The Sun. — London, England, 1870-12-08 00:00:00

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[mon, the muel Ml - Fishery Sunday mne Ends, The de last, pro was bitten round was ►id. Last arm, and Saturday, essly, he .:11 d became e o'clock, LATEST INTELLIGENCE. SUN OFFICE, 8. A.M. THE WAR.. PURSUIT OF THE ARMY OF THE LOIRE. VERSAILLES, December, 7. The Germans are in strong pursuit of the Army of the Loire beyond Orleans. In addition to the seventy-seven guns taken by the Prussians, a very strong armament of 24-pounders . has been found on board the four captured g►ailboats. The King of Prussia has forwarded the tutiowing telegram to Queen Augusta At Orleans more than 10,000 prisoners, 77 cannon, and four gunboats were captured. The villages of Gidy, Janvry, and Pruns, together with the railway station, which had been fortified, were taken by storm. General Manteuffel with the 8:h Army Corps has occupied Rouen. GERMAN ADVANCE ON TOURS. DARMSTADT, December 7. A. telegram received by the Grand Duke from Prince Louis, announcing the triumphant entry of th e Germans into Orleans, contains the announce lbent that the Germans are marching with as much rapidity as possible on Tours. ADVANCE ON HAVRE. HAVRE, December 7. The Prussians are rapidly advancing towards this town. A. fight has taken place at Warcq (Aisne), but no material result followed. The losses on both Sides were about equal. All communication with the columns has ceased. Two floating batteries, the Opiniatre and the Fon- Qroyante, are expected at Havre. The population of the arrondissement have brought their stores of food within the fortifications, and destroyed all that Could not be removed. The following proclamation has been posted in the town : To THE INHABITANTS OF HAVRE. By a rapid advance the enemy has arrived at Rouen. Havre, more than ever menaced, but long since Prepared, is resolved upon the most energetic defen ce . At the approach of danger we make a new appeal to the patriotism of the population. They will make any sacrifice to repulse the enemy, and preserve our rich and brave city from Pillage and the contamination of the foe. Sustained by their energetic support, we answer for the safety of Havre. Vive la Republique ! line et indivisible ! Signed by the Commandant, the Sous- Prefect, and the Mayor. Havre, Dec. 5. GERMAN LOSSES IN THE LOIRET. A despatch received from the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Schwerin states that the losses of the allay under his command in the battles from the 2nd to the 4th inst. were 3,200 men. The enemy lost 2 ,000 men killed and 14,000 prisoners. Among the booty secured by the Germans in the recapture of Orleans was a herd of 5,000 oxen. The Minister at War at Munich has received a despatch from General Von der Tana', re- Porting the various engagements in which the I , 34 varians have taken part. At Orleans on the 4th t hey captured six guns and 2,000 prisoners in front Orleans. The total loss of the latter during the four days' lighting amounte I to 133 officers and about 3,000 rank and file. GENERAL VINOY'S DEFEAT. BRUSSELS, December 7. The Paris correspondent of the Independance Pe 1 9 e , writing on November 30, says that the sudden Nindation which compelled General Ducrot to adjourn for twenty-four hours the passage of the 4 arne, which was ti have been made simulta neously on the 29th of November with General Ir i"oy's sortie in the direction of Choisy-le-Roi, R. a not accidQutal, but was caused by the Ger -111118 letting loose the sluices from Neuilly. The O bject of General Vinoy's movement, which was a treat success, was thus defeated, and he abandoned he positions gained. Forty of the Prussian guns Were spiked by General Vinoy's forces. THE RECENT GERMAN VICTORIES. BEULIN, December 7. general rejoicings have taken place here in con sequence of the brilliant victories near Orleans by * hieh the French Army of the Loire has been sub- Btantially destroyed. Now that, in addition to those victories, Rouen 448 been taken, the end of the war is at last deemed •,, Ile ar. In consequence of the heavy German losses b efore Paris from the recent sorties and from sickness Peeple are beginning to - urge the bombardment of t he city in order to hasten its surrender. There is B° lne talk of giving expression to this feeling in an ad dress to the King. „_ing William has conferred upon the Grand Duke „„ " 1 ' Alecklenburg the Order of Merit. In the Reichstag to-day, Herr Delbruck an nounced that, the contracting Governments having abs tained from insisting on the satisfaction of their m eshes on many points, he could not consent to any alt erations on the new Constitution. b 4 any amendments were nevertheless discussed ; it li t each article was filially passed by an overwhelm- . T he Reichstag will close this week. 111 P. IMPERIAL CROWN OF GERMANY. ,The following letter has been addressed by the' -n g of Bavaria to the King of Saxony, respecting he assumption of the title of the Emperor of Ger - , 411 Y by the King of Prussia : p," Meet Serene and Powerful Prince ! Dear C e lla, Brother, and Cousin !—Victoriously led aPrussia's heroic King, the German races, who le : centuries have been united in language, h e L it lers, science, and art, now celebrate a brother cf arms, which gives a glorious proof of the ° l tance of the power of a unitent Germany. th ei mated with a desire to co-operate with_ them in / 6 4 endeavours to effect this unity of Germany, e t e," not delayed entering into negotiations , cal 4Led to bring about this result with the Chan so,inc:B.of the North German Confederation at Ver sa:,l now address myself to the German Princes, 3 , 04 especially to your Majesty, to propose that . should, together with me, urge upon his th a e .l e : h l ity the King of Prussia that the exercise of titi e -c rasidential rights should be united with the th at °,f Emperor. It i s for me a sublime thought posit Can feel myself called upon, both by my eei le i t " in Germany, and by the history of my th e up tY, to tak e th e first step towards crowning . ful 1;' 11 c of German unity, and I . entertain the joy your Pe that your Royal Majesty will accord to me while assent. /t o w thus have thepleasure of asking your N Y e al Majesty, as well as the other Confederate th e sand free t owns f or th e ir opinion, I am, with 41, ass ance of my highest consideration and friend eoifsinYour Royal Majesty's iiiendly brother and e " LUDWIG." t o stated that Cou n t Bi sm arck has determined acceptance or rejection of the Constitu 041101a the Treaties with the South German States as a 'let question. THE EASTERN QUESTION. The French Government have unconditionally accepted the proposal to take part in the Conference relative to the Treaty of 1856. " BERLIN, December 7. 