MacMahon and Bazaine would have prevented a siege. How, then, can they have succeeded, if the approach of the Germans is more than ever imminent? The Liberals, who have long sus pected the Government of duplicity, are now fully con vinced, rightly or wrongly, that the Ministry has been keeping silence only with the view of gaining time. The state of the French armies is bad, and all the very strong talk of victories comes to nothing. There is a very dan gerous feeling of wrath gathering. The Government must prepare for a storm when the whole truth (as we re ceive it from English sources) is known, and it might as well be known sooner or later. The first execution in Paris under the military law now eigning has taken place, and the victim is a Prussian spy. everyone knows the daring and ingenuity of these spies, and the important services which they have rendered to the Prussian cause, and the feeling of French men against them has been proportionately strong. The spy, who has just paid with his life the penalty of his venture, was Lieutenant Harth, and the scene of his execution was the great square of the military school. The hour for the execution was not generally known as it was thought undesirable to attract a crowd. The prisoner conducted himself with firmness and courage, though he was severely tried. He had to wait for a quarter of an hour, as he was brought on the ground at a quarter to six and the execution was ordered for six o'clock. He had been told at 5 a.m. that his end was come by M. Ruth, a Protestant clergy man, belonging to Lille. When Lieut. Harth reached the ground with his guards he was stationed with his back to the wall of a recess in the barrack-yard. He made three petitions ; one that his head might not be tied, one that his eyes might not be bandaged, and one that, as a soldier, he might give the word to fire himself. The two first requests were not granted, and he agreed with a good grace. The third was verbally con ceded, though in reality the soldiers looked for the fatal signal to the officer in command, and fired at a move ment of his sword rather than at the prisoner's em phatic order, "Present, fire !" Harth fell dead on the instant, pierced by several bullets, but according to rule one of the sergeants in waiting came up and put a builet in his head. He was buried at the cemetery of Mont Parnasse in his dress as he fell. The Electeur Libre states that the Government is only waiting for the news of a successful engagement on the part of the French, to prorogue the Chamber. The Presi dent is opposed to such a course, and would gladly wel come the support of the deputies in resisting the Govern ment scheme. The Paris independent press is full of reproaches against the administrative incapacity which has been dis played in retarding the equipment of the Garde Mobile. The provisional camps are in a rout ; the leaders who have been appointed do not come up to the old soldiers who might have been selected. France is strong enough to bear that these truths should be publicly proclaimed. It was by the exercise of similar frankness that the press of the United States rendered such important services in the earlier part of the Civil War, when the North sus. tained so many defeats. WITH MACMAHON'S ARMY. RETUEL, AUG. 26. Yesterday, seeing all the world was leaving Rheims, and hearing on every side reports that the Prussians were coming, and that there would be a battle on the outskirts, I took up my quarters early at the railway station so as to take advantage of any opportunity for leaving that might offer, notwithstanding the universal suppres sion of passenger trains. In the afternoon one of the Paris battalion scouts entered the station, and I saw that a train was being prepared to convey them northwards. I immediately agreed with M. Gellion Danglar, of the Agence Havas, that we would go as we could by this train. The town was getting empty, and there was no knowing whether the troops arriving there from Paris meant to hold it or were only passing through it. There was nothing to detain us. The fresh arrests of spies seemed to indicate the approach of the enemy. We had seen one pass, a man in a threadbare great coat and with an old black silk cap. He had been taken near the town, and had offered, it was said, £4OO to the peasant who drove him as prisoner in his cart. The peasant, as might be supposed, was very much tempted by such an offer, and it was only the interference of one of the Garde Mobile which kept the prisoner in French hands. While we were in the station the rumours of the advancing Prussians grew more and more precise. The famous Uhlans had been seen at six kilometres distance, and the cannon it was said was heard in the direction of Pont Faverger. We had our doubts about setting out on a line which might be attacked and cut, but the ennui of remaining in Rheims and the wish to take part in what was going on decided us to make the venture. However, we were scarcely seated when the volunteer scouts presented themselves for the journey and their commandant, a fine looking man, decorated with the Pontificial order of Mentana, came up and begged us to get out. " Will you withdraw, gentle men," he sa'd, " We shall probably fight en route, and I allow no one to accompany me." However, after a pause, he added, " If you can find a place after my men are in I have no objection to help you in getting to Bethel if pos sible." So ofLwe went in a third class compartment with two officers and two Parisian amateurs travelling in search of sensations, and readers of the Temps, which was no harm. While some of the volunteers sung, passing from the Girondins and the Marseillaise to the Parisian airs of the Vari4t4s and the Bouffes, others pressed to the windows to see the surrounding country, which in cluded the immense plains of Champagne. Nothing was to be heard around us but the rattle of sabres in their sheaths or the cocking of the guns. The volunteers are armed with rifled carbines. Their dress, which all Paris has seen, consists of dark trousers entering the boot, a cap like that of the National Guard, and a large vareuse. Tbey have an excellent appearance, and their officers seem to be admirablychosen. All they want is calmness, especially at the outset. Their fingers are always on the trigger, and the muzzle of the guns is quickly lowered. Yesterday the lives of two very inoffensive peasants were only held by a thread. Two horsemen, black and white, were seen in a byeway—of course, nothing could be thought of but the eternal Uhlans. Happily some one had a lor gnette, and the mistake was discovered in time. Everything went well until we were half way, wh en a little past Bayancourt, at the entrance to a little wood, the train stopped in full career. The sharpshooters arose ; several jumped on the road. We looked about ;we questioned one another. As we were at the end of the train we could not tell what was the cause of the stop page, but after some minutes the train resumed its course. After that all went well. Night came on. Our two engines carried us with the speed of an express with out stopping at any station. Rethel could not be far off. We went through the tunnel which runs through the hills circling round the basin of Aisne like lightning, and I was speaking to my companions of what I had seen of the Prussian army after Saarbruck when a sudden shock cut me short. We jumped up on our