The Sun. — London, England, 1871-01-09 00:00:00

the ►vey the felled a an very Euro - is, 011 1 the t the e WO t the ive 3 that , the eery Per tatia es, in ridgy' t tia -0,000 )n the wer e , wo °' .ences . !E , ba t , e w as h wa s dolt' see• 0 g. 1 9. jea ,tt" qt l r 110 .4 , i ) ? '11 1; 8 I Pl° ,ATEST INTELLIGENCE SUN OFFICE, 8 A.M THE WAR, THE ATTACK ON THE PARIS FORTS. VERSAILLES, January 8, There is not much firing. The forts of Paris are nearly silent. It has been ascertained that the Prussians guns could easily shell the city. The United States Consul, Mr. Reed, has been permitted to leave Paris, and has arrived here. 2 p.m. The weather is uncertain, rather inclined to snow and rain. There has been an appearance as if houses were on fire in Paris. The Batteries and Forts were rather silent on both sides to - day, but Val6rien fired pretty often during the night, and occasim.al shot came from other works. One German battery has received 140 shells with. out injury. The French Redoubt of Notre Dame de Clamari has been occupied by this army, and turned againsl the French. There is no appearance of a sortie. The losses on this side are insignificant as yet. VERSAILLES, January 6. Yesterday the temperature rose from eight de grees of frost to one degree above freezing point. To-day there is a complete thaw; the thermometer is 7 degrees above freezing point, and there is beauti ful sunshine. The bombardment has already silenced Fort Issy. Its good effect is everywhere visible. Our losses are 3 officers and 10 men wounded and 4 killed. Before Paris a warm fire by the siege artillery against the southern, eastern, and northern front is being continued with good effect. General Werder's troops have had several outpost engagements south of Vosoul, in which they took 200 prisoners. (THE KING TO QUEEN AUGUSTA.) VERSAILLES, January 7. The bombardment here is proceeding favour ably. The losses are small. A complete thaw is going on. NIGHT, Before Paris, in the course of to-day, the siege artillery directed against the South, East, and North continued the bombardment, and with good effect. Fort Issy and adjacent batteries, as also Fort Vanvres, were silent part of the time. Our losses to-day, as yesterday, consist of about two men.—limes. CHATENAY (before Paris), January 6, Noon. _ . The bombardment of the forts on the south side of Paris has been effectively continued. Forts Issy and Vanyes have already been silenced. ROYAL HEAD-QUARTERS, VERSAILLES, January 6. Fort Issy has been silene6d to-day. No reports have yet been received respecting the other forts. Observations by telescope are prevnted by a dense fog. The fortress of Rocroy was occupied by the Ger. man troops yesterday.—Reuter's Telegrams. FIGHTING ON THE LOIR. HEAD-QUARTERS OF PRINCE FREDERICK CHARLES, VENDOME, Junuary 7. Yesterday part of the 2d Army crossed the Loir, near Intendom. The French Army had occupied the Forest of Vendome in force, with evidently offensive inten tions, but were dislodged by two brigades of the 3rd Prussian Corps, and forced beyond the line Azay Villiers. The 10th Prussian Corps occupied Montoire with slight opposition. A French flank attack on the outposts with part of the 46th Corps ended in the French retreat. Five hundred French prisoners have been brough The loss on both sides is not inconsiderable. To-day the French retreat was continued west ward, in the direction of the line of the Braye, under cover of a thick fog and heavy rain. Part of the 15th, 16th, and 17th French Corps Were engaged. The Prussian Army is pushing in advance west ward, encountering only slight opposition from the French Regulars. Many of the French prisoners were of the Corn- Pagnie de Discipline, from Algeria. (THE KING TO QUEEN AUGUSTA.) VERSAILLES, January 7. Yesterday Prince Frederick Charles encountered the advancing army of General Chanzy beyond Vendome, victoriously repulsed the vanguard, and is Pursuing it. Night. On the 6th the Divisions operating against General Ohanzy's Army advanced beyond Vendome, and encountered an advancing hostile Army Corps. After a warm fight the enemy was driven back beyond the line of Azay. This position was also at the same time taken. Our losses are not inconsiderable.-7 THE FRENCH ACCOUNT. BORDEAUX, January G. There is no military news of importance. Some attacks of no magnitude directed by the enemy against the advanced posts of General Ohanzy has been vigorously repulsed. January 7. Yesterday the enemy attacked the Fiench posi tions at Villechauve, Villeporcher and St.',Cyr-sur- Gault, and afterwards forced the line to Neu ville. The French then took the offensive, re ()ceupied all their positions, and during the night e ntered St. Amand. The enemy retired towards Vendome, leaving behind numerous wounded and m any prisoners, and appeared to have suffered greatly. • iii - the line to Le Mans the enemy has re-occu pied the position of La Fourche, and threaten Nogent 4e.D -, totrou.—Reuter's Telegrams. tOURBAKI ADVANCING ON NANCY. BRUSSELS, January 7. The French Army of the North, repulsed and re established, is preparing to take the offensive very 411.4 t 1 Y. Th e h ea d- quar t ers o f G enera l F a idh er b e w ill to-morrow quit Boisleur in order to move fore wa rd. t 13 ourbaki w ill a t t h e same t i me march upon Nancy ti U eu t off the German army from its base of opera eeairs' 40 , 0 00 French soldiers are at Ili oz . Al mos t t he Fr enc h troops made prisoners at Nuits have cf3e aped the ; at the time of the evacuation of Dijon by 4oeurs, Ger mans they were liber a ted by th e Francs he°eneral von Werder took away with him twenty The ra hostagesyilw a from Dijon, but ab an d one d 300 wun oded. has b een es t a bli s h e d b etween Dijon and Auxenne. t o T . he G erman prisoners made by th e F renc h are sent the Ile d'Oleron. 130tubonnel has received a great ovation at ois r i i 'vl r Ly" s. Ten thousand Mobilised National -k iln " 4 of the J ura are about to be provisionally can ed a i f ound Dol e . 