The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-12-12 00:00:00

FRENCH GRATITUDE FOR ENGLISH
SYMPATHY.

Her Majesty the Queen received on Thursday
last week, M. d'Agieut and the Comte Semtrier, who
arrived at Windsor Castle to present an address of
thmks to the Queen from the French nation. The
leputation was introduecd to the Queen's presence in
the Audience Chamber by the Earl of Derby, and was
presented to her Majesty by the French Ambassador.
The Queen, amompanied by Princess Beatrice, and
attended by the ladies and gentlemen in waiting,
afterwards received the deputation in the White
Drawing-room. M. d'Agiout and the Comte Serrurier,
as representatives of a committee, presented to the
Queen four volumes of addresses from towns in France
and various communities, expressive of gratitude to
the English nation for services rendered to the sick
and wounded during the war of 1870-71.

The Queen was pleased to receive the volumes very
graciously. As they were of considerable size they
were placed on a table for the purpose of being shown
to her Majesty, and H. d'Agiout and Comte Serrerier
explained the nature of the contents to the
Queen. Having accepted the volumes, her Majesty
made a reply 'to the deputation in French, of which
the following is a translation :

I accept with pleasure the volumes which you have
presented, and which will be carefully preserved by me
as records of the interesting historical events which they
commemorate. They are beautiful as works, of art ; but
their chief value in my eyes is that they form a permanent
memorial of the gratitude of the French people for services
freely and spontaneously rendered to them by Englishmen
acting under a simple impulse of humanity. Your recogni-
tiog of thoie services cannot fall to be appreciated by my
subjects, and it will Increase the friendly and cordial feel-
ing which I am happy to believe exists between the two
nationa

The deputation then retired. Her Majesty was
attended during the ceremony by the Earl of Derby,
the Dowager Duchess of Athole (Lady in waiting),
the Countess of Errol, Lady Caroline Barrington, the
Hon. Emily Cathcart, and the Hon. Francis Drum-
mond (Maids of Honour), Viscount Ilawarden,
Lieutenant-General Sir Francis Seymour, C. 8.,
Colonel Lord Charles Fitzroy, CB., and the Master
of the Household. The French Ambassador and the
Comtesse de Jarnac and the Countess of Derby were
also present.

In connection with the foregoing, The Times of Saturday
has the following leader
_ _

On Thursday two French gentlemen—M. crAgiout
and Count Serrurier—had an audience of the Queen
for the purpose of presenting four volumes of ad-
dresses from towns and other communities in
France expressive of gratitude to the Englath nation
for services rendered to the sick and wounded
during the late war. The gentlemen above-named
were presented to the Queen by the French Am-
bassador, and Her Majesty made a kind and dig-
nified reply. In calling attention to this incident
we may add the expiession of a hope that it will, in
the Queen's words, " inerease the friendly and
'cordial feeling which exists between the two nations."
The memories of the time to which it refers can never
be effaced from the minds of this generation. The
events were the most dramatic and the most terrible
that the world had witnessed since the days of Moscow,
Leipeic, and Waterloo. Indeed, in some respe-ts
those catastrophes were surpassed. No such capitula-
tions as those of Sedan and Metz had been known in
former wars, and the six months' siege of a city of
nearly two millions of inhabitants stands alone in
history.
But what most dietinguishes the war of 1870 from
those which were waged at the beginning of the pre-
sent century is the closeness with which it was watched
by the whole world and the accuracy with which every
detail was known. The railway and telegraph had
changed the character of the contest itself, com-
pressing the work of months in a few days, anni-
hilating the long intervals of preparation and transit
which intervened between old-acrid battles, and
making the campaign a succession of great encounters
following in rapid succession. But the actiy of
modern journalism kept pace with the rapidity of
events. In the old ware a great event was not known
until long after its occurrence, and then only in
the vaguest manner. Rothchilds might have a de-
spatch, or the news might reach one of the London
papers, but it consisted of but a few lines to the effect
that on such a day a great liat,le was fought, and that
the French or the Allies, as the case might be, were the
victors. The Imperial bulletins also found their way
to this country—perhaps by the agency of some
smuggling craft; but they did little to elucidate the
event and often only mystified it. As for details
of the campaign, the tactical dispositions of the
armies in these great encounters, the health of the
troops, the sources and quantity of their sup-
plies, their losses by battle or disease, their opinions
respecting the war in which they were engaged or
the commander who led them, it was necessary that
years should pace away and military histories of the
war be written before the world, or, at least, the British
people, was able to form any clear notion of them.
Still more ignorant were we with regard to the senti-
ments of the populations whose country was the prize
of war, and whose fields were traversed by armies
dangerous in advance, and still more to be feared in
retreat. Their dispositions with respect to allegiance
or government were never thought of, unless they were
strong enough and vigorous enough to make their dis-
content troublesome to rulers. In the late war all was
changed. Every event of the campaign was brought
before the public in detail. From the number of the
neutral eye-witnesses it was impossible that any fact
of importance should be unreported, and a history of
the war minutely accurate and recording everythieg,
even to the strategic purposes of the commanders,
might be compiled from the unofficial publications of
the time. _ _ .

