The Sun. — London, England, 1870-11-23 00:00:00

a. ov. 20. lie parish also pre- )ort were ne on the 'hich was ddington• e desired Ist man, , so that of the Che Act out if ttle-fields motion to to make place, he physical which the .ducation, e children nit that a e thought domestic Lrning the lvantages children [ s t or y of capital the mis fabric of en a child efficiently 3ading for be taught in amuse : of daily pport Mr. neeting of se of his le 200,000 ::ued from aty years to poor iu his as tho very child five times )1d of and kir. Dixon d in Bir question. Ig, and in he Educa idature of teaching. olntion to 311 League ion. The canes for- ling their to be said ism at the srgraduate .nd whose L tankards rowoss has phenoms ►se and on urged in ,conomical Dry. Be was a not themselves hysical re gfield, and Physical latter as rom either not care t, and the Igo are in y a whole ullition of for which of Mr. o suffered athletic )ir parents motive for who under :mselves to ging about dst's, now ard-rooms. Cambridge s a healthy me, who i 3 be possibly to betting. n is innate riven them [lave really economica3 Cates.-1W steamer )rts that a he various )1e damage The storm !days. At )een forced noway and ai trading Dund front Lesdale was ;oing north tions there i ten days. le direction Saturday, L still blow- 4rmy and e definitive rials which are not yet mat all the )bable that programme which has final trials, [me evidence tting. We in time to the manu- Lose of the lent of our e Mar tini tion to pro m to despair >suredly no an exhaus on as that en required 7espondent ejar igr6, whom hed Cairo, of rank, xpected to teamer for expressed shew him membered, ;dala when he assisted brother to Eminiatu, and sent that this hi a simple ly relations e, our co ne groat want of gross of its pleased t° envoy, 1 15 Usa.—PoU LA,TEsT INTELLIGENCE. SUN OFFICE, 8 A.M. THE WAR. - 41 1. ODO RUSSELL'S MISSION TO VERSAILLES. ROYAL HEAD-QUARTERS, VERSAILL L November 21. T ile arrival of Mr. Odo Russell continues to.cause tn 41 1eil 1 • speculation in this place as to his probable He was accompanied by a Prussian officer e n journeyai through France from Sedan to Ver -4,4e5, has been received with the greatest 0 iurtesy L ' °B41 -quarters, and will have an oppor. wail of sci essing his views to the Prussian authorities under tri ° st favourable circumstances. kt kf ter leaving Sedan, Mr. Russell had no further 1: 1 , 4 Y about Francs-tireurs, although between ion and Sedan he rau the risk of capture, and 1,0" u etTOngly escorted into the latter place. d 'hero has been no sign of a sortie from Paris ilt ing the fog, and now : the weather is clear again. T KO GARIBALDIAN VICTORY AT CHATILLON. Touns, November 22. Full details have now been received of the i et , ii llo ''' n r . Y obtained by Ricciotti Garibaldi at Cha- It appears that Ricciotti Garibaldi's force was com- Posed tt le - of 400 men from various companies, and that in 5' attacked Chatillon at 6 o'clock in the m )rn itif• Th e pl ace was occu pi e d by 750 Germans, who te expecting reinforcements, 1,400 strong, that 4. 3' day, a The Germans were repulsed, leaving 120 killed, °ll g whom were two colonels and one major, as 524 " 1. 48 1 07 prisoners, ten of whom were officers ; ses and four ammunition waggons were also 4ph ired. tiv lli e losses on the F re nch side were four killed and e h% wounded. 4 GERMAN ADVANCE IN THE NORTH OF FRANCE. AMIENS, November 22. fThe Germans occupy Ham. Skirmishing has it n place near Montdidier. The Germans are re to to be advancing on Amiens. The city is calm, a ed 11 *, and ready. Q EIIIAN MILITARY MOVEMENTS IN FRANCE. BERLIN, November 22. t ti k ecounts from head-quarters show the dispositions i , have been abandoned by which Prince ick Charles was . to cross the Loire and / 40 7 11 on Bourges, getting into the rear of the ti ," army. All the German forces are now 47centrating on Paris. The investing army is to be 013 : et ed against all disturbance in the active f ro t ations impending by a military semicircle Etampes, Chartres, and Dreux, to Evreux kantes, with Prince Frederick Charles's army 4 „ i llg the line in the south. Manteuffel in the N ; and the Duke of Mecklenburg in the western ENGAGEMENT AT BRETONCELLES. t , 4(, 14 1 3 erts from Tours state that on Monday a serious t h e cement took place at Bretoncelles, a station on I: l ,railway fr3m Chartres by Nogent-le-Rotrou to tt ans, about twenty-five miles west of Chartres lia ' 40 : : 41 1th-west of Dreux, and eight or nine miles 4 of Nogent. Th t o „ e Mobile Guard retreated, after fighting Or hours, The Prussians threaten Nogent-le --vtrou. ilj ll4 Prussians' movement threaten Le Mans. The i e ° in that di r ection is estimated at 30,000 men, a ° ther Prussian force, Vaoso effective is . not known. 4 1/e ars to be following the line from Dreux to ij e ntan. The German armies now occupy a long e3 dending from Stenonches and Dreux to the t4 -64 hourhood of Montargis and Auxerre. No Aetement has taken place between the army of 1 14 ,? ire since the affair at Coulmiers. General )310 "" e ues de Paladin is making certain important t. ve nients of which it is impossible to give informa -1014 AIOVEMENI:6 I OF MANTEUFFEL. A 14 1 C ol'Ps numbering 10,000 or 12,000 Germans, of 11‘ 4 ,, 11118 ) passed through Ohauny on Saturday and night—thus giving the northward route to wh. e the go-by, and confirming the anticipations t h l eh have een already expressed in thse columns, of 4t the Ger b mans would not take the useless trouble e, m olesting th e grea t nor th ern bulwark of France. 