The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-21 00:00:00

Tlik, SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER, 21, iB7o.

THE MONEY MARKET.

THE SIEGE OF PARIS.

Writing wider: date December 17, from the Royal
Head-quarters of the Crown Prince of Prussia, at Ver-
sailles, the special correspondent of the Daily News thus
resumes his remarks on the siege of Paris :—lf I tell you
of rumours of another French sortie, I am but repeating
the familiar tale of this hereafter-to-be famous siege. It
is not " Going ! going ! gone !" as with an auctioneer;
but " Coming ! coming ! come !" in regard to Trochu's
men—only that the " come ! " has fallen short in
its effect up to this time. They have made brave
effort': but to come out of the charmed circle is just what
they cannot manage. I can do no more than repeat that
the Germans are ready, and that the French will have
terribly hard work to break away. We hear no firing to-
day, but that may be by reason of the wind. Same talk
of an immediate attack by the besiegers on the French
outworks as next door to decided upon —in
which case there would .be plenty of noise and
plenty of loss too between the rival artil-
lerists others hold to their theory that
all the German work will be waiting and watching, and
repulsing sorties, should any more be made. When I
consider the present proportion between the strength of
Paris as a fortress and the food for Paris as a eity, it
strikes me that an attack could only be made to satisfy the
besieging troops, and not with the hope of greatly
hastening the end. That complete isolation of the two
millions of people round whom the Germans have circled,
is .the danger most to be feared. Those deserted
highways and rusty rails, of which I spoke to you in a
former letter, are significant of the strict blockade.
Fancy Clapham Junction without a single train in the
twenty-four hours, the gallant lads at the besiegers' out-
posts sitting behind barricades on the Old Kent-road, and
the Camden-road goods station turned into a barrack.
Fancy, by such analogies, the fatal belt about Paris.
No stream •of market carts, no milk trains,
no cattle trains enter within the walls, and
yet the daily consumption of everything must be
enormous. When all has been eaten which is fit for food,
and much that men would ordinarily shrink from, there
will remain nothing for Paris but submission, unless
General Trochu can raise the siege. If it were wise in the
beginning for Count Moltke to wait and watch, it would
seem still to be so. There is little likelihood of trouble
at present from the Army of the Loire, and little
doubt but that the German reinforcements will
keep pace with the strengthening of Trochu's army
by constant drill. The different scenes upon my journey
round the city make up a picture of this stiring time not
soon forgotten. Here is an,outpost watching the south of
Paris from the high ground to the right of Meudon. The
men are Bavarians, and their crested helmets look some-
what the worse for wear. They have made themselves com-
fortable behind a ruined wall, which serves partly to
keep away the wind ; partly to hide them from the French
gunners. It is evident that shells have become matters
of course to them ; for, though they jump uncle: cover
and crouch down when the whizzing sound is heard in
the air, they resume their former employment, what-
ever it may have been, as soon as the danger has
passed. There is just a chuckle ouer die Franzosen,
who are declared to be stupid fellows to waste so
much ammunition, and then feet are stamped or
hands are thumped upon the breast, and we agree
that it is bitter cold. These French shells do less
mischief than the shells of the Germans, for,
though they detonate \ and burst with loud
explosion on reaching the ground, they are so
made as to break into fewer fragments than
the German shells, and thus they kill and wound fewer
men, and the shivering men on watch laugh at them as
engines of death. It would not be so perhaps if there
were an object to fire at. A bombardment would give
the French a chance of hitting somebody with their
guns.

CITY, Two o'Or.ooK.

The StOA Markets are very quiet to-day, and prices are
nominal. Consols are 91i to 91i. Spanish,.after being
fiat, have recovered.

In the foreign market prices are now :—Spanish, 31i to
311; French Scrip, 1 dis. tot- prem. ; German ditto, to
prem. ; Egyptian, 771 to 771 ; Italian, 551 to 55i.
In order to limit as much as possible the necessity for
attendance of clerks in banking establishments on Mon-
day next, the Clearing-house will close on Monday at
1 30, and it is hoped the public will facilitate the arrange-
ment.

