The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-29 00:00:00

PARAGUAY:

No additional light has as yet been thrown on the
alleged defeat of Lopez. The latest news brought
to Buenos Ayres was to the oth Dec. by the DOI'
alda, which was favourable on the whole to the
Paraguayans. The Standard of that city announced
the Allied position to be critical, as Caxias, unable
to attack Lopez at Villeta in front, had thrown his
army into the Chaco to operate against the rear.
The heavy rains and the rise in the river had cons'
pelled him to recross, his situation then becoinwo
critical, the passage being only accomplished after
considerable loss It was not till the French steamer
had left Buenos Ayres, and was about to depart
from Monte Video that the news of the great
victory arrived. All as yet known is a tele'
gram from General Osorio to the commander of the
Argentine troops at Les Palmas, a few miles below'.
Valleta, closing with the statement that the war wsis
over. Allowing that Osorio, as we had anticipated,
had from the rear successfully attacked a
p-sition
impregnable to the Brazilians in front, and that
Lopez had been compelled to retire with heavy loss'
it does not follow that the war is over. Two con'
siderable natural fortifications lie on the road
from Villeta to Ascension, to which he could re-
treat, and the Allies only account for half his
army, even if their numbers be not exaggerated, for Lopez was said to have from 12,000 to 15,000 wen'
A correspondent on whom we can rely, and wh°
knows all these countries well, writes to inform us
that he had seen a letter, dated Bahia, 28th pee"
from a gentleman who always gives some little de-
tails to his friends on the Paraguayan war, and vib.°
is in a good position to do so, wherein no mention 13
made of any battle having been fought up to the
latest dates. Although our correspondent does not
credit the report, which he alleges to come front
the Brazilian Legation, yet we in a measure do,
believing that Lopez has retired from Villeta, find-
ing
his position untenable, after Osorio'sflank
march ; indeed the previous mail had announced A
considerable movement of carts and baggage ant'
trials in the Paraguayan camp, which it was though'
indicated an early intention on his part to retire.
We imagine the truth will be found in this, that
Lopez intended to fall back and had carried out
his design, but not without severe loss, for it is 11°t
an easy task to abandon a position long held in the
face of an enemy vastly superior in number. Lopez has
then in all probability lost men, guns, and material,
but made good his intention of evacuating his for;
tifications at Viletta, and taken up another Ps
which the Brazilians will be compelled to invest:
his Excellency Gem M'Mahon had an intervle"
with Lopez, who agreed to give every satisfaction
the United States could justly claim, so these difn'
culties are likely to be amicably arranged. It is just°
well that the American Minister, with a strong
squadron behind him, is on the spot ; and we h°1):
that Admiral Davis will remain in the river, where
his presence can scarcely fail to be a check on f
Bra-
zilians dealing with the people of Paraguay. ilde
London the news of the Slave Empire's success w'
regarded from a business point of view. Paraguay
is a nonentity in the markets, but Brazil and her
allies take eight per cent. of British exports. Great'
therefore, is the rejoicing, on intelligence which the
mercantile community believe will strengthen the
empire and enable her to consume more of the go°cle
they are always ready to sell. If this be not an
elevated standpoint from which to view the ques-
tion, it is at least a practical one, and the instinct
t
of the trader is too strong to be overcome, exeslia
where his own country is concerned, when the
stronger feeling of patriotism overcomes the In°l'n
sordid feeling of gain.

`S LONDON PRESS.

