The Sun. — London, England, 1870-10-04 00:00:00

THE WAR. THE SIEGE OF PARIS. NEWS BY BALOON POST. The Daily News publishes another letter from a be sieged resident in Paris, forwarded by means of a balloon, written in the form of a diary. The items of the cor respondent are very interesting under the present circum stances of the capital, and we make the following ex tract : "FRIDAY MORNING, SEPT. 23.—Firing has been going on since three o'clock this morning. The newspapers contain accounts more or less veracious respecting fights outside the forts, in which great numbers of Prussians have been killed. M. Jules Favre pub lished an account of his interview with Count Bismarck in the Journal Officiel. I enclose it. M. Villemessant in the Figaro informs the world that he has left his wife outside, and would willingly allow one of his veins to be opened in exchange for a letter from her. We are still engaged in our old occupation—willing to die for our country. I hear that there has been serious fighting in the neighbourhood of St. Denis. This morning I saw another of the '4B Republicans—he seemed inclined to upset the Government more on the ground that they are incapable than because he differs with them in politics. The fact is that the country has forgotten these men of '4B. They are not half as powerful as they imagine themselves. Ledru Rollin has a strong following, but few trouble their heads either about Louis Blanc or Victor Hugo. I shall give this letter to a friend who will get it into the balloon, and go off to the Trocadero, to see how things are getting on.— P.S.—The Solferino Tower on the Buttes Montmartre has been pulled down. No one is to be allowed to hoist the Geneva flag unless the house contains at least six beds for wounded. .We have now a bread as well as a meat maximum. SATURDAY, SEPT 24.—We are as despondent to-day as we were jubilant yesterday. The success at the front seems to have dwindled down to an insignificant artillery combat. The Electeur Libre give the following account of it. On the previous evening eight thousand Prussians had taken the redoubt of Villejuif. At one in the morning some regiments advanced from there towards Vitry, and occupied the mill of Sagnet, while on the left about five thousand established themselves on the plateau of Hautes-Bruyeres. The division of General Maud'huy retook these positions. At five o'clock in the morning the Prussians tried to occupy them a second time but were driven back, and at half-past seven o'clock they fell back. At nine they attacked again, when a column of our troops, issuing from the Porte d'ltalie, arrived. The fray went on until ten o'clock, when the Prussians retreated towards Sceaux and Verrieres. This tallies to a great extent with what I was told by an officer this morning who had taken part in the engagement. The latest official utterance states that the division Maud'huy is definitely established "on the position of Villejuif." A despatch has been received, dated 9.30 yesterday evening, from the commander of St. Denis, in which he claims considerable advantages in yesterday's fighting at Pierrefitte. To-day there are, of course, all sorts of rumours of- successes ; but after the experience of yesterday little credit is attached to them. 12:10 Gazette Officielle contains a decree cashier ing M. Devienne, President of the Cour de Cassation, and sending him to be judged by his own court, for having been the intermediary between Badinguet and his mistress Marguerite Bellanger. Two letters are published which seem to leave no doubt that that this worthy judge acted as the go-between of the two lovers. Air. George Sanders whilom United States Consul in London, and one of the leaders of the ex-Confederacy, is here ; he is preparing plans for a system of rifle pits and zigzags outside the fortifications, at the request of General Trochu. Mr. Sanders, who took an active part in the defence of Rich mond, declares that Paris is impregnable, if it be only well defended. He complains, however, that the French will not use the spade. 4 o'CLocs P.M.—We have been in a state of wild en• thusiasm all this afternoon. At about 1 o'clock it was rumoured that 20,000 Prussians and 40 cannon had been taken. There had been a heavy firing, it was said, this morning, and a Prussian force had approached near the forts of Ivry and Bicetre. General Vinoy had issued forth from Vincennes, and, getting behind them, had forced them under the guns of the forts, where they were taken prisoners. The Boulevards immediately were crowded—here a person announcing that he had a despatch from the front, here another vowing he had been there himself. Wherever a drum was heard there was a cry of " Here come the pri soners 1" Tired of this, at about four o'clock I drove to Montrouge. It is a sort of Parisian Southwark. I found all the inhabitants lining the streets, waiting too for news. A regiment marched in, and there was a cry that it had come from the front; then artillery filed by out of the city gate. I tried myself to pass, and had got half-way through before I was stopped, then I was turned back. The prisoners here, close by the scene of action, had dwindled down to 5,000. Imagine Southwark, with every man armed in it, and a battle going on at Greenwich, and you will have an idea of the excitement of Montrouge. 6 o'CLocs P.M.—The boulevards almost impassable ; the streets before the Mairies absolutely impassable ; no official confirmation of the victory, except a pro clamation. Everyone who is not inventing news is waiting for it. A proclamation has been issued by General Trochu conceived in a very sensible spirit, telling the National Guard that the moment is ill chosen for pacific demonstrations, with crowns and bouquets. I hear that some of the soldiers who ran away at Clamart have been shot. Some of the papers discovered in the Tuileries are also published. There is a letter from Jecker to Conti, in which he says that de Morny had promised him to get the Mexican Government to pay his claims on condition of receiving 30 per cent. of profits. A letter signed Persigny complains that an employe in the Cabinet Noir is in want, and ought to be given money to prevent his letting out secrets. A letter from the Queen of Holland tells Napoleon that if he does not interfere in Germany his own dynasty will suffer. A note of the Emperor, without date, says, 'lf France boldly places itself on the terrain of the nationalities, it is necessary to prove that the Belgian nationality doe:: not exist. The Cabinet of Berlin seeming ready to enter into negotiations, it would be well to negotiate a secret acte, which would pledge both parties. This act would have the double advantage of compromising Prussia and of being for her a pledge of the sincerity of the Emperor." The note then goes on to say that it is necessary to dissipate the apprehensions of Prussia. "An acte is wanted," it continues ; " and one which would consist of a regula tion of the ulterior fate of Belgium in concert with Prussia would, by proving at Berlin that the Emperor desires the extension which is necessary to France since the events which have taken place in Germany, be at least a relative certainty that the Prussian Government would not object to our aggrandisement towards the north." I drove this morning through the fighting faubourgs with a member of the Barricade Committee. Barricades are being erected everywhere, and they are even stronger than the outer fortifications. There are, too, some agree able little chemical