In connection with the issue of the new North German
Loan a statement has just been compiled from official
sources of the general financial position of the German
States. From this it appears that the debt of the North
German Confederation consists of Navy Loan, about
10,000,000 thalers (£1,470,000); War Loan of July, 1870,
120,000,000 thalers (£17,652,100) ; ditto now issued,
£7,500,000. The States forming the Confederation are
responsible for this debt, Prussia being the principal
member, with a population that exceeds four-fifths of that
entire Confederation. The bebt of Prussia, including the
debt of Stites annexed in 1866, amounts to £63,868,700, of
which the large sum of £26,956,000 represents the cost of
railways constructed by the Government. The interest
upon the entire debt amounts, to £2,563,000 per annum,
and the proportion on account of railways is £1,128,800.
The deduction of the railway debt exceeds £735,000. The
net revenue, according to the Budget of 1870, amounts to
£5,429,800, so that the revenue derived from the property
belonging to the State, which is annually improving,
amounts to more than double the total of the annual
interest due by the State.
The suspension has been announced of Messrs. Parke
Pittar and Co., East India agents. The liabilities are
believed to be considerable.

Berger, Spence and Co.'s weekly report says :—The
chemical trade has been quiet during the week just closed
for almost all branches. In regard to home consumption,
the number of orders given has materially decreased,
owing partially to the fact that " stock taking " is now
going on and cousumers not caring, consequently to be
burdened with an overplus of goods. Pricds, however,
with one or two exceptions are the same [as last week.
The mineral market here is unchanged. The demand for
hematite increases almost daily. Pyrites is very firm, and
in metals the improved tone prevails. Both tin and copper
are firm, and lead is unaltered. Spelter without change.

COMMON COUNCIL ELECTIONS.--Tats DAY.

The citizens of London are actively engaged to-day
(being St. Thomas's Day) in their respective wards in the
election of Common Councilmen and other officials for
the ensuing year. Each wardmote is !presided over by its
alderman. It does not appear probable that there will be
any material changes in the list of Common Councilmen
for the ensuing year.

THE LORD MAYOR AND THE CANNON-
STREET COMMITTEE.

Yesterday, for the second time, the Lord Mayor re-
ceived at the Mansion House a deputation of citizens,
forming part of a committee which has been sitting for the
last few weeks at the Cannon-street Hotel, who applied
to him to convene a public meeting in the Guildhall, " To
consider the position of France, and the means of securing
an honourable and enduring peace," It will be remem-
bered that they had an interview with the Lord Mayor a
week ago, and that, for reasons which he then gave, he
declined to comply with their request. Afterwards, at
the urgent solicitation of the committee, he agreed to post-
pone his decision for a week, with a view to enable them
in the meantime to remove, as far as possible, the objec-
tions which his lordship entertained and expressed.
Mr. Merriman acted as spokesman, and stated that
since the last interview 579 names had been added to the
requisition to his lordship, all of them being persons of the
highest resp.ectability.
The Lord Mayor said he respected the Motives of the
requisitionists, and, having carefully considered the
matter, he was confirmed in the propiiety of adhering to
his former decision and declining their request.
Mr. Gill, in addressing the Lord Mayor, said the hall
belonged to the citizens, and it was only in his hands for a
twelvemonth. (Hear, hear.)
The Lord Mayor : I have exercised my best judgment,
and I am prepared to take all the responsibility.
Mr. Gill said they claimed the Guildhall not as a favour
but a right. (Hear, hear.) d
The Lord Mayor : I am custodian for the year, and I
refuse to allow you to meet there.
Mr. Solomons said the requisition had met with very
hearty approval among bankers and merchants, but after
his lordship's decision they had declined to attach their
signatures.

