The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-07-30 00:00:00

ITEMS OF THE WAR.

" This will, indeed, he a war of elect.. Where will the
frightful atru,gle begin, anti when ?'—The Times.

_
the Empress of the French was at Cherbourg on Sunday,
and read to the officers ol the fleet there a proclamation
from the Emperor.

Wednesday mat (the 27th), was the day appointed to he
observed as a general last nay in trursia to Implore the
blessing of the Almighty on the German army.
The Dutch Government proposes to levy an income tax of
per cent. in order to cover the extraordinary expenses for
military purposes.
Figaro has lost onset the most brilliant members of its
stbrf ; M. Albert Will, being a it/115518n, 111.9 tilOnitilt it rtght
to leave Paris chile the War lasts. lie has retired to inter-
lachen

"The Association for the Relief of the lircunded upon the
Field of Battle is at work. its white leg with a red cross
hangs conspicuously in many of the streets, and donations
of clothes, lint, and money are already pouring in."—Letter
from Berlin.

its Is rumoured that the President of the United States
has intervened in European affairs, by expressing to the
Governments of Paris and Berlin the hope that Belgium's
neutrality would be respected.
The Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein proceeded to Switker.
land immediately after the declaration of war. For this lady
no contest could be more paint A Ereni h woman, ti o lighter of
the Duke de Blame the is married to a Prussian °Meer, and
whatever may be the issue of hostilities, she will see tears
flowing ell around her.
P.M —A French journalist, who has just come In to
Mei z, from Thionville ,about an hour by rail, informs me
that there has been a military execution there. A soldier
had a quarrel with a civilian and killed him The minderer
was tried by drumhead court.martial, and shot within four
and-twenty hoer. alterwarde"—Correitiondent of Standard
There is an active movement in Berlin among the shop-
keepers for supplying refreshments gratuitously to the regi-
ments on their march through the capital westward. The
proprietor of one of the leading establishments has just pre-
sented 1,200 bottles of wine and lOU t 1 cognac to the corn-
mate as an example to his fellow burghers of practice, aid.
In reply to statements contained In the recent circular of
the Duke de Gramont, the Prussian Government officially
declares that neither Count Bismarck. nor Baron Thile ex-
changed with It. Benedetti a single word on the subject of
the candidature of Prince Hohenzollern to the throne of
Spain, since they were first swore of the fact that the Spanish
grown had been offered to the Prince

The Parisians will stand no joking at the present moment.
Two clowns who perorm at a cold concert in the Champs
Elysees found out this the other day to their cost. While
going through their tricks they perform a little on the vio-
lin, and wete ill adviihd enough to give their interpretation
of the " Nlarsedlaise." This did not go do down as well as
that of Aldme :ins or M. Faure. They were assailed by a
storm of hisses and driven hum the stage.
. . .

- - ---
The Saturday Review re larks that 'for seven long years
Count Bismarck has steadily and successfully Intuited a
policy which hu, step by step, brought his country into a
more leading position. Step by step he has roused the
Jealousy of his neighbours. At last Prussia finds herself rated
as the first military Power in Europe. But that position has
long been claimed by another; and no homilies, nor
chapters en political ecournay, nor deolarations on the ri.rhts
of man and solidarity of the peoples. ca avail to put off the
long-preparing contest, which has sprung frorn causes no
nearer their final extinction than when Rome made war upon
Carthage."

_
" It France ha on are, who has famed. the flames ? '—
Leader In The Times.
• -

-
Tr e swim-thuds' lof the district ct the Cops!. Rhine be-
tween Bellow, St Louis, and liuulngue have been seri uebtesl
to get in their crops as sp,etilly u possible.

