The Sun. — London, England, 1870-08-20 00:00:00

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The premium nt that told you anded to by the : No. books of the new that re ve liqui- for by a >intment vas only 'ming a fairs of ,r the the reement Did com e other, res were ld com- I did ;holders. Braith as the >any. I conver- Volker, lenhall tie com with a ributed ing in -3,000 or mpany, in his of pre ., paid rked as Lame of That .ed and Lord dishing n. con a false Lord m, and 7 were in any week, whole s bear- clefen- ;a has uch as THIS EVENING'S NEWS. THE WAR. THE BATTLE BEFORE METZ GERMAN OFFICIAL ACCOUNT. BERLIN, FRIDAY. The Staats Anzeiger of this morning publishes a fuller account of the battle before Metz last Sunday The French army, on the morning of the 14th, Stood in front of I\letz, on the east side, near the point where the road from St. Avold is joined by that from Sarrelouis. It was formed in great camps, extending over a range of at least six miles. The army appeared to be on the point of retreating towards Chalons. Marshal Bazaine must have had to contend with difficulties in carrying out this design, for he did not move. General Steinmetz attacked the French at two o'clock in the afternoon with the 13th division, which latter was supported by the 14th. The French troops were ranged in several lines, defended by very deep rifle pits. For this reason, perhaps, they fired more quietly than in former ac tions. These lines were at Ars-la-Guenexy, Ogy, Bdrny, and Colombes. The woods also afforded good cover, but these and the pits were taken successively by storm by the Prussians, who fought very hard, and With very great loss. The French losses were prin cipally killed, because, as they fought in trenches, they were shot through the head, which alone was exposed. No leas than 781 dead Frenchmen were counted behind one trench alone. The battle ended at the glacis of Metz, and the French escaped in con fusion, partly into the fortress and partly round the City. CHARGE OF THE 7T2 CUIRASSIERS. A telegram from Saarebruck, says :—ln Thurs day's action the 7th Cuirrassiers charged two regi- Inents of Frenchlinfantry. Cutting their way through them, they found themselves opposed to a battery of eu guns, which they took. The Prussian Cuiras siers were now charged by two regiments of French Carabiniers on both flanks. Wheeling to the right and left, the Prussians met their new foes, and, after a desperate hand-to-hand fight, drove back the French "'cavalry and brought off the guns. This brave 7th went into action 800 strong ; 147 only survive. All the officers were killed. THE LOSSES AT VIONVILLE. A Luxembourg despatch says :--- , "The estimated killed and wounded on both sides during the battle of Vionville, on Tuesday, was 35,000." RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO PARIS. A telegram, dated Berlin, .Aug. 19, says :—Prince Orloff, the Russian Ambassador at Vienna, has left for Paris on a diplomatic mission. The German armies in France number at present above 400,000, among whom there are 30,000 cavalry. Lubeck is occupied by 7,000 men to ward off a naval attack. The French have succeeded in victualling Stras burg. The Czar congratulated the Silesian regi nent, of which he is colonel, on distinguishing itself at Wissembourg. Russia has sent 13 surgeons to the German camp: THE LOSSES OF PRINCE FREDERICK CHARLES. The latest telegram from Paris says no further hews has yet been received from the seat of war. All French accounts concur in stating that the Corps of Prince Frederick Charles has suffered tre olendous losses. The Patrie states that Prince Frederick Charles 1111 0 was wounded in Tuesday's battle may have to 'undergo amputation. The Epoca of the 18th contradicts the statement of Madrid journals, that a n um b er o f b oxes h a d arr i ve d a t 4 'lachid which it was alleged the Empress of the French had forwarded to her mother, the Countess Montijo. GREAT FIRE IN HATTON-GARDEN. The most extensive fire that has taken place in the ne ighbourhood of Hatton-garden for a long time past 11 , 4 PPened this mo rn i ng b e t ween th e h ours o f f our an d fi ve clock in the large range of premises belonging to Mr. S. Josephs, a furniture broker, situate in Hatton-yard, and e xtending into and forming No. 23, Hatton-wall, Hatton garden. The flames when first discovered were raging in on.e of the stores, a building three floors high, and 60 feet long, and before sufficient time had elapsed for an engine to arrive another store of two floors, 40 feet long, also became ignited. The two buildings contained some thousand pounds worth of furniture, which proved such a powerful auxiliary to the flames that they rushed through the roof, and out of the different windows with such fury as to threaten every building near. With all possible expedition the engines of the Metropolitan Brigade from Farringdon-street, Watling -street, and the more distant stations attended, but in spite of the most strenuous exertions of the firemen some hours e l a p se d ere th e conflagra tion could be conquered, and not until a serious amount of Property was destroyed, which is thus officially returned to the Board of Works :—" Hatton-yard and 23, Hatton- Hatton-garden. —Mr. S. Josephs, furniture broker. 41,.. building of 60 f e et by 22 f ee t, b urne d ou t an d fallen d "rn; and a building of two floors, 40 feet by 20 feet, and contents very severely damaged by fire and part of roof ct Both used as stores adjoining and communicating." POLICE INTELLIGENCE—Tms DAY. B ETWEEN THE WIND AND THE NOBILITY. —A cab driver 4141 xled Day, who is also proprietor of his own cab, was su mmoned at the Westminst er P o li ce - cour t by th e p o li ce L ° l ' furiously driving his horse and cab close to the Houses °! Parliament. The police evidence tended to shew that ,uae def en d ant was dr i v i ng at the rate of ten miles -an 4 ° l lr across the junction of Bridge-street, Westminster, . 411(1 Parliament -street, and they were compelled to get in 'rant of the horse and stop it. Defendant said he was go ing at a fair pace, about seven or eight miles an hour, and alleged that Mr. Gladstone was cro s si ng th e roa d, an d he Police, to sh ow th e i r ac ti v it y i n presence o f t h e Premier made a case out of nothing. There was a road jbal at that point, but it had not been used for some time. • Reny Rogers, a gentleman, who was riding in the said he took a man from St. James's-street to the ' l.lo llfies of Parliament. The cabman went about seven m iles an hour, and he considered it hi s d u ty t o p rove th a t Glad s t one man w as no t d o i ng an ythi ng wrong , an d h a d no t M r . `'ladsto ne been crossing nothing would have been heard of it. Mr. Selfe said Mr. Gladstone's life was evidently more re ePected than anybody else's by the police at the corner. Mr Rogers said he was a staunch Conservative, and per , aPs that did not i mprove t h e case of Mr. Gladstone, as 4 1' as he was concerned. Mr. Selfe considered that the man was guilty of driving to th e com m on d anger on th e Pre Pondering evidence of the police, and ordered him to Pay the costs of the summons and not offend again. It Was stated that Mr. Gladstone had himself exonerated e ade man, and d ec li ne d t o h ear o f any suc h c h arge b e i ng to. I „, ll °BBERusis IN THE DOCK.