The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-09-13
Spanish Reports.
HOW TIE FRENCH CAME TO BE
OUTNUMBERED.

HOW THE FRENCH CAME TO BE
| OUTNU.MBERED.
Cheating In the Imperial Army Lists +.
L Boulogne letter to the London News de-
tails dialogue between two Frenchmen,
afordlng an explanation why France has been
so much outnumbered in the present war. We
quote: a..
s'But, monsieur, we have revenge to take;
and the war ended, we shall take it." continu-
ed the vendor Of 5000 sheep to beleaguered
Paris. France has been betrayed; France has
been cheated. You remem5e. that, fourteen
or fifteen years sgo, private officers, Individual
SPECTATORS, bought substitutes Tor the young
men who were able to afford them. The price
has risen since drew lots, Int this is not what
| we complain of. Everything has become dear
er: human flesh, you see, as well as meat. Say
the Young man who has drawn an unlucky
number doesn't wish to be soldier: Well, bis
parents go 70 the government ottce appointed
within the last fifteen years lor tnaG IT, purpose,
boy IS e1onerated. Now. 1t is understood that
With the two thousand francs substitute, a
7,enplaeant, shall be bought. This is the bar
gain between (1) the exonerated boy, t2) the
government, and 81 the nation.
'Les U0leurS ?" the cattle dealers friend IN
terjected at this point.
Well. what has been done? While the trat-
fc In men was in the hands Of private compa-
nies the government took care to have their
substitutes, since they had no interest In sup
pressing them. But, turned dealers them
selves, their interest lay ut once In different
taken the money from the pockets Of families
and put It into their own, and buttoned them
carefully I'D. The substitute money has not
| bought substitute. Just observe, monsieur,
the effect of this. The right number OF men
| have been put upon paper. To the public,
| who knew nothing OF the dishonest transac-
tion, the companies OF our regiments were a
ments, they believed, had each 5000 men under
| the flag. But what was the actual truth !?
| Why can give yon any number OF Instances
where the actual available men We're not more
than thirty to the company. Regiments that
upon paper were at their full strength would
! and some even less than this. This Is our de-
feat This is the key to the disasters which
redden the brow OF every Frenchman. Les
gredins! =.
of with his teeth, folded his arms, glared first
at me then, and then at his friend, and asked
what form of cruel punishment was severe
enough for the rascals who had sold the honor
of their country in this way.
s'They will pay dearly" said the other
'sWhat is the resultto us? Why, ruin. In my
paus no less than TWENTY-FIVE beet-root mills
were to have been set in motion this year.
They are built, they are ready, but we have no
workmen. and no Goals. The young men who
were exonerated, and who had drawn good
numbers; who had, in short, settled to Indus
trious lives, thinking that the State had no
further military claims upon them, are drafted
of, absolutely like les n,oaitons de monsieur
Confirming the above, a Paris correspondent
of the New York Tribune telegraphs under
dare of Tuesday last:
DRILLING THE HONE GUARD.
went ont yesterday to see the Garde Ma
tionale Sedentaire 60 through their exercises.
| It Is composed OF the married men VINO, on
one plea or another, have escaped the con-
scription and the Garde Mobile, among the
middle classes. Some OF them had full nni-
forms, but most Of them had only either MIL
itary cap or red stripe down their trowsers.
They drill in SQUADS In all the open places
morning and evening. When the drill Is over,
they stack their arms, which are carried away.
Each man appeared to me to brimmlng
over with good intentions, but to have some
private theory Of his own as TO how arms are
to be handled. The squads l saw are ID
every sense of the word awkward squads.
Citizens cannot bc converted into soldiers
in day. and France Is now paying the
penalty OF that distrust on the part Of her
ruler, who has for so many years forbidden
the use of arms to his subjects. NJ. Gnlzot
once aptly described his conntrymen rs race
oil administrators and administered. So long
as an organized force can hold the field France
will be able to resist, but ouce let the organ
lied forces OF the country he completely van
uulshed there is not the slightest chance OF
What is called The nation rising as one man.
The walls of Paris will be the last ditch. NJ.
Haussman, In his report to the Senate, puts
down the number OF regular troops at goo, 600,
and to this he adds ITO, 900 recruits Of the cou-
scription Of 1870; allowing for losses in the
field, | should be glad to know where except
on paper these warriors are. story Is cur
rent in Paris which would account for the diff
ference between the paper and the effective
force of the army, and which TO certain eX-
tent explains why the Emperor rushed into
war, although he knew that ne was unpre-
pared for 1t.
WHY THE ARMY WAS DEFICIENT.
Oflate wears his civil list has not been large
enough to provide f)r the LAVISH expense OF his
court, his Iargcsse to his adherents, aud the
secret service money which was required to
keen mn the love Of Imperialism am ing his
subjects. About Ed 000, 900 sterling were there
fore yearly taken from the Ministry OF War and
handed over to him; the larceny was concealed
by stores figuring on the accounts which never
had bean bought, and "lootins" the money
which was paid into the military treasury by
those who vera drawn for The coIscription to
enable the government to buy substitutes
Rnoiments nominally 1000 strong only had an
effectiye force of 1890 The m oney for the
snhstitute AMI the supposed yearly cost OF q
substitute were appropriated to the civil list.
When the Emperor was obliged, a. few months
aao 10 Weld to the CRY for Parlia nentary gov
eminent. he knew tuat tAe x! Le5lslatlr AS
sembly would contain so mlnY Constitution
aIists that even II there were still au imperial
majority the scandalous frau1 would be
brous ht to light. Ills onl chance, therefore,
was to wage war. A successful campaign
gained might put off Parliamentary goverr-
ment. or if that were impossible, the falling of
IN men and stores might be ascribed to the
war. Marshal Lebeut and the personal ad-
herents of tire Emperor were in the secret,
hnt they we're all tarrcd with the sam, brush,
and they felt that they must sink or swim with
their master. and that for themselves, as we'll
ma for him the ouly chance OF inlpuuity was in
q victory- Bnt when the chief robs the subor-
J,nste will lob too The Emperor and his
Minister of War found they could NOS vel
comm az, the men and stores which they im-
aelned they possessed. foou and ammuni-
lion we're rounl 10 be TaotinS lor movement
across the frontier; hence the delay. to attack,
aud the subsequent disasters give the
story as I have heard it from persons in
position to kuog what has passed behind the
Curtain, What confirms II to my mind is that
almost oil the personal adherents OF the EN-: