The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-14 00:00:00

THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.

(From the Times' Military Correspondent.)
JUTENBOGI, June 10.
The prospect of war with Austria is undoubtedly
not regarded with much favour by the Prussian
array. There is little enthusiasm and small desire
for the military glory which is_to be gained in a con-
test against fellow-Germans, even among the troops
—while the mind of the people at large dwells much
less upon the advantages of a successful war than
upon the death wounds and devastation which
must always accompany it. Many hearts are very
heavy this Sunday in Prussia, the thoughts of
many of tkejsoldiers in the front are naturally di-
rected homewards on this day, which, of all days in
the week, peculiarly has domestic associations, and
in every Prussian town and village, from the hilly
banks of the Rhine to the plains of the Vistula,
sad women are offering up their anxious prayer; for
those -whom they fear never to see again, an are
hoping almost against hope for tidings that may tell
of peace. 'The system on which this army is recruited
and organised makes the bond which ties the Prus-
sian soldier to his home stronger than in any other
service. Each corps d'armee is raised from one par-
ticular province, in which it is always quartered
during peace. Every regiment belongs to a certain
town or district, from which it is never moved ex-
cept to take the field for active service. The reserve
troops and the Landwehr, who have to fill up the
corps to the increased numbers necessary in the time
of war, all belong to the same province, and in the
case Of the Landwehr are for the most part mem-
bers during peace of the artisan or agricultural
classes. Not that military service is limited to these
alone, for every man, with very few exceptions, in
the year in which he attains the age of 20, is liable
to be draughted into the army, and no substitute
will be accepted in his stead. When a corps is placed
on a war footing the immediate effect is to give a
cevere blow to the industry of the province from
vd2ich it is levied, and when it marches to take the
field large numbers of the respectable male popula-
tion have to leave their homes. Many of the men
called out are married and have young families en-
tirely dependent upon them for support; they them-
selves have, perhaps, never before made a long
journey from their homes, so that in addition to the
heart-weariness naturally consequent upon leaving
those dear to them dependent upon an uncertain
destiny, they have to exchange the quiet of their
own country homes for the strange bustle and noise
of the camp of an army about to take the field.
Yet, with every inducement to shirk his military
duty, a Prussian soldier has hardly ever been known
to fail in his performance of it. The idea of
not appearing at headquarters when summoned to
be there does not so much as enter the mind of the
highest or lowest qonscript, and is unknown to the
oldest Landwehr man who has a well-grown family
equally with the youngestrecruit. It is these Land-
wehr men who are justly considered in Prussia to be
the very best troops in the kingdom, nor is it sur-
prising that they shouldbe so, for although foreigners
of tellssuppose them to be mere country levies called
out hastily in time of war, theyare, in reality, after
a few weeks' practice the best drilled men in the
army. Ali of them have, with very slight exceptions,
served three years in the active army, two years in
the reserve, and have been called out annually fora
regular course of training. All are in the prime of
life, and although they want the well set-up figure
of the British Dragoon or the jaunty air of the
French Voltigeur, there is a real workmanlike lock
about them which seems to augur unflinching courage
and unwearying perseverance. When first called up
for regular service they have much the same look as
our English county yeomen ; their uniforms do not
appear to sit quite easily upon them ; there is a su-
perabundance of black silk stock visible above the
collar of the coat, and the apparent desire to assimi-
late as much as possible their forage caps to Balmoral
bonnets, which seems topervade all bucolic soldiery.
In common with all the Prussian troops, they have,
however, a power of marching superior to almost
any army in Europe. Thenatives of the agricultural
districts of this kingdom, accustomed from child-
hood to wear either no shoe, or one with a hard un-
bending sole, have their feet so hardened that, al-
though they are so badly shod that it would be bar-
barity to give such boots to any other troops, sore
feet are unknown among them in the longest march.
What a drag this infliction is upon the movements
of a marching column those know well who have
seen troops start upon a march when not seasoned
to it, and by them the value of this Prussian pecu-
liarity will be duly appreciated.
In consequence of the concentration of the army
in Silesia round Furstenstein, the Prussian army,
watching the Saxon frontier, has intrenched its posi-
tion further towards its_ left, and the headquarters
of Prince Frederic Charles, who commands it, are
now at a small town near Gorlitz. The plan of the
Austrian campaign seems to be as yet shrouded in
the most impenetrable secrecy. The Kaiser is sup-
posed to be to-day at Olmutz, in Moravia, where it
is expected he will be met by General Benedek. This
position of the Austrian headquarters threatens
equally Silesia and Saxony ; it is assumed here for
certain that the Austrians will strike the first blow,
but whether by an advance into Silesia, a dash upon
Berlin through Saxony, or an attempt against the
Rhine Provinces, no one can pretend to say. The
Prussians are in low spirits, and speak with no confi-
dence of the issue of the strife ; many of the inha-
bitants of Berlin have already reconciled themselves
to the possibility of seeing their capital in the hands