—James Allway, a dock uou rer, aged 35 years, was brought before Mr. Lushing ‘un, at the Thames Police-court, charged with being in the l itila wful possession of tw o ti ns o f preserved lobsters. The vtisoner was detected by Northage, a dock constable, e l ? a ing out of th e d oc k w ith t h e t i ns i n hi s possess i on. said that h e b oug ht th em ; a ft erwar d s h e d ec l are d the e 3' Were given to him by th e c a pt a i n o f a s hip, an d b l 3, that h e pi c k e d th em u p i n th e d oc k. N ort h age li eved that the tins of preserved lobsters had been stolen from some ship in the dock where the prisoner had b "n at work. Mr. Paget said it was necessary to make a sever e exampl e o f p ersons w h o pilfered thi ngs i n th e dock and sentenced the prisoner to two months' imprison- Meat and hard labour. William Baley, a dock constable, -O,,aeL,awfuid forty years, was charged with being in th e possession of a bottle of mixed, Pickle s , a small bag of dried plumbs, two tubes, and a filet in the London Dock. John Adams stopped the Pris oner with th e thi ngs i n h i s possess i on , an d h e sa id h e Quid produce the man who had given them to him, which : e nos, repeated. In s p ec t or H am ilt on , o f th e Dock Poli ce , ~, 1d th e t u b es had been used to extract some wine from th e casks i n t h e docks, and were bent to prevent drinkers a g l ing the vapour of strong rum an d brandies. The i h tnlet h a d been used to pierce casks. Mr Paget said sho the cas e was on e o f a very suspicious nature, an d h e t „ileuld r emand the prison er un til Th urs d ay nex t, one o f three days he should preside next week. TY one THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVEA ING , AUGUST 20, 1870. rHE MONEY MARKET AND COMM ERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. CITY, Two o'CLocx On the Stock Exchange to-day there is little material change, although on the whole the tendency is favourable to a further advance in quotations. The demand for Cis count is moderate, but previous rates are maintained. Consols are now 91 to 92 for money, and 91 to 92 for account ; Three per Cent. Reduced, 91 to 91f ; New Three per Cents., 91 to 92 ; India Five per Cents., 111 ; ditto Four per Cents., 1001 to 100 f ; Metropolitan Board of Works, 3i per Cent. Stock, 92} to 92k. In the Foreign Market Brazilian Bonds of 1865 are 91 ; Egyptian Seven per Cents. of 1864, 87 to 861; ditto of 1868, 75 to 75;; Spanish of 1867, 27 to 261; ditto of 1869, 26 to 261 ; ditto Quicksilver, 741 to 74 ; Peru vian, 86 to 861; Turkish Five per Cents. of 1865, 44 I to 431; ditto of 1869, 58 to 581 ; and Five per Cent. Italian of 1865, 77 to 82. In Bank shares Alliance are quoted 14 ; Anglo- Austrian, 8 10 premium ; Chartered Mereantile, 271 ; Consolidated, 11 prom; Imperial Ottoman, 12121; Lon don and County, 471 ; London and Westminster, 60 ; Lon don Joint Stock, 34 ; and Union of London, 361. The Railway Market—Metropolitan are 651 ; Great Eastern 351 to 351 ; London and Brighton, 40 to 391; Caledonian, 741 to 741; South-Eastern, 711 ; Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, 431; Great Northern, 1231 to 1241 ; ditto (A), 129 ; North Eastern, 1401; London and North-Western, 1271 ; Midland, 1271; Lancashire and Yorkshire, 1301 ; Great Western, 69. Canada Six per Cents. are quoted 106 ; New South Wales Five per Cents., 101 to 1011; NeW Zealand Five per Cents., 991 to 99; Queensland, 1061; Victoria Five per Cents., 1011; and ditto Six per Cents., 113. In 3 tiscellaneous Shares Berlin Water Works are quoted 14i ; Viceroy of Egypt 7 per cent. Mortgage Loan, 77 ; National Discount Company, 111; and Peninsular and Oriental Steam, 42. Anglo Mediterranean, are 14 ; British Indian Exten sion 6 to 6f ; Falmouth, 9a to 91; British Indian Submarine, 7i 71. In American Securities, Five-Twenty Bonds are quoted at 88i to 89; Ten-Forties, 82i to 83i ;_Erie Shares, 17i to 18 ; Illinois, 106 to 107. The rate for bills on France is now such at to admit of gold being sent thither at a profit, but no purchases have been made for the purpose, owing to apprehensions as to the peril that might attend the consignment of bullion to Paris. The cause of the tendency of gold to flow to France in the face of the war expenditure and the sus pension of specie payments consists in the heavy sales, not only of bonds but of manufactured goods, that are now being effected there at a sacrifice for the sake of realising cash. Some of our principal importing firms in London, Manchester, and elsewhere have, under these circumstances, made very extensive purchases of silk and other articles. The bullion now held by the Bank of France is £36,200,000, showing a diminution of £15,500,000, from the point at which it stood before the war. The Submarine Telegraph Company's new cable has just been submerged between Beachy Head and Etretat, near Havre, a distance of 70 nautical miles, but the land lines from London to Beachy Head and Havre to Paris have yet to be completed. The erection of the lines in France may be attended with some delay, owing to the war, and the consequent difficulty in obtaining at the moment practical workmen. The cable, which has six conductors, has been manufactured by Mr. Henley, of North Woolwich, at cost of about £40,000, and has a coating of galvanised iron wire, covered with Bright and Clarke's compound. When the new line begins working the company will have four cables for the transmission of messages between England and France, and the delay, arising partly from a pressure of work, will, it is pre sumed, be obviated. The latest advices from Frankfort describes an extra ordinary change in the condition of business on the Bourse. Towards the end of July money was not to be had, and the public funds and foreign bills were almost unsaleable, while at the liquidation for the middle of the present month everything was reversed. Some few out standing accounts for the fall had to be bought in at any price, or heavy bonuses had to be paid for carrying them over. Advances on United States' bonds were readily made at 3 per cent. interest, and foreign bills have reached a height which shows that Frankfort capitalists are,purchasers in foreign markets. Almost all transactions are for cash, speculative business being much restricted. Ataerican Government securities are again extensively bought for investment. Austrian Credit shares have regained their former price. Austrian-French railway shares also are in good demand, the rise in their price being checked only by large sales on Paris account. South German stocks are fast approaching peace quota tions, and a 5 per cent. Bavarian loan, to be subscribed for on the 22d inst. and two following days, at a price not yet fixed, will be readily taken. The new North German loan is at 4i per cent. premium. The liquidation of W. F. Jaeger's affairs proceed 4 very satisfactorily, and it appears that the creditors will not suffer any loss. American commerce is beginning to feel the effects of the withdrawal of German vessels from the seas, as the lists of clearances from New York present the names of ships of American origin. Recently a bark cleared from Boston with a cargo of flour and produce for London, being, it is alleged, the first