The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-09-03 00:00:00

MARSHAL BAZAINE.

Franc tie Acbille Bazaine, who, though the junior
Marshal of France, was selected both by public
opinion and the appointment of the Emperor to the
critical poet of Commander-in• Chief of the Army of
the Rhine, or main French force, is a man of about
sixty years of and has seen much hard service,
Entering the army in the ranks, be win the epaulette
of a suo-lieutenant in Algeria, and soon after his
promotion was sent to serve in Bpain on the Christinist
ride in the French Legion deepatchtal thither lor Louis
Philippe's Government, when France and England
intervened against the Carbide. 11e returned to see
more service in Africa, where he was employed
both as a military man and in a post much resembling
—allowing for the different spirit of the natives and of
the Algerian system of government front that f
India—
the office of a frontier commissioner under our Punjaub
admini.tration. In this c tpacity be cult d the trouble.
some Arabs a the Tlemcen prairie for sonic years ; hut
the Crimean war, as it increased in dimensions, called
him to more stirring work. and be was made suddenly
a gextral of brigade in 1855 on the augmentation of
the Algerian Foreign Legion. It Wai late compara-
tively when he reached the seat of war in the East and
he was chit fly employed in the siege St Kinhurn, where
he did SO Sell a, to obtain the h moud of being ate
pointed G•mernor of Sebastopol by Palmier after the
fortress fell.

His later history is chiefly connected with the tem.
!unary cotqueet of Mt :ciao, where he succeeded 'Mar-
shal Furey as commander, and brought the country in
a thcrt time, by a vigorous and successful campaign,
under the rule of the unhappy Maximidan. He
showed his foresight in &chafing strongly against the
attempt to keep up the transatlantic empire when the
fall of the Confederacy brought it face to face with the
jealousy o! the victorious Unionists; and he returned
t e France with the highest military di.inity, while
Maximilian, electing to risk the dark future pm-
',healed for him, remained to close his reign by death
at the hands of a military trihunal.
It is welt known that the Emperor's friends declare
that Bazaine was from the first inta tided to lead the
main column of the French army when collected.
last while this and other neeeseary arrangements were
Tot off from day to day the Prussians acted, and the
French suddenly found themselves the invaded side.
When the Emperor gave up the cc mmand in which he
had signally failed, it fell at once to Hastier, and it
speaks well for his reputation and the unselfish
character of Canrobert that the latter at once offered
to go from Chalons to serve under his junior.
Marshal 'destine has the repute ion of being the
best handler of troops upon the ground that the French
army has acme abate the old Nadoleonist gene ration of
smart leaders died out. HA friends all &earn him a
man of undaunted (ammo and great res ,urce, and it
is clear that he made the Prussiata pay very beryl y
for their victories on the 16th and 18,h. Whether his
pre acnt dangerous situation is the direct result c f his
own error in et lying too long at Melt, or whether his
safety was sacrificed to the supposed political necessity
of keeping up a good appearance to please the Parisians
cannot yet be determined.