A correspondent of a London conkmporary suggests that
Napoleon .d the Ktog of Prussia should " light it oat'
themselves ; or, If too old, to be represented by substitutes.
Lord Loftus, wl.h the sanction of the British Government,
will protect the is,tereste of the French during the war ; he
will reside at Potedsm at Ler the departure of the King and
Count Bismarck for the teat of war.
- • •• •

An order has been given to a contractor at Dublin for
2,000 horses for the French army. They are advertised for
in the I ri.lt Times of last Thursday. There are also severe
Prussian troop-horse buyers in Dublin.
A c,arps is being formed to act on the shores of the Baltic;
it will, It le believed, consist of 30,C00 men, and be placed
Under the command of General de Montauban (the con-
queror of Pekin)
A correspondent at Brrlin telegraphs that Count Blrmarck
has in his paisession the draft of the treaty proposed lost
year by Frau^ and rejected by Print& for the annexation of
Bigioul as convensation for GOT man unity.
The Dutch papers betray considerable auxiety a. the
fate of their country in these troubled lb cc., and
filled with Information about their ~nunderablr
We are curious to see what the &Act en will hart
to the famous " pr, jest of treaty."

- -
A former aide-de-esmp of the Kt f tn,Yer, Bantu ,te
Wr,let, who pas=tes for beim; the •ethoagent of the
Go,,ph party, Ims Wen arresk, a Nomar :tett taken to tho
fortress o' htfurt.

A young man standing near • Cufó Riche, h Tarie' wnils
• reginunt was passing me • .11tions enough to whistle,
to ,gder to attract the att this was con-
strued into a want of re., , c, le the s , nis hut
was knotkol off, and . Core .'anglY an
cepted. _

Is stated that, 1 . ngency, the
King of the Belgten, L. • . . • ; 7 yaluanle of
his plate to Engle, !. at 0,0: to Diver in the
Betrian xkk-t, nu, forwarded to London
where it will he !,•nowite., ;“ is pl4cr of se.fe.y.

. -
Vienna ads, accord Mg to 71, 7 :we,. state that Austria
is wholly uni.r, pared b, join 11l the pr,ent war, and tnat the
differencebeiscenti,e uationalit I.e Empire furnish the
best guarantees for r tmtranty, smut Austria Proper the
German ('cling Is daily increashig, wane In Hungary the cha-
p .sition me mfay.,ur of /francs.
"It -.teresting to mhe the! -1 wholesome disbelief in the
efficiency Ot the "mitrailneive '' pervades the German pe.J-
ple. They are n. t daunted y the tales of its marvellous
doings, nor in they think It . cessarily follows that a wea-
pon which can pri.a;sly kl .1: ;liter horses in a wholesale way
will publicly prove to he equally aervmdable in the field."—
Daily News Frankfort Corle-pondent.
"I spoke of the young Germans who had left the counting-
houses of London to join the army. Since I journryed with
them I have met others who have left France with time same
Oita. In neither case did any of them have notice be.
fore last Friday. 11, peat this, because it is a useful fact
when estite sting the worth oilier French statements that the
preparations It Promia lead all hien made ill all vance.''—Cor-
respondent of Daily News.
•- • •• • • • •• •

A Paris correspondent writes that the alleged intention of
the Pruasiane to march upon the French capital is evidently
regarded there as serious. Residents in li uses within a Cer-
tain distance of the fortifications have alrea y had notice to
leave at onco, and the Minister of War has ordered that
lii pa are to he taken with the view of putting the works in a
state of defence. Marshal It ireguay &dithers has assumed
the c inimmd of the army of Paris.
-•

-
At a nieethig of Germans held in Qseen-street Han, Eilin
burgh, on Monday evening, it woe revolved to format atriotic
font for the relief of such oc their .ellow-e imitry men at may
Ito wounded during the war, old to moist their wives and
familieg. Several national by tuns were sung during the even-
ing, and cheers were given for the King of Pratt;. At the
close of the meeting £.lBO were subscriteed.
- - - • • •