seats. The carriage was full of dust, or of smoke, we could not tell which. Everyone thought a cannon ball had struck the train, which stopped. The doors were opened, the officers were already on the ground. Passing along the carriages, they said, 'No noise ;be calm ; get your bayonets ready !,, Nothing can be tamer than the position of a spectator under such circumstances. There are six of us looking at one another, Three of us have handsome revolvers mounted in ivory, ex cellent fur use against midnight THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY E VENING, AUGUST 30, 870. to yield to the expression of public opinion. M. Thiers has been universally congratulated upon the success he has met with. STRATEGY OF THE CAMPAIGN. On Friday a piece of news was telegraphed which caused great sensation among our contemporaries. It came from Berlin, and was to this effect, that the King's head-quarters had been moved to Bar-le-Duc, that corps of the First and Second Armies remained facing Bazaine's army, and that the remlinder of the German forces "had resolutely entered upon their march to Paris." Hitherto the movements of the German armies have been kept secret during their execution. It was only when the move had been completed, whin the blow had been struck that we learned whither the troops had been going. It seems strange that this system should be re versed all at once ; that taciturn Moltke should, with out any visible occasion for it, all of a sudden proclaim to the world that he is marching upon Paris, and " resolutely " too. At the same time we hear that the advanced troops of the Crown Prince are pushed nearer and nearer to Paris, and that his cavalry spread more and more towards the south. Even in Chateau Thierry,almost half way between Chalons and Paris, the dreaded Utilans are said to have been seen. Might there not be a special reason, not quite evident at the first glance, why the an nouncement of the intention of the King of Prussia should be made just now, and why, at the same time the German cavalry should redouble their activity? Let us compare dates. On the evening of Monday, the 22nd, Mac- Mahon commenced his movements through Rheims on the road to Rethel, and for more than fourteen hours the columns passed continually through the town. By the evening of Wednesday, if not before, the news of this march might have reached the German head quarters. There could be but one meaning in it ; the in tention to set free Bazaine from the trap in which he is shut up. The more MacMahon advanced in the direction he had taken the more would he endanger his communications with Paris and his line of retreat the more would. he place himself between the German army and the Belgian frontier. Let him once get beyond the Meuse, which he is said to intend passing at La Neuville, opposite Stenay, and his retreat may easily be cut off. Now, what could more encourage MacMahon to persist in his dangerous manoeuvre than the news that, while he was hurrying to the relief of Bazaine, the Germans had left only a compara tvely small portion of their forces before Metz, - and were marching " resolutely " upon Paris with the great body of their troops ? Thus on Wednesday night this same piece of news is telegraphed from Pont-a-Monsson to Berlin, from Berlin to London, from London to Paris and Rheims, whence no doubt MacMahon has at once been favoured with the information ; and while he marches on towards Stenay, Longuyon, and Briey, the army of the Crown Prince, leaving a corps or two in Cham pagne, where now nothing opposes them, would draw off the rest towards St. Mihiel, pass the Meuse there, and try to gain by Fresne a position threatening the communica tions of MacMahon's army with the Meuse, and yet within supporting distance of the German troops before Metz. If this were to succeed, and if MacMahon were to be defeated under these circumstances, his army would haVe either to pass into neutral territory or to surrender to the Germans.—Pall Mall Gazette. It seems positive from the news that MacMahon could not have moved eastward up to Saturday night, or indeed, up to Sunday, through Longuyon. Neither can he have crossed the Meuse by Verdun ; for only on Friday, accord ing to French statements, confirmed by Count Palikao to the Legislative Body, a large Prussian force made an attack upon Verdun, and was repulsed with loss by the National Guard. It seems as though MacMahon up to Friday, or even up to Saturday, had not crossed to the right bank of the Meuse. But has MacMahon had time to cross the Meuse, if, indeed, that, as we surmised, were his intention ? From Monday night to Saturday five marches might have been made. Not much over fifteen miles a day could be done without ex cessive exertion by the National Guard, of whorri we must suppose some considerable portion of MacMahon's force to be formed. The twenty mile marches of the French army are very fatiguing over hilly country, such as MacMahon would have traversed. From Rheims to Stenay is some sixty miles by way of Vouziers, con siderably further by way of Rethel. We should have thought Stenay might have been reached, and the Meuse crossed by Friday last, if that were MacMahon's object. Yet on Friday* the Prussian Uhlans were destroying rails even west of Montmedy, and there was an affair of francs-tireurs, or of light cavalry, and that was all. That fighting was going on yesterday at Stenay may mean that MacMahon was there, but, if so, what keeps him there, when he left Rheims on Monday ; and if MacMahon's corps is engaged, what troops could he find to make any stand against him on the Meuse, close to the Belgian frontier ? Can it be that MacMahon too has tried to make a bold move, and has been delayed by his Intendance till it is too late ? But even now, if the fighting at Stenay means that MacMahon has driven back any small bodies of Prussians opposed to him there, and has crossed the Meuse, he may possibly reach Metz in time, provided the army of the Crown Prince was committed so far into Champagne that it was on Sunday, in pursuing MacMahon, only at Vouziers, and still on the left bank of the Meuse. The next few hours will probably bring information on this singularly interesting point. We still adhere to our opinion, ex pressed more than once, that the bulk of Bazaine's army is shut up in Metz, and that there can be no deliberate intention either -on the part of MacMahon alone or of MacMahon and Bazaine together, to fight a battle in the neighbourhood of Stenay or Montmedy, in a position so full of danger in case of a reverse.