LONDON.

Otago Witness, Issue 1006, 11 March 1871, Page 6

LONDON.

(from our own correspondent.)

30th December.

Christmas has this year been darkened by political gloom. The accounts daily published of wide-spread ruin and intense suffering in France, have caused a very general feeling of sadness and sympathy among all classes of our population, and among the more thoughtful they have awakened sentiments of not unreasonable anxiety as to the consequences likely to ensue from the prolongation of the war. Industrially, the damage done by the occupation of whole provinces by the German armies may, and no doubt will, be repaired by the recuperative energy of the most elastic- spirited of nations. We know how quickly the ravageß of conflict began to be obliterated in the Southern States of America, and how rapid has been the progress there in the cicatrisation of what were deemed the moat deadly wounds. The case of France, in one important respect, is less deßperate, for the most remarkable effect of the invasion has been to quench for the time social enmities and disputes, and to marshal in compact array men of all classes, interests, and opinions. The destruction of agricultural Btock and capital will unhappily be equalled by the loss incurred in towns by the cessation of profits and wages. But great as these may be, and seriously as they must affect the purchasing powers of our neighbours for a long time to come, they are evils which may be, and, no doubt, will be, mitigated to a great ex'ent by the action of whatever government is constituted in Franco on the restoration of peace. The public credit of the country ia even now so good that the Committee of National Defence could raise to morrow another loan without difficulty at a lower rate than that at which a large portion of our own national debt was contracted. And as qualms on the subject of political economy find little place under any circumstances in the French mind, one cannot doubt that compensatory measures of a large and liberal kind will be readily adopted for the purpose of distributing, as far as may be, the i urthen of the losses occasioned by the present war among the entire community, and makiog it a charge upon the future as well as the present. In this way, therefore, the industrial evil may be palliated, and its depressing influence on the labour and enterprise of the people materially alleviated.

But just In proportion as the na'ional spirit of the Prenoh fitß them to grapple with euch industrial misfortunes, it is likely, if not certain, to render them collectively resentful of national wrong, and impatient under the blistering reproach of national humiliation. Every instalment of the indemnity, certain to be exacted by Prussia, will tear open a freshly-closing wound and cause it to bleed again. Had Prussia been contented with her splendid triumphs at Weissenbarg, Sedan, and Metz, and retaining Alsace and the North-eastern portion of Lorraine ; had she liberated Napoleon and his disarmed legions with no other admonition than "Go 3 sin no more," her position would have been immeasurably higher in the eyes of Europe than it is now, or is at all likely to be. France, at the beginning of November, was steeped in the lowest depths of self distrust and internecine division. The re-appearance of Napoleon 111. at the head of even half the troops ho had led into captivity would then have oeen the signal for an outburst of civil discord ; and, while the vanquished nation, with torn flag aDd broken sword and unredeemed prestige, presented the spectacle of civil strife and internal weakness, Germany would have enjoyed the untarnished credit of magnanimity in success and forbearance towards a prostrate foe. Bat the lust of conquest would not suffer the Prussian King and his advisers to draw rein when their reputation aB politicians aixi Boldiers was at its zenith. They have gone on, week after week, pursuing ingksriously the work of mere devastation and death, and squandering recklessly the lives, not only of their maddened victims, but of their own gallant people. The losses by disease, exposure, and hardship in the German camps during the last two monthß have fceen enormous ; and the losb in killed and xvoimded during the same time, from the univeroal resistance they have provoked, is believed to have been as groat as that incurred in all the great actions of the campaign. The havoc among the victors is causing daily more and more discontent in Germany. The people there were promised the capture of Pans and surrender at discretion of the Eopublican Executive ; but Paris, instead of lying down to die, appears to have been born again. It has oast its skin of frivolity and eenarialiam, and sometimes unreason, and taken — marvellous to relate — mot to fasting and prayer, but to self-denial and drill. Faction and folly have ceased from troubling ; good living, pleasure, demagogaeism, and crime, have silently disappeared in the beleaguered city. The infinite variety of food, of occupation, and of pastime, has gradually ceased to exist. Half-a million of men have loyally taken to drill, gunnery, and Bpecial constableship. As one man, the whole population haß agreed to devote themselves te the heroic task of baffling the besiegers. And, contrary to the prognostics of all the best-informed strategists and politicians oi Europe, they have not only hitherto kept them sk bay, but they have at length fairly raised the question — Whether they may not eventually compel them to withdraw. General Trochu — to svhom is principally due the credit of the noble defence of Paris — has never, by a sentence or a phrase, indicated hie theory or bis plan. Wb only teftni bj events as they unroll them'

