The Sun. — London, England, 1871-01-25 00:00:00

LATEST INTELLIGENCE SUN OFFICE, 8 A.M. THE CONFERENCE. The Conference on the Treaty of 185 G re assembled at the Foreign Office yesterday, and again adjourn.* for a week—till Tuesday, the 31st inst. In the absence-of a representatiNe of France at the Conference, Lord Granville confers with M. Tissot, the French Charge d'Affaires, before and after each meeting of the Plenipotentiaries. THE WAR, THE CAPITULATION OF PARIS. VERSAILLES, January 24 (2 p.m.) M.:Jules Favre is nowhere with:proposals for Capi tulation. He proposes that the garrison shall leave Paris With honours of war. This is quite inadpiissible. The attack on St. Denis and the great defeat of the 19th have mainly led to the resolution to asic for terms. Trochu is ill. Vinoy commands. M. Favre has seen Count Bismarck. The_ arrangement of terms will take time. The French demands are far too large. THE FIGHTING IN THE EAST. A telegram from the Royal Headquarters at Versailles, says :—On the 21st detachments of the German army of the South, after a slight engage ment, occupied Dole, and captured 230 railway wag gons laden with provisions, forage, and clothing. On the 22nd the railway bridge over the Moselle, be tween Nancy and Toul, was blown up by a band of Franc-tireun3.—Times 7 elegram. REPORTED RESIGNATION OF GENERAL TROCHU. BRUSSELS, January 24. Intelligence from Paris has .reached here that General Trocbu has resigned the command of the Armies of Paris; but will continue to act as Governor of Paris. Admiral de la Ronciere or Admiral Saisset are mentioned as likely to succeed General Troche in command of the armies in Paris. General le Flo, Minister of War, has resigned.— Lombard Telegram. The following telegrams come through Reuter's Agency:— FRESH VICTORY OF THE GARIBALDIANS AT DIJON. BOUROGNE, January 23. The following official despatches have been received : " DIJON, January 23 (4.30 p.m.) "Dijon has been very fiercely attacked since one o'clock this afternoon by a strong Prussian column on the northern and western sides of the town. " Everyone is at his past." " DIJON, January 23 (5.16 p.m.) " The enemy is within 1,500 yards of the town, and has occupied Pouilly and Chateau St. Appoli naire. It is said that Ricciotti Garibaldi is sur rounded." DIJON, January 23 (6.15 p.m.) " The enemy is falling back beaten. Ricciotti Garibaldi has captured the colours of the 61st Prus sian Regiment of the line." DIJON, January 23 (Evening). Details of to-day's fighting show that the enemy, after having feigned an attack upon the French left, massed the bulk of his forces on the Langres road. He obtained possession for a time of the farm of Pouilly, but was dislodged thence by the French making a breach in the wall. The colours of the Gist Regiment were captured by Ricciotti's brigade in the lace of a terrible fire. The enemy's losses are said to be enormous. BORDEAUX, January 23 (10 p.m.) Further advices from Dijon state that the Germans engaged in to-day's fighting belonged to the 2nd Corp s . The prisoners taken are chiefly men of the Clst Infantry Regiment of Pomerania. BORDEAUX, January 24. An official despatch from Dijon, dated yesterday evening, announces that the Prussian defeat was complete. The brigade of Ricciotti Garibaldi completely destroyed the Ist Prussian infantry r egiment. The French troops displayed great he roism. THE BATTLE OF ST. QUENTIN. VERSAILLES, January 24. It is announced here from Lille that at the battle ° f St. Quentin there were on the French side four 1/Ivisions. General Bessol was severely wounded. Me Mobilized Guards refused to march, and have t hrown away their arms. The war material has been brought from Arras to Lille. Throughout the /v hule north of France the greatest discouragement Prevails. The Belgian troops on the frontier have b een doubled, in the expectation of large numbers of fugitive soldiers crossing into Belgium. THE SIEGE OF LONG WY. ARLON, January 24. An extensive conflagration broke out at Longwy yesterday, and is still burning to-day. The bombardment continues. 4 p.m. The bombardment of Longwy has almost entirely b ee aeed on account of the f og . It i s a s se rt e d that the Vlasians employ incendiary shells. The town a ttr i suffered considerably, the church, Hotel rll Ville, and several houses bein g s erio us ly in ted• The Commandant of .Longwy, Massaroli, is o , s Corsican descent, and proves himself to be pos te a sed of muc h e n erg y. H e i s d e t erm i ne d t o res i s t th e last. BRUSSELS, January 24. k 7 'he Independance Beige of yesterday says that on 1 04 °11 % the garrison of Longwy !succeeded in dis -11 ging the Prussians from a factory in a hand-to tat" fight. The Pru , sians at Mont Saint Martin te e l:tilted to take the town by surprise, but were Pulsed with considerable losses. Three Prussian i to ` e ties have been silenced by the very heavy fire 41 the fortress. F RENCH TROOPS ON THE SWISS FRONTIER. BERNE, January 23. • - P ° rts received from the Swiss Head-quarters Il i t n a 'e that a French detachment with guns is march al°ng th e frontier on Abbevillers. PRUNTRUNT, January 24. The French Corps of General Bressolles is posted Piellear t e Swiss Frontier, with its Head-quarters at kiC e[ ontaine, a mile south of Blamont and two erect eB horn the Swiss village of Damvaunt. ede French batteries are stated to have been at Blandon. THE FIGHT AT ALENCON. k BORDEAUX, January 24. fo r ,„ de eree of the 18th opens a credit of 52,500,000 f. 