The Sun.
London, England, 1870-10-28 00:00:00

CONFERRING OF DEGREES.

THE CAPITULATION OF METZ,
Metz has fallen at last, not to our surprise. The pious
King of Prussia telegraphs to the Queen that Bazaine
and 150,000 prisoners, including 20,000 sick and wounded,
have capitulated, and is good enough to thank Provi-
dence for his good fortune. The first question
for which one naturally seeks an answer is, do
the 150,000 prisoners include women, children,
and non-combatants'? The second question which
suggests itself is, why did Bazaine surrender? We do
not care to go deeply into the matter until after the
receipt of fuller information than we now possess ; still
we cannot restrain a few fleeting thoughts on the subject.
Did the capitulation take place for civil or for military
reasons? The military arguments did not seem to be
conclusively in favour of a capitulation. Bread was raid
to be out—that which had been served lately had been
largely made of bran and reduced in quantity ; salt
was absent—scurvy had consequently ensued; the sheep
and oxen had been devoured, and disease raged. On the
other hand, horseflesh and potatoes remained, and the be-
siergera also suffered seriously from fever and dysentery,
and the garrison consisted, if we may venture to believe
the word of the King of Prussia, of 130,000 effective men.
It is with difficulty that we can bring ourselves to believe
that an army of that strength, its ranks filled fer
the most part with trained and veteran soldiers,
the very pick of the French forces, should surrender to an
army which was, at the utmost, only 50 per cent. stronger.
Marshal Bazaine has done good service to his country in
detaining for upwards of two months troops half as nu-
merous again as his own, still, looking at the matter from
a merely military point of view, the denouement of the
gallant defence is not satisfactory. It is surely
fair to judge the French according to their own
standard ; and taking as such the conduct of their
troops in the Peninsular war, we do not consider that
the successes of the latter have in any of the siegeS
which have taken place in this campaign displayed the
tenacity which their country expected and had a right
to expect from them. As the Yankees say, there has
been a great deal of tall-talk, but the number of bis-
cuits in the captured fortresses intervening between the
last consumed and the last in store would suffice
to victual a corps d'armee for a year. The defiance of
the enemy on his first appearance before a fortress has
been bold enough, and the defence, up to a certain
point, has been gallant and enterprising ; but that
certain point being arrived at, a remarkable collapse
has taken place. it would really seem as if the motives
by which the French troops have been actuated were
only superficial, and that the instant a real severe
strain on the moral forces took place French energy gave
way. Their resolution has been like their own cham-
pagne, which sparkles and effervesces at first, but soon
becomes flat. We fear there can be little doubt but
that the whole nation is demoralised and requires edu-
cation. Now the education of nation is not the
affair of a day, but requires, under the most, favour,
able circumstance, at least a generation. To re-
turn to Metz ; what effect will its surrender have on the
war? Making every reasonable deduction for losses by
sickness and sorties, and the troops required to hold
Metz, the capitulation of Marshal Bazaine will set free
at least 120,000 Prussians for active operations in the
field. We shrewdly suspect that a portion of this
force is urgently wanted at Paris, but allowing
that half is retained for service in the open field,
60,000 men added to Werder's forces in the
Vosges, or despatched against Bourbaki, will roll the line
of defence either in the south or the north back to the
very extremities of France, unless a supreme effort be at
once made. What, then, will be the plan of operations
of the French now that the left arm--Parris being the
right arm—of France has been crippled ? A pitched
battle before Besancon. or Lille fought a week
hence could only result in another crushing disaster.
What, then, should the French do ? if General
Werder can be crushed within the next few days by
General Cambriels, strengthened by reinforcements from
Lyons, or if the army of the Loire can annihilate Von
der Tann before he can fall back on the Crown Prince,
a valuable respite will be obtained ; but we doubt whether
either the army of the Rhone or that of the Loire is
prepared to act with the promptitude and energy re-
quired. As to Bourbaki, he will be in no position to
strike a serious blow for another fortnight. What, then,
we ask, should the French plan be ? in our opinion, the
war should be carried on in a strictly defensive manner
at present. Armies should be collected in the south, the
south-west, the west, and the north, and organised at
spots safe from the attacks of the enemy. In front of
each army should be a screen of irregular troops
under a skilful officer, responsible to no one but the
commander of the army he covers. Every town and
village on the enemy's line of advance should carefully be
'fortified, and should receive a commandant and engineer
officer. Every road and bridge, the destruction of which
would impede the progress of the Prussians, sirmld be
destroyed ; and, as in Portugal, during one part of the
Peninsula war, provisions, means of transport,
&c., should be removed from every spot within
thirty miles of the enemy, or should be destroyed. A
zone of desolation should surround the army besieging
Paris, and the efforts of the French should be directed to
flying at the throat of Prussian cummunieation by harass-
ing convoys between the Rhine and Meaux. The number
of Franc-tireurs should not be unlimited, and they
should be org,aniseu in regular bands under picked
officers, each band independent, but under the
general control of the commander-in-chief or the
nearest army. Every Mobile, every mobilised Na-
tional Guard. every regular soldier, should be massed_
and to the Sedentary National Guard, aided by the
nearest corps of Franc-tireurs, should the defence of towns
and villages be left. All these should be fortified, and not
merely with that Republican imbecility, a barricade.
Works capable of resisting field artillery can be easily
thrown up, and obstacles such as abattis and inundations
can quickly be constructed. There is a deficiency
of guns, but this evil can be partially remedied by making
stone fougasses and mines in advance of the works. The
whole population being bound to take arms, every village
ought within twenty-four hours to be placed in such a
state of defence as to be able to hold out against anything
under a division for at least one day.—Standurd.