selveß something of his masterly designs. His great difficulty for several weeks was to kepp up the spirits of the multitudinous garrison, without risking an encounter on the smallest scale. Thanks fco his indomitable tenacity of purpose, and to the self restraint and patriotism of the people, he succeeded in getting them during the whole of the period to be content with making miles upon miles of earthworks in all directions outside the confines of the city, and tinder the guns of the forts ; with fabricating within the walls powder and projectiles of all kinds, and guns of every calibre ; and above all with learning under high pressure the elementary duties of soldiership. And then began the series of sorties in force which the astonished Prussians found themselves unable to cope with, save with the exertion of their whole strength, and with the sacrifice of countless lives. The greatest of these outbreaks, led by General Dncrot, will take its place in military annals as one of the most brilliant enterprises of our time. I need not recount the details which you will find elsewhere. Tt suffices for me to note that the positions gained by the French at Champigny they continued to hold for weeks undisturbed, aad that every day since they have continued to push forward their entrenchments further and further from the walls.

A letter which I have just seen from an officer despatched from Pans to Bordeaux by the now ordinary way of postal balloon, states that a number of monster guns have been founded and placed in position in ad' vance of Mont Valerien, which are capable of throwing shells a distance of 8000 yards, or nearly five miles. It is calculated that by this means it will be possible to bombard Versailles, and thus to drive King William from making his headquarters in the palace of the old Kings of France. The effect of Buch a coup upon the minds of the population, already wrought up to such a pitch of genuine fervour as they have not known since 1793, would undoubtedly be great. But strategically its importance would also be manifest. If the same tactics can be pursued elsewhere, the question ot the bombardment of Paris will have been settled ; and the circuit of investment instead of being gradually narrowed, would be distended, and thereby consequently weakened to an extent impossible to calculate, bat certain to t'e perilous and perplexing. In South and West new levies continue to be raised and drilled ; and the experience of the last few weekß, though fruitless of victories over the veteran troops of Germany, has not been barren of proofs that the military spirit of the French is not dead, but that on the contrary it only needs opportunity again to prove itself iormidable. And this brings me back to the point above referred to, via., the aspect which the continuance of this terrible war wears in the sight of thoughtful and prudent men of other nations. If it goes on for another three months it will have made implacable and invincible the martial population, with whom it will be vain to hope for the establishment of a permanent peace upon any conceivable terms. I believe that were the army of the Loire iv the course of the next fortnight to gain a decided victory, no matter how specifically indecisive, it wouM go far to render any compromise impossible. But the Prussians seem to be as infatuated as ever. They are confident that they can starve Paris into submission ; and that done, they persuade themselves that either the Provisional Government of Defence or the captive of Wilhelmshohe will subscribe any terms of na tional capitulation they may think fit to impose. lam not alone in the conviction that in this they will tind themselves mistaken. No Government could exist in France for a week after signing such a peace. If peace is to be imposed, it must be by neutral Europe, not by overbearing Prussia.

The general expectation of experienced military men that Paris could not hold out till Christmas, has not in any way been realised. The time has come and gone, and the prospect of this most notable siege being brought to an end Beems as remote as ever. We hear from time to time, by balloon or pigeon telegraph, as it is called, of the state of resources inside the city. There still appears to be plenty of salt meat, bread, and wine, besides a fair supply of lesß important articles ; and with these staples, and the stern feeling of determination to resist to the last which animates and gains strength in the breasts of the inhabitants, the prolongation of much unavoidable distress, added to the misery of uncertainty, may be continued yet a long time. Meanwhile, though prepared for the worst, the Parisians have not been inactive, and repeated efforts have not been wanting on their part to break through the iron circle, and stretch hands towards one or other of the armies that have been levied with surprising expedition in the north-west and south. My last told you of the commencement of an attack by Ducrot on the German forces opposite Vincennea. The sortie of the 30th ult. was made with the hope of co-operation by D'Aurellea de Paladine, who was to come up from Orleans and simultaneously attack the Prussians in the rear. In the event of success attending the coup, it was anticipated that the strength of their united forces would have > enabled them to manoeuvre freely and hold in check the investing army, inferior in numbers, until the arrival of the forces commanded by Bourbaki. The bold design, in so far as the junction was concerned, proved a complete failure. D'Aurelles was at the time several days' march distant from the capital, and Ducrot, though not actually driven back, saw the prudence of retiring aoroas the Marne, and strengthening his position at Vincennes. The General's daring , bravery was enthuei»Btioally recognised by

