The New York herald., 1870-09-05

They have heard In Paris the terrible new
from Sedan. The proclamation OF the Councl
of Ministers issued on Saturday last is befor
our readers, announcing to the hopeful bu
infammable Parisians the heavy disasters, o
the capitulation of MacMahon's army, and tn
surrender of Napoleon in person to KIM
William. The Ministry, In admitting thes
startling misfortunes, represent the capitula
ton of the lost army as surrender OF SOM
forty thousand men. Ifthere were, however, onl!
forty thousand in the capitulation, the losses
MacMahon in those three or four days OF des
perate fighting must have been appalling ID
had been reported at Paris as having an army
of two hundred thousand men, with six hun
dred cannon. His actual fighting force at the
beginning of those bloody battles was probably
not less than one hundred and twenty or
thirty thousand men, against the enveloping
| German columns of at least two hundred thou
sand men. The French losses, therefore,
| from these battles, independently OF the
remnant of the army surrendered, were
perhaps, in killed, wounded, prisoners,
stragclers from the lines and fugitives iuto Bel
gian territory, hard upon eighty or ninety
thousand men, The army of Lee in the des-
perate battles Of that closing struggle from
the lines of Petersburg to Appomattox Court
| House was reduced from sixty thousand men
to twenty-scven thousand in the capitula-
ton.
But, admitting the practical annihilaiiOn OF
MacMahon's army with the surrender to the
enemy of its arms and materials of war, the
| Council of Ministers at Paris still bravely
face the crisis, and representing the
good condition of the capital for a
stubborn defence, and the approach
of the new army from the Loire still proclaim
the resolution of fighting to 'the last ditch"
We cannot believe, however, that the Ministry
seriously entertain any such resolution. 1t is
thrown out as "a tub to the whale it is a
movement to prepare the public mind for the
| consideration of unexpected disasters and of
| the real dangers which menace Paris in the
| event of further resistance. 1t is an expe-
dient to hold in check for day or two the
revolutionary mob Of Paris, while giving to
and men of business in the capital time to
comprehend their actual situation. From the
debates meantime in both legislative cham
bers it is apparent that Paris was
on the verge of en- abyss; that a
single heavy football might bring into full
play the already rumbling elements of an
earthquake, and that the utmost skill of the
representatives of the empire was required to
parry the revolutionary firebrands of Jules
Favre and his colleagues.
The two legislative chambers, created by
Napoleon and mostly made up of his instru-
ments the Council of Ministers, chosen by
and with the consent of the Empress, and the
Regency Of the Empress, which now consti-
tutes the government of France, are still the
empire with the Emperor taken away.
General Trochu, the military Governor of
Paris, is, nevertheless, practically master
of the situation. He has been repre-
sented as the General Monk of the crisis, and
as acting in accord with the established
authorities of the State, only until the opportu-
nifty comes for turning the balance by the
weight of his sword. Jules Favre, in propos-
ing to make this officer provisional dictator,
doubtless supposes him to be a republican; |;
but the prevailing opinion is that he is ready
to cast his fortunes with those of the Orlean-
lists, and that the Count of Paris will prove to
be his candidate for king of France with the
consent of Prussia.
Prussia holds the case in her hands; but
how is she to treat with the regency Of Napo-
leon for the restoration of the Bourbons
This regency must retire or the empire be
| continued under the recognition of King
William A French republic, with half a mil
lion of the soldiers of the inevitable German en-
pirs on the soil of France, is out of the question
Further resistance to this German army will
be worse than useless. There is no army ir
Paris, there is no army in France capable o
any effective resistance to the crushing force
of King William. That he will annex the city o
Strasbourg and the province of Alsace to Baden
and that Baden with Wiirtemberg and Bavaria
and Hesse will be annexed to the North Ger
man Confederation, is morally certain. Afte
Sadowa and Sedan, who is to prevent it
That he has now the power to name the gov
erument and the king of France it is ap
parent; that he will name an Orleanist it il
generally expected; but how long will thi
last (?
Meanwhile there is not 80 much danger tha
Paris will invite a siege, famine and bonn.
bardment, as that the existing French govern
ment will be overthrown by revolution ant
a reign Of chaos before any competent party
can be found by Prussia with which to trea
for peace. Nor can we believe that the i'm
perial government in holding its position 81
bravely in Paris after the disasters at Sedan
has the remotest idea of negotiating for tht
Bourbons.