The Sun.
London, England, 1870-07-19 00:00:00

NEUTRALITY OF LUXEMBOURG.

Count Bismarck, in the name of the North German
Confederation, says that the neutrality of Luxembourg
will be respected as long as the French respects it.
THE MONEY MARKET.

In Paris, yesterday, the Bourse was quiet. Rentes
closed at 66f. 15c. or sc. higher than on Saturday. The
Batik of Prussia has raised its rate of discount to 8 and 9
per cent.

THE SITUATION IN PARIS.
PARIS, SUNDAY.

On this, the second day since the declaration of war,
the enthusiasm of the multitude has in no way calmed
down. Friday night was a tremendous scene ; Saturday, if
possible, excelled it ; to-night displays the most vehement
excitement of all. The whole French world rejoices at war.
few exceptions consist of basely selfish persons who are
inconvenienced by the withdrawal for the army of some
of their servants. The omnibus company, for instance,
has lost seventy - one conductors who have
to hang their harps on a willow tree, and
hence is unpatriotic. But, barring these vile and con-
temptible cases, the utmost unanimity prevails here. The
army is glad at the prospect of employment after long
waiting. So is the navy. The Court party rejoice in the
certainty of defeating the Liberals, after the latter
had gained something dangerously like a victory ; the
mob rejoices, because it can create unlimited disturbance,
and even sing the " Marseillaise " without let or
hindrance ; and the French people generally are pleased
because—there is unfortunately no doubt of the fact—
they hate Prussia, and firmly believe that the day
of her humiliation has come. All yesterday Paris
boiled with the war fever, and to-day it has been the same.
At four o'clock on Saturday morning the clarion was
sounding at the forts of Vargves and Ivry, where the gst
and 95th Regiments of the Line are in barracks, and
they partook of their last meal in the neigh-
bourhood of Paris, and away they went to
the eastern frontier. They marched through Paris
at one in the afternoon, and at three they departed in the
midst of an immense crowd from the Eastern Railway sta-
tion. The band of the Regiment played the " Marseillaise!"
There was such a leave-taking as will be familiar to those
who remember the departures in England for the Crimea—
the tear-bedewed mothers, the fathers full of emotion, the
inconsolable sisters, and the spectators rushing frantically
into the wine shop and bringing out sympathetic " bocks"
for the regalement of anybody who happened to be in
uniform. It was a regular fête—except for the rela-
tives.

This sort of thing went on all day. Paris became a
great camp and parade ground. The flow of regiments
to the east seemed endless. At four o'clock the 18th
battalion of the chasseurs d pied, belonging to the first divi-
sion, under the orders of General Douai, departed. At
five o'clock more chasseurs, then another regiment of the
line, &c. When the evening came the public left the
railway stations and held their own select receptions on

the boulevards. Numerous groups formed themselves at
the angle of the Rue du Faubourg du Temple, and
Fourtille, singing the chant des Girondins ; thence the
warlike band turned towards the Boulevard de Puebla,
and finally entered the caf4 concert, the Folios-Desnoyes,
where it sang the " Marseillaise " amid great enthusiasm.
The Faubourg Saint-Antoine presented a spectacle of the
greatest animation. The soldiers in barracks in that
quarter fraternised with the people whom they had been
sent to look after—for since the late disturb-
ances troops have been kept in the immediate
neighbourhood of the disorderly districts. Yesterday
however, a truce was declared, soldiers and people camped
out in the street together, and oceans of wine were con-
sumed in the good work of drinking confusion to Bismarck
and success to the righteous cause of the French. Between
nine and eleven the Northern Railway Station was occu-
pied with Prussians leaving for Germany, an operation
which they performed, Booth to say, with no good
grace. The enthusiasm of war is difficult to excite amongst
a number of wretches who are leaving, in many cases, their
daily bread behind them, and who take their departure
in the midst of a hostile population. There were between
three and four thousand of these Germans. Between ten
and midnight the capital was in the full tide of her war
holiday. The crowd was so vast, the joy so intense, the
thirst for blood so fierce, that the natural question which
rose to the lips of every calm observer was, If this be
the intoxication of war, what will be the delirium of vic-
tory, and what—the depression of defeat ? " Assuredly,"
said one Englishman, "it will be an evil day for the
French Government if the anticipations of that multi-
tude are disappointed." The Italiens, the Capucines,
and the rest of the well-known inner circle, presented
the sight of a confused mass of civilian and military
humanity. Standing-room was scarce ; a seat was not
to be had. Every newspaper's printing re-
sources were taxed to the utmost, and the less
the journals contained—none of them contained much—
the more eagerly were they snapped up. On all sides
were heard the Republican and warlike tunes. Bands of
men and boys carrying tricolour flags perambulated the
streets. Soldiers riding about in carriages passed to and
fro amid the utmost applause. Sometimes a few mis-
guided persons raised a shout for peace, but these
voluntary seekers after unpopularity were few, nor were
their efforts so successful as to secure them many recruits.
It was a splendid night of uproar. The excitement was
so considerable that it lasted until past midnight, and
did not even die out at two in the morning. Where, in-
deed, could the populace be better employed than in the
centre of the capital animating the enthusiasm of the
troops, and drinking unlimited liquor to keep up its own ?
The arrangement was so obviously good that it was renewed
to-day. The Parisians have been at it again all this Sunday
with undiminished spirit. It is but just to say that
pretty good order was kept. There was no violence,
though there was abundance of noise. The police did not
intei fere—indeed, any little eccentricities in the shape of
revolutionary singing were readily tolerated in considera-
tion of the general, clear, and palpable patriotism to be
observed on all sides.