011:eial invitations to a Black Sea Conference, to be held in London, are about to be despatched. Prussia, having referred the Russian Cir cular Note to the Federal Council, has not yet answered it. In her communication to her German allies, Prussia says that, not having signed the Treaty girrAtiteeing the integrity of Turkey, she is not actually bound to interfere in the present instance, but ought to be solely guided by her interests. All the American envoys in Europe have been( instructed to refrain from any collective step of the Powers in the Eastern or Franco-German ques tions.— Times. PEnA, December 6. Councils of Ministers have been held nightly since the beginning of Ramadan, and every pre paration is being made in view of the contingencies that may arise out of the Russian circular. The fleet is under immediate orders for service, and a complete system of torpedoes has been organised, under the direction of the American Captain Edenborough. Generals Sheridan and Forsyth left Constanti nople for Versailles, by way of Brindisi, on Saturday. They have expressed themselves well satisfied with the efficiency of the Ottoman Army. To-day reports have been received from Odessa that extensive warlike predarations have been made at Kortch, and that the earthworks around the place have recently undergone a formidable exten sion. A considerable number of Russian agents are very active among the Sclavonic sympathisers in the Ottoman Empire. The Greeks still hold aloof. There has been to-day great activity among the diplomatists here. General Ignatieff asserts that there will be no rupture of pacific relations. ITALY. FLORENCE, December 0. King Amadeus starts to-night for Turin. The Spanish delegation goes there on Friday to compli ment the new Queen. King Amadeus and his consort start for Madrid on the 23rd of December. General Cialdini has been appointed Italian Minister-Plenipotentiary at Madrid. The new King of Spain's civil, military, and Court staff, after accompanying him to Madrid, will return to Florence, as it is settled that no Italian must re main at the Spanish Court. Ihe Chamber of Deputies to-day being agreed not to make a political question of the election of a President, the Government candidate, Signor Bian cheri, was elected by 189 votes, against 100 given for Signor Cairoli. MINISTERIAL CRISIS AT THE HAGUE. THE HAGUE, December 7. To the great regret of the Liberal party here, Messrs. Fock and Brocx have not succeeded in forming a Cabinet, and they have sent in their re : - signation to the King. It is believed that the colonial policy and the financial question, especially the subject of the income tax, proved to be difficulties which they could not surmount. Considerable anxiety is felt as to the result of the crisis, and at the time of telegraphing it is not known how a new Ministry will be formed. CHINA. (Grant's North China Despatch, via Kiach ta.) TIEN-TSIN, November 22. There have J:oeen further hostile demonstrations against Christians. KIA C HTA, December 5. The Khan of M.ainnoin has been taken prisoner by Tartar rebels at Ulliasseita. (CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAMS.) THE HEALTH OF LIVERPOOL. Professor Huxley has been requested by the Liverpoo Corporation to nominate a gentleman to inquire into the present unhealthiness of the town. THE STRANDED UNION. The North German Lloyd's steamer Union, which stranded at Rattray Head on Tuesday last, parted amid ships yesterday. The vessel is said to have cost 270,000. Very little of her cargo has been saved. THE MURDER OF MR. FLUECK IN LIVERPOOL.. The inquest on the body of Mr. Christian Flueck, the schoolmaster recently murdered at Liverpool, was re sumed yesterday before the Liverpool coroner. The evi dence shewed that there was some hostility between the tutor, Howchin, and Mr. Flueck ; that the wounds were such as might have been inflicted by an iron bar ; that such a bar.was found in the room ; that blood was found on Howchin's clothes ; and that though he was present during the dressing of the wounds of the deceased there was no contact such as would have produced those stains. The inquiry was adjourned. TRIAL FOR MURDER. At the Stafford Assizes on Wednesday James Alsop was indicted for the wilful murder of John Farnell, head engi neer at the Cannock Wyrley Colliery, on the 16th of September. The prisoner was engine-tender at the collier, and on the day in question he came late to his work. The deceased remonstrated with him. PriEioner replied insolently, and the deceased kicked him. A fight ensued, in the midst of which the prisoner stepped back, produced a pistol, fired at the deceased, and injured him in the liver, so that he died next day. The jury found the prisoner guilty of manslaughter, and he was sentenced to ten years' penal servitude. SHREWSBURY ELECTION PETITION. Mr. John Hawley Edwards, magistrates' clerk for the borough of Shrewsbury, was the first witness examined before Mr. Baron Channell at Shrewsbury yesterday. Ho said that Mr. Thomas Groves, a magistrate, had asked his advice as to a memorial for the remis sion of sentence upon William Cooper. The witness refused, however, to say precisely what Groves asked, and the judge ruled that he need not do so.—Price Edwards said Groves promised to employ him if he voted for Mr. Straight.—Charles Heath said he saw Groves give a man what he believed to be half-a-crown, and the man went immediately to the polling booth. John Edwards said he remembered Mr. Groves soliciting his father's vote. Mr. Groves said if it were a matter of a day's work he would put it right.—William Davies, a carriage examiner at the railway station, was at the house of a Mr. Swallow, who had promised to vote for Cotes; when Mr. Groves came in he took Swallow into another room, and closed the door. His persuasion was of such a kind that, notwithstanding Swallow's promise, he voted for Mr. Straight. Townsend (another witness said), shewed a purse a dozen times, saying it would win the election for Mr. Straight. The same Mr. Townsend gave a plain supper, for which no payment was made. The night before the election voters only were present; and the election formed the staple of conversation. —The Rev. Mr. Gwyn also gave a supper to some of his tenants. The health of Mr. Straight was drunk, and Mr. Townsend addressed the gathering, hoping they would all vote for the Conservative. Some further evidence was given about the suppar at Mr. Gwyn's, but the witness did not re member Mr. Straight's health being drunk. A militia man deposed to having received a florin to vote for the Tory, and another received three shillings. The inquiry was adjourned. MR. PETER