The Sun.
London, England, 1870-09-14 00:00:00

THE WAR.

PARIS AND THE PROSPECTS OF PEACE.

PARIS, MONDAY.

The pews that the American Minister at Berlin has
been instructed by his Government to mediate in favour
of peace, is the excitement of the day. It has created
immense sensation in diplomatic and official circles. The
Prussians are steadily advancing on Paris by Compiegne
and by Nanteuil. Their advance posts were last night at
Lagny and M.elun. The French are working night
and day for the defence of the capital, and declare
that, if Paris be reduced to ruins, they will not sur-
render. The streets are threnged with Gardes
Mobiles arriving from all parts of the country. None
with the exception of those from Brittany, b.ive as
yet itceived improved sloes: The detached forts of Paris
were constructed- to mount 4-1152 guns, of w.hteh 135 are
mortars, The &Ice:tate cos mount 1,,226 gime. The Prus-
sian Army Cerps received orders to be in position an the.
14th instant. Their rapid advance will, without doubt,
end:bk. them to best, ; but the weeks fort the defence of
the capital have been pushed on with such energy that the
garrison will be in a fit state to repel attack. The de-
fences for the viaduct et Bercy ate much advanced. the
Seine barred with boats and pitetts, and paved with
torpedoes. Gunboats are in waiting near Bercy.
The authorities are confident that mine of
the enemy AA)} return to their own country.
A further delay or the payment of commercial bills,
until the 14th October, has been decreed by the Govern-
ment.

The gardens of the Tuileries are occupied by the
artillery of General Vinoy's corps, encamped therein. The
outskirts are crowded with troops, the Palais d'lndustrie is
filled with artillery and gendarmes, the theatres are ordered
to be closed and arranged for the reception of troops.
Within but a few days. all expect that a
struggle will be .aging, unparalleled for ferocity in the
annals of the world. The Fench are becoming more and
more determined to fight to their last man. The threats
of women against the Prussians are loud and deep. Until
Sedan the enemy had but the army to contend with : they
have now the people, who have risen ea ?nave. The last
train for Lyons leaves this afternoon. The employes of
the Minister of the Interior, M. Gambetta, have started
to-day for Tours, which is to be the seat of the Diplomatic
Body in case of siege, though some accounts have it that
several Ambassadors are so anxious to maintain their
direct relations with the Government that they will not
leave the capital in any case. M. Jules Favre, who was
to have left for Tours, will, it is said, remain. Life in
Paris just now is becoming no easy matter. Every day
the price of provisions grows higher, and the old unpopu-
lar tax on butchers' meat Is reimposed. Another decree
provides that rations shall be provided by the munici-
palities for such of the National Guards as may apply for
them, andcredit for I,ooo,ooofra. Is opened for this purpose
at the Ministry of the Interior.
There are conflicting stores about Garibaldi. One is
that he has offered his services to the Republic, at the
head of fifteen thousand volunteers ; another, that he is
ill at Caprera; another, that the Provisional Government
had informed him that his presence would just now be
dangerous on French soil. The following letter from him,
dated Caprera, September 7, has been published

" To MY FRlENte.—Yesterday I said 'to you, war to
the knife against Bonaparte. To-day, I say we must
help the French Republic by everypossible means. Myself
an invalid, I have offered my services to the Provisional
Government of Paris, and I hope that it will not be im-
possible for me to discharge my duty. Yes, my fellow-
citizens, we must regard it as a sacred duty to hell:, our
brothers of France. Our mission will not certainly con-
sist in fighting those German brethren who have been the
instruments of Providence to overthrow in the dust the
tyranny which oppressed the world; but we go to support
the only system which can secure the peace and prosperity
of nations. I repeat, sustain by all possible means that
French Republic which, rendered wise by the lessons of
the past, will be one of the chief pillars of human regene-
ration. 4`GARIBALDI."