A terrible piece of news for thirsty Paris Is just a,
nom cod. The numerous cafes supplied with Bock beer by
the great house of Dreher and Co., of Vienna, exhibit in their
windows a plac,rd stating that in consequence of the war no
beer is to be had by the usual railways, that the stock is out,
and that their numerous customers must be good enough to
wait for the completion of arrangements set on foot fer
hriming German beer to Peri. by wny of Se itzerland aid
italy."—Doily New.' Correspondent
" Tee realities of war are upon Us. The youth, the
brightness, the j.iy of many a home has departed ; regiments
are off to the frontier, ad the pleasure of making soldiers
drank is beginning to gall ou hospitable bourgeois ; even
street brawlers are Dearly tired of singing the Marseillatce
now that is not forbidden. Silence and Hesperia° are spread-
ing over Parl4, and every ear it Wretched y to catch
the first diet vet roar of the cannon."—Leter from Paris.
Several Free oh men-of-war have hem n seen off the Wick
coast durihg the last few days. One large vessel went
through the Pentland Firth on Friday, arid returned on
Saturday forenoon, steering eastward slowly. She ia evi-
dently cruising in search ol Germail vessels, several of which
are dim from America, riot are likely ignorant of the war.
Pilots are offered rewards to apprise them of their danger,
and are watching night and day along our coast to the west
of Pentlmel Firth.
the Official Journal if St. Petersburg Mut announced that
the Russian Goverement did its utmost to maintain peace,
hut that the rapidity with which warlike resolutions were
tab-n rendered its efforts unavailing. The Emperor will be
neittral while the interests of Russia are hot affected, and
w.II sun p...rt every endeavour to circumscribe and shorten
the war.
I It is said that Prussia is endeavouring to cover her troops
I front by eight fortified plates—tim, Rastadt, Germershelm,
Landau, Mayeuce, Coblerdr, Cologne, and Wesel. All of
these are very considerable, except Landau and Wesel, being
„ well constructed and in a good state of repair. They are
built after the German plan of fortification, and can contain
, from 30,000 to 00,010 men each.
I Among the persons involuntarily detained in Prussia is
: Madame Leaourd, wife of the French Secretary of Embassy
' at Emile, who, in the absence of M. Benedetti, had to con,
! manicate the declaration of war to the Prussian Govern.
meet On the very day of his so doing his wife was brought
! to bed. He was obliged to depart, leaving her behind him.
The ladies of the Englieh Embassy have taken her under their
I " Before leaving Paris, I heard that In certain high eircles
at St. ('loud, it was confidently hoped the war would be
ever ; which implied the utter defeat of the Prussians, of
. Course) jailer to have a To. Gemini for victory coupled with
list for the Emperor ou the fete of the 15th of Auaret.
Th..se warriors of the boudoir, I think, reckoned slightly
without their hist."—Peris Correrpoodent of Standard.
The French army has only one eagle with each regiment,
and the small Hags of the tod, 3rd, and ath battalions of
French regiments, have neither number, inscription, nor
national colours, an arrangement Intended to prevent their
. use as trot hies in case if loss. In the German army each
' battalion carries a regular standard ; the trophies to be coil.
Warred are as five to one, and their value to be estimated
, accordingly.
I While the whole of Europe is agitated, and people
are flying from the locality which is Expected tap be the arena
of the wmr, the chess-players are quite oblivious to the cir-
cumatance, and announce that the congress of cher-players
volt meet at Buden• Baden this mouth as proposed, "and
hope to have some excising matches." The ganie being
. played between France and Prussia will of course be as
nothing to it.
" I difftr altogether from those who think that this will be
a short arid sharp campaign. Sharp it will be, bitter and
bloody beyond any conflict ehich Eurone has witnessed
since the middle ages—but short! No. A French defeat all
excite a feeling of rage and fury in the French nation, which
will intensify the war feeling by a thousand times. A Ger-
man defeat will only band the nation closer together, will
. . . "

only call fresh armies into the neld."—Berlus Correspondent
of the Standard.
"By the most strenuous exertions, Rastadt, lidayence, and
the other fortresses on the Rhine have been rapidly armed,
and though perhaps not entirely ready, may now be con-
sidered safe. Troops leave &rho daily, and volunteers con-
tinue to come forward out of those sectionsof the population
either too old or too young to be amenable to conscription, or
passed over in the more lenient days, when armed peace had
Ind yet become an institution of the land."—Times Berlin Cor-
respondent.
...Skis by rids with your gaff oat soldiers, we will soon
drive them out again' is the promise which every man here
kindly makes to an Ktigltsbman who speaks of the possibili-
ties of the inroad of either of th, coin tutants, and As far as!
Am concerned, I hope that it it Is our duty to light the whole
curl for the Independence at Belgium, we shall not shrink
from doing it, for as far as I have yet made their acquaint-
ance the people seem to be far more worth lighting for, say
than the Turks."—Belgian correspondent of Echo,