RYLANDS AND HIS CON STITUENTS. Mr. Peter Rylands, M.P., addressed his constituents last night in the public hall, Warrington. He denounced the anomaly of the bishops sitting in the House of Lords ; and in speaking of the Army and Navy he argued that tin former ought to be administered on the same prin. ciple as the latter, namely, by promotion instead of pur chase. He vindicated his action on the commission in reference to the diplomatic service by showing that vast sums of money were uselessly expended, especially in superannuation pensions, and in being given to men who were 'in many cases not only useless, but prejudiced to England. He was opposed to such payments as marriage- dowries, but he certainly preferred Royal Princesses marrying British subjects to marrying German Princes. He denounced the attempt to embroil England in Continental affairs, especially as regarded Belgium, and said that the sending of 30,000 men there was moonshine. As constituted, the English Army was, as in the days of the Crimea, an army of lions led by asses. He denounced the excessive expenditure of the departments, and argued that the working•classes had to pay the most towards it. Referring to the Continental war, he said he hoped for peace, as peace was for the interest of the industrial classes of the country. THE GERMAN ADVANCE ON ORLEANS AND AMIENS. The Maitair Wochenblatt gives the following summary of the German advance on Orleans and Amiens : " Immediately after the capitulation of Metz the army corps of the investing army which thereby became available were directed to march, in order, by the defeat of the French armies meanwhile col lected and formed to the north and south of Paris, to frustrate any attempt to leave that city. General Man teuffel's division (the 4th and Bth Army Corps and the Ist and 3rd Cavalry divisions) was directed north against the Northern Army formed at Amiens and Lille, while Field Marshal Prince Frederick Charles, with the 3rd, 9th, and 10th Army Corps, took a south westerly direction against the Army of the Loire. By forced marches, favoured however by the weather, both army columns, towards the end of November, approached tneir destinations. The Northern Army diviSion encoun tered the French Northern Army, on the 27th, before Amiens, completely routed it, and, on the following days, drove it further back in a northerly direction towards Arras, so that, from this side, the army investing Paris has nothing more to fear. Of Prince Frederick Charles's 3rd Army Corps, the right wing column (9th Army Corps) and the centre (3rd) reachedthe Seine on the 14th of November, at Fontainebleau and Moret, so that on the following days they were in readiness to take up the positions on the Paris and Orleans road of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg's division (Ist Bavarian Corps, 17th and 22nd Infantry, and 4th Cavalry Division), which was moving off towards the north-west. The left wing column (10th Army Corps), which had had to describe the greatest curve, and had frequently been obstructed in its march, only reached the Loing at Montargis on the 21st. After a day's rest, the further advance 'of the 10th Army Corps was resumed in the direction of Pithviers, iu order to put itself into immediate communication with the other corps of the 2nd Army. On the 23rd Wedell's 38th Brigade, with six squadrons of the Hessian cavalry brigade, had taken up a position at Beaune. On the 24th Lehmann's and Valentini's 37th and 39th Brigades followed from Montargis by two roads through Laden and Corbeilles, likewise destined for Beaune, where the corps was to unite. The enemy advanced from the woods east of Orleans in three strong columns against the left wing of this difficult flank march, collectively of the strength of about 31,000 men, while our troops available for the encounter were only 10,000 or 12,000 men strong. He had, already strongly occupied Mdzieres and Ladon on the southern road, and pushed forward by Boiscommun and La Loupe towards Beaune. While the artillery corps was sent forward to Beaune, Valentini's brigade went through Juraville by the south road, in order to support Lehmann's brigade, which, in a hot encounter, conquered Lahon ; it took Mdzieres, and united with Lehmann's brigade. The fighting became still more warm at the crossing of the Bellegarde, Aury, and Beaune-Ladon roads, but the enemy was repulsed here also in the direction of Bellegarde, and in the evening both brigades reached Beaune. The 10th Corps was thus collected there, and had formed a connection with the 3rd Corps. On the 28th there was a fresh attack on the 10th Corps on the part of the Army of the Loire, to which also the Army of the East, formerly under General Cam briels, now under General Michel, has been united. This led to a fight at Beaune, in which several hostile corps of the right wing suffered a sensible defeat. While in this manner the Army of the Loire of the right wing began as early on the 25th, in frequent offensive attacks, the struggle before Orleans, their left wing meanwhile also came into action. The Grand Duke of Mecklenburg's division, which was approaching Prince Frederick Charles's army in order to concentrate both armies before Orleans, encountered French corps of the Army of the LOire on the 15th and 16th, which resulted in the repulse of the enemy at all points. Here, too, the enemy made a violent attack. On the right wing, the 17th division, the Ist Bavarian Corps, and the 4th Cavalry Division fought against the 16th French Corps, and on the left wing at Artenay the 17th Division encountered the 15th French Corps. We thus find the right wing of the Loire Army defeated on the 28th in the fight at Beaune, and the left wing decidedly repulsed on the 2nd of December at Bazoches-les-tlautes, so that the greatest part of the French Army of the Loire has been already occupied in unsuccessful engagements." H.E SUN, I, O ONDON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 187. THE END OF THE SORTIE. The correspondent of the Telegraph, in his letter dated Royal Headquarters, Versailles, December 3, says : Trochu's "great soitie,n, upon which such extravagant hopes have been based, has come to a disastrous and tragical end—and with it, I fear, the reputation of that general for truthfulness and moderation. Anything more disingenuous and boastful than his proclamation to the Parisians, which reached us yesterday, cau hardly be conceived. What is the meaning of a rentree victorieuse, effected by an army that has sallied forth from a beleaguered city for the purpose of breaking through the hostile lines drawn round it, and has been driven back to the walls with heavy loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, not