The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-16 00:00:00

FREE- AND-EASY PRISONERS.

" As to the marvellous facility with which prisoners were
Made on the Loire after the victory of the Germans had
become decisive, some extraordinary statements are made
by the special correspondent of the Times at Orleans. An,
enormous number of French, fighting against their will,
were positively eager to be taken. A number of
French soldiers were comfortably seated at dinner when
some' Germans entered, and invited the latter to
join in the meal, saying that they must be hungry
after so much fighting, and that there was not the
slightest danger of their making any attempt to escape,
as they were waiting expressly for some one to come and
capture them. Four men were taken by the Cuirassiers
in• the avant posies during the night, and were told to
remain by a fire till morning, When the
morning came their number was increased to
twelve, who had. deliberately come and seated
themselves by the fire of their own accord.
One German sentinel stated that during his watch
upon the . same night upwards of thirty French
soldiers had come to him and asked him in what direction
they should go in order to deliver themselves up as
prisoners. These are instances that happened to come
under the correspondent's own notice ; and in talking with
the prisoners he found that they had surrendered simply
because they were " bored." They are heartily disgusted
with the war, are perfectly indifferent to Alsace and Lor-
raine, extremely susceptible to the cold, and seem to
prefer life in a German town to the hardships of cam-
paigning in winter in the presence of au overwhelming
foe.

While some_Uhlans were scouring a wood in the neigh-
bourhood of Didppe they discovered the body of a hussar
,tied
by his heels to the branch of a tree ; his eyes had been
gouged out, and his nose and ears cut off.

The German loss in the battles on the Loire has fallen,
as it always does, on the officers and on special regiments.
One regiment alone lost twenty officers in the battle of
*Bazoche-des-Hantes, and one battalion of another regi-
ment of Bavarians lost 190 men in the first day's fighting,
and 130 in the second. This regiment alone has lost since
'the beginning of the war sixty-two officers, only three of
those who left Germany still remaining with it.

The Tires' correspondent in the besieged capital says
that if the Parisians gained nothing, they, Jost nothing by
the late sorties. " From all I see and hear, the troops
are rather encouraged by finding they can cope on more
than equal terms with the Prussians in a protracted en-
gagement on a large, scale than dispirited by the failure
'of their object—the forcing a passage through the Prussian
lines,"
French general officers complain that VATirelle's
military capacity was paralysed by his , putting himself
into the hands of the Bishop of Orleani. He. not only
countenanced by his presence a great deal of nonsense
publicly talked by hini in the cathedral, but went pottering
about withhim to the altars of various saints of more or less
celebrity. The Bishop inflicted 'penance upon him, in
consequence of which he reniainecton his knees for four
consecutive hours at the altar of 'a, saint when he should
have been attending tohis business, which in all conscience
was pressing enough.
THE FRIENDS OF FRANCE.—A number of
foreigners, resident in France, have formed themselves
into a corps of sharpshooters. Among the 230 men of whom
the band consisted on the 30th of November, no fewer than
80 were either Americans or Englishmen. Several other
nationalities are also represented in the corps, which is
known as the " Friends of France." This body took au
active part in the sortie on the 30th of November. They
protected the'engineers when constructing the bridge over
the Marne, and afterwards engaged in the assault on
Brie-sur-Marne. This village being taken, the order was
given to sterm.a redoubt, which the Prussians bad esta-
blisliqd on the heights above Brie. The "Friends of
Prance" participated, 'With the Zouaves; in this as-
sault. As the position of the Germans was approached
by a steel), narrow gully, in which not more than four
well. could march. abreast, the. slaughter among the
foreign corps was fearful, as many as fifty out of the
entire number being killed. They, however, succeeded at
last in drivincy the Prussians from the redoubt. Among
the dead oe the " Friends of France " was a young
Spaniardnamed Geruzez, who, on the preceding day, had
made his will, leaving; 6,000 f. to the corps. With the
•
exception -6f two. wounded, the Anglo-Saxon portion of
the body have no casualties to regret.- Amongst those
who particularly diStinguished themselves were Messrs.
41. Chalmers and Luberne, Americans ; Hughes and
Colvin, from London ; Fenci, Newcastle ; and M. E.
Albo„ Jersey.; G. Shepherd, Shropshire ; and Elphich and
Palmer, England. The "Friends of France " are said not
to be recognised as,lcgitima.te soldiers by the Germans ; and
It is reported that-two of them 'have.been hanged and four
shot.