of the enemy, and their army driven behind the Oder
—but although prepared for the worst they do not
despond, they are animated by an indomitable sense
of duty, their stout honest hearts swell with indig-
nation at the idea of seeing the Slavonian and
Croatian battalions of Austria enter Brandenburg,
and they are determined that if - Benedek attempts
to win Berlin, either success or failure shall cost
him dear.
The King of Prussia is supposed to be about to

leave Berlin for the headquarters of the army on
Tuesday. To-morrow will, it is supposed, be fraught
with great events. Some
high
Austrian official is
to be sent to convoke the Holstein Estates, and it is
supposed that if the poruimians interfere to prevent
the convocation, or t
assembled, the Austrian separatetro the Estates when
once
set
in ot.ompsin Bohemia and
Moravia will be at on
Austria
should monopolise the Governmaen. Why
ntofHolstein
m since the Convention of Gaste • , which could alone
give her legal claim to it, has been declared null
and
void, it is for politicians to determine. Soldiers
only see that, if war does break out between then
two German giants, the struggle will be bitter and
bloody. Whatever success the House of Hapsburg
may gain in such an internecine war will barely
repay it for the great sacrifices it must make, and
the heavy losses it must sustain before it can humble
its northern rival ; for the Prussian soldiery are pre-
pared to struggle stoutly and to die hard for their
King and fatherland. It is an error, but not an un-
common onein England, to suppose that the Prussian
Monarch is unpopular among his people. The popu-
lace of Berlin do, without doubt, much dislike the
present Minis_ i
Ministry, and part of the odium his Ministry
has
coeds reflected upon the King himself.
In the
country districts, if they may be judged
from the representatives of their feelings they send
to the ranks et the
army, such sentiments have not
penetrated. The
on
ey still look on their Monarch
affection, with a kindly
regard
dintrust to him their full
confidence ; they still red
friend, and he still addm podren ."
--Jews .as their werful
them( as " chil
be staring us in
Were the war which now seems t)
the face to be waged with a
vat
rY which had no
common ties of family or of tongue' the enthusiasm
of the army would be difficult to restrain 7
as
the people of Prussia cannot forget thattheßbijets
atisie%
is a German Emperor, and that many of his subjects
are of common kin with themselves. But whenew
has once begun and blood has oncebeen spilt suchk:
dred ties will be quickly forgotten ; the white uniform
of the Empire will, in the popular mind, be asso-
ciated only with the plundering Slavonian and Croa-
tian battalions, and it will soon be forgotten that the
Austrian ranks contain any levies other than these
detested foreigners.
The south-eastern portion of the province of
Silesia is not occupied by Prussian troops ; the con-
figuration of the country prevents troops being col-
lected in that corner without the certainty of their

being cut off from the rest of the kingdom by an
Austrian advance from Olmutz. It is now asserted
that, in the event of Saxony becoming the
battle-field, Silesia will be entirely evacuated
by the Prussians. This report is probably very
much exaggerated. If the Austrians advance
through Saxony the Prussian corps in the field in
Silesia will without doubt be brought up to concen-
trate with the troops under Prince Charles ; but it
is extremely improbable that the Silesian fortresses
will be sacrificed without sieges. On the contrary,
provisions are being collected in them in case of such
an attack, and they will probably be held to cover as
long as possible the extensive network of railways
which runs through the richest province of Prussia,
and which has immense strategical importance.
The Saxon army, about 25,000 strong, is now
concentrated on the Elbe at a short distance below
Dresden. With its excellent cavalry and celebrated
jagers, it will form a valuable auxiliary corps to
General Benedek's army, if Saxony should, as is
anticipated, declare in favour of Austria, and allow
the troops of the Empire a free passage through her
territory.