having effected its object? It is simply a contradiction in terms. What shall be said of General Ducrot, who formally announced to the inhabi tants of the French capital that he would only return from the expedition victorious or dead ? He is returned, having borne himself gallantly; but he has failed to fulfil either of the two self-imposed conditions. After three days' fighting, for the most part desultory and abortive, his legions have retired from the hopeless con test they.had endeaovured to maintain against troops in every respect superior—having, through the hesitation or incapacity of their leaders, thrown away the finest chance that ever an army had of inflicting a tre mendous catastrophe upon its foes. There is no doubt whatever that, havirg hit upon the very weakest point of the German rayon, and having, through a lucky coincidence, found that point even more feebly guarded than they could have any reason to expect, they did partially succeed in establishing themselves in positions which actually belonged to the German lines of investment. Had they been adequately sup ported, and had they, reckless of loss or possible calamity, pushed their way onwards to the eastern rear of this army, they might at least have done, in a few hours, such irreparable damage to its communications with Germany—its source of supply and base of operations--that the siege of Paris must have been raised, and the forces now gathered round it would have been compelled to break up their positions, and take to the field in very ticklish circumstances. Had Ducrot, leaving half his men on the road, and risking the loss or capture of the remainder within a few days, seized Lagny, Meaux, and Nanteuil, annihilating all the new bridges and railway repairs whicn have been painfully and with unheard of exertion, made by the Germans within the last two months—and destroying the enormous stores accumulated for feeding, clothing, and munitioning this army—he would have saved Paris, and might have been, at this moment, dead or living, the greatest man in Europe. What was there to stop him? When he held Brie-sur-Marne, Villiers, Champigny-sur- Marne, &c., which stood between him and the Eastern terminus of the Paris-Strasburg Railway at Lagny, or the great depot of military stores and provisions at Nanteuil-sur-Marne? Nothing but a few scanty reserves, and a thin line of " Etappen," utterly unequal to the task of staying a victorious force thirty thousand strong ; and it might have been double that number, had his supports hurried forward without loss of time on a forced march of twenty-five or thirty miles.. Captain Spencer Robbins, on his way homewards, was under heavy fire for some hours on the road between Versailles and Lagny—a fact that proves incon testably the presence of the French in the very heart, if not in the rear, of our lines. Why did they not push for ward at any cost ? Instead of doing so, and possibly changing the whole fortune of the war, they fell back, feebly attempted to establish themselves in one or two of the villages they had wrested from the Wurtembergers, and eventually retired to their old ground, being driven from the last place they clung to—Champigny sur-Marne—the day before yesterday, by six battalions of Germaills. With their retreat dies out the last hope of relief for Paris. They will never be allowed to break out so far again. Every earth will be stopped, every issue blocked up by an impenetrable wall of batteries and needle-guns. They have lost between six and seven thousand men for nothing—and, what is far worse, have dealt a death-blow to the -irorale of their cumbersome garrison. We may now look for further internal convulsions in Paris. The weather is frightfully cold—yesterday the thermometer marked two degrees below zero ; and the scarcity of fuel cannot fail to become the most insufferable of all the priva tions imposed upon two millions of wretched human beings. We, who enjoy comparative comfort—which, in its turn, is hardship compared with the condi tions of our normal home life—scarcely allow ourselves to think of the misery now endured by the un fortunates pent in behind these huge ramparts. The Germans themselves are beginning to shudder at the picture presented to their imaginations, when they canvass the eventualities of a long-protracted investment, to which, if I am rightly informed, will be added, within a very few days, the horrors of a partial bombardment. It is now under consideration whether some of our siege guns shall or shall not open on the Bth instant. We cannot believe that Paris will hold out forty-eight hours Lifter that fire shall once have been commenced. Mean while, to-morrow—perhaps to-day Prince Frederick Charles will give Aurelles de Paladine battle ; and he has taken every precaution to insure victory. NAPOLEON AT WILH.ELMSHOIIE. A special correspondent of the Telegraph, in a letter dated Cassel, Dec. sth, says :—The Emperor has been for some days indisposed ; but his illness has not prevented him from working at his desk. His occupation for some days past has been somewhat of a literary, somewhat of a political, character; for he has just finished the MS. of a Lew pamphlet, entitled "Des Relations de la France avec l'Allemagne sous Napoleon 111 "—" Of the Relations of France to Germany under Napoleon the Third." To the title are added the words " Par le Marquis de Gricourt." I have, by a singular piece of good fortune, been able to get a glimpse at the manuscript of the Imperial mani festo, and I hasten to send you a few salient quotations. A chapter, headed " 1866," contains this passage :—" But it was not only England's and Russia's friendship which, by his sincere and open-hearted actions, the Emperor had gained in 1856. It was also the gratitude of Prussia, through the readiness with which he complied with the wishes of her King. Only the belligerent Powers —Russia, England, France, Turkey, and Piedmont—had been called to meet in the Paris Congress. The King of Prussia felt hurt in the highest degree at not having been invited to join a Conference which was to secure the peace of Europe. England opposed emphatically the admission of a representative of Prussia ; she showed herself extremely nettled at the political course of the Berlin Cabinet, which, during the entire campaign, had never concealed its sympathies for Russia. The brother of the present King, Frederick William IV., wrote at this epoch a letter to the Emperor Napoleon, in which was reflected the deep grief which he experienced at this exclusion, viewed by him as equal to an insult. Con fiding fully in the justice and friendship of the Emperor, he requested him to remove England's