The Sun.
London, England, 1870-07-21 00:00:00

THE PROCLAMATION OP NEUTRALITY.

The expected Proclamation of Neutrality appears
in Tuesday's Gazette, and warns the loyal subjects of
the Queen to observe a strict neutrality in and
during the war between France and Prussia, and to
respect in the contending sovereigns the exercise of
those belligerent rights which the Queen and her
royal predecessors have themselves always claimed
to exercise. The Proclamation recites part of the
statute of George 111., 59, which forbids the fitting
out, equipment, or arming of any ship for
the service of any foreign prince or state against the
powers of government, in any country with which
her Majesty is not at war, under penalty of the for-
feiture of the ship and the conviction of the offender
for misdemeanour. Under the same act it is prohi-
bited to increase the number of guns on board
foreign war vessels in the British ports under
similar penalties. The breaking of blockades law-
fully and actually established on behalf of either of
the contending sovereigns, the carrying of soldiers,
despatches, arms, or military stores of any kind are
alsorigidly forbidden, those who infringe the law doing
so at their own risk. Earl Granville has also addressed
a letter to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty,
to the Treasury, Home, Colonial, War, and Indian
Offices, laying down rules for the maintenance of
neutrality, and the prevention of the usage of her
Majesty's harbours, ports, and coasts for warlike
purposes. No ships of war of either belligerent
shall be permitted to leave a British port within
twenty-four hours of the departure of the ship of
another belligerent. Any ship of war of either bel-
ligerent shall be required to put to sea as soon as
possible after entering a British port. No such
vessel shall be allowed to take in any supplies, except
provisions and things necessary for the subsistence
of her crew, in her Majesty's ports, and coal shall
only be supplied under certain restrictions. Armed
ships from either party are interdicted from carrying
prizes into any of her Majesty's ports.

THE SORROWS OF " OUR SPECIAL."

The efforts made by the London papers to send
representatives with the French and Prussian armies
have altogether failed. The military correspondent
of the Daily News gives an account of his endeavours
to get the permission of the authorities to accom-
pany the French army to the field. Having ob-
tained a letter of introduction to M. 011ivier, he
attended at that gentleman's house, and with some
difficulty, owing to the obtuseness of the
domestics, succeeded in getting an inter-
view with the Prime Minister. But to the
dismay of " our correspondent," he learnt that Gene-
ral Leboeuf objected, not only to all foreign corres-
pondents, but to French ones also. In vain did the
applicant point out that the effect of the exclusion
of correspondents on one side would be to engage the'
sympathies of their countrymen on the other—in
vain was it pointed out that in 1866 during the
war between Austria and Prussia, although the
disposition of England was at the commencement
in favour of the former power, her treatment
of the corrrespondents caused the feeling
to become modified, if not altogether re-
versed. M. 011ivier acquiesced to some
extent with the arguments, and promised to report
them to General Lebceuf, but from what has tran-
spired it is feared that the permission sought for will
not be granted. In fact the Morning Post states
that the denials have been absolute from both sides.
The public will not therefore be able to receive the
intelligence from the seat of war with that rapidity
and completeness which has hitherto made the
English press the most trustworthy dispenser of
information.