Although a large number of workmen in Berlin
are out of work, and demonstrations have been made
with the object of forcing the authorities to find
work for the masses who without labour must starve,
it has been prudently decided by the Prussian War-
office to make no attempt to fortify the capital. If
the army in the field is not strong enough to cover
the city no works to defend it with any hope of suc-
cess could be thrown up in the time which will be
allowed, and the existence of fortifications or an
attempt at resistance might only justify pillage in
the event of the city falling into the hands of the
enemy. Spandau, where a small arms manufactory,
a powder mill, and an artillery workshop are situate,
is, however, being strengthened. This step maybe
regarded either as an indication that the Prussian
leaders do not regard with much confidence the
possibility of a successful defence of the frontier, or
merely as a useful precaution in case a cavalry raid
should be directed against the Elbe.
If a disaster does occur to the Prussian arms it
will not be due to a want of forethought in the
arrangements for the supply of provisions and of
hospital comforts to the combatants. Each corps
d'armee is accompanied by a strong military train,
in which are included 166 waggons for the trans-
port of provisions and a field bakery to supply the
troops with fresh bread. Besides these the military
train of every corps has also three corps hospitals,
three division hospitals, and a company of sick
bearers. The duty of the last, who are provided with
every contrivance invented which can aid their good
cause, is to go under fire and carry the wounded to
the rear. This is an arrangement which is to be re-
commended not upon humane grounds alone, but
also because it saves combatants the necessity of
quitting their ranks to carry their wounded com-
rades to the rear.

The heat has much increased to-day, and it is to
be feared that the change may increase the sickness
which always makes its appearance among large
masses of troops in the open field ; as yet, fortunately,
no cases of cholera have been reported from the
army, but the close vicinity of this disease at Alten-
burg makes people look with apprehension on any
marked change in the weather. Sickness and wounds
are, however, both well provided against ; and if all
the arrangements which have been made for the wel-
fare of the soldiers can only be carried out in thefield,
the troops ought to enter upon the campaign under
most favourable circumstances with regard to their
supplies. Nor is it only their necessities that
have been carefully provided for ; the Prussian
regulations allow a very liberal scale of baggage
waggons to follow an army in the field, so that small
reserves of clothing and materials for the repair of
uniforms are always within reach of every regiment.
With all these precautions, and with fine weather,
the army will not suffer much hardship if the cam-
paign goes favourably ; a hurried retreat might de-
range all calculations, but such a calamity is ono of
the misfortunes of war, which all men know is pos-
sible, but in which none wish to be impaated.

IREL AND.

ÜBLIN, June 13.