—Standard. MacMahon is said to have guaranteed the extermina tion of the Prussian army. He appears to be under the impression that the host which defeated Bazaine has gone up on its way towards Paris, and left him and Bazaine to deal with a corps just sufficient to invest Metz. This, however, as there is abundant evidence to show, is a mistake. All the Marshal's movements have been anticipated. The Prussians have been busy for days in the country north of the Metz- Etain-Verdun road as far as the Belgian frontier. The French journals report that they have been to Stenay, Varennes, Montmedy. Further, a separate corps, that under the Crown Prince of Saxony, is charged with the especial duty of looking after the Marshal. Under these circumstances, a surprise at Metz is out of the question ; but if MacMahon persists in moving southwards from Mezieres and Bazaine is reserving himself for an attempt to escape, we must hear of it in a very short time. But, just at this point, a tele gram informs us that the French Minister of the Interior publishes "under reserve" the important announcement that a corps of the Crown Prince's army has struck off in a north-easterly direction from Chalons by Suippe ; and also that the enemy has advanced towards Rethel and Vouziers, coming by way of Monthois. This is pre cisely what has been predicted would happen if MacMahon should be so ill-advised as to strike east ward. Should MacMahon descend upon Montmedy he will find his course arrested by a Prus sian corps in his front, and while attempting to overcome its resistance, he will be taken in flank and rear by an other corps working up by way of Vouziers, Rethel, and Mezieres. The Marshal would then be placed in the position in which Bazaine was ten days ago, with the difference that lie would find no fortress like Metz to shelter him, and if defeated, he would have to choose be tween capitulating to the enemy and giving up his arms to the Belgians on the frontier.—Daily News, marauders, but of very little service against an attack. It is eight o'clock and quite dark. The volunteers have climbed up the sideway, and are concealed behind a tolerably thick hedge. The silence is deep. One can only hear a few words pass in a low voice. There is a moment of real emotion. Soon it was ascertained there was no cannon in the question. One cannon ball would have been quickly followed by another, or at least by a fusillade, and all was still around us. Nothing was to be heard but the locomotives in the distance, and the voices of the groups who began to stir at sight of the lanterns. The shock we felt had been caused by a collision with another train. From the spot where we were to Rethel, whose lights we could see in the distance, five hundred carriages occupied the road. It was against the last of these stationary trains that ours had run. A curve in the line had prevented our engine -man from seeing it on leaving the tunnel, and had not one of the volunteers perceived it the consequences might have been much more serious. As it was our engine was greatly damaged and overturned the luggage-vans of the train we ran into. Several of the volunteers were injured more or less. The same accident had happened in the morning to a train whose occupants were frightened, and jumped out. There was nothing really serious, however, to regret. Com posure was restored, and the perfect quiet of the surrounding country reassured us. The vol unteers took their knapsacks and we our light valises and we started for Rethel. The Emperor was at Rethel the Prince Imperial was there ; but they left this morn ing, looking sad and suffering, in the midst of a torrent of rain. The Emperor lodged at a house, and had his dinner brought from the inn. His intendant came to pay, and gave double the sum charged as a gift to the servants. All the cortege set off looking melancholy enough. I know where he is going much better than I know where lam going. We can only follow the railway line. To take a carriage in the country is impossible, and as for going on fcot, I confess that after six weeks of this sort of life lam no longer equal to it. How, too, will my letters reach you? The post is by no means sure in this country. However, I must do my best. —Georges Jeannerod in Le Temps. THE PRUSSIANS IN CHALONS. officers to Epernay and La Veuve. One of the heads of detachments at the same time required the major to rive him French money equivalent to a bank note for a hundred thalers. The mayor having asked bywhat title these demands were made, and whether they were under the droit du plus fort; and being answered in the affirmative, did what was required of him. Meanwhile the Prussians in the rest of the town took pos session of the post and intercepted all letters and papers hoping to get some official dispatches addressed to the prefet. Sentinels were stationed at the gates of the town, and no one was allowed to pass out. Chalons from this moment was blockaded. A Prussian barrier cut her off from the capital. After seizing the mails and the money, luckily only 50 francs, and the letters from the letter boxes, they went off to the Prefecture and made several demands. About midday the sound of cannon caused them some surprise. It came from the direction of St. 1114nehould, and made thorn redouble their vigilance for the time, but they did not leave till nearly six o'clock, taking with them several vehicles. The Prefet did not shew himself all the time the Prussians were in the town, and his absence was much noticed. However, it seems he was prisoner in his hotel, the Prussian commander refusing to treat with him. A Prussian officer, with his cigar in his mouth, walked into the Prefet's study yes terday, and told him, in an arrogant manner, that he must henceforward susp end all recruiting. 25 AUGUST, HALF-PAST ONE. We hoped ye-terday, when the Prussian dragoons left, that we were rid of them. Alas ! we reckoned without the fresh troop of the enemy who has to-day come into the town and taken possession of the gates. They are very numerous, and we are again blockaded. THREE O'CLOCK. Four T.Thlans have gone to the Hotel de Ville, and in the Mayor's absence have told his secretary that 6,000 Prussians would be speedily installed amongst us. The post-office and the prefecture have been again visited. To-morrow it is said other troops will be here, and it is thought the Crown Prince's staff will arrive. Vitry has opened its gates, not having defended itself. The National Guard and some artillery troops which were there succeeded in escaping. A telegram from Brussels says the Prince Imperial arrived at Sedan, which is eleven miles from Mezieres, on Sunday, and the Emperor is expected there immediately. A party of IThlans have been at Mouzon, nine miles south east of Sedan. A Paris letter says :—"As a matter of fact, the wounds of the needle-gun heal very rapidly. Many of the men now in hospital are almost fit for work again, as far as their wounds are concerned, but of these many suffer in addition from rheumatic fever and bronchial affections, contracted from neglect and exposure on the field after they were disabled." The Convention of Neutrality proposed by the London Cabinet to the neutral Governments has been agreed to by all the Great Powers. The Cabinet i of Vienna,;waited for some time before giving its consent, but at last commis sioned Count Apponoyi to sign in its name. This Conven tion engages each signatarynot to quit the position of neutrak without giving notice to the co-signataries. and furnishing ex planations. Each neutral State reserves its freedom of action ; but the Convention tends to prevent a surprise, and to protect the Powers from being in an isolated posi tion either in military arrangements or in the negotia tions which will be carried on for the purpose of restoring peace. The war correspondent of the Independence Belge has passed by the two belligerent forces, and has seen the colossal German army advancing at a comparatively rapid pace with a surprising regularity. Nothing stops its course, it is like a sea which is rolling on. "On such a day we shall be at such a place " they say, and at the appointed time one can see the first Uhlan waving his lance in the air. When the Uhlans arrived at Epernay they were dispersed by some sappers and miners at the railway station. 