The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-08-17

!, AUGUST Ii, lS5U.
pends not only upon the powers OF the diviner,
but on the accuracy of his knowledge. 10
take the famous instance OF 1906, before ad-
ve1ted to, it is only possible that such marvel
lous accuracy as foretcld the battle OF jena
could be attained when great iptuitive skill
was favored By practical knowledge Of the con-
ditiJns. Jomipi had been studying Napoleon's
career with the highest critical Interest. and
had served with the Grand Army in its late
brilliant advance to the Danube. He was
therefore peculiarly acquainted with the iu-
strument, and with the genius Of him who
and French staff officer, become aware that
the Prussian army was not only inferior in
numbers, but antiquated 10 its habits. The
process of reasoning by which he drew his
famous conclusions may be fairly traced some
what as follows IN lpoleon will certainly fol-
low his bent and take the offensive. AS Austria
is closed to him By the late treaty, he must
attack Prussia either from Bavaria or the
Rhine. But his army is just now gathered in
Bavaria on it's way back from Vienna. and he
will never waste time in going all round to get
upon the Rhine again. Therefore Northern
Bavaria will certainly be his i'm mediate base
no doubt the line Of the Upper Main, where he
is screened by mountains, and has the Upper
Danube plains at his back to supply him.
due north. The Prussians know nothing OF
war since 1885, and will lnfalibly follow the
old system and spread out their lesser army
fronting bis. and facing the south, with their
left pointing towards Berlin. Supposng this
actually happens, it is quite as easy for the
Emperor to fall upon their left as on their
csntIe or right, with this advantage, that if
they stop to concentrate, he will concentrate
too, and have bis superior force between them
and Berlin, go that single defeat will ruin
them. This is what can hardly escape so
brilliant genius as his. Now observe that
the roads from thei Upper Main into Saxony
run we'll for ward through piece OF Bavarian
territory which projects northward towards
Hof, and is Of course convenience in such q
case. Though difficult, this end OF the Thur
inglan Forest ls not mountainous; and az there
are several highways, two or three days
march will bring the bulk Of the French
through it. Whilst the columns converge to
unite in the lower ground OF SaYony, the
Prussians, discovering that they are being
turned and outa mixed to the east OF their line,
will draw in towards their own left to meet the
enemy. The deep valley OF the Upper Saale,
or great importance in former German wars,
divides he east end OF the Thuringian country
from the rest, and will naturally separate the
two armies. The passages OF the Upper Saae
all converge about Jena. 1t is pretty certain,
therefore, that the Prussians, unless much
wiser than take them to be, will have to light
for these passages. and there rs therefore falr
reason to foretell that e :eat battle, on whlcn
the fate Of the kingdom is to depend, will be
fought in tho neighborhood OF jena"
Such we may suppose to have been the train
OF thought which led to prediction, By q
then obscure writer, which has made his name
more noted th an the most elaborate OF all Ills
books. But matters are not in 1870 as in 1906
hundred Jomiuis, il they. were TO meet 10
counclI at the Tullerles this week, could not
possibly foresee the resultant OF the tremen'
dous forces about to be brought into collls-
ion, No one knows exactly the available
armies which may be gathered by O certain
time. The French boast that they can put
$50 600 men on the Rbine in few days. Very
possibly; but the Germans can certainly as-
semble 800 0J0 men by corps Garnee 10 fort
night. The French declare the Chassepot a
better weapon than the acknowledgement
Yery possibly; but the Prusian gun has stood
the brunt of war; and bears the prestige OF the
most rapidly successful campaign on record.
The French put faith in their new mitrai leurs;
all recent experience tends to lessen expecta-
ton OF great r. cults from complicated forms
of light artillery. The French believe that the
Prussians have lost the practice OF one sort oi
tactics, and not fixed on anything to take lts
place. The Prussian writers aege that with
any shortcomings, their new system is far in
advance OF those OF other nations ID lts adap.
tation TO the breechloader. The French point
to the strategy that gave them Magenta and
the tactics that won Solferino. The Prussians
saw that the one was lost by the palteri' 6 IN
competency of the Austrian stah, the other By
the meddllng Of Francis Joseph with matters
far beyoud his grasp. The French are proud
OF the &C i've intelligence of their democratic
rank and file. and their self-made officers aud
generals. The Prussans have faith in their
patient sturdy soldiers, and the high profess
sional spirit which snimutes their officers
from the Kings son down to the youngest
ensign. Out of all the war OF words and con-
troversies on theory this truth rises clearly up,
that no man can at this moment pretend to
faLhom the probabilities, since no man has the
knowledge which would make his judgment
worth the having. The most important ele-
ment of all 10 an equal war is the power OF the
leader. In this case each has been tried in
but one Campaign. and each against an adyer-
sary whose blunders prepared defeat The
military aspect of The war is in fact as un-
certain as its effect upon the politics or Eu-
rope.
With the views We have announced, it will
not be expected that we should attempt 70
forecast the events now near at hand. It will
be our endsavor rather from week TO week to
sum up the facts, and analyze or apply them
only as far as means permit. The bellIge-
rents are resolved to keep the world thorough
" 10 the dark. Happily this Is hardly possible,
and we will do our best to pierce the cloud,
not not looking 10 the political side Of the question,
nor pontn out whether Ffegc ambition Or
For seven long years Count Bismarck has
steadily and successfully pursued a policy
which has, step by step, brought his country
into o mcre leading position. Step By step he
has reused the jealousy OF his neighbors. At
last Prussia finds herself rated as the first
military power in Europe. But that position
has long been claimed by another; and no
homilies, nor chapters on political economy,
nor declarations on the rights. OF man and
solidarity of the peoples, can avail to put OF
the long preparing contest, which has sprung
from causes no nearer their fiDal extinction
than when Rome made war upon Carthage.
This said iu exposition Of our purpose, we
shall keep henceforward to our task OF chronl-
cling and explaining events which must inter r
est deeply even those who depreclte them
most.
NEVIS FROM WASHINGTON.