surprises for the Prussians if ever they get into the town. In reply to some suggestions which I made, my friend said, "Leave these people to form their own plans. They understand street fighting better than any one in the world." At La Villette, Grenelle, and, other faubourgs inhabited by the blouses, there is no lack of patriotism, and they will blow themselves and their homes up rather than yield. The Inclepentlance Beige has received news from its Parisian correspondent by means of a balloon. On Sunday, the 25th, the city was still under the favourable influence of the success recently obtained. It was sup posed to be not unlikely that an effort would be made to recover the positions which were lost at Meudon and the Lanterne de Diogene, for the Prussians are likely to make a decisive attack on Paris from that direction. The hard terms which Count Bismarck imposed as condi tions of peace seem to have called forth an unanimous expression of indignation, and the internal divisions upon which the Prussian Govern ment counted so much appear to have vanished altogether. It was reported that the Crown Prince wrote to his father expressing his regret at the rejection of the terms proposed by M. Jules Favre, but those who set the story afloat were ignorant of the usages of the Court of Prussia. What is more likely is that the Prussian army resent the sufferings of a campaign which has been long enough. When M. Jules Favre was sent from post to post to the Prussian head-quarters, the officers of all ranks conversed with him, and expressed their desire for a peace which might be advantageous to Prussia, while it was honourable to France. But they added that King William and Count Bismarck wished for war absolutely. The Prussian soldiers who are made prisoners are still more anxious to get back to their own country. There can be no doubt that these men would do their duty, but the trials of the siege should not be indefinitely prolonged. The situation of tha sick is deplorable, as is also that of the Wounded. Great attention has been excited by the publication of the papers found at the Tuileries. It has been found im possible to discover the names of the numerous recipients who under various titles and in all classes of society, profited by the secret resources of the Imperial Government. An enormous number of receipts has been found, but they only mentioned the sums expended. Some influential person, it appears, was so anxious that his identity should not be discovered, that when the employ 6 who signed the orders wished to put down his amount, he used to breathe on a piece of glass and trace the figures on that, so that they might be immediately afterwards effaced. The sums given in this manner are said to have been incalculable. THE ENGAGEMENT OF CLAMART. The correspondentof the Standard at the Crown Prince's headquarters, at Versailles, furnishes the following par ticulars of the above engagement :—" The sth Corps d'Arm6e, which, as you are aware, forms part of the force under the immediate command of the Croivn Prince, was marching forward with orders to occupy Versailles, by Epinay, Longjumeau, Palaiseau, Bievre, and Jouy en-Josas. On its extreme right was a brigade under the direction of General Von Voigts-Retz— by no means the only general of that name in the Prussian service--covering its advance. When the covering party reached Plessis-Piquet it found itself in presence of a considerable French force, which I have heard put as high as 30,000 strong, and which none put at lower than 20,000. Voigts-Retz's brigade certainly did not number more than three thousand ; but as he did not wish to interfere with the march of the main corps d'armee on Versailles he held his gnroud with indomitable gallantry, though the enemy was tremendously strong in artillery. Luckily a division of the second Bavarian army corps was marching in the same direction, but by the route of Antony and Chatenay. Their appearance at once changed the aspect of affairs. It is not generally considered that the Bavarians are particularly well handled, but their dash and determination on this occasion stood them in good 'stead. Whilst the brigade originally engaged was now able to press the enemy back from Plessis-Piquet to Clamart, the Bavarians forced them upon Chatillcn, where a redoubt has ,recently been in course of construction, and yet remained unfinished. The upshot of the struggle, which raged over all the ground lying between Villaconblay, Plessis-Piquet, and Chatillon in one direction, and from the woods of Meudon to Fontenay and Bagneux in the other, was that the redoubt at Chatillon was carried, with most of its guns, which are now turned upon Fort Mont rouge, that they are said to command. I repeat this upon no idle rumour. I have it on the best military authority, though, of course, even best military authority may be mistaken. 'lt would cost them 10,000 men to take it from us again,' was the utterance to-day of a distinguished officer. The entire loss on the German side in this affair is said to be not more than 300. Jouy held a certain num ber of wounded as I drove through it this morning, but the greater part have been brought on here. All the barracks are filled with fighting men ; so the famous galleries of the Palace have been turned into an hospital, and it is quite on the cards that Trianon, both big and little, may yet be made to answer the same purpose. THE CHANCES OF THE DEFENCE. The correspondent of the Times with the army of the Crown Prince, in a letter from Versailles, dated Septem ber 28th, observes :—All I have seen leads me to think that Paris will make a most desperate resistance. A coup de main is out of the question, and, if the city be really provisioned for two months and the citizens and army are of one mind to fight to the last, it needs not much penetration to see that the situation of the German armies needs the greatest circumspection. The fall of Toul will remove a great impediment to railway communication and supplies from the rear, but it is not to be expected, if the war goes on, that such lines as extend from this to the Vosges and Forbach can be kept with perfect im punity. They are working day and night at Paris. Only to-day they developed a new battery near Sevres, and as the German siege train has not yet been put in position, it is impossible to prevent them going on with their works ad kfinitum, though they really may not add much to tht nature of the very strong outer line of defence which guarantees the inner enceinte against assault. I do not believe in a bombardment of Paris in the ordinary sense of the word, but no doubt, if the Prussians are put to it, they will try the effect of fire on the forts, and the places beyond them must suffer. In another letter, dated Friday, the same writer gives details of the latest operations around the city : Early this morning there were two sorties, one in force against the 6th Corps, beyond Villejuif ; the other not so vigorous and less successful, against Meudon. There was no success for either, for no ground was gained, but a certain number of Prussians were killed and wounded and a greater number of French placed in the same cate gory. I.have no details as yet of either combat, but lam told twenty officers have been removed from the list of offectives. The French appear to have crossed the river to attack the 6th corps in boats and rafts, and the story to-night is that there were two full divisions of Vinoy's regulars, and no Mobiles, Nationals, or Francs-Tireurs. Several