0 4 , 11 teuffel has with him two corps, numbering some 7- ) or 70,000 men; and his task is understood to 41 4 ° occupy the country between the Lower Seine c . t_he Lower Somme, to exhaust its resources by 4 ,,, ti 'ng out this rich region for the use of the e 1135 around Paris, and to separate the armies of a e elltre and west from whatever aid in men or Il rees the north might otherwise afford. BOMBARDMENT OF TIIIONVILLE. despatch from Luxemburg, dated November b`ei s tates that the bombardment of Thionvillo is itt 1 2g carri e d on w ith grea t ac ti v ity. Shots are hoard 'he rate of eighteen per minute. LATEST FROM PARIS. -e arrivalof balloon has made the following h et ,. a , r 4 known at Tours :- 1,, 110 Prussians have been firing in front of Fort 1 4. '1) but Forts Vanves and Issy thereupon born t4ll.4d the enemy's position; and after an hour's 1 111 , °4 ado all was quiet along the Prussian line, " believed that the Germans will attack in the d'reetion of St. Denis, 'where they are massing their vrees. • s a 4 l ine of defence has been establishing beyond the Mill, starting fram the banks of the Seine, e xtending to the works erected in front of 1 , ,, a , 1 ? -l if• Reconnaissances have been pushed for ma.' on this side as far as the Cemetery at Choisy, b at er e the Prussians were said to have constructed k n teri es• On all sides the works of fortification been the preparations for attacking the enemy are tili g more and more favourable. NEWS VIA BERLIN. I n BERLIN. November 22 (11.55 a.m.) A ustria the soldiers whose term of service is TL aN being sent on furlough. Zi t ," Paris Journal Officio! avows that since the av i .,, l O f October the city has been so closely invested ba:"" I Possible. render c mmunication with the Tours Govern- L l t 1001:3Patches were regularly sent to Tours by bal q b ut no answers were received. N o I3neral Manteuffel having reached Gisors, the ertketandy force, under Bourbalii, is prevented from A i ng the contemplated juncti n with the Loire I ‘ l , ll l. k;; I lle two Polish Bishops of Prussia have petitioned hi ra g n _Williain in behalf of the Pope, reminding th, t hat the German Emperors always protected " i ., 131 Y See. S trftsburg-Kehl Railway is re-opened. T he BERLIN, November 22 (Afternoon). is - kreutz Zeitung says that the end of the war at b and. rll e French Army of the Loire is doomed, -and tb, ; I s abandon e d t o f am i ne . The journal quotes ~,e fu sal of th e Fi rs t N apo l eon t o p rov ision Mantua All 13. 11 as now 90 . b been arranged for the entrance of ria into the now German Confederation. 11J SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1870. RUMOURED PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. The Independance Beige of November 22 says AI. de Chaudordy has not only been instructed with a mission to reopen negotiations for an Armistice, but is also the bearer of proposals with regard to a basis for peace. The question of territorial cession is not to be raised. _ _ _ Touns, Monday. There is a report that M. Glais-Bizoin is about to leave this placa for Paris with a safe conduct. 1,000 GERMANS TAKEN PRISONERS, The Echo de Luxenbourg of to-day announces that news has arrived from the frontier stating that a severe and decisive engagement had taken place, and that the Germans bad been defeated with great loss. 1,000 Prussian troops have been driven over the Belgian frontier, where they were taken prisoners, and will be sent into the interior of the country. The Moniteur Beige says the authorities have received orders to allow foreign soldiers to enter Belgium if their officers engage in writing not to leave the country. [CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAMS.] MR. CRUM-EWING, M.P., AND HIS CONSTITUENTS. Last night Mr. Crum-Ewing addressed his constituents at Paisley. He defended the Government from the charge of not having used sufficient energy in endeavouring to bring about peace, and expressed the opinion that all must desire to see Germany come out of the wa r still a united nation, but would at the same time consider it most calamitous for Europe if France should be unnecessarily enfeebled or humiliated. Referring to the Russian question, he was sure, he said, that the Government would do anything compatible with the maintenance of the honour of this country to avert the horrors of war. • MR. HENRY RICHARD, M.P., ON THE WAR. An address on the war was delivered by Mr. Henry Richard, M.P., to the Executive of the National Reform Union, Manchester, last night. Ho contended that one obvious lesson to be learned from the war was, that the nations of Europe should find some means of protecting their own interests and deciding their own destinies. Another was, that enormous military preparations did not conduce to the preservation of peace ; and a third, the necessity for arbitration to settle the differences of nations. THE EXPECTED SORTIE FROM PARIS. The correspondent of the Daily News at the Head quarters of the Crown Prince, in a letter dated November 16, writes : The siege has its periods of dullness. - That much is beyond disphte. Just now we have bad eight and forty hours without incident. No balloon has been cap tused, no sortie has been made, very few shots have been fired from the forts, and the bombardment has not begun. Will it ever begin at all ? Some doubt whether the siege works are more than a device to impose upon the enemy, and to occupy the German troops. Some, though they admit the intention to bombard—to crush and disable the forts at any rate--declare that two or three weeks must yet elapse before the engineers will be ready. My own impression is still that the siege works have been pushed forward in earnest, but that as hunger is fighting for the besiegers much more surely than they can fight for them selves, it is felt to be better to work cautiously; and completely. At this moment a large amount of time and labour is being spent on defences against a probable sortie. This is not unreasonable when we remember the large garrison which General Trochu has under his orders. He might throw sixty thousand men at least upon any point chosen for attack, and leave the rest of his line fully guarded. If there were not preparations for defence to assist the Germans at a pinch, they would run the risk of being overwhelmed in detail by a series of heavy sorties, and even as it is I wonder that they are not constantly disturbed. We suspect that the silence of the last day or two may be the prelude to a great effort to break the line, and such an effort would lead to a sad butchery on both sides. The French must suffer fearfully in storming the positions of the besiegers, though if they broke through anywhere they will catch a number of Germans in reverse, and have a temporary revenge. They could not, I think, have the permanent revenge of driving away Count Moltke, so as to bring in provisions, without help from an army behind him. It is on the arrival of such a force that, after all, everything depends. And the - rescue may well be thwarted. Prince Frederick Charles is straining every nerve to pass between the " Army of the Loire " and its supposed destination. More than this, he is likely to hem it into a corner if General d'Aurelle de ,Paladin be mt more dexterous than have been other . French commanders. Meanwhile General Manteuffel passes rapidly