11°11apartist agents infesting the country have been arrested in several Departments, especially in the Tarn. They will probably be sent before a court martial. January 8. On the sth inst. the Garibaldians gained, between Semur and Moulsay, a decided advantage over a detached column, belonging probably to the army of Prince Frederick Charles. From Lyons we learn that a letter addressed by , M. Gambetta to the Mayor, M. Lenon, indi cates an approaching return of the Minister to Lyons. Unfortunate dissensions have manifested them selves among the Italian emigrants in France. A note, emanating from Milan, and destined to be sent to all the Italian journals, gravely incriminates the conduct of General Trappoli. GERMAN OCCUPATION OF AUXERRE. BORDEAUX, Jan. 7 (Night). The Germans reoccupied Auxerre yesterday even ing. A great battle is expected shortly between General Werder and the French forces under Bourbaki, Garibaldi, and Scressoles.—Telegraph Telegrams. The. following telegrams come through Reuter's Agency : PROCLAMATION OF GENERAL TROCHU. PARIS, January 3. General Trochu has issued the following procla mation, dated the 30th ult.:— " Citizens and Soldiers,—Great efforts are being made to break the bonds of union and mutual confidence to which we owe the fact of seeing Paris, after a hundred days' siege, upright and resisting the enemy, who, despairing to deliver over our capital to the Germans by Christmas, as he had solemnly announced, has added the bombardment of our advanced posts and of our Forte to the various measures of intimidation by means of which he hopes to enervate our defence. The disappoint ments which we have had t) encounter through an extraordinary winter, through fatigue and immea surable sufferings, are ostentatiously paraded before the public. In fact, it is said that the members of the Government are divided in their views of the great interests, the guidance of which is confided to their care. The Army, indeed, has undergone great trials, and needed rest, which the enemy seeks to pre vent its obtaining by a more violent bombardment than has ever been experienced by troops. The Army, how ever, is preparing for action in concert with the National Guard of Paris, and we shall do our duty. I declare, finally, that no dissension has arisen in the councils of the Government. We are closely united in the face of the anguish and the perils of the country, and in the thought and hope of deliver- ance." On the Ist it was officially announced in Paris that it had been unanimously decided in a Council of War to amalgamate the National Guard, the Mobiles, and the Army for a most vigorous de fence. A military report says that on the evening of the 31st the enemy had increased his heavy batteries, and had established several of them nearer to the city. Numerous projectiles reached the farm of Groslay, Durancy, Bobigny, and Bondy. Some penetrated as far as La Folie and Noisy-le-See. The enemy at the same time continued tu bombards Forts Rosny, Nogent, and Noisy. The report says : "We have suffered slight material damage, and had a small number wounded." On the evening of the Ist the fire of the enemy was reported less violent. THE BATTLE OF BAPAUME. LILLE, January 7 (10.15 p.m.) General Faidherbe has sent the following com munication to the Commissaay-General of the De partment of the North : "I had hoped that the Prussians would not ven ture to deny our victory at Bapaume, but I sae by their bulletins that we have a second time been annihilated by the Army of General Von Manteuffel, commanded by Prince Albrecht's son. " I maintain in its integrity the accuracy of the account of this battle given by me on the 4th inst., and I now confine myself to pointing out the chief material inaccuracies of the Prussian despatches. They assert that the Army of the North beat a re treat during the night. The fact is the Army of the North passed the night in the villages of Gre villiers, Biefvilliers, Favieul, Sapignies, Behagnies, and Achiet, which it had conquered from the Prus sian; and it did not take to its encampments, where we are still, until the following morning, the enemy in the meantime giving no sign of life. "As regards the pursuit by the enemy's cavalry, the only incident to report is that at nine o'clock on the morning of the 4th two squadrons of White Cuirassiers charged the rear-guard of the Chasseurs a-Pied. The •latter formed in semicircle and fired on their assailants at 50 paces, the result being that one squadron was almost entirely destroyed, men and horses being left on the ground while the others took to flight at full gallop. Our men only had three wounded. " The Army is full of confidence, and no longer doubts its superiority over the Prussians." January 7. There is nothing new from the headquarters of the Army of the North. '. The Germans have evacuated Guise, Herson, and Vervins, falling back upon Mezieres. rtiF_;_ SUN, LONDON, MONDAY ; JANUARY 9, 1871. confidence in me, have deeply moved me. You may rely upon my absolute devotion and unvary ing attachment to you. Be reassured, notwith standing the apparent dangers which threaten the independance of your country, guaranteed as it is by Treaties which bear the signatures of the chief European Powers, I entertain a firm conviction that these Treaties, which have been respected hitherto, will continue to be so in the future.—Reuters Tele grams. money which he paid out of his own Pocket Oil his dwn responsibility. Yaldey, ,the man bribed by Lacey, was called, and stated that where he was bribed nothing was said to him about his voting for Tillett. Sir W. Russell was only mentioned. FIGHTING NEAR HAVRE. HAVRE, January 8. Yesterday 10,000 Germans, coming mostly from Rouen, crossed the Seine on pontoon bridges near Juwieges, defeated the corps under General Roy, and occupied Bourga,chard and Bourgtheroulde. The Germans threaten Pont Audemor. CHERBOURG, January 7. Of the fresh troops recently arrived from the West a large number have already left for the front. About 000 wounded French have reached here this morning. THE OCCUPATION OF ROCROY. MEZIERES, January 6. On the occupation of Rocroy 300 prisoners, 72 guns, one eagle, and many rifles were captured as well as large stores of ammunition and provisions, eight German prisoners, amongst whom were two Prussians, detained as spies, were delivered. The capture of Rocroy was effected by five bat talions of Infantry, two squadrons of hussars, six field batteries, and one company of pioneers. THE WAR EXPENSES. BERLIN, January 6 (Evening.) The financial papers state that negotiations are bei❑g carried on by the Government in reference to the issue of the second 50 million thalers of the last war credit.