I the people of Paris ; and at a Counoil of the Government of National Defence he was declared to have deserved well of the country, and to be entitled to the nation's thanks. Ducrot ia now one of the heroes of the campaign, and as general confidence is repoßed in him by all the men in power, the people, ever sanguine, are inclined to look upon him as their ultimate deliverer from captivity. The less fortunate, but equally brave, D'Aurelles de Paladine met with a totally different sort of recognition, which I shall presently explain. No hostile movement of importance was made from within until the early part of last week, when an attack was commenced on the Saxons to the east of the city, and the villages of Stain and Le Boureet, both to the east of Si Denis, were captured by the French. The engagement was as usual begun by a heavy cannonade from the adjacent forts, to cover the operations of the sallying party. From seven o'clock until twelve the fire from the French guns was unremitting and furious. After that hour the steady German fire began to tell, and by half-past two the French, except in the forts, were all but silenced. The Germans then, being out of the dangerous range of any of the forts, repulsed the French at most points, and recaptured Le Bourget. The loes in killed and wounded was trivial on both sides, but it cost the Frenoh a thousand unwounded prisoners . "What the object was that Trochu set before himself in giving battle to a strong body of Germans at that point is not at present clear. It may have been done with the hope of attracting the attention of General Faidherbe with the Army of the North, who was probably known to be in the neighbourhood, or it may have been that he merely proposed to widen the hostile circle within which he is enclosed, and occupy positions which might be turned to account on some future occasion. This latter supposition is the more probable one, as in any event it would afford occupation to troops that had lain so long in wistful expectancy. Some guuboatß were Bent up the Seine on the 18th in the direction of Charenton, and the crews attempted to effect a landing under cover of the fort. They were, however, perceived by tiie Prussians, and after a severe fight were captured, their boate falling into the hands of the enemy. A hundred sailors were sent for from Kiel to man them, and they are now on their way to take possession. These useful aids may thus be very effectually used against the French, should their assailants become weary of the slow process of starvation, and try to bombard the city. It is said that there is increasing discontent in Berlin and throughout the Confederation at the protraction of the war, especially at the delay in shelling the capital. Whether this has any influence at the Court of Versailles or not, it is certain that heavy siege guns have recently been put in position, and many others are oh their way from the Prussian foundries. The interest of the drama centres more and more In and around Mont Valerien, the greatest of the chain of forts that enciroles Paris. It stands on an elevation of somewhat less than 400 feet above the 'evel of the Seine, at the south-west point, and commands the valley which stretches on the left bank of the river to Versailles, a distance of between four and five miles. For many weeks infinite pains have been devoted to pushing in this direction earthworks of sufficient magnitude to admit of their being mouHted with the guns of the largest size which haß ever been used in war. These have been for the moat part founded in Paris since the siege began, and I have seen letters from reliable sources which describe them as capable of carrying shells the enormous distance of 8000 yards. It is thua anticipated that some fine morningi ng King William and his suite may be surprised by the falling of a shower of projectiles around the Palace of Louis XIV. The Republican Government would certainly not shrink from making a holocaust of the invaders on that splendid altar, profaned, as it irredeemably has been, by the insulting presence of the invader during so many weeks. If report Bpeaks true there wou'd, moreover, be something Sardanapalian in such an expiatory fate. The personal habits of the royal patron of the Berlin ballet have not been changed Bince the transfer of his residence to the scenes historically notorious as the unholieat of the unholiest under the Bourbon regime. Since the day when the unhappy Marie Antoinette was compelled to quit the CE'd de Bn'uf, nothing of the revelry or license of a Court has been seen within ihe gilded chambers of Versailles. Napoleon preferred St. Cloud ; Charles X., Fontainbleau; Louis Philippe, Neuilly ; and Napo'eon 111., Compiegne. All concurred in avoiding Versailles as a place of evil omen. It was kept up only as a national gallery and place of show for the amusement of the Parisians. Of late its gorgeous halls and corridors have been the nestling place of those brilliaat birds of prey that are apt to haunt victorious camps, and to which the Prussian King is believed to be more devoted than most genlemen of overflowing piety and ripe years. Jfc would be a strange sensational mci* dent ia the fifth act if His Majesty and his demi-monde Court should be suddenly dispersed by a stern missive from Mont Valerien. I asked one of our greatest English artillerists yesterday whether he believed in the possibility of Trochu being able to place in position guns that would carry so far ; and ho said that he saw no reason to doubt it.

Another, and strategically far more important design, is ascribed to the reticent and sagacious Commander of Paris. For many dayß long trains of baggage-waggons have been noticed wending their way to the Bois do Boulogne, towards tha oitaaol ; and it la

supposed that beside vast stores of ammunition, these are laden with provisions meant to sustain a garrison of elite, should it be found necesßary to leave the city to capitulate for want of sufficient food to supply its multitudinous inhabitants.