hundred prisoners were made, but I have only seen some twenty or thirty brought in ; and the French in Versailles have it that several hundred Prussians were carried into Paris. The Crown Prince started early this morning for Ferrieres, and intended to cross the bridge at Villeneuve, but was obliged to deviate a little from his course in order to get out of the line of fire, as he was bound to meet the King to celebrate the Queen's birthday. Although the sorties ended in the retirement —said to have been precipitate—of the garrison, they caused much animation along the front and in Versailles, and the forts were very lively for several hours. THE RELATIONS OF THE FRENCH PRESS WITH THE EMPIRE. The Siecle publishes copious extracts from the corres. pondence found in the Tuileries after the overthrow of the Empire. It will be remembered that the Government undertook to revise, classify, and publish these. So far as they have yet gone they reflect little credit on the fallen regime. Those now published relate exclusively to the relations of the authorities to the press throughout the country, and reveal an elaborate organisation of political influence and corruption. The report quoted refers to the elections of 1869. The organi ation of the press on this subject, it says, has only been begun in earnest during the last two months. The time is short, and the task urgent, especially in the depart ments. It is, above all things, necessary to reorganise the offices of the departmental press. Constant communi. cation was going on when this report was written (April 15) with the prefects, and a certain number of editors were preparing every day a series of articles, paragraphs, informations, &c. This branch is hopeful. An elector's letter, and the comments upon it, were inserted in eighty journals in less than three days. The Ministry can, therefore, it is evident, procure the publication or dis cussion of any matter they wish in a very short time. The arrangements can only be fully carried out by the concurrence of the prefects, and men and resources within the limits of the budget must be put at their dis posal. The number of the official journals in the de partments is indeed far above that of the opposition journals, but the former are generally tame and non-com bative, and their official character, more or less recognised imposes reserve on them, while the opposition are increas ing in activity and energy, In order to improve matters a full understanding has been arrived at with the prefects, the proprietors of the journals, the deputies and the candidates. Thanks to the sacrifices which they have made, and to the sum of 50,000 f. in hand, twenty-seven journals have been reorganised in the provinces, and their staffs reinforced by 33 writers from Paris. It is worth notice that the Bas-Rhin, the Cote d'Or, and the Bouches du-Rhone absorbed between them 20,000 francs out of the 34,000 francs. The other -twenty-four journals were pro vided for the sum of 14,000 francs, with the assistance of the deputies and candidates. A new credit of 100,000 francs is required for the Budget of the departmental press. But it is not enough to restrict ourselves to the Government organs ; it is essential to secure an indirect influence over the Opposition papers. The means of obtaining these are twofold ; to obtain the practical co-operatiou of some correspondents in the departments and to make use of the sort of monopoly which the Maison Havas has acquired for telegraphic despatches which it telegraphs to all the departments to journals of every opinion. On the first point a compromise has been come to with the Correspondance Cabot, M. Cabot un dertaking to take daily instructions from the Minister during the electoral period, and to introduce in his articles for the papers as much as is compatible with their political views without betraying his relations with the Govern ment. The Correspondance Havas has always held daily communications with the Minister. Whenever a piece of intelligence, a correction or a denial is to be circulated quickly the Agence Havas sends it at once in telegraphic form through France. It is under stood, in order to get this efficiently carried out, that this agency shall supersede all others for indirect communica tions. M. Havas supplies 300 journals. Coming to the Paris press, the prefects have obtained returns of the journals circulated in Paris, from which it appears that the circulation of the Opposition journals greatly exceeds that of the Government journals. The Opposition shrinks' from no sacrifices to circulate the democratic papers,. especially the Siecle and the National at 5 centimes. These efforts will be increased at the time of the elec tions, and it is important to restore the equilib rium of influence. The extraordinary circul a ti on o f L e Petit. Journal Officiel - points it out .as a useful agent, and electoral news will be inserted in it. It is not political, it is true, but its manager, M.Millaud, has begun a series of personal descriptions of Ministers, &c., which are cleverly done, and touch upon politics without actually '1 HE SUS, LONDON, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1870 dealing with them. A military romance of the first empire is to be published in this journal. It will be given to ui from the Imperial Cabinet and is to be is the opposite sense from those political romances which the Opposition publishes against the army. The accounts of public meetings are also impor tant, as are the discussions upon them, which the Peuple and Patrie are specially selected for. Four editors,MM. Be hagel, Vitu, Aurelien Scholl, and Adrien Marx, are charged with this department. A circular has been addressed to the prefects, desiring them to return the names of the estabishments and houses where a gratuitous distribu tion of papers would be useful, and by this means the papers can be sent direct from the offices without either the Ministry or the prefecture appearing. The Peuple offers - to -send, from Ist May to Ist June, 18,000 free copies daily for a sum of 60,000 f. The Patrie will send them at 1251. per thousand, being much dearer. Another sum of 100,0001. will therefore be required on the most moderate computation. The sum total of 200,000 f. may seem considerable, but it is less than the amounts given from political passion or personal ambition by the Opposition. Publicity will have so much to do with future elections that the printing presses of Paris are already insufficicient for the orders received. The Conservative party is, as usual, indolent, and leaves the Government the task of defending it. Influence on the Parisian press, which is always so difficult to obtain, requires a support, and this support is to be found in the certainty that the Government is disposed to make sacrifices for those who serve it. Material assistance greatly enhances moral influence, and many defections and desertions might have been avoided if satisfaction had been given to certain interests or personal wishes. If the latter asserti needed confirmation,, proof would be found in the agreement made with the Figaro. This agreement, of which the Minister himself arranged all the details, promises excellent results. It was one of the chief concerns of the service, and the attitude of the writers which direct this journal are almost beyond expec tation. With La France, Peuple, Patrie, Constitotionnel, Public, Pays, and Dix-Decembre, the Government presents itself to the elections at the head of