opposition, and added that he would be happy to thank him for admission to the Congress, considering it as a service rendered to him personally, for which he would always be grateful to him." Under the heading " 1866 " is the following : " ' The Prussian Ambassador in Paris, Count von der Goltz, was commissioned to sound the intentions of the Emperor, and several conversations concerning this matter took place in the beginning of the year 1866. The King of Prussia wrote in his own hand to the Emperor, to tell him that, with a view to the events in preparation, he had instructed his Ambassador to learn the Emperor's intentions, and arrive at an understanding. The Em peror replied to the King that it was difficult to foresee the results of the impending outbreak of a conflict, but that both Sovereigns had to calculate upon their reciprocal bond Ales and their mutual wish to preserve, under all circumstances, the most friendly relations. Negotiations were nevertheless continued, and France declared her neutrality. It was this neutrality, so favourable to Prussia, which permitted her to commence the campaign. At that epoch, the confidence in Berlin respecting the kind feeling of France was so strong, that Count Bismarck remarked one day to M. Benedetti, Our trust in your Government is so firm that we do not have a single soldier on the left bank of the Rhine.' " . Professor Cairaes has s ► far recovered his bodily health that he has been enabled to lecture regularly at University College, London, during the present term. The Old Testament Company of the Revisers began their third session on Tuesday under the presidency of the Bishop of St. David's. The Bishops of Llandaff, Ely, and Bath and Wells, with fourteen others, were also present. One member of the company, the Rev. Dr. Jebb, has withdrawn since the last meeting, on the ground that he objects to working with a body in which Noncon formist scholars are placed on the same footing as those of the Church of England. With this exception the utmost harmony continues to prevail among the members. CHILD MURDER AT ACTON.—An inquest was held on Tuesday night at the White Hart, Acton, before Dr. Diplock, on the body of a child found in Gunnersbury lane, Acton, on Sunday afternoon, by a gardener named Charles Rose. The medical evidence proved that the child had breathed, and that death was caused by suffocation. The jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown. THE GERMANS IN AMIENS. Writing from the Headquarters of the Bth Army Corps, Amiens, December 1, the special correspondent of the Telegraph says :—Yesterday morning, at seven o'clock, the citadel of Amiens surrendered at discretion, although in the first instance Captain Foggel, an old line soldier, steadily refused to do so when called upon by General Barnekow. Accordingly, two companies of the 40th Regiment took possession of the houses in the immediate neighbourhood of the glacis, and opened a Are upon the place, which was returned by the garrison with artillery and chassepot fire. All day long this sort of guerilla warfare continued, the German troops using no artillery. On the evening of the 29th it was determined to shell the disobedient earthwork into submission, and eight batteries marched out at three in the morning, taking up their positions right and left of the citadel at 2,000 yards. But, as the day dawned, the white emblem of submission was seen waving from the ramparts, and the melancholy fact was ascertained that the Com mandant had been killed during the night. The citadel is much stronger than was supposed. The garrison was composed of 400 men, and 12 officers, with thirty pieces of ordnance. The height of the revetenzent was 80 feet from the ditch to the rampart, so that it would have taken some little time, and no small loss, to capture the place ; but the death of the Commandant— killed while superintending the training of a guu—put an end to further resistance. The loss of the defenders was four killed and thirteen wounded. Within the citadel were found one officer and sixteen men of the 4th Prus sian Regiment, who had been taken prisoners the day be fore in the fight before Gentelles ; I need hardly say, they were agreeably surprised when their couutry men knocked in the door of the room in which they were confined. This ends the matter as far as Amiens is concerned. our next operations bid fair to meet with the same result, unless we zre opposed by different material. Most pitiable reports continue to arrive from the scene of the conflict on the 27th. A village was discovered by Captain. Uniacke on the ex treme left of the French position, in which, huddled to gether without medical assistance, without comforts of any sort, lay 600 wounded Frenchmen, many of the injured limbs required amputation. The French seem to have made no provision whatever for their wounded ; and, were it not for the British Society, and for the exertions of its agents, under the command of General Sir Vincent Eyre, I know not what would be the result. The loss of the German army, in the affairs of the 26th and 27th November, is 26 officers and 530 men killed and wounded ; the French loss is 2,700. To-day the Ist Army, leaving a garrison in Amiens, marched westward, and for the next few days there will be but little fighting; at any rate, we hear of no troops in the neighbourhood. To-day the shops are all open, and the streets are lined, with inhabitants, watching the march of the troops out of the town. We march upon Poix. . THE BRAIMA LOCK AND HOUSEBREAKERS.—Thomas Cox alias The Rat, was finally examined at the West minster Police-court, charged with stealing a cloak, value £5, from the house of Mr. Thomas IL Rodgers, of 17, Park-walk, Chelsea; also a large quantity of wearing apparel froM the house of Mr. Wm. Garrett, 41, Robert street, Chelsea; further with stealing several coats, &0., from the house of Mr. Minton Edward Gwinell, of St. Peter's College, Eaton-square, and also with stealing a valuable marble Malachite clock and seal-skin purse from the house of Mr. Palmer, of 17, Lincoln-street, King's road, Chelsea. There were 40 other oases where robberies had been commiLtcd with the aid of Brahma's keys, and Detectives Manley and Chummery, of the S division, who captured'the prisoner, produced agreat deal of the property, as well as a lock purportingto be a Brahma. At the house of the prisoner three Brahma keys were found which opened the doors, w hence the property , had been stolen. Th ese keys would not open a real Brahma, and the looks were evidently a bad copy of Mr. Brahma's patent. Mr. Woolych said the attention of Mr: Brahma ehould be called to this infringement of his patent. It had been productive of all these