The bombardment of Mont Avron, a fortress of considerable strategical importance in the outer line of defences, was commenced on the 27th inst. hy the Saxons, who have suffered most severely from its fire. This is supposed to be a necessary preliminary to an attack on the remaining forts, and finally to the shelling of the capital.

In the provinces the movements of the contending armies are so complicated as to cause considerable difficulty in tracing them. The result of every engagement too of any magnitude is generally claimed as favourable to the side whose version of the affair is given. From Versailles, we aro always prepared to hear of decisive victories of the Prussians ; while the telegrams from French sources seldom tell of complete defeat or of anything worse than a drawn battle. On the night of the 4th inst., Orleans was once more occupied by the Prussians. After much wavering on the part of D'Aurelles de Paladine, caused by the constantly changing orders of the War Minister — he decided on the 2nd fco await the approach of the enemy on the side of the town by which they would enter, and give them battle. HU army was strong numerically, and was composed chiefly of very young men, inexperienced, but full ' of ardour and desirous of meeting the aggressor. At the last moment, when the Prussians were within a short march of the town, an order came from M. Gambetta advising a retreat from the city, fears being entertained that the men were not strong enough to meet the German veterans. Disappointed and disgusted, D'Aurelles de Paladine ordered the evacuation of .the town. The retrograde movement had scarcely begun, when the Prussian vanguard came in sight. Their leader, quickly perceiving the position of affairs, pushed on rapidly, and charged the retreating masses with vigour. The latter, unprepared for attack, made no Bhow o£ resistance, but quickened their pane through the town, and the Prussians still pressing on, those in the rear fell an easy prey to the:r cavalry, 10,000 unwounded piisoners are said to have been captured. This crowning misfortune cost the ill fated D'Aurelles his command. The disgrace and lobs were indirectly the fault of the Central Anthority, but as he was the general in command at the time, the responsibility was thrown upon him, and he was superseded by General Chanzy.

Perhaps the most effective manner in which the representatives of the Government of National Defence in the Provinces have used their powers has been shown in their readiness to remove officers who were even suspected of incapacity. Count Ke"ratry is amongst the more recent removals. For some capricious reason his careful conduct of the camp at Conlie in the North, where thousands of soldiers have been drilled untie" his superintendence, was not considered satisfactory by M. Gambetta, and the change has quickly been perceived in a want of discipline and general good order since he left. M. Gambetta first pointed to Chanzy, the successor of D'Aurelles, as the man who would lead an army to the succour of Paris, but since he has approached no nearer the capital, and can only maintain his position at Le Mans, notwithstanding the large force under his command, the fiery Minister now calls attention to General Faidherbe in the north- west, who has been making repeated and desperate effortß to effect a junction with one of the recent sallying parties from the capital. The last engagement was between his forces and those under General Mnnteuffel, who seems to have been "pitted" against him in the same manner as Prince Frederiok Charles has been against Chanzy, and the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg againsit Bourbaki in the south. It took place on the 23rd insfc., at Noyellea, near Amiens. Faidherbe was compelled to retire to Arras, thus increasing the distance between himself and the goal of all the Prench armies now in the field to a hundred miles With Bourbaki at Bourges, or thereabouts, Chanzv at Le Mans, Faidherbe at Arras, each unable to communicate with the other, there would appear to be little present probability of relief coming from north, south, or west. To the eastward the only hostility the Prussians have to fear is from the irregular bands of FrancsTireurs, over whom Garibaldi was appointed to command, as far as the wide field of their operations would admit of their being subject to the control and direction of one man. These bands are troublesomeßenough to the Prussians, and often harass their convoys, but they have never yet succeeded in stopping communication with the froutier for a single day. %b is even said that the. field post is carried with a regularity with which our Postmaster-General might be contented. The completeness of the Prussian army system is reflected in every detail. But these minor considerations are forgotten when one contemplates the bolder movements of strategy. It is now an undoubted fact that the total numerical strength of the French under arms greatly exceeds that of thr Prussians ; and, though the former are yet mere recruits, ft shows marvellous organisation on the part of their adversaries that they should be able as they have hitherto done to move about the country, to use popular comparison, like so many men. on a chess board. It is truly Baid that every defeat sustained by the French, is a gain to them of so much experience, which they will ultimately use with crush* ing effect upon their old masters. Bui; meantime there ie no ihuttujg one.'* eyes to

the actual condition of affairs. Wherever the spiked helmet appears, it seldom retires anlfss victorious. Rouen. Amiens, Dieppe taken, Phalsburg and Montme*dy surrendered, Cherbourg, Havre, and Fe'camp threatened, and the seat of Government re moved to Bordeaux—all within a short three weeks. Such rapid conquests were never achieved by Oaesar over the ancient Gauls. The only fortified place that yet holds out against the enemy is Mez:6res in the extreme north. Everything is being got in j^adineßs to bombard it, lest Faidherbe, reduced ■to •extremities, should with his Army seek refuge therein. The fortress not interfering with the movements •ot the Prussian troops, it has- hitherto been allowed to remain undisturbed.