American vessel that has cleared from that port in the last four years. The advices from Geelong mention that a meeting had been held of the creditors of Messrs P. M`Donald and Co. Their liabilities reached £26,497, in addition to contingent commitments, amounting to £30,000. The assets repre sented 226,400. An assignment was agreed to. The Council of India will receive tenders on the 7th prox. for bills on Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, to the amount of £400,000. At the meeting of the Brazilian Street Railway Com pany (Limited) a dividend was declared for the half-year at the rate of 12i per cent. per annum. Tins MORNING'S NEWS. DUNVILLE and Co., Belfast, are the largest holders of whisky in the world. Their Old Irish 'Whisky is r ommended by the medical profession in preference to French brand . Sup plied in casks and cases for home use or exportation. Quotations on application to Messrs DUNVILLE & Co., Royal Irish Dis tilleries, Belfast ; or at thei London Offices, 4, Beaufort Buildings Strand, W.C. (CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAMS.) SHOCKING COLLIERY EXPLOSION. At nine o'clock yesterday morning a terrible colliery explosion occurred at Brynn Hall, near Wigan. 13 men and boys were taken out of the pit badly burnt. Four were brought up dead. The number of dead in the pit, which is supposed to be on fire, will number twenty more. Later news states that two more dead bodies, making in all six, have been recovered from the mine, and fifteen persons have been brought out alive. One of these has since died, and the re mainder are terribly burnt. Thirteen or fourteen are still in the pit, all of whom must be dead. Operations for the recovery of the dead had to be sus pended for a couple of hours, as the mine was believed to be on fire. It being found, however, that the smoke came from ignited trops, the fire was quickly extinguished, and a party of explorers descended. All the bodies that have been recovered were terribly mutilated. The mine was a very small one. The force of the explosion was terrific. OUR COTEMPORARIES---This Morning THURSDAY'S 13ArfLE BEFORE METE, To realise in its integrity the full meaning of this news, we must remember that we have no word from the'French side to mitigate the completeness of the disaster. The main French fighting army, including the floweu..of the French troops, is cut off from Paris and from its junction with the reserves. Between it and all the other troops of France, between it and the capital, stands an army which, though it has suffered awful losses, is yet flushed with victory. The whole of the troops of Prince Fre derick Charles and Steinmetz are before the de fences of Metz, and the army of Bazaine is within them. How can it hope to cut its way through, if it has already twice failed, though it has fought with a bravery and determination falling nothing short of heroism ? How can it hope to hold its ground when its sources of supplies are in the enemy's hands, and there is scarcely food for a garrison, none for a great army, within the lines? In either circumstance it seems a hopeless case ; and is there any direction towards which it may look with reason for succour ? What has it to look to for . help? Far away, more than a hundred miles distant, lie to the nearest supports, at the camp of Chalons, on the Marne, while slowly, steadily, there is pushing on to attack those re serves the powerful army of the Crown Prince of Prussia, full of the recollections of its victory over MacMahon, and believing it has the secret of never-failing victory. What are these troops at Chalons which are to m oppose its onward march ? There is the remnant of MacMahon's shattered corps, which cannot exceed fifteen thousand men, available for the line of battle. There is the corps of Canrobert, and the corps newly organised for General Trochu till he returned to command the army of Paris. There is some Garde Mobile, and it may be some divisions of Douay's 7th corps ; but it is impossible to estimate the mass at more than 100,000 of all arms, and these can scarcely be sup posed to be complete in the proportion of artillery and cavalry. How can these resist the tide of invasion, as the Crown Prince moves onward in his steady advance? It seems impossible. Rather we should sup pose that they will retreat upon Paris, earn to them every man that France can find with hands to fight and a soul to care for his country, and there, under the walls of the capital, resist with might and main the German hosts. These, as they advance, must diminish — France, in the interim, must gain strength of men. For these troops at Chalons can give no help to Bazaine. Should they try to reach him, they can only be crushed by the weight of armed men that will be hurled upon them as they advance. France has but one chance. Bazaine, remaining in Metz, will detain before its walls a larger force than his own, so long as he can ffnd food on which to live ; while the other Prussian armies must find that as they march on to Paris it is an armed nation, and not only an army that opposes their progress. Judged only in regard to the armies now in the field, the military situation of France seems hope less ; but can a nation such as France be crushed by the _ . results of a single day? When the first armies of France are spent, we may not say it is all ended. There are other eventualities to be conceived. —Standard. An examination of what has actually occurred since Sunday night will present the situation in its full gravity. With every possible incentive—for the sake of safety, even if not of fame—to make a swift and brilliant retreat to a point where he might retrieve the fortunes of the cam paign, Bazaine lingered for 36 hours, after he crossed the Moselle, in a position only ten miles westward of Metz on the routes towards the Meuse. Thus he gave time to the Prussians to wheel around their centre and left across the river above Metz, while their right—com posed of the First and Seventh Corps, which had fought on Sunday—held firm between the Nied and the fortress. When the Third, Eighth, Ninth, and tenth Prussian Corps had passed the river, they formed, with the two others, a line extending round the city, from the St. Avoid and Boulay roads on the east, to near Metz-la-Tour on the west. And thus Bazaine found, on Tuesday morning, that he was cut off from the road to Paris by a force which outnumbered his own—yet which was perfectly sure of its communica tions, by the strong rearguard it had left on the eastern side of Met; and by the abundant cavalry that scoured the whole country over the twenty miles intervening between. Meanwhile, whatever the reason for his delay, on Tuesday morning Bazaine seems to have got all ready for the start. His corps were echeloned on either side of Rezonville, ten or twelve miles from Metz, on the lower road to Verdun. His rearguard was at Gravelotte, in readiness to resist any attack that might be made by a pursuing enemy, crossing the Moselle near Ars, to fall upon the flank of his retreat. It does not appear whether he meant also to use the upper road to Verdun, which diverges at Gravelotte, and tends northwards, passing parallel with the other, about six miles distant, by Con flans and Etain. Probably the Marshal's intention