The Press.
London, England, 1854-01-21 00:00:00

THE FRENCH ARMY.

THE following authentic summary of the force dis-
posable for active service which the French military
system presents at the opening of the year is given
by the semi-official Pays :
" The French army, as at present organised, is composed
in the following manner :—For the first or direct part, of a
general staff, a staff corps, and a private staff for the artil-
lery and engineers ; for the second or administrating part,
of a corps of superintendence, a medical corps, a corps
called that of the administrative services, comprising three
sections, and of a corps of troops of administration ; for
the third or fighting part, of infantry, cavalry, artillery,
and engineers. Not comprised in these great divisions,
we place the special troops charged with the police of the
interior in time of peace, and with the police of the
armies in time of war, or the gendarmerie, and the
military establishments necessary for the renewal of the
personnel and of the materiel. These great divisions being
stated, let us analyse their various elements separately,
commencing by the third and most important section, that
of the effective force of the army. The French infantry
is composed of 100 regiments of three battalions each,
twenty battalions of foot chasseurs, three regiments of
Zouaves, and two of the foreign legion with three batta-
lions, three battalions of native sharpshooters, three of
African light infantry, and, lastly, some companies of
veterans and of discipline. The 100 regiments of the line
can easily give immediately two battalions of 1,000 men
each, and have also the officers of a third battalion, into
which can be placed 100,000 or 120,000 men of the classes
which have not yet terminated the time of service due by
them to their country. The nine battalions of Zouaves,
the six of the foreign legion, the six of the sharpshooters
and of the light infantry, are on a war footing, and can
furnish from 20,0!)0 to 26,000 men, ready at once to enter
on a campaign. Of the twenty battalions of the foot
chasseurs, ten are organised, and ten are in course of
organisation, or rather, as the ten already organised are
being doubled to form the twenty lately decreed, it may be
said that all are in the conrse oforganisation. The elements
being ready at hand, that organisation may be effected
promptly, and in a few months. The infantry is warranted
to reckon among its ranks twenty fine battalions of chas-
seurs, of 1,200 each, able to give war battalions of 1,000
men. It is thus clear that the force of the French infantry,
ready to enter on a campaign, whilst leaving good stalls of
regiments at their depots in France, may be estimated at
240 war battalions, or 240,11(X) men. The cavalry is corn-
posed of twelve reserve regiments, twenty of cavalry of
the line, twenty of light cavalry, all with five squadrons,
and eight regiments of light cavalry (four of African
chasseurs, three of Spahis, and one of Guides), with six
squadrons. The mounted troops give consequently 300
squadrons. Each of the fifty-two regiments, with five
squadrons, may immediately furnish four war squadrons of
130 homes each, and the eight regiments of six squadrons,
700 horses each, Thus the force of the cavalry ready to
enter on a campaign may be estimated at from 32,000 to
:15,000 sabres ; and there remain, to keep up the regiments,
the fifth squadrons of good cadres, and of young horses.
In addition, our establishments for supplying horses and
the breeders throughout the country have a sufficiently
great number of horses, the improvement of which has
been most marked of late years, thanks to the enlightened
encouragement given by the Government to that branch of
industry. The artillery is composed of fourteen regiments
of sixteen batteries, and, in addition, one regiment of pore
tonniers of twelve companies, thirteen companies of
military workmen, four squadrons of flying artillery, and
five companies of veteran artillerymen. It is known that
each reserve, or campaign battery, is composed of six
pieces of eight or twelve, two of which are howitzers. Each
battery has an effective force of from 200 to 220 men and
100 horses. Each regiment can furnish in men and
materiel ten batteries on a war footing. The force, there-
fore, of the artillery ready for battle is 360 guns, and from
28,000 to 30,000 men, including the flying train. The
engineers form three regiments with two battalions each,
or 0,00 men. The first great division of the army, that
which we have called the directing part, is composed of
seven marshals of France, eighty generals of division, 160
generals of brigade, and ball officers of the staff, from the
rank of colonel to that of lieutenant. The total force of
the army at present able to enter at once on a campaign is
consequently nearly 800,0(X) men and 60,000 horses. Our
nation has besides all the elements to present in line, in a
very short time, an army composed of six corps d'arrcee,
with four divisions of infantry, a division of cavalry, eight
batteries, and a light brigade being attached to each corps
d'armee. There are in the staffs, in the corps of superin-
tendence, in the officers of administration, in the troops of
administration, and in the 20,000 men of whom the corps
of gendarmery is composed, a sufficient force to supply
every want and every service of such an army."