northward of Paris, and shuts out all hope of rescue from that quarter. It is only in the west that the door seemc still to be open, and in the west, precisely, some French troops have ap peared. They are said to be at Dreux and Nantes, threat ening the rear of St. Germain and Versailles. But it is not believed that they have force enough to break through. The arrival of the Metz reinforcements makes Count Moltke safe in his bold game of surrounding the great city with an army less numerous than the armed men within the walls. These Metz r-iuforcements have come up just in time, for France has rallied wonderfully in two mouths of Provisional Government. GENERAL BOURBAKPS DEPARTURE FROM 11E NORTH. LILLE, Nov. 20. The following is the farewell order of the day issued by General Bourbaki before his departure for the South By a Ministerial order, dated Nov. 18. which reached me to-day by telegraph, lam called to the command of the 11th Army Corps at Nevers. lam ordered to trans fer the command ad interim, to General Fane. In parting from the National Guard, the Garde Mobile, the Free Corps, the troops of all arms of the army, I am desirous of expressing to all my great regret, and thanking each one for the assistance accorded to me, as wolf as for that which might have been given me in the future. Since I have recei vod the superior command of the region of the North I have been enabled, thanks to the zeal of the various services and of the diffe rent corps, to arm the places in this region, put them in a state of defence, and form a small Army Corps, which would not have been contented with consolidating this defence. I was proud of these results—proud of the devotion and the confidence shown to me, and which faci litated the accomplishment of a laborious task. I offer to the officers of all grades, the non•eom►nissioned officers, a nd soldiers of all corps of the region of the North, may congratulations for the excellent spirit which animates them, In bidding them good, bye I promise never to forget them, at a distance as well as by their side, I shall follow with the most intense interest the efforts they will make to courageously resist the enemy, and I shall applaud with all my heart the success I wish them. . " At all points of our dear country hearts must beat in unison ; the s erne thought must animate all—struggle to expel the foreigner. Signed) " BOURBAKI, General of Division, Commander in-Chief of the Region of the North. "Lille, November 19," The Journal a'Antiens, commenting upon General Bourbaki's address, says :—" There is, it appears to us, a tone of sadness—we should not like to say bitterness—in General Bourbaki's farewell to our Northern troops. General Bourbaki had touching words for the deliverance of our dear country. We regret that he had not one word for the liberty of our future institutions.and for the actual Government of National Defence." GREAT EXPLOSION AT METZ. On the morning of the 21st a powder magazine in Fort Flappeville blew up. Some soldiers were killed and 40 wounded. The cause of the catas trophe is not known. RELIEF OF MEZIERES. A telegram from Roeroy, dated Moudan says that Meziives has been relieved. THE ARMY OF THE LOIRE, Private telegrams from Tours state that a very important movement has been successfully accom plished by the Army of the Loire. Little reliance can be placed on either French or German telegrams at present, as it is the object of both to hide their movements. REPORTED GERMAN CONCENTRATIONS. Baussins, Monday. There is every indication that General Moltke, fearing his inability to successfully resist the anti cipated sortie in force from Paris, has ordered the abandonment of former plans for expeditions to the west and south-west of Franco, and the concentra tion of all available German forces in the immediate neighbourhood of Paris. General Manteuffel has been stopped in his march towards Amiens, and has been ordered to join the Saxon army investing Northern Paris; while the Grand Duke of Mecklen burg and the army of Prince Frederick Charles, having effected a junction between Etampes and Fontainebleau, are approaching Paris from the south. These movements swell the force investing Paris to 370,000 men ; but they also leave the armies of D'Aurelle, Bourbaki, and Keratry without any for midable foe in their front. ITALY. FLORENCE, November 22 (11.85 a.m.) _ Out of a total of 510 elections the results of 360 are known ; 244 of these will have to bo submitted to a second ballot, owing to the general abstention of electors. The Moderates have gained, and the Radicals have lost, several seats. The Italia advocates neutrality in the Russian difficulty, declaring that Italy has no interest to become the soldiers of England as Franco did in 1855. All papers speak in the same sense. The King's journey to Rome is officially announced for the close of the year. Prince Umberto will settle there in Jaunary. SWITZERLAND, Intelligence from Berne, dated Nov. 22, states that Count Bismark officially denies the statement that Switzerland has been compromised by any letters found in captured balloons. THE TREATY OF 1856. BERLIN, November 22 (11.65 a.m.) The Moscow Press declines to repeat the confi dent language of the St. Petersburg journals respect ing the Black Sea question. The Moscow Gazette inti mates that, instead of announcing the intention to form a southern fleet, the Government would have done better to say nothing, and procure ships. The Moscow .Daily News is convinced that Prince Gortschalcoff is sensible enough to have secured the consent of the Powers before writing his Note, and that there is no real ground for the consternation of the Russian Exchanges. VIENNA, November 22 (8 p.m.) From Constantinople information comes that Turkey wishes to avoid a conflict with Russia, and desires that the signatories of the Paris Treaties should consider the demands preferred in Prince Gortchakoll's Circular. The Prase supports the judgment of the Nord is affirming that Lord Granville's reply to the Circular only affects the principle involved, and does not threaten the continuance of peace. Aali Pacha is said to have proposed a modification of the Treaties three months ago. In Vienna the opinion gains ground that the original suggestion of England—to open the Black Sea to the war ships of all nations—will ultimately prevail. ST. PETERSBURG, November 22. In reply to a congratulatory address presented on the occasion of the Lithuanian regiment