This unanimity extends itself to the press. There is n
hesitation—no backwardness—no arriere penste. The
Republicans forget their animosity, and the philosophers
--for we have philosophers of the Paris press—cast their
philosophy to the winds. The articles of the English
journals, it is noticeable, are all thrown aside; they
condemn the conduct of France, and are not,
therefore, fit for patriotic columns. Judging by
present appearances, very little English public opinion
will circulate in France—at all events not until the origin
of the war fades out of sight, and we are all lost in the ex-
citement of the actual struggle. The Siecle, which on
Friday afternoon cut out a number of pacific exhortations,
"in face of a situation which exists no longer," now ap-
pears beaming with warlike fervour. " War," it says,
" imposes upon all French journalists duties which we,
for our part, know how to fulfil. Republicans,
we shall not forget that our party has been called
since 1792, the patriotic party. Now that the sword is drawn,
there is for Frenchmen but one obligation—imperative
and sacred—to defend the fatherland."—The Debats : "All
political dissension ought to be effaced in France at this
moment before the grave events which are preparing in
Europe, and the decided partisans of peace ought to become
the most firm allies of their former opponents. Whilst the
question remained open, and there was any hope of
influencing people's minds, it was the duty of every good
citizen to express, without reserve, and without hesitation,
his preferences, and the reasons on which he founded
them. We have fulfilled that duty. To-day that the deci-
sion is against peace and in favour of war, all that remains
is to offer to our soldiers and to the enemy the spectacle
of union." The Temps speaks in these terms :—" The
Government has requested the newspapers to abstain from
all indiscretion relative to the movements of troops.
That warning was scarcely necessary. It is a
strict and patriotic duty, which everybody recognises,
and from which no one dreams of departing." It is needless
to quote any of the effervescence which finds abundant
vent in the columns of the Patric, the Liberte, and the
Constitutionnel. In the eyes of these Government organs
the war is. of course, the most righteous of undertakings.
It has the special protection of Providence, and, what is
scarcely less remarkable, the unanimous sanction of men.
It is worthy of note that the Constitutionnel of to-day
publishes a letter from London, speaking of the profound
excitement with which the fatal news was received in the
British capital. It sneers at the general current of opii.ion
in England, and quotes only an extract from the Standard,
in which the Conservative paper expresses the opinion
that France is decidedly the stronger of the two parties.
Similarly the journals are quoting :anti-Bismarckian
articles in some of the South German papers, though it is
now pretty evident that the States south of the Mein will
take part with Prussia, and that any manifestation of
opinion against Bismarck has no bearing on the more im-
mediate issue. But nothing but praise and flattery of
France finds acceptance here. It is evident that the war
disease will have its course.

THE FRENCH ARMY.
STRASBOURG, SATURDAY.