SATURDAY,

THE AMERICAN POST-OFFICE SYSTEM.'
Accournam to the annual report of the American Post.
master• General, recently issued, there are in the United
States 22,688 post•offices.

The aggregate length of the mail routes is above 200,000
miles. During the year the mails are conveyed o,e,
13,000,000 miles on railways, the mileage of which is
and over nearly 7,000,000 miles in steam-boats, the 001;,,
age of which is 40. In California the mails traverse
annually nearly 600,000 miles, the cost of which iv
30,0(X)!.

The American Postmaster-General complains to the
Government of a want of sufficient power over railway
companies in fixing the price for conveying mails, and the
hours of arrival and departure. He is averse to the referee
system, which he says in England has acted unfavourably
to the Government there.

The local mail service in California is marked by tiro
peculiarities—viz., very high prices and great difficulty in
giving the mail facilities required. The cost of the mail
service in California greatly exceeds its receipts. The
transport of mails across the Isthmus of Panama alone
costa the American Government ltd. for every pound
weight of mailable matter.
The report recommends that au Assistant Postmaster.
General should be appointed for the supervision of the
American mail service in the Pacific, and that a dead-letter
office should be established in California.

The annual postal expenditure in the United States is
about I ,500,0001.; the income is about 1,100,000/. The
cost of the American Ocean Steam-ship lines is about
400,000/. a year, and the revenue derived from them about
180,0001. a year. The number of letters conveyed between
the United States and Europe during the last year by the
British and American mail steamers was 4,600,000. The
number of newspapers, 1,380,0(X).
The Postmaster•Geueral complains of the partiality of
the British Government for the Cunard line of steamers.
He states that his proposition for a reduction of the exorbi-
tant rates of postage on pamphlets and magazines between
the United States and Great Britain is regarded un•
favourably, although not absolutely declined, by the Englidi
Government. He complains that while the British
Government has been paying the United States Od. an
ounce fur transit of Canadian mails through the United
States territory, it has been charging Is. an ounce for
transit of the American mails for France through
England.
The American postal convention with France is in pro.
gress. America is insisting on the half-ounce scale being
adopted, and for prepaid and unpaid letters to be sub.
jected to one uniform rate. The pending postal conven•
tion between the United States and Belgium is only
awaiting the reduction of the British transit rate. The
American postal convention with Prussia operates favour-
ably ; a few of the southern German States only have not
yet acceded to its terms.
The Postmaster• General recommends that the American
Government should pay a given sum for every mail to
England, and that the English Government should pay a
similar sum for every mail to the United States, without
regard to the nationality of the steamers, so long as they
were American or British ; that the Atlantic mail voyage'
should be limited to a given number per week, and that the
strife between Cunard and Collins should be put an end to.

THE CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT IN PIEDMONT.—
There are in Piedmont 6 archbishops, 34 bishops,
312 beneficed canons, 59 collegiate churches, 741
collegiate canons, and 7,000 priests. These possess
property calculated at about 350,000,000 f., and de-
rive an income of about 12,000,000 f., independent of
nearly 1,000,0001. a year which is paid by the State in
the form of stipendiary assistance. While among
these bishops there are some receiving 4,0001. (or
100,000 f.) a year, in the 4,247 parishes into which
the Sardinian States are divided, 3,386 parish priests,
notwithstanding the stipendiary allowance from the
Government, are in extreme poverty-41,540 of these
derive an average income from the local or parish
church property of 473 f., which, with an average
assistance from the State, makes only about 835 f.
(about 331. or 341.) a year. Such being the state of
the regular Church, there are besides 31 orders of
monks, with 347 convents ; 23 orders of nuns, With
141 convents—that is, 54 orders, with 418 convents.
Of these convents 318 have each an average income
of about 15,000 f. a year. The remaining 170 are
mainly dependent on mendicancy. The aggregate
known property of these orders is calculated at
119,350,000 f., and is supposed to yield them
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aggregate income of upwards of 4,500,000 f. But, in-
dependent of such ascertainable property, they are
supposed to have much more in the form of bonds
payable to bearer, and many invested in the names
of individual members. The total number of monks
is 0,000, 2,500 being of mendicant orders. The total
number of nuns is 2,500.
THE HALF OF A 'WOMAN'S BODY was taken out of
the Seine near Villeneuve-la-Garenne last week.
The portion found consists of the back, stomach, sea
lower limbs. The division of the body appears to
have been effected with neatness and dexterity. It
is supposed that the death must have been there'
suit of a crime, and that the body was thus map's'
ted to prevent the possibility of identification. Ac-
cording to professional witnesses the body must bill..
been three or four months in the water.

