The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-31 00:00:00

MILITARY FORCES OF FRANCE.

The Constitutionnel of yesterday contains the fol-
lowing reply to an article in our paper of Thursday
last :

The Daily News of the 27th, in an article the
kindly spirit of which we are happy to acknow-
ledge,•announces that "the Emperor Napoleon has
at his disposal 400,000 men ; but that, if we deduct
from this number the 130,000 men he requires at
Paris, a considerable force at Lyons, and the 70,000
men occupied in. Algeria, he would only have
130,000 men left to place in line in case of war."
Although we have the well-founded hope that
the Emperor will not have to employ the forces of
the country, we consider ourselves bound in honour
to rectify the facts.
At present Algeria occupies in fact 70,000 men,
but our rule would not be endangered by reducing
this figure to 50,000.
Paris at present has not a garrison of 130,000
men, but only of 30,000. Lyons has a garrison of
16,000 men, but they are by no means indispen-
sable, and might be considerably reduced.
We shall give the force of the empire in case of
war, and it will be seen that, without having re-
course to any extraordinary measures, France could
collect a very considerable army.
On the Ist of April, by keeping the whole con-
tingent of the Class of 1857 under arms, and not
granting furloughs, we have under our flag 568,000
men.

On the Ist of June, by calling in the entire con-
tingent of the class of 1858, we should have under
the flag, as may be seen by the following tables,
632,000 men, and with the volunteers, who in case
of war always amount in France to about 50,000
men, we should attain the figure of 682,000 men.
The general strength of the army on April 1,
1859, will be :-Infantry (serving and belonging to
the classes preceding the year 1857) 208,721 ; on
furlough, 99,000 ; men of the class 1857, and
serving, 43,500 ; total, 351,228. In the same way
the cavalry is 46,900 ; 12,500 ; 12,700 ; in all,
72,100 ; the artillery, 27,450 ; 13,900 ; 2,900 ; total,
44,250 ; the engineers, 6,710 ; 4,600 ; 450 ; total,
11,760 ; military train, 4,870 ; 4,440 ; 450 ; giving
a total for the force actually serving of 294,658 men,
of men on furlough 134,400, of men belonging to
the class 1837 of 60,000, and in all 489,058. Fur-
ther, there is the squadron of the cent gardes, equal
to 142 men, the imperial guard 29,800, the staffs,
gendarmerie, foreign and indigenous corps; all of
which are recruited on the voluntary system,
49,000, giving a grand total of 568,000 men.
Although the annual contingent is 100,000 men,
it is only put down as 60,000, because 18,000 are
excused every year, 5,000 are set apart for the navy,
and 17,000 sent home to support their families.
The men on furlough liable to be called in are
soldiers, nearly all of whom went through the
Crimean campaign, to whom leave of absence was
given from economical motives, and who in a week
could rejoin their corps.
The strength of the army on the Ist of June will
be in totals as before, and respectively for the in-
fantry 390,978 ; cavalry, 83,800; artillery, 46,450 ;
engineers, 12,110; military train, 10,120; cent
gardes, 142; imperial guard, 29,800; the othor
corps,ispecified above, 49,000 ; volunteers, 50,000 ;
giving a grand total of 672,400 men.
The regiments consist of battalions, war squad-
rons, and depots. In case of war the depots would
be more than sufficient to maintain tranquillity at
home, besides feeding the battalions and squadrons
of war. Let U 3 admit for these depots a number
equal to 100,000 men, to which are to be added
25,000 gendarmes, Parisian guards, &c., and 50,000
for Algeria, making in all 175,000 men kept at
home, and which have to be deducted from the
above grand total of 672,000 men, leaving 497,000
men. Thus France, instead of being able to place
in line only 130,000 men, as the Daily News sup-
poses, could if required place 500,000, without
changing the working of her military institutions
in any way. We repeat that we do not give these
figures to make a parade of Our forces or prepare
the public mind for a contest ; on the contrary, we
believe firmly in the maintenance of peace ; but,
after all, the best mode of maintaining it for a great
nation is to prove that she is not disarmed.

DEATH OF MR. ALEXANDER, THE OCULIST.-
Death has taken away another of the medical notabilities of
the metropolis. Mr. Alexander, surgeon oculist to her
Majesty, died on the 20th inst., at his residence in Cork-
street, aged 76. The deceased gentleman succeeded many
years ago to the practice of Sir Wathen Waller, and enjoyed
during the greater part of his life a very large practice as an
oculist. He was known as a very dexterous and remark-
ably successful extractor of cataract. He always did this
operation without an assistant, and attributed much of his
success to the practice of not interfering with the eye for
several days after operation, unless something aroso which
called for interference. The eye was covered by a simple
light bandage, fastened to a nightcap. Mr. Alexander at-
tended many members of the Royal Family, and operated
for cataract upon the late Duke of Sussex with complete
success.—Medical Times.

INDIAN MILITARY DEFENCE.—A memoir was
read at the United Service Institution, on Friday last, by
Mr. Hyde Clarke, on " Indian Military Defence," with the
object of showing that, in consequence of the adaptation of
the healthy regions of India to European constitutions, the
military system should henceforth be based on the occupa-
tion by English troops, and colonisation by English settlers,
of these hill regions, so that India may be held by an Eng-
lish army, instead of by a native army, in the tropical cities
liable to revolt. Mr. Clarke showed that the Himalayas,
the Vindhyas, the Ghauts, Neilgherries, Shevarass, and
attached table lands, could support a large body of English
settlers, with an abundant supply of cheap native labour.
He urged the extension of the Madras line to the Neil-
gherries, of the Northern Bengal Railway to Darjeeling
and Assam, and other lines, as an important auxiliary mea-
sure. The hill regions so occupied would, he pointed out,
beiome a barrier against the aggression of Russia by land,
or of France by sea. The approximatien of the Chines.
frontier to Assam had now become important, as millions
of Chinese immigrants might enter from that quarter.