The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-04 00:00:00

THE REPRESENTATION OF NEWPORT.

Colonel Gray, M.P. occupied the chair. The annual
report set forth that the executive while rejoicing thit the
Education Act had disappointed the promoters of a com-
pulsory secular system of national education, and thwarted
the designs of those who sought the overthrow cif the
existing denominational system, expressed unfeigned
regret at the concessions which had been made to
the league. The income of the union during the year
amounted to £7,961, and the expenditure to £7,722. In
consequence of the threatened action of the league and
political nonconformists in the next session of Parlia-
ment to amend the Act of the past session, the executive
had determined vigorously to continue their organization.
The adoption of the report was moved by the Hon.
Algernon Egerton, M.P., seconded by Mr. Birley, M.P.,
and supported by the vicar of Carmarthen. Mr. Birley,
M.P., was elected chairman of the executive. A resolu-
tion, pledging the meeting to support the union, was
passed.

A WARNING TO GERMAN MERCHANT
SHIPS.

The North German Consul-General has sent the follow-
ing warning to German consuls at our principal ports :
" I beg to notify that French ironclads are now constantly
cruising off Dover, and are presumably well informed of
the movements of the North German vessels. You will
therefore be good enough to specially warn the masters of
North German vessels proceeding in that direction that
the greatest vigilance must be exercised in order to avoid
capture." A French man of war is reported to be off the
Tyne.

The Liberals of Newport being unable to decide uuttni-
mously on the choice of Sir Francis Lycett or Mr. Moffatt
as their candidate, have determined not to bring forward.
either. Mr. Martyn Kennard, the Conservative candi-
date, will stand.

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE NATIONAi4
EDUCATION UNION.
The annual meeting of the National Education Union
wad held in Manchester yesterday afternoon, Lieutenant-

FBE SUN, LONDON, "FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1870.

THE CAPITULATION OF merz,

The correspondent of the Daily News, writing from
Metz on the 31st October, thus describes the prisoner-
bivouac of the second French Army Corps (Frossard's) :
It was a very, miserable scene. The fires of the previous
night had burnt out, and the morning fires had not
been lit. The miserable prisoners lounged about in
seeming utter despair, the fine rain wetting them
through and through, and keeping soft the mud
with which their coats were plastered. Some few had
erected tents, but the great mass had spent the night in
the open, standing round the fires, for to lie down must
have been impracticable. If it was any consolation to
the prisoners, their Prussian guards were in as
miserable a plight as their captives. The chain ,of
sentries posted all round slouched backward and for-
ward on their posts, and the fixed " corporal-shafts "
leaned gloomily on their weapons. In the road in front
of Are Laquenexy a kind of mrrket had been establ'shed,
but the dealers had hardly waked uP under the tilts of the
carts. They were market tenders chiefly from the
German frontier about Saarlouis, and the bulk of their
wares consisted of spirituous liquor. The French pri-
soners are by no means short of money. All the cash in
the bank here was disbursed in paying the troops up to the
middle of this month, and there are plenty of francs in
their pockets. When I was at Courcelles I saw the arrival of
the first column of prisoners to be sent down by the train
to Saarbruck. There were 2,000 of them, and five trains,
each containing the same number, are being despatched
every day. Poor fellows, they seemed very miserable,
but they bore their misery with a fortitude which .filled
me with respect. The rain poured down upon them
in a deluge as they stood in the road, which was al
foot deep in mud, of the consistency of pea soup.
Here they had to wait for about an hour, while
the arrangements for their transit were being completed,
and it was good to see the courtesy and quiet fortitude
which they manifested. I went among them iu the mud.
'Everywhere the poor fellows stepped aside with a half-
bow to let me pass. If one accidentally jostled me,
the " Pardon, Monsieur," was prompt and warm. I
found these French prisoners here as ignorant as
those whom I had seen at Sedan. Some of the sergeants
asked me for news of the outer world, but the
men seemed chiefly concerned to know whither they were
going, and what kind of a country Germany was. I
named several towns as among their probable destination,
leading cities of Germany, but very few had more than
heard of them, and knew nothing either of their magni-
tude or of their locality. At last the " gefangen•zug "
was ready, some sixty carriages packed as closely as
the men could sit or stand. Several open trucks had
been brought into requisition, and it seemed to me as
though the men were actually stacked upon them, so
thickly were they Packed. With a whistle the heavy train
sluggishly set itself in motion, and away it rolled with-its
freight of Frenchmen down what was once one 91 the
most charming valleys
.in France. The Frenchmen were
prisoners on their way to expatriation, the valley is a
wilderness, on the ramparts of St. Quentin which from a
distance overlooked the scene, paced the squaretbuilt
men with the brass-spiked helmets. The virgin fortress
of France, never till now profanced by the foot of an
invader, is held by the Landwehrmen, and the streets
of the town echo to the clash of the Prussian subaltern's
I sword.