—Reuter's Telegrams; FRANCE AND THE CONFERENCE. BORDEAUX, January 0. It is semi-officially stated that the convorsation alleged to have been held by Mr. AVasliburne with M. Favre was incorrectly reported by the Times. According to the latest advices from Paris M. Favre was still waiting to receive au invitation from England to be present at the Conference. THE NEUTRALITY OF LUXEMBURG. LUXEMBURG, January 7. The King of Holland has addressed the following proclamation to the inhabitants of. Luxemburg : " Tine HAGUE, January 6. " The loyal address which I have received through my brother, and in which you express full GREEK BRIGANDS IN TURKEY. CONSTANTINOPLE, January 5 (2.15 p.m.) Arvanitaki, Spano, Calzoy, and other chiefs, with over 80 Hellene brigands, coming from Greece, were on the 31st December Attacked at Eimee by the Turkish troops. 'Their losses are estimated at 20 men. The Turkish detachment was very inferior in number, and suffered heavily. The pursuit is being conducted vigorously.—Times. (CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAMS.) THE EARL OF DERBY ON NATIONAL DEFENCES. The Earl of Derby was present on Saturday at the presentation of prizes by his Countess to the members of the Preston Artillery, and in responding to the vote of thanks which was passed to her ladyship, spoke at some length on the partial unpopularity of the volunteer movement, and then passed on to notice the question of England's defences. His Lordship trusted that before the Legislature entered upon the discussion of the subject the people of 'England would know their own minds about it. He supposed every one agreed that national defences ought to be made thoroughly efficient, but if defence only was meant there must be no swerving from that opinion. No doubt the country was incurring great additional expense in military , matters, and it was much to the credit of English patriot ism that the public were willing that this should be so. His lordship then observed that the expense which the taxpayers of the country, as rational men, would least grudge was that which was required for the scientific brancheg of the service in the efficient maintenance of which England had the best security for the triumph of its civilization over mere barbaric forces. He recommended the use of light field guns by the artillery, such as were used by the navy for shore service, in addition to the pre sent volunteer artillery. On the subject of strengthening the militia, Lord Derby suggested the division of the country into districts, each of which should provide its quota of men, or in default pay a pecuniary fine. Recruit. ing would thus be encouraged, as poor men who were willing to serve would be assisted by their neighbours, rather than that the district in which they lived should be called upon to pay a money penalty. THE FLYING SQUADRON. The Flying Squadron, consisting of four ships, anchored in Torbay on Saturday afternoon, after beating about four days in the Channel, and unable to reach Plymouth through severe weather. THE WARWICKSHIRE GUARDIANS AND VAGRANCY. A Conference of Guardians of the Warwickshire Unions was held at Warwick on Saturday. A memorial was adopted to the President of the Poor-law Board, urging the necessity of a Government measure being brought forward applicable to the whole of the country, with a view of more effectually checking vagrancy. They earnestly hoped it would distinctly lay down how vagrants are to be dealt with, and prescribe the amount of work to be executed in return for a certain quantity of food and accommodation. They considered a distinction should be made between distressed wayfarers and tramps, and that children, whether alone or with vagrants, should be sent to an industrial school. MISMANAGEMENT ON AN IRISH RAILWA Y. Many complaints have lately been made of the mismanage ment of the Irish North-Western Railway, and according to the following incident there is great neglect somewhere, On Saturday the Right Honourable Judge Keogh, the Master of the Rolls Court, and Mr. Heron, Q.C., M.P., and a distinguished party, having taken first class return tickets for a journey on the above line, were compelled to travel third class from Bundoran, there being no other carriage attached to the train. These carriages, it appears, are very much neglected, as there were no windows to them, but merely openings from the sides of the carriages, without any glass to protect passengers from the weather, which being very severe yesterday, the hail and snow swept through the carriage, making the floor wet and dirty. On the return journey the right honourable udge complained greatly of the treatment he had received at the hands of the Railway Company, but there was no redress, except that the fares of the party were returned The railway company run only third class carriages on the morning up and evening down trains. DARING ATTEMPT AT ROBBERY. A daring attempt at robbery was made either late on Saturday night or early yesterday morning by burglars, who broke into the Loan Fund Bank in Lisnakea, Fer managh. The windows being protected by iron bars, ingress by that way was prevented, they therefore re moved a large quantity of the masonry and forced the door. They ransacked the premises, but without the desired result, the manager of the bank having on Satur day evening removed the monies. The constabulary are actively engaged on the affair, but up to the present their efforts have been unsuccessful in tracing the thieves. THE NAVIGATION OF LOUGH ERNE. Lord Erne, K.P., Chairman of the Lough Erne Drainage and Navigation Committee, has called a public meeting of the landed propeietors interested in the drain age and navigation scheme of that Lough on the 11th inst. in Enniskillen, to submit their report on Mr. Roberts's, the Government Engineer's, views on the sub ject, and of Messrs. Lynams and Barton's plans and schemes for carrying out this undertaking. At the meet ing they wish to arrive at a final conclusion, thereby opening communication of Erne Lough with the Ulster and Belfast Canal. CHARGE OF SHOOTING. At Southampton on Saturday Thomas and Ann Stevens were committed for trial on a charge of shooting a man named Gilbert Broomfield, whom they thought had been the leader in some proceedings which had taken place near the village of Eling, arising out of the alleged immo