The Sun. — London, England, 1871-01-20 00:00:00

LATEST INTELLIGENCE. SUN OFFICE, 8 A.M. THE AVAIL REPULSE AND RETREAT OF BOURBAKI. The following telegrams come through Reuter's Agency:— CABLEIRUEIE, January 19. The Minister of War has received the following telegram from General Glumer : " MIT:VILLIERS, January 18 (Afternoon). "On the 17th instant the attacks of the enemy were victoriously repuls3d along our whole line. The right wing, under General Keller, was chiefly engaged. To-day the enemy is retreating. Our losSes are rather considerable. No details have as yet been received." " FBAHlEft,`January 19 (Noon.) "Our vanguard is pursuing the enemy to-day along the whole line. The 2nd Baden Infantry Brigade, with two light field batteries and two cavalry squad rons, under Major-General von Degenfeld, are march ing upon Beverne." The following telegrams are from Royal Head quarters at Versailles : January 18, 9.50 p.m. General Bourbaki having renewed his attack on the 17th against General Von Werder's intrenched position, and having been again repulsed with great loss, he has commenced his retreat south wards. Before Paris the bombardment is being continued with greater vigour. _ _ _ 11.15 p.m. The army of General Bourbaki, which was victoriously repulsed by General Von Werder, has been in full retreat since yesterday, and the attempt to relieve Belfort has been completely frustrated. The Emperor-King has sent the following despatch to the Empress-Queen :-- General Bourbaki, after three days' fighting, has withdrawn before the heroic resistance of General Werder, to whom, as well as to his valiant soldiers, the highest acknowledgements are due. General Werder maintained his entrenched Position, which was strengthened by heavy batteries, and repulsed all attacks. Our loss in three days' fighting was 1,200 men. (FRENCH ACCOUNT.) BORDEAUX, January 18. According to an official despatch, the army of General Bourbaki yesterday made a general attack on the enemy, who remained constantly on the defen sive, but suffered serious losses. Owing to rein forcements which he received, and the strength of his position, he was able to resist all our efforts, and his line remained unbroken. The town of Avalon was bombarded on Monday, and about 20 houses loore or less damaged. It was afterwards abandoned by the enemy. THE BOMBARDMENT. BRUSSELS, January 19. A balloon fell last night near Ruremonde, having left Paris at three in the morning. The bombardment continued without interruption on the forte, as well as on several parts of the city, causing considerable damage and fires, which were, however, easily extinguished. Great difficulty was being experienced in grinding the . corn. About fifteen persons daily were killed through the bombardment. SIEGE OF LONG WY. Longwy was bombarded on the 17th instant with out result. Guns of long range on the fortress dis- Mounted the Prussian batteries. The Prussians expect the arrival of siege guns. A. Lombard telegram, dated the 18th says : The bombardment of Longwy commenced yester day at 8 a.m. All the villages round the fortress h ave been occupied by the Prussians, and all the r oads leading to Longwy have been barricaded. The Prussians have erected an 6paulement at 100 metres from the village of Villers-la-Montagne, 411 ( 1 placed a siege battery there. Another battery has been established near Herserange, and a third at Tellancourt. On the 16th the Prussians de tained in Longwy were exchanged for French pri soners, Colonel Massaroli, commander of Longwy, has relied an order of the day, in which he states that h e Defence Committee of Lille has decided that the 131 aces of Givet and Longwy are to be defended a °zitrance ; the possession of Longwy being of para- Illount importance in connection with the French mili -I:3' Operations. The order of the day concludes thus : Lad us remember that our honour is at stake ; let 118 imitate the heroic example of Bitche, P'nalsburg, ail d) above all, Paris. Long Li v e F r a n ce ! long live the Republic !" The Prussians have apparently abandoned the oltention of besieging Givet. ENGAGEMENT NEAR ST. QUENTIN. LIEGE, January 18. The Memorial de Liege of to-day says :—Travel lers arrived h ere to-day state that an engagement h Ibeen, fought near Roupy and Vermand (welt of 1 Quentin. Cannonading was heard fairly from a.ta. until 3 p.m., when it increased in intensity. NEWS FROM CHERBOURG. OLIEUBOURG, January 18. There is no material change in the state of h a ire. The few thousands of troops remaining here ,re received orders to prepare for an immediate 4 t is stated that the mail service between here and o °ll thampton by the London an d S ou th-W es t ern tit ° , l33 liany's steamers will be remov e d t o St. Malo, 04 " a daily service each way will be carried S nu b b a p eth above packets between St. Mal o and naton. GENERAL CHANZY'S ARMY. VERSAILLES ) January 18. tutr i t ja reported that M. Jules Favre has requested a u,,,,,.e-c°ilduct to enable him to atte n d th e L on d on Terence. t orn " army of General Chanzy begins to chew symp ; of dissolution. lerc inglY cold weather set in yesterday. S ATING ON THE SWISS FRONTIER. • Yeat e PRIINTRIIT, January 19 (Evening). ruay afternoon the Germans captured the ° of A.bbevillers, which had been set on fire. tioil—tea Roide pe:encli. retired to the South on Blamo u t an d out I on kie rman troops yesterday d rove th e French 4 cro all French frontier posts, the population flying 88 the Swiss frontier at Dampvent. NEWS FROM BORDEAUX. BORDEAUX, January 19. di:: %the 17th a brigade of the Army of the North Nre o ° , l g e d some battalions of Prussians from the e - ' 8 of Buive, near Templeuve. On the same day p rn °rl3 , B of Prussians abandoned Vermand on the ap -04-4+Ta of the French from [name of place omitted.] Ittta,"7,.