The Court of Queen's Bench has given' judgment
unanimously in the case of " The Queen v. Colour-
Sergeant M'Carthy," refusing the writ applied for
by Mr. Butt, Q.C., to stay the proceedings of the
Court-martial, and decided that it was the proper
tribunal to try the case, and had acted within its
jurisdiction. There were, therefore, no grounds for
the application. The Judges were the Chief Justice,
O'Brien, and Fitzgerald.
There are no fresh cases of cattle plague reported
from the North. The Ulster Observer states that the
farmers in the infected district persist in denying
that the disease which has appeared is rinderpest.
Dr. White, the city coroner, resumed the inquiry
into the cases of the victims of the late fire yester-
day, in the theatre of the Mechanics' Institute,
Lower Abbey-street. The jury having answered to
their names, the Coroner stated that Mr. Heron,
Q.C., appeared, by the instructions of the Attorney-
General, to assist in this inquiry. They might look
on him in the light of an assessor. Mr. Devitt ap-
peared on behalf of the Corporation, Mr. O'Hara on
behalf of Mr. Strahan, Mr. Coffey on behalf of Mr.
Delany, and Mr. Hone on behalf of the Ballast
Board. Mr. Heron, Mr. Devitt, and Mr. O'Hara
each said a few words, stating that their object was
simply to assist the Coroner in getting at the facts
of the case, without blaming or defending any par-
ties. The first witness examined was Mr. William
Williams, hatmaker, who ccupied the shop of N 0.19,
and in whose premises the fire was supposed to have
originated. He deposed that he had, besides the
front shop, a parlour and a cellar, which he used as a
workshop. He had occupied these premises about six
years, residing elsewhere. He left the shop at 20
minutes past 8 on Thursday evening to
.attend a
meeting of the Natural History Society at the Royal
Irish Academy ; but, being rather early, he saun-
tered along, and went to see some stock to be sold
by auction next day at Mr. Glennon's, South Frede-
rick-street. He ultimately went to the Academy-
house, and remained there till half-past 9, when
Prof. Haughton came in and said there was a fire
in Westmoreland-street. He then came out, met
his son, and saw the house in flames. The materials
of his trade are inflammable—spirits of wine, shel-
lac, and calico. There was a pint of the spirit and
about two stone weight of shellac. He used a stove
in which he burnt coal and coke. There was a great
draught when he left, and the fire, if not put out,
would be exhausted in 20 minutes. His son Edward
wupenttbe keys.down
, locked the workshop, and brought him
There was woodwork in contact with,
the stone outside the bricks. The stock was small, I
but there were shelves and fixtures. If the fire got at
the hats they would
curred in his workshop go
abloikuet lia gyhetanri nagn.d
aAb
aflifr ea ogco-,
but it was soon put out by Mr. Delany's people,
and hiscl airn was only £7 or £B. It occurred through
his son's carelessness in lighting_
ha piece of paper.
W
He was then insured for £2oo.he discovered
the fire he went about and spoke to Mr. Delany.
They might imagine his state of mind. He then be-
came wearied, and went home about 11 o'clock. He
did not render anyassistance. The partitionbetween
his shop and Mr. Delany's was of wood and paper.
There was but one stair, and Mr. Delany had to go
down to the basement story, in order to get from
his shop to the upper story. Edward Williams cor-
roborated his father's testimony, and said he left all
right in the workshop on the evening in question.
The fire was nearly out. There was a number of hat
boxes piled in the shop. There was no possibility
bilitTynoef
a spark getting to where the naphtha was.
origin of the former fire was not discovered. Stuf-
fing birds was a part of his father's business. Alex.
Williams, another son, engaged with his fatherin
the business, deposed that the former fire occurred
onaS
Vaturday night, and his father did not hear of
it till Monday morning. Ile did business as a natu-
ralist.sey-streeNt, m. Conry, a college porter, of 16,
evidenceAngle-
gaavtreeetat
the as to the failure of the fire
brigade.
not 10
S
i
time,
aoenw, yo9'sol ph'
theyeeo louowps cleeke r
etmat ohs raeseNavtti
emhn than
usual in the There Were s-
thing but smoke in Mr. D.
Told the people in the window
he was. When the fire-escape came the ladder was
too short. Then there was 4 tremendous screech

from the people in the window. A second ladder
was brought, but it broke. He only saw two fire-
brigademen with the first escape. After the ladder
broke he went into the Ballast-office, but did nothing
more, as nothing could be done. From the time he
spoke to the people in the window until he was told
the people had escaped he should say three quarters
of an hour had elapsed. About 30 or 35 minutes
elapsed from the time he had first spoken to the
people in the window until the ladder broke. Only
a couple of minutes elapsed from the time the escape
was put to the window until the ladder broke. The
second escape remained against the insurance com-
pany's premises for 15 to 20 minutes before it was
removed. The lifting up of the ladder belonging to
the first escape occupied several minutes, and there
was no one to pull at the rope but himself. The
people disappeared from the window at the time the
ladder broke. There was then great smoke, and he
could not see them, but it seemed to him by the
shriek as if they gave up all hope, and he saw no-
thing of them after that.
The Coroner said that, as the funeral of the un-
fortunate people destroyed was to take place the
following morning, as a means of expressing their
sympathy with their relatives, they had decided not
to sit again till Thursday at 12 o'clock.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

GREAT EASTERN.