" I know not what certain mad-brained people here may
imagine, hut I can hardly think that the sensihie and reflect.
ing part of the French imagine this campaign, or any flume
one. w,ll give France the Rhine. There is not. a man living

of German race and tongue who would not feel degraded by
the loss of those lair provinces of which the population,
whatever French papers and pamphlets may say, is German
to the marrow of Its bones."—Tories' Paris Correspondent.
•• I am afraid I must dispel the illusions of many of tour
readers al to French rirandieres. Those one meets daily
walking ah mt the streets here, or selling eau-de-vie in camp,
are very different from Madlle. Patti, in La Fiiie du Regi•
Inent Coarse and sunburnt, they have very little poetry in
their looks, though many of them carry the Leaiou of Honour
for bravery In carrying drink and help to the wounded under
fire."—Metz Correspondent of the Daily Neu.
The position of Belgium at this moment is anything but an
enviable one. In no way Interested in the quarrel between
France and Prussia, deeply Interested In maintaining her
neutrality, abets yet liable at ally moment to become, as she
has so often been before, the battle-field tJf the couttn ling
nations. Any day the tide of war which is sweeping round
her on all sides may roll over her frontiers.
.The moat recent advice. front Paris represent the Fm-
perer's health as excellent. Ws Majesty, in a letter written
to a friend in this country, received only yesterday ,M ended
speaks In terms of firm conviction of the irresistible impulse
of the French nation and, expressing his confidence in the
justice of their cause, avows his determination to do hts duty
by his country."—Morning Poe.
A number of sailors from the German vessels In port at

Liver ale are liable for service in the Prussian fleet,
left the town on Tuesday by railway for Mull arid Rotterdam.
Several German gentlemen, who have been active ill o.llllleC-
tioll with the German Patriotic Fund, addresseni the sailors
at the Titheharu-street Station, and eulogised their promp-
titude in obeying the call of their country. Considerable
enthusiasm waa oimplayed by the men.
The Duke de Madrid expressed a desire to make the cam-
paign ass Volunteer in the French army. Tie Emperor is
understood to have very courteously declined the otter? The
Prince It iy al of Hanover, as well as other German Princes,
had made a similar request. They have all received the
same answer, founded on the principle that no foreign
prince can be admitted to the headquarters of the French
army.
."rite Journal Officirl publishes as ukase by M. Emile
()Meier, notifying that, ' from this day it is prohibited to
give an acc.anit of any movements of troopicand any military
Operations by land or sea, by any mode of publication what-
soever, under the pains arid penalties provided by the law
passed on Wednesday.' All the pspers are extremely savage
with M. Whirler for this order. It Is simply silly, and in a
few days, when sinister reports will have alarmed Paris
owing to the silence of the press, it will have to be re-
itelmied."—Paris Con otTondent:
" Already travellers say, that at Strasburg, Mete, and
neighbouring places, a loaf of bread is as hard to buy as if
it were an exotic luxury; and before long Paris and Lyons
will feel these economical threats of ' glory ' to be followed
by heavier taxes, desperate c Inscriptions, arid general stagna-
tion of trade. The Emperor must feed, France with
victories, to order that she may feed his troops with loaves
and pros bleu, with hay anti cattle, with ammunition,
material, stores anti equipments, and the human cannon-
flesh.' A defeat of airy moment—still more a defeat which
threatenea to cut off a French army from Paris—would sober
the tunes which the Boulevards are singing ; arid no one
knows this better than the Sovereign who has commenced
his war of' glory' ny deploring before France arid the world
that he had hoped to avoid It by his threats of war."—Daily
Tr Irgroph.
'A great many persons who had left Paris have returned
, hither and are still returning, and the hotel-keepers, who
d grave at the appr, ach of war, now begin to think it
may be no such bad thing for them miter all Ihe good hotels
in the central and favourite quarter of Paris, where foreign-
ers most do—wherein I now write—generally look upon this
as one of the worst times of the year, for who would willingly
stop in Paris who could he`p it in them dog days, when a
beefsteak might be broiled on the asphalto of the boulevard
and there is no fresh air nearer than me Bois de Boub gut
Within the last two or three days they have begun to fill fmt.
People are coming in, even from countries which the war
certainly will not Mice:. There is a sort of vague idea that it
may spread anywhere,and that one may be burned unexpect-
edly as by a flowing stream of flaming petrelcum."—Parid
Correspondent.
war
rhwe
will
acbojem,f makes by
likelythinking
th:"..,'ittsh.a.rtrneatahielbelvleiryi
satire cause which makes It likely that the duration of the
: confined. If a war la to settle the respective military
prowess of two nations, those nations must fight that war
aloe, If one is helped and the other not helped the con-
test will not be fair, and the result will not t e decisive. In
other
fleejewnray.teirir7thh:inctthrithawlea?lisf strength saul
ch,tahvee atou xbegin
i 'the
re
to
beglin,
tat:: iwir
ars
is
fahtw i ,
os s
jarei hcei
ear
um.t t hye
ten-ice of its enemy, or when even they may be on its own
e
must fight it out by themselves."