% lll ,°roing of the 18th one French division was tai 01 , 1 7 8 ' °Y Prussians. A. part of the corps of Gene er"t4l° was the whole day in a position before wand, where it maintained itself. Teu:sterday skirmishes took place near Gien and. 8. The enem y ea t LI 11_ also appeared at Mont Louis, -. ay. The Frauca-Tireurs had a aatall engagement, and held their ground against five or six times their number, BORDEAUX, January 10. The Minister of the Interior has received an ad dress, dated "Strasburg, Dec. 12," from the French Government employes in Alsace, protesting against the Prussian assumption that they were disposed to retain appointments under- German rule. The em ployes declare they will accept no kind of Prussian service, either provisional or definitive. The Siecle publishes a letter, without date, from Louis Blanc to Victor Hugo. Louis Blanc argues that the capitulation of Paris would in no way terminate the war, as France would still fight on. The capitulation of Paris, therefore, would only terribly increase the material suffering there. It is to be supposed the Prussians would not allow egress from the city; the Parisians would then be even closer prisoners than before, and famine would become inevitable. The object of the armies operating in France must be to prevent the enemy from receiving supplies. "Hence," Louis Blanc concludes, " Paris cannot choose. There is but one way—counselled by wisdom, commanded by necessity. Paris cannot lag behind ; her present in action cannot continue ; and the sole issue lies in a vigorous offensive ably led." BORDEAUX, January 10 (Evening).* A. Ministerial circular requires the Prefects to telegraph before the 25th of January the number of persons liable to military service in their respective departments. The ilioniteur publishes the letter of Louis Blanc, which has already been telegraphed. An official census gives the population of Paris in December, including refugees, at 2,005,709, exclusive of the army, the Garde Mobile, and the sailors. The Gazette de France publishes the protest of the Count de Chambord against the bombardment of Paris. The Sloele, in reference to the rumoured capture of a French vessel by a Prussian corvette at the mouth of the Gironde, complains of the inaction of the French fleet, and demands cruisers to be sent to intercept the German packets between Bremen and New York. * Delayed in transmission. GAMBETTA AND GENERAL D'AURELLE. BRUSSELS, January 19. The German armies by the end of this month are expected to number 1,500,000 men. The bombard ment of Longwy is interrupted until the arrival of the heavy siege artillery, General Faidherbe's headquarters are said to be at Vermand. Gambetta is said to have asked Gen. D'Aurelle to resume his command. He is also reported to have ordered that no more corps of Francs-Tireurs shall be formed.—Daily News. )ne 1 7, iry ict Des by in THE EMPEROR OF GERMANY. King 'William of Prussia was on Wednesday pro claimed Emperor of Germany in the Hall of Mirrors, in the Palace of the French Kings, and in the pre sence of all the German Princes, under the stan dards of the army before Paris, and surrounded by the representatives of the different regiments.—Times Telegram. BERLIN, January 19. In to-day's sitting uf the Upper House of the Prussian Diet, the President announced that he had yesterday addressed a telegram to the Emperor, giving expression to the joyful at-sent of the Upper House to the King's acceptance of the title of _Emperor, and stating that the Upper House would stand by the German Emperor as it had stood by the Prussian King. The President further an nounced that the Emperor had returned thanks to the Upper House by a telegraphic message saying : —" May it be vouchsafed for me to lay, for an united Germany, the foundation stone of a glorious history, such as Prussia can show to-day after a period of 700 years." In to-day's sitting of the Lower House of the Prussian Diet, the address in reply to the proclama tion of the Emperor of Germany was voted, the Polish members alone dissenting.—Reuter's 7 elegranz. AUSTRO-HUNGARY. In Wednesday's sitting of the Austrian delegation the debate on the budget of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs was resumed. All the clauses were voted, in conformity with the propositions of the committee. The secret service money was likewise voted as pro posed by the committee, after a warm discussion, in which Count Beust was specially attacked by Herr Carneri. AMERICA. Congress finally passed on "A ednesday a supple mental Funding Bill authorising the increase of the issue of Five per Cent. Bonds to 500,000,000 dols., but providing that this shall be no increase of the total amount of Funding Bonds. • Senator Wade and two other San Domingo Corn missi .ners, sailed on Tuesday. (CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAMS.) DISESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. At a meeting held in Birmingham last night, in favour of this object, the following resolution was passed : " That this meeting, believing the connection of Church and State to be injurious to both, and being of opinion that the time has arrived when that connection should be severed, expresses its hearty satisfaction at hearing that Mr. Miall, M.P., has given notice that he will introduce a motion to that effect next session, and pledges itself to support the movement in every possible way." THE NORWICH ELECTION. The deputation appointed by a meeting of various Liberal Associations to wait upon Mr. J. J.,Colman, and to invite him to accept the candidature for the representa tion of the city, saw Mr. Colman again this evening at his residence, Carrow House. Mr. Colman expressed his regret that some other gentleman had not been selected, but under the circumstances consented to accept the position to which he had been invited. WRECK OF A FRENCH BRIG. The French brig Algers, bound for Cardiff, went ashore early on Thursday morning, during a heavy gale from the north-west, half a mile west of St. Ives, Cornwall. Her cargo consists of sulphur ore. The crew, consisting of seven men, are all saved. The side of the vessel has gone in, and she is a total wreck. GUN ACCIDENT TO AN AMATEUR THEATRICAL. On Wednesday, during preparations for some fashion able amateur theatricals at Holsworthy, North Devon, Mr. Algernon Granville, son of a local clergyman, was handling a revolver, which had to be fired during the performance, when in sport, believing it to be unloaded, he pointed it at a younger brother, and pulled the trigger. Unhappily one barrel hid* been incautiously left loaded, and a conical bullet entered the young man's left breast, but happily the bullet appears to have struck the bone, and glanced off to the side, and has been extracted, and the sufferer is now out of danger. SUICIDE. Yesterday morning, Mr. George. Powell, a well-to-do tradesman, residing -at Shirley, near Southampton, com mitted suicide by_blowing out his brains with a gun. The coronor's jury returned a verdict to the effect that the de ceased was of unsound mind at the time. WORKING MEN AND THE WAR. At a meeting of the Birmingham Labour Representa tion League, held last night, several speeches were made condemning the recent efforts made to arouse a war spirit,and drag England into hostilities to assist France. THE DISTRESS IN FRANCE. A large meeting, to consider the best means of alleviating