robberies, giving great facilities to latch-key thieves like the prisoner. He should send the prisoner, who reserved his defence, for trial upon four charges, others could be preferred at the trial. THE BItOCKLEY W'IINS ACCIDENT. THE INQUEST. (CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAM.,) Theinquest was opened yesterday on the bodies of the persons killed by the railway accident on Tuesday, at Brockley Whins. The evidence in the first part of the proceedings related almost entirely to identification. Mr. E. L. Davis, of Newcastle, lessee of the Lyceum Theatre, Sunderland, identified the body of Mr. Frederick Younge, whom he described as a comedian, and manager of a travelling company. Mr. Davis made an application for the money found upon Younge—upwards of £2OO. Sarah George identified the bodies of Hubert Taplin, the guard of the express train. The body of Mr. Henry Richardson, paper manu facture'', of Sunderland, was identified by his brother. Mr. William. Ogden, a gentleman 72 years of age, of Sunderland, was also identified, as was also Robert Turnbull, clerk, 26 years of age. The cause of death having' been proved by medical evidence, Hodgson Turnbull, the engine -driver of the coal train, was examined. He said he had left Gateshead at 10.15, and approached Brookley Whins at 10.40. He saw the points were wrong, but had not time to stop the engine. His train consisted of twelve trucks, and as soon as he saw the other train coming, he jumped cif his engine. The pointsman was entirely to blame for the accident. —The pointsman was present in custody. He is described -by the reporter as a "frail old man." The most seriously injured among the survivors are a gentleman of Stockton and a lady of Northumberland. The inquiry concluded at a late hour last night. The jury were of opinion that the collision was caused by Robert Hedley, the signalman on duty, neglecting to turn a certain pair of points in consequence of his being inter rupted in his work by the conversation of a shunter named Adamson, who was in the pointsmau's cabin at the time of the accident. The jury were further of opinion that Hedley's negligence was not wilful, and recommended that no one should be allowed to enter tke cabin of any signalman on the North-Eastern or any other railway. Hedley is still in the custody of the Jarrow police. The fireman of the coal train is now very ill. MR. GLADSTONE AND THE POPE. The following letter, addressed by Mr. Gladstone to Mr. Dease, Member of Parliament for Queen's County, has been sent to us for publication : Downing-street, November 30, 1870. Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 15th inst., transmitting a memorial from the inhabitants of Stradbally, in which you state that they express their desire that her Majesty's Government may see fit to use " such diplomatic intervention as may secure to the Pope the continuance of such a temporal Sovereignty as will protect him in the dise.barg,e of his spiritual duties, together with an adequate income." The memorial itself is couched in larger or less definite language, but I do not doubt that I am to recognise you as the beet expositor of the feelings it is intended to express. In reply I have to state that her Majesty's Government has not, during the various changes which have marked the reign of the presei.t Pope, 'interfered, nor have they now proposed to interfere, with the Civil Government of the City of Rome or the sur rounding country. But ,her Majesty's Government con sider all that relates to the adequate support of the dignity of the Pope, and to his personal freedom and in dependence in the discharge of his spiritual functions, to be legitimate matter for their notice. Indeed, without wait ing for the occurrence of au actual necessity, they have during the uncertainties of the last few months, taken upon themselves to make provision which would have tended to afford any necessary protection to the person of the Sovereign Pontiff. The subjects to which I have adverted will continue to have their careful attention ; although they had great satisfaction in observing that the Italian Government has declared in the most explicit manner its desire and intention to respect and defend the Pope's freedom and independence, and to take care that adequate provision shall be forthcoming for the due sup port of his dignity.—l have, &c., W. E. GLADSTONE. NAVAL AND MILITAItY INTELLIGENCE. A competitive examination has been opened at Chat ham Dockyard by the Civil Service Commissioners, to fill up the vacancies for six engineer students. There are a large number of candidates. Prince Arthur will preside at the annual distribution of prizes at the Social Science classes at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, on Tuesday evening. The presen tation will be made in the Dining-hall, Cartridge Factory, and an address to the students will be delivered by Mr. Ruskin. CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. A council meeting was held yesterday afternoon at the Salisbury Hotel, Salisbury-square, Fleet-street, Colonel Tomline, M.P., presiding. Mr. Clay, the treasurer, read the annual statement of accounts, from which it appears there is a balance in hand of £l9l, rather less than last year, owing to a subscription of £.50 which has been given to the Local Taxation Committee. The report of that committee was read by Sir Massey Lopes, M.P., which announced that they had drawn up a petition to Parliament with reference to the subject, which would be submitted by the approval of the magistrates in Quarter Sessions. The committee did not put'it forward as a model for every county, but asked each county to alter and amend it to suit their own views and requirements. The committee find the greatest difficulty in reaching the Boards of Guardians and the smaller ratepayers ; but they hoped to induce the former to petition Parliament early in the session. A further list of subscriptions was announced, and the report was received and adopted.—Sir Massey Lopes directed attention to the subject of the education rate, and reminded parishes that unless application was made to the Privy Council before the 31st December they would lose the opportunity of having Government grants for their schools.