The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-08 00:00:00

LYONS AWAITING A ITACK

The security of Lyons, says the correspondent of the
Telegraph in that city, under date November 5, has been
suddenly and rudely disturbed. Belfort and Besancon
cannot retard the march of the advancing enemy for a
single day. The capture of Dijon proves that the
invaders will come straight down the valley of
the Saone, and so leave the two strong towns
many, many miles to the east of their line of march.
Our Conseil Municipal, upon learning the im-
minence of the danger, immediately passed a reso-
lution "that, considering the gravity of the situation,
Lyons should defend itself till completely annihilated."
These gentlemen are evidently resolved upon exposing
the town to all the horrors of a bombardment
—upon reducing to a heap of ruins the splendid
new streets and handsome buildings which render
it one of the most beautiful cities of Europe.
And for what purpose ? Solely in the hope of keep-
ing the Prussians before the town for a week, or
perhaps a fortnight. That Lyons can stand a siege of
any length few sensible people imagine. The days of '93,
when the town kept the troops of the terrible Convention
at bay for weeks together, have gone by for ever—and
so probably have the men of iron of the First Republic,
never to return. The Republican of the present
day is rather too fond of his Lien - etre. The
demi-tasse, with its accompanying petit verre, in a
comfortable cafe, has far more charms for him than the
sentinel's monotonous walk at the cold corner of a street.
As the members of the Conseil Municipal are nearly all
far too old to serve personally, their resolution must not
be considered as a proof of individual djoeuement—a fact
in no wise lost sight of by the general public. Mean-
while, defensive preparations are going on actively. The
men of the Garde S6dentaire, up to thirty-five years of
age, have been in barracks for some weeks past, an "the
remainder drill every day, at least an hour. Already
great numbers are laid up, being totally unable
to bear the fatigue of even a hour's hard work a day.
The different battalions have their posted de combat already
assigned them, and it is to be hoped that a sufficient
quantity of ammunition for their muzzle-loading rifles
will be forthcoming in due time. The two principal
music-halls—the only places of amusement which
have been opened this season—were closed this week.
One of them is to be converted into a store-
house for grain, the other into a hospital A considerable
number of beaches inutiles, mostly those of disreputable
women, were arrested a few nights ago; but a great deal
more remains to be done in that direction before the
town will be cleared. Their presence causes much
indiscipline and disregard of orders among the
Mobluts, and the sooner they are all gone the better.
Despite the resolution of the Council, it is to be hoped
that prudence will take the place of valour should the
Prussians arrive hero in force. What can a number
of badly armed, badly commanded, unwilling men do
against a well-equipped, highly -disciplined army, flushed
with unbroken victory ? With what courage can
a father of a family go to the ramparts, when he
feels that his life will be sacrificed without
being of the slightest use to his country ? The effect
of a bombardment on a compact town of more than
300,000 inhabitants one cannot think of without a shudder.
The prospects of the poor caauts, as the weavers are hero
called, are already dark enough. Thousands are out of
work honest, frugal, industrious men, who desire
nothing better than to have plenty to do and to
be left alone. Manufacturers, having been obliged
to make enormous sacrifices on their existing
stocks, will not be in a hurry to recommence work should
the war terminate to-morrow. All other trades are suf-
fering more or less, and the amount of misery before us
this winter is terrible to contemplate. Many a parent
here anxiously awaits the arrival of each scrap of news
from Paris,Belfort,and New Breisach, the places to which
most of the young Mobiles from hero were sent.
The surrender of Metz paused a most painful
impression, and Bazaine is generally accused of
treachery—in fact, the people are so excited as to
be totally incapable of reasoning. We await in
painful suspense the result of the negotiations
for an armistice, but with little or no hopes
of their proving successful. The popular igno-
rance is so great that every concession of the enemy is
looked upon as a proof of his inability to carry on Use
war for any length of time. When Paris and Lyons have
fallen, it is to be hoped that more sensible opinions will
prevail.