the distress now prevalent in Franco, was held at Bolton last night, under the auspices of the Society of Friends. Mr. Henry Lee, a large cotton manufacturer in the district, presided. The meeting warmly sympathised with the objects and efforts of the Relief Fund - established by We 69day'ot Friends, rnE BUN, LONDON, FRED" JANUARY 20, 1871. FALL OF A HOUSE IN THAMES-STREET. THE BOMBARDMENT OF PARIS. Last night the Bridge Coffee-house, in Upper Thames-street, where a number of persons lived as lodgers, fell to the ground. Happily, the creaking timbers gave a few minutes' warning, and the inmates, with the exception of three or four, managed to escape altogether free from injury, while of those who were buried in the ruins or caught by the falling materials two only were injured. The house was 193, Upper Thames street, and it was in the occupation of a coffee house keeper named Hawkins, who at the time of the accident was from home. Shortly before two o'clock, a French tailor who lived on the second floor heard a cracking in the woodwork, to which he at first paid little attention. But the noise increasing he warned those above him that the timbers Were breaking. He at once seized his three children, and taking charge of three other children, belonging to a fellow-lodger, made haste out of the house, followed by his wife. The door fell to as he got out, and at that instant his wife was struck down. She was at once rescued, but her shoulder was dislocated. At the same time the action of the timbers had been observed in the ground floor, where Mrs. Hawkinswas, for she called in the watchman of the house next door, which was in course of demolition, along with some adjoining houses in Garlick-hill. The watchman saW the walls moving, and saying that the house was falling darted out of the place. The house fell into the street, the materials knocking down and severely injuring a boy who was passing. In the top floor of the house No. 193 were a man and wife named Smith, both of whom were taken out without serious injuries. The three persons injured—namely, Mrs. Binder, Mrs. Hawkins, and the boy —were taken to St. Bartholomew's. Hospital. The accident is attributed to adjoining houses being taken down without supports being put up in their place. From Versailles, January 15, the special correspondent of the Daily News at the head-quarters of the Crown Prince of Prussia writes :—There is a strange feeling of anxiety and regret in listening to the dull boom of the guns which fall upon Paris. Many of 'them are aimed at the hostile batteries, where brave and angry men are ready to return as much mischief as possible ; but some of them deal out chastisement to the city itself ; and these last have a terrible mission. Their shells may light on guilty politicians, or may crush sometimes members of the crowd which shouted " h Berlin !" If only we could be sure that they do not also light on innocent persons the dull boom announcing each discharge would be less painful to hear. War has many stern necessities, and when a city will not surrender after four months' notice, what is to be done? More than this, there is not much mercy in starving rather than bombard ing one's foe. But the actual moment of the military execution, if I may so call it, is a solemn moment for all who are near enough to follow the course of events. Steady and true is the German aim, and the German guns are splendidly served. They fire fast when they have an object to gain, when a fort is to be silenced, or an out work to be cleared of the French. But at ordinary times their practice is a trifle slow. They hammer on until they win by dint of hammering. This is the plan, and this will account for the partial lull during the last few days. From being an incessant roar along the line, the German fire has sunk to a moderate volume of sound, which comes at intervals in a dull boom of some heavy siege gun, and which is taken up and repeated by other successive discharges, so that each separate shot can be distinguished. In the cold misty night we have heard them hammer ing on ; heard them with anxious minds for the sake of the city, but not with much interest, as part of the artillery duel. The duel is decided against the French, and it remains to the Germans either to sap up the forts and take them in regular form, or to try a coup de main against some point especially weak, or, profiting by their past successes, to increase the weight of their attack upon the inhabited districts. It seems that King William will allow this last resource to be tried, as yet, very feebly. His Majesty is known to have been opposed from the beginning to the idea of destroying Paris, and even now—though he has encouraged his troops by letting them feel that their political enemies were not out of reach—he has hesitated to do his worst to the Parisians. What these luckless people have hitherto suffered by the shell fire is nothing compared with what could be achieved by the whole energy of the German artillerists. I hear that they feel confident of being able to batter down all the public buildings south of the Seine, and to ruin thousands of private houses so soon as the arrangements now making shall be complete. And in face Of this awful danger we find the Parisians bent on- further resistance. There is Something of heroism in such an obstinate belief that France can save them. The starved and battered capital will have merited better of the country than many a provincial fortress which has only too soon sur rendered. A Cabinet Council was held yesterday at the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury in Downing-street. The Ministers present were— The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, the Lord Chan cellor, Earl de Grey and Ripon, Viscount Halifax, the Right Hon. H. A. Bruce, Earl Granville, the Earl of Kimberley, the Right Hon. E. Cardwell, the Duke of Argyll, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Right Hon. G. J. Goschen, the Marquis of Hartington the Right Hon. C. Fortescue, and the Right Hon. W. E. Forster. The death is announced of Sir James Arnold Knight, M.D. A large peace meeting was held on Wednesday at Preston. After a statement by Mr. Mottershead, of London, a resolution was carried against all war inter ference in the Franco-German quarrel. The statement, says the Pall Mall Gazette, which appears in some of the papers, copied from a Natal jour nal, of Dr. Livingstone's death appears to be based upon no sufficient authority. - Lord Wolverton has presented the Rev. Henry Gladwin Jebb, M.A., to the Rectory of Fontmell Magna, near