1,200 men of the line regiments were sent from Rheims to defend the c e l e b ra t e d - caves of Epernay. No Uhlan as yet has gained the prize of a hundred thalers which King William promised to the one who should secure the first bottle of champagne. All the inhabitants of Epernay rushed about the streets crying out, "To arms, to arms." It is need less to say there were none to give them. The IThlans are well informed of all that is going on, and their system of espionage is so admirably carried on that they can pro ceed with the greatest impunity ; they know that the Imperial Government has disarmed France. The spirit of the eastern part of the country is greatly crushed, and people go so far as to say that they would give everything for peace. The Paris correspondent of the Independance Beige says he has positive information that there are in Paris not less than 60,000 troops, without speaking of 300,000 National Guard and Gardes Mobiles. General Palikao gives the total figure of French under arms as 1,94,000 men. All the bridges on the Seine and the Marne will be under mined, and can be blown up at any moment. As for the provisions of Paris, there are in the Bois de Boulogne 100,000 sheep, and 30,000 oxen, be sides 500 milk-cows. Large barges have brought, by water, immense quantities of forage. 5,000 ' trains from Havre have brought flour and various pro visions. Unfortunately many agriculturists will not be able to save their mills, they will be destroyed by the French cavalry so that they may not fall into the hands of the enemy. The delay which has taken place in removing these mills is attributed to the bad understand ing which prevails between the prefets and the superior authorities. The peasants believed their assertions with respect to the Duc de Choiseul's exaggerated statements and un"ounded terrors. Who would have believed on the sixth of July, when M. Thiers was attacked and insulted in the ChaMber, that the day would come when he would be made a member of the Defence Committee ? This has, however, taken place without his knowledge, the Govern ment which would have ignored him having been forced The Progres de la Marne gives some additional details of the entry of the Prussians into Chalons. They were dragoons and not Uhla,ns who gallopped through the town on the 23rd. and desired the Mayor, M. Perrier, whose carriage had already been laid under contribution, to follow them to their en campment. The mayor gave a positive refusal, and said if he was wanted he could be found at the Hotel de Ville. On the next day (the 24th), at about ten in the morning, a Prussian colonel of dragoons with ten officers and three hundred horsemen came into Chalons. This time it was regularly taking possession. When they reached the Hotel de Ville the officer in command desired the mayer to furnish immediately breakfast for 10 officers and 300 soldiers, and two carriages for the conveyance of several Prussian THE BATTLE OF GRAVELOTTE. In a letter dated Doncourt, August 19, the Times cor rospondent with the Prussian army, gives a short account of the great battle of Gravelotte on the previous day : Yesterday the enemy was again encountered, he having taken up a very strong position on a range of hills between Montois-la-Montagne and the little village of Leip zig. The Prussians had the 7th, Bth, 9th, 12th, and Guard Corps engaged, with the 10th and 3rd in reserve. The action commenced on the left of the line, in the vicinity of Doncourt, the object being to draw the French towards Metz again, which they had lately left. As is usual, the same plan seemed to be fol lowed which has won the Prussians so many victories— that of concentrating at a certain point all their forces, and crushing the enemy at the last moment. Thus, on this occasion, as will be seen, the right was brought up at the exact moment it was required, and the result the most decided victory for Prussia. At the outset of the battle the firing was heavier than at any time in the preceding battle, and I expected to have even a heavier loss to chronicle than I have already ; but towards 3 o'clock the French guns seemed to diminish, and we heard no more of the mitrailleuses, the peculiar reports of which it is impossible to mistake. The place where I first came up to the scene of action was a little village, nearly the centre of the line, but the extreme right of the left attack. The unfortunate inhabitants had prepared for the worst by closing up their houses and retiring to their cellars. Not a soul was to be seen, except a motionless group of Prussian infantry crouched behind a wall, waiting for the signal to ad vance into the open space, for at present it was but a duel between artillery. Soon, however, they debouched from the village, and, as if by magic, from every point you saw the brass helmets shining in the midday sun, and, with artillery covering them from a small height on their right, they brought their right forward and forced the French back towards Vionville. This was the moment that the firing was heaviest, and the wounded began soon to fill the little village. There were three or four copses which were carried in succession, but not with out great loss from the Chassepots,,which, under shelter, poured a steady fire on the Prussians. Notwithstaiiding it, however, the French were driven hack step by step distance of a mile, and then came under the Prussian artillery attacking Vionville, to which they retreated, and one could see them defiling on the high road that topped the position: I ought to say under it, as it was within range of the Prussian guns, from the position they had now attained, but they were far too well generalled to commit such a folly. The fire of the mitrail leuse now begun steadily to decrease, and it was observed that their guns, which are invariably fired with great rapidity, seemed equally to slacken. Their infantry at the same time advanced from the road, and were in turn met by the Prussian infantry, who, debouching from their various nooks of safety in the copses that I before mentioned, dashed across the plain, and some very pretty skirmishing ensued—a peculiarly difficult thing to carry on in a plain which had not a single shrub. One could see the Prussians run out, and in twos and threes sink down until nothing but little bright specks ap peared above the ground. These were the spikes on the tops of the helmets, a singularly unfortunate head dress for this peculiar kind of warfare. This was carried on for at least two hours, accom panied by heavy firing from the Prussian guns, replied to but moderately by the enemy. I observed that the French tirailleurs invariably fired far over the sharp shooters, and indeed the men themselves told me that in skirmishing they were nearly always tolerably safe as regards the infantry. The whole force now brought its left forward, which was the original intention, and the Guards were brought into action. At. six o'clock the enemy gradually retreated, thou g h not without the most desperate resistance, which lasted till nightfall. In the meantime the 10th Corps in reserve had come into action on the extreme right of the line, at five in the afternoon, with a corps which was so confident of success as to leave their encamp ment all standing. They were in the neighbourhood of St. Piraut, and marched out a quarter of a mile to meet their