was to conduct the mass of his army by the lower road, through Mars-la-Tour and Manheulles, anticipating that on his route he might receive the strongest attack of the enemy, crossing above Metz. At any rata, ho tells us himself that his troops were for the most part echeloned about Rezonville, some to the right and some to the left that is, some to west and some to the east—of the army looking for attack from the south. If, therefore, the cavalry of the Third Corps and the Brandenburg Division attacked the French right, they must have done a most daring deed. For the French tight was the part of the army nearest to Verdun— the very vanguard of the retreat ; and to reach it the assailants must have made their way past the whole French army, until, suddenly appearing on Fros sard's flank, they led Bazaine to suppose that the whole Prussian force was between him and Verdun. On some such theory may we best explain the Prussian statement about the cavalry and the Branden ourgers delaying the march of Bazaine full six nours, until the rest of the pursuing corps came up and fronted the French columns advancing from Rezonville westward to the line between Doncourt and Vionville. On Tuesday, the French claimed the honour of maintain ing the field of battle, and of compelling the enemy to ask an armistice, for the purpose of burying their dead. But the Prussians claimed the solid advantage of having stopped the retreat of their enemies, and forced them back before Metz ; while even the French Marshal Commander-in-Chief did not deny that he was constrained zo delay his movement, though he explained the halt by the necessity for replenishing his ammunition. Pro oably enough the success of the Prussians on Tuesday amounted to little or nothing more than the fact that they had stopped Bazaine's retreat; but, then, how had they stoppedit ? Not by grappling with his rearguard as they fol lowed him along the same roads towards Verdun ; but by intercepting him on those very roads, and compelling him to fight for his communications with the west—for the very life of his army. At noon on Thursday began the second stage of the battle ; and for nine hours it lasted, with an obstinacy which may be readily inferred from its long duration, from the splendid quality of the opposing troops, and from the tremendous issues which each army had at stake. We only know, as we write, that the King of Prussia's bivouac was at Rezonville on Thursday night, and that his Majesty claimed a complete victory, the result of which had been to cut off the French altogether from their communications with Paris. Setting the King's description of the battle entirely aside, we look at the place of his bivouac, and at once conclude that he had gained the day. For, on Tuesday, Rezonville was in the rear of the line on which Bazaine fought Stein metz and Prince Frederick Charles ; now it is In the rear of the line on which the Prussian hosts lie on their arms after Thursday's bloody work. The French, therefore, must have been forced back four or five miles towards Metz; and since, at Rezonville, the two roads to Verdun are but two miles apart, it is a matter of certainty that the victors hold both. Possibly the great strife is not yet ended; certainly. Bazaine must make a desperate effort before he submits his army to the highest indignity that ever befell a martial host in modern times—a disaster to which Ulm was mere bagatelle. The Emperor at Chalons, the wearied and dis jointed corps of De Failly and Douay converging thither, are powerless to aid him ; for is there not that terrible Crown Prince yet to be settled with, at some point nearer to Chalons, if not to Paris, than the Emperor will like to know ? Bazaine must, evidently, trust to himself. But, whatever efforts he may make, the fortunes of the campaign must singularly change—the conduct of the Prussian Generals and the courage of their soldiers must strangely fail—if Metz is not destined to prove the Caudine Forks of the Second Empire,— Telegraph. There seemed no doubt from the beginning that the esult of the sanguinary battle of Tuesday had been po place the Prussians between the French army And those roads to Verdun and Chalons through which the army had attempted to retreat, rile French army had been forced to fall back towards Metz. But it still occupied a strong position outside the place. The King stormed that position. He forced oho French closer and closer upon Metz. The battle Jf Thursday, however, only made assurance doubly sure, The honour of shutting Bazaine up in Metz is due to the force under Prince Frederick Charles. But that force was inadequate to the task of closing every outlet against so vast an army as still held its ground around Metz. The Xing probably brought forward all the rest g his available troops. What was on Tuesday simply a repulse was on Thursday converted into an investment.— TH E EDUCATION BILL. The 'Royal assent was given to the Elementary Educa tion Bill on the 9th inst., and on the 16th a letter was sent to the town clerk of every incorporated borough in England and Wales. A similar circular is now being issued to each of the 14,000 parishes in the country not included within the Metropolitan limits or in municipal towns. In this document town clerks are reauested to draw the attention of the councils of their boroughs to sec tions 67-72 of the "Elementary Education Act, 1870," and to take the requisite steps, without delay, for carrying out the provisions of these sections, with respect to the returns which the council—as the local authority of the district—are required to send to the Education Depart ment on or before the Ist day of January, 1871. These returns will have to be made on two forms. One of these, a general form, is intended to furnish certain information respecting the area contained within the municipaj limits of boroughs, which information the Education Department will have to take into considera tion in deciding upon the school provision that will be re quired for the district. The other, a special form, will have to be filled up by the managers or teachers of every school, whether public or private, within the same limits, which answers to the definition of an elementary school given in the third section of the Act. The death is announced this morning of Lady Fleming, the wife of Sir Valentine Fleming, late Chief Justice of Tasmania- She was the daughter of Mr. Charles Bucklancl, We are requested by the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society to state that in consequence of the works now in progress for the annual International Ex hibition of next and following years the gardens at South Kensington will not be open free to the public on the 26th August, the anniversary of the late Prince Consort's birthday. The death is announced of Mr. James Gaskill, cotton spinner, Manchester, who for upwards of sixty years had been a warm supporter of the United King dom Alliance and other kindred societies. The deceased gentleman was in his 71st year, and up to about four months ago was in the enjoyment of excellent health. THE VOLUNTEER DEMONSTRATION. THIS DAY. — The Lord Mayor having consented to be the custodian of the Elcho Challenge Shield and the International Enfield Trophy, won at the late Wimbledon contest by the