rality of the defendants. The woman, incited by her husband, had shot Broomfield, who still survives, with a pistol, lodging twenty-three shots in his face. THE ICE RUSH IN THE WEAR Nine vessels were safely moored in Sunderland Harbour on Saturday afternoon. Five vessels were carried out to sea, and were all more or less seriously damaged, including the Reindeer, of Scarborough ; Jaen, of Whitby ; Bel mont, steamship, of Sunderland ; Pearl, of Montrose ; and the French lugger THE MARRIAGE OF LORD CRICHTON. It is understood that the constituents of Lord Crichton , M.P., will, on his ret urn to Ireland from England, invit e him to a public banquet, and present him with an address, on the occasion of his marriage with one of the noble house of Cole. THE DETENTION OF A FRENCH VESSEL AT ST. HELIER. In consequence of orders received from Somerset House the French vessel Henri has been permitted to leave St. Helier's Harbour. She had been seized by the Customs at St. Aubin's, owing to 2501b5. of tobacco having been found in a boat, which was on its way at night-time to the vessel. The cause of the vessel's reloase is because the tobacco was not discovered on hoard the vessel. The tobacco has been confiscated. NORWICH ELECTION PETITION. The case for the petitioner closed on Saturday morning, and Mr. Rodwell, Q.C., proceeded to address Mr. Justice Keating, on behalf of Mr. Tillett, the sitting member. The learned counsel applied himself to the alleged bribery by the witness Lacey, which he en deavoured to explain away as bribery for Sir W. Russell only, and not for Mr.lett. In dealing with the alleged agency of Ray, Mr. Rodwell contended strongly on behalf of the sitting member. Ray's employment had been strongly discountenanced by Mr. Tillett. It was not altogether clear that Ray could be regarded as a scheduled man, but even if he were, Mr. Tillett had given a positive written order that he was not to be employed in any way whatever. What Ray had done he had done entirely on his own responsibility. Mr. 0. D. Ray was cross-examined with some severity ; and at great length by Mr. 0. Malley. After his state ment that he had spent £3OO on his own responsibility at the 1870 election, he stated that he was sorry that he yielded to the impulse to commence bribery at the election of 1868. At the election of 1870 he worked hard for Mr, Tillett, and should take his chance of getting back the THE FENIAN PRISONERS, On Saturday the five Fenian prisoners, O'Donovan Rossa, John M'Clure, Charles Underwood O'Connell, John Devoy, and Michael Mulavey, sailed from Liverpool in the Cunard steamer Cuba. They arrived at Queens town at nine o'clock yesterday morning, where the com mittees from Dublin and Cork met them, and proceeded on board, and furnished them with an outfit and £2O each, viz., £lO from Dublin and £lO from Cork. The prisoners travelled as second cabin passengers, but are admitted to the privileges of first-class passengers. They express themselires greatly satisfied with their treatment by Go vernment, and ounsidei it liberal. As Fegards the terms of the pardon they are not dissatisfied, and Roma said he considered it fair. According to its terms, they remain subject, within British dominions, to the full penalties for the period of their sentence, and are deprived of all rights as British subjects for the same period. A number of people from Queenstown with a band went out and serenaded them ; but no one save their relatidns and the members of the committee 4 were allowed on board. The prisoners say • Genera 1 Halpen has absolutely refused to accept his pardon. The appearance of the released prisoners on the hurricane deck of the Cuba as she arrived at Queenstown was the signal for tremendous cheering. Mrs: O'Donovan Rossa, who accompanies her husband, came in for a large share of applause. When in the afternoon the Cuba left, bon fires were lighted on the shores of the harbour, and on some of the forts there was a renewal of cheering, and an American barque which passed dipped her colours. Though an address had been prepared, it was not presented, as the members of the Dublin and Cork committees who went on board the Cuba were warned that nothing like a demonstration would be permitted. WEST NORFOLK ELECTION. Mr. Bentinck has issued an address to the electors of West Norfolk. He says his political opinions are well known ; and he is still prepared to uphold those views, to the advocacy of which he owed his former election for that division of the county. He dwells emphatically on the unjust legislation in reference to the rights and interests of the rural districts of Great Britain. He also speaks of the urgent necessity for placing our home defences in a more efficient state. There is no sign of opposition to Mr. Bentinck yet. THE SAD AFFAIR AT BEARWOOD. The inhabitants of Wokingham have forwarded a letter of sympathy and consolation to Mr. Walter,in consequence of his recent bereavement, and also as a mark of appre ciation of the many considerate aets of kindness which had bound Mr. Walter so warmly to the town. FATAL GUN ACCIDENT. A fatal accident, caused by the incautious use of fire arms, occurred on Friday at Boxley, about two miles from Maidstone. Mr. William Barron, son of Mr. Henry Barron, of Newnham Court, Boxley, was placing a loaded gun in a sack for the purpose of preserving it from the damp, when from some unexpected cause the gun suddenly exploded, and the whole contents lodged in the head of the unfortunate young man, killing him in stantly. SERIOUS CHARGE, At the Town Hall, Manchester, on Saturday, John M`Ghie was charged with obtaining, under false pre tences, one hundred and twenty dozen pairs of stockings and eighty doien pairs of seeks, from Daniel Nands last March. The prisondr had, it Was alleged, falsely repre sented that he had had previous large transactions with other firms in the town, by whic't he obtained the goods. Prisoner was tried at the Manchester Sessions six months ago on this and other charges, but he was acquitted. He has made, it is said, similar transactions since that time in Leicester, but nothing had been seen of him recently, until Friday, when he visited that town, and was appre hended on the platform of the railway station as he was about to leave for Manchester. The prisoner was re manded for a week. EFFECTS OF THE THAW ON THE