celebrating its anniversary, the Emperor said I hope there will not be war. Should, however, Providence will it, I am confident that the Lithuanian regiment will give fresh proofs of its devotion." La Liberte, of Nov. 20, publishes a despatch from London, dated Nov. 17, which says : ' The English Foreign Office, the Austrian Cabinet, and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after per mitting a Mhenzollern to plant himself in the the Valley of the Danube as an advanced Prusso- Russian sentinel, permitted the Pacha of Egypt to carry his title of Khedive all over Europe, and to go the year before last to St. Petersburg to negotiate a secret treaty, kept secret only from those Cabinets which were interested in the non-existence of such a treaty—that is to say, the Tuileries, St. James's, and Schocnbrunn. It is fortunate that the Porte, permitting itself neither to be corrupted by the gold of the Viceroy, nor intimidated by he extravagances of the extravagant voyage of the Empress Eugenie, took from Ismail Pacha the ironclads and a certain quantity of cannon and rifles which the latter had procured, with the culpable permission of Napoleon 111., and upon the instruc tions which he received from Berlin and St. Peters burg through the agency of Nubar Pacha, It cannot reasonably be doubted that the Paella of Egypt will cause serious embarrassment to his Sovereign the Sultan and the Sultan's allies, in case of a war of Western Europe and Austro-Hungary with Russia and Prussia. Consequently, the ques tion of sending several vessels of war into Egyptian waters is mooted." Earl Granville arrived in London on Monday night from Walmer Castle. A very interesting divorce suit is now pending before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The plaintiff, Mrs. Mary 14. Jones, ilex Sweeny, claims her discharge from the duties and obligations of matrimony on the ground that the defendant had represented himself tobe a resident of Bemot's Island, whose wealth could be counted by hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that having consented to be his in that belief, and with that under stAnding, she looked upon the marriage as null and void, when she found that he was no more than a pretentious gardener, whose only property consisted in a well-stocked cabbage-garden, an orchard and a cottage. FRENCH SHIPS OF WAR. Four French ships-of-war are lying in Torbay, under shelter, off Berry Head. One of them, being in want of coals, has been supplied with forty tons from Brixham, THE ARRIVAL OF THE CAMBRIA. A telegram says, "The schooner yacht Cambria, be longing to Mr. James Ashbury, anchored hi Cowes Roads at midnight on Monday night. She left Staten Island, New York, on October 27th, and had a very rough passage across, with head winds all the way. She is painted white, and is flying the American ensign at her fore mast head, her racing and prize colours being at the main." WESTWARD WITH MANTEUFFEL. The special correspondent of the Telegraph dates his letter from the head-quarters of the Eighth Army Corps, Vienne-le-Chateau, Nov. 13. He says:—Thus far has the ' army of General Manteuffel advanced, his head-quarters being at Suippes, while we camp to his right. Varennes lies on the edge of the Forest of Argome—said to be the resort of a numerous and determined band of Francs-tireurs, who had made use of its large extent and leafy shelter as a sort of head-quarters whence to despatch small bodies to cut off any German stragglers, or stop the field-post as it lumbered along the heavy cross roads by which the forest is intersected. Through this wood we marched to-day; and as the long line of troops entered the unwelcome-looking defile through which the artillery horses were struggling, with mud up to the axles of the gun-carriages, I must confess that nobody at all liked the aspect of affairs. The snow, which had fallen during the night, lay to some depth in the woods ; while the slush it occasioned in the road reminded me of the route to Balaklava in 1854. The 33rd Regiment had been sent on some two marches before, with a cavalry regiment, to clear the defiles, and, if possible, to rout out the band of miscreants whose name of Francs-tireurs is only a pretext for committing outrages upon helpless women and chil dren, robbing wherever they have a chance, and murdering any unfortunate sick soldier uho may fall in their way. That our little advanced corps effected the purpose for which it had been sent, was proved by the fact the march of the 15th Division was uninterrupted, and that, in a heavy shower of snow, we marched into Vienne-le-Chateau. Here the intelligence of the defeat before Orleans reached us; but on so large a field of operations it is needless to say that the German Generals do not expect to get off without a misadventure here and there. On getting clear of the broken country, we approached the villages of Mourmelon, and the works of instruction belonging to the Camp of Chalons. As we rode through the Camp I was amused by the various inscriptions which ap peared on the houses of the permanent barracks. " Vivo la Famille Imp6riale !" " L'ArinSe do Reconnaissance ! " " L'Honneur, La Gloire, et la Patrie !" and such like mottoes, stood out in bold relief upon the walls ; but, as if in mockery of the sentiments, the flowers of which they were composed hung dead and mournful-looking from the strings. The whole camp was a miserable dreary waste. The whole of the First Army arrived at Rheims on the 15th. Wa march to-morrow in the direction of Soissons and Compiegne. AN ALLEGED GARIBALDIAN OUTRAGE. The correspondent of the Daily News, writing from Autun on the 15th November, remarks :—The plunder of the Bishop's palace must as yet be reported with the Scotch verdict " not proven." Thb story was told to me in so hostile a manner by four individuals that I determined to sift the affair to the bottom. Their version of it was that " a band of Garibaldians, headed by a captain —name, regiment, oven brigade unknown—entered the private apartments of the bishop's palace, entered even his bed-room, and, under pretence of searching for a Prussian spy, ransacked the palace from turret to foundation-stone, stealing the gold cross worn on special occasions, and gold watches, forcing the gardener to reveal where the silver was hidden, then declaring that the cellar was full of arms, carrying off the choicest wines and stores of provisions, and so mal treating one of the female