a number of organs of different character and spirit, but all strongly attached to dynastic principles. Daily communications are kept up with them. Every day eight or ten editors come to receive instructions from the Minister, and during the electoral period the service is ready to publish every day; in Paris as well as in the departments, whatever the Ministry may require. The instruments are ready. They will promptly obey the guiding impulse. The Siecle, in commenting on this extraordinary report, observes that it confirms its previous apprehensions. "We know now why the Figaro was always ready to support the police. We have only the names of four journalists given, it is true, but we have the names of a good many papers. One of these editors, M. Viter, is still chief editor of the Peuple Francais, one of the papers mentioned. After this public exposure will not the Peuple Francais and its editor alike find it desirable to escape into oblivion? The report is yet incomplete, but it shews how the Minister in the secrecy of his Cabinet concluded the bar gains which the secret funds paid for. It remains to be seen whether we are to know the whole truth respecting these deplorable transactions." THE EMPEROR'S GOOD FAITH TOWARDS ENGLAND. One of the documents which the Imperialists most im prudently left behind them on their flight from Paris is published in the official paper of the Republic, as testi mony to the secret designs of the Emperor. It is undated, and runs thus : " If France should place herself boldly upon the ground of nationality, it will be proper from this time to shew that there does not exist any Belgian na tionality and to settle that essential point with Prussia. The Berlin Cabinet appearing to be disposed to enter into arrangements which it would suit France to accept, I it will be necessary to negotiate a secret undertaking which shall bind both parties. Without pretending that such a document would be perfectly safe, it would possess the double advantage of compromising Prussia and of being to her a guarantee of the sincerity of the policy and the intentions of the Emperor. It is right that we should not conceal from ourselves, when the characters of the King of Prussia and of his Prime Minister are known, that the latest diplomatic incidents and the present tendency of public opinion in France must have strengthened their conviction that we have not aban doned the idea of asserting our right to the fron tier of the Rhine. In order to be certain to obtain a confidence which is necessary to the maintenance of an in timate understanding, we must devote our efforts to dissipate apprehensions which have been entertained n connection with that eventuality—apprehensions which have again been excited by our latest communications This result cannot be brought about by words. A docu ment will be required, and one which would comprise the settlement of the future fate of Belgium in concert with Prussia, by proving at Berlin that the Emperor looks elsewhere than towards the Rhine for the extension that has become necessary to France since the recent events in Germany, will afford us, at least, a comparative certainty that the Prussian Government will oppose no obstacle to our aggrandisement." THE FALL OF STRASBUE,G. The correspondent of the Standard, writing from Rouen on the 29th September, says :—After post hours yesterday afternoon the news of the fall of Strasburg was officially posted up ; it caused great excitement—all the greater from the news having been contradicted up to the very last hour. Groups of people congregated on the Cours Boieldieu to discuss the news, but after the fashion of the French the discussion turned on the question whether tha Strasburgers were or were not justified in surrendering. The practical importance of this fresh success of the Prussians appeared to be altogether overlooked. The worthy Rouennais,who a 1.,: very English in their unde monstrativeness, appear to be more than English in their ignorance of geography, and the practical value of the possession of Strasburg by the enemy was wholly lost sight of, while the "moral effect " of the surrender was enlarged upon to an unlimited extent. That Strasburg should have surrendered is not to be wondered at under any circumstances, but it would appear that the gallant city would have held out but for the fact of the stock of ammunition having been thoroughly ex hausted. The garrison obtained the honours of war, but officers and men are now prisoners, and the loss of 17,000 men and a general of Uhrich's stamp is, under pre sent circumstances, a severer loss to the French than the loss of the fortress itself. When M. Jules Favre went to Prussian head-quarters last week, it is highly probable that if he had suspected that Strasburg would have surrendered within a fornight, he would not have objected to the proposal of Bismarck that Strasburg, Toul, and Verdun should be given up as the preliminary to an armistice, for as you will have seen by the detailed report of the French Foreign Secretary's interview with Bismarck, the latter waived the clause about Mont Valerien. The force which was detained before Strasburg will now be free either to reinforce the army under the walls of Paris, or to move on Lyons—a movement more political than strategi cal, and which may have very serious consequences. Such is the disgust felt in the city of grotesque tyranny of the half-dozen demagogues who have been ruling that city for the last three weeks without acknowledging the authority of any Government whatever, that much as the Lyonnese abhor the Prussians, even the Prussians would be welcome if they rescued them from the anarchy from which they are now suffering. Contrary to expec tation, we have as yet no details of the latest balloon mail from Paris. The news has gone on to Tours, but nothing has transpired beyond the bald statement of its being satisfactory, and of the Prussians having been driven from some of the positions they occupied. They do not appear to have been driven from St. Cloud or Menden, as their batteries in the park have been able to damage ene of the gunboats on its way up the river. It is not easy to understand why the French have not built counter batteries on the right bank of the Seine—as the Bois de Boulogne, the town of Boulogne itself, and Billancourt offer plenty of cover : a mortar battery planted, for instance, at the entrance of the main street of Boulogne, would not be easily silenced, and would greatly molest the batteries established in the Park of St. Cloud, close to the river's bank. I am sorry to say that the inference which the absence of such precautions leads to is, there must be a scarcity of material, or an equally important dearth of trained gunners. We are anxiously awaiting the im pression which the news of the fall of Strasburg must have produced in Paris. The Government—Gen. Trochu at all events—must have been fully prepared for it, but the population had been taught to believe that Strasburg would hold out another month. I have the greatest re spect for M. Jules Favre personally, but I must saythat it is deeply to be regretted, for the sake of France, that there is not an experienced diplomatist just now at the head of the French Foreign Office. An experienced diplomatist would not fail to communicate with the friendly Powers, and point out that it would be desir able to know what it is Prussia requires. M. de Bismarck stated that he wanted Strasburg, Toul, and Phalsburg, or Verdun. Ile has got both Strasburg