WEAR. The sudden thaw has broken up the ice on the Wear. The ice going away with great force, carried the following vessels tl sea :—Pearl, of Montrose, Reindeer, of Scar borough, Corsair, of Shoreham, Belmont, steamship of Sunderland, Cognac packet, of Harwich, French lugger Jean, of Portsmouth, and the Dart, of Shoreham. The Rockcliffe, of Sunderland, is on a rock opposite the dock entrance. Many ships lying in the river are injured by the vessels swept away from the coal drops. TWO MEN DROWNED. The grain ship New Dominion, from Prince Edward's Island, having been wrecked during Friday night on the Nash Sands, Bristol Channel, an attempt was made by the crew to board her on Saturday. When close along side, however, she suddenly broke her back, capsizing a boat and drowning Osborne, the mate, and Riley, one of the seamen. The others were rescued by a tug. BRISTOL SCHOOL BOARD. It had been decided in order to avoid a contest that the Liberal and Conservative organisations of Bristol should each nominate seven persons to constitute the School Board, leaving the fifteenth seat for Mr. James Ford, the selected Roman Catholic candidate. On Saturday, however, the Conservative working men fixed upon two candidates, the Orangemen one, and the schoolmasters one—so that there must be a contest. At an adjourned meeting held in Liverpool on Satur day, under the liquidation of Messrs. Thomas Ridley and Sons, of Liverpool and Newfoundland, it was decided to accept an offer of 10s. in the pound, payable by instal ments ; this will realise about £BO,OOO. An inquest was held on Friday, before Mr. Reedon; the coroner foa Berkshire, on the body of a woman named Hannah Smith, a criminal patient. Deceased was tried at Stafford, in 1837, for the wilful murder of her son, but was acquitted on the ground of insanity, In the year 1867 she was attacked with paralysis, which caused her to keep to her bed until her death. Deceased was 75 years of age. The jury returned a verdict of " Died of paralysis and old age." THE STOURBRIDGE RAIL WAY FRAUDS. We believe the directors of the Stourbridge and Great Western Railway Companies will issue £64 of rent-charge stock, instead of the full £BO, in exchange for every ten shares of the Stourbridge Railway Company which are duly upon the register, the remaining £l6, being reserved for the contingency of the holders of false scrip proving their right to be placed in a like position. As to the shareholders not upon the register, actions at law to compel the directors of the Stourbridge Company to do some of them justice are now in progress, but are likely to be sus pended for about a fortnight, in order to give the directors time to offer a compromise. There is a doubt whether these shares ought to be on the register at all, but, if this right does exist, there can be no doubt but that the holders of the false certificates can claim damages. The compromise will most likely take the shape of an offer to purchase the scrip at some small discount from the market value of the stock to which they claim to be entitled. A meeting of shareholders will be again called in the course of a few days, to receive, in a formal manner, an offer from the directors.—Birminyh,anz Gazette. CRYSTAL PALAC E. — Halt-a-crown Day.—Satur day.L-The admissions by season tickets were 3,023'; du. on payment, 972; total visitors, 3,995. Dr. Wright, Professor of Arabic, has been elected a Fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge. The Rowan Catholic ladies of England, following the example of the ladies of Rome, contemplate (under stands the Westminster Gazette) presenting an address of sympathy to the Pope. Two young gentlemen skated li.om Bath to Devizes and back a day or two ago, doing the forty-five miles upon the canal in less than nine hours, including some time spent in refreshment. The Town Council of Glasgow have resolved to present an address of congratulation to her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of the approaching marriage of the Princess Louise to the Marquis of Lorne. Mr. Butler Johnstone, M.P., is slowly recovering from his recent illness, and will, as soon as th e wea th er enables him to travel , quit England for a few months' sojourn in the East. The marriage of Sir Alexander Robert Smythe Muir Mackenzie, Bart., and Miss Moncreiffe, eldest un married daughter of Sir Thomas and Lady Louisa Moncreiffe, and sister of the Countess. of Dudley, is arranged to take place in a few weeks in Scotland. The Civil Service Gazette says that' Mr. Cardwell's attention has recently been drawn by a memorandum emanating from a high party in office, to the injustice created by recent methods of enforcing reductions in officers' claims for allowances, THE FItENCH VIEW OF THE BATTLE OF 13APAUMV. • • A correspondent of the Daily News, sends the following from Boulogne, dated Jainiary 6 i—The English papers, bringing the Prussian vie* 61 the tattle of Bapaume arrived this afternoon ; but no one lee giVes any cre dence to Manteuffel's statement that he has defeated the army of the North. Nor do the journalists abafs one jot their elated tone. It is certainly difficult for anyone residing here to believe all that the Prussians state, and the frequency with which they have lately "dispersed" armies which I , aV6 turned up the next clay none the worse for their dispersion seems to indicate a tendel y on their part to largely embellish the trnth. There is perfect unity in all the French accounts in asserting that the Prussians were driven back on Bapaume, and the Prefect, of the Pas de Calais, in a telegram to Gambetta, states that some detachments entered the suburbs of that town; but it is also admitted that Faidherbe retired early the next morning. " The battle," says " recommenced before daybreak (on the 4th): The enemy's efforts seemed to have for object to driVe us away froth the town; but it Vag' soon perceived that he had received considerable rein forcements, and that he manoeuvred to ge't between` the army and its base of operations ; General Faidherbe then executed a movement of a nature to balk the fine. , sians, and which it is not for us to explain at present." The same journal, whilst praising the courage of the soldiers, admits that there were " some deplorable shortcomings," and an order issued by General Farre the day after hints very broadly as to