Six English veatels which had been unloading coal at Duolair, a little town above Havre, on the Same, were the other day seized by the Prussians, and mis en requisition, as Bonaparte's generals would say, for the servioe of his Majesty the King. The men were turned out and their ships scuttled to block the passage of tbe river against some French gunboats which had just appeared at the mouth of it. It was, doubtless, a fortunate oiroumstance for the Prussians ; but, unless we are to accept the old adage that " All is fair in love and war," Prussia ought to be called to acoount for shis insult to the British Flag, and be made to pay a handsome indemnity, besides acknowledging the gross breach of international law. The captains of the vessels had Prussian permits to trade.

While the tone of publio sentiment has been steadily tending more and more for many weeks towards sympathy with France, tbe feeling of the Court, which during the first three months of the war was strongly Prussian, has been turned the othor way by a circumstanoe not generally known. Ever since the marriage of the Princess Royal to King William's eldest son, a confidential correspondence has been kept up by her with the Queen ; and it has long been understood that political events and combinations have formed in great part the topics discussed between mother and daughter. The energy and talent manifested by the Crown Princess on many occasions has naturally given rise to the conjecture that her letters are calculated to exercise considerablfl influence over the mind of the Queen, who, since the death of her uncle Leopold, possesses no other family counsellor whose judgment she can be supposed to respect, and with whom she can feel at liberty to speak without reserve. The Prince of Wales is a mtre votary of pleasure, who never reads a book or takes the trouble to master any important subjeot. Prince Arthur is still little more than a boy, and Prince Alfred is seldom at home. Lett thus in a certain sense alone, the Queen, as was natural, fell into the habit of conversing on paper with her eldest born and best beloved of her numerous offspring ; and one caa imagine the freedom and candour which such a speoies of communication was likely to oreate. It was a sunbeam in the palace, otherwise too muoh wrapped in gloom ; and it will be a subjeot of jast regret should anything for a time tend to intercept its pure and general influence.

Unfortunately for the comfort and accord of the royal family, the Princess Royal is said to have yielded to the suggestions of her arbitrary and arrogant father-in-law in so far as to make known his disapproval of the assent given by Her Majesty to the marriage of the Princess Louise with Lord Lome. The old monaroh's mind, which was never of the strongest, has been completely turned of late by his marvellous run of military fortune. His hand is already on the imperial crown of Germany, his permanent head-quarters as a conqueror are at Versailles, and, imitating his brother autocrat of Russia, he has already began to throw European treaties into the fire, The pride of the house of Hohenzollem is prosperous beyond all that it has heretofore dreamed : its princes already regard themselves as the suzerains of kings, and the accents of its inBolence daily overflow. At such a moment it could hardly be expected that King William should hear with satisfaction that the sister of his daughter-in-law was about to be given in marriage to the penniless heir of a Scotch duke, whose next brother had lately gone into business as a tea merchant in the city of London. Right Divine is said to have indulged in much profane swearing at the disgusting news, and having pondered the matter in its feudal head, resolved to try if it were possible to avert the impending humiliation . The story goes that the Princess Royal was worked upon successfully for the purpose, and that she undertook in her letters to her mother to represent the grave obj ctions entertained by her husband and her father-in-law to the marriage of her sister with one not of royal blood. Her Majesty was not, however, to t>e moved by suoh expostulations. Her word was pledged, and the nation had testified unmistakeably its satisfaction. Whereupon there is said to havo arisen, for the first time, something like controversy between parent and child, ending, as might have been anticipated, in the making clearer than ever to the mind of the Queen how essentially disorepaut are Prussian ideas of rule from those which our Sovereign entertains. The whole affair has been conducted unofficially, and public proofs will therefore never be forthcoming, at least in our day, of the exact nature of the epistolary dispute. But the result is a perceptible ohange of tone in the highest circle regarding the continuance of the war ; German triumphs are no longer the fashion, and the cause of suffering France is no longer treated superciliously or coldly in high places. Mr Motley finally took leave of his wide