enemy. Placed as they were, with a magnificent range of hills for artillery in their rear, it did seem im possible that, unless greatly outnumbered, such a force could be beaten; but they had to learn yet another lesson from the sons of Vaterland. Again they rallied and advanced, covered by 'a galling fire from their guns on the heights, but with only the same result, as they were again obliged to recede to their guns by the charges of the Prussians, who took a little village in advance of St. Piraut at the point of the bayonet, driving the enemy out with fearful loss. Any thing so devastated as the two little villages is scarcely to be believed, there is scarcely one stone above another, and what wood is in them is at this moment, eight hours after the combat, still blazing. To chew the rapidity with which the Prussians advanced, the French testes d'abris, with the officers' canteen and the knapsacks of the men, were left in possession of the Prussian; so that those that have gone on have literally nothing but their rifles. At 8.30 it became so dark that the conflict was dis continued, except with an occasional shot from the guns. Prince Frederic Karl was present on both days, and com manded in person. On his way home from the field on the first day he was loudly cheered by the troops as he passed them, which, considering the enormous fatigue they had undergone, was a pretty good test of his popularity. A correspondent or the Cologne Gazette, writing on the 19th, makes the following observations :—•' Our losses have again been very severe. The enemy. had had time to place himself behind his entrenchments. " batteries of mitrailleuses which in the afternoon had been placed in the hamlet of Malmaison were brought to bear upon our left towards evening, and when night came were directed with the greatest violence against our centre. This morning the con tinuation of the battle was expected, but I am told to : day will be a day of rest after the fearful and san guinary struggle of yesterday, should not the enemy, who has now been repulsed, make an attack upon us. It was only this morning at 8 a.m., that I was aware of the importance of yesterday's engagement and of our success in repulsing, in spite of gur momentary disorgani sation, the attack that the enemy had made upon Grave - It is stated that nearly the whole of the [otte. French. army, about 150,000, were engaged in the attack, whilst on our side the Ist and 2nd corps d'armee and the 2nd, 7th, Bth, 9th, and 12th Corps, as also the Guard, took part. Our 2nd corps d'armee advanced against the enemy at the point of the bayonet, whilst our advance , was made so quickly upon the left flank that the roads leading from Metz were cut off from the use of the enemy. General Fransecki has requested permission to advance to the very ramparts of Metz. The army of the enemy seemed to be perfectly demoralised by the result of this decisive battle. The Kim" stayed here this morning. The royal and heroic patriarch could be seen yesterday seated upon a knapsack and looking down upon the battlefield. This morning I saw the King, accompanied by Count Bism arc k an d his staff, seated before a farm-house at Rezonville, whilst the French surgeons, girt with large white scarves, were dressing and basidaging the wounded. Head-quarters have been remoA ed to-day to Pont-h-Mousson. THE EMPIRE DEFENDING ITSELF. The Empire, it seems now evident, if it dies, will die hard. It is defending itself unscrupulously and not un successfully against its internal foes. When the 011ivier Cabinet fell, at the very time that the Liberals were con senting to postpone the day of reckoning, a new Ministry was appointed by the Empress, taken exclusively from the Right of the Chamber. A Committee of Defence was se lected in obedience to the, same rule. The Imperia Government, whatever its adversaries might do, ab jured no enmity, laid aside no distrust. Every effort of the Left to obtain a share in the direction of affairs has been thwarted. The Emperor is rewarded for having kept his packed Parliament, and his official candidates have done him good service. Even to-day, when, at the eleventh hour, MM. Daru, Talhouet, and Thiers have been added to the Committee of Defence, they have be en obliged to accept their nomination at the hands of the Government, and not from the Chamber. Count Palikao holds his own against General Trochu, and declared to-day in the Chamber that he would suffer no distribution of arms to the National Guard to be made by " one of his subordinates." So far this may be said to be lawful war- fare, but other means which cannot be defended on any score have been resorted to. The whole Administration is Imperialist, and in France the Administration is all powerful. Praets and Sous-Praets have sedulously pointed out to the population that the Opposition is the cause of all our misfortune. It was the Left who would not hear of war at first, who wanted to reduce the number of soldiers and the money votes in order that we might be beaten, and now it is the Left which wishes to carry on the war a routrance in the hope of upsetting the Empire. The Opposition is com posed of traitors—Legitimists, Republicans, Orleanists— who desire the triumph of the enemy to overthrow Napo leon. They have sent money to the Prussians and will open the gates of Paris. To stimulate this Imperialist propagandism a number of Conseillers d'Etat have been despatched into the provinces, where they per form the same sort of service that the Commissaries of the Republic discharged in 1848. The effect. has been wonderful, especially on the peasants. We are now, in fact, threatened with a kind of Imperialist Jacquerie. I could mention a dozen Deputies of the Opposition whose lives would not be safe among their constituents. M. Tachard, the deputy for. Mulhouse, was denounced the other day as a friend of Prussia in a local paper. M. Jouvencel, the representative of Seine-et-Marne, was nearly stoned to death ; M. d'Estournel and M. , d'll4secques, both Deputies of the Somme, had a narrow escape. All landed proprietors who are suspected of being hostile to the Imperial Government are designated to popular vengeance as friends of the Prussians.—Times' French Correspondent's Letter of Sunday. THE MISERIES OF WAR. Here is the account of military glory which a delegate of the Frankfort Society for the Relief of the Union gives, in a letter dated from Remilley, August 21, where he arrived after a twenty hours' journey :—" Remilley i s a pretty hamlet on the Nied, of one thousand inhabi tants, occupied chiefly by the well-to-do rentiers of Metz and Nancy. The situation is charming, recalling Baden- Baden. It has been selected as the centre for the wounded, since here a good broad road leadsto Pont-6-Mousson, over which all ambulance waggons have to be forwarded from Mars-la-Tour and Rezonville. On our arrival we found all the houses over-filled to the roof with wounded. Many hundreds lay still in the streets, the greater part wet through and without shelter. A shelter for ourselves was not to be found. ' The only inn —the Hotel cjes Voyageurs —was choked with wounded officers. Nothing was to be had for money. We concluded to pass the night in the railway carriage which had brought us.'" Wt:soop'folind there would be no such re fuge. A little later 400 peasant waggons arrived filled with wounded. As no cover could be hunted out in any direction, and