At a congregation held at Cambridge, the following
degrees were conferred :—D.D., jure dignitatus, Charles
Merival (John's), Dean of Ely; M.A., Roscoe Hawthorn
(Trinity), Reginald Mothershead Hulbert (Caius),
Henry Martin (Clare), Baring Baring Gould
(Edmond), Vincent Pigott (John's), Heaton Rossall
(Corpus), G. H. de Clare Sheddert (Trinity Hall), Edwin
Evers, William Inchbald (Catherine's), John Henry Hind
(Christ's). M.A. in absence :—R. C. Baker (Trinity).
U. C. Finlay (Trinity). L.L.M :—Lyttleton Steward,
Winslow Downing.

SUICIDE OF A COMMERCIAL TRAVELLER

Metz fell yesterday, after a blockade which has lasted
just seventy days from the date of the decisive battle of
Gravelotte—the 18th of August. The surrender
of Bazaine was emphatically a foregone con-
clusion; for at no time, even the time of
his first investment, was there any force iu the field
sufficient to overcome the resistance of the Crown Prince's
army, and extricate the brave but luckless Marshal.
From the first—nay, even earlier than the first, if the
phrase may be allowed—we have looked on Metz as only
an Ulm deferred; the battle of the 16th August made it
clear that Bazaine was cut off from military communi-
cation with Paris, and that, since he had failed to cut
his way through to Verdun, his alternative was star-
vation or surrender. Along with Marshal Bazaiue, Mar-
shal Canrobert, and Marshal Lebceuf, General Frossard,
General Decaen, and General Ladinirault, 150,000 men
were yesterday afternoon to lay down their arms—includ-
ing the garrison of the fortress ; and of this number no
fewer than 20,000 are said to be sick and wounded. Since
the garrison could not have numbered less than
25,000 or 30,000 men, the remanent strength of the Army
of the the Rhine would appear to be about 120,000 or
125,000 men—very near the figure at which it was calcu-
lated just after the battle of Gray elotte. It consists of
four Corps : the Second, once under General Frossard,
which suffered so heavily at Spicheren and Forbach ;
the Third, originally under Bazaine himself, but
subsequently transferred to General Decaen ; the Fourth,
under General Ladmirault ; and the Imperial Guard,
commanded until very recently by General Bourbaki. By
the surrender of Metz, besides sundry divisions of Land-
wehr, seven German Corps d'Armee aro set free
for service elsewhere—the First, Second, Third,
Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth ; their collec-
tive strength, allowing for all losses during tie battles and
the blockade, amounting with the Landwehr, probably to
not less than 180,000. For some days a part of this
force must remain about Metz, to see to the evacuation
of the vast body of prisoners, and occupy the for-
tress. But there is nothing to prevent 100,000 men
from being at once moved into Central Fiance ; and in
that case things will go hard with the Arwies of the Loire
and of Lyons, and with the good people of Rouen and
Amiens—unless the striking event of yesterday should
Iconvince the Provisional Government that the last chance
has vanished.—Telegraph.

At eight a.m. yesterday morning a commercial traveller,
named George Campbell, apparently about fifty years old
was found dead in his bedroom at the Clinton Arms
Hotel, Newark, with his head nearly severed from his
body. Two razors were found, and there is no doubt that
he committed suicide. He travelled for Messrs. Fey, the
proprietors of an Irish poplin house at Dublin. When he
arrived at the Clinton Arms on Wednesday afternoon he
complained of extreme nervousness, and asked for a back
bedroom.

A. correspoudent of the Standard traces the pedi-
gree of the late General Lee with the object of proving
that he descended from an old English family of note and
reputation.

-
The other day an enterprising Englishman presented
himself to M. Glais-Bizoin, and offered to supply the
Government with two hundred thousand Remington
rifles. He stated that he had these arms in stock, and
would dispose of them at a very moderate price. "So
you have purchased these arms from Mr. Remington ?"
inquired M. Glais-Bizoin. " Oh, yes ; some time back,"
was the reply. The bell was rung, and the servant told
to beg that a gentleman who was outside the door would
walk in, when who should this be but Mr. Remington him-
self 1 The man who had cheap Remingtom to eels imme.
diately took hie leave,

THE sUN, LONDON, FRIDAI, ocroBER 28, t 876

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II E It

MAJESTY.
BALMOItAL, OCT. 25.
The Queen, accompanied by Princess Beatrice, drove
to the Glassalt Shiel.
The Marchioness of Ely was in attendance.
Prince Leopold went out driving.