The Sun.
London, England, 1871-02-09 00:00:00

THE RE-VICTUALLING OF PARIS.

From Paris, February 6, the special correspondent of
the Telegraph writes : The more people I hear talk, es-
pecially among the poor, the more do I incline towards
the impression that real starvation has been very rare,
if, indeed, it has ever occurred at all. Almost
the entire body of the lower class of labourers
has been paid or nourished by the State
throughout the siege ; none of them were ashamed of
being fed at the public expense ; most, indeed, were
no doubt highly satisfied at being able to eat without
working. They have often not had enough to satisfy their
appetites—that is certain ; but still they all got sufficient
to keep life well in them. It is in the two or three
tiers above the lowest rank that the trial has been most
felt ; among the higher class of workmen's families, the
employ6s of every kind, and the small rcnticrs. All these
people hesitated to accept charity, and their material
needs have certainly been increased by their unwillingness
to beg, and their moral anguish. Still, even there—pain-
ful as the trial has been—it does not appear to me that
there has been thus far any actual dying for want of the
strict necessaries of life. I think it will be
found that the misery resulting from the in-
vestment lies outside the walls. Now that the siege is
over, the refugees from the circle of investment are try-
ing to go home. What are they to do when they find no
home? Paris is receiving food each hour; Paris, for the
moment, wants nothing else; but those people out-
side want everything. Food is but one of their
necessities; even should they get that, where are
they to find the rest? I fully understand that the idea of
Paris starving should move all hearts, and that earnest
efforts should be made to aid her ; but do not forget the
villages in the ring outside. I will not take
upon myself to say that they need help more
than Paris does—but I think I am not far
wrong in suggesting that they want it every whit as much.
Food continues to arrive, though in comparatively
small quantities ; 227 waggons of flour got in yesterday
by the Northern line, and several trucks of coal reached
the Paris Station for the locomotive fires. About 280
oxen came in during the day, part of them for speculative
sale, the rest upon Government account. Another small
supply of sea fish has also appeared at the Halles ; there
was fierce competition for it—small whiting sold
for two francs, and each herring fetched a
franc. Ready-made loaves are forwarded by thousands
from the country towns, but, hitherto, none of them
seem to have penetrated into Paris—they appear to be
absorbed outside, particularly at St. Denis. The markets
which arose at the outposts the day after the capitulation
are slowly drifting backwards. The first day, it was to
Courbevoie that the peasants and German speculators
brought their stores for sale ; by degrees the demand
has so much increased that the Paris buyers have gone
further and further out to find all they want ; and now it
is at St. Germain and at Versailles itself that the majority
of the restaurants purchase their supplies. This is in
contravention of that condition of the Convention
which forbids the sale of food for Paris within
the districts occupied by the Prussian army; but,
in fact, that stipulation has never been enforced.
The ration bread is still obviously bad, but the Govern-
ment is right to delay the issue of white bread until cer-
tain that it can maintain a regular supply. The quantity
of wheat flour that has arrived is said to reach a total of
2,000 tons —enough for about four days' consumption ;
if so, we may hope to see the oaten bread disappear
to-morrow. Fish comes up from Dieppe by a
regular posting service ; the distance is covered in
twenty-four hours, and the fish comes here very fresh.
Butter still sells at six shillings a pound, and each egg
fetches fivepence. Two thousand Cheshire cheeses
arrived yesterday from St. Nazaire. These details will
suffice to show you that we are getting in not
only necessaries, but luxuries ; and that the pro-
spect of starvation, which was very real a week
ago, is rapidly disappearing. I fancy that, when the com-
plete truth is known, it will appear that Paris gave in
just at the right moment—that down to the day of capitu-
lation no one had absolutely been in want of food sufficient
to keep life going—and that stores have since arrived at a
rate which has already furnished a small stock in
hand. The cab question has not advanced with the
same satisfactory speed. Not a conveyance is to be got,
and all visits and excursions must be made on foot, unless
—as luckily happened to me yesterday—a friend's carriage
can be discovered and utilised. This state of things causes
a loss of time beyond belief, and makes it more difficult
to see anybody, especially people who live in the
outlying quarters. As we are still eating horse, though to
a diminished extent, it cannot be expected that the diffi-
culty will be go over speedily—especially as, even if
horses could be procured, there is nothing on which to
feed them. I suppose that some weeks will pass before
a sufficient number of cabs can be available ; the whole
service must be re-organised. Paris certainly needs
20,000 horses, and a quantity of hay and oats sufficient to
nourish them. Cows, too, are urgently wanted, particu-
larly as the Prussians have been eating up all those out-
side for the last five months. Milk will long remain
scarce and dear.

The article in the last number of the Edinburgh
Review, on military organisation, is said to be the joint
production of Mr. H. Reeve and Sir William Mansfield.
The first gentleman to arrive in London from Paris
is the special correspondent Of the Morning Post, who
reached town on Tuesday.
We have to announce the death on Sunday last of
the Hon. Mrs. H. Montagu Villiers, widow of the Right
Rev. Dr. Villiers, Bishop of Durham. youngest brother
of George William 4th Earl of Clarendon. The deceased
lady was eldest daughter of the late Mr. William
Hulton, of Hulton Park, Lancashire, and was married
in January, 1837, to the Hon. d
an Rev. Mr. Villiers, by
whom, who died in August, 1861, she leaves a numerous
family.
The Right Hon. Mr. Bruce was summoned to
Bristol on Tuesday on account of the dangerous illness of
Mrs. Bruce. That lady, whilst on a visit to her sister,
Mrs. Philip W. Miles, at King,sweston-park, was seized
with an illness which on Monday assumed a very alarming
character. Mrs. Bruce's medical attendants, Dr. Marshall
and Mr. Swayne, considered on Tuesday afternoon, that
although the condition of their patient was not free from
danger, it had somewhat unproved from that of the
previous day.