Shaftesbury, vacant by the preferment of the Rev. J. Davidson, M.A., to the Rectory of Ashmore, near Salisbury. The correspondent of the Teegraph sends the following by special despatch from Versailles, under date January 17 :—Silence has prevailed for the last twenty-four hours, with the exception of an occasional boom from Mont Val4rien. For the last three days the fire from the German batteries has been very slack. All sorts of theories are broached to account for the silence—which has now been total for twenty-four hours, and which had been partial for the twenty-fours preceding. The effect of the bombardment on Paris is considerable ; but it has not come up to the expectations of the German engineers, who are disappointed at the ascertained results. It is evident that the material effect on houses and life within the city is not so great as was anticipated ; but it is hoped that the moral effect has really been greater than the Paris journals are willing to a3mit. The range of the German batteries is now much greater than at the commencement of the bombardment, and the extended fire cannot fail to make the inhabitants of Paris very uncomfortable. In all the Germans have 22batteries in position against the city, and available for the bombard- Ment. The bringing up of great guns has suffered considerable interruption from the state of the weather. As on the 15th, a parlementaire came out of Paris, and an answer was sent back on the 16th, it is believed that the Germans have agreed to a few days' armistice. This is certainly the most plausible method of accounting for the almost total cessation of the fire. Our losses on the 15th were Lieutenant Lockey, of the Bavarians, and one man killed ; one officer and seven Men wounded. Fort Montrouge was very active on the 15th, and there was a tremendous fire on the 16th from the northern and north-eastern German batteries, which have been re-armed. A great general attack is said to have been organised for to-morrow night. It is yet doubtful whether it will come off. It will include St. Denis and Mont Val4rien, and its results are expected to be of the highest importance. General Trochu has decided on making sorties on a great scale, commencing from the 20th inst. During the night of the 15th there were several small sorties ; and thirty Moblots were found frozen in the woods in front of Meudon, having been cut off by the advance of the 6th Corps. The diggers at the diamond fields on the Vali, South Africa, witnessed a brilliant display of the Aurora Australis on the nights of the 23rd and 24th of October. It is stated that no one remembers such a spectacle so far north. On Wednesday the apprentice boys of Londonderry carried out the supplementary proceedings in connection with the December anniversary. The usual flags and ban , ners were raised to the top of Walker's pillar, from which, during the evening, Roman candles were displayed, and rockets discharged. Some of these fell in the bogside dis trict. There was little excitement, and no disturbance, although large crowds assembled on the walls. SHOCKING DEATH OF A HYPOCHONDRIAC.—AII inquest has been held at Exeter, before Mr. Deputy coroner Barton, on the body of a gentleman named John Sluman, aged about 45. The deceased was a gentleman possessed of a considerable private income, but was of very eccentric habits. He lived in a large house at Exeter, handsomely furnished, but kept no ser vants, and would not even allow anyone inside his house to do any domestic work, performing it himself. Some few months ago he became enamoured of a young girl of poor parentage, and made her a number of valuable pre sents, but after a little while he was jilted This seems to have preyed upon his mind, and he became affected with a morbid melancholy bordering on insanity. When friends endeavoured to rouse him from his state of depres sion he used to say that at night he continually wrestled with the devil, and that he generally overcame him by quoting a passage of Scripture. He was last seen alive on Satur day morning, and a neighbour not seeing him after then for several days communicated with the police, and on the house being forced the unfortunate man was discovered in his bed-room, lying on the floor, in a state of nudity, quite dead. He was fearfully bruised on the shoulders, elbows, and arms, and in fact his whole body was a mass of bruises. Across his lower extremities there were marks of burns, as if he had fallen against the fire-grate. There could be no doubt that the poor fellow had been seized with a fit, and that he had had an awful struggle with death. The jury returned a verdict of found dead, but not by violence. THE PREJUDICE AGAINST FUNGI.—A correspon dent of the Engli.sh Mechanic says :—" it is really sad to see how strongly ignorance and prejudice prevail with regard to this useful yet neglected portion of the vegetable kingdom. Our country abounds more than any other in edible fungi, and yet nowhere are they so little appre ciated, and consequently so great a variety of good and savoury food is yearly allowed to perish. As articles of diet they are highly esteemed in France, Russia, Italy, and other countries. The French peasants know their value for their ever-simmering pot au feu, and during the American War the Southern army found them by no means despicable additions to their scanty commissa riat. In this country, however, we appear to be content with the few kinds that find their way to our markets, whilst we are told that there are upwards of fifty varieties equally as wholesome and palatable, and to be obtained without difficulty. It may, perhaps, be said that many of the fungi are of a poisonous character. Undoubtedly some there are that should be avoided, though even in some instances it is just possible that their noxious properties may have been exaggerated, for super stition and romance have had much to do in fostering the suspicion which is attached to the so-called toadstools. But this is no argument for neglecting the far greater pro portion which can be made to furnish wholesome and sub stantial food. As well might we exclude from our die taries potatoes, celery, carrots, parsnips, peas, and other foods, because they belong to families some members of which possess poisonous properties. Chemistry hasshewn that besides starch, sugar.(mannite), fungic acid, and vari ous saline matters, they are rich in albumen, a nutriment or flesh-forming principle. They also possess a great variety of flavours, thereby commending themselves to the, notice of the epicure." IRISH RAILWAYS.