as no train could be despatched with them through want of carriages, it was decided to leave them all night in their waggons. One can conceive their dreadful plight—they had taken two whole days to travel from Rezonville to Reinilley. The scene was heartrending. Few had any covering but straw; the rain poured on them in torrents. For their refreshment nothing was at hand but meat—no bread, no wine was to be got. The male population had flown some days past ; only old men, women, and chil dren remained. Luckily, the provisions we had with us were available, and all night through we nourished them with wine, brad, and other refreshments. The twenty Sisters of Mercy present helped us most energetically. Most of the new arrivals were badly wounded in the engagement of the 18th, and the miserable condition of the endless ,waggon -loads of these severely wounded soldiers is simply indiscribable. And yet, what we have seen is merely a small foretaste of what we have to expect. The number of our dead and wounded at Rezonville amounts to at least 20,000, and of the two pre vious days probably as many more." THE FRENCH FLEET. A Frenchman communicates some rather strange parti culars to the Telegraph. He writes from on board La Magnanime, ofl Heligoland, August 20 :—The day before yesterday a Prussian vessel, carrying the white parlia mentary flag, and having on board a rear-admiral and the Prince of Hesse, accompanied by several officers, came to the admiral's ship Magnanime, and were received by Baron Roussin, the ship's captain and chief of the squadron staff, while Admi r al F our i c h an rema i ned in 4...";i500n. I cannot question the truth of my inticrtion which gives me the text of the following conversation between the Prince of Hesse and Baron Roussin. The Prince briefly announced himself by saying, " Sir I am the Prince of Hesse." To which the Baron replied, " Sir, I am delighted to see you." After these preliminaries the following opinions were expressed by his Royal Highness :—" You cannot be ignorant of the incontestible success of our armies by land; or if so, it is not my part to enlighten you on the subject. I only wish to tell you that if you continue the blockade you will have to make to the King of Prussia a heavy indemnity, because you ruin our com merce." The baron simply replied that he did not think France was as much compromised as the Prince told him, at the same time assuring his Highness that he might rely on the Admirl continuing the blockade until fresh orders. There is no doubt that the real motive of this step was to spy the precise condition and extent of ournaval force, to know whether the Prussian fleet, which, by the way, is daily augmented, could possibly present itself befere us. One thing which seems to shew that these gentlemen have a very good opinion of our fleet is that the Prussian squa dron keeps quietly ensconced in the Bay of Jande. Our cruisiers fare well every day, making capital prizes, especially several well-laden colliers. These latter are invaluable to us, for we are constantly under steam, ready to appear at at an instant's notice. Our sailors burn to measure their strength with that of the enemy; they are in excellent health and spirits. In fact, nothing can be altogether in better condition than our entire crews. We are perfectly provisioned, eommunications being established by a regular steam service between France and Heligoland, and soon I hope I may be in a position to give you a good account of our adversaries. THE LOSSES AT METZ.—The National Zeituny says that on the 22nd the first batch of those who were slightly wounded in the actions of Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte arrived at Berlin. They gave many details of the enormous losses sustained both by the French and the German troops. The division of cavalry of the Guards had been exposed to the fire on the 16th, and its two dragoon regiments had borne the brunt of the day's battle. It is reported that these two regiments were directed towards a village which was supposed to be unoccupied by the enemy's troops ; but it turned out that strong bodies both of French in fantry and artillery were stationed there. The dragoons, nevertheless, pushed on to the village, and lost nearly all their officers. The Prince of Hohenzollern, serving in one of these regiments, escaped only in consequence of being sent by the commander of his legiment to carry a report in another direction just before the attack took place. Among the many distinguished officers who were included in the casualties of this charge was Baron von Randen, the husband of the well-known singer, Madame Lucca. He was severely injured by being shot through the cheeks. The loss of the French amounted, according to the Staatsanzeiger, from the 14th at Courcelles, until the 18th at Gravelotte, to 12,000 to 15,000 dead. If the prisoners and the wounded be added, the total of those hors d e combat amounts to 50,000 ; 4,000 of the French were taken at Gravelotte alone. Until noon of the 21st, 6,000 I prisoners had passed Pont-a-Mousson. THE GERMANS BEFORE METZ. Some interesting notes are given by a correspondent of he Pall Mall Gazette who writes from before Metz, August 21. He says :—Yesterday a move northward began, and probably to-day the army corps on either side the Moselle will effect a junction north of Metz, and then that town will be completely blockaded. What amount of provisions the French may have in Metz we know not. But besides the 50,000 people who form the ordinary population of the city, there must be many thousands of fugitives, for in every village we have passed througn all the chief residents had fled, and when we asked where they had gone to, we almost invariably were told " A Metz." More than 100,000 soldiers must be still encamped outside the walls—we could see yesterday one very large encampment from our outposts near Fort St. Quentin, and it will be now impossible for them to escape to Thionville. So that there are probably 200,000 hungry mouths in Metz. About half the Prussian army will probably remain around Metz, while the Crown Prince, strengthened by one or two corps from Prince Freiderich Carl's army, the only one which has had little or no fighting, will press on to Paris, if indeed the Crown Prince is not on his way there already. lam glad to hear that the number of dead is not so great as it was at first feared it would be. The 40th Regiment, which has had a great deal of fighting and has suffered heavily, is now at its old strength again, having received rein forcements from the depot battalion yesterday. The re inforcements for the other regiments which had their numbers reduced are either here or on the way. With the foresight which they have displayed throughout the war, the Prussians are hard at work fortifying the plateau beyond the Verdun road which they had such hard work to win on Thursday. A pontoon train is now going up to the front, doubtless to be thrown over the Moselle north of Metz, and so complete the junction of the different army corps encamped round the town. If a regular siege takes place, it is probable that one of the first things the Prussians will do will be to make a railway completely round the town with trucks specially constructed to carry heavy guns, and thus to enable them to concentrate a heavy fire, and, if wanted, to pour in troops at different points where least expected. I much doubt though whether there will be any occasion for a regular siege of Metz. The French, one would fancy, are thoroughly beaten, and the Parisian s who were so gaily shouting '` h Berlin" must find that " nach Paris "is a more seasonable cry. The Crown Prince is probably now near ChAlons:sur-Marne, with nothing between him and the capital but MacMahon's beaten army and the Garde Mobile. But the Crown Prince's movements are a secret into which I will not pry. It seems that the battle of Thursday had larger dimensions that we here at first thought it had, for on the hills to the left above the Moselle there was almost as severe a conflict as on the Verdun road. No less than seven army corps are now admitted to have been engaged, and the Guards are said to have suffered severely. Two Princes Salm-Salm are dead. One was a major in the Prussian army, and was with Maximilian in Mexico. The other a cousin, was a very young officer. The Prussian loss is admitted to have been very heavy. AN EX-CHAMPION OF ENGLAND IN TROUBLE.