...
The consequence of this was a movement of interest
and'sympathy without a parallel in former times The
struggle did not affect the British people direAly, like
some others that the present age has witnessed—for
instance, the Crimean War, not tc speak of the
Indian Mutiny. But it was almost at our doors, the
scenes of the chief conflicts were places that numbers
of Englishmen had visited, and the besieged capital
was a second home to thousands of our countrymen.
'rue disasters t.f the French Army, the blockade of
Paris, and the sufferings of its inhabitants, made
the roost painful impression on large classes of the
English people, and went nigh to unsettle the policy
of the nation. At the beginning of the war the
judgment of this country had condemned the enter-
prise of the French Emperor in the most decided
manner. The British Government had interfered
diplomatically to remove the ostensible cause of the
dispute, and had succeeded in removing it. Yet
in a few days war hat been proclaimed. The
Draught Treaty with respect to Belgium, which
seemed to show what stuff the Imperial friendship
was made of, augmented this feeling. And yet no
sooner had the national error been expiated, as it
seemed, at Sedan than the tide turned, and a demand
for friendly intervention in favour of France
arose on every side. The sentiment united classes
not usually found together; it was both popular
and aristocratic; it found champions in fashionable
ladies an i in the readers of the artisan democracy.
A more reasonable and legitimate phase of the sane
feeling made the English people do what they could
to mitigate the sufferings of the sick and wounded
during the war. They could, indeed, effect but little
compared with the necessities of the time. The most
perfect organisation which a strong Government can
call into being is necessary to insure the fitting treat-
ment of the sick and wounded, even in a victorious
army which has its communications open and all its
resources unimpaired; how feeble then must be
the best efforts of private benevolence applied to
retreating and broken troops, hurried from place to
place, and with every service of supply dislocated I
Yet the exertions of those who went forth on the task
were strenuous and incessant; month after month they
endured an amount of labour which the members. of
the best organized service could not have surpassed,
and they were liberally supported at home. Whatever
may have been the actusl result 6f their efforts, they
did at least create in the French people the conviction
that the notion frim which they came was not dia-
regardful of the calamities of France, and their work
has therefore served to maintain or renew those friendly
feelings to which the Queen referred.

In reference to the above presentation, Count
Serurier is desirous of publicity being given to the
fact that this testimony of the gratitude of twelve
millions of French men and women is addressed not
only to the committees and subscribers of the various
societies for aid to the sick and wounded, but also of
those of the " Mansion Rouse Relief," "Peasant
Farmers` Seed," "Widows and Orphans' Relief,"
" Rebuilding Peasants' Homes," " Ref ug ee's Benevo-
lent," " News," and other funds; the "Fire
Brigade," and, indeed, to each and all of the generous
British nation who ministered to France in her hours
cf need.

In responding to the toast of his health at the Lewes
Fat stock Show on Tumid.", night, Mr. Gregor), S 1 P. for East
Sussex, suggested that the national revenue from taxes on
vehicles should he appropriated to the maintenance of roads
hitherto maintained by the turnpike trusts. and that the
parishes should only be called upon to maintain the ordinary
parish highways.
- - - -

• - -
Mr. Stangfeld, M.P., in speaking at a meeting held
at Birmingham against the Contagious Diseases Act, uid the
opponents of the act held that it was medically and hygieni-
cally a failure that if it could be applied to the whole of
the country it would be an Infinitely greater failure; and
that it was immoral. Upon these grounds they determined
to have it repealed.