'e na tional def ence an d p a y men t o f con t rac t s , ereof 22, ,000f. are for payment of c on t rac t s ttri e , e4t ed ttrid 60 3 0 0,000,000 f. f or f re sh pur c h ases o f arms animunition. ve4 4:l7 kes frora Lyons state that the Radical effer eellee liae entirely calmed down, and that the Red flag is still hoisted on the Town Hall, but ex cites no attention. The number of Germans killed at the fight ai Alencon on the 15th of January was 900, They had a still greater number of wounded, and the engage ment lasted seven hours and a half. THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1871. tion was moved expressing the opinion of the meeting that the terms originally offered by France were evi dence of a desire to terminate the war, and that France had continued the struggle with a view to prevent humiliation and dismemberment. An unsuccessful at tempt was made to move an amendment, and the resolu tion was adopted, several speakers condemning the hesi tating policy of the Government. Another resolution was carried demanding the immediate recognition of the French Republic. THE CAPITULAIION OF PARIS. The special correspondent of the Telegraph sends the followiag, dated Versailles, January 27 :—Count Bismarck has been created Chancellor of the German Empire. The prisoners brought in yesterday afternoon state that the officers commanding regiments addressed their men before commencing the sortie, inform ing them that General Vinoy was in pos session of Versailles, and that Chanzy was within five miles of Paris. Eighteen officers and 340 men were taken yesterday in St. Cloud, and marched into Versailles. They were picked up in hiding, and offered no resistance. Our losses, so far as we have ascertained up to the present, are twenty officers and 58 men killed, about 600 wounded. The losses of the siege artillery on the 17th were : First Lieutenant Hilfreich and Lieutenant Wilke killed, 1 officer and 2 men severely and 15 men slightly wounded ; on the 18th, 7 men killed, 15 wounded ; on the 49th, 8 men killed, 1 officer and 10 men wounded. The French held St. Cloud and Buzanval on the night of the 19th, but were driven out yesterday morning. We suffered but trifling losses, and encountered a feeble resistance when driving them back. From the battle of Vendome to the occupation of Alencon and Laval—an interval of about ten days—the Second Army lost 170 officers. There appears to be solid ground for believing that Paris will capitulate by or on Wednesday next. In the Council of War which was held yesterday in the besieged capital to discuss the position and adopt the final decision, Trochu was severely blamed. Eight men of the sth Jagers were wounded at Ville d'Avray by one shell. The French fire in the after noon of the 19th was very rapid, but not effective. Their shells burst in the air, and the distance was too great for the mitrailleuses. The batteries will open on St. Denis to-day or to morrow. At the utmost Mont Valerien has fired only three or four times to-day. On the south west both sides are quiet. A dense fog has prevailed all day. The Brigade Dicht marched away this morning to join the 2nd Army Corps. unite s ex- cross- mers' two )ound stall iodest and iarter held the the fine nately Cale- Le fine a rare profits their course porary ed on how- charge very to gaol under of the Led him lg with Some 6titudes L which Id shall in fact. Lind the • coasts, rather 3 incbea IA both and 15 bns eon_ and and y winds th, but 'alien in III5E•~ Ip or a J - Itig 's es. . Le De tts tt9,3 DY THE SIEGE OF CAMERAL LILLE, January 24. The Prussians have raised the siege of Cambrai. Thirty thousand Prussians are stated to be in the North of France. ADVANCE ON HONFLEUR. lIAVnE, January 24. The Prussians have advanced to Foullebec, on the opposite side of the Seine, about nine miles from Honfleur, and an action fought there is reported to have resulted in the occupation of that town by the Prussians. It is expected that the Prussians will advance o Honfleur. EVACUATION OF. ORBEC. HAVRE, January 24. The Prussians have evacuated Orbec, after having fined the town 40,000 f., shot four of the inhabitants, and carried away the Mayor and three municipal councillors prisoners. THE GERMAN LOAN. BERLIN, January 24. The subscription to the second issue of 50,000,000 thalers of the 5 per cent. North German. loan will be opened on the 26th inst. in London and Berlin, and close on the 27th instant. The issue price is 96i. The instalments are to be paid as follows : One-third (less 'lO per cent. deposit, :payable on application) :on the 7th of February, one-third on the 3rd of March. and the remaining one-third on the 3rd of April next. it is believed the elections to the North German Parliament will be held on the 3rd of March, and the Parliament will be con voked on the 9th of March. The Federal Council will meet on the 20th of March. AUSTRIAN FOREIGN POLICY. In yesterday's sitting of the Hungarian Delegation at Pesth, the general debate of the Budget of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs was commenced. Herr Pulloky said he saw in the exclusion of Austria from Germany, as effected by the Treaty of Prague, one of the fundamental conditions of the dualism in Hungary, which had gladly welcuined the Treaty of Prague, and had stood by and against the South German Bund, hich was now almost to be revived in its old rivalry, and might be a cause of great uneasiness to the Government. Austria should not mix herself up in the affairs of Germany in order to strengthel. her power, but should restrict herself to internal reforms. In conclusion, the speaker reco.nmended a friendly policy towards Germany and Turkey. Herr Zeodery demanded that the documents omitted in the Red Book should be laid before the Delegation, so as to justify the expenses of the armaments about to be made. Herr Szermoy was in favour of an alliance with Prussia, which Power he described as a friend who could help Austria in the East, and an enemy who could cause trouble there. Archbishop Haynals complained of the want of vigour displayed in the policy of the Austrian Government with regard to the Roman question, adding that the Government was obliged to protect the rights of treaties upon Which they were based. The debate is being continued. AUSTRALIA. From Melbourne come the following items of news up to January 2 : The Victoria Parliament has been prorogued, and was immediately dissolved. The payment of mem bers has had the effect of attracting numerous new candidates. Some uneasiness is felt lest England should be involved in the war, and the defences of the country are being prepared. Discount and ex change are unaltered. From Sydney we have news up to December 31st : A Martin-Robertson coalition Ministry has been formed, end the re-elections are proceeding favour ably for the Ministry. Severe weather has been ex perienced on the coast. Business is dull. Advices from New Zealand state that an uneasy feeling prevails among the natives. A Mr. Todd, a surveyor, had been murdered. Tekooti is still un captured. The Treasurer is about to visit England' to negociate a loan of £4,000,000. The Geelong takes to Galle 135,000 ounces of gold and 45,500 sovereigns. Advices from Brisbane state that Governor Blackall died on the 2nd