— At the Nottingham Police-court on Saturday, the 27th inst., William Thompson, alias Bendigo, an ex-champi on of England, was taken before the sitting magistrates charged with being drunk and disorderly ; and also with assaulting Joseph Burley Johnson on the 20th inst. Prisoner pleaded guilty to the charges made against him, and urged in extenuation that he was int ox i cate d at the time. He had saved a child from drowni ng an d h ad been since liberally treated with drink, &c., by its friends. If it had not have been for that he should not have committed himself. He was going to keep a quiet little house at Collingham, near Newark, and if the bench would let him go that time he would not trouble th em aga i n. The magistrates took a lenient view of the m a tt er, an d as t h e cases were not pressed against him, he was discharged on p a ying 12s. 6d., the expenses, and promising to leave the town. UNIVERSITY oERVANTS.—FOT some time past the Fellows and Tutors of Colleges at Cambridge have been occupied in endeavouring to organise a better system of remuneration to College servants. The present mode of payment is unsatitfactory to employer and employed ; the perquisites in some instances are excessive, wt ile in others labour does not meet with its reward. Caius College has just issued its rules and regulations. These state that bed makers are to be paid £1 10s. per quarter for Fellows (whether senior or junior), and £1 ss. for other occupants of rooms. The rules further state that in full term every bed-maker shall employ . a help, and the tutor shall require a character with each help. Th e pay to every bed-maker's help is to be 4s. 6d. per week where bed-makers have no less th an e i ght sets of rooms. Bed-makers and their helps a re t o l eave college when the gates are closed. With regard t o gyps, Caius College have put the remuneration at a guinea per quarter. The tutors have a difficult matter to d ec id e, and sure we are that in their deliberations they have, not lost sight of the reward due to faithful and trustworthy servants. It is expected that other colleges will shortly issue rules and regulrtions applicable to each ; and in all we are convinced justice will be done. THE POLICY OF PRUSSIA. What is the true policy for Prussia to pursue? Evi dently to end the war as soon as possible, and to impress upon the people of France that it is not waged againsti them, as King William has done in his well-timed pro clamation to the French nation. The King of Prussia, said in his speech to th e N or th G erman Parliament : vve have with calm and deliberate consideration measured the responsibility, which before the judgment of the Al mighty and that of men falls on him who forces into wars of devastation two great and peaceable nations living in the very centr has plunged of Euro." The Emperor Na poleon is the man who these " two great and peaceable nations int o wars o f devastation." The people and statesmen of all nations expressed their astonishment that war should have been commenced for so slight a cause, or, rather, for no cause at all. It is condemned everywhere. Though the French, from natio na l pr id e, may h ave c h a fed under the progress Prussia made of late years toward consoli dating her power, and may be ambitious of strengthening France in something like a corresponding degree, theY would not have gone to war and would hav e seen no . cause of war after Prince Hohenzollern was withdrawn, had not Napoleon and bis bellige - , rent Ministry forced th e i ssue. Th e prompt deposition o f the 011ivier Ministry and its sudden unpopularity sheW that the French are greatly incensed at its conduct. The French people have sense enough to know, u nless misled by their rulers, that the Germans have a right to unite under one government, and to make themselves a great nation, and that as long as they should not interfere with France there would be no good cause for war. Why' indeed, should not the German people be united under one government, as the French are ? What offence should this be to France? The French people would have seen this had not unscrupulous rulers misled and plunged them into war. But the die is cast : terrible war has come. It now remains for Prussia to convince the French people, if that be possible, that the war is not / node upon them, and that peace is desired between these " two great nations, living in the very cen t re of Europe." Unless this b e d one P russia may suffer terribly yet, notwithstanding her successes; for if the revolvtionarY elements of France should take control of affairs, and the nation be aroused to its very depths, there will be such an avalanche of fury as may make Europe tremble. Indeed, the Prussian monarchy, as well as other monar chies, may be overturned. Every hour is pregnant with important events. Dreadful as the present crisis is, we are not without hope that in the end the people will become more enlightened and get their rights—that, in fact, they will cease to be food for the powder of ambi tious rulers.—New York Times. THE NEW FIREARMS. Since the Belgian guh-maker, Montigny, brought out his improvement on the French Mitrailleur, the Imperial artillerists have thought proper to change the gender o this formidable weapon, so that in France it is now called the Mitrailleuse, and among the French soldiers it has received the pet name of La fille du Commandant (the daughter of the commandant.) The French officers placed much of their confidence of success upon' the powers of this gun, but it would seem that the Prussians had quite as effective a weapon in the recent battles. The size of the mitrailleuse makes it an easY mark for artillery of heavy calibre, so that it is in danger of being knocked over or seriously injured by a gun out of its range, while it is effective only at about a thousand yards. To oppose it the Prussians have the Gatling• gun, which is composed of ten barrels, whi le the mitrailleuse has thirty-seven ; but the Gatling's barrels are of larger calibre, and capabl e o f th row ing a one-inch shot or sh e ll. A full description of the French mitrailleur appeared in the Ledger of the 31st of August last year, but as the subject has acquired renewed interest since the recent battles, it may be a s well to re" capitulate the leading characteristics of the gun- The mitrailleur consists of a cluster of thirty' seven barrels, either