Speaking of letters the Partriarital publishes an extra-
ordinary epistle said to have been sent by the Czar to the
Prussian King. "My dear uncle,—l wish for peace,
300,000 men of my army await your reply on the banks
of the Vistula." This letter is given In connection with
an anecdote of two Russian ladies who were on intimate
terms with some members of the Russian Embassy. The'
ladies in.cprestion were to have left Paris yesterday for St.
Petersburg to avoid the siege, bat at the last moment they
suddenly declared that they would not go and they began
unpacking their bons. When, questioned asto the reason
they replied that ab the embassy they had been assured
that peace was imminent, and had been told of this won-
derful epistle. It is certain that whatever the issue of
events the Parisians are determined on resistance, if
besieged. To-day, at mid-day, a solitary individual was
haranguing is group of persona in the Rue Montmartre,
maintaining ghat resistance was useless, and that Paris
had better surrender. His eloquence was cut short by
some bystanders, who carried him off to the
authorities. A crowd followed crying, "He is
a Prussian spy?' "He is worse than that !"
said a young girl of ben or twelve summers. "He
is a Parisian who is afraid t" The shouts which followed
tested the popular appreciation of this sally, and the
measureless contempt felt for the Peace at any Price
advocate,
The intervention of the neutral powers is the only thing
likely to avert the crisis, and on this subject there is as
yet no definite information. In some quarters the estab-
lishment of a Republic is supposed to assist the peace
negotiations, in others it is thought to delay them. Rus-
sian sympathies are certainly not Republican, yet the
interference of the great Muscovite Power on behalf
of France is confidently looked for. Russia is said to he
particularly anxious to have a European Congress, in
order to obtain a modification of the Treaty of 1856, which
she has already suggested to the Porte, but which
the latter declared she could not alter singly.
It is believed that if Prussia opposes her
wishes, Russia's displeasure will be very plainly mani-
fested.

The North East Correvondence publishes a communica-
tion from Constantinople on this subject, stating that at
the same time that Russia requested the revision of the
Treaty, General Ignatieft asked that several Russian
frigates then cruising In the Mediterranean, which had
not time to regain the Baltic, might pass the Darda-
nelles and Bosphorus, and take refuge in a Russian
port on the Btack Sea. The Grand Vizier made the same
reply to both requests. The Porte, he said, could not act
separately on amatter decidedin aEuropean Congress. The
Russian requests troubled the Turkish councils not a
little since though Ali Pacha was determined to uphold
the rights of the Porte, all the Ministers, with the excep-
tion of the Minister of the Interior, wished to make all
possible concessions to Russia. Ali Pacha in consequence,
tendered his resignation to the Sultan, who did not accept
it, and took days to reflect. After a long conversation
with the Sultan, however, Ali Pacha withdrew his resig-
nation, and is stronger in his post than ever. What
effect this imbroglio will have on French interests remains
to be seen.

The Figaro publishes a letter from a captain of the
Garde Mobile at Laon, in which it la stated that the
honour of blowing up the citadel of Laon does not belong
either to General Ternin or to Commandant de Chayelles,
but to the artillery guard. He says the farmer were both
to blame for surrendering the garrison, which was well
stored with provisions and with munitions of war.

The Liberte makes mention of M. Thiers's mission to
England, Austria, and Russia, and declares that in meeting
M. Thiers the foreign Governments will recognise that
they have all France before them. it does not, however,
pretend to say What may be the result of his mission,
because the state of affairs is so singular, but it maintains
that France is in peril of death, and that M. niers is
representing her in the hopes of saving her. , Those who
examine the signatures which are put to the official acts
will see that Republican, Liberal, Radical, Parliamentary,
and Military, France have joined together to send to
foreign Courts a Frenchman, and such a mission must
inspire faith.

The Federal Council of Switzerland has addresed a
circular to the Government of the Cantons, which refers
to the recent changes in France, and the new powers that
are in force there. Switzerland has always acknowledged
the right of a people to have the government of their
choice, and as France has proclaimed herself a Republic,
they are ready and willing to recognise her as such. They
declare their belief that the good understanding which
has prevailed during centuries between France and
Switzerland will still continue to flourish and
that the bonds of unity will be more strongly cemented
by the common desire for, free institutions. The sympathy
of the Swim for the new rime has assumed a practimi