the nature of these shortcomings. It is to the effect that any runaway Mobile or Mobilisd who shall enter any village shall lid at once arrested, sent to Dunkerque, and shipped off to one of the Breton camps. Recalcitrants to be tried by court-martial at Lille. This reads strangely after news of a great victory. The Prussian loss on the 3rd is quoted by the French at 3,500, but no mention is made of diet+ . own. At Arras, however, the wounded were arriving in numbers on the 4th; throughout the day vehicles con veying them entered the town. The Army of the North is said by the Prefect of this department to have retired from before Bapaume to Adinfer and Boyelles, where it is now cantoned simply because the villages in advance had been destroyed during the fight; but the strategic reasons above alluded to had undoubtedly something to do with the retreat, and a fiirther reason may be sought in the want of provisions, the Army, as I . mentioned yesterday, having only taken three days' food rith it when it started from Arras. INACTION. OF THE FRENCH. In a letter from Havre, dated January 6, the special correspondent of the Standard says :—The hopes excited by the capture of La Bouille, near Rouen, by General Roy, the victory of General Faidherbe, near Bapaume, and the energy displayed by General Peltingeas, the new military broom sent here to help M. Mouches in sweep ing the Prussians out of Normandy—have been, so far, sadly disappointed. Of General Roy's capa bilities high opinion had been formed; his attack and occupation of the one position whieh cut off the communications of the Prussians with Duclair down the river, and with Elbeuf, Evreux, and Berney by land, led people to suppose that the French army had found a strategist. The importance of the position had been proved by the efforts of the Germans to recap ture it, and it was reasonable to suppOse that steps would have been taken to occupy it in force and strengthen it so as to baffle .any futher attempt of the enemy to retake it. This does not appear to have been done. Raw troops (Mobiles it is said) were entrusted with the duty of keeping the position. Under cover of a heavy fog they were "surprised" on Wednesday- morning, and retreated with such alacrity that a good many of them reached Honfleur the same evening. lam told that the four guns they had with them they left behind them as rather Cumbersome, and they were brought into flonfleur on the following morning by the natives of the villages through which the fugitives passed. At Honfleur they were "brought up," and, after some little difficulty, sent back to join their corps. The bulk of the force under General Roy, the safety of which the hasty retreat—to put it mildly—of his advanced guard very seriously compromised, made a gallant stand, and he was able to effect his retreat, in tolerable order, in the direc tion of Brienne and Caen. A curious story is told Of a colonel of Mobiles, who at the early hour of seven a.m. was so dreadfully intoxicated that he was hardly able to stand, and who shot four of his men, whom he supposed were running away, while, on the contrary, they were rushing at the enemy. The French lost two guns. General Roy has written a letter to the local papers asking them not to judge the Mobiles too harshly. This appeal evidently proceeds from a generous mind ; but troops whose " in experience" induces them to retreat some forty miles without stopping are hardly entitled to indulgence. The long and short of the matter is that the Prussians are once more in possession of the important position of La Bouille, and that the forces of General Roy have had to replier themselves once more. On this side of the Seine the troops of General Peltingeas, who had advanced as far as Yvetot, have faller back to the positions in front of Havre for some mysterious reason which I cannot fathom. The victory of Faidherbe at Bapaume ought, it strikes me, to have induced the French commanders in this part of the country to push on towards Rouen without delay. It is said that the want of provisions —an odd reason in one of the wealthiest and most fertile of French provinces —rendered this retrograde movement necessary. This morning about a couple of hundred Prussians, horse and foot, with a couple of guns, advanced to the out skirts of the French outposts, and threw a score or so of shells into the village of Gainneville ; a company of Mobilised National Guards were then thrown forward, and, after a short exchange of shots, the enemy limbered up and retired towards Bolbec. With the number of men in and in front of this place not a man or a gun ought to have escaped capture. To sum up—the week ends unsatisfactorily, with the sole exception of Faidherbe's success at Ba paume, as to the real extent of which we are as yet in the dark, the advantages gained a few days back have all been lost. A serious advance seemed to have been decided on; it has been nipped in the bud, and the " Army of Normandy " has not taken any steps to draw closer to Rouen, which it abandoned now exactly a month ago. THE MARRIAGE OF PRINCESS LOUISE. At Windsor Castle, during the absence of her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family in the Isle of Wight, considerable progress has been made with the prepara tions for the approaching nuptials of her Royal Highness the Princess Louise and the Marquis of Lorne. The Albert Memorial Chapel, at the eastern end of St. George's Chapel, and which was once known as Cardinal Wolsey's Chapel, is being prepared for the ceremony by the employs of the Board of Works. The interior walls of the Albert Memorial Chapel are decorated with Baron Triqueti's beautiful marble pictures, the Salviati mosaics, and other unique and costly adornment. For the purposes of the Royal wedding the inside of the building will be transformed into tastefully fitted up assembling and retiring rooms. The stone pave ment is being covered with a boarded flooring. The Albert Memorial Chapel is only separated from the east end of St. George's Chapel by the covered entrance to the cloisters inhabited by the Dean and Canons of Windsor, and the marriage procession would thus have to proceed but a short distance, in fact only a few yards, to reach the rails in front of the altar. With the view of affording proper accommodation for the numerous and distinguished persons who may have the honour of being invited to attend the marriage the exact number of sittings in the choir has been ascertained by the Court officials. The marriage is expected to be celebrated about the beginning of March, while the Queen is in residence at Windsor. The Princess's trousseau is being prepared by the different Court tradespeople at Windsor, London, and elsewhere. Very little was seen in London of the eclipse of the moon on Friday night owing to the clouded state of the sky. After the eclipse was over the clouds passed away. GENERALS BURNSIDE AND GRANT. General Burnside, who lately returned to the United States, bore a special message to the President from a leading member of our Government. It is a pity that General Grant has never visited Europe—that is, if there be any truth in Mr. Seward's dictum, that a personal acquaintance with foreign countries is as necessary to America as it is to European statesmen.