_
Each French regiment is now provided with 330,000
cartridges.

The King of Prussia has r!-celved from M. Oppenheitn, a
bank. r ri Cologne, one 01111,5 of dialers a. 75J each , as a
contribution towards the expanses of the war.
Since the ens, dissent of volunteers for the duration of the
war c.nrimenced in F.ance, shalt 100,000 have presented
them,el yes, of whom about 15,000 were from Paris.
Reliable news from Prusila says that Prussia will
decidedly assume a defen,ive atiltuoe, rather inviting the
French army to cross the Rhine. This Is very polite
little it such politeness before would have stopped all diffi-
culties.

Several of the addresses published In German newspapers,
calling the people to arms, conclude with the delicious bait
If you returns. victors, thcn —we will elect an Emperor
of Germany!"
Crowd, of wives, mothers and children of soldiers who have
left Paris for the neat of War, daily visit the church of Notre
Dame des Victotres, which stands between the Bourse and the
Bank.

The young French rolrfiers are sa!d to be rather too hasty
in firing at an im iginary enemy. An outpost opened tire,
and a tieutenant and a iergeadt•major appdoaching the
spot to see what was the matter the sergeant-1114,r was shot
dead.

----•
hi. Albert Daruy, son of the ex-Minister f Public liatruc-
lion, has enlisted. a Turco and taken his departure to join
!he African legion. It is dated that on his nay up ti the
4t..tion some blouses ctied, What an cznmple to see the
eon of an eklitnister joining tee ranka of the army !'

- . -
A special telegram from }Selkirk states that a very nrpasy
feeling has been produced hy the telegram in the Nord-
deutachland A Ilyendeine Zeato4g, statiog that English ships
have I,eon cuartered to sup. 3. French men of-war in the
North Sea with coal.

We learn from i.e Soir that Marshal M'3lahon'e corps
d'arrree have been practicing lately at hasty etitren,t,
meet" work. Pive hundred Intel In line formed a parabe:
.cl trench 500 yards in length by l yards lu depth In lees
than ten nt,eottes.

" Marshal Lel mut and his as sistant s have been indefatigable
to the neglect of even necessary sleep, and the Marshal him.
self, who is a pt rtly mall, has grown th a and haggard from
his toll."—Tonste Paris Currespontleut.
The number and enthusiasm of German volunteers seems
to by very great. The Prussian authorities naturally freer
the volunteers, who often collie armed and in a much
better state of mind than the men who ale forced to Join the
rants.

A Frond] paper speaking of the effect of the war In the
Parisian drawing-rooms, mentions that the situ tion bail de-
veloped a' parlour atratesiat " who goes about with a map
and little red flags to Entertain km hosts with speculations
upon the campaign.