—There were at the end of last year 1,975 miles of railway in Ireland, 151 of which be longed to the Belfast and Northern Counties, 107 to the Dublin. Wicklow, and Wexford, 195 to the Irish North- Western, 437 to the Great Southern and Western of Ire land, 426 to the Midland Great Western of Ireland, and 122 to the Ulster Railway Company. The total expenditure on all lines during the year for main tenance of way, works, &c., was £259,873 ; for locomotive power, £279,092; for repairs and re newals of carriages and waggons, £68,491; and for traffic expenses, £233,369. General charges amounted to £58,829, rates and taxes to £53,337, compensation for personal injury to £9,245, compensation for damage and loss of goods to 28,938, legal and Parliamentary expenses to £10,942, steamboat, canal, and harbour expenses to £4,203, and miscellaneous working not included in the foregoing to £43,299. The total working expenditure was £1,029,618, and the total receipts, as given in the traffic returns, £2,025,911, making a proportion of expenditure to total receipts of 51 per cent. The rolling stock con sisted of 466 locomotives, 1,072 carriages for the con veyance of passengers only, 971 other vehicles attached to passenger trains, 6,835 waggons of all kinds used fo the conveyance of live stock, minerals, or general mer chandize, and 341 carriages of other descriptions, making a grand total of 9,685 vehicles, 1,639 - of which are owned by the Midland Great Western of Ireland, 898 by the Ulster, 578 by the Waterford and Limerick, 913 by the Belfast and Northern Counties, and 2,445 by the Great Southern and Western of Ireland Company. The total authorised capital on Irish railways amounts to £32,828,218, of which £25,113,610 may be raised by shares, and £7,714,608 by loans. The total stock and share capital received is £20,644,129, £14,787,002 of which is ordinary, £206,825 guaranteed, and £5,650,302 preferential stock. The capital raised by loans and debenture stock amounts to £6,230,914, and the subscriptions to other companies to £14,305,284. An analysis of the passenger traffic shews that 13,308,677 c p o a n s s v e e n y g e e d r s , d a u s r nwell the a s 1 y 2, ea 00 r, 7 t s h e a a t s o n t h e t i ck p a e t s - s h e od n l ge e r r s , t r w a n r e s travelled 5,625,278 and the goods and mineral trains . 2,2f 810.0n 7,408 miles, of minerals and 7 andthatthe 9B 7 96 od 4 to st n r s affi o c i gceonnesrisatlemd mer chandise. 35 . 01104 BRITTANY AND THE WAR. The correspondent of the Telegravk sends the following from Morlaix, dated January 14 :—Now that the proba bilities of the much-debated bombardment are re solved into realities, it is here considered high time that Trochu's redoubtable plan—if he ever had any—should begin to shew symptoms or develop ment. We are daily expecting a real "grand sortie,' and the Bretons inside the lines of investment write confidently, and believe in its success. On the next occasion the number of men to be hurled against the Prussian entrenchments, they say, will render the assault at once irresistible and conclusive, so far as cutting a road through the Prussian lines is concerned. I fear the wish is father to the thought. To add to all the other miseries which now afflict the capital, we hear that cholera has put in a claim for its quota of victims. The call upon the purses of the peasants since the opening of the war has been constant ; and now, as a climax to these demands, M. Gambetta has appealed to their patriotism to pay in a lump sum the taxes for the ensuing year, which heretofore have been taken in monthly instalments. This appeal they intend to ignore, or else to wait until the invitation assumes another shape, and comeg in a new decree demanding peremp tory payment. " No," they say, "we will not pay a centime until we are actually compelled, to prose cute this savage war only to build up a Republic," against which all the peasants are dead set to a man. In fact, they do not care how soon Paris falls, for then they believe the bill would be sent in, and in that case they could estimate the cost of the present very expensive game. It is whispered abroad that the Legitimist element, which has many powerful adherents in Brittany, is now pulling itself together for the struggle with the Bonapartists, Orleanists, and Republicans, which is sure to take place when the war is over. The ancient noblesse are Bourbonists to the backbone, and all the young men of this persuasion are now holding co.n mands in the different armies fighting for their country. With them at this moment all politics are dead ; ► but they will form a very important part of the programme when Paris falls. For did not M. Gambetta sound the tocsin the other day in his ,peech at Bordeaux ? A certain part of it might be interpre ted, " We are fighting for our hearths and homes and the Republic, but before all things the Republic." The priests are working as hard as they can, and row in the same boat with the nobles ; and their influence cannot be lightly esteemed, although they certainly are not propitiated by M. Gambetta. The other day, when a zealous and no doubt worthy member of the priesthood, who had accompanied the army, and shared its hardships in the pursuit of his vocation amongst the soldiers and wounded, applied for some little remunera tion, he was told by the Dictator that his services had not been requested, and therefore would not be remunerated. A telegram from Brussels states that one of the twin daughters of the Count of Flanders, brother of the King of the Belgians,. died on Wednesday. The life of the other is in danger. The western portion of Farringdon Market, which for many years has been unused, is -how being removed, the ground it occupied being required for the Holborn Valley improvements - The Marquis of Salisbury's committee on the University Tests Bill will, it is said, meet immediately after the reassembling of Parliament. About twenty feet of Carlisle Bridge, Dublin, was on Tuesday knocked down by a vessel going up the river Liffey, dragging her anchor. The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge cricket season will be represented by Mr. W. Yardley, as captain of the Cantabs, and by Mr. C. B. Tylecourt, as captain of the Oxonians. CRYSTAL PALACE. The first concert of the second series will take place to-morrow, at which Mdlle. Corani, Herr Stockhausen, and Madame Norman-Neruda will appear. Schubert's unfinished Symphony in B Minor, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, and the overtures to " Medea" and " William Tell " will be- the orchestral pieces. The pantomime will be played on the