The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-17 00:00:00

FRENCH IiCIAEUItUEiIIMINT:

45,000 men left Paris on the 12th for Chalons. Volun-
teering is going on in Paris and throughout France with
immense activity.
Seventy-five persons have been arrested in consequence
of the affair of La Villette.

THE EXPULSION OF GERMANS FROM
FRANCE.

in consequence of the great numbers of Germans
expelled from. France, the North German Bund
has issued orders to provide those in need with
the money required to defray their travelling ex-
penses. The servants left in charge of the hotel of the
North German Embassy in Paris have also been ex-
pelled, and the United States Minister, who is charged
to represent the interests of Germans in Paris, has placed
the house in the care of Americans.

THE MARCH OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY.
SPEYER, SUNDAY.

A constant stream of men and munitions of war flows
through this town. But the current does not by any
means run wholly towards the French frontier.
The armies are in the field, and only scattered detach-
ments pass here as reinforcements. The great
rush of armed men has much diminished, and another
more melancholy spectacle takes its place. Troops of
wounded and prisoners are brought in every day. All
the line of country from here to the battle-field of Woerth
is like a hospital, and beyorid that now famous village the
aspect of the French territory is most melancholy. Deserted
villages, batches of wounded who receive but imperfect
attention, and huge collections of Ebris strew the march
of the army of the Crown Prince from the scene of its
first battle almost up to Nancy, where it is now reported
to be. Some of the soldiers brought back here give
us some account of the state of affairs just
beyond - Soultz, to Woerth and Mertzwiller.
Between Surbourg and Walbourg on the Bth were still
traces of the battle of Woerth, and of the charges of the
German cavalry in pursuit of the retreating French. At
one point of the route the fugitives seemed to have cast
away everything that could impede their course, cuirasses,
sabres, guns and accoutrements ; the ground was like a
field of battle. Notwithstanding that the interment of the
corpses of the men and horses which strewed the ground
was begun the day after the battle, there were still
enough left unburied on the Bth to poison the air. It was
found impossible to remove all the wounded from the
battle field within two days, so great was their
number, although every vehicle was put in
requisition, and the people eagerly seconded
into
Alsace effort of the hospital authorities. Advancing
Alsace the people become less wild and timorous. They
no longer fly from their houses and hide themselves at the
approach of the Germans, but they are even willing to
supply the wants of the troops. Sometimes they pretend
they have nothing. At others they confess that they had
anticipated great extortions. A proclamation by General
Boh, commandant of the 11th corps, in German and French,
warns the inhabitants to abstain from all hostile acts on
pain of death. The French officers and soldiers captured at
Woerth attribute their defeat to the bad generalship. For
instance, when the 25th Regiment of Coburg infantry
dislodged a body of Zouaves which occupied a village,
two regiments of French Chasseurs made a charge which
proved fatal to the greater part of the retreating Zouaves.
The Crown Prince has altogether 250,000 men with

him, with 660 guns. Well might MacMahon be over-
whelmed with superior numbers. The army of the Rhine
under Prince Frederic Charles is of precisely the same
strength ; and the Saar army, under General Steinmetz,
musters 70,000 combatants with 186 guns. These details,
which are given in the German papers—and the journals
in this country publish nothing that it is desirable to con-
ceal may be considered accurate. They represent
the army of the Crown Prince as much larger than
was generally anticipated. Evidently it has been de-
signed that he should act quite independently of the other
armies. Altogether the three hosts amount to 570,000
men, with 1,506 guns—the largest number ever put into
the field by one Power. Of this vast total, the greater
proportion has entered French soil.

DISTURBANCES IN PARIS.
NEWS FROM THE WAR.