representatives of England, the ceremony of pre sentation will take place to-day (Saturday) in the Guild hall. The Volunteers of the City corps will muster in the afternoon, and proceed to the Guildhall, where they will receive the winners of the trophies. The winning teams will assemble on the Thames Embankment, oppo site the Temple, and within the City jurisdiction, and will go in procession to the hall. The Lord Mayor will receive the teams and their trophies at the Guildhall at half•past five, after which the ceremony will be proceeded with. IRISH SYMPATHY WITH FRANCE. Attempts were made in Cork last night to get up a demonstration in celebration of the supposed French victories. At nine o'clock a large mob dragged three blazing tar barrels into Patrick-street, but the bonfire was extinguished by a large force of police, who, under arms, dispersed the crowd. Similar attempts at demonstration were also prevented in other parts of the city. ORANGE DEMONSTRATION. A large Orange demonstration took place in Omagh yesterday, the occasion being the opening of a new Pro testant hall. Mr. William Johnson, M.P., presided. Considerable bodies of police and soldiers had been drafted into the town in the fear that there might be some disturbances. Up to seven o'clock, however, all was quiet. READY TO JOIN AN IRISH BRIGADE. A rumour having gained credence in Waterford that French agents had arrived there to recruit for an Irish brigade of fifteen thousand strong, a number of young men who had resolved on enrolling themselves appointed a deputation to await on the French Consul on Thursday to ascertain particulars. On their being informed that the French Government never contemplated the formation of such a corps, much disap pointment was shewn. The deputation inquired if the French Government would bear the expense of Irish volunteers desiring to join the French army. They were answered in the negative. MORE THREATENING LETTERS. At the Wexford Sessions Michael Murphy was charged 'by the constabulary with writing and sending threatening letters to Mr. Devereux of Tannerhill. The last letter sent had the Wexford postmark, July 30th, and was signed " 'Rory of the Hills." It bore a rude re presentation of a coffin, and of two men, the one shooting at the other; and contained a threat to shoot Devereux if he did not put away his apprentice within three days. The case was remanded. RECEPTION OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF TITAM. Preparations were made on a grand scale in Castlebar to receive Dr. McHale, Archbishop of Tuam, on his return from Rome. Triumphal arches were erected in the streets, the houses were decorated with flags, and last night the town was brilliantly illuminated. An address of welcome was presented to his grace. CONVERSION OF WOODEN SHIPS INTO IRON CLADS. The Admiralty intend utilizing some of the best of the large wooden ships by cutting them down, and armour plating them. Inquiries were made yesterday as to those ships in Hamoaze most eligible, and an order has been given to at once convert into an ironclad'ship the Robust, which has for twelve years been on the stocks at Devon port, about two-thirds built. She was originally intended fora 90-gun screw two-decker, but was stopped building when that class of ship was found to be obsolete. She will require extensive alteration, but will make a very fine vessel. THE CITY OF RAGUSA. The miniature yacht, City of Ragusa, was spoken by the Cunard steamers Russia and Abyssinia August 13th, in latitude 44.37 north, longitude 53.39 west. The two men who compose her crew were in good health, and have sufficient provisions. The little vessel was making satisfactory progress. THE WIFE MURDER AT MANCHESTER. At the City Police-court yesterday, Patrick Durr, who was remanded on Thursday on the charge of having murdered his' wife, was committed for trial for wilful murder. GREAT DESTRUCTION OF FARM PRODUCE. A destructive fire broke out on Thursday night, on the farm of Mr. Denny, at Budbrook, near Warwick. All efforts to arrest its pr3gress were fruitless, and ten ricks of wheat, hay, beans and oats were destroyed. The darn age is estimated at £1,500, and this is only partially covered by insurance. SHOCKING ACCIDENT_ THREE CHILDREN KILLED. On Thursday night three children were killed at Open shaw, near Manchester, by a singular accident. Five children were, it seems, playing in a large sandhole near the railway works when the side caved in and totally buried three of them—namely, Hannah Timperley, 10 ; William Wild, 7 ; and Thomas Owen, 4. The other children, one of them a brother of the boy Wild, were also partially buried, and so much injured that they were not able to be extricated for nearly half-an-hour. Some little time elapsed before the buried children were recovered, and life was quite extinct. TWENTY RICKS DESTROYED BY FIRE. On Thursday a serious fire broke out on a farm in the occupation of Mr. Saunders, near Staines. Twenty valuable ricks, chiefly wheat and barley, were destroyed, and between 20 and 30 quarters of barley thrashed and ready for market. Several of the farm buildings were also destroyed by the fire, which, it is supposed, was caused by a spark from a thrashing machine engine, which had been at work upon the premises. THE CHANNEL YACHT RACE. The Channel yacht race, from Cowes to Torquay, for the £lOO cup, given by Sir Lawrence Palk, M.P., in which several of the largest yachts afloat com peted, has resulted in a victory for the Rose of Devon ; she winning by two minutes allowing for the difference of tonnage. The yachts left Cowes at four on Thursday afternoon with strong breezes from the north ; at midnight the leading yachts were at Portland ; at four yesterday morning off Exmouth ; and an hour later the Rose of Devon arrived at her destination, followed by the Gwendoline, Guinivere, the Tartar, the Egeria, tie Marina, and the Psyche. • THE ACCUSATION AGAINST AUSTRIA. The official Evening Post declares a statement of the Allegemeine Zeitung, that France had offered Austria, as the price of her affiance, Prussian Silesia and a portion of Bavaria, in return for the cession of Southern Dal matia and the Italian Tyrol to Italy, to belong to the realm of fiction, which it has recently become the fashion to invent. The Evening Post also says it is empowered emphatically to repudiate the announcement of offer., of alliance having been made by Count Beust to the Cabinet of Berlin, with the object of ensuring the integrity of the Austrian territory against Russia. SPANISH AFFAIRS. On Wednesday night a Council of Ministers was held, when it was rumoured decision would be arrived at in reference to the demand addressed to the Permanent House Committee for the Convocation of the Cortes. The Impareial believes, however, that the Council merely dealt with internal questions, in anticipation of certain eventualities affecting Spain. Carlist disorders have taken place at Tarragona. One Carlist was killed and three wounded. Next month the transport of troops to Cuba and Porto Rico will be resumed. A telegram from Calcutta says the flood in Lower Bengal is subsiding slowly. Mr. Gladstone has arrived in town, where lie will remain until Monday, when he will return to Wabner Castle. A letter from Mr. Frelinghuysen to President