— Scotsman. INCREASE OF THE ARMY The Standard has in formation that the G overn ment has determined to increase the establishments of all branches of the military service to the extent of 20,000 men, in the following pro portions :—Royal Horse Artillery, 787 ; Cavalry, 1,831 ; Royal Artillery, 4,467 ; Royal Engineers, 294 ; Foot Guards, 700 ; Infantry of the'Line, 11,398 ; Army Service Corps, 470. BIeEAKFAST.—EPPS'S COCOA.--GRATEFUL AND CON. FORTING.—The very agreeable character of this preparation has rendered it a general favourite. The Civil Service Gazette re marks :—" By a thorough knowledge of the natural laws which govern the operations of digestion and nutrition, and by a careful application of the fine properties of well-selected coco a Mr. Epps has provided our breakfast tables with a delicately flavoured beverage which may save us many heavy doctor's bills. Each packet is labelled—JAMßS EPPS & Co., Hoinceo patine Chemists. London. Also, makers of Epps's Cacabine, a very hin evening beverage,—Advt. OUR COTERIPORARIES--This Morning' THE ATTACK ON THE FRETTCH FORTS. The Times says :—With respect tatWeitttack on the forts, it is doubtful whether the results of the first week's fire have been £l4l satisfactory to the besiegers as the Verb sallies telegrams would have us believe. After the brilliant success at Mont Aron and the silencing of the Forts of Itosny, Noisy; thid Nogeut, nothing seems to have been undertaken on that side, but a deliberate attack has. been directed against the BOulthern Forts of Issy, Vanvre*. and Montrouge with such effect tiiA the two first-named have been compelled at least temporarily to cease their fire. The mere silencing of the forts, hatreter, may only ini it ttiecottragement among the defenders. anct brings the besidigfg hardly any nearer to tlur possession of them. In order that the Ger,' mans may effect a loclgmeti al Issy and Vanvres, will, perhaps, be necessary that they should test the solidity of M. Thiers' masonry by a oaarnonacle with; round shot. It seems that some of the Prussian' gunx throw their shells to the prodigious distance of six Boglislr : miles; and if it can be established that the artillery: , of the defenders is no match for the guns of the be siegers, Paris would be reduced to the condition of al fortress equally unable to ward off the enemy by its{ fire and by its sorties. It would thus be at the discretion of the enemy, who would only spare it so long as he could make his mercy consistent with his safety. So lonli„ as Faidherbe, Chanry, and Bourbaki can be kept at a hundred miles' distance, engaged in petty skirmishes, in which they are, to say the utmost, so often vanquished as victorious, the Germans can afford to listen to the dictates of humanity, and spare a city whose 'nowt ; ments are thet admiration of the civilized world. But there may come a moment in which the fail of Paris might' bed, question of existence for the besiegers themselve;, • and then it is very doubtful whether they would listen to any other voice than that of stern necessity. There was a time in which it seemed almost certain that cannon would not be • employed against the French capital ; now one would be glad to feel certain that all the fury of the German fire is to be spent against stone walls and earthen bastions, and: that no harm will come from it to a population already sa severely tried by all the scourges of ruthless war. THE ALABAMA QUESTION, There seems to be little doubt, says the Standar , l, that General Shenck, the new American Minister, has received instructions to reopen the Alma question, with a view of pressing on a settlement of that dispute between this country' and the United States'. He will probably s find Lord Granville as ready, to meet him half way as Mr; Reverdy Johnson found Lord Stanley and Lord Clarendon, and should Lord Granville enter into a convention with General Schenck for a settlement, by which the honour and dignity of this country is not compromised, no one will be more ready than we shall be to express a cordial approval thereof. A word of caution is, however, neces sary. There is too great a tendency in our foreign policy at the present epoch to concede everything that may be asked of us by a powerful State, especially when the request is backed up by a menace. If, therefore, General Schenck conveys the proposals of his Government in any language such as that formerly used by Mr. Sumner. or more recently by General Butler, the proposals must be flung back straight inhis face, for the time has come when the bullying of this country, so in vogue abroad, must be put a stop to, catite qui ceute. General Schenck is, how ever, a politician of a very different stamp from General Butler. The latter is the scum and the former the pure metal in the refinery of polities ; and we read General Schenck's political antecedents very wrongly, if he comes to England to widen, instead of to heal, the breach between her and the United States, It is a noticeable fact that if the popular opinion of General Schenck's instructions is correct, the United States Government have abandoned the unwarrantable position which they took up last, a little more than a year ago, that all future negotiations on the Alabama question 'Mist take place in Washington. General Schenck may arrange with Lord Granville a convention on equitable terms for the submission of the dispute ta arbitration ; but then