WAR ITEMS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 84, 23 September 1870, Page 3

WAR ITEMS.

An expedition,com prising 350 French war ships, with 40,000 mentis preparing to sail for the Baltic ; hence Elsinore is reported to be the basis of Frehen operations! France, it is said" intends, to bombard all the Prussian towns, on the Baltic, and land an army nuuibeinug .100,000 men on its coast, thus taking : Prussia in the rear. A Prussian despatch boat is watching the progress of the French.ironclads. ° . The bVench Baltic expedition is considered- an effective • Th&re ; is no doubt sortie exaggeration' in the number of vessels Said 'to have been dispatched to the Baltic, butithat will not interfere with the general truth of the statement. The e-nnpaign, so far. appears'"to have been very disastrous to France, and especially so to. the Emperor Napoleon. It is a" significant fact, if true, that the Prince" of Orleans is about to serve- with the Danish army in conjunction with France, thpugH not under the Emperor; and it is no.less significant that the latter has been compelled to place- General Changarnier, the chosen of the mob, upon his staff. - King William in person has a's'suWeol the chief command of the Prussian army, and Marshal Bazaine has been appointed to the' command of the IVench forces in the field. '" The French war steamer Gruicheh arrived at, Sydney for despatches, and at once sailed with the war news for New Caledonia. A raid on German shipping may therefore be expected atvany memeht. •' • • . _ • :

The Victorian Government is taking active measures to reorganise the Volunteers, and place the defences upon a war footing; Ammunition bein£' short, the Sydney. Grovernment have promised the loan of some . Saarbruck has been-captured by tbe French; • The buildings caugbt fire, and half the town was destroyed. 600 on each' side were killed. " r "' " . ~: ' . Weissenbourg.was carried by assault by the Prussians • 'Marshal M'Mahon's force has-been defeated and driven from the camp: A. great battle toot place at Hagenau which lasted from daylight till dusk. The French fell back disordered upon Bitchei '■'■•' ;At Thonville, tbe Frencb tLrew away their arms and bolted. ; 3000 French prisoners have been sent to Frankfort. The whole Prussian army Lave advanced. < M'Mahon's defeat was complete. The Frencb loss is 4000, besides numerous prisoners, and six mitrailleurs. • The Emperor's communications with

M'Mah on have : been iiiterrupted. Paris ia declared in a state of sieo-e. At the fight. at West Saarbrucken hundreds of French prisoners were taken, and General Bazaine wounded. The.' Pall Mall Gazette' says the French have lost irretrievaMv." The loss of the French at the battle of Hagenau, was 5000 killed- M'Mahon's baggage, railway trains, stores and munitions of wap were captured. The Prussian loss was 3590 killed and wounded. The Prussians claim to have 800,000 men in the field. The French have 130,000, aj; Met/,, M'Mahon has 50,000 at Savergno, and Caurobcrt 50,000 at .Nancy. JNapol eon's old disease hast returned violently. Earl (xrriiiyille said that peace with Belgium is' assured by both parties, who signed a-treaty to respect the neuv tral territory of BelgiuiiiV A stontfy debate tookplace in the Corps Legislatif. Itiots have taken' place in Paris: General Chaiiixa'rnier was cheered by the crowd. It is expected that there will be an attack by the populace on the Bourse. The immediate arming of the citizens is demanded. t The French unsuccessfully attempted, to make a, stand at Xiederbrown, but the Bavarians captured the town. . The Prussians menace; Metz. St. Arvid is crossing into Fritiicre at Belfort. Some Prussian, spies were, captured by the French. The recent disasters caused great consternation in Paris. ■': Napoleon calls on France to rise asone man; to save the country , There i* an immense uprising, of the French to repel invasion. '" " v " " l ..Official accounts say that two millions of men are ready to take the field. A battle.is expected at Metz. The South G-ermans have surrounded Strasbourg, which Is expected to surrender. The < Pall Mall Gazette ' says that tfie Empress is preparing for flight. .v The evacuation of the Pontifical dominions is complete:The French Imperial Crt wn jewels are in London.

I LATEST SPECTAL TELEGBAMS. j Metz is surrounded by the Prussians I an,d the of the French army » |. imminent. A great battle is expected. j 'La Presse' : says 30,000 Freiich ! troops were cut to pieces. Prussia is organising volunteers- for a naval force.. The French have called out all men froni 'twenty-five ; tb< thirtyifive years of; age. ..:■;■>■•.,.; . k ; ; A new Ministry.has beenibrmed. A Dictatorship is anticipated, with General Trocher as acting supreme head. The- Emperor refuses to resign thecommand of the army. He says he will lead it on to death or victory. The, G-arde Mobile is leaving tor the frontier. In the Corps Legislatif a deputy demanded the deposition of the Emperor, but he was called to order. The defeats are attributed to the Emperor's military ineapacitv. The enthusiasm of the soldiers is said to be on the increase. It is rumored that Prince Frederick Charles has cut through the.French lines to Metz. The Prussians.as they advance discover-enormous numbers of French wounded. '/iljkv ne x tErench regency ignores the Emperor. . m The very latest rumor is that it is the intention: of the Prussians to cross the Belgian territory, but it is disbelieved. ; The last* despatches report a probability of Russia being involved in the war. : The Prince Imperial of France has arrived in London, and is now at the French Legation in charge of W. P. Smith, the Emperor's confidential agent. [This is denied in a Paris telegram ot the same date.] - Smith also brought the Empress's jewels and valuables, and the famous diamonds of the Duke of Brunswick.