A Wharncliffe meeting of this company was held
on Tuesday at the London Tavern ; Mr. C. H.
Turner in the chair.

The CILURMAN said they would recollect that at a
former meeting it was stated that the borrowing
powers of the company had been exceeded by
£500,000 ; they were now strictly within their bor-
rowing powers, and he and his colleagues would
take good care in future that the company should
keep within those powers.

The SOLICITOR read the heads of a bill to autho-
rize the company to make certain railways, and to
purchase certain lands and buildings for station
purposes, to alter levels of their Ramsey branch
and part of one of their metropolitan branches be-
tween Hanger-lane and West-Green-road.
A SHAREHOLDER suggested that if the company
were paying rates above 10 per cent. to any finance
company their own shareholders would be glad to
lend them money at rates between 6 and 10 per
cent.

The CHAIRMAN said, although the present Board
had inherited great difficulties from the late Board, he
was happy to say they had not bad a farthing from
a finance company. Since the last meeting traffic
agreements had been made with the Midland and
Great Northern Railway Companies which would
not give one company an advantage over the other ;
and he trusted the result would be mutually bene-
ficial. In reply to a question he stated that the share
capital required for the bill would be £76,000, with
usual borrowing powers. The penalty for non-com-
pletion of works would be £5O a day, instead of as
formerly stopping their dividend until the works
were completed and opened for traffic.
The bill was approved.

The SOLICITOR read the heads of a bill to autho-
rise the company to make certain railways to con-
nect their system with the Alexandra Palace, in the
parish of Tottenham.
The CHAIRMAN explained that it would form part
of the company's metropolitan extensions, and he
hoped it was the: last bill they would require for
that purpose. The share capital would be £111,780,
with the usual borrowing powers.
After a strong expression by some of the share-
holders against subscribing any more money towards
rubbishing bills, the motion approving the second
bill was carried unanimously.
The next was a bill to dissolve and re-incorporate
the Muswell-hill Estate Company (Limited), with
powers to make certain railways over their estate
for giving access thereto from neighbouring railways,
and to enter into arrangements for the use thereof.
The bill was approved.
Several bills promoted by other companies were
then approved, relating to the East Norfolk, the
Wivenhoe and Brightlingsea, the Dagenham Dock,
the Thetford and Watton, the East London Eastern
Extension, the Lynn and Sutton-bridge and the
Spalding and Bourn, the North. Metropolitan, the
Wensum Valley, the Tottenham and Hampstead
Junction, towards which the Great Eastern was to
subscribe a further sum of £33,300, and the Mid-
land a like sum ; the South Essex to make a line to
Pitsea ; and a bill for the construction of fish
wharves and tramways at Great Yarmouth.
Resolutions were also passed sanctioning traffic
and other agreements with the Ely, Haddenham,
and Sutton ; the West Norfolk ; the Saffron Wal-
den ; and the Wivenhoe and Brightlingsea Railway
Companies.
The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks
to the chairman and directors.

SOUTH-EASTERN.
The gross traffic receipts on this company's line
for the four weeks ending 19th of May amounted to
£92,088, from which was deducted £2,586 for col-
lecting and delivering goods, &c., leaving £89,502.
To this was added £2,198 for rents and sundries,
and £4,287 for steam-packet service, making the
total receipts £95,987. The expenditure, including
rates, taxes, tolls, Government duty, and expenses
of steam-packet service, amounted to £51,818,
leaving a net sum of £44,169. The total receipts
of the 15 weeks and three days ending as above
amounted to £346,371, and the expenditure to
£211,330, leaving a net sum of £135,041.