domestics, that, in order to es cape from the ruffians she jumped out of one of the top windows and broke her leg." On the 16th the same cor respondent says : —" What has yet been ascertained concerning the affair is, that it was and is public opinion in Autun that 3,000 muskets are hidden in the bishop's palace. A captain of the guerillas of Marseilles, with ten of his men, entered and made a perquisition. lie is well known, and answers for all his soldiers ; he swears that not a pin was touched; that the fright and fall of the servant is an invention, and that he is ready to answer for his conduct. While the question was under debate as to whether it was a case for court-martial, M. Venturini, President of the Court—composed of four judges, Cavo and Caniver (Italians), Paris and Colonne (Frenchmen) receives a telegram from M. Gambetta, requesting him to transmit all ecclesiastical questions direct to Tours, so that the matter is taken entirely out of the hands of the Garibaldian authorities, for which they are heartily grate ful, as the feelings between the clergy and the military are so hostile that it is extremely difficult to judge justly. Never, even in Italy, have I seen the priests so insolent, so anti-patriotic." PRINCE GORTSCHAKOFF'S REPLY TO EARL GRANVILLE. Th e R us si a n reply to Lord Granville's note has been despatched from St. Petersburg, and is expected to arrive in London to-morrow. From circumstances which have reached our knowledge we believe that its tenour is by no means unfriendly.—Telegraph.. A large quantity of gunpowder has been despatched to the ships of the Channel Squadron at Portland during the past few days. The Serapis, 3, Indian service relief troop ship, em barkel on Monday at the Dockyard, Portsmouth, about 50 officers and 1,100 men of various corps for Alexandria. THE TRUCK SYSTEM.--The London correspondent of the Scutsnum says :—" I have reason to believe that the report of the Truck Commissioners will not be ready much before the opening, of Parliament. Of course, ' nothing is known of the contents of the report, but it is not unfair to assume that it will give a death-blow to the existing system," PREPARATIONS AT LILLE. A letter from Lille, dated November 19th, by the cor respondent of the 2'elcyraph, says :—ln and around the great fortress of the Department of the North-=the key to the possession of French Flanders—preparations to receive the invader have been carried on vigorously during the last few weeks. The outbreak of the war did not find the place at all in a condition to maintain its repu tation as one of the very strongest places in France. It is but fair to say, however, that the military and mu nicipal bodies have, since they clearly saw what was before them, displayed a degree of patriotic activity which has been surpassed nowhere else in the country. The National and Mobile . Guards have been recruited and drilled with a rapidity and a comparative completeness which merit all praise ; and the Moblots of Lille, when sent from home, have earned considerable distinction in sundry minor brushes with the enemy. A powerful contingent of sailors has been placed under the orders of Bourbaki, and in them a considerable amount of confidence is felt. One would have had more faith in them still hrad the town a sufficiency of artillery and guns of improved make; but the fact is, that the cannon is not only in great part old-fashioned, but also, as a rule, of very small calibre.. Within the last week or two, indeed, an attempt has been made to remedy this state of things, and guns of newer construction have been obtained; but the supply still falls short of the requirements, and the wider extent of the fortifications becomes thus to a certain de gree a source of weakness. That the authorities have at last taken measures to provide against starvation, as well as assault or bombardment, is shown in the fact that only last week orders were given for the cattle and stores of corn to be brought into the town. To make room for these, and further to remove all obstacles out of the way of the garrison, a great number of houses have been levelled just within the walls, which will be found very formidable should any attempt be made to take the place by assault. The inhabitants generally are most sanguine of not being very readily starved into surrender—whilst the confidence in Bourbaki, at one time small, has been generally restored. A great movement southwards has begun. Last night a number of officers and soldiers took their departure. General Bourbaki has also left. Five thousand more of the troops leave to-night. Their desti nation will, it is . believed, be Tours. We have, in fact, begun to doubt whether the Prussians are, after all our preparations, really going to attack us at all. Their north ward movement, we are inclined to think, has come to its term; and, although 8,000 of them are gathered around *t, Quentin, we suspect that their object is not to conquer here, but for deceive as to their designs elsewhere. THE LIFE-BOAT AND ITS WORKS.—Richard Lewis, Esq., the barrister, and the well-known secretary of the National Life-boat Institution, gave last night his popular lecture on "The Lifeboat and its Work",at the Westminster Working Men's Club and Reading Rooms in Old Pye street. The ball was crowded with working people and members of their families, and they appeared absorbed in the thrilling and instructive details Mr. Lewis gave them of the great work that is being performed on our shores by the National Life-boat Institution. TIIE UNITED KINGDOM ALLIANCE.