PRUSSIA AND LUXEMBURG.
Count Bismarck's Luxemburg despatch is a circular
dated December 3rd, and addressed to the signatories of
the London Treaty of May. 11th, 1867. The Federal
Chancellor enumerates the acts by which Luxem-
burg, irr a German point of view has failed
in obligations of neutrality. The Grand Duchy
shewed no good will in respect to the trans-
port of the German wounded ; luxemburg allowed
the revictualling of Thionville by a party which started
from Amiens, and which, by traversing Belgium and the
Duchy, succeeded in penetrating into Thionville at the be-
ginning of October. Finally, the government of the
little State did not " intern " the numerous military fugi-
tives, who after Sedan and Metz passed through the grand
ducal territories. Prussia, in consequence, in all matters
concerning the movements of German troops, considers
herself no longer bound to respect the neutrality of Lug'
emburg.

MIL SECRETARY FISH ON EUROPEAN

AFFAIRS.

Mr. Fish, American Secretary of State, is said to have
delivered some noteworthy opinions on the condition of
European affairs at the end of November. The views are
belived to have been expressed at an extraordivarY
Cabinet Council held at the time of the revival of the
Eastern Question. His views are given as follows
The last news received from Europe indicates that
Russia is resolved no longer to observe the con-
ditions of the Treaty of 1856, which establish
the neutrality of the Black Sea ; *but I do not
think war will _linevitably follow. I think it
possible, and even probable, that a Peace Con-
gress of all the great European Powers will' be the result
in which not only the Eastern question, but perhaps even
the question of the Franco-Prussian war, will be settled.
In any case, under present circumstances, the future of
Europe is purely problematical, and bidden influences
may produce results as surprising as unlooked for. Sup-
posing that a Peace Congress should assemble, it is by no
means certain that the present Government of France
should be overthrown. The strength of the new Republic
lies" in the people itself, and a fortuitous peace
without cession of territory would be equivalent
to a guarantee of Lits future existence: The empire
is over, and the only government which could succeed the
Republic would be a Monarchy. Our communications
with France are at present inactive. Minister BertheraY
is recognised here as the sole legitimate representative of
the French Government. Minister Washburn was em-
ployed by our Government as an intermediate agent on
important occasions ; but notwithstanding the length of
the war there have been few incidents to call fgir his in-
terference. His recognition of the French Republic was
not premature, it was in consequence of orders he had
received, and the line of conduct he is now following is
quite in accordance with the wishes of our Government.
The election of the Duke d'Aosta to the Spanish
throne will not materially alter our policy in regard to
Cuba. Spain, however tardy in diplomacy, is prompt
enough to accept war, and the future of Cuba is not
worth enough for us to make one on its account. The
policy of England towards her colonies has always been
equitable and continues to be honourable. The scheme
of General Butler for the annexation of Canada, as
developed in the letter he addressed to the Tribune from
Lowell, is in fact war, for England would not submit to it
without a struggle, and there •are other means of
adjusting the Alabama differences. Our claims
in this matter should be settled at an oppor-
tune time, perhaps soon. The principal objection
raised hero against the Johnson-Clarendon treaty was that
private claims were included in the protocol. The Alabama
claims are considered - by us as more important than
private claims, because they embrace grave questions of
international law, which cannot be decided either by an
ordinary convention or by a mixed commission as can
private claims." The rumour has been current in New
York that Mr. Secretary Fish is to be replaced by General
Butler.