It is easy to understand that under existing circum-
stances we are obliged to preserve silence respecting the
military measures which may be taken in the two depart-
ments of the Rhine. Alsace may become one of Prussia's
objects of attack, and it is therefore our duty
not to direct attention to the measures which may
be taken, whether for attack or defence. We may, how-
ever, state some important facts, and correct some
erroneous statements, without doing any mischief. The
gates of the town were closed last night at
ten o'clock—the officials gave notice of the fact
to those persons who passed in and out, but
nevertheless several who did not understand or did
not believe it, were shut out or shut in. Access to the
ramparts at several places is forbidden, and persons who
infringed this order have been arrested. Passage by steam-
boat andby rail between Strasbourg and Kehl, is still free,
but it was interrupted by the withdrawal of the three vessels
nearest the Bavarian frontier. They have been replaced.
The commandant at Strasbourg has issued the folloing•
notice :—" Strasbourg being in a state of war, the gates of
the city will be closed at nine o'clock in the.evening and
opened at four in the morning. In the public interests,
and according to an old local custom, the municipal bell
will be rung every evening before closing the gates.
Passage on the platform of the ramparts is henceforward
interdicted by night and day.—The Colonel Commandant,
DUCASSE."

ALGIERS, FRIDAY.

Orders have been received and executed for the concen-
tration of the special troops of the African army, with
the exception of the regiments of Spakis, at the ports of
embarkationof Algeria, Aran, Mostanagem, Philippeville,
Bove and Stora. We are going to send the following
troops to France before the Ist of August :—Six thousand
Zouaves of the Ist, 2nd, and 3rd regiments of the line,
7,000 Algerian riflemen, and 4,000 men of
the foreign regiment as well as 16 squadrons,
2,000 cavalry of the Ist, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
Chasseurs d'Afrique, nearly 3,000 mules, and as many
soldiers of the military train. These troops will constitute
a magnificent corps Warm& of 17,000 to 18,000 foot
soldiers, and 2,000 cavalry, Notwithstanding this groat
diminution of the African army, and thanks to the
French regiments, which are now acclimatised and remain
in the three provinces, the generals commandants of the
divisions answer for the tranquillity of the colony.
Marshal Macmahon is in Paris and will put himself at
the head of the Ist Corps. There is no talk of the return
of Generals Durrien, Poiircet de Wimffen, and Perigot
to France. The expedition to the south of the province of
Aran has amply demonstrated that there is no need to
anticipate a recurrence of the Morocco disturbances con-
stantly fomented during several years past by the fanati-
cal Ouled-Sidi-Scheiks.

MEDIATION OF THE BRITISH
GOVERNMENT.

The London correspondent of the Manchester Guardian
says that a last attempt was made by our Government to
stay the effusion of blood. After the strong expression of
opinion on Friday in the House of Commons by Mr. Disraeli,
as head of the Conservative party, adverse to the precipitate
conduct of France, Ministers felt justified in once more urg-
ing, through our Ambassador at Paris, the danger and de-
triment to all Europe of a deadly conflict on the Rhine.
Lord Lyons and Lord Augustus Loftus were simuh
taneously instructed to offer the mediation of England.
The co-operation of the Czar has, I believe, been invited ;
but the case seemed so urgent that it was judged expe-
dient not to wait for exchange of communications
with St. Petersburg. It is still matter of doubt
whether a military convention does not secretly exist
between the two Northern Powers ; and it is still more
open to doubt whether Russia, though evading all re-
sponsibility for the present embroglio, may not regard as
propitious to her particular aims the committal of France
to a life-and-death struggle on the Rhine. Engaged in
war with Prussia, France will no longer have a man or a
ship to spare for the protection of the Porte ; and Prince
Gortchakoff may not unreasonably entertain a hope that
now Lord Palmerston is dead the English Government
would hesitate even longer than it did in 1854 to
go to war for the integrity of the Ottoman empire.
The effect on Italy of a proclamation of war on the Rhine
is certain to be electrical. Both the belligerents will bid
high for support, and it is clear that the evacuation of
Rome is all that France will really have to
offer. Before a week you will see a general
movement throughout the Peninsular to put a pressure on
the Government of Victor Emmanuel to this end ; the
local provocation being the promulgation of the dogma of
infallibility and the public imposition of the syllabus.
The Birmingham Post publishes the following special
telegram :