Grant, dated July 27th, has been published, in which the former declined the British mission on account of his domestic relations and duties, and also his conviction that there are others better suited for the office. There is no improvement in the health of Viscount Midleton. EFFECT OF THE FRENOH DEFEAT. The Times maintains that patriotic Frenchmen can have but one thought for France at this juncture—" Peace, peace." The army of Prance is shut up at Metz. The Commander-in-Chief makes day by day gallant efforts to cut his way through his enemies, but they are ineffectual, and while his forces are wasted by battle outside the lines of his stronghold, famine stares them in the face if they suffer themselves to be penned within its walls. And this is the Army of France ! There is another small force co ,;,,,1 up in Strasburg, exposed to a bombardment. There is, theoretically, a Third Army at Chalons. It consists of the remnants of MacMahon's corps, said to number about 15,000 men, all of whom reached the cam broken and worn, and wanting every accoutrement and means of war. It contained some battalions of Garde Mobile of very doubtful temper, but fifteen of these battalions have been ordered back for the defence of Paris. Besides this it comprises the Pompiers and some supernumerary forces of the same semi•military oharaeter. What can these do, wanting the central support of Marshal Bazaine and his army, and of what defence is Paris capable behind the fortifications of M. Thiers ? The Frenchman who con templates the present emergency without any attempt to hide the truth from himself must, however unwillingly, arrive at the conclusion that peace is an nevitable neces sity for France. The Daily News considers that a tremendous responsi- Vity now rests upon Marsha/ Bazaine. He is called to du what a French General does not naturally know how to do. The British drummer who was taken before Turenne as a spy, and as a test of his veracity was required to beat a retreat, replied, "Retreat ! There is no such beat in the British service." Similarly, Marshal Bazaine may say that the surrender of an army is unknown in French warfare. Nevertheless, if he sees no prospect of accomplishing any further object by resistance, he is bound by every consideration of justice and humanity to come to terms with his powerful enemy. His soldiers have well discharged their debt to France, and deserved to be considered. With the great defeat of Thursday the war enters upon a new phase. It began on the part of France with a threatened invasion of Germany, then it be came the defence of the Vosges, and afterwards of the Moselle. The next plan was a retreat of the Army of the Rhine for the defence of Paris at Cha lons. The Army of the Rhine being no longer in the lists, a stand at Chalons is out of the question, and Paris must be defended, if at all, at its own walls. And thus we reach the middle of a week of battles, a week, perhaps, in which more men have fallen by the hands of their brother men than in any similar period since Cain inaugurated the practice of war. It is no exageration to say that between the morning of Thurs day, the 11th, when the Crown Prince of Prussia fought the battle of Weissenburg, and the evening of Thursday, the 18th, when his father won the battle of Rezanville, 100,000 men have fallen on the field of battle. Surely it is time to say, "It is enough." Fhe contest is already decided. If more brave men fall, it will be from very obstinacy. The sword has no longer anything to decide. Let it return to its scabbard. The Standard argues that a siege of Paris is out of the question. When Europe was united against France it was hard work enough. Now, when the com batants are the German nation and the French, it is prac tically impossible. There would be no chance of such an event unless France were broken by long wars, or irreconcilably divided by bitter political and personal quarrels. That she is not so broken is clear, and all the reliable intelligence we receive shows that the nation has subordinated all ( they political ques tions to this vital one of asserting French honour and free ing French soil from invaders. A nation like France can, if it wills it, clear its soil of all enemies. But, in any case, the fight is bound to be a long one, and is not likely to be terminable by a series of Prussian successes which have very little affected the issue, now that it has become a contest of the French people for the protection of the French territory. The Telegraph thinks that as a military operation no experienced soldier would undertake to hold Paris long against an army which could attack it on four or five sides ; and yet it believes that M. Thiers' expensive creations, the ramparts, have an ample justification now. If Bazaine could have cut his way through, they would have ensured him ground for a great battle, in sight of all that is most French, and in a spot where defeat would be most fatal for an 'invading army. Even should the "Red Prince " hold the Army of the Rhine fast, the modern girdle of forts might still give Paris and Europe time to deliberate on the measures dictated by events. Who is there that would wish to see the streets of the capital of all the w or ld aga i n pa t ro ll e d b y an enemy? When it comes near to that the oup of expiation for the faults of the past will surely have been drained deep enough. NAVAL AND MILITARY. On Friday his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, attended by several officers of the Horse Guards Staff, went to Aldershot and reviewed the troops at the camp. In order to illustrate the evolutions of a sham fight, the troops were divided into attacking and defend ing forces, arid were provided with several rounds of blank ammunition per man. The attacking force comprised two regiments of cavalry, two batteries of artillery and ten regiments of infantry, under the com mand of Lieutenant-General the Hon. Sir James Yorke Scarlett, G.C.B. The defendin g force consisted of two regiments of cavalry, two batteries of artillery, one company of engineers, and five regiments of infantry. At the conclusion of the sham fight, about 12.30, the commanders were assembled and addressed by the Commander-in-Chief on the evolutions as executed. His Royal Highness slept in the camp on Friday night. Since the announcement made in the House of Commons of the intention of the Government to completa the works now in progress for the extension of Chatham dockyard, a number of additional workmen have been employed, in conjunction with upwards of 1,200 cmvicts, in pushing forward the completion of the new docks and basins. The repairing basin is so far advanced that there is no doubt that it will be ready for being opened early in the approaching year. Two other large basins are likewise being constructed, the largest of which will be the fitting-out basin, , having a water area of nearly 40 acras and a frontage of nearly 6,000 feet. Up to the present time the expenditure on the two additional dock; basins, workshops, and other works for the extension of this dockyard, has been nearly two millions sterling, and the works have been fourteen years in progress. The number of men, boys, and girls taken on in the Royal Laboratory Department of Woolwich Arsenal, within the last few weeks, amounts to nearly a thousand ; but many of the lathes still lie idle, the iron work pre served in what the workmen call " Gladstone's paint." It is, however, stated that an extensive order for shot, shell, powder cases, &c., has been issued from the War Office, which will soon set all the machinery in motion once more. Mr. F. Whitehead, the inventor of the new description of torpedoes with which experiments are ordered to be made, arrived at the dockyard, Chatham, on Thursday morning, and made preparations for the experiments which are to be carried out on board the iron paddle-wheel steamer Oberon, 3, 260 horse-power. The authorities at the War Department have appointed a committee consisting of officers to superintend and re port on the experiments. THE COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.