—A series of highly successful meetings has just concluded on the con nection of the Permissive Bill with Civil Liberty, Politi cal Economy, and Social Reform, addressed chiefly by Dr. F. R. Lees, ef Leeds. The chair has been occupied on successive evenings by Mr. S. Pope, Q.C., Mr. Robert Baxter, Mr. T. Chambers, Q C., M.P., Mr. W. St. Quintin, J.P., Bight Ron, A. S. Ayrton, M. r., Mr. C. Reed, M,P., Mr. W. McArthur, M.P., Mr. Churchwarden Ellis, Mr. Alderman Lusk, M.P., and Dr. Brewer, M.P At each meeting resolutions were enthusiastically adopted thanking Dr. Lees for his able and eloquent addresses, and calling upon the Government to make provision in the forthcoming measure for the exclusion of the liquor traffic from districts whore, by a large majority of votes, its dis continuance is desired, MILUAR Y OPERATIONS IN THE NORTH ' OF FRANCE. Writing from Amiens on the 21st instant, the corre spondent of the Deify News says :—Early this morning Bourbaki paSsed through Amiens, en route for Nevers, to assume his new command, and face Prince Frederick Charles. He has thus quitted his " masterly inactivity." It would be difficult to know what mark he has left on the Army of the North; and the authorities need not be apprehensive that their warnings as to compromising its movements should be disregarded, however wilfully disposed any person might be. General Bourbaki, since his arrival at Lille, has been more or less a suspect. The " infamy of Bazaine " threw its shadow on the brave soldier, took serious proportions at Douai, and if he can reap glory at Nevers, in default of working miracles, he will recover his popular character. It is to be feared the Army of the North has lost its chance. Had Bourbaki made the requisitions fifteen days ago he has effected within the last five, he could have swept the borderland of this department from Breteuil to Beauvais, pushed on to Clermont, and possibly occupied Soissons— he might thus have given a moral support to the Army of the Loire, at the same time exercising his troops. It is not the worst strategy to have relinquished the northern command, as to all appearannes the Germans are advancing from two or three points and might shut him up. I hear through an American gentleman, from Soissons, that Von Manteuffel was there on Friday last with 18,000 men, and that Von Goben was rapidly fol lowing him. There is a force moving on by Rocroi, which seems to threaten Cambrai, Valenciennes, Douai, and Lille. Ten days ago there was a large artillery move ment at Villers Cotterets. By railway from Soissons to Gonesse, Manteuffel can strike the railway for Clermont —thus saving a long march—and from Clermont to Beauvais he has another line open. At Beauvais he can make a dash up to Amiens, or turn off for Rouen. These movements must of course be subordinate to those of the Army of the Loire. As it is, the Prussians are show ing everywhere around us. La Fere may delay the besiegers ton days yet ; the small forts have ever proved troublesome in the campaign. A French doctor has recently returned from La Fere. The Germans, having bandaged his eyes, allowed him to pass into the town with his hospital supplies ; the French were keeping up a lively fire, but there is a height com manding the town, at a distance of 3,000 yards, which, up to then, the enemy had not occupied. The moat was flooded, and the besiegers were attempt ing to drain the water off. Some hot work is going on between Ham and Tergnier, and promises to continue. The railway has been cut to-day between Amiens and Ham, and the goods stores of the railway terminus here are being emptied of their contents. Coming events seem to be casting their shadows before. Captain Hy polite Petit, of the Volunteers of the Somme, who was killed in the engagement at Ham on Saturday, is deeply regretted at Amiens where he resided, and leaves a wife and one child. He made the Italian campaign, settled down as a photographer in this town, was captain in the National Guard, and voluntee.sed on the let of October last, his comrades unanimously electing him their captain. His remains will arrive this evening, and the citizens will give him a public funeral. The volunteers on Saturday fought bravely ; of the Mobiles proper it is better to wait for " explanations." REFUSING TO OBEY ORDERS. A court-martial assembled on board H.M.S. Royal Adelaide flagship, in the Hamtaze, yesterday, for the trial of Moses Fox, quartermaster of the Liffey, for dis obedience to orders. The prisoner flatly refused to do what his superior officer had ordered. . The prisoner pleaded guilty, but said his refusal was given in heat of temper. He was sentenced to be reduced to able seaman, and to undergo three months' imprisonment. QUARRY ACCIDENT. As a number of men were engaged yesterday in blast ing operations at Brynmawr limestone quarries, two of them who were unable to get to a safe distance were killed by some fragments of the rock falling upon them. A. similar accident occurred at the same quarry twelve months ago. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. LEAMINGTON AND WARWICK HUNT MEETING—YESTERDAY• HANDICAP HURDLE STASES. Montratchet ••• 1 Hammerton Ampleforth Seven ran. DONNINGTON HANDICAP. Bosworth. • . • ... ....... , ~,, 1 Cheddington ..... • .....„ . . ...... ', ea., t Jersey— • Six ran. HANDICAP STEEPLECHASE, _ Wild Fowl ••• • ••• • ••• Kingfisher r .....................,.............2 Three ran. SELLING NURSERY. Oro 11••• 00000 Edward Robert Bruce - Five ran. WELTER STAKES. Lord of the Valley , My Uncle. , • . i• - ... 2 Curieuse., . , ~.., r...3 Ton ran. HANDICAP OF 5 SOUS. Northern Star ,••., I Blonde Mayoress. ~ 3 Nine ran. RACING PLATE. Echo k . !lb Thais f ~• ~.,.. ,•• ••••••• ••••( 2 Norna , Elev e n r an. MAIDEN WELTER. Void. MATCH. Rosa Nancy , 2 NURSERY HANDICAP. Ainety 1 ~. Byron t 2 na 3 rofoot. Eight ran. The celebrated engraver, Professor Julius Thititer, died at Munich on the 15th inst. _ _ M. Laurier has come to London to complete the formalities in connection with the French War Loan, Acting upon medical advice, the Archbishop of Canterbury left England yesterday morning for Italy, there to spend the winter. The prospectus has appeared of a company to carry out assisted emigrants to the diamond field of South Africa. The capital Is to be £25,000, in shares of £1 each. A boy has been sentenced by the Ilitchin magis trates to a short term of imprisonment and to be whipped for throwing stones at the earthenware cups which hold up the wires on the telegraph posts. In the Roman Catholic Cathedral, Dublin, and in all the parochial and regular Catholic churches in that city, on Sunday, the annual collections in aid of the Catholic University were held ; the amounts realised ex ceeded those of last year. An influential Ulster committee has been formed to erect a memorial to the late Rev. Dr. Drew, the Orange champion. It is designed to snake provision, first of all, for his unmarried daughters, and afterwards to establish an academical distinction, sufficiently endowed, in honour of his memory. The New York papers report that on the 6th inst. an express car on the Central Pacific Railway was robbed near Reno, Nevada, at about one o'clock in the morning. Masked men boarded the train at Verdi, and after intimi dating or overcoming the men in charge, secured 41,600 dollars in gold coin. They