PARIS, MONDAY

Some serious disturbances, ending in a very melancholy
manner, happened here yesterday. The accounts of this
affair are given in the semi-official papers, and therefore
must not be accepted unreservedly, but it is obvious, even
with a deduction of this kind, that the occurrences of
last night on the Boulevard de Villette have a certain
degree of gravity. Either the Government (as some
suggest) is planning a most reprehensible scheme for
gaining sympathy on its side, or a serious insurrectionary
movement is stirring amongst the ultra-Socialist in-
habitants of this capital. However, the account
as it appears may be left to tell its own tale.
For some time past the police had been warned that
bands were being formed in Paris itself with the object of
carrying one of the military positions of the capital by a
coup de main. This association was composed of eight
distinct sections who were to act on different points
at a given signal. Three or four days ago lists of names
and some of the insignia were seized at a solitary house in
the neighbourhood of the fortifications. The insignia
proved that the organisation was an extensive one.
There were flags and scarves and other tokens in silk
and wool, the flags being red. In the same house there
were other compromising papers, and a carte de visite bear-
ing the name of a personage attached to the suite of the
Duke of Mecklenburg, who is now in arms against France.
Nearly at the same moment the police found a depot of
arms concealed in another part of Paris —revolvers of
good workmanship and French manufacture, poignards
and sword blades, 30 centimetres long, and 3 broad.
These blades were of less perfect manufacture than the
revolvers, but were sufficiently formidable. The authori-
ties were rendered uneasy by these discoveries, and kept
on the watch, but had no idea of the movement in con-
templation.
About half-past four yesterday afternoon a line of two
hundred persons came up in good order and directed their
steps in the direction of the Caserne des Pompiers (the
firemen's barracks), the door of which was guarded by an
official. It is perhaps scarcely necessary to say that the
firemen, who in London are a sort of semi-police, are here a
species of soldiers, and are indeed relied upon to act as sol-
diers in case of emergency. Hence the object of this body of
menis clear ; they desired, and they attempted, to gain pos-
session of the weapons which the pompiers had in their
barracks. But the military instinct of the fireman on
duty preserved him. The cry of " Vive la Republique,"
which came from the armed men alarmed him. Seductive
persuasions, which were afterwards applied, had no effect.
There were altogether a dozen men on the premises. Of these
three were in sight—a lieutenant, a corporal, and a
sentry. It was the lieutenant who became alive to the
danger of this attack. After parleying a few minutes
with the gang, he refused to give up his
weapons, and an assault was straightway made.
The sentry was stabbed, the corporal was shot,
but the lieutenant does not seem to have been hurt.
The marauders then seized upon the weapons, and
sallying out with the most reckless revolutionary fury,
commenced firing in all directions. The policemen
from the Rue de Tanger, warned of what was
passing, poured down precipitately with naked
swords in their hands, but the desperate handful of
revolutionists turned round and met them with a second
volley from revolvers, which killed one of their number
on the spot and wounded three others severely, one so
severely that he is not expected to survive. A girl of
five, who was in her mother's arms, was shot
dead. She had been struck by a revolutionary
ball in the abdomen. This act of butchery
effectually dissipated any revolutionary sympathy which
the surrounding inhabitants may have felt. A general
call for help and a general rush were made. By half-past
five a party of National Guards and strong
detachments of sergents -de - ville arrived, and
went in pursuit of the retreating rioters ; they
succeeded in capturing some of them, and brought
them back to the barrack. Cries of indignation were
raised by the workmen who were in the middle of the
boulevard. As each rioter was brought in the
crowd rushed upon him, and would have torn
him to pieces but for the efforts of the
authorities. One of the offenders was torn away
from the police, and taken by the crowd to the door of
the barracks, but the sergents-de-ville had to use great
violence to regain possession of him. These scenes, full
of divers similar episodes, continued until seven o'clock,
It was the fixed idea of the inhabitants of
the place that the rioters were under Prussian
instigation. Men and women, the latter the most ani-
mated of the two, rushed about exclaiming, "Down with
the Prussians." The workmen waved their hats when
the National Guard appeared, and exclaimed " Vive la
France." Of course there is not the slightest foundation
for the suspicion against the Prussians.