oirole of friends in England on the 7th inst., and on the following day started for the Hague, where he proposes to reside for some time previously to returning to the States. General Sohenck has at length consented to take his place at the Court of St. Jarres's, and is to leave for England on the 28th January. Pending his arrival, the diplomatic business of the United States is left in charge of Mr Moran, the first Secretary of Legation. General Sohenck's task will not be an arduous one, for the present at least, as the principal subject for negotiation between the two countries is likely to be transferred to Washington — where alone, in point of fact, it can be safely brought to a solution. It is, I believe, a mistake to suppose that the new American Envoy shares the bellioose opinions and dreams of Geneml Butler, to whom he has been in point of faot a sort of rival in Congress, and to whom he is in every way greatly superior. I had the pleasure of meeting General Sohenck in England last year, and his conversation then was in a tone the most calm and reasonable with reference to our future relations with America. His success as a commander in the Civil War was certainly not great, but he has earned the reputation of judgment and tact as Chairman of the Finance Committee during the past session. The modifications of the tariff, proposed by the Government, were indeed defeated, but not through any want of skill or energy on his part. Curiously enough, he wUI find domiciled here a still greater financial authority from Washington, who, having had his turn of offioe, has made up his mind to venture no more on the stormy sea of Republican politics, but to cast anchor in the safer and more profitable waters of English social life. Mr M'Culloeh, formerly Seoretary of the Treasury in President Johnson's Administration, has formed a partnership with the wellknown Mr J. Cook, with whom he is about to establish a banking house in the city of London for the transaction of Amerio »n and English business.

Lord Granville'a answer to Prince Gortschakoff's second not© respecting the repudiation of the treaty of 185S, amounts at great length to nothing at all beyond a reciprocation of the bows and smiles and wavings of the diplomatic hand by which the Russian Premier sought to adjourn sine die the discussion of the dangerous question he had lately raised. Prussia meantime tendered her good offices, and at her invitation, a Conference of the Great Powers has been summoned to meet in London on the 3rd January, at which France has been specially asked to be present by a suitable representative, M. Thiers waa at first spoken of for the purpose, and subsequently M. Jules Favre. Bnt upon the whole it now seems likely that no higher diplomatic personage than Tissot, who, since the fall of the Empire, has been Charge d' Affaires in Eogland, will be the spokesman of the Government of National Defence. To this Conference an effort will be made to submit the arbitration of the Luxembourg question, and also in all probability the terms ofpeaoe between France and Germany. Unless Paris, however, shall have capitulated in the meantime, there is little chance of the latter reference being agreed to. After all the sacrifices that have been made during four months' siege, Counts Bismarck and Moltke cannot afford to return to Germany without having got possession of their coveted prey. • But this once secured, and King William having slept for three nights at the Tuileries, it will be comparatively easy to accommodate matters, and it will be for his interest then to obtain the sanction of Europe for the ratification of the terms of penalty and confiscation which, with the help of Russia, he will be able to impose. The defeated and distraoted rulers of ravaged France may be then left to settle their internal affairs at their leisure ; the Prussian armies being withdrawn to the line of the Vosges, occupying Metz with 50,000 men, and rendering its fortifications more perfect then ever. Until the humiliation and partition of France is accomplished it does not suit Count Bismark to insult England beyond endurance. In his circular despatch of the 3rd inst., denouncing the treaty of 1866, with regard to Luxembourg, he carefully avoids asserting any claim for the annexation of the Grand Duchy, but contents himself with accusing the Dutch Government with breaches of neutrality sufficient to 'justify measures of a similar nature during the war. This does not prevent a proposal being made by-and-by that the Grand Duchy should be annexed to Prussia as compensation for somewhat less being taken of Lorraine. In Belgium there is indeed a renewed panic lest it should be handed over to France, by the revival of the Benedetti bargain in another form as a sort of endowment of restored empire, the boast of which might reconcile the wounded feelings of Frenchmen to accept once more the Napoleonic Dynasty. To this I thuik it may eventually come, but not by way of a conference, or so soon as the apprehensive | Belgians fear.

After many months' absence from office and seclusion from society, in the hope of regaining health, Mr Bright has at length resigned. His physicians, though continuing to hold out hopes of his ultimate recovery, have declared their decided opinion that nothing would more tend to imperil it than a premature attempt to resume mental occupation involving either excitement or anxiety. The routine business of the Board of Trade has gradually ceased to imply either the one or the other. It has, in faot, become a department of such insignifioanoe, comparatively speaking, that economical reformers have been disoussing of late whether it might sot be altogether suppressed, and its itatiitioftl