escaped with their plunder, but a band has been organised to pursue them. The train was again attacked by highway robbers at Indepen dence next day, and the express car still further plun dered. THE N EWPORT ELECTION—THE NOMINATION The nomination of candidates for parliamentary honours took place yesterday morning, outside the Town Hall, New port. A heavy fall of rain during the greater part of the Proceedings caused the crowd to be very quiet and orderly. Mr. Martyn Kennard, the Conservative candidate, was proposed by Alderman Francis Pittis, and seconded by Alderman Mero. Mr. Charl es Cavell d ish Clifford, a Liberal, and a former representative of the island, was proposed by Mr. Pinnock, and seconded by Mr. Councillor Orchard. Mr. Kennard addressing the electors, condemned the policy of the broverninent as unsatisfactory, especially in respect to its over-economy. Mr. Clifford defended the Ministry, and announced himself a supporter of the ballot. The show of hands was in favour of Mr. Clifford. A poll was demanded for Mr. Kennard, and fixed to take place to-day (Wednesday). ACTION :von A LLEOED LIBEL,—The case of the Queen v. Stanger was before the Court of Queen's Bench. In this case a rule had been obtained on behalf of Canon Greenwell, calling upon the defendant, the publisher of the Newcastle Daily Chronicle, to show cause why a crimina information should not be filed against him for a malicious libel. The circumstances out of which the libel arose were brought under the notice of Parliament in the course of 'the last session, and had created great sensation in the county of Durham. It appeared that a prisoner named Maw, when undergoing a term of imprisonment in Durham County Gaol, was guilty of repeated breaches of prison discipline, and on one occasion he committed a violent assault, It was alleged upon ono . of the warders without provocation. ,The Rey. Canon Greenwell, who was a magistrate for the county, was called in by the governor, and asked to exer cise his powers under the prisoniregulations for enforcing discipline. Ho heard the evidence, and on the statement of the prison surgeon that Maw was in a fit state to receive corporal punishment, he ordered that Maw should receive twenty-four lashes, and the sentence was after wards carried into effect. The Newcastle Daily Chronicle Published the circumstances, and commented on them in strong terms, and this article contained the alleged libel com plained of. The Solicitor-General moved to make the rule absolute. Mr. Digby Seymour, Q.C., with whom was Mr. Udall, asked that the case might by postponed until the Lord Chief Justice was able to be in Court. The case was one of great importance, involving the liberty of the press as well as the liberty of the subject, and from what occurred when the rule was moved for, and when the Lord Chief Justice was on the Bench, the defendant was anxious not to have the case proceeded with in his Lordship's absence.—lt was then arranged that the rule should be enlarged until next term.—Rule enlarged accordingly, OUR COTEMPORARIES—This Morning OUR MILITAI:V rkiGoE;;. The Timis, in considering Lord Itusse .letter on Russia, says his lordship renders, at all events, good service by urging the necessity of getting our resources to some extent in hand, if we are to speak with due weight in the councils of Europe. The genius of Force seems at this moment dominant in Europe, and though the voice of reason is heard, the atten tion it commands is hi no small degree. proportioned to the material power there may be behind it. if our interposition in any quarter of Europe should, unhappily, become unavoidable, what would be the lowest estimate of our need ? Would it be unreasonable to require, first, v. strong army, with a well qualified commissariat.; secondly, an embodied Militia of 120,000 men, with 480 guns and good officers ; and, thirdly, garrisons of British troops in some colonial fortresses? Without some such provision, could we pretend to interfere anywhere with material effect ? And is there anyone, we ask again, who can venture to give us an assurance that wo have any such force available? It appears to us that these prac tical inquiries cannot be too strongly urged on the attention of the Government. They have acted in a manner worthy of themselves and of the country by taking a course, in answer to the Russian demands, which placed it in the power of others to force us to the arbitrament of war. But, having done this, they would grievously neglect their duty to the country if they did not look the danger in the face, and at once commence prepara tions to meet it. In one word, Europe ,is .in such a state that it becomes us to make sure we are not taken unawares. We are not called upon to make complete preparations ; but we are certainly called on to place our establishments in such a state of efficiency awl readiness that, if the decisive moment arrived, we could move with promptness and without confusion. TILE EASTERN QUESTION. Is Russia prepared, asks the Daily News, to fulfil those stipulations of the Treaty which, signed by her in con junction with the other Powers, guarantee the indepen dence of Turkey? Will she rest satisfied with being allowed to construct what arsenals and ships in the Black Sea she may choose ? It may be objected that, since she has scouted her obligations in the one case, it is absurd to expect her to be bound by a new Treaty. But if we were never to sign a convention with a Power which had disowned one in its past history, we should have every State in Europe isolated. We may almost assume that the British Government would allow Russia and Turkey alike to cancel the Articles in the Treaty relative to the maintenance of ships in the Black Sea. It is true that the probable rivalries of the fleets may provoke a war, and that Russia might regard her promise to respect the independence of Turkey as another obligation which she must discard. That is a speculation, however, which does not warrant us in withholding our consent from such an arrangement in the present as may be found reasonable by the contracting Powers. The only objec tion, after all, to an amicable settlement of the dispute is the unwarrantable manner in which Russia has Put forward her demands, In view of that open defiance of the laws which regulate the intercourse of nations, the pronounced and firm declaration of England was unavoidable, It rests with Russia to say whether she will cancel her