Nearly at the same hour the police arrested two
persons on the Boulevard Saint Germain, who had
poignards and revolvers precisely similar to those of the
rioters at La Villette. They made a vigorous resistance.
At La Villette itself forty-two prisoners have been
arrested. One of them had an English passport but could
not speak English, and spoke French with difficulty and
with a strong German accent. Another had a Baden pass-
port. Who are they, who are their coadjutors, and
what is their object ? These are the questions
everywhere asked. The Liberte, in an impassioned
appeal to French patriots, declares that the poignards
and revolvers found by the police were the weapons of
Bismarck. Enemies, it declares, are all around, but can
it be possible that Frenchmen should be their accomplices?
The Republican volunteers, almost without arms, defeated
fourteen hostile armies, and Hoche, with a handful of
men without cannons, conquered the Prussians at the age
of 24. France has now an admirable army. In
a few days it will number seven hundred thousand men,
and all should unite in supporting it. The LiberN
conjures the people to remember that all the military
measures have been voted by their own deputies. Let
them not be impatient. The time will come when they
will square accounts with those who have so culpably
engaged in this disastrous war. At present let there
be but one common object—to drive out the Prussians !
In the Chamber of Deputies, M. Gambetta demanded
an explanation from the Government respecting the war
news, which he maintained was presented to the
public neither with sufficient exactitude nor prompt-.
ness. A telegraphic dispatch published that morning
at half-past nine announced that communications with
Nancy had been interrupted since the day before, and that
during the night news had been received of its occupation.
This news was incorrect on two points. Several deputies
had received intelligence of the threatened occupation the
previous day, but the authorities had contradicted it. It
was incomprehensible that the Government should know
less than the deputies ; and yet Nancy was left unde-
fended. The Esperunce, a local journal published on the
13th, states that four Prussian soldiers took possession,
not one single French soldier being left in the
capital of Lorraine, the chief town of La Meurthe,
M. Birotteau : There were citizens !—M. Jules Favre :
There were no arms. M. Gambetta, continuing, de-
clared that they were governed by incapables, and
as for the speaker who interrupted him, silence and
remorse would become him best. After an angry
scene of mutual recrimination, M. Gambetta
read an extract from another Nancy paper,
published on the 12th, and asked how the Government
could have denied the news received the day before. "It
remains to be seen," he added in conclusion, " whether
this system is to be followed, and whether we are to be
allowed to suspect that the interest of a dynasty outweighs
the interest of a nation." (Loud applause from the Left.)
M. Duvernois, the Minister of Agriculture and
Commerce, protested against these charges, and de _lared
the Government were only anxious to act in concord with
the Chamber, which they never dreamt of proroguing .
As for the particular fact in question, it had been
greatly exaggerated, and was owing to strategic reasons.—
Voices on the Left loudly demanded why tile citizens had
not been armed.—M. Duvernois replied that the Minister
of the Interior could explain that, but he could not be at

THE SUN,- LONDON, WEDNESDAY'- EVENING, AUG UST 17,

his place in the Chamber and at work_ in his office in
organising the National Guard. His colleagues would
ask for his explanation and tell the Chamber. The Go-
vernment had no interest in concealing the truth.—M.
Estancelin declared that they had kept back the news 24
hours. They could not escape from the dilemma. Either
their information was defective or they had not acted
with good faith.
The President interfered and endeavoured to restore
order.

M. de Brame, Minister of Public Instruction, declared
that all the wishes of the deputies had been fulfilled, but
that the Cabinet of August 10 was not a political Cabinet,
but a Cabinet of national defence. Their mission was
the defence of the conntry, and that they would exclu-
sively devote themselves to. They would satisfy the public
anxiety as soon as possible ; but if the wires were cut,
how could they get the news ? M. Arago suggested
that there were Ministers in the Cabinet to whom all
was not told. M. Maguin suggested that. M. Duvernois
ought to have known, as he was one of the confidants.
This M. Duvernois indignantly denied; and M. de K4ratry
asked M. Brame to answer direct whether or no he had
received the news that the village of Toul was occupied
by the Prussians. M. Brame replied that two members
of the Cabinet received the dispatches—the Minister of
War and the Minister of the Interior. For
his part he had received neither despatch nor
communication. Their occupations were so con-
tinual, especially when the Chamber engrossed so
much of their time, that they could not keep pace with
the news hour by hour. After a further protest from the
Left, Count Keratry declaring that some of the Ministers
defied the country by keeping back the news, the incident
terminated.

We have just received news of an engage-
ment before Metz, in which the Germans are said to have
been repulsed with great loss. No details accompany
this very meagre information. The papers which publish
it express satisfaction, but refrain from committing them-
selves before the arrival of more news.