inst. M. GAMBETTA. (CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAM.) M. Gambetta, arrived at Calais at one a.m. this morning, in a special train from Lille. He left at two o'clock for Bordeaux in the Hirondelle. (CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAMS.) DEVONPORT SCHOOL BOARD. The result of the election for the School Board at Devonport is the return of four Churchmen, including three clergymen, two liberal Churchmen, two Wesleyans, one Nonconformist minister, and two League nominees. There were thirty-three candidates for the eleven seats, and the three workingmen's candidates were rejected. Poli tics were largely imported into the election. ASSOCIATION FOR FREEDOM OF WORSHIP. The thirteenth annual meeting of the National Asso ciation for Freedom of Worship was held in the Town Hall, Manchester, yesterday afternoon, the Earl of Shrewsbury in the chair. The report stated that since the society began its operations in 1856 the principle of free parish churches, which were described as the essence of the parochial system, had been largely increased. It had been adopted by a hundred churches in London alone, by twenty in Manchester and Liverpool, and by numerous others. During theipast year the society had been chiefly occupied in organising branch agencies in London and throughout England, of which there were now nearly 700. One hundred and thirty-six local treasuries had been ap pointed during the past year. Applications for papers and other assistance from 396 places had been received and complied with. Lord Shrewsbury, in moving the adoption of the report, said he thought the movement was very useful and very proper, because, above all places, equality should be preserved in the House of God. He should like to see the time when the first comers to church should take the first seats, and the church should be gradually filled up to the back. He enjoyed the privilege of worshipping God on the same spot as his father, his grandfather, and his great grandfather, and the affectionate remembrances which the reflection awakened in his mind was, he confessed, a great incentive to religious observance, but he would rather give up any affectionate remembrances of that kind, than feel that any person was kept from attending Divine service because of the indulgence of any idiosyncracy or personal feeling on his part. He desired fervently that all churches, and perhaps more especially in crowded cities, should be open every day in the week. Sir Percival Heywood, Rev. D. Fraser, Vicar of Acton, and other gentlemen and clergymen afterwards addressed the meeting. Letters of apology were read from the Bishop of Lichfield, Bishop of Man chester, Lord Wharncliffe, Lord de Tabley, Mr. Asshe ton Cross, M.P., Mr. Charles Turner, M.P., the Rev. Canon Woodhead, and others. THE CONTAGIOUS DISEASES ACTS. Last night a large meeting in opposition to the Con tagious Diseases Acts was held at Southampton. The proceedings were conducted amid some uproar, but resolu tions were passed, unanimously condemning the Acts, and rejoicing in the establishment of a national society in opposition to them. SYMPATHY WITH FRANCE. Last night a meeting washeld — in --- thelirmingham Town Hall to sympathise with the French. A resolu- CONSERVATISM AT CAMBRIDGE. The dinner of the Cambridge Junior Conservative Club took place last night, when about a hundred and forty were present, presided over by Mr. Neville. Messrs. Powell and Gorst were enthusiastically received, and toasted as the future Conservative members for the borough. Mr. Powell attributed the war between France and Germany to the destruction of the Conservative element in, France. Mr. Douglas Straight, M.P. for Shrewsbury, was present, and replied to the toast of the Houses of Parliament. EMIGRATION OF FRENCH REFUGEES TO JERSEY. The emigration of French refugees to Jersey, is assum ing great proportions. Every boat from Granville and St. Malo has brought many of them. About sixty persons who had fled from towns in the north of France arrived at St. Helen's by the steamer Wonder, from St. Malo on Tuesday morning. A large number are expected by the Granville boat. WRECK OF A BRIG. On Monday evening, during a fresh breeze from E.N.E., the brig Lizzie Ann, of and from Sunderland for Alexandria with coals, struck on the Corton Sand, and sunk. The crew burnt flares for assistance, and took to their boat, and landed in Lowestoft at eleven o'clock. The lifeboat was launched, hut passed the ship's boat in the darkness. One of the crew, numbering nine, was drowned. The Manchester Courier last evening announced the failure of Mr. Robert Lund, manufacturer, Blackburn. The liabilities are estimated at £3,000. On Monday the directors of the Liverpool North Wes tern Bank declared a dividend of six per cent per annum, free of income tax, which was ratified by the yearly meeting. It is officially notified to-day that the Marquess de Rothwell, of Sharpies Hall, near Bolton, patron of the living of Sefton, has presented the same to the Rev. Engalbert Horley, vicar of Lever Bridge Church, Bolton. The living of Sefton is valued at £l,BOO per annum. THE DIAMOND ROBBERY. Some few fresh particulars have transpired respect ing the movements of the " leading character" in the recent daring robbery of diamonds from Messrs. Lon don and Ryder. Further letters have been received from him, addressed to his wife, he evidently believing that she has escaped detection. He refers in one of them to having seen a telegram of the arrest of a woman at Nottingham on suspicion of being concerned in the robbery, and chuckles over the idea that the police are evidently further away from the right scent than when they described the dress she wore when the robbery was com mitted as brown, with green trimmings. It has been ascertained that he has followed the route he stated in a previous letter he should pursue. He proceeded from Antwerp to Rotterdam, where he succeeded in disposing of some of the diamonds, as he forwarded his wife £35 ; but only a few days previously stated in a letter that his cash was all but exhausted. There is reason to be lieve that he then proceeded to Amsterdam. The diamonds sent to a relative at Southampton, and there given up to the police, were forwarded from Leamington on the 15th instant,three days after the robbery, and the day be - fore Mr. Torpey left home for the Continent. Their mysterious conduct, however, had then excited the sus picions