and Toul. What are his views? Does he mean to carry on the war until he gets an assurance from France that she will submit to the loss of Alsace and Lorraine ; and will the neutral Powers be base enough, mean enough, and cowardly enough, to stand by and look on while . France is being treated like Poland An experienced diplomatist would ascertain all that, and elicit from the neutral Powers a statement of their views, and I can hardly suppose that to re frain from passing an opinion on the subject her Majesty's Minister would descend o the ineffable meanness of demurring to stating officially their opinion on. the ground that they have not yet formally recognised the new Government in France. M. Favre, however, is not used to diplomatic business ; he is too much swayed by his feelings to be able to discuss the qnestions at issue calmly. He is too de spondent, because possibly ignorant of the resources and recuperative powers of the country, and too deeply imbued with the ideathat Paris is France. I sincerely trust for the sake of this great, unhappy, and much maligned country that should there be further negotiations they will be con ducted by General Trochu, whom we may suppose to be horoughly well informed as to the military situation. But in any case I think it must now be plain, even to your correspondent at Prussian head-quarters, that Paris will hold out even at the risk of what he calls her " trumpery finery," by which I presume we are to understand the Louvre, the Imperial Library, the Luxembourg, the Museum of Cluny, and the hundred other repositories of art and science, being destroyed, and if the spirit of Normandy pervades the rest of the country, Prussia may find that to subdue a country determined to preserve its independence is harder work than to achieve such triumphs as the capitulation of Sedan. A CHARGE AGAINSr EARL GRANVILLE. Earl Granville, in his note to Count Bernstorff, on the 15th instant, states that " the Royal ' commission who' " (sic in orig.) " inquired into the neutrality laws in 1867, decided that to prohibit the export' (sic in orig.) of munitions of war was impracticable and impolitic." We have carefully examined the "Report of the Neutrality Laws' Commissioners" referred to, which was presented to both Houses of the British Parliament by command of Queen Victoria, in 1868, and we find in it no such decision as that attributed to these "eminent juriconsults " by Earl Granville. Their report does not contain one word on the sub ject of the prohibition of the exportation of muni tions of war ! If we acquit his lordship of the deliberate intention to mislead Count Bernstorff and the public, it is our duty at least to expose the gross mis-statement made by the Foreign Office. It is singular enough that Earl Granville's reference to the report in question supplies us with an additional argu ment in support of the remonstrances of North-Ger many ; for at page 48 of an appendix to the report we have found a very clear• exposition of the laws in force in France, with reference to the exportation of arms and munitions of war from that country. The information must be considered authentic, having been supplied to th British Government by Monsieur de Moustier, in his capa city of Minister of Foreign Affairs, under date of February 26, 1867. It appears from the official documents communi cated by M. de Moustier that " the exportation and transit of arms and munitions of war to belligerents are strictly pro hibited, and infractions of the law severely punished." Had Great Britain followed the practice of France, the grievous infractions of neutrality of which North Ger many complains would not have occurred. The popu lation of France would not have been supplied with hundreds of thousands of rifles for the slaughter of our citizen soldiers. For the death-roll we hold Great Britain responsible. In conclusion, we would observe that France could not, with any show of reason, have com plained of Great Britain acting according to the rules of French law, and Earl Granville's plea of unfairness is a mere transparent subterfuge. —North German Corre spondent. THE RULES OF WAR. Herr von Thile, Prussian Secretary of State, has issued a circular to the German embassies relative to alleged violations of the rules of war by the German forces. The circular curtly denies, without exception, the charges, and then proceeds :—" For the satisfaction of the other Powers which have taken part in the Geneva Convention and the declaration of St. Petersburg of the 29th November (11th December) 1868, I may add the positive assurance that the convention is most carefully observed by the German troops, and that explosive balls for hand fire-arms or for projectiles of less than 400 grammes' weight do not exist in the whole German army. On the other hand, well-attested facts shew the extraordinary way in which the French Government executes, or rather neglects to execute the conven tion of Geneva, for the establishment of which, as Prince Latour d'Auvergne justly stated, they dis played unusual zeal. The German physicians who, after the battle of Weissenburg, had to treat the wounded French soldiers in the lazareth which stood under the direction of the chief physicians Boger and Wilms, convinced themselves that with a few rare ex ceptions the French soldiers were ignorant of the significance of the white band with the red cross. French military surgeons of high standing, who afterwards visited the same lazareth to attend their countrymen, were compelled to make the pro tecting sign for themselves, as best they could, from the first material that offered, and they gave Prince Putbus, the delegate of the Knights of St. John, the distinct assurance that the French Ministry of War had neither supplied the doctors with the Geneva band nor directed them to wear it. • At a later period, the French officers who' have been taken prisoners agree in asserting that the Geneva Conven tion and its prescriptions as to the treatment of the ambulances, the physicians, and the wounded are entirely unknown in the French army. And just for this army such instructions were unusually ne cessary, as the French Government have found it consonant with the humanity, to which they appeal in their circular of the 30th August as the cause of their zeal for the Geneva Convention, to send into the field against us the Turcos, who are recruited from the scum of the town population of Northern Africa. I intend to shew in an official protocol what have been the results of this neglect of properly instructing the soldiers." A VERY STRANGE STORY. About ten days ago a Frenchman, Monsieur M-, arrived at Hastings, and demanded an audience of the Empress Euenie. As his name was not known to her Majesty the request was refused. Foiled in this attempt Monsieur M- contrived to fall in with the Prince Im perial in one of his daily walks. He professed great devotion to the Napoleonic cause, and it will surprise no one that the Prince should enter readily into conver sation with one whom he believed to have been driven from France by his devotion to the Imperial dynasty. These walks were repeated several days, and in the end M— asked the Prince to make him a present of one of his photographs, with the additional distinction of the Prince's own autograph appended. This natural request was at once acceded to, with the kindly good nature which appears to be a part of the young exile's disposition. The photograph obtained, M— appeared no more in the morning walks. It has since