The special correspondent of the Telegraph, writing
from the Royal Headquarters, Versailles, December 16,
says :—,Germany is weary of the strife—weary, and
sick, and sorry ; but she ;cannot humanly be ex-
pected to resign the prize of all her triumphs and sacri-
fices jtist as it seems to be within her grasp, Let the
French only confess themselves vanquished —let
the gates of Paris be thrown open—let France
throw down her sword and call together her
representatives, so that a National Government
may be constituted with which Germany can nego-
tiate terms of lasting peace—and Europe will be
delivered from the ghastly spectre that haunts her day
and night, to the destruction of her rest and the sore
troubling of her conscience. Those who, like myself,
live with the conquerors, and are cognisant of their con-
victions, their resolves, and the tremendous national
stimulus that compels them to carry out their deadly mis-
sion without abating one jot or tittle of its severity, so
long as France refuses to yield to their demands, know
too well that no other means of putting an
end to this struggle have the least chance of success.
On the northern side of Paris several batteries
are ready to receive siege-guns of a very large calibre—
and I am positively assured that the guns in question are
on their way from Germany with ample stores of shot
and shell ; but I venture still to prophesy that Paris will
not be bombarded. It may be that we shall be detained
here 'till the early spring ; it may be that half-a-dozen
sanguinary battles will be fought between the gar-
rison and the investing armies—all this I con-
sider highly probable ; but the reduction of the
capital by military siege operations appears to me,
I confess, to be a task so gigantic and costly that
the German commanders will do wisely not to
undertake it. The views expressed with regard to this
grave question by the highest authorities here, I have
reason to believe, are much as follows :—" We have no
right to sacrifice the life of a single German soldier un-
necessarily to achieve any object of the present war. We
are sure of Paris; its capitulation, sooner or later, is a
certainty. We may lose as many men by sorties as
we should by besieging the forts and ramparts ;
but that will not be our doing. We wait outside,
and do not molest the Parisians : if they attack us, we
shall drive them back—at heavy cost, no doubt, but the
bloodshed in such encounters will be upon their heads,
not ours. On the other hand, if we assume the offensive,
we shall be morally responsible to all the widows and
orphans in Germany bereft of their relatives in the course
of an active siege. It does not cost us, comparatively
speaking, much to stay here, quartered upon the
enemy ; but it would cost millions to bombard the
forts effectually, and we are answerable for our country's
treasure as well as for her blood. In short, there is no
valid reason that can justify us in departing from our pas-
hive attitude before Paris ; and we consequently deem it
to be our duty to remain where we are, until famine
shall have done completely the work which our
shells might, after all, fail to effect." On these argu-
ments I most willingly leave you to form your
own judgment. The French are massing troops on the
Marne. An action is expected, probably to-morrow;
although the whole movement may only be a feint, or an
exercise manoeuvre of Ducrot's army.

The Lord Mayor said only one opinion existed among
bankers and persons of high position in the City—namely,
entire approval of his conduct. (No, no.)
Mr. Gill said on the last occasion his lordship had re-
presented that, with one exception, the Court of Alder-
men agreed with him in the riaatter. Now that was
untrue, for Mr. Alderman Lusk. Alderman Sir Robert
Carden, and Mr. Alderman Cotton had assured the com-
mittee of their support.
Another member said the Chief Magistrate was "daring"
the citizens.
Upon that the Lord Mayor left the chair, and the
deputation hastily withdrew, taking occasion, however,
to hiss and groan at his lordship as they departed from
the room.