of the lady with whom they lodged, and possibly that fact may have hastened the departure of Mr Torpey. A letter has arrived in England from Mr. Torpey, but as it is registered the Post Office authorities hesitate to deliver it to any one except the person to whom it is addressed. The police wish to examine it, as it contains some heavy enclosure, suspected to be some portion of the missing diamonds removed from their settings, and an ap plication on the subject has been made to the Postmaster- General. The letter, in the meantime, remains in the custody of the Post-office officials, who have engaged not to deliver it. MR. AYRTON AND HIS CONSTITUENTS. Last evening the Right Hon. A. S. Ayrton, one of the members for the Tower Hamlets, met his constituents at the Beaumont Institution, Mile-end. The hall was crowded in every part. Eight o'clock was the hour ap pointed for the commencement of the proceeding. At that time Mr. Ayrton appeared on the platform, and from the time of his appearance an outbreak of discord com menced, which lasted almost without a lull till the right hon. gentleman withdrew. The occupant of the chair had his position challenged, and it seemed as if an attempt was designed to be made to dislodge him by main force ; but that official maintained his position alike against every argument of force and every endeavour of persuasion. Discordant cries were heard in various quarters of the hall, amid which placards were held up in several directions, calling upon the meeting to support the vote of censure against Mr. Ayrton by holding up their hands. The Chairman essayed for some time to address the meeting, but it was difficult to ascertain even the drift of his observations. At length Mr. Hilton and another gentleman addressed the meeting vehemently, with the apparent design of securing another chair man in the interests of Mr. Ayrton. Presently Mr. Binks proposed the following resolution :—" That, in the opinion of this meeting, the great and important interests of this large constituency have been lamentably neglected and wilfully slighted by our senior member, Mr. Ayrton, and that his conduct to the electors of the Tower Hamlets has ever been unbecoming and insolent, and gene rally that his rude, coarse demeanour, both in and out of Parliament, has made the borough of the Tower Hamlets a bye-word throughout the United Kingdom. This meeting therefore calls upon Mr. Ayrton to resign into the hands of the electors the trust which he has so disgracefully violated," which was put, and declared to be carried. In this de claration the supporters of the sitting member refused to coincide, and they readily responded to one of " Three cheers for Ayrton." Ultimately Mr. Ayrton made a strenuous effort, and partly succeeded. He was un derstood to say that if the assembly was disposed to listen to him he was prepared to speak in his de fenee. His object in coming there was to speak to the constituency which had returned him to Parliament. He believed that the meeting was originally called for the purpose of affording him such an opportunity, but since he had entered the place he had been informed of the effort which had been directed against him. He was ready to meet the trade, or any other persons in fair dis cussion. As to the vote of censure, which had been alleged to have been passed against him, he would undertake to say that not fifty hands were held up in favour of that vote. The importance of public events which were happening at this great crisis made him desirous to offer some observations to the electors, and this feeling was enhanced when he considered the importance of the position which he held in the Government. He denounced the attempts which were made against him as being endeavours by physical force to prevent his being heard, and declared that the gentleman who was designated by his friends to be chairman of the meeting was respected by the whole constituency, and if the question had been properly put there would have been a majority of five-sixths in favour of his assuming that position. As the confusion and noise suffered little abatement, Mr.Ayrton desisted from further attempting to speak.—Mr. Shelton, a friend of Mr. Ayrton, moved a vote of confidence in Mr. Ayrton, which he put to the meeting upon his own responsibility and declared to be carried, and Mr. Ayrton then with drew from the platform amidst much uproar. Lord Gwydyr, we hear, has withdrawn his claim to the office of Lord Great Chamberlain. We are authorised to state that the Queen will open Parliament in person on the 9th of February, if her Majesty's health will permit. CRYSTAL PALACE.—One Shilling Day.—Tuesday, January 24, 1871.—The admissions by season tickets were 1,535; ditto on payment, 1,542; total visitors, 3,077. THE APPROACHING END. The special correspondent of the Standard thus writes from Paris January 21 :—There seems to be no hope of any army coming to our assistance, and the Governor of Paris evidently considers the game lost. The Parisians cannot forget, however, that he repeatedly affirmed that he had a plan for the deliverance of the city ; that he begged them to have patience and that all would come right, and that only a few days ago he stated at the end of one of his proclamations that he would never capitulate, I pity the inhabitants of this city. They have certainly deserved a better fate ; it is they who have forced the Government and military authorities to cast cannon, and finding how slowly this was effected, it is they who have collected large sums of money, ordered cannon of pri vate firms, and brought them to the Hotel de Ville in an incredibly short space of time. They have borne the numerous privations of a long siege with out a murmur, trusting in the continued assurances of the Government ; they have been patient and quiet, when their nature is excitable and averse to long delays ; they have put down sedition with a strong hand ; in fact, they have done all, and it now remains to be seen how they will take what will appear to them nothing short of treason. I must, however, leave this subject, and say something on the rationing of bread which came into force yesterday. It is evident that we are not far from the end of our provisions by the small quantity allotted to each person-300 grammes for grown-up people, 150 for children under five years of age. It is calculated that 250 grammes is the smallest