repudiation of the moral weight of Treaties, and consent to place her claims on the basis on which alone they can be granted, It is mere folly to say that England must fight if only to shew that she can fight. If there are confident critics at home and abroad who make light of the power and of the will of England, we may be sure the blunder is not shared by foreign Governments. The public temper and the military and naval resources of England are not the subjects of easy jests at the Courts of St. Peters burg, Berlin, or Vienna. We can afford to disregard such vain and frivolous comments upon our supineness, our inaction, our Philistinic desire for peace, satisfied that, should the necessity of war actually confront us, England will undertake the serious and terrible duty with neither a faltering pulse nor a blanched face. England, says the Standard, has but one simple desire and one clear duty—to maintain the peace in Eastern Europe and in Asia. That peace is now threatened by the wanton and flagitious outrage perpe trated by Russia. It is not England but Russia, who wants war—it is Russia, in fact, who has made all future peace impossible. This is the cause of our nation, which cannot be perverted by any of the mischievous sophisms of Mr. Millor the wild screechings of Mr. Freeman. It is not to England but to Russia that the peacemongers should address themselves. We have given only too many assurances of our pacific mood. It is right that we should now declare, once for all, that there are limits to our patience. Unless we choose to abandon our position in the world altogether— to sink to the level of the worst opinion our neighbours have formed of us—to resign all our glorious traditions of the past, and our noble heritage in the future—to be the mark for the contumely and the ridicule of the nations—to fall even lower than the tame ideal which the Prime Minister has imagined of us—to invite the very danger which we dread, and to expose not only our good name and honour, but our com mercial interest and profit, nay, our very existence, to at tack from the first Power to whom that existence is dis agreeable—we are bound by the most solemn of all obliga tions to bear ourselves in this present quarrel so that no Englishman may have reason hereafter to blush for the name he bears. The Telegraph says ; Austria has answered Prince Gortschakoff s lawless claim in language as clear, dignified, and resolute as England could desire. We are enabled to communicate to the public the. most important sentence of her reply. She has declared, that " Russia's wishes with regard to the Black Sea might have been put foiwarcl through diplomatio channels, and possibly been acceded to by the Powers concerned ; but the arbitrary expression of her will calls for the gravest resistance (Abwehr) from all parties." Nor is Italy behind her old enemy and her now esteemed ally in straightforward adherence to national faith and public law ; for we are also able to contradict the statements recently put forth, and to affirm that King Victor Em manners Government has avowed its intention of acting with England and Austria. We have sent an unmistake able expression of opinion to St. Petersburg, along with the answers of Austria and Turkey; and now the choice of issues rests with Russia. Prince Gortschakoff must clearly understand that England is not "talking big" and clenching fists to frighten Russia from her national policy. We are not " threatening war to preserve peace ;" nor was Lord Granville's note one whit more calm, reasonable, and friendly than the nation's own feelings. We are not menacing Russia, nor doubt ing that she will withdraw her objectionable step when she finds how wrong it seems in the eyes of just public opinion, and how perfectly ready the contracting Powers are to take her rightful complaints into consideration. The supplementary note which accompanied the despatch of Prince Gortschakoff implies that Russia has rather desired to give a specially emphatic expression to her discontent than to proceed towards acts which would be subversive of civilisation. In that belief, which it will be both wise and right for her to confirm,wc await from her an assurance that she will rely upon reason and discussion before she appeals to force ; and it is honourable to her, as well as happy for Europe, that we can still thus construe her irregular language. Wo have, at the same time, said plainly that the signatary of a solemn treaty cannot break away from it by individual declara tion, and that, if the Czar should do so by act following after word, the result must be to destroy all faith in the word of the repudiating Power, and to forfeit every right which it may at present claim to the friendly alliance of all other civilised States. THE LONDON SCHOOL BOARD. Mr. Blanchard Jerrold, in retiring from the candidature for a seat at this Board, has forwarded the following letter to Mr. Joseph Guedalla " Reform Club, Nov. 17th, 1870. " Mx DEAR SlR,—Whatever strength I may have must be joined to yours. -I know your energy and experience in the good cause, and both will be of great service in helping to keep the Board from being all that it should not be. I yield my own claims to secure, at least, one of the right men in the right place. I hope and believe that I can be of service to the cause of that unsectarian education which can alone be made compulsory (and therefore of universal application in our country) outside the Board, in the ways in which I think you have per ceived me working during many years. Indeed, my time is so much occupied with the literary labour I have to do, and my strength has been so tried with that which I have done, that I have been advised by many friends to pause before taking up a new burden. You, however, will hold steadily to the winning post, and snatch at least one seat from the coalition of secta rians, that threatens to establish a free fight of sects iu a deliberate assembly, intended by Parliament to be. a with the children ntiai—e the of sad ga th e ring of wise, known, liberal-minded a n d s y mpa th e ti c men, t w h h e o ir l w it ltson, an d—which is m ore essential—the e gb famili ar lives and dismal prejudices of their unfortunate parents. I ventura to commend your candidature to the many distinguished friends in Marylebone who promised to work for me, and also to the voters who were gather ing round me.—My dear, sir, yours very faithfully, " BIANcHARD JziaitoLv.'!.