five days of next week, THE FALL OF PERONNE. The special correspondent of the Standard, writing on January 16th, thus describes the fall of Peronne :—The siege of Peronne commenced on Wednesday, December 28th. The enemy appeared at the gates at half-past one o'clock, and formally summoned the town to sur render. The commandant of the place, Mons. Gamier, a sailor, returned a prompt and unequivocal refusal. The refusal seems to hate been perfectly anticipated, for before two o'clock the bombardment began, to the utter astonishment of the town. It is impossible to describe the astonishment r.y.fl general horror when, f a sudden, a shower of shells rained down through the streets. The terrified people fled to the cellars, and hid themselves in the excavations under the ramparts. From the first it was impossible to stay in the houses. The shells pierced the roofs and exploded on the ground floors, and before long fires burst out in many parts of the town. The next object of attack was the Church of St. Ftirsey, the oldest and grandest.. monument in the town. In three days was levelled. to the ground ; and the spire alone stood tottering, ready to fall at any moment. The fourth day a little boy climbed up the tower, which was in a terribly precarious state, and hoisted the white flag. The Prussians ceased firing, and a deputation went to ask permission for the women and children to leave the town for some place of security. It was refused without even an attempt at consideration, and the botabardtnent actually recommenced before the deputation had tithe to reach the town. On Sunday, the Ist of January, the firing ceased during the whole afternoon. It seems that the Prussian ammunition had come to an end, and some of their guns were dis mounted. They were obliged to send for supplies to La Fere, and the next day the_ work of destruction was more unremittent than ever. One entire side of the Grand Place, and, as it so happened, composed of the richest shops, was levelled to the ground. It is such a terribly little town that the besiegers had it all their own way, and it was but easy practice for their gunners. And, meanwhile, what was the state of their civil population, and of the women and children ? At the be ginning some few attempted to remain in their houses and shops, confiding in the fancied security of the lower rooms. But the petroleum missiles crashed down from the roof to the res de ehaussee, and in a short time 50 houses were in flames. One young lady, well known to the country around for her charity and devotion to the wounded, was descending the staircase of her house, carrying some lint and bandages. A shell came hissing through a windotv, struck the young girl on her side, and actually severed the body in two. In the very next house a ball flashed throngh the massive framework of a double windOW, grazed the face of a lady who was kneeling on her prie-dieu, pierced the opposite wall, and killed two children who were sleeping in their cradle. No wonder the wretched people were scared and bewildered. The priests and doctors had • only time to save the sick and wounded from the flames of the hospital, and carry them in their arms to the case mates and cellars, and this they did in the face of an unceasing fire that swept the streets. Nothing remained but for the inhabitants to seek the same and only means of safety. Some carried with them mattresses and blankets, and necessary provisions ; but the majority, in their extreme terror, had but the one thought of refuge before them, and neglected these precautions. Then ; and then only, began the real horrors of the siege. Many of the casemates and cellars were damp—the water drip ping from the walls, and the air foul with 'pestilence. Before the commencement of the attack a large number of the townspeople had been seized with smallpox and typhoid fever, and though every possible means and precaution had been adopted to keep those afflicted with the two fatal maladies totally apart, the contagion had unfortunately begun to spread. In the open air there was, at all events, some hope, however small it may have been, of arresting or even mitigating the pro gress of this plague. But in this underground life, shut out from the light of day, confronted with the actual presence of an awful pestilence, and doomed for days, weeks pos sibly, to live with the dying and the dead, and drink in the deadly poison of two such fatal epidemics, what hope was there for these poor people ?' Some of them went down radiant with health, and awoke the very first morning to find that the subtle venome of the petite varole, had crawled upon them during the night, and stretched them hopeless. Many of them, even the sick, had to lie upon the damp earth, for it wasl only the few who had brought down bedding and blankets. And then the chivalrous devotion that I have seen myself among the French people from the' beginning of this war shone out as nobly as ever. Ladies and children even gave up their mattresses ; and in many -instances part of their clothing, to the sufferers, and aided the priests and doctors as nurses, till they in their turn were struck down. Every day, every hour, counted fresh victims, and the disease spread with electric swiftness. And so it went on, this terrible existence, during fourteen days. Only a few dared to go forth, so awful was the scathing, hissing shower of fire that searched out every corner of the town ; and these went out principally to bury the dead on the ramparts. Throughout the siege the Prussians never seemed to occupy them• selves with the walls, and it is singular how few of the garrison were killed. It was a war against women and children, who were refused permission to leave the town—against sacred buildings and private property. The Peronne people would have held out to the last if they had only the siege to contend with, but disease and not their guns gained the day for the enemy. The commandant had been implored severs times to yield—once by the . women of the town —and once under a threat of being shot ; but in the face of entreaty or menace he was alike immovable. But when the doctors of the town came in a formal body, and represented to him the strides that disease was making every hour—the impossibility for the people to exist in the cellars and caves— and the enormous sacrifice of life that a pro longation of this state of things would cause , the commandant knew it was his duty to submit under such unprecedented pressure. On Tuesday, the 10th, the Prussians sent them a message to say if they did not at once surrender they would burn the town