amount at which bread can be rationed during the last stage of a siege, and the difficulty of obtaining even the little that we are permitted to buy points already to a diminution. No one is satisfied with this measure. The Government is continually re minded that it has broken its engagement that the sale of the articles of consumption should not be interfered with. The Halles (the great market) now pre sents an animated sight. A fortnight ago nothing was offered for sale by the cunning merchants, who hoped to realise an even greater profit than it was then possible. The idea of a capitulatkn has, however, caused them to produce from their cellars things which have not been seen for two months or more—cheese, butter, eggs, fowls, Potatoes, &c., can all be purchased. THE LATE SORTIE FROM PARIS. In a communication from Paris, dated January 21, the special correspondent of the Standard observes :—History, I suppose, will decide whether we , owe the non-success of every offensive movement made under the walls of this capital to the vitiating influences of a city life, or to the incapacity of the military chiefs to conduct such opera tions ; or again, is it not possible that it will be found that both have concurred, in their respective spheres, to render any grand and decisive engagement entirely out of the question? We are all equally tired of Governmental proclamations announcing the arrival of the decisive moment ; and earnest appeals to our rulers for energetic action. On Thursday morning we were treated to another specimen of that rhetoric of Messrs. Jules Favre and Co. Here it is : " Citizens,—The enemy are killing our wives and children; they bombard us night and day; they throw shells on our hospitals. Not a single voice in the whole city is mute ; all join in the cry 'To arms !' Those amongst us who can offer their lives on the field of battle will march to meet the foe ; those who remain at home anxious to shew themselves worthy of their fellow citizens' heroism will give proof, if it be necessary, of the greatest self-sacrifice as another means of devoting themselves to the cause of `La Patrie.' Let us suffer; let us die, if need be ; but let us conquer ! Vive la Republique !" Had this been the first of its type we should have naturally been led to believe that some great enterprise was about to be undertaken, especially when we find that General Le Flo has been nominated Governor of Paris and Minister for War in the absence of General Trochu. I must own that I had a despairing sort of hope that the Commander in Chief of the numerous army composed of troops more or less fit to take the field that have been assembled in Paris had at last decided to make a serious effort to break through the Prussian lines, and that he would be suc cessful. Whatever the future may have in store for us, if in the end he succeed in joining the provincial armies —if, in fact, the present operations, so unfortunate in the very outset, are crowned with ulti mate success—the fact will always remain that through some mismanagement the left, commanded by General Ducrot, did not arrive on the scene of action till four hours later. than the time appointed ; that Vinoy's column, nevertheless, occupied Montre tout ; that he was there vigorously attacked by the Prussians, who returned to the assault ; that his men barely escaped being put to the rout ; 9,nd that in the end he was obliged to give the word of command, "retreat." Besides this we are all aware that a large body of National Guards were kept in reserve all day, and that they were not sent to reinforce the wavering column, but at nightfall received orders to return to Paris to sleep peacefully. in their respective homes. We are not all military geniuses, but on reading the account of the day's fighting one cannot avoid exclaiming, " Why on earth was not the left supported by these reservos?" From the meagre information that we possess, it would seem that all went well with the right and centre, and that it was simply the miscarriage of the left which turned what promised to be a victory into something very much like a defeat. On Thursday even ing the Boulevards were more crowded than usual; we had received good news; it was reported that the enemy had been repulsed on all sides, The scene was very diffe rent, however, to the former enthusiasm, when, on the 2nd of December, it was stated the victory was on our side, the whole town ran mad with joyous excitement ; on the 19th January they looked almost incredulously at the bearer of good tidings, and but a faint ray of fearful hope animated their countenances. The news soon spread, and people were beginning to think that there was some ground for believing it ; they were cruelly undeceived before many hours. Mr. Joseph Burnley Hume, the eldest son of the late Mr. Joseph Hume, M.P., died on Saturday last. He was 52 years of age. At a ragged school meeting the Bishop of Man chester said secular education alone would be a blessing, although an inferior one to a religious education. The Cape mail brings no tidings of Dr. Living stone. The reported arrival of the traveller at Mozam. bique had not been confirmed. The death is announced of Sir William Verner, K.C.H., the first baronet, long known in the House of Commons as the Conservative member for Armagh. He was born in 1782. The Secretary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution writes to us :—" Some friends having ex pressed to me their regret that Mr. Andrew S. Lamb, barrister-at-law, and son of Mr. Lamb, the inventor of the well-known ship's lifeboat, should recently have been convicted at the Old Bailey of felony, I trust you will allow me to state, through the medium of the iSun, that Mr. Andrew S. Lamb is not the person so con victed." THE BOMBARDMENT OF PARIS. From Versailles, January 20, the special correvondent of the Daily Noes at the Crown Prince of Prussia's head quarters, writes :—The Parisians have stood the fire much better than was expected of them. It is true that they have not been exposed as yet to anything like the ordeal which is probably in store for the city. But even now they May claim to have undergone a genuine bombardment, with shells falling not only on the forts and rauipaiti but on the houses and shops and hospit a l s of Paris. For three weeks past there has been the boom of CI erman cannon in the ears of the citizens, and for a whole fortnight