appeared that on leaving Hast ings M— made his way to the German army before Metz, and obtained a pass through the lines into the beleaguered .city. It seems that among the generals associated with Marshal Bazaine in the defence of that fortress there was one General B--, who had, as was well known in the Prussian army, distinguished himself by his zeal and intelligence in carrying on the gallant resistance to the enemy which has already won the admiration as well as the astonishment of both nations. Arrived in Metz, it was to this Gen. B--, so valuable for the safety of the French garrison that M— at once addressed himself. He told General B-- that he had come as a messenger to him from the Empress Eug4nie, and as his credentials he presented the photograph of her son with the signature attached. He added that the Empress desired the imme diate presence of General England, that she had a special mission to rust to him on the successful issue of which the future of the war would mainly depend, and that her Majesty dared not put it in writing lest it should fall into the hands of the enemy. General B—, at once obeyed the commands of the Empress, and, as he thought, with difficulty ; but as the story reaches us it would seem to have been with the connivance of the Prussian authorities that he got through the lines of the besiegers and making the best of hls way to England, arrived a few days since at Camden-place, near Chiselhurst, where the Empress is now residing. The surprise of the Empress Eugenie at seeing the General was very great, and after a few words of explanation it was discovered that General B-- had been the victim of a very novel if not very creditable ruse de guerre, by which the gallant army of Metz had been deprived of the services of one in whom on account of his gallantry and intelligence, they had reposed the most perfect confidence. By the last accounts that reached us, the gallant General was still in England, trying to arrange his return to his comrades, but he will probably not find the Imperial photograph such a good pass through the Prussian lines for him this time as it proved for the enterprising M-- last week.—Pall Mall Gazette. The Germans are using the Chassepots they have cap tured in the war. Soldiers not immediately engaged in war operations have been set to learn the use of them. ORDER INSIDE PARIS. The Pull Mall Gazette has received a letter from its cor respondent by balloon mail. He says that the young sol diers have made remarkable • progress, and rather look down upon the line, which has everywhere been defeated. " The capital continues to enjoy the most profound tran quillity, and a deputation of British correspondents has waited on M. Jules Favre to ask for some special facilities for making known the creditable attitude of the capital, the order which reigns, and the determination of parties to hush their animosities until after the departure of the Prussians. The Minister was courteous, and promised to consider the matter. At present we can only write the shortest of notes on the thinnest of paper, with no certainty of our letters being taken up at all in the balloons which carry despatches. Barricades are being carefully constructed for an inner line of defence ; and you may form some idea of the intensity of the martial fever from the fact that the chiffonniers,, or rag and bone finders, and the bum- bailiffs, are creating special corps. A juvenile corps, 2,000 strong, of lads between the ages of twelve and fifteen, has also been raised ; and, to all appearances, the de fence of the capital will be as vigorous as that of the other fortified towns of France." The above extract is highly important. It was written on Tuesday, the 27th, and proves that all the talk about fighting in the streets of Paris on the 25th was moonshine. The general tone of independent witnesses touching the state of Paris is very favourable. THE CAPITULATION OF SEDAN. The following particulars, in answer to General de Wimpffen's charge, have been forwarded to the Standard, " from a French officer of distinction " :—" The report of General de Wimpffen, which has just been published, seems to have been written with the object of throwing the whole responsibility of the capitulation of Sedan upon the Emperor. All the world .knows, in fact, that the Emperor, after having taken part in the fight, entered Sedan a the moment when the right wing, utterly shattered, was already blocking up with its debris the streets of the town. The crowd was so dense that it was impossible to clear a passage even on horseback. The Prussian artillery occupied the heights com manding the position, and was making terrible ravages among the thronging masses. In the opinion of every general present all hopes of resistance were gone. It is proved that it was only at this moment, when communication with General de Wimpffen outside the town had become utterly impossible, that the officer bearing the flag of truce was sent out ; and nobody will believe that the interference of the Emperor could in the slightest degree have impeded the forward movement that General de Wimpffen wished to make, since he him self avows, in his own report, " that the effective of the troops which he had been able to rally for that purpose was far too' weak to attempt the only line of retreat possible in view of the disposition of the enemy's forces." If the Emperor had thought only of himself he might easily have accepted the offer the general made to cut his way out, but It would have been at the price of blood use lessly sacrificed ; the rest of the army could not have fol lowed. The Emperor preferred to sacrifice himself and to share the lot of the army. AFTER THE FIGHTING AT SEDAN. The following terrible scenes on the battlefield of Sedan are described by a correspondent of the Allgemeine Zeitung : —The operation of the German bombs was frightful. In the first row of tents we found five, in the second six Frenchmen struck down by one shot. The latter grail') was just busy with the soup ; the shell had exploded in the body itself of the soldier in the centre of the party. He was completely carbonised from the waistband to the knee, flesh and uniform burnt to tinder. A second had the face and fore part of the skull torn away—the brains lay in the other half as in a bowl ; a third had his head and neck clean shaven from the body; and a fourth had been in the act of lifting a tin cup to his mouth, of which the lower jawbone alone remained. A few steps from these Frenchmen we came across a dead Prussian ; he had a shot in the left side, and according to our doctors must have survived in a conscious state for about ten minutes; he had pushed his knapsack under his head, and leant upon his right arm ; the look of his still open eyes was fixed upon the photograph of a girl in his stiff left hand ; he had drawn the picture out of the letter-case which lay near him, and had awaited death, his gaze riveted on the beloved features. We stood still for a while in deep emotion ; we then released the letter from his hand, made out his name and address, as well as those of the young woman from the letters found by his side, and one of us under took to forward the picture and letters, with an account of the manner of his death, to his beloved. The American General Burnside went to Paris on Saturday from Versailles, to have an interview with M. Jules Favre, and also with Mr. Washburne. Prince Frederick Charles is suffering from dysentry. That disease and typhus are prevalent in