The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-14 00:00:00

THE RISING TARIFF.

---
Just before Christmas cats commenced to disappear
from the shops which ordinarily sold them, and it is sup-
posed that at the present time nearly the whole of these
domestic pets are eaten. Possibly on the principle of
killing off the horses that they may not consume the oats,
on which we shall soon be constrained to live ourselves,
the cats have been sacrificed to conserve our few remaining
rats and mice. Dog, however, is still on sale at from 2f. to
3f. the pound, and poultry can be obtained by those who are
prepared to pay exorbitant prices for it, such as 100 f. for a
turkey, 60f. for a goose, and 25f. for a fowl. Eggs sold
wholesale by, auction rather more than a week ago realized
a trifle over a franc apiece ; their retail price is a franc and
a half, and even at this figure the soundness of the article
is not guaranteed. Salt costs a franc and a half per lb.,
while coffee and sugar have only risen 50 per cent., and
jam has not advanced at all in price. Carrots and turnips
range from 50 centimes to a franc each ; onions are
retailed at the rate of 20f. the gallon, and potatoes at the
unheard-of price of 50f. the bushel.—Pall Mall Gazette.

THE CHARACTER, OF THE FRENCH ARMY.
The Times correspondent at Bordeaux sends some very
interesting particulars respecting the composition of the
French forces now in the field. His observations seem
particularly just and reasonable :—" The indecisive actions
which the French are in the habit of claiming as victories
are of no avail. Admitting that each army retains at the
day's close pretty much the ground it held at its
opening, and that the losses on each side are about the
same, still the balance is against the French in consequence
of the straggling and deserting that ensues. Numbers of
soldiers profit by the confusion and darkness to make for
the rear. The patriotic fire and chivalrous feeling of
honour which have led the Duc de Luynes and so many
other gallant French gentlemen to their death in unequal
strife do not, unfortunately, equally inflame all classes
of the population. That the French,. after nearly
the whole of their regular army had been destroyed or
led away into captivity, should have defended
themselver as they have done, is, indeed, most
creditable, and will be recorded by history as a title
of honour for the nation; but it is only a portion of them
that are really resigned to self-sacrifice and resolved to
fight to the death. Numbers of others seek the first
opportunity to escape the duties and perils of a soldier's
life in war time. These are to be met making
for the rear, sometimes in bodies of several
hundreds, defiant of discipline and of their
officers, and bent only upon escaping from hard-
ships they find intolerable and from the ter•
rible Prussian shells. Probably these very men,
had they been properly trained as soldiers, with good
officers and a batter organisation, would be steady and
intrepid. But what, in reality, are these troops?
Bataillons de marehe, depot companies, recruits, fugitives
from the earlier disasters of the war, a motley mass with-
out esyrit de' corps, commanded by officers they do not
know, and a very large number of whom were lately
themselves serving in the ranks as sergeants or corporals,
but, owing to the great dearth of officers, were suddenly
elevated to posts of authority for which they have few
qualifications. Promotion is rapid in M, Gambetta's
armies. The Gazette daily brings long lists of advance-
ment. Sergeants are made lieutenants, and then speedily
advanced to captains. The army, at any rate, is
getting democratic enough. In the very last official bul-
letin nineteen sergeants and a corporal are promoted to
ensigncies. Of course, the Minister of War can but use
such materials as he has. The dearth of officers is very
great. I was told the other day that a subaltern in a
foreign service had been admitted into a French Army
Corps with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. As to the
Free Corps, they seem to be a great failure. A few of
them have done their duty manfully, but
with the majority enrolment in those corps, seems
to have been a mere pretext to avoid real service.
A battalion of Paris Franes-Tireurs, perhaps two, and
and another corps here and there, have fought well when
occasion offered; but most of them keep at a safe distance
from the Prussians, and only risk extremely long shots,
The straggling bodies of deserters and fugitives are natu-
rally a source of terror to the p6asant, upon whom they
must, in great measure, reckon for subsistence. A surgeon
who was travelling in charge of wounded came upon a
cottage where he desired to give his patients rest and
shelter. But he found it already oceupied by a party of
French runaway soldiers, who had taken possession of the
place, and positively refused to give it up.

Excuse is being found for the'Paris National Guards,
who ran away at Cr&ell, on the plea that they had lately
been fed exclusively off racehorses !
Three French Garde Mobile officers and eight or nine
soldiers deserted to the Germans from Paris the other
day. Mobile officers have not been known to desert
before.

A Paris paper of the 28th, found on Mont Avron, states
that 4,700 milch cows were still preserved in the city, but
their milk was very poor, and did not suffice for the mul-
titude of children who had to depend upon it.

A night exploration towards Valerien revealed the fact
that -the French were sapping down towards St. Cloud,
much nearer than was supposed by those " who did not
know," and counter approaches will bring the enemies
close together.
The Times Bordeaux correspondent says : " It seems
beyond a doubt that the most ardent wish of a large por-
tion of the French nation is for peace on whatever terms
may be obtained; but then there is also a very large party
for war, and these are, of course, the most energetic, and
having arms and the Government on their side, they carry
the day and keep up the struggle.
The Cologne Gazette remarks that whereas in Holland
anxiety for national independence, and many other influ-
ences, have counteracted the feeling of affinity of race, the
Flemings sympathize with their German brethrdn in the
present crisis. The impulsive Walloons first expressed
their sympathies for France, sometimes very, un me asuredly ,
but the Flemings were not backward in counter demon-
strations. . . .

A correspondent at Amiens, writing on the 28th of.
December, says :—" It is fearful work campaigning in
this weather, and there is no doubt that very many of
those who were wonnded on Friday last, and who were
left on the field of battle, died of cold, being literally
frozen to death. On the French side of the position, on.
Monday morning, none of the dead appeared to have been
buried. Many bodies were lying in a little churchyard at
the roadside."
A letter from Bethel, dated the 17th, says :
Prussian authorities have n DW abolished the indirect taxes
in the Ardennes, and substituted a poll-tax. Fifty francs
must be paid per head, even the younger children being
included. There is general complaint at this, and the
smallest villages, being unable to pay, are plundered.
The Francs-Tireurs do us much harm. They take away
our provisions and coal waggons, and make no stand
against tke enemy." Many of these FreeshOoters, indeed,
are only robbers.
A lady, writing from Paris on Christmas Eve, says :
"As to food it is daily shrinking from eery one. We
wore rationed in rice about the 15th-sd. worth for three
—to last three days ; the variety, three herrings or some
stock fish lt is now so long since I tasted
animal food that I forget the date. You will imagine that
I cannot avail myself of the loathsome substitutes which
are now quite common, and this fact of itself shews to
what a pass the city is brought, though all is done to put
a good face on it to the enemy, and rightly ; but the suf-
fering is great, and I see many proofs of it."
A letter from Bomorautin (Loire-et-Cher) in the Liberte
states that an Englishman, a friend of the writer, who
has long possessed a chateau in the neighbourhood, hung
out the British flag from his windows ; but that notwith-
standing a detachment of Uhlans, commanded by a
Colonel Rosenberg, quartered themselves upon him, ate
and drank all they could get in his house, did much wilful
damage, and stole many articles of value. On leaving a
Prussian officer said :—" These English fancy that any

" The