the inhabited districts south of the Seine have been in danger. We gather from various sources that the effect of the shell sent over the ram part since January 5 has been very considerable. SI much have these shells annoyed certain of the French hospitals and asylums that General Trochu has sent out a flag of true to remonstrate. Without doing by any means their worst to the city the Germans have let it feel the weight of the iron hand which threatens it ; and without by any means offering to surrender, the French have complained of the infliction. Meanwhile there is active work being done in the besiegers' advanced line, and you may soon hear of an attempt against one of the southern forts. From the determination of both sides to do their best, we are likely to have a hard struggle to the very last. If the Parisians can stand bom bardment as well as hunger, there must be dangerous stuff in them, and I look forward to the next few weeks with deep anxiety, in fear of a catastrophe which will .scarcely have been paralleled since the fall of Jerusalem. Fire and famine together can do grim things, with two million of non-combatants to be burned or starved. What a brisk beginning for the Im perial epoch and for the fifth month of the siege was the sortie of yesterday. What an admirable machine was this German army in motion, roused to do its best and put on its defence by an enemy in superior force. The mud splashed up sky high as the guns were trotted forward, everyone made straight for his appointed place, and the regiments which had been in reserve came to support their comrades in the best of spirits. Here you might have seen a mass of infantry halted on the crest of the hill behind Bougival, with the snow flakes falling on them to melt and disappear the moment that they touched, with mud enough to fill a hod on each man's clothing. Further away was the smoke line of the fight, whence a confused din arose of all the different instruments of death. The sharp hang of the rifled field-pieces and the fainter but in creasing rattle of the Chassepot and Zundnadel were accom panied by the heavy•thrump, thrump of the mitrailleuse, the deadly companion of French attacks, and the ener getic coverer of French retreats. January 19 was alto gether a glorious day for the Imperial arms, and a sad one for the garrison of Paris—at least on this side the city. CHANZY'S RETREAT. Writing from Rennes, the special correspondent of the Daily News remarks :—General de Chanzy issued a proclamation to the army the day before yester day, in which he calls upon the soldiers to overcome those shameful falterings, " ces horteuses faiblesses," and he concludes by entreating them to shew that they are still soldiers of Coul miers, Beaune-la-Rolande, &c., and enumerating the battles in which they were victorious. The great mistake in this has been to assemble men with a view to their n•unbers rather than to their worth. The consequence has been that they have had an army composed of one third brave and faithful soldiers, and the rest a rabble who thought of nothing but of running away. The good have been carried away in the rout of the bad. It is the total absence of esprit de corps which makes these men not mind running away. Then again it must be acknowledged that troops ought to be distributed in a way which allots to them a task proportionate to their moral strength. Le Mans was lost mainly by the giving way of the Mobilised National Guards of Brittany who held an important position called the Tuileries, on the right of Pontlieue. But why have entrusted the key of the whole battle to troops of this kind, armed with muzzle-loaders ? Admiral Jaur4guiberry, who commands the 16th Corps, is a man of the greatest intrepidity. I have heard soldiers say that, mounted like the monkey (he can't ride) on his horse, he gallops about in the very thickest of the shot and shell, and does not seem to know it. The other day, followed by his staff, he galloped up to a point whence he wanted to make an observation ; his field-glass up to his eyes, he looked around him; his chef d'etat-major falls dead; his own horse was killed under him. and horse and rider rolled on the ground ; but the Admiral soon freed himself from the dying animal, and not having completed his investigation, mounted upon some rubbish which was there, the glass having scarcely left his eye a minute. De Chanzy asks for reinforcements loudly, but he won't have any more Mobiles or Mobilisds ; so these are to be taken to a camp of instruc tion to be made something of. But they are past redemption. All the other troops are to return to to Laval. Poor de Chanzy won't have a very large army when shorn of the Mobiles and Mobilisds. Then his junc tion with the army coming from the North has been spoilt, the troops from the North having stopped at St. Lo for want of orders ! THE ARMY OF NORMANDY. From Havre, January 23, the special correspondent of the Standard sends the following :—Things here are beginning to wear a more ship-shape and military appear ance than they have done since Havre became the head quarters of the Army of Normandy. The new General continues hard at work organising and brigading his forces, and making them amenable to discipline. As soon as he has got them into working order, so as to feel some sort of certainty that they will not be found utterly wanting when the time comes for their being made useful, a general advance is to take place. That time, I am assured, is very nearly at hand. It is wonderful what can be done by energy, order, and method, and the new commander's organisation of his field artillery and his cavalry chews him to be a man who understands his business. The general belief here is, that the advance will be in the direction of Rouen, but nothing is known on the subject, as General Loysel very wisely keeps his plans to himself. On the left bank of the Seine matters are far less satisfactory. The railway from Honfleur has ceased to run, and Havre now communicates with the rest of the country via Caen. The cause of this in terruption is that several Uhlans are reputed to have been seen near Lisieux. There has been a great turn out of National Guards, and the citizen soldiers of Bernay are reported to have successfully repulsed a Prussian attack. Nevertheless, at Honfleur, and even at Caen I am told, inroads of the enemy are apprehended. A number of French merchant vessels, which had beeu sent early in December from Havre to Honfleur " for safety sake," have now been brought back from Honfleur to Havre, and though the Prussian armies are a long way off, the whole of Normandy appears to be de facto in a state of blockade. One of the local papers this evening, in notic ing the sortie from Paris, mentions a report of General Trochu's being wounded. His being disabled would be a more severe blow for France than the loss of another great battle. The five hundred Prussians who have been making a promenade milttaire with two guns up to the very gates of Havre, have left our neighbourhood for the present. The French outposts have now been pushed out as far as St. Romain. CHURCH IMPROVEMENT IN THE METROPOLIS.