JANUARY 21, 1854.

SA tign Rub' dolonial ntritigtutt.

FRANCE.

The returns of the French revenue from indirect
taxation during the year 1853 have been published
in the Moniteur, and exhibit a far more satisfactory
result than could have been anticipated in the face
of a bad harvest and probable war. Before these
contingencies appeared above the horizon, indeed,
the Finance Minister fully expected to find that the
large expansion of receipt experienced in 1852, and
to 67,000,000 f., attributable to the sudden
amounting
impulse given to trade by returning credit after ea
long period of stagnation, would be followed by a
reaction, and the income of 1853 fall something
short of its prosperous predecessor. So far from
this being the case, however, there has been a posi-
tive increase of 42,000,000 f., notwithstanding the ad-
ditional causes of embarrassment that have latterly
presented themselves. The chilling influences which
the elements and the Eastern entanglement have exer-
cised upon commerce, and as a natural consequence
upon revenue, are shown by the retrogression in
the receipts during the latter months of the year.
Throughout the summer months the revenue was
rapidly increasing. In July the excess over the
corresponding month of 1852 was 4,500,000 f. ; in
August, 5,500,000 f. ; and in September, 7,500,000 f.
Then the tide turned : in October the excess dropped
to 4,1345,000 f.; in November it was something under
2,000,000 E; and in the last month of the year was
exchanged for a decrease of 3i millions on the com-
parison with 1852. Still on the twelvemonth there
is left an excess of 42,000,000 f., arising chiefly under
the following heads :—Register duties, 18,500,000 f.;
stamps, 2,000,000 f. ; corn and grain, 1,170,0001. ;
colonial sugars,l,ooo,ooof. ; foreign sugars, 1,362,000 f. ;
home sugars, 3,084,000 f.; salt, 2,000,000 f.; drinks,
:1,529,000f.; tobacco, 8,000,000 f.; post-office, 2,300,000 f.
The only head in which there was any important
diminution is the customs, in which the falling off
is 1,700,000 f. During Louis Philippe's reign the
average rate of progression in the revenue was from
twenty-two to twenty-three million francs a year.
The total revenue received from these sources of
taxation during the year amount to 846,800,000 f.
The direct taxes have been paid with even greater
punctuality than last year, and the number of pro.
ceedings taken against defaulters has diminished.
The Moniteur published on Tuesday a series of
measures. Two decrees open extraordinary credits;
one of 2,000,000 f., in aid of charitable establish-
ments; and another of 4,000,000 f., to indemnify the
city of Paris for the expenses it incurred in 1848 in
the general interest of public order. A third decree
grants judiciary assistance to the indigent inhabi-
tants of Martinique, Guadaloupe, and Bourbon ; and
a fourth regulates the terms upon which the present
possessors of the soil in Pondicherry may be-
come absolute proprietors of the lands which they
cultivate.

The Hon. J. Y. Mason, Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, has
arrived in Paris.

Three men-of-war of the first class, the Louis XIV.,
the Turenne, and the Ulm, are about to be launched
at Itochefort. One will probably be ready on the
!Mil of next month, and the others in April or May
next.

The trial of the Opera Comique and Hippodrome
conspirators was brought to a close on Monday.
Four were acquitted. The remainder, thirty-six in
number, were found guilty of belonging to a secret
society. No sentence was passed upon those who
are already condemned to transportation. Of the
remainder five, viz., Bratiano the Wallachian, Furet,
atteau, Francois, and Alavoine," were found to be
the founders of the society, and were sentened to
three years' imprisonment with fines of 500 f. each.
The others were sentenced to a year's imprisonment
with 100 f. fine. All of them are besides deprived of
civic rights for five years.
General Prim has arrived in Paris from Constan-
tinople, and intends shortly proceeding to Madrid,
to render an account of his mission. He hopes to
be able to return to the East in the spring, should
political affairs continue of a warlike character.