1 The Philadelphia Ledger informs us that an
cial return has been furnished to Parliament of 31l
the newspapers of the United Kingdom, with tijo
names of their proprietors. We confess that Wi,
,:
have not seen it, but as the Ledger adds, 44 Disraeli
is accused of having some malicious motive in Pub''n,
lishing facts hitherto known only to the Gover;e,
ment," the British press may purposely have 'es
dined to aid him in publishing information, it does
not desire should be generally known. The Tinid
is returned as published by "Anna Brodie 313
John Walter." Now, this little sentence carries 1,.s
it a great disenchantment. The Thunderbolt
(10
considered to be the attribute of Jupiter, and Ore
thunder manufactured in Printing-house-sq°3o,
was supposed to be in some mysterious way °ha
neeted. with the gods. Anna Brodie and Jr° d.
Walter are doubtless very respectable persol;
but the idea of their taking John Bull by tdi
nose and walking him along is too good. jade
it is not unlike some such transformation scene
that of the gaudy illusion, which delights the a°cii,
ct.
ence at Covent-garden or Drury-lane, being " 5,6,0
denly wheeled round and the back laid bare. ``-les
Daily News is published by S. Morley, Char'of
Reed, and Henry Labouchere, Liberal members
Parliament. The Daily Telegraph, by Moss, lier,T.
and Lawson ; the Star b Henry Rawson, a mua,3l3
facturer of Manchester.; the Standard, a eu---
Tory daily paper, by Johnstone, an officer of theo
Court of Bankruptcy; the Morning Post, the orga
of fashion, by Mr. Rideout ; the Morning Atirehr;
tiser, by James Grant ; the Pall Mall Gazette,
George Smith, the publisher of the Cornhill 111110;
zinc." We lately noticed the last-mentioned Ps,to
as having sandwiched the Cornhill between
Quarterly Review and Blackwood, the two older
and most renowned periodicals. The Shilling 1Vd1;
gazine, which had just completed its ninth Year';
was described with them as lying on a club tab'
before the present members of that club 'Or
e
born—a neat little thing in puffs had it not been
a shade too glaring. A case not unlike this was
ou
e,
furnished by the Times in last Thursday's iss
Turning from an Irish picture, it alludes to "
or,
American counterpart sent by our Philadelphia °rat
respondent a few days ago. It represented Geoe,
Grant's reception of a Senator who wanted the th are
sistance of the Government in improving bo
levees of the Lower Mississippi.' " Now, vvre'
would suppose from this the "Americas counterpart,
had been cut bodily from the columns of th 0,30
1
Louis Democrat, and had gone the rounds ofor,
American press? It was " our Philadelphia
respondent" (by the way, the manufacturer of ,i'o3
mal prospects") who produced this picture, ato,
dismal prospects they certainly are for the lobilisbe
t
" The Express is owned by the proprietors of
tti.
Daily News, and the Globe by Sir Stafford l‘Thr
cote, Secretary for India in Disraeli's Admioistr
tion. The Glowworm is a small evening PaPfai
coming out late at night, and dealing in sensatiorPe,
news." There appears to be a very incomplete
turn of the weekly press, which is supposed to o°ll .
,
sist of 16 journals only !—the Saturday Rol
the Spectator, the Economist, the Examiner, a°,ett
few more ; indeed those only we enumerated no
alluding to the newspaper clique. Such a paper
Lloyd's Weekly News, whose circulation
excess of all of them put together, is utterly "the
known. The impression is actually given that
rs,
weekly press of London is confined to sixteen paPeo
while far more than twice that number are born
et
die every year in the metropolis alone. Howe d,
we leave the Ledger to speak for itself. 4, ACC°',
ing to the above statement, the London Pr.e!'sol
composed of eleven dailies and sixteen weekbe'io.
all kinds. The list, however, we believe to be tecl
complete. The whole number of newspapers Prinfecl
in England, but outside of London, and regis„teo
at the Government office, is about 650. In iY4O,
there are 34 ; in Scotland 135 ; in Ireland, 14
This brings the entire number of dailies
ti,,
s"
weeklies published in Great Britain and Ireland
to about one thousand.—Anglo-Americana J lines.

Births.
ilt/
LOWTHER —On the 27th inst., at Ampthill-park, the •
of Wm. Lowther, Esq., M.P., of a son. Airs,
MORETON—On the 26th inst., at Worthing-, the lion.
R. Moreton, of a sou.th, of
K— Ny
SHERLOCOn the 25th inst., at Limerick, the '".
Capt. Sherlock, 72d Highlanders, of a daughter.