— Those who are anxious to contribute something to the good work of church improvement in the metropolis, have now an opportunity of assisting in a much needed work in a very poor, but populous, parish. St. Philip's, Granville Square, Clerkenwell, though outwardly a very picturesque little building, standing in its own grounds, is sadly deficient in the interior. The walls are not only whitewashed, but patched, the stone mullions over the windows create some uneasiness by their rioketty condition, and the general effect is quite unworthy of sacred services and of the energy and self-devotion with which the clergy of the parish apply themselves to the duties of their calling. The seats are all free, the plan of the weekly offertory being adopted ; but though the con gregation value the services very highly they are, for the most part, too poor to be able to do much to adorn the Church. For a sum of £5OO it is calculated the interior of the building can be done up, the walls coloured, the vestry built, the chancel enlarged, and other improvements carried out. The sum of £lOO has been offered to the incumbent on the 25th of March 1871, provided he can get the other £4OO. He has already a large proportion of this, but wants something to make up the amount. Persons of limited means who sympa thise with so worthy an object may here find an opportu nity to assist, as from the great demands on the charity of the better classes of the parish, it is being mostly con tributed in small sums. 7•77W0 OUR COTEMPORARIES—This Morning' JULES FAVRE NEGOTIATING CAPITU- LATION. The Times makes the following announcements : Events in Paris have speedily justified the general expec tation. M. Jules Favre has gone to Versailles to nego tiate terms for the Capitulation of the City. General Trochu has resigned his powers as Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Paris, and his place, according to our own correspondent, is now filled by General Vinoy. If we are to believe other accounts, all military men have been set aside, and the armies are under the orders of Admiral de la Ronciere or Admiral Saisset. General le Flo has resigned the Ministry of War, and Trochu only re. tains the Governorship of Paris, apparently with a view to maintain order. The conditions which M. Jules Favre proposed the free egress of the army with all the honours of war—are, of course, in admissible. The forces within Paris constitute no ordinary garrison. The effective army, consisting of the Regular troops and the Mobile Guam's, muster, as we have often been told, 250,000 men. A whole host of National Guards have been, b 3Sides, lately mobi lized and amalgamated with the rest ; so that the release of the Paris Garrison would set free nearly the whole male population of the city able to bear arms, and array against the besieging army a host nearly twice its own numerical strength. It is not ling, moreover, since an intimation was conveyed to the Government of National Defence that Count Bismarck would treat with them on no other terms than a surrender at discretion, and, however willing the conqueror may be to soothe the pride of the vanquished as to mere forms, it is only too probable that, substantially, the final result of all nego tiation must be unconditional submission. That the effec tive army of Paris will have to follow those of Sedan and Metz into captivity, great as may be the encumbrance caused by the accession of so great a multitude in the already overcrowded German depots, is a point on which there is scarcely room for doubt. The Provin cial Mobiles may, perhaps, be disbanded and allowed to go back to their own homes, and, upon the Germans taking possession of the forts, a part at least of the local National Guards may ba allowed to retain their arms, with a view to the preservation of order. Should the men on whom the sad task of surrender may devolve evince a proper disposition to accommodate themselves to necesssity they might possibly spare Paris the cruel humiliation of a prolonged presence of the invaders within its walls. The Germans can have no desire to take upon themselves the police of the French capital, or to interfere with its govern ment, so long as the citizens themselves. or any man or party among them, can exercise su"h sway over popular passions as to guarantee public security. The crisis is, indeed, terrible, and it can only be by the utmost tact and temper that well-meaning men may hope to pre vent the great national calamity being aggravated by popular disturbance. THE CAPITULATION AND THE CONFERENCE. In the opinion of the Daily News, there is a general con viction in the public mind that the long resistance of Paris is drawing near its end. We have now actually entered on the fifth month of the siege, and it is naturally felt that in the absence of relief from without or of successful efforts from within even the most heroic and determined endurance must come to an end. All the misfortunes of the city seem to be coming to gether. The messengers who came one after another to tell the old patriarch of his calamities were not more dis heartening and had no sadder story to tell than those to which the people of Paris have had to listen for the past week. The very Bills of Mortality tell a story which might appal stout-hearted men. The great sortie was beaten back ; and the army which went out to break the be siegers' lines came home again, with no other trophy than broken ranks and multitudes of wounded men. From outside even worse news came. Chanzy's rout at Le Mans dashed one great hope ; and probably by this time another hope has been destroyed by the arrival of news of Faidherbe's crushing defeat