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

THE CAPITULATION.

When the surrender was agreed to it was arranged that
the gates of the town should be guarded by Prussian and
Baden detachments, at eight on the morning of Wednes-
day, September 28. This order, however, was not carried
out, and a Prussian major who went to report himself at
the headquarters of General von Mertens in Strasburg,
found the gates closed. He climbed over and fell into
the hands of the whole of the garrison, who were assemb-
ling to march out as prisoners of war. He incurred
great danger. Several guns were pointed at him;
but he ultimately got safely through to the
citadel, and was immediately led into the presence of
General Uhrich. The Cologne Gazette says that after the
French commander had learned the details respecting the
manner in which the major had come into his presence,
the general offered him his most sincere con-
gratulations that he was still alive. "The general
continued by saying, It is a great consolation
for me on this my day of tribulation and sorrow
to find such an example of the heroism of my
enemy, as with such officers and men impossibilities
even are impossible.' General Uhrich kept the Prussian
officer by his side, and at ten o'clock
.the curious inci-
dent occurred that the generals and staff officers of Stras-
burg could not meet the general at the time stated on
account of the four sentries posted by the Prussian major,
who had given strict orders that no one was to pass in or
out without an order from him, and this order was carried
out to the very letter. In the course of conversation
General Uhrich said, ' I was always under the impression
that the French had an extraordinarily good artillery, but
they do not bear any comparison with yours, as witness
the battered bastions and the dismounted cannon ; your
artillery fire has destroyed everything.' After we had
seen the shattered bastions, the enormous breaches in
which were plainly visible on close inspection, we had to
acknowledge the justice of the general's remarks. The
effects of our guns have been indescribably terrible, and
had the town not capitulated it would only have been able
to hold out a couple of days at most."

One of the residents said that it was common for a
shell to fall where children were at play, to kill some and
to deprive others of legs arms, or fingers. The number of
wounded children is very large. On the other hand, it is
satisfactory to know that the hospital arrangements have
been very good.
The German troops grew very tired of the siege before it
terminated. One Sapper said to a correspondent, "I was in
the Bohemian campaign, and before that in the Schleswig-
Holstein campaign, and that ought to have been enough.
The siege of Duppel was bad enough, but this is worse.
They keep me groping in the earth for twenty-four hours
at a time. Yesterday we came to a mine, took the powder
out, and replaced it by sand. That was well done, but
there are sure to be other mines close by, and if there are
not, we are now so close to the wall that our own projec-
tiles fly back upon us, so that we run more danger from
our own fire than from that of the enemy."

AFFAIRS IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.
The correspondent of the Independance Beige, writing
from Marseilles, says, "Marseilles is rejoiced to hear of
the pacification of Lyons, but here is General Cluseret,
scarcely released by the Lyonnese authorities, who is com-
ing to Marseilles to organise his revolutionary league of
the south. It is rumoured he has been arrested at Aix.
What is certain is that the Jacobin and Socialist revolu-
tion has, by dividing the citizens, and alarming
peaceable men, kept them at home, and thereby
favoured the Prussians. The situation of the two fore-
most towns of the province, Lyons and Marseilles, has
contributed not a little to leaving unfortunate Strasburg
isolated and without help. Lyons has within its walls, or
in its environs, 30,000 good soldiers. Marseilles and
Toulon have garrisons which might have joined the little
army of Lyons. There were more than enough to relieve
Strasburg, which was only besieged by 60,000 men, for
the town had 17,000 defenders. It would have
sufficed to cut through the blockading line,
and introduce the munitions of war which were wanting.
But so great was the confusion and inconsistency in the
official measures, that instead of expediting troops into
Alsace, 7,000 or 8,000 men of the Line were sent from
Marseilles and Toulon, to reinforce the African army,
which did not require them. The Prefect of Constantine
had telegraphed to Marseilles that the Arabs were per-
fectly tranquil, and chewed the best disposi-
tions. The natives are only anxious to avenge
their brothers who have died in the service
of France, and if it had been desired, masses of Arab
horsemen would have been forthcoming, as well as Kabyle
foot soldiers. Toulon is being armed. A strange rumour
is spreading through the South. It is said that a new
South German army is being formed to invade these parts,
and that a great number of Russians have enlisted in it.
On the contrary, the fact is that Russia begins to fear the
increase of German Power, and remembers that she has
on the Baltic three provinces of German origin."

THE FRENCH PEOPLE AND THE WAR.
Extracts of the reports sent to the Minister of the In-
terior iu the 011ivier Administration prior to the declara-