--The discussion adjourned from the October meeting on the question of what alterations could be made for securing more united action between the central and provincial chambers was re-opened, and, after a long dis cussion, chiefly upon matters of detail, a committee was appointed to consider the subject and draw up a report. LONDON FIRES. During Tuesday night and Wednesday morning five fires are returned to the Metropolitan Board of Works as having taken place in the .London district. Out of that. number two only are deserving of public notice. One of these took place on the premises of Mr. Willcocks, music and musical instrument seller, No. 32, Blackman-street, Borough. The flames commenced from some unknown ca us about the staircase, andthey rapidly ignited the two upper floors, and broke through the roof, causing very great alarm •to prevail in the neighbourhood. A strong body of police was immediately draughted from the contiguous station, and were' the means of preventing many of the light-lingered gentry from Kent from pursuing their avocations. Engines arrived in rapid succession, and were set to work from an abundant supply of the South work Company's water, but, in spite of the exertions of all present, the fire could not be conquered until the premises were nearly destroyed, and the property of Mr. Ware, solicitor, No. 33, and Mr. F. C. Holmes, tobacco nist, damaged. Another fire took place whilst the above was raging in the premises of Mr. W. Scott, a tobacconist, 148, Union street, Borough. As many engines as could be spared from the first fire were draughted to the second one, and the same turncocks, members of the Salvage Corps, and firemen arrived, and plenty of the Southwark Company's water was ready to allow the engines to be set to work, and with the addition of Beek and Co.'s patent hydrants, the flames were confined to the lower part of the premises. The fire was caused through a light being thrown down. CRYSTAL PALACE.—One Shilling Day, Wane- day, December 7th, 1870.—Admissions by season tickets 1,950 ; ditto on payment, 2,422 ; total visitors,4,372. COLONEL REILLY.—Many of our readers will be gratified to hear that Colonel Reilly, one of the Military Commissioners with the French army, who had not been heard of since the battle of Beaune-la-Rolande, has ap peared at the Headquarters of Prince Frederick Charles, having been taken prisoner at the close of the action. He will probably be sent into Germany and then set at liberty. —Times. The Royal Dublin Society have thrown open the exhibition of cattle, sheep, poultry, dairy produce, &c., for the benefit of artisans, by gas-light, two nights this week, from seven to ten o'clock. Tiokets were given to employers at a very low rate for their workmen. There is going about a report —as yet not risen al)ove a whisper—that Mr. Home, the spiritualist, is established at 'Versailles, much as Galeotti was retained as astrologer to Louis XI. of France. That, is to say, the spiritualist is all in all with the King of Prussia. An Amorican correspondent informs the Church Herald that meetings have been held of the clergy and chief laity of no less than nine dioceses in the Protestant Episcopal Church, at which resolutions condemnatory of the co-operation of Unitarians and other heretics in the revision of the English Bible were passed unani mously, and in some instances with enthusiasm and ac clamation. . The Rochdale flannel trade during the month of November has exceeded in amount the corresponding period of last year, but manufacturers complain loudly of its unremunerative character, resulting in a great mea sure from the unsati s f ac t or y con diti on the foreign and colonial markets. At the wool sales which have just terminated in London about 170,000 bales passed the hammer, and considerable spirit was manifested through out, but especially towards the close, when a more mate rial advance was established in most *saes of wool, particularly in those sorts 404pted fur consumption in this locality. English wools generally continue firm in price, but loWvr 40.Tto:hiive 4tlvAncecl considerably. OUR COTEMPORARIES—This Morning GERMAN UNITY. The Times believes that a mighty revolution has been accomplished in lfurope, and all our traditions have sud denly become antiquated. No one can pretend to predict the relations of the Great Powers ; but it is not very diffi cult to forecast in a general way the political tendencies of the time on which we are about to enter. There will be a powerful unit d Germany, presided over by a family which represents not only its interests but its military fame. On the one side will be Russia, strong and watchful as ever ; but on the other side will be France, which, whether patient under her reverses or burning for revenge, will be for a time incapable of playing that great part in Europe which belonged to her even under the feebleness of the Restoration. Thus, whereas we had formerly two strong centralised military Empires, with a dis tracted, unready nation between them, which might be ground to powder whenever the two closed to crush it, there is now a firm barrier erected in Central Europe, and the fabric is correspondingly strengthened. In this the policy of past generations of English statesmen is fulfilled. They all desired the creation of a strong Central Power, and laboured for it in peace and war, by negotiations and alliances, now with the Em pire, now with the new State which had arisen in the North. But their hopes were not to be realised. The Empire to which the Great Napoleon gave the last blow passed away because the race which it repre sented was not yet a nation. Whether the Germans until recent times ever had a sentiment of national unity it is difficult to say, but certain it is that in the 18th century and the early years of the 19th no such sentiment existed. As the power of the Emperor waned, the Princes became almost irresponsible despots, and at the outbreak of the French Revolution there were more than 300 of them, great and small. Their jealousies were incessant, the feuds frequent, and the antagonism of Austria and Prussia, the cause of so many troubles, was then as strong as when it destroyed the Bund four years ago. Now the nation is represented and led by its princes ; but it lives, and thinks, and acts for itself, and not only is - the Empire possible, but its primary state under its new con stitution will probably be but the transition to a more centralised and powerful organisation. From a race but dimly conscious of unity and common interests the Ger mans have been transformed into what they are by suf fering and deliverance. The Telegraph says : Why should Count Bismarck make a point of obtaining from the old monarch his acceptance of the title of Kaiser? No doubt it is a natural symbol of the unity which mingled astuteness and valour have accomplished. The renown of the ancient and mediaeval world gathers about the name. It recalls Char lemagne and Charles le Gross ; Henry the Fowler and Barbarossa—Conrad, who made the " Truce of God," and Max, who was as potent in peace as war. The very name is a token that once again Germany —which was divided under Henry