with "boulets rouges," and not leave one stone upon another: . It was then that the women crowded before the commandant's house, and used every means to induce him to yield. But this, even backed up by the solemn appeal of the Committee .. of Defence to the same purpose, would have been without effect, but for the convincing declaration of the doctors. The town capitulated in the night, and the next day, as the Prussians entered, the pale survivors crept up from their hiding-places. The churches, the hos pital, and numberless houses were burnt to the ground. The very bells in the tower were incited by the intense heat. Broken windows, shattered doorways, and a wreck of household furniture. One whole side of the principal square was totally destroyed. In the market-place a large heap of various kinds of furniture lay piled in a heap of ruins. Conspicuous was a large pianoforte cut in two by a shot—the wood half burning, and the strings shrivelled up. Curtains, carpets, 'and tapestry smoul dered in the streets ; and through all the town there crawled a suffocating, fetid smell, partly from the general destruction, and partly from the warm, sickly breath escaping from the diseased cellars. Eight thousand of the enemy occupied the town ; the garrison went on to La Fere, the officers liberated on parole. The Prussians complained bitterly of the long . resistance of the place, and their sufferings from the cold. A two days' siege only had been anticipated. They told the inhabitants that Arras was already occupied by their troops, and that their next and immediate object was Cambrai. The diplomatists in Paris, except Mr. Washburne, have applied for leave to come out. It will be refused. The fire on both sides continues.—Times Telegram. M. Le Grand, a Prefect in the North, has been re placed by M. Paul Bert ; the former asks to be relieved of his functions, not wishing to countersign the exe cution of Mobiles condemned to death by court-martial. The North German Gazette says that two of Mr. Fowler's street locomotives are assisting to forward the ammunition from Nanteuil to Villa Coublay before Paris. As the bridge over the Seine at Corbeil is destroyed; and the temporary, bridge was considered to be not strong enough, fifty-five horses were sent there to forward the• ammunition by carts, but the owner of the locomotives got permission to cross, and succeeded in .getting the engines and the cargo safely over. The machines, weighing about ten tons, and dragging forty tons of ammunition, saved the trouble of unloading and the service of at least 110 horses. Republican Club is about to be formed in Bir mingham by a nu,.ober of extreme Radicals and sympa-. , thisers with the French Provisional Government. Of the nine Professors of the Roman Catholic theological faculty at Munich, six have declared for Infallibility, and three against it. In the majority there are two whose consent has been given conditionally. KINAHAN'S LL WHISKY.—This celebrated and most delicious old mellow spirit is the very cream of Irish Whiskies, in quality unrivalled, perfectly pure,,and more wholesome than the finest Cognac Brandy. Note the red seal, pink label, and cork branded " Kinahan's LL Whisky. ' New Wholesole Depot, 64, Great Titehfield street, Coiford-street, W. - • - . , OUR COTEMPORARIES—This Morning THE NEW GERMAN EMPEROR: The Times ; in commenting on the acceptance of the Imperial Crown by the King of Prussia, says :—We come to the conclusion that the new Empire of Germany will not be a primatial dignity, as it has been, and as the princes who proclaim it probably consider it still to be, but a direct sovereign Power, ever growing in extent and authority, and tending to become supreme in war and peace. The machinery which has been conserved from the past or devised anew is likely to be merely transitional ; it will prove too cumbersome for the needs of the new generation, and will be gradually superseded by that simple system of a single national an-, thority which both inonatchies and republics must accept if they wish for a vigorous life. Let, then, the Emperor- King indulge his Princes and their subjects with as much antiquarianism as they please; the resemblance between the power he has grasped and that which the oldest of our Princes may remember is but small. Conflicting claims arise of cities to be the scene of the solemnities of a corona tion. But the real political import of the new dignity would be best expressed if he were to place the Crown on his own head among his soldier 4 and his people in his own Berlin. This Empire is the fruit of the policy which the House of his fathers has pursued for generations ; it represents the triunaph of elements which the old rule resolutely repressed, and it is in itself, not the restoration of that which has passed away, but a new power destined to an unexampled career. The Standard observes :—The King of Prussia has assumed the title of Emperor of Germany without waiting for the establishment of the German Empire. The Confederation Which it is intended should bear that name is still in the process of parturition. The German Empire has to wait for a two thirds vote of the Bavarian Chamber of Deputies ap proving the treaties which were to constitute a new German Confederation before it can claim to exist. William the First and his advisers seem to hale tired of waiting for that vote, which has been delayed as much by the - voluminous eloquence of its supporters as by the resist ance of its opponents ; and, except as a matter of form, there was little reason for waiting, although why, having waited so Jong, the King could not be content with his old title a few days longer, it is difficult to discover, Germany had it in her power to enter upon this new phase of her history amidst the congratulations and en joying the hearty esteem of the world. All men would have looked with admiration on a nation which, having signally repelled invasion, overturned the throne of the Sovereign who had declared the war, and demonstrated to France and to Europe its practical invincibility, had offered moderate and generous terms to the vanquished enemy, and turned its main efforts to secure and develop the national unity which was among the chiefest of its Conquests. Europe would have hailed with delight the appearance upon the stage of a Great Power which had given such ptattical proofs at once of its moderation as its power, of itt concern for its own liberty, of its freedom from the spirit of aggression and conquest. Germany would have taken then, without contest or regret, the position of the first Continental