—Mr. William Fisher Miller, who was called to the bar by the Honour. able Society of Lincoln's Inn on the 29th of Janu ary, 1850, and since 1843 acted as Registrar of the Court of Bankruptcy, and for several years past has discharged the duties of Chief Registrar, has re tired after twenty-seven years' public service on his full retiring allowance of £2,000 per annum. The vacancy has been filled up by the appointment of Mr. William Hazlitt, the Senior Registrar of the Court, who, it will be remembered, officiated for the late Mr. Commis sioner Goulburn during his protracted illness. The income of Mr. Hazlitt will, it is stated, remain as 'heretofore, 21,500 per annum. - - NARROW ESCAPE OF A NORTH GERMAN MAIL STEAMER- - On the sth instant the Leipzig, one o f th e N or th German Lloyd mail steamers running from Bremen to New York via Southampton, arrived at Baltimore after a narrow escape from capture by a French cruiser. The Leipzig was detained for a few days at Southampton by French cruisers in the Channel, but she ventured at length to slip quietly out, and passed one of the cruisers without attracting attention. Nearing the coast of America, a second French cruiser was sighted, but the German vessel, proving the faster of the two, avoided capture, and ran into Baltimore with all colours flying, amid cheers from the crews of other German vessels in the port, and the crowd on the pier. THE PECULIAR PEOPLE.—An inquest was held on Friday at Charlton-neat-Woolwich, the result of which was that two of the " Peculiar People" were sent to prison. The infant son of Thomas Savill, a dockyard lanourer, had died after suffering from diarrhcea for a week ; and Dr. Ryley, who had made a post-mortem exa mination of the body, stated that death had been unques tionably accelerated by neglect of the ordinary remedies, and that if the diarrhoea had been arrested by proper medicine and diet the child would probably have reco vered. The parents stated, in answer to the jury, that if one of their children was run over they would not send for a doctor, but let the elders anoint it with oil and trust in God; but the man added that such mishaps never befel the faithful, for it was said in the 37th Psalm, "" The bones of the righteous shall not be broken." The jury returned a verdict of "Manslaughter against Thomas and Elizabeth Savill," and they were at once taken into custody on the coroner's warrant. They will be brought before a magistrate this (Saturday) afternoon, to be bailed until the next sitting of the Central Criminal Court. THE CHANCES OF THE WAR.—In all the specula tions on the war in E uro p e , one con ti ngenc y 'h as to be borne in mind, which is liable to occur at any time, and to transform the whole aspect of affairs like the turning of a kaleidoscope. We refer to the death of Napoleon. In our late war in this country no one man's loss would have materially altered the struggle ; but this is a contest of rulers, and if the French Emperor, already too ill to take the field as he intended, should prove too old, worn and weak to endure the pressure on his nerves, there is no prophet keen enough to tell what would become either of the French army or the French empire. The first Napoleon was of so strong a constitution that no such speculations came up during his ca m p a i gns ; b u t h e was bred a soldier and inured to excitement, while his nephew spent the flrst half of his life in a kind of idleness much more destructive to the prospects of long life. Yet the first Emperor died comparatively young, of disappointed ambition; and it is quite possible that his nephew may come to as unhappy an ending,—Boston Advertiser, THE BATTLE OF WOERTH. 24 now seems long since Woerth was fought ; but that Prussian victory had such decisive effect on the campaign, and has been hitherto so imperfectly described, that an account from an eye-witness, Mr. M. Laing Meason, is even now not unacceptable. Mr. Meason saw the fight from the village of Woerth, vib,cd. was left unoccupied with troops by the French, and was not seized by the Prussians. It is quite certain, he says, that the French had no idea of the strength of the army they were about to meet. They imagined it was 60,000 or 70,000, and as they had 50,000, their strong position made the position quite equal. In reality, the Crown Prince had with him over 100,000 men. Mr. Meason says :—"About eight o'clock the fight began in earnest. The attack was first made upon MacMahon's right, as if to drive him from the best part of the position he had chosen. In the meantime the French attacked the centre of the Prus sian line, in which the village was situated ; and, under a tremendous fire of artillery, attempted to draw on the Prussians at that point. This movement was at first only intended as a feint; but it soon became serious, for, as it seemed to me, the Prussians had by this time become aware of the weakness of the enemy. For four hours the battle on MacMahon's centre and left raged as if the infernal regions were let loose. Chassepots, needle-guns, mitrailleuses, field artillery, and shells, all played their parts in the devilish concert. At both points the Prussians were twice driven back by sheer hard fighting, and in both instances they fell back on their reserves, and the reserves again on their supports, with as much order as our Grenadier Guards would show in a field day in Hyde Park. Anything like their steadiness under fire I never saw, and I have been witness of not a little fighting in India. In many nstances there were hand-to-hand encounters between Zouaves or Chasseurs h Pied and Prussian troops. At one time, about three p.m., I felt 7 ertain that Marshal MacMahon would so far carry ~ he day that he would force the Prussian centre, take possession of the only bridge upon the Sauer, about thirty yards from where I was posted, and break through the Prussian centre. Had he done this, and been able to hold what he was possessed of, he would have captured a vast portion of the German artillery, and have inflicted a fearful punishment upon every battalion of the enemy that had crossed the bridge. But the French had to deal with a much larger force, far more orderly, and better generally, than their own. The Prussians fought like soldiers in the highest state of discipline, the French like a gallant mob. There seemed to be no order in their formation after the first ten minutes of their being under fire. Any advantage which they had