"At the Cabinet Council on Saturday, one last gleam
of hope remained. No official declaration of war had been
received from the French Government ; and no declaration
of neutrality could be issued by her Majesty's Government;
the telegraph was therefore set to work in the hope
that by joint representations to Paris and Berlin the last
dread arbitrament of war might be averted. The question
put by our Foreign Office to Lord Lyons was, " Will the
French Government suspend hostilities for a few hours
until the English Cabipet can communicate with Berlin."
Presuming that the an§wer would be in the affirmative,the
English ambassador was instructed to intimate that a
satisfactory explanation of the supposed insult to M.
Benedetti might formally be received from Berlin. The
telegraph was simultaneously put in motion with Ber-
lin. The question here asked was whether the
King would object to give assurance that he had no
desire to wound the susceptibility of the French nation or
to offer an insult to the Emperor in his interview with
M. Benedetti. Our relations with the Prussian Royal
Family are so intimate, that representations, both
official and non-official, but not the less in-
fluential, could be employed. In order that no
effort might be left untried, it was also decided
that Mr. Disraeli's suggestion should be acted upon. Our
ambassadors at Paris and Berlin have therefore been
instructed to point out to the courts to which ti ey
are accredited that, as they ought and were satisfied with
Lord Stanley's arbitration in the matter of Luxemburg,
her Majesty's Government have a right to expect that
their friendly mediation will be accepted in the present
difficulty. The argument may not be worth much, but it
at least enables Lord Granville to remind the French
Government that English Conservatives and Liberals are
absolutely at one in condemning the precipitation of
France."

THE SMALLER AND NEUTRAL STATES.
While negotiations were pending between France and
Prussia, Belgium, naturally uneasy at her position, be-
gan preparations for defence. Since the day when all
hope of peace was lost these preparations were hurried
on. The Belgian army, which. reckons on paper 60;000
men, has been put on a war footing. The troops have
been massed at Antwerp, whose fortress and camp are
no less famous for their strategic strength than for the ex-
citement which their construction created in the country.
It is reported that detachmentshave been posted along the
French frontier at Quievrain, at Drivant, and at Mon-
scrou. The Patric, in making these statements, says :
"We are convinced B
We
has only one object—to
ensure heir neutrality. We congratulate her, but King
Leopold and the Cabinet recently inaugurated, must not
forget that this neutrality ought to be energetically and
equitably protected against all the world, and that the
means of defence are absolutely identical on both sides.
We do not believe the rumours that the Belgian Crown
and Government has expressed opinions which a neutral
power has no right to acknowledge. The Court intrigues
which surround the King will not influence his mind. He
is bound to remember his people, whose interests the least
movement on his part may seriously compromise. The
sovereign of a nation whose foreign sympathies are more
diverse than its internal politics, his duty and his interest
alike compel him to observe a neutrality so strict and
absolute that neither his subjects nor his neighbours can
so much as guess the feelings of the King and his family."
The government of the Netherlands has been assured by
the belligerents that the neutrality of their country will
be respected. Nevertheless the Minister of War has
ordered all the levies from 1866 to 1869 to join before the
20th, and the troops will take up their position on
the frontier. Denmark, it is announced, intends to
remain neutral. This course, indeed, is likely to be fol-
lowed by the smaller powers, not directly implicated in
the war, and the prevailing idea seems so be the pre-
servation of their neutrality. From Berne we hear
that five divisions of the Federal army have been placed
on a war footing, and all other divisions de piquet. The
Chambers have expressed their unanimous approval of
these precautionary measures, and have granted the
Council full powers to take any further steps which may
be necessary, opening an unlimited credit. The special
correspondent of the Telegraph speaks of a coalition of
France, Holland, and Denmark against Prussia.
The French Government has sent a threatening
message to the South German Governments, requiring
them to forward within twenty-four hours a declaration
whether they intend to remain neutral.
It is reported from Madrid that an extension of the
Regent's powers for three years is in contemplation, and
that Marshal Prim intends going to Vichy. The Presi-
dent of the Cortes has notified to the deputies that the
Cortes will not be required to assemble on the 20th as
fixed, as the candidature of the Prince of Hohenzollern is
no longer the order of the day. The Prussian Minister
has, it is said, been sent by the Prussian Government to
the Azores to give the squadron notice of the war.
The London Figaro learns that Government has
ordered • 10,000 British troops to hold themselves in
readiness to proceed to Belgium, in view of any even-
tualities that may arise, should the neutrality of Belgium
be disregarded.