bound together or bored out of the solid, and mounted on the same principle as an ordinary field-gun. At a fe w hundred yards it is difficult to distinguish it from the Common gun. To the barrel is attached a massive breech action, capable of being opened and closed by a lever. In the Montigny arm the cartridges are carried in steel plates, perforated with holes corresponding in number and position with the holes in the barsel. This steel plate forms the "vent-piece "of the system. The centred fire cartridges being dropped into the holes in the steel plate, stand out at right angles from it ; and the plates thus ready charged are so carried in limber and axletree boxes, specially fitted, for their re ception. When the gun comes into action the breech is drawn back, a steel plate full of cartridges is dropped into its corresponding slot, and the breech-block is then thrust forward and secured. The gun is now on full cock and contains thirty-seven cartridges, which are fired by a " barrel organ ' handle, either one by one, as the handle, works round cli c k click, or in a volley by a ra pid t u rn e' the wrist. Wh en the gun is empty the breech-block i 4 again withdrawn ; the steel plate, carrying the empty cartridge cases, is lift e d out, and a fresh plat e is dropped in if need e d. The great advantage of this gul l is that no. boring or firing of fuzes is required , and the whole operation is performed so rapidly that two cool, steady men could maintain a fire of ten dis charges a minute. But it is obvious that the effect 0 ' each discharga is limited to but a small area, for the charge does not scatter, as is the case with shell and grape. Its effectiveness and its defects, and comparison with the German, American, and English inventions of the same general character, will soon be demonstrated. Should the contest last long enough, the world will learn something about the efficiency of other guns. The French paPers speak much of the power of a nem gun, which has been subjected to a course o f experiments' at the camp at Chalons, very recently. It is a breech-loader , and can be fired forty shots at a time. The Paris journal , La Prase, says it is constructed on the system revolving' pistols applied to artillery, with the very great difference , however, that the projectiles do not follow the same line, but, on the contrary, they form a semi-circle. This gun is divided into four parts, and each of these parts may easily be carried by a man. They are put together by means of bolts and screws in three or four minutes. It is easy to perceive what advantages may be derived from such a weapon in a pitched battle. The Prussians also have their revolving guns and their held mitrailleurs. It has been stated in the Prussian papers that these guns have been experi mented upon with the most profound secrecy. The place where the experiments were made was surrounded by chain of troops, having the strictest orders to drive awaY indiscreet spectators. One of these is called " Kugel spitzen," and this, or some form of "mitrailleuse," seems to have done deadly wor k a t W e i ssem b ourg and iroerth• The English, too are not behind th e i r neighbours ill their artillery. Some months ago, experiments were tried at Woolwich arsenal with Montigny's mitrail leuse, and they are to be immediately resumed. The ar tillerymen have been d r ill e d i n t h e use of this weapon. -a variety of guns made on new plans have for a long time been in process of production in England ; these are of all kinds—for sea service, battering guns, field-pieces, and de fensive warfare, rifled, revolving, smooth-bore, breech loading, muzzle-l oa di ng, portable, flying, &c., &c. The English also claim to have a rifle which beats needle-gun , Chassepot, Enfield, or Snider, and that is the Martini' Henry, and if the accounts given of it in the London papers can be relied upon it must be a most deadlY weapon. At a recent prize shooting match at Wimbledon four competitors stood up with this rifles and the closeness and constancy of the fire resembled the file firing of a conk pany ; in three minuses the target became almost invisible owing to the smoke. One of the men fired fifty-five times in the three minutes, or rather more than eighteen times a minute, and he hit the target every time. The target , too, was so defaced as to be useless. This is undeniably g ood shooting.—Philadelphia Ledger. THE W ORKING PEOPLE.—The strike of the conk' positors in San Francisco, Sacramento, and other towns of California was for an advance from 60 cents in gold to 7 5 cents per thousand ems. At the lower rate it is alleged that compositors in California earn from $3O t $ 35 a" week on morning papers, and from $26 to $3O on evening papers. The San Francisco Bulletin says that 60 cents in gold per thousand ems is a larger compensation than can be obtained in any Eastern city, and that at Chicago , where the rates are the highest, compositors received 50 cents. in currency per thousand ems for night work, and 44 cents. for day work. The San Francisco Bulletin claims that it has now no difficulty in obtaining all the compo sitors it can employ at the old rates. The contract entered into with the Chinese shoemakers now work ing at North Adams, Marsachusetts, has recently been published. The chief points of this docu ment are as follow : The Chinese contrac tors agree to furnish seventy-three steady and active and intelligent Chinamen, such as are quick to learn a trade, that is seventy-two workmen one foreman and two cooks- The commission paid t o the contractors is one dollar for procuring each man. The wages paid are as follows : Wages of foreman, $6O a month for overseering seventy five men, and if more men are added 50 cents. additional per man. The workmen and cooks are to receive $23 per month for the first year ; $26 per month for the second and third years, and $2B per month for the fourth and succeeding years. The wages are to be paid in gold coin, and house wood and water are to be furnished free of expense. The time for working is eleven hours, from March 20th to September 20th, and ten and a half hours during the rest of the year. The e mpl o y er i s aut h or i s ed to retain $25 from the first six months wages of each man, as security for the fulfilment of his contract.—Philadelphia Ledger. BIRTHS. On the 24th inst., at 14, Conduit-street, W., the wife of Lieut.-Colonel Greenall, of a son. On the 24th inst., at Goldney House, Clifton-hill, Mrs. Lewis Fry, of a daughter. MARRIAGES. On the 26th inst., at the parish church, Clifton, Nicho las Adamson Roch, of Paskeston, Pembroke to Anna Bale, daughter o f Th omas Ri c h ar d Sanders, Esq., late of Clifton. On the 26th inst., at St. James's, Piccadilly, Redmond O'Mahony, Captain 24th Regiment, to Maria Taylor , daughter of the late William Henry Brown, of Philo , ' delphia, U.S.A. DEaI'HS On the 26th inst., at Sion Hill, Bath, James S. Fond& vier, Esq., aged 65. On the 26th inst., at Stockwell, Joseph Hawkins, Esq., of Hatfield-street, London, aged 76. London : Printed by GIDEON ACLAND BOYCE, of No.. 112, Strand, Printer, and Published by him at THE SUN Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of be Savoy, in the County of Middlesex. Tuesday, August 30, 1870. C, ev e , t/C. A, bge e t -..._ C t h an whi 1 -___ C teeti Pack th ia l) th e 48 ti 6.413 ~i heir --...._., S afr o Pope xi] T S oou Ar.r~ r t strai ,vh e