Thespopulation of S;rasbourg is highly indignant at the
destruction of the beautiful bridge at Kehl, which tots 60
often gladdened the eyta of the dusty travel', from Paris
by proving that the weary journey to Baden Bodes was
nearly over.
Thor. have been two suickles at the front. An oilleer In
the 60. h, whose intellect was shaken no; long vgo by the
explosion of a powder mill, cut his throat, and a doctor has
blown out his brains—one account says in an acce.s of fever,
another because he found himself t o lB to follow the army.
Among the telegrams from America to B2rlM is one offvr-
fag 1,0(0 excellent cigars to the soldier who will take captive
the first Turco This is very funny, but not iv) mho, as the
notice In the French papers of the raid of the regiment
which the other day took two Pro•slan Cus,om-house officers
prisoners, and which the French correspOndents magnify
Into a victory.

A correspondent of a French paper wonders that no acci-
dent tispperis on the railway line to the Eastern frontier.
The number of trains alone is sufficiently dangerous, but the
conduct of the soldiers I. also imprudent in the extreme.
They seldom way long in the earring, s, but climb npan them
and stand on the root, singing vociferously. When a bridge
0' tunnel appears, tinny lie fiat does, but only to rise again.
To all remonatrances they make convincing solver,
" A has is Praise !" " Vive la France !"
"She reference which the Emperor of the French makes
in Ws A &tress to his People, to his son, who, deep-to his
youth, tell accompany the army; and the Queen of Pru•sia's
farewell letter to the townsfolk of Coblentz, among whom
she has lived for twenty years, introduce the elements of
domestic drama into the great European tragedy. It is satis-
factory to learn that the youthful Napo'. n 'knows what are
the duties chick his name imposes on him, and is proud to
bear his share in the.dangers of those who fight Inc their
country ! '"—Daily News.
A telegram from St. Petersburg says that the Russian Go-
vernment thus defines its pcaltion in the official newspaper
° The Imperial Russian Government haa made all possible
extleavours to avert the outbreak of war, Unb Minutely,
the rapidity with which the warlike resolutions were taken
rendered our efforts for the maintenance of peace abortive.
the Emperor is resolved to observe neutrality so long as
Russia's interests are not affected by the eventualities of the
campaign The Russian Government undertakes to support
every endeavour to circumscribe the operations and diminish
the duration of the war."
Volunteering in France progresses amazingly The pen-
sioners from the Invalides often attend at the Rue Saint
Dominique, where the enrolment is going on, arid are re-
ceived with enthusiasm and eagerly questioned respecting
their past experience. One of there veterans, gloriously
mutilated." was the object of an especial welcome. lie
arrived a ith his grandson, who was about to enlist. AS the
two passed through a line of curious spectators, the old rain
said :—" Ton understand . . . he is my grandson
He know. I have left nip leg In the laud of the Sauer. krau-
ters. . . . Ile is got... to fetch it for me. . . I have
given him ta directior

"In Paris we begin to experience some of the Incon-
veniences of war. People old enough to remember the time
when silver was almost the exclusive currency in France, and
when, if one drew 4,000 f at a banker's, lie had either to pay
a high premium for gold or to carry home the lumbering
dollars, will appreAate the inconvenience implied by the
announcement that we have returned to very nearly the
same state of things. The Bank of France now makes it.
moments only in silver and paper. Gold is at 5 per cent, pre-
mium at the money changers'. There is an enormous accumu-
lation of gold In the Bank, but it is not put into circulation."
Paris Correspondent.
It is officially announced tint the French Government,
being desirous of lessening, as far as possible, the disturbance
of business and private correspondence, has resolved to
allow the unrestricted transmission of international tele-
graphic &dykes, provided only that they shall not be ex-
pre,,sed in a secret language. Tim a mouncement says
"Tee Prussian Government has not au own the same regard
for private interests as has been done by this Government,
since alter culling the direct lines of communication between
France and Prussia it now absolutely prohibits all tele-
graph', communication between the Empire and North Ger-
many."