in the Chasse pot over the neelle-gun they threw away by advancing— rushing would be the better word—so near the enemy that they were placed upon an equality with him. In numbers they were as one to three. MacMahon's forces when he commenced that morning were about 50,000 men of all arms, and the Prussians had not one less than 150,000. Soon after three came the turning-point of the battle. The Wurtemburg division, on the extreme left of the Prussian line, came up, deployed some of their batta !ions into line, and attacked MacMahon's right. From the moment at which this movement commenced, it was evident that the French were outnumbered, out flanked, and beaten. The troops that ought to have supported the French centre were wanted to check the movement on their right ; and the French centre was, therefore, driven back. The Prussians took advantage of this like lightning. Fresh troops pushed against both the French left and centre, and a retreat of the whole lino took place, the combatants fighting hand-to-hand as the one drove the other back. Presently the re tiring became a retreat, the retreat little better than a flight. By half-past four the Prussians were masters of the whole field ; the French were merely attempting to stop the pursuit by occasional discharges from the field pieces in the rear ; and the Bavarian cavalry were in full pursuit. Seven thousand prisoners, thirty pieces of cannon, six mitrailleuses, withithe whole of the baggage, treasure, provisions, and wounded, fell into the hands of the Prussians. In twenty minutes every house in Woerth was filled with the wounded and the lying. Such a scene I never saw, and I hope I may never see again. The streets of the village were literally paved with dead. At one place, an open space about the size of Berkeley-square, it was impossible to walk without treading on the dead or the dying. The nrmber of Prussians wounded and killed outnumbered the French casualties by at least four to one. Such fearful wounds, too, as those from which the poor fellows were suf fering, are very difficult to describe. The hideous disfigurations, the number of men whose very features seemed to be shot away, and the gory masses of quivering human flesh everywhere visible, are not to be forgotten in a hurry. The French prisoners and wounded seemed to be most indignant with the manner in which they had been handled. 'lt was a regular butchery,' they said ; we were outnumbered on every side, and left with our regimental officers to fight our way as best we could.' Whatever could have made MacMahon accept a battle under the circumstances, I am utterly at a loss to conceive. A glance at the two armies seemed to show how utterly impossible it would have been for the French to do more than hold their own, and even to do this must have cost them dear. But truth compels me to state that the vast superiority in numbers was not the only reason why they lost the fight. The Prus sian troops are, without exception, in the highest possible state of discipline ; the French are the very reverse. They are brave to a fault. I never knew men fight better, or despise death more. I saw one regiment of Zouaves, which was 2,000 strong when it went into battle. It lost an immense number of men, and the survivors were finally surrounded by the Prus rians. They fought like devils ; and I don't think there could have been 200 men left when they held up a white handkerchief, and were made prisoners. the Prussian officers themselves admit the reason why they took so many prisoners to be that the French were all detached, were here and there in small bodies, and were cut off in detail. The Prussians seemed to me me never to lose their formation ; the French seemed really never to have had any. Their system, or want Jf system, might answer very well against undiscip lined tribes in Algeria, but as they are they never will be able to face a regular disciplined European army. I repeat that, as regards their bravery, even to a fault, there can be no doubt whatever. But in these days courage is not the only requisite for a soldier. In saying that HacMahon's information was of the very worst kind. I am merely repeating what every French officer I have seen since the fight told me. It is hardly to be believed, but it is perfectly true, that the maps of Alsace, fur nished by the Prussian topographical department to every nicer in the army, were infinitely more correct than than those used by the French headquarter staff. But most to blame of all the military departments seems to have been the " Intendance." Prussian officers have told me that, if the French army in .Strasburg had crossed the Rhine about the 20th of July, and with a hundred and fifty thousand men had made a forced march upon Mannheim, the results of the campaign would have been very different. I believe the fighting portion of the army was perfectly ready to move on that day, but there were not two days' rations ready for them," WAR NOTES. SUNDAY'S BATTLE BEFORE METZ. —At eleven .'clock on Sunday 'Bazaine effected a grand reconnais 3atice with one division. At two, . a battle commenced on the right at Borny. Till four it was of no great import ance. Then the 4th Army Corps, forming the first line of battle, accomplished a manoeuvre intended to deceive the Prussians into the belief that it was retreating. This was at a quarter past-four. The Prussians fell into the trap, rushed forward, and attacked with surprising vigour. Then the 4th Corps, whose retreat to the left was a mere feint, fell at once on the enemy's flank, while Al`Mahon on the right attacked simultaneously. The Prussian attack meantime had been developed in great force on the French centre, The movements on both Ades were effected with singular precision, and the whole spectacle was like a review at Chalons.—.Dally News Correspondent at Metz. FEELING OF THE FRENCH PEASANTRI - . —We h pas ti s on, se w v hi er c a h l evxillp:tesstowthhiechpdopoesu takes us for the advance guard of the enemy. not recognise the badge of the International Society, does not say all that Everywhere the inhabitants surround us with a curio. of see the he P V ru ogg ss es ian w s, h a e n r d e peasantAfew sentences. These men are h si e ty t t h h inks at is i e n qui th v e oca firs L t French ane brave. They descend in a direct line from these modest heroes who defended our mountains in 1792, in 1814, aad in 1815, Supported or simply encouraged by the presence of some troops, they would carry on a good ca mpaign, I will answer for it, in a country that is wooded, uneven, and eminently favourable for surprises. For the moment—and my patriotism groans at the thought—if would seem as if the chiefs of the army forget that ttiti Vosges are a natural fortification. There is not a kepi in these defiles where a hundred men might shoot down two thousand. Not a road cut up, not a tree thrown down. The peasant feels himself, or thinks himself aban doned, given up ; and, right or wrong, he declares that by himself he can do nothing. He has no arms, and, if he had, it is doubtful whether he would know bow to use. them. The 'companies of volunteer riflemen which shewed so noble a spirit in 1867 have been discouraged,, if not dissolved, by the instructions of the Minister for WAr- —Rdmond About Le Soir.