THE FIELD OF WOERTH.—Never have I beheld
a sight so extraordinary as I came on by the little stream-
let the Sauer, which flows by Gunstett. At an angle of
the road, by a vine plantation, there had been evidently a
sanguinary combat between the infantry ; but a little
beyond it lay the scene of a cavalry charge, the relics of
which formed the strange spectacle lam writing of. There
were heaps of cuirasses still bright, and brass helmets
with plumes which had been taken from the dead,
wounded, and prisoners, and piled at intervals along the
road. Between these lay saddles, swords stuck in the
ground, horse trappings, valises with "8 " aLd "6" on
them, here and there single cuirasses, dead horses, helmets,
swords, muskets—the ground trampled, the vines beaten
down—pools of blood—a foul, sour smell everywhere ; this
literally for two miles on each side of the road. In the
village itself was a pile of 30 or 40 cuirasses and helmets;
then another pile of the same. Further on, mixed up
with these " trophies" of the hapless Cuirassiers, we came
on the signs of disaster to a regiment of lancers—staves
.with red and white streamers in all directions, lancer
shakos, saddles, valises, and tunics—blue.laced with white.
One would think lancers and cuirassiers had all fallen to-
gether; but to whatever regiments lance and cuirass
belonged, it was plain they had been routed and de-
stroyed. One remarkable circumstance is this—not a
cuirass was pierced by a bullet. I looked most narrowly
—others did the same. And yet what had been the
fate of the wearers? That is a problem I cannot
solve, nor could anyone else ; but it is plain that the
Cuirasseurs were annihilated. It is said that one regi-
ment charged a battery and got in among the guns, bat
was smitten by the infantry on the flanks with a leaden
shower that beat them to the earth never to rise again—
unhorsed, or dead and wounded, the unhurt all taken in a
few seconds. This sort of work was visible for quite two
miles along the road.—Times' Correspondent with the Army
of the Crown Prince.
WHAT FRENCH RUSTICS THINK.—NO contrast
can be more complete than that offered by Paris and the
rural districts of France at the present moment. I have
been passing backwards and forwards from town to
country, and can judge well. Paris has recovered from its
panic after the affair of Woerth ; it is now full of life and
hopes and fears. But in our 'villages there is a dull,
blank look of misery and resignation which it is painful to
witness. Soldiers leave Paris in uniform singing more or
less gaily patriotic bongs; but each individual soldier
leaves his village in his blouse and wooden shoes with a
heavy heart. At every railway station may be seen
groups of sorrowful rustics from different hamlets, waiting
for the train which is to take them off to the camp.
What is to become of the fields when all the stout
young labourers are gone ? The tillage of the land
seems with our peasants to be an object of anxiety quite
independently of the people the land is to feed. " Why
did you not tell us that the Plebiscite meant war ? We
would never have said ' Yes '" they queruously repeat.
They were told so, but now one has not the heart to
remind them of it. The Liberal Empire has passed away,
and so has the Empire of Plebiscites. That institution
has become associated in the rustic mind with war, and
any attempt to appeal to it again would be hopeless.
French Correspondent of the Times.

ings of the academy of Nancy. But out of these spheres,
in the mansions of the rich families, as well as in the
lodgings of the working classes, there prevails an obvious
want of both courage and patriotism, and the city itself
no longer looks like the once glorious capital of the Lor-
raine, but merely an obscure chef lieu of an obscure
department destitute of any leader, and half forgotten by
the State. —Azamat Batuk in the Pall Mall Gazette.

IN THE NANCY DISTRICT.—Nancy is cut off
from communication with the outer world. Some old
papers have been received from Paris, but nothing from
other quarters. The inhabitants are quite ignorant of
what is going on at the distance of five or six leagues.
At Luneville it was announced that a hundred and
twenty thousand Prussians were about to encamp near
the Champ-de-Mars. A remarkable little skirmish is
reported from Frouard. In the middle of the day a rail-
way official was walking on the quay awaiting the arrival
of some military trains, when he was informed that the
Prussians were on the bridge. At the same time five
Uhlans, commanded by an officer, were seen lying on the
ground, cutting the telegraph wires and endeavouring to
tear up the rails. A French soldier was standing near,
and the Prussians rushed upon him, but he, being un-
armed, gave himself up as a prisoner. Perceiving some
other soldiers in the same direction, the Prussians com-
menced to fire upon them. In a neighbouring cabaret
two Turcos and a Zouave, armed with Chassepots, were
sitting, and at the noise of the firing they ran out and
joined in the struggle with great spirit. Two of the
Prussian cavalry were killed, and the officer in command
was wounded. Just at this time a train of soldiers on
their way to Metz approached, and the excitement was
great. The officers and the men jumped from the
carriages without waiting for the train to stop. The
enemy by this time had crossed the river. Two young
men who joined in the affair were injured. One died in
consequence of his wounds.
.IHE IE TOD or \V OEUTH.—never have 1 behei
a sight so extraordinary as .I came on by the little stream.
let the Sauer, which flows by Gunstett. At an angle of
the road, by a vine plantation, there had been evidently a
sanguinary combat between the infantry ; but a little
beyond it lay the scene of a cavalry charge, the relics of
which formedthe strange spectacle lam writing of. There
were heaps of cuirasses still bright, and brass helmets
with plumes which had been taken from the dead,
wounded, and prisoners, and piled at intervals along the
road. Between these lay saddles, swords stuck in the
ground, horse trappings, valises with "8 " and "6 " on
them, here and there single cuirasses, dead horses, helmets,
words, muskets—the ground trampled, the vines beaten
dgwn—pools of blood—a foul, sour smell everywhere ; this
literally for two miles on each side of the road. In the
village itself was a pile of 30 er 40 cuirasses and helmets;
then another pile of the same. Further on, mixed up
with these " trophies" of the hapless Cuirassiers, we came
an the signs of disaster to a regiment of lancers—staves
with red and white streamers in all directions, lancer
shakos, saddles, valises, and tunics—blue laced with white.
One would think lancers and cuirassiers had all fallen to-
gether; but to whatever regiments lance and cuirass
Lelonged, it was plain they had been routed and de-
stroyed. One remarkable circumstance is this—not a
cuirass was pierced by a bullet. I looked most narrowly
—others did the same. And yet what had been the
fate of the wearers? That is a problem I cannot
solve, nor could anyone else ; but it is plain that the
Cuirasseurs were annihilated. It is said that one regi-
ment charged a battery and got in among the guns, but
was smitten by the infantry on the flanks with a leaden
shower that beat them to the earth never to rise again—
unhorsed, or dead and wounded, the unhurt all taken in a
few seconds. This sort of work was visible for quite two
miles along the road.—Times' Correspondent with the Army
of the Crown Prince.