at St. Quentin. If to this intelligence should have been added news of Bourbaki's failure, and of the danger in which his whole army finds itself, Paris may well be low-spirited and despondent, and even some ebulli tion of popular despair might be forgiven to the people. Hope deferred makes the heart sick ; what must we expect when hope is not only deferred, but at the very last extremity of suffering which that hope has sustained and justified, it disappears en tirely, as a will-o'the-wisp vanishes in the marsh? With such a crisis in the war as that which is now approaching, it is an immense calamity that the Conference now sitting in London should be unable to take a step in favour of peace. The crisis is one in which neutral nations ought to be prepared with mediating proposals. At any moment Paris may fall, and when that event takes place the time for mediation will have come. But it is useless speculating on the future. The fact of the present is, that the trial of Paris grows hotter every day. The Ger man batteries creep nearer and nearer to the city, and the bombardment it has already suffered is only a foretaste of what is to come. It is demonstrated now that the provinces cannot stop the bombardment ; it is almost proved that the army of Paris cannot beat the be- Aiegers back ; is the world, therefore, to look on and see the great fortress city battered to pieces ? Ought not the neutral Powers at least to make one great and final effort to save civilization from so great a disaster? THE CONFERENCE. The Advertiserremarks: It isWithastronger feeling than one of regret that we find our anticipations regarding the Conference even more than confirmed. The imbroglio that is evidently being concocted between Prussia and Russia seems to justify something beyond mere apprehension. The latest intelligence which reaches U 3 from Berlin on this subject goes to prove that Prussia is straining every nerve, not only to put off the transaction of busi ness, but to render the proceedings of the Conference altogether abortive. If France; one of the prin cipal signataries of the Paris Treaty, should not be represented together with the other Powers, any arrangement that may be come to by the rest must be considered as defective and without binding force. This at least is the Prussian view, and a spe cious and plausible view it undoubtedly is. England, France, and Russia were the chief parties to the Paris Treaty. The two former were the victors who dictated the settlement of 1856; Russia was the vanquished, upon whom that settlement was imposed for the purpose of securing the independence and safety of Europe and to Protect Turkey and India from the ambitious and dangerous policy of the Czars. Turkey and Sardinia were virtually but secondary parties, whether in a military or in a diplomatic sense; the former being the State seek ing shelter under the aegis of the Anglo-French protecto rate, the latter being at that time quite a small, third-rate Power, and only indirectly concerned, while Austria and Prussia were not belligerents in the Crimean war at all. It is essential, therefore to consider the final cause of holding the Cenference—its raison d'etre, in short. Prussia, who is operating in concert with Russia, desires that the Conference should miscarry and come to nothing, or at any rate that its protocols should be nugatory, and such as both Prince Gortschakoff and Count Bismarck could have a plausible pretence for treating as a nullity whenever it mi g ht su it their purpose. We can well understand why Count Bismarck refused IC,I. Jules Favre's request for a safe-conduct to enable him to come to London to attend the Conference as the representative of France. Is it not patent to all the world that Prussia, in confederacy with Russia, is resolved that the Conference shall come to nothing ? FRANCE AND THE FUTURE. The Telegraph says :—Paris, in spite of her long and strenuous resistance, must shortly fall. This cannot any longer be doubted. The surrender may be delayed, or it may be precipitated ; it may be brought about quietly, or it may take place after internal commotions and fresh attacks upon the besieging hosts ; but, humanly speaking, the fate of the proud city is sealed. What form of Government she may ultimately choose is a minor question, about which onlookers need not trouble themselves. We have, indeed, neither the right nor the desire to interfere with the choice of the French people, and if a Republic can give them the earliest repose and tha best opportunity to bind up the deep wounds of the beautiful land and to repair its shattered forces, then, in Heaven's name, let the Republic be established. But we urge upon all honest Frenchmen that, at the present awful crisis, everything must yield to the paramount duty of consult ing the will of the nation. The question should now be, not how triumph can be given to a political idea, but what is the will of the nation, what is the interest of France ? Otherwise mankind will detest a Republic which has to be baptised with so much blood, and condemn the men who sacrificed their country to a doctrine and a programme. It is possible that even the Republic would gain by such an appeal; but whatever form of Government may be chosen, France herself will remain. And France may well excite enthusiasm whether she be ruled by a Republic, by a Monarchy, or an Empire. She cannot cease to be the great and brilliant nation which has received magnificent natural endow ments, and has added a hundred imperishable chapters to history. Even foreign onlookers can hardly think, without ardour, of her graces o f manner , h er chivalry, her passionate sympathy with ideas, her brilliant wit, and her splendid literature ; and it is natural that her own people should deem her incomparably the first of nations. All the more important is it that M. Gambetta should fight for his country, and not for that Republic which enters into his morbidly passionate dreams. If the nation should command him to struggle on rather than surrender the fine provinces which cling to France, Englatid.can, with a clear conscience, bid him God speed, but the first duty of the Dictator is to ask unequivocally for the guidance and authority of the great country itt whose name he acts. .cnn the ,sed ave will the isel [ate uch tme tnce 6hon A of will pert uay. Aid ay a xuni- .1 me can. like have using iious sights ously thin