the neighbour hood o Metz. It appears that of the several balloons which have been sent up from Paris, one at least has been brought down by German bullets. The papers published at Tours give glowing accounts of the fights around Paris. At Bourget it is stated that the Germans, who had taken post behind a building that bad been left standing, were attacked by the Breton Mobiles, who, under cover of the electric light, which dazzled the opponents, and concealed themselves, succeeded in effecting a complete rout, and capturing 500 prisoners. The people around Metz continue to skew the most implacable hostility towards the Germans. At Any a party of 30 Uhlans who had sought and paid for refresh ment and had arranged for the billets of an advancing body of troops, were fired at as they retired. Three of them were killed ; a messenger was sent for a larger body of troops ; the people were driven out, and the street in which the outrage had occurred was burnt down. A letter from Ferrieres, dated the 25th ult., published in the Staats-Anzeiger, says :—" Peasants who were obliged to abandon their dwellings in the area of six leagues round Paris, which was laid waste, and took refuge in the city, are now doing their utmost to escape. They present themselves in troops before the outposts, but are, of course, turned back. There is apparently an anxiety in Paris to get rid of the useless mouths, and it is seen how people miscalculated when they drew the country population into the city, for they firmly refuse arms, and only wish for peace. There is a rumour current among the Prussians at Nancy that the ex-Emperor has had a violent attack of illness at Wilhelmshohe, and that the King, who is ex tremely anxious he should figure in the triumphal entry into Berlin, is very uneasy on the subject. An officer has been sent from the King's headquarters to learn the exact state of the invalid. Emile de Girardin has published a long letter in the Liberte urging the people to form fresh armies in the Loire and at Lyons. He thinks the chief object of national defence should be to defeat the Prussians through the want of munitions and of provisions. It is again asserted positively that there is an abundant supply of food in Metz. This fact is explained by what seemed to have been a remarkable piece of foresight on the part of Bazaine. Before he was shut up there he aston ished the Paris War Office by his continual demands for supplies for that fortress. At a time when there were actually 400 huge waggons of provisions standing there unpacked, still Bazaine's cry was for more, although Metz seemed already supplied for a siege of any duration. There was no time for argument ; his demands were urgent and peremptory, and more and more stores were sent. It is now supposed that he foresaw the probability of his being blockaded there with his army. The Libert4 now published at Bordeaux, has an article on Austrian neutrality. The attitude of the Hungarian Cabinet at the opening of the war, it says, compelled the Cabinet of Vienna, notwithstanding the goodwill of the Emperor Francis Joseph and Count Beust, to declare that they would preserve a strict neutrality. At first this neutrality was to be armed, and when Napoleon 111., ter rified by successive reverses, appealed to Austria to help him, he received for reply the phrase invented by himself at the time of the Austro-Prussian war of 1866--the neu trality would be attentive. After the catastrophe of Sedan nothing was thought of at Vienna but the complete demobilisation of the army. The Hungarian Ministry, however, seek to augment the Magyar force. " Even a Parisian," says the Kreuz-Zeitung, " with a small remnant of a love of truth and of common sense, must admit, that even if it lose .Alsace and German Lor raine, France will still be far removed from a second-rate Power. She has in Europe a territory extending over 9,850 square miles. If 250 are taken from these, can that be called ' disintegration ?' Did France ' disin tegrate' Italy when it took the frontier provinces— Nice and Savoy ? Does not France, besides, possess in Algeria 12,000 spuare miles and 3,000,000 inhabitants, and colonial prssessions to the extent of 8,000 square miles, with a population of 2,500,000 ? What other State of the first rank can, considering its extent, shew a power so con centrated? Besides, it has only one powerful neighbour, whilst this neighbour (Germany) lies in the middle of three strong Powers, and has to`guard its frontier on all sides." The siege of Mezieres has commenced. hold out. The place will . A Manchester Examiner telegram says large forces of troops are collecting in all the towns of Southern France. It is said that at Chartres the people are cowardly and undecided. The very idea of a conflict seems to terrify them. The Prefet requested all the young men from 25 to 35 years to give way at the arrival of the enemy. The Prefet also requested some of the men to go away, and advised them to get a passport from the mayors of the commune, to the effect that they were only going to avoid the enemy. The other day some Mobiles arrived, and the inhabitants of Chartres, instead of welcoming them, were quite in consternation ; they shut the shops and refused to give the travellers anything to eat. They thought the very sight of them would , bring the Prussians. At last they were put in some empty barracks with straw, and exclaimed with just indignation that they believed the Prussians would have been better received if they had come in their stead. On the 27th of September a train passed• Bordeaux con taining eighteen carriages of troop-horses. These unfor tunate creatures were quite emaciated and were painful to look at. They had been abandoned in the streets of Sedan where they fed on pieces of wood that they found about. They were perfect phantoms. The Prussians had refused to have anything to do with them. After some days rest it is expected they will be of great service to the army. The New Free Press of Vienna pays that after the battles before. Metz the neutral Powers which were already acquainted with the Prussian conditions wished to inter vene on behalf of France. They received the following reply from the royal headquarters :—" We shall not abandon one of our conditions should we have to fight against the whole of Europe." The Madrid correspondent of the Liberte says that Bismarck has sent a Colonel of Uhlans and two other Germans on a secret mission to that city. They have had several interviews with the Minister of State and Mar shal Prim, but in official quarters strict reserve has been maintained on the subject. Fresh candidatures for the throne of Spain are talked of, more particularly that of Prince Frederick Charles, now before Metz. THE EMPRESS TO THE EMPEROR.--A French paper publishes the text of. the letter to the Emperor from the Empress :—" I have received a didpatch from Pietri. Have you reflected upon all the consequences that would ensue from your return to Paris after having sustained the shock of two reverses ? For my part, I cannot take the responsibility of giving advice. If you do determine upon it, it must be arranged, at any rate, that the affair is looked upon as a temporary thing. You might return to Paris to reorganise the Second Army, and confide provisionally the command of the Army of the Rhine to Bazaine." AN ANXIOUS FATHER.