FRENCH HOSTAGES IN GERMANY.
In a communication from Hamburg, December 17, the
correspondent of the Daily .News writes :—Not long ago a
correspondence took place between Count Bismarck and
and the French Provisional Government on the subject of
the captains and crews of the German merchant ships
captured during the war. The Chancellor contended
that, as they were peaceful subjects occupied in
their lawful calling, it was a grave infraction of
the laws of nations to treat them as prisoners
of war and thrust them into the common gaols,
where they mingled with murderers and other malefac-
tors; and he threatened that if they were not set at
liberty and sent home, he should make reprisals by seizing
a certain number of " notables " in various parts of
France, who would be taken to Germany and
detained as prisoners of war till peace was re-
stored. In reply to this demand the French Minister
for Foreign Affairs denied the correctness of the
Count's allegation that the capture and detention
of merchant seamen was an infringement of inter-
national law. The men could be employed, he urged, for
hostile purposes on board the ships of war, and in every
maritime country the merchant service was always
considered as the nursery for seamen of the national
navy. He therefore declined to give them up. In conse-
quence of this refusal, and in fulfilment of Count Bis-
marck's threat, eighty French gentlemen of rank, social
standing, and wealth, have been seized and sent into
captivity in Germany. On Thursday last the first batch
of 42 arrived at Bremen, where they are to be con-
fined. Colonel Bruggemann, the military cothmandant in
that city, required them to give their parole in writing
not to leave the place without permission, nor to corre-
spond with their friends in France otherwise than in open
letter—passing through his hands for inspection and
perusal, and thic formality over, they took up their abode
in the principal hotels of the city. The greater part of
them, as I observe from a • glance at the list,
are landed proprietors in addition to their other
occupations, and are mostly inhabitants of Dijon, Bray,
and Vesoul, in the Department of the Cote d'Or. At the
head of the list is Baron Tirenard, a member of the French
Institute. Then comes aM. Persigny, described as Sub-
Prefect of Bray. There is also a member of the Pro-
vincial Council of the Cote d'Or, several judges, bankers,
mayors, and lawyers, another sub prefect, a notary
and a professor of philosophy ; whilst many are
Knights
__of ,the Legion of Honour. Some of them

..--•

are accompanied by their wives and domestic servants. 1 OUR CO rEMPORARIES--This Morning
They travelled very slowly, having been no less than tMr- -
teen days on the road. It strikes me that the ostensible
object of the measure is not strictly ful tilled. It can
scarcely be, called a reprisal, for, while the-G-_•rtnan skip-
pers and their crews continue to languish in French prisons,
these 80 gentlemen are treated with every consideration,
and are allowed to indulge in any luxury they may have
a fancy for, besides having the, free run of the city. It is
really no great hardship to be obliged to stay at an hotel
in BreYnen, where, with money in their pockets—and
they have all been specially selected for their wealthi—
they can live just as comfortably as in their own mansions
in France.

TILE SIEGE OF PARIS.

THE CAMPAIGN IN THE SOUTH.

