The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-20 00:00:00

THE WA',

THE SIEGE OF PARIS.

TREATMENT OF GERMAN OFFICERS.
Besides the evidence of French prisoners taken in the"
late sorties, there is the testimony of several general offi
Cers who have been in Paris, to prove that the food sup"
plies are far from exhausted. The Times' correspondent'
says :—Yesterday there arrived within our lines four Ger-
man officers who had been taken prisoners outside Paris/
and who had been exchanged against four French officers
taken in some part of the South, where' the army of the
Loire had been engaged. One of those German officers
states that nothing could have been better than their
treatment while under detention. They were kept int
Paris for several days, but not on prison fare or " short,
commons." He himself had dined with two French
Generals, and the dinner and dessert were excellent.
Several dishes of meat were served, two of theta
being roast beef and veal. He was taken about to
different restaurants, pour s'amuser, and his bill at
those establishments, as well as his carriage hire,
were paid by his jailors. But that is not all-
No amount of misfortune makes a French gentleman
forget that courteous consideration for which he is sa
eminently remarkable. It was suggested that it would
not be convenient for the German officers to go about.
Paris in their uniform, and each prisoner was presented
with a thousand francs to provide himself with mufti. AV
this was done in the handsomest manner—in such a waY
that the officers could not decline. The attentions were
offered with a delicacy that forbade refusal. I hope such
politeness will be duly reciprocated.

TIIE PARIS NATIONAL GU 'kW).
The whole force of armed men may be roughly estimar
ted at a strength of 520,000, divided into three armies—
the first of which is commanded by General CliSment
Thomas, the second by General DucrOt, and the third by
General Vinoy. Let us take them seriattrra
according to their numbers. General Thomas's
army is more numerous than the other two
put together ; it consists of about 300,000 men,
chiefly composed of National Guards, or Gardes
takes. There are 266 battalions of these, the battalions
varying in strength from twelve to seventeen hundred
'men. Since Thomas was appointed to his command, a•
system of elimination has been adopted, which is gradually
converting the civic force into an army fit to take
the field. From each battalion 500 men are
chosen—the unmarried members ; and, having been'
equipped and armed at the Palais de l'lndustri6
as regulars, exchanging all their " piston " rifles against.
the " tabatieres " and Chassepots of their comrades who,
remaining in the old battalion happened to be armed with
improved weapons—they are formed into regiments of
three battalions, on the approved army footing, and sent
out to join the troops belonging to the Second Army ; in
fact, they are transferred from one army to the other'
The new regiments are commanded by colonels pro-
moted from the " commandants" formerly in charge of
" Sedentaire " battalions ; and those battalions retain their
original formation, though with thinned ranks, which,
again, however, are steadily being filled up by volunteers
of all ages and ranks. Forty thousand of these new
mobilised troops, or twenty " regiments de marche," have
already been sent forth to join the regulars and.
Moblots in the field ; and forty thousand more will be
ready to follow thoir example in ten days or a fortnight.
The Gardes S4dentaires serve on the ramparts of the
enceinte, and hold a good many posts, or guards, in the
city, at the public offices, Government storehouses, hos-
pitals, and municipal bureaux. Only five batteries of
artillery properly belong to General Thomas's army ; but
great efforts are being made to strengthen it in this
respect,—Correspondent of Telegraph.