—An amusing incident, which occurred on the march towards Paris, is related in one of the German papers. The village of Chezy, near Chateau Thierry, was almost depopulated, but one of the remaining inhabitants • appeared so extremely polite, while, protesting that his house contained nothing to eat or drink, that a search was ordered. On a newly erected partition wall being pulled down, frightful shrieks were heard, and the proprietor, trembling with fear, begged the officer for mercy, not for himself, but for his " pauvres fines." He had walled up his two pretty daughters, together with plentiful stores of wine, hams, sausages, and preserved fruit. The soldiers burst into a hearty laugh, while the officer bowed, and begged permission to lead the young ladies out of their cell into the daylight. " Take every thing," stammered the old man, "only spare my daugh ters." The lieutenant, with some difficulty, assuaged the father's fears and the daughter's apprehensions. The re quisition of meat and drink was carried out in a more respectful manner than it might otherwise have been, of which the father was so sensible that he voluntarily brought twelve bottles of champagne from a hiding place. FORT MONT VALERIEN.—The North German Ga zette gives the following account of Fort Mont Valdrien at Paris. "This fort, the most important of the Paris fortifications, covers alone the western front of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine to the north of St. Cloud, on the Versailles Railway, and south of the Imperial route to Cherbourg, between the villages of Puteaux, Suresnes, Rueil, and Nanterre. Its base com mands the capital and the neighbouring localities of Neuilly and Borclog,ne. The sides of the fortress com mand the routes already mentioned, and the height on which it is stationed covers nearly the whole of the isle which the Seine encircles. The import ance of Mont-Val6rien is so great that it may be considered as a fortress apart. The solitary height which supports it is surmounted by a pentagon with bastions, and its foot is surrounded by a second enceinte. Behind the bastions rise two cavaliers of a great height, which have a double line of embrasures.. The crest of the glacis and the scarp wall support other walls with battlements on their two last stages, which with a sufficent garrison would produce a great effect. The barracks on the summit of Mont Valerien are com posed of a ground level and two storeys casemated. The walls of the platform•and the numerous posterns are also arched. The earthworks alone occupy a million cubic metres of embankment. The fort raises at its lowest enceinte to 125 miles above the level of the sea, and 45 metres above the surrounding earth. But as the heights of the village of Garthe, which is not far distant, reach an alti tude of 155 metres, they rise above the highest points of the fortrpss. This drawback, with the fact of its isola tion, which offers an excellent mark for the assailants, weakens it not a little, and diminishes its value as a. fortress. AFFAIRS AND OPINIONS AT NANCY.—The good people do not know to what saint to have recourse. The Emperor has " betrayed " them, but the Republic has few friends, and since it has pointed to a communistic back ground, as at Lyons, Toulouse, and Marseilles, it has become quite disliked. The Orleans dynasty has apparently few friends. Paris and the Parisians are generally complained of. Count Renard, the Prefect, is tolerably well supported by the former officials, but they refuse to accept any pay. The mayor's officials at Nancy, on the other hand, were anxious for their salaries. All the officials who do not conduct themselves well towards the new authorities are to have their pay stopped, and will receive instead bonds drawn on the French Government. The sums thus saved will form a nucleus of a fund for compensating the Ger mans expelled from France. Every department occu pied by the troops is ordered to pay a contribution of £40,000, destined to the same purpose. As, however, from the Meurthe two arrondissements have been added to Alsace, this extra contribution is reduced to £30,000 in the case of Nancy and its district. The prefect meets the protests against these and similar measures by citing Napoleon's treatment of German towns. Number less safe conducts have been given, authorising intercours with the surrounding district, in order to facilitate the supply of provisions to the town, but these uncon sciously paved the way for a secret postal communication with Paris and the rest of France. Letters and papers were thus convoyed from the capital in forty-eight hours, and the Provisional Government could thereby be in formed of what was going on at Nancy. The authorities, through treachery, got scent of this, and, by a bold stroke, not only put an end to the thing, but seized 300 most interesting letters, and more than 100 newspapers. The offenders were arrested, and their examination dis • closed another secret post office. It appeared from these letters that the Mayor of Nancy, M. Welche, who had affected indisposition for some days, and had excused him self from being seen, had been to Paris and back during this interval. In "various letters was enclosed a prayer, in a lady's writing, said to have been brought from Jerusalem by a pious priest, and believed to have great efficacy in speedily expelling the Prussians. Other epistles commended the good conduct of the Germans towards the citizens, and even hinted that the French in a similar case would not have earned the same praise. jADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's PH& —lnfectious Mala dies.—ln our variable climate, bronthitis, coughs, colds, with many other chest and throat oomplalnts, mark with regrettable regularity the change of seasons, and we are all aware that at certain times disease runs through the people like the plague of old. Under such critical circumstances we should all know that Holloway's Pills can check and arrest these calamities. This purifying medicine expels from the blood and system all obnoxious matters, which breed both contagion and infectious maladies. It institutes a radically cnrative rather than a palliative treatment. Holloway's Pills should be taken without one moment's delay when disordered stomach, headache. or restlessness betokens derangement of the frame. BIRTHS. On the Ist inst:, at Bushey-hill, Camberwell, the wife of Edwin Beer, Esq., of a son. On the let inst., at 11, Manor-park, Lee, Kent, the wife of Thomas Fry, of a son. MARRIAGES.) On the Ist inst., at Theydon Bois Essex, James Milling ton, Secretary to the Patriotic'Fund, to Esther Jane, only daughter of Captain J. F. Trivett. On the Ist inst., at St. Peter's, Kensington-park, William Stebbing, 'Esq., barrister-at-law, to Anne Pinckard, youngest daughter of J. S. Pidgeon, Esq., of Pembridgo Villas, Bayswater. DEATHS. On the 30th ult., at 24, Thurloe-square, S.W., Chas. Fred. Hoofstetter, Esq., aged 78. On the 30th ult., at 30, Wimpole-street, Thomas Tod Mardon, Esq.,taged 95. London : Printed by GIDEON ACLAND BOYCE, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, and Published by him at THE SUN Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County of Middlesex. Tuesday, October 4, 1870. C " Adxnissh " The Se All the Harve: J. G. Ito' Five Bus New ] Sedan, T' 1111 E 4 _ Po to New! TR /RT y_ - teleg,ran Comm CENTA L IE Suppli Dutch, regardir and her Makes t Meaty fl Extract Australi Li so uni One p . and eel)] CAITTI eye • EXTRA Prices r 1 111 11 Super Prices, , Scr S c ' SCI S c] Sc] Atanuf _ L ii 13' needs lady v and cl any of TT and 6, B' in a 13' other 248, Para the' 11011 the ass. lla K, 95.1 Rol th Hp