The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-18 00:00:00

BAPAUME AFTER THE LATE BATTLES.

In a communication from Arras, Janttary 15, the
special correspondent of the Dailll 1V ens observes :—On
entering Bapaume, the French found that its little popu-
lation had suffered extremely in the way of requisitions,
the total sums these have cost the town being believed not
to he less than 200,000 francs, or £B,OOO sterling, amongst
inhabitants numbering 4,000 to 5,000. The outsldrts of
the little town have also suffered greatly from fire
during the fighting. The real causes or objects
of the Prussiana falling back are net readily seen, except-
ing that there can be little doubt it 1J- only a withdrawal
to make a ,'ronger spring forward. Neither side will be
satisfied with the present undecided position, and especially
are General Faidherbe antl his young army, flushed
with, a firm belief in their own stideesSes; burning
to refute the false report by General. Man-
teuffel, of their being beaten on both occasions,
but more particularly on the last. They would, I
think, willingly concede the question.of- Pont-Noyelles if
the world, but especially their enemies, would only give
them all the credit they think they deserved at Bapaume.
Everyone is on 'the qui vice of expectation, both at head-
quarters and here; between which planes- Faidherbe's
army is massed, listening for the first sounds of the
new battle. That there cannot be much delay is al-
most certain, and any moment news may come in to
despatch the troops that are here. As it is, these are
constantly going forward to the front. They have every
confidence in themselves and in their general, and not
even the news of Chanzy's failure, and the occupation
of Le Mans, which is known here to - day,
but without particulars, seem to have had any
effect upon their spirits ; if we may judge at least
from the faces of thoSe in the streets, and of a
body of about 4,000 that marched out for headquarters an
hour ago. Certainly they have hardly had time yet to
take in, much less to digest, such very bad news. One
thing has struck me even more forcibly here, where so
many men in comparison to the population are gathered
than in other northern towns—riarnelyi the great quiet-
ness of the soldiers ifr the street, and the orderly and
silent way in which they march out to what
will really be action. Of course . times like the
present are no times for huzzahing or crying vive this or
vire that ; the earnestness of both the citizen troops
and the inhabitants generally seem to be too deep for
utterance. Beyond the cm dial greeting by the hand
of individuals who join the ranks for a moment
to speak a farewell to some friend or comrade,
there is none of the outward manifestation usually
ol,served at every French gathering. There is
infinitely more outward expressions of excitement
shown when any Prussian prisoners are marched
through the town ; an event which has been
occurring almost daily for the past fortnight.
From what I have gathered in various quarters I
am satisfied the French authorities are treating
their prisoners very well. How they would manage
if they had to cater for upwards of 300,000, and to pro-
vide special barracks and guards for them, is quite another
question. The manifestations that are sometimes made,
however, and the crowds that run after the poor fellows,
who certainly, without their weapons, look every inch
soldiers as they march along the roads in charge of the
Gendarmerie; are not altogether creditable. One of them
made the Very apropos remark in my hearing the other
day to some people who were crowding round him on
his leaving the station, that probably they were not yet
accustomed to the sight of Prussian prisoners. The
repartee was happy, and perhaps on this ground the
conduct of the French is excusable, because very natural.

TIIE CONFERENCE AND PEACE
PROPOSALS.

The Brussels correspondent of the Daily News thus
writes under date January 16 :—lt is generally expected
here that the Conference, which will have been opened
by the time you receive this letter, will not only deal
with the subject of Prince Gortschakoff's note,
but also serve to ascertain what are really the intentions
of Germany on the one side and France on the other, as
to the conditions of a cessation of hostilities.
People begin to feel that it is becoming nearly as
useless to revert to the prigin of the war as it would be to
perform the painful duty of reminding a man who has to
undergo a term of penal servitude for life, of the perfect
justice of the sentence passed upon him by the Court of
Assize. The Belgians, especially, are waiting with impa-
tience for a knowledge of the wishes of the conquerors,
and of the concessions which the conquered are ready to
make. For some time past ugly rumours have been in cir-
culation. At one time it is the Republic, a•t another time it
is the Empire, which is said to be willing to make peace
at the expense of Belgium, by restoring the German pro-
vinces of France to Germany, on condition of being in-
demnified by the gift of the Walloon provinces. In a
letter from London, published in to-day's Ind4endance
Beige, it is stated, and the rumour is confirmed from
other quarters, that M. Regnier, who played so ex-
traordinary a part in the negotiations of Metz, has,
at his request, received from Count Bismarck a
sauf-conduit to Versailles, for the purpose of submitting
there a plan of pacification. The question naturally
arises, what Count Bismarck can possibly have to listen
to from one of those political adventurers who used to live,
move, and have their being in the unwholesome atmos-
phere of Imperial diplomacy and Court intrigues ? With
the prisoner of Wilhelmshohe restoration to the throne
has become a fixed idea, and to arrive at
it he is said to have imagined the division of
Belgium, whose Flemish provinces are to be handed over
to Holland, while the cession of the Walloon provinces to
France is to compensate her for the abandonment to
Germany of Alsace and part of Lorraine without
Metz, which is to remain French, but to be dismantled.
It is impossible to believe that such an arrangement; as
objectionable from a moral as from a purely practical
point of view, could even for a moment be seriously en-
tertained by Count Bismarck. But it is feared on the
one hand, that he may, like most able players at games
skill, become enamoured of difficulties. The Belgians,
after having done their utmost in the scrupulous fulfil-
ment of the duties of neutrality, are somewhat impa-
tient at being annoyed by ballons d'essai, of Bonapartist
or any other origin. It is, therefore, considered as desir-
able as it would be necessary for the enlightenment of
public opinion, that the real and unalterable purposes of
the belligerents should be clearly stated, so as to p'it
an end to all disquieting rumours. It is expected now,
that this result will at last be attained by means of the
Conference.