branch transferred to the Board of Customs. But as a general rule its president has always been a member of the Cabinet ; and Mr Bright' s temperament being of the sort that takes nothing passively, it would be impossible for him to resume his seat at the Council table without participating actively in the Ministerial discussions and taking his share in the burthen of responsibility of Executive Government. It is certain that a man who is forbidden to read a book or write a letter, lest the exertion should bring on acute symptoms of theoerebral malady under which he labours, is not in a fit condition to engage in the deliberations of the Cabinet, even in ordinary times ; and now the times are out of joint, and momentous issues hang upon the resolve of Ministers sitting in seoret conclave from day to day. It may be that Mr Bright was unwilling to abandon the hope of our approaching a more tranquil period when he might, without imprudeooe, rejoin his colleagues, and have another look at the House of Commons ere finally bidding it adieu. But with France in flames from the ocean to the Moselle, the Pope a prisoner en parole in the Vatican, and the Russo-Turkish Treaty of 1856 torn up, it is vain to cherish such delusions. Mr Bright has done well, therefore, in requiring the acceptance of his resignation. His fir3t year of office was marked only by his participation m carrying the Bill for disestablishing the Irish Church. For the advancement of industry, whether commercial or agricultural, he accomplished, and indeed, said nothing, with the single exoeDtion of the clauses in the Irish Land Bill, enabling tenants to borrow Government money to buy up the fee of their farms, when the landlord was disposed to sell — provisions whose efficacy the future must be left to determine. Illness has made his second year of office a sad and silent blank. It is not true that he is entitled to a pension, as we inferred by some from the fact that one of his predecessors, Mr Milner Gibson, suecesstully claimed that remuneration for life for services not more notable. The faot is that the law of political pensions has recently been altered so that Cabinet Ministers do not now become entitled under four years to enjoy that speoies of remuneration. Mr Bright's successor is not yet definitely named, Mr Chichester Fortescue is understood to wish to be relieved from the Irish Secretaryship, in order to take the easier post. Mr Charles Villiers is in favour of his own nomination thereto ; and Mr Goschen, Lord Northhrook, and Lord Dufferin are believed to be also emulous of the honour it confers without toil.

The first meeting of the London School Board was held on the 15th inst., in the Council Chamber at Guildhall— the use of which had been offered for the purpose by the Lord Mayor and Corporation of the city. The Recorder, Mr Russell Gurney, as Returnlag Officer at the recent elections, attended in person, and in compliance with the general feelings of the members present, consented to aot as their legal adviser and assessor. As a fitting acknowledgment of the hospitality shown them, Alderman Cotton, who had been returned as one of the delegates for London, was called on to preside until a permanent chairman should be appointed. On the roll being called, forty-eight members answered to theii names, Mr Maogregor alone being absent. The first business transacted was to agree upon the mode of procedure to be adopted in the election of chairman and vice-chairman ; and, after a brief discussion, the exhaustive method, as praotised in the Common Council and other corporate bodies, was unanimously agreed to. Considerable curiosity had existed for some time previously as to the parson who should be chosen to fill the presidential chair. It was felt that the character and policy of the Board would in a great degree be indicated thereby. The Secularists it waa supposed would support Professor Huxley as the chief exponent of their views, but their number not exceeding half-a-dozen, it was felt that i this could in no way affect the result, as, af cer the first division, they would vote for one or other of the remaining candidates. The Wesleyans, numbering seven in the Board, were understood to be divided in their leanings, and the Catholics, being but three, could exert no material influence on the decision. His twelve Nonconformist brethren had been canvassed actively by Mr Charles Reed, M.P., but as he was generally regarded as having no other claim than that of sect, it was evident that he could not hope to succeed, and that his continuing to stand would only be for the purpose of taking votes from one of his competitors in order to assist the others, and it was understood to secure thereby his own nomination to the vice-chair. The Church party, led by six clergymen, and numbering in all just twenty members, formed, it was obvious from the first, j a sectarian phalanx, which, with the aid of a few votes from the other denominations, would overbear all independent opposition ; and when it was announced that they had ageed to take the Government nominee, Lord Lawrence, their strength was justly deemed irresistible. Either fanaticism or flunkeyism can do much in the middle class of life in England. But when combined, there is hardly any power able to withstand them. Mr Forster, the Minister of Education, publicly canvassed on behalf of the Ex-Gover-nor-General of India, whom as a Peer he wished to secure for the support of the Government, and whom as a man absolutely devoid of the powers of debative discussion, he regarded as safe not to acquire any leading influence in the new popular Assembly. In this and many other ways, the Vice-Presi-dent of the Committee of Council showed his unwillingness to allow Mr Torrens to be chosen Chairman of the Board. He could not deny him the oredit of having planned and per-