the Fifth is wedded together under William, a reconciled and indivisible nation. Count Bismarck is not the man to be senti mental ; yet, as. a German, he has beyond doubt felt the force of these associations, and he has besides given full weight to the feelings of the minor kings and princes. Nevertheless, he is also a man of his time, and he knows what are its forces and tendencies far too well to be dazzled by the idea of a " Holy Roman Empire" like that of Oth.. People talk of Germany as if the nation were feudal at heart ; and the sentiment with which the German race will hail the nomination is very likely to be mistaken. Count Bismarck, it is to be hoped, commits no such error, whatever his Royal Master and the Southern Kings may think ; and nobody can estimate better than the watchful Chancellor the popular influences which must and will assert themselves when the war is over, and the swords are beaten into ploughshares. He perceives that the present time is mo mentous enough to engross all his attention. To-day it is enough to conciliate objections, allay suspicions, and consolidate Germany under the old, well-understood words and mtmes. The work will stand, whether, the words and names endure or not that we must assume the Count forsees, and to that the German people will agree. It is mournful beyond expression for humanity, that it cannot contemplate the harvest of so much effort as a labour of peace, accomplished by in fluences of natural development, and not even the great ness of the result can, in the view of any reasonable mind, atone for the combination of fraud and violence by which the earlier stages of the movement were marked. But some day th 3 world will forget Count Bismarck's means in the greatness of his aim, and Germany united will be a pledge of peace, not, under martial leaders, a formidable source of war in its most,hideous aspect. The Standard dwells upon some interesting consi derations suggested by the announcement of the estab lishment of the German Empire, and remarks : Its political significance, except in its working upon the German mind, and its possible effect in strengthen. ing the idea of unity, by giving it a concrete repre sentation, is nothing. Europe will accept the announce ment and congratulate the new Emperor. Having raised no question as to the admission of Prussian non- German provinces into the North German Confederation, it will make no protest against their formal incorpo ration in Germany. Only in the Austrian Empire will the step provoke any regret or ill-feeling. The Emperor Francis Joseph, as heir and the representative of the long line of Emperors, who, although their proper title was Roman Emperor, were always called Ger man Emperors, may regard with some bitterness of heart a usurpation, as he may deem it, on the part of Prussia, which seems to mark as definitive the severance of all connection between Austria and Germany, and the final triumph of the Hohenzollerns in their long struggle with the Hapsburgs ; and the Austrian Germans will feel more keenly that they are cut off from their brethren, upon whose aid they have relied to carry German culture—that is, to assert German rule—in the east of Europe. They will feel more fully how desperate is their chance of maintain ing that ascendancy, that monopoly of power, against the great majority of their fellow-subjects which until very recently they enjoyed, and for which they are still struggling so vehemently.. But Austria will offer no further opposition than that of making her reserves. And if King William is crowned Emperor of Germany all the crowned heads of Europe will have their representatives to congratulate him. We cannot congratulate him. The new Empire of Germany has been erected upon fraud and violence. Its founda tions were laid long ago in treachery; its superstructure has been built up in our days by unjust and bloody wars waged against Germans ; it is crowned by a slaughter and devastation, wanton because needless for the welfare and security of Germany. THE OCCUPATION OF ROME. Commenting upon the King of Italy's address to the new Parliament of Italy, the Daily News says : There is no sign of weakness or hesitation in the passages of the speech concerning the occupation of Rome. "We have entered Rome in the name of the national right, and shall remain there, and now we have solemnly undertaken for ourselves the engagement to establish the freedom of the Church, the complete independence of the Papal See in the exercise of its religious offices and its relations to the Catholic world." This is really all that sincere Catholics, who care more for their religion than for the vested interests of an ecclesiastical corporation, have a right to demand or expect. It is to be regretted that the ill-considered zeal of some subordinate agents of the Italian Govern/I:tent should have thrown a momentary doubt upon the sincerity of its intentions in this respect, by furnishing the Papal Court and party with at least a colourable pretext for complaint, and enabling the Pope himself —ridiculously enough, considering his affec tion for intellectual freedom of all kinds—to protest against an infringement of the liberty of the press. The Italian authorities should bear in mind that what the Court of Rome desires most at the present moment is a cheap crown of martyrdom, and it should carefully abstain from supply ing any sham thorns for the manufacture of that impos ing ornament. The Papacy will always flourish in an atmosphere of persecution ; in the wholesome air of perfect liberty, spiritual, like physical, pestilences expire. All friends of Italy will be glad to hear that the removal of the capital to Rome is to in augurate at last that system of decentralization and those administrative reforms which have been so often pro mised, and so long deferred. So long as the transfer of the capital was provisional, it may have been very difficult to bring the axe to the root of the numberless, abuses which the hasty union of several provinces has increased rather than diminished. The groat work of organic reformation is now made simpler and easier by the final settlement of agitating queAtions, A question addre - ,sect to. the Education Depart ment as to the possibility of working mean elected on the School. Boards being paid, has elicited from Mr. Forster the reply that when it was decided by Parliament that meihber3 of School Boards should not be paid, it was not thought right to make any exception in favour of a par ticular. class, Mr. Forster hopes, however, that the working men will combine to support any of their colleagues who may be elected to serve as members of a School Board, and who, may be in want of such support.