Power. The preservation of peace and the rapid and general develop ment of well-being would, humanly speaking, have been assured, But Germany has chosen the other course ; and whilst no one contests her power, she has sown seeds of which she will one day reap a bitter harvest. She has created implacable enmities ; she has forfeited the goodwill and esteem she formerly enjoyed. The inauguration of the German Empire might have been the inauguration of a long reign of peace for Europe ; but it marks only a point in the game of war. Can any body honestly congratulate the new Emperor or his people upon the reign commenced on Wednesday by a gala at Versailles, and to the accompaniment of an in human bombardment of a city of two millions and a half of people ? THE ALLEGED RESIGNATION OF MR. CHILDERS. The Telegraph says :—ln eccentric addition to the un founded report of Mr. Childers's resignation, we had some fanciful hints as to his successor ; and, above all men, Mr. Forster was suggested for the not vacant place. Even if there were a vacancy, why on earth should Mr. Forster be taken from the Education Department and sent to sea as First Lord? With splendid success, Mr. Forster has carried a great measure for the teaching of millions of the rising generation. The Act is just being put into force. A thousand difficult ques tions are sure to arise, requiring nice judgment and prompt action on the part of the central authorities- It would be a national loss if, at such a time, we made changes that would bring in a new head to the Education Office, in lieu of that statesman who has per fectly mastered the whole subject, its difficulties, and its opportunities. As Mr. Lincoln said during the civil war, "This is not a time for swopping horses." Should Mr. Forster ever be desirous of working in another de partment, his hour will come when the Act is in full play, and when the schools it has created are full of new scholars, brought in from city lanes and from under country hedges. There is a certain comic perver sity in the attempt to thrust Mr. Foster on the Admiralty when so many reasons indicate Mr. Stansfeld for the place, should Mr. Childers be at any future time compelled to retire. Mr. Stansfeld first won his spurs as a reformer and reorganiser by displaying great industry and power as Secretary of the Admiralty. He too, like Mr. Childers, is emphatically a self-made and a House of Commons man ; and he would faithfully " build on the lines" of economy, efficiency, and vigour laid down by his predecessor. It is however unnecessary as yet to indulge in speculations as to the possible successor of Mr. Childers ; for we may reasonably hope that the First Lord's services will be long at the disposal of the country, and that a short respite from official toil will enable him to resume those duties which he has already performed so much to the satisfac tion of his colleagues, and so entirely to the advantage of the nation. BOURBAKI'S DEFEAT. The failure of General Bourbaki to force the German lines and raise the siege of Belfort, and his subsequent retreat southward, remarks the Daily News, reawaken some curious speculations as to the present phase of the war. The first of these refers to Bourbaki him self. The movements of that General, ever since he left Metz, have been .shrouded in a certain mystery. Offered the command now of one army and now of another, he has wandered from south to north, and from north to south, and from south to east, in a somewhat incomprehensible manner. When, a short time ago, Bourbaki and Chanzy were found at the confidently ge t h e e x r p ; e c t a e n d d t t h h a e t i t ) l i l n e i y e w w o u l a s d head of an immense b o dy o f t roops, i t was n Paris to march l ener o ai n ve m ry ar that their march was likely to be successful. Instead of this, we found Bourbaki and his forces suddenly starting upon a mysterious mission eastward, and leaving Chanzy to deal single-handed with the com bined forces of Prince Frederick Charles and the Duke of Mecklenburg. Naturally, reasons had to be produced for this exploit. Bourbaki was to join Cremer and the Garibaldians, and crush Von Werder before assistance could reach him from Paris or the North. Bourbaki was to rescue Belfort. Nay, Bourbaki was to carry his operations into the enemy's territory, and effect a small version of that great invasion of Germany which was contemplated in July. Any or all of these projects may have been included in his plans ; but the actual result of thig mysterious move ment was twofold. In the first place, it weakened Chanzy, and exposed him to a crushing defeat, which ended in mmense losses of men and stores. In the second place, it failed to inflict serious harm on the Germans in the East, who may now look to General Manteuffel for ad ditional strength. At this present moment it is very hard to say what aro the real conditions of belief under which France is fighting. So far as the war has gone there has been no suggestion that France is fighting merely out of despair, and the possibility that she may soon be in that position is only suggested by the constant series of defeats which her arms have suffered. Scarcely a gleam of success has visited her banners; and she has never even been near winning that great victory which many think would be the only possible forerunner of a peace. Nor, on the other hand, do the disasters which follow. each other so quickly seem to affect the attitude of the nation.. All the hope; of the country were fixed upon D'Aurelle ; and yet, when he was driven back, the national heart fixed itself upon the Army of the North. That, too, was routed, and the country looked once more to the Loire. Chanzy's defeat at Le Mans, had scarcely been an nounced, when we heard from Bordeaux that France had staked all her hopes of suceess upon Bourbaki. Now he, too, has been compelled to give way . and France looks abroad on the spectacle of large and gallant armies placed under the command of men who have each and all been out-generalled and defeated. Under the head of " Crimes and Casualties," a rural paper mentions the fact that a rival editor has just published a book. _ On Wednesday was solemnised, at Frampton, in Dorsetshire, the marriage between Mr. Algernon Sheridan, second son of Mr. Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and Miss Mary Lothrok) Motley, second daughter of the distin guished authot and historian, late Miniiter Plenipotentiary from the United States of America, • ICO - rein )or ken boW lie very. had the a,ke and tnis cab- ttich Lena ings and M y o f new i ' teg , tts % ttO