footed it in Parliament, where Government! had given up the task of satisfactorily dealing with London, as he himself confessed in despair. Public opinion, with a unanimity rarely witnessed, had for three months preceding pronounced decisively ia favour of the member for Finsbury, not only as being personally qualified for the trust, but as having! fairly earned this popular reward. The Times and Daily News, the Standard and the Daily Telegraph, though agreeing in few things else, concurred in this ; and the two latter journals vied with «aoh other up to the last in deprecating the notion of three millions of Londoners petitioning a Peer to be their president in the matter of their primary schools, and in advooating the justice and policy of electing a man who had been thrice returned by vast majorities for one of the largest boroughs of the Metropolis, and who was known to be trusted as tolerant and independent by all the various sects and sections of this vast community. But the I grasping and jobbing spirit of the GovernI ment oared for none of these things. While the Bill was still going through Committee in the Commons, Ministers had endeavoured clandestinely to obtain the power of nominating the Chairman of the London Board, together with a third of its members. The House angrily resisted this open clutch afc extended centralisation ; but what they could obtain directly they resolved indirectly, per fas aut nefas, to secure ; a compact was accordingly made by which the thirteen Congregationalism and Baptists agreed to go through the farce of voting for Mr Heed, leaving the majority of the Churchmen and Wesleyans to support Lord Lawrence— the bargain being that when the latter was successful, both would unite in putting the former in the vice-chair. These tactics pre- ' vailed ; and to the no small surprise of the uninitiated out of doors, the presidency of Lord Lawrence was voted by 22 votes against 24, which were divided between Mr Torrens and Mr Reed in the proportions of 11 and 13. No salary has for the present been voted to the Chairman, but it is well understood that at the proper time no difficulty will be made by the ascendant majority in completing this part of the compact. Meanwhile the new Boards are everywhere made the objeots of inveotive, by reason of the predominantly Anglican type which they hive assumed ; the experience of the cumu» lative vote in most of the large towns has been to raise to pre-eminence two or three representatives of small but compact religious minorities, but in the main, Churchmen greatly predominate in the Board ; and the dissenters in many populous district feel that the character of the education likely to be given in the new sohools will not be each as they can approve, and that the ra'es that may be imposed will amount, us they say, to a new endowment. To mend the matter, Mr Forster has just issued a circular, in which he lays it down broadlyth.it, however painstaking the Boards in rh -ir enquiries as to existing wHjfrj ond '!i> *est mode of supplying them, the Commi tee of Council will enquire, judge, and decree what is wanted in eaoh case, and what a ball be done, irrespective of anything to the contrary decided on by the local body. The Daily News and Examiner h".ve already taken issue on this point with t.h« domineering ediot of the Lords of the Council ; and the subjeot is likely to give rise <> much discussion.

France has jast lost, if not her greatest writer, certainly the most widely read of modern French romaneistß. Alex .nder Dn. mas, senior, the author of " Monte Christo," " The Three Musketeers," and a host of leso known novels, and many popular dramas, was born on the 24th July, 1803, in the French colony of La Martinique. His death occurred on the s oh December, 1870, near Dieppe, and he was consequently in his 67th year. His early fame was made by writing romam feuilletom to the journals. It was in this form that the ' ' Comte de Monte Christo" first appeared, and it proved a real mine, which he continued to work with much success. His romances were in such demand after the publication of this novel, and the calls for productions from his pen to appear in the feuilletons so numerous, as to necessitate the aid of a whole staff of secretaries. He often wrote four or five ta^s simultaneously, and they were printed on the same days in different journals. His stock on hand of wonderful adventures, immense fortunes, and gorgeous accessories, was apparently illimitable — that is, so long as the vast machinery could be kept going, material* were never wanting, A youug man of 27 at the time of the Revolution of 1830, he caught the infection of the day, and showed his contempt for old aesthetic traditions and conventionalism by creating a style for himself. It was more in manner than in matter that he differed from his predecessors and competitors in the field of light literature. Ho had no new theory or clearly defined system ; but as everything was written in facile and flowing language, and teemed with exciting incidents, chiefly of modern life, his readers included all classes of Frenchmen, and his works were also largely patronised in every other country wheie French is read.

The weather here is intensely cold. Frost and snow set in ten days ago, and the thermometer has contined to indicate several degrees of frost ever since. We have had, in fact, what is called an old fashioned Christmas — plenty of ice and skating. However exhilarating the bright colrl weather may be to those who are well cia-i and amply fed, it has a totally diff -rent effeot upon the spirits of the London poor. To them it means, in many oases, cessation from work and consequent privations. In the East End we hear of thousands on the verge of starvation, many of whom probably will starve if the oold should oontinua. _j