CRUELTY Td THE WOUNDED.—The cruelty dis-
played towards the wounded is the cruelty of 'wild
Indians. Upwards of twenty peasants have been tried
by court-martial for mutilating and dispatching the
wounded, have been found guilty, and have been shot.
Of their guilt no doubt could be entertained, because
they were taken red-handed. A member
of a court-martial, before which some of these
peasants were tried has just arrived from the front, and
has communicated to me the particulars of what
occurred. A middle-aged peasant and his son,
a boy of 14, were put on their trial. A deaconess,
that is, a Protestant sister of charity, gave evidence
to the effect that a few yards from the spot
on which she was binding up the wounds of a soldier the
peasant hacked a groaning, wounded Bavarian to pieces
with a scythe. The lad was found deliberately cutting
the throat of another wounded man. The father, being
found guilty, was sentenced to be shot. The decision as
to the punishment to be inflicted on the lad was
postponed. It is creditable that no summary
vengeance was taken in any case. Each of the
peasants had a fair trial. Of course, the soldiers
are infuriated at the way in which the inhabitants behave.
Even the members of the Sanitary Corps are not spared.
Several have been killed by shots fired from the windows
of houses while they were going on their errand of mercy.
The badge on their arm of a red gross on a white ground
afforded them no protection.—Prussian Correspondent of
the Daily News.

GERMAN BREAD.—From the experience gained in
the war of 1866 a thorough reform of the Commissariat De-
partment has taken place in the German armies. One of the
principal causes of complaint was that the loaves of bread
supplied to the soldiers would not keep long, but became
not only stale, but mildewed in a few days. The usual
Commissariat bread is, therefore, no longer served
out to the troops, but has been replaced by a
species of biscuit made of two parts of wheat flour
and one part of rye, and not much harder to bite than
rusks, whilst like them, it is easily soluble in wine, coffee,
beer, water, or any other liquid- at hand. It has also the
advantage of being easily and quickly distributed to the
men, and is more portable than commissariat bread,
rations of which would only become unpleasantly hard
and dry in a few hours, whilst the soldiers can con-
veniently carry a considerable number of the biscuits in
their linen pouche-s or wallets, and infinitely prefer them
to the old black bread of former wars.—Correspondent of
Daily News at Hamburg.

WHAT FRENCH _RUSTICS THINK.—NO contrast
can be more complete than that offered by Paris and the
rural districts of France at the present moment. I have
been passing backwards and forwards from town to
country, and can judge well. Paris has recovered from its
panic after the affair of Woerth ; it is now full of life and
hopes and fears. But in our villages there is a dull,
blank look of misery and resignation which it is painful tc
witness. Soldiers leave Paris in uniform singing more oz
less gaily patriotic songs; but each individual soldiez
leaves hi. 3 village in his blouse and wooden shoes with a
heavy heart. At every railway station may be seen
groups of sorrowful rustics from different hamlets, waiting
for the train which is to take them off to the camp.
What is to become of the fields when all the stout
young labourers are gone ? The tillage of the land
seems with our peasants to be an object of anxiety quite
independently of the people the land is to feed. " Why
did you not tell us that the Plebiscite meant war? We
would never have said Yes'" they queruously repeat.
They were told so, but now one has not the heart to
remind them of it. The Liberal Empire has passed away,
and so has the Empire of PMbiseites. That institution
has become associated in the rustic mind with war, and
any attempt to appeal to it again would be hopeless.
French Correspondent of the Times.
PANIC IN THE FRENCH INTERIOR.—No doubt a
considerable part of the male population of Nancy does its
best to keep up its courage. The Mobile looks here
quite as willing to die for the country as anywhere
else ; volunteers are numerous ; ambulances are being ar-
ranged in all parts of the town, and the Parisian
society for the relief of the wounded has esta-
blished an important branch in the large build-