From Bordeaux, under date December 15, the special
correspondent of the Staridard writes :—We have no news,
and no news here means bad news. Were there anything,
even the very slightest scrap of cheering news, it would be
immediately made public. This long silence is most
ominous, especially as regards the army of Bourbaki. M.
Gambetta must now have been at Bourges for four days,
and we have not yet had a word from him. Now, no
one can accuse M. Gambetta of taciturnity. He is ready
at all times to break out in a proclamation upon the
smallest possible provocation ; if, therefore, he is now
silent,' it is evidently because he can say nothing of a
cheering character. He has, of course, telegraphed to
the Government,' but no word of the import of the dis-
patches has leaked out. No news, then, is emphatically
bad news. Were it not for Paris, a week or a fortnight.of
delay would matter little ; indeed, there would be a gain
to France. With time to concentrate the forces, with
time to discipline the new levies, France might hope to
get together armies which would far outnumber
those of her enemies ; - but unfortunately our
present Ministers appear to have not the
faintest notion of the value of time. Had they pressed on
the work of organisation and concentration during their
first month's tenure of office the Army of the Loire might
have saved Metz, or might have marched to Paris un-
opposed, except by the besieging army itself. Even
when that opportunity was thrown away it might still,
had the troops been concentrated from Conlie and
the other depots, have been in amply sufficient force
to drive back the armies of Prince Frederick Charles.
Again the opportunity was lost. Government
can hope but for one more chance before it is
too late to save Paris ; and accordingly, to all appear-
ances at present, they will throw away that chance, as
they have thrown away the previous ones. Ido not say
that troops are nut going forward, but it is in such small
numbers as to be altogether useless. A really vigorous
effort would send a reinforcement of 100,000 men
to Chanzy in three days; he will not receive
10,000. It is this apathy upon the part of the Govern-
ment, this apparent repugnance to concentrate our
strength, which is causing a vast number of those who have
always hoped to begin now to lose heart altogether. It
seems to be the fixed intention of the Government to in-
sist upon our fighting with half our forces. What is the
use, men ask, of making sacrifices, of leaving our homes,
being for weeks under canvas, and enduring hardships of
all kinds—if, when we are prepared and disciplined,
Government will not send us forward, but insists
upon our remaining inactive while our enemies are
fighting? Paris can hold out for another six weeks
or two months, but to do so she must have some
hope held out to her that France is coming to her
rescue. The ten days which have elapsed since Ducrot's
army retired into Paris, would seem to be significant that
Trochu considers that it would be useless for him to cut
his way out with 150,000 men, unless there be some.
French army within an easy distance with which he
could unite his forces. Ducrot may make another sortie,
he may cause great loss to the besiegers, but he dare
hardly go beyond the shelter of the guns of Paris, for he
would be surrounded and crushed in the open
before he could join the Army of the Loire. If
Paris is forced to be inactive, it will assuredly
become discontented. If Paris is to be saved, the armies
of Chanzy and Bourbaki, reinforced by every available
man in France, ought to take the offensive by the end
of the month. At the rate at which the reinforcements
are now coming forward, they will most certainly not
be in such a position. I do not/ say that they may not
take the offensive, I only say that they will not do so
backed by the whole, or anything like the whole, strength
of France. The journals here, with scarcely an ex-
ception, are urging Government to send forward all our
forces, and to make one grand and final effort to save
Paris.

The Times, in commenting on the present position of the
war, says : It seems very clear to us that the time has.
come for the Germans before Paris to bestir themselves.
Not that we believe the . mere advantage of
position gained by the French can afford them
much practical aid in a sortie. However Much the line of
in vestment may be widened, however
.strenuously the
sallying parties may be supported by their heavy artillery,
there must come a point at which they will not only have
b) meet the enemy face to face, but in which the advan-
tige of position and of batterie will be on the other side.
Where the besieger knows anything of his business, it
becomes as difficult to get out of the besieged place as
to get into it, for the line of investment is nothing
but a row of fortresses. " There •is a girdle of bar-
ricades round the city," says our correspondent;
" every wall is loopholed, so that an assaulting force,
once out of artillery cover, has really to carry intrenched
:iositions one after another, each stronger as it opens
wavier fire in proportion to the increased strength of
the . defenders." It is idle to talk of massing
together a vast body of troops, say 100,000 combatants,
and
.hurling them at the Prussians. The sal-
lying parties have to move along narrow defiles, allowing
no space for the columns to deploy, and they advance
under the fire of batteries which rakes them from end to
end. The facility withwhich, 20 days ago, Ducrot won
the first position across the Marne, but had to fall back
from these in their rear, is the best possible illustration
in point. We do not look forward to any success of the
French by such means. The Parisian garrison can hardly
hope to cut its way through the German lines, nor could
t, even if it did, proceed very far, unless it
co-operated with armies advancing to its relief —a
relief for which, as we have seen, they may have long
to wait. But the French may gain not a little if
they can merely widen the line of investment by the
more tedious, but more sure, means of advancing
intrenchments. No one can say how far they may
in time burrow their way. It only remains to
be seen how far and for how long the Germans will allow
them to proceed undisturbed; for spade work can be met
with spade work. The reduction of the new French
redoubts, either by assault or by siege ol•erations, how-
ever hard a task, is not impracticable, and it has now
become, not matter of mere expediency, but of absolute
necessity.

THE GERMAN DEPUTATION kT
VERSAILLES.