ENGLAND, RUSSIA, AND AMERICA.
The Philadelphia correspondent of the Times, writing
on the 30th, says —The Russian Government, in view of
what then seemed probable—the meeting of a European
Congress—a short time ago, through its Minister at
Washington, expressed a desire to have the United States
represented. The Minister consulted the Secretary of
State, and also Senator. Sumner, the chairman of the
Senate Committee of Foreign Affairs. Sumner, it is under-
stood, favoured the project,. but the Government does
not. Should such a Congress assemble, the United States
will, no doubt, decline to send a representative, the
desire in this country being to avoid any European en-
tanglements—either in the shape of American inter-
ference in Europe or European interference in America.
The latter this country -milli not tolerate, and therefore it
will, to be consistent, avoid the former. The Russian
Minister, I understand, has been informed of this deter-
mination. In fact, notwithstanding the general popular
belief in the great friendship between the United States
and Russia, these nations do not seem of late
to have been much in accord. The United States
will not allow herself to be used by Russia to forward •
any of the plans of the latter for aggrandisement,
and this sturdy independence has been made plainly evident
in recent outgivings from Washington. This has naturally
disappointed Russia, and the announcement is made in
Washington that the Russian Government is deeply
offended at the declaration of President Grant that he will
not at this juncture press the Alabama claims. Russia
thinks that such a declaration is, at this time, an indirect
and uncalled for expression of sympathy for England,
by relieving her of her fears that the United States
might take this opportunity of a quarrel with
Russia for demanding their early settlement. A
Washingten correspondent, writes that it has been gene-
rally remarked that in the past few weeks the Russian
Minister, M. Catacazy, has called on neither the Presi-
dent nor the Secretary of State, and the assertion is made
that he is acting under instructions from his Government,
which before long will communicate officially its grievances.
To add to the delicacy of the situation, M. Catacazy is
said to have received letters from prominent Republicans,
among whom are named Senator Summer and
General Butler, apologising for •the acticn of the
President, and indicating that the nation would not sup-
Port him in his refusal to now press the claims. General
Butler, the correspondent adds, even endeavoured to get
the "'resident to retract or modify his opinions, but failed.
These statements now lead a portion of the public to
fear some complication with Russia. Whatever may
come, the President seems resolute in his determina-
nation not to press the claims. He thinks the propo-
sition for reopening the negotiations ought to come from
England.

The King of Prussia, says a Versailles letter in the
North German Gazette, continues to receive in his usual
manner the reports of the various departments of the
Government. As a rule, he only leaves the Prefecture
about noon for an hour for a short excursion. The neigh-
bouring eminences of the district of Versailles, which
afford an extensive view over Paris, are generally visited'
Dinner comes off about five p.m. From six to eight his
Majesty is in his 'study ; at eight there is the soirée,
to which a large number of officers always receive invita-
tions.

[ADvEnmisEmENTI--Holloway's Ointment and Pills.—
Bad legs, bad breasts, ulcers, abscesses, wounds, and sores
of all kinds may be thoroughly healed by the application
of this Ointment to the parts affected, after they have
been duly fomented with warm water. The discharge
should not be checked at once, but rather, encouraged, for
any sudden check must, of course, be always dangerous.
Nature is the noblest of physicians, and must not be op-
posed, but seconded. All sores are for a time the
safety v'alves of the constitution, and should not be closed
or healed until they assume a healthier character. Under
the action of this powerful Ointment, aided by the Pills,
the depraved humours of the body will be quickly re'
moved.

BIRTHS.
On the 14th inst., at 21, Grafton-street, the wife of Cecil
Chaplin, Esq., of a son.
On the 12th inst., at Little Melton, Norfolk, the wife of.
Robert A. Barkley Esq., of a daughter.

MARRIAGES.
On the I.3th inst., at St. Paul's, Hamlet-roa,Upper
Norwood, Robert Alexander Slater, Esq.., of For Upest-
hill House, Bideford, North Devon, to Fanny, young
daughter of the late Mr. W. W. Weitbrooke, of Upper
Norwood.
On the 13th inst., at the Church of St. John the Evan-
Mary
gelist, Penge, John Gill, Esq., of Greenwich, lo
Harford, only daughter of the late Robert Hoggart,
Bsq., of Norwood, Surrey.

DEATH.
On the 10th inst., James ark Child, Esq., BellY
House* Pembrokeshire, age 78.
On the 12th inst., Sat Park-gate House, near Battle,
Wm. Dowdeswell, Esq., late Madras C
. ~ aged 63.
M deg
__.,-.

London : Printed by GIDEON ACLAND BOYCE, o.f.
No. 112, Strand, Printer, and Published by him 51
THE SUN Othee, No.
112, Strnd, in the Precinct of tht'
Savoy, in the County iddlesex.
Decomber 16, 1870.