The New York herald., 1873-12-25

| Regnier presented himseifs without creden-
tias Of any sort, ana announced himself a.
an emissary fkOm Ohise1hurst, Bazalne treated
with him and asked OF Prince Frederick
Charles . pass for General Bourbak TO
60 to London and negotiste with the Empress
Regent Regnier turns OUT TO have been a Prus-
SHIN spy, who had no mission OF anv sort from thu
Empress, and all that Bazaine said to the man was
by MIN faithfully reporyed In the Prussiau camp.
The Germans thus learned what were the resources
OF Metz, and when Bazahae,, percciying that tho
resistance OF Paris likely to diSappoint his ex
pectations by lasting several months, tried
to negotiate with Primes Frederick Charles,
he found AL his offers haugntny rcpuIsed. Be-
zains wished to sign peace, maEch out with iiiss
I50, 900 men and help the Germanssto suDdue Paris
insurrectionary stronghold in the possessioD'
OF an illegally constituted govechnrent. The Ger
mans would hear OF no terms but absolute surren-
Ger, and BazaIne who now saw int0-what pitfall
his ambition had dragged him. applied himself tor
disheartening the garrison and po ouIation OF Metz
in every way In order to prepare them
Tor capitulation. Instead OF reviying
the energies OF his soldiers by consol
Ing words he spread IL everywhere tlat
the Germans were gaining victories all ovsr
France, and were gathered in such numbers round
Metz that to attempt sorties would be- madness
The better to force this truth home he sent out
casional raids OF 5000 men, which were repulsed
by forces 10 times as numerous, and thsse fore
gone defeats he magniGed into crushing disas ters.
In his proclamati0ns in the leading articles he
caused to be inserted In the ocial newspapers. In
his casual conservatism, he always did his utmost
to dishearten never tocheer, and the resulSof all
this was that on the 25th OF October, Metz maIly
capitulated, though there were still six weeks
provisions in the city. AS the Germans themselves
admit, resistance or but 10 days more would
have changed the whole aspect OF the campaign;
for the Loire armies would have come to the relief
of Paris, and. as the Germans were forced to keep
200.0 900 round Metz they would not have
been sufficiently strong to continue the siege
OF the capital, and would have been obliged
to raise it. But Bazaine preferred to sur
render his army sooner than act in COM
cert with the republicans and hear 1t said
that they had saved France. Since he could nors
play the leading part himself he. was resolved :
that the whole country should go to ruin and that
every general should fail as he had done. He &C
cordingy signed the most humiliating capituIation
recorded, for not only the citadel OF Metz,
with all the arms stores and ammunition IN 1t,
given up-not only were the whole garrison Of
Isl, 900 men made prisoners OF war, but 81 regi-
mental standards, which. by all the laws OF mill
tary honor. ought TO have been burned up, were
surrendered too. The prosecution accuse the
Marshal OF having yielded these flags under threat
OF Prince Frederick Charles that II aught were
withheld from the Germans the Prince would pub
lish the intrigues into which Bazaine had dipped
and the unworthy negotiations he had undertaken
with view to extinguishing the republican gov
ernment for his own advantage.
Such are the charges adduced against Marshal
Bazaine, and it may be said that the sum OF them
forms the most heinous impeachment ever brought
against general.