The deputation of the North German Parliament was
received by King William on the 18th, in the great
drawing-room of the Prefecture. His Majesty, who was
in full uniform, and covered with decorations, stood before
the-fire, and on his right were most of the Princes now
in Versailles. The Crown Prince of Prussia was to
the right of the King, whilst the Princes of
Weimar, Mecklenburg, Wuctemburg, and Hohenzollern
were a little further back. To the left of the King was
the reigning Duke of Coburg, with Count Bismarck close
behind him ; and in a circle before his Majesty were the
officers in attendance, and the members of the deputation.
Baron Rothschild, of Frankfort, was among them, and
Herr Simson, who may be called the King Maker of Ger-
many, for he offered an Imperial Crown to Frederick
William IV. in 1849, and has lived to offer one to
William I. in 1870—Herr Simson stepped into the centre
of the circle, and after making a short introductory speech,
read the address of the Parliament in a loud voice. King
William listened gravely, and then taking a folded paper
from the hand of an aide-de-camp, read his reply in tones
trembling with emotion. The tenor of the address and of the
Royal reply you will have gathered from official telegrams,
It was a very impressive scene. Count Moltke, being a
member of the House, was asked as a high compliment to
stand among the deputation, to which he did not in strict
right belong. There was marked satisfaction on the faces
of all present, but no cheering or other demonstration.
The King, when all was over, walked up and shook hands
heartily with several of the deputies.

FRANCE AND THE LUXEMBURG
QUESTION.

Writing from Bordeaux, December 14, the special cor
respondent of the Standard says : The telegraph, which,
owing to the Prussian advance in the West, has for
several days brought us no news from England or Bel-
gium, has this morning conveyed the astonishing intelli-
gence that Prussia has given Luxemburg notice that
she will no longer respect her neutrality ; that is to
say, that she intends to invade her, upon the
grounds First, that the population has made
manifestations of sympathy with France ; second
that convoys of wine have been sent into Thion-
ville ; third, that French officers escaping from
Germany have been allowed to pass through Luxemburg
on their way to France. That any of these reasons are
insufficient to give even the shadow of a pretext to
Prussia is evident. The first and second, indeed, are
simply ridiculous. Prussia does not suppose that
the Government of Luxemburg could by a decree make
the population favourable towards Germany, nor could
Prussia expect that Luxemburg is going to accept the
dirty office of frontier policeman, which Prussia
herself played in the Polish insurrection. That
she should have arrested the fugitive French
as Prussia then arrested the fugitive Poles would have
been a gross breach of neutrality towards France, and
would have brought down upon Luxemburg the contempt
of Europe. The second reason is the only one which
merits an instant's consideration, but as Luxemburg
has sent large amounts of wine and other stores into
Germany, there could be no reason why she should
not send them into France. In fact, it is simply
an excuse of the flimsiest nature upon the part of Prussia
to devour her neighbour. The matter is, of course, the
great topic of conversation here to-day. It can no longer
be doubted for an instant that Prussia and Russia are
acting in accordance, and that they have determined
together to defy Europe. There is every belief here
that England will oppose by force of arms this
view of Prussia as she was prepared to oppose by
force of arms the violent breaking of the Treaty of '56
by Russia. In fact, the time has come when we can no
longer keep out of the conflict, and Prussia has now
wantonly thrown down the glove to us. The general
opinion here is that supposing the news to be true, Eng-
land will fight, and already there are discussions and cal-
culations as to the place and the time at which we shall
land troops. Then there is the question of Belgium.
No one doubts that the turn of Belgium will
follow that of Luxemburg; will she not at once throw in
her lot with her neighbour? Denmark would undoubt-
edly join, and England, Belgium, and Denmark could,
between them, put at least 250.000 men in the field in
less than a month's time. This force advancing,. say,
from Belgium, upon the Hues of communication of the
besieging army of Paris, would altogether alter the whole
situation.

Mr. W. ii. Seward, VIA late American r cretary
of State, who is now on a tour iri the East, during his
stay.in Japan had an audience of the Mikado, and after-
wards breakfasted with that Sovereign's Ministers. The
Mikado's manner is said to have been "must cordial"
throughout the interview. ~