what guarantee have we that a convention of 1871 will not share the fate of the convention of 1869, and be rejected by the United States Senate f Even if it be, we shall have this consolation, that it will be more than ever patent that the delay in the settlement of the Alabama question proceeds, not from this side of the Atlantic, but from the other. THE IMPENDING CAPITULATION OF PARIS. The siege of Paris is entering, or has already entered, onjts final stage, remarks the Daily Nem. At the very time when the cruel process of starvation, which is prac tically making war on the weak to reduce the strong, is beginning to tell with the most distressing force, the piti less strategist whose iron will and nerve directs the besieg ing armies is pushing the long-delayed military measures. It has gradually become once more improbable that any aid whatever can come to the beleaguered city from with out. The provinces have nobly responded to the call of the capital, but their utmost efforts have been, and con tinue to be, altogether unavailing for its relief. It is no discredit to its long and heroic resistance that the city itself should be a little losing heart. The past three weeks have been a period of trial such as no great city has ever _ _ passed through in modern times. Brave as is the front it pre sents to the foe, there is suffering within the walls such as not even the most enthusiastic admirers of Paris ever believed the population could endure. That there should be com plaints of General Trochu, and demands for a more active and energetic resistance, must be regarded as the natural and necessary consequence of the increasing suffering. Whatever may be before her in the future, Paris can at least afford to face it. The long resistance of the great capital of fashion and pleasure is far less military than moral and social. General Trochu, with much of that simple sense of duty which distinguished our own Wellington, has indeed transformed a mob into an army, and made the city almost impregnable to assault ; but it was not by assault that Moltke and Bismarck wished to take it. They reckoned on aid, indirect and unintended, but still effectual aid, from the citizens themselves—Paris was to cook in its own grease. There was one thing Parisians could not bear, and that was the very evil it would cost the Ger mans least to inflict. Paris would man its walls, barricade its streets, fight like a roused lion for its freedom ; but Paris would not lie still and starve ; would not see its children die of hunger and its poor perishing of want; would not bear the pinch of the least privation; but would come out and invite the besiegers in for the sake of the plenty they would bring in their hands. But in reckoning on this aid from within, the besiegers reckoned without their host. Nearly four months have passed, and Paris still chews no immediate signs of yielding, notwithstanding unmistakable signs of suffering and the frightful figures of the death-rate. Whenever and however these sufferings end, the end cannot be dishonourable. Out of the fire of these fearful days the great city will carry an imperishable memory, and the generation which submitted to a Louis Napoleon and tolerated a Persigny and a Morny will not only have wiped away such stains upon its honour, but will have bequeathed to after times a tradition of heroism which, even though it may be de feated, will more than divide with its conqueror the honours of the present, and will concentrate upon itself all the respect and regard of the future. Defeat after such a resistance may prove in the long run as creditable as as victory. NAPOLEON 111. AT WILHELMAHOHE. The Telegraph, in commenting on the Emperor's New Year's reception, says :—The position of Napoleon 111., in his strange detention at Wilhelmshohe, is, under certain material aspects, superior to that of his uncle at Longwood. The world were compelled to treat Napoleon I. virtually after the fashion of a tremendous convict. He was transported for life " With all the honours." It cost us about five and twenty thousand pounds a year to isolate and wall up one single prisoner, and the exigen cies of the case forced us to convert into a gaoler, as harsh as any warder who unlocks a cell door at Chatham or Millbank, a very well-meaning; major -general in the British army, who was "damned to everlasting fame " simply because he did his disagreeable duty in a fashion rather too congenial to the spirit of his appointment. King William of Pru ss i a h as b een enabled- to treat his Imperial prisoner more as the Black Prince treated King John of France, and as Charles V. treated Francis I. than as the Allied S overe i gns, w i th Lord Castlereagh and Lord Bathurst for chief agents, disposed of the first Napoleon. From the moment of his surrender at Sedan the vanquished Emperor has been en• tertained not only en gentilhomnze, but en grand seigneur. Even Bismarck's bitter tongue has been reticent on the score of him who fell so suddenly and so completely. One English lady alone—Lady Holland—had, to her lasting honour, the courage openly to sympathise in the miseries of the exile of fit. Helena ; but the Queen of Prussia was the first to send kind words to Cassel, and Queen Victoria was not slow to evince her sympathy with the consort of the Im perial detenu at Wilhelmsohe. The lines of Napoleon 111. have fallen in pleasanter places. His Imperial style and title have not been contu me li ous l y d en i e d to him. • In this dignified imprisonment, then, the Third Napoleon has been enabled to celebrate the New Year in a manner fitfully recalling the vanished glories of the Salle des Marecham. r u e st scene w have been emenemi ni same time, of e n n e t u l t y ly sa e d e ; us y e e l t a , te a r t the y m to stahe edifice which children build in play-time. folks who came to kiss the hands of dethroned Caesar the homage, whose house had fallen like the 'These e b g o o a o rd d be bought and so ld . They were, emphatically, the right people in the right r o e f nd th er a e t d n d o ef l e ip re -s n e e r e vic i e v , hi i c i h o i co c n a v n entional reverence, none . place. ors he on ally f - 3 Of itri- ;een ;ave was Ton 180, The t no ar of isual at of o do I he Ire is con- life More nale )0111- riers At time ng-- ased, ;hill Mil)/ 5 old zocel atiVe not del i, ntia