WAR ITEMS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3097, 12 January 1871, Page 4

WAR ITEMS.

■»..-- MANIFESTO OF THE EMPRESS EUGENIE. Next, while negotiations for the surrender of Metz were still pending, General Boyer was known to have gone from that town to Versailles, and thence on to Chiselhurst, where the Empress is now residing. Count Bismarck was again supposed to be plotting for the restoration of the Empire as the easiest means of securing an easy retreat for his victorious armies. A Belgian paper publishes an account of a meeting of officers held at Metz, to receive a statement of General Boyer's mission, in which it is distinctly averred that a proposal was made to him at a military council in Versailles that the army of Baizaine should retire to a point where it could protect the authorities during peace negotiations, andenforcethe terms concluded. There is no very great discrepancy between this statement and one put forth on Imperial authority in our English newspapers. In this document, written by some member of the household, the Empress is represented as " in oomplote accord" with the Government of Tours, as regards the refusal of all cession of territory. It is also affirmed that overtures were actually made to her soon after her arrival in England, "to conclude a peace on the basis of the surrender of Strasburg, with a portion of the department of Bas Ellin, including but 250,000 inhabitants, and with a war indemnity of 2,000,000,000 of francs ;" but this the Empress refused. Eeference is made to the " intrigue in which General Bourbaki became an involuntary tool, and to the famous manifesto imputed to the prisoner of Wilhelmshohe ;" but every intrigue the Empress disavows. " The arrival of General Boyer was as unexpected as that of General Bourbaki. It was only natural that the envoy sent by Marshal Bazaine to the Prussian headquarters should have thought it a duty, when his mission was accomplished, to pay his respects to the Empress, and to apprise her of what was passing in Metz. There was no question of a military revolution." But the strongest rebuff is given to Prince Napoleon, whose second and last visit to Chiselhurst ended in an explosion : — " During this last visit Prince Napoleon, with his usual impulsiveness, allowed himself to express somewhat harshly his opinions touching the different Ministries of the last month of the Empire, and he went so far as to call one of them a Ministry of idiots (cretins). Now, the sentiment of gratitude is very strong with the Empress, and she made a reply to her illustrious cousin of which the following sentences convey the substance, if not the precise words :— * I know not, Monseigueur,' said the Empress, * what you mean by a Ministry of idiots, but what I do know is that down to the last moment the Emperor was served by devoted and faithful friends. For the last 18 years you have opposed the Empire. You and those about you have never ceased to undermine it ; and today, when the Emperor is fallen, you pursue him still. Had you been at Paris on the 4th September, you might have been able to give us good advice, but you were absent, as you have bo often happened to be, at the moment of danger ; of course, to your great regret, as Ido not doubt.' Upon this Prince Napoleon tarried no longer. He took up his hat end left the room." THE EMFEESS AT "WILHELMSHOHE. Since the surrender of Metz, the Empress has paid a visit, incogniio, to her husband at Wilhelraßhohe. The presence of the three marshals, and of other Imperialist officers, gives an ominous look to the meeting. ." There is something in the wind," we say ; but we wait to see which way it will blow. BAZAINE. . Fairly weighing all the evidence as yet adduced against Bazaine, it seems hard, what* ever may have been -his schemes, or his mistakes, to accuse him of actual treason. How could one man, or any knot of men,, have made so many hundreds of thousands partners in this conspiracy P There was a terrible external pressure in tho famine, but it is not easy to see how in such circumstances an easy surrender could serve the Empire. Nor is there anything surprising in his joining the Emperor at Wilhelmshohe. They were leaders in the same enterprise, sharers in the same great military reverse ; a soldierly feeling might lead, him to his chief, who was one with him at least in misfortune. A FRENCH AMAZON CORPS. The Paris correspondent of the " Standard," who forwards his letter by balloon post, writes as follows concerning the formation of an Amazonian corps : — " Having been attracted by a crowd round an insignificantlooking bill which caused many readers to turn away after perusal with a smile on their lips, I fin J that in the Sue Turbid ge an office is open for the enlistment of Amazons. The conditions are these :— Every Amazon must be presented by some person in a position to answer for her respectability, and must engage herself for the duration of the war. The duties they will be called upon to perform are the same as those of the ' Garde Nationale Sedentaire,' to which will be joined the first care of the wounded on the ramparts. Their uniform (found by themselves) is to consist of black trousers, with an orange stripe, a black woollen blouse, furnished with a hood and a ' kepi,' with an orange band. The Government is to be asked to supply a light gun, carrying not less than 250 yards, and to grant them the same pay as the National Guard (If. 50c. per day). From what I can judge from the women I saw in tbe office I should, not at all be inclined to underrate the services this corps may render ; they were principally women of the lower middle class. However, the higher ranks in society were not unrepresented. One lady, especially, showed great enthusiasm ; her husband, who had been a lieutenant in a foot regiment, had been killed at Sedan, her brother was in the garrison at Metz, and her uncle bad been taken prisoner after having taken part in tha defence of Strasbourg. In her eyes gleamed a thirst for vengeance, and her words and actions expressed the joy she felt that the opportunity had presented itself. It would, of course be premature to express any very decided opinion, but I left the office far more inclined to encourage the movement than when I had entered it. It is stated in an evening paper that a gentleman noticing a contemptuous smile on certain persons' faces while reading the announcement, reproved them in these word a f—' Citizens, let us not laugh. Everything is serious at the present conjuncture. "Who can tell but that in the ranks of the Amazons a Jeanne d'ArG may be found to save France ?' " A MOPEEN MAID OF ORLEANS . Acorrespondentof the " Cologne Gazette," writing from Vereailleß on the 21st inst. says : — " Whilst the formidable preparations are being made for the enormous park of artillery around Paris, in order to make an energetic attack upon the forts and fortifications of that town, the men in the French camp seem to repose now upon lees material. We are now informed, of course after the successful occupation of the town of Orleans, end that in a most serious manner, of the appearance of a 'maid' a modern Joan of Arc, who has suddenly sprung up from the department of the Loire Inferieure, and who is to inspire fresh courage and new hopes into the hearts of the French. This inspired young female # who, like unto her predecessor in the reign of Charles VII., has visions, and has heard the voice of the Mother of God, does not appear to consider it necessary this time to submit herself to an examination m

to whether she is in communication with or possessed by the ' powers of darkness.' In the present case also, the 'maid' wears neither armor nor Bword, but a long black robe, no doubt to denote her sorrow as to the position of her mother country. Up to the present time the superior command of the army of the Loire has not been entrusted to her. Nevertheless, she marches at the head of the troops who are still in Tours, and carries before them a silken banner, upon which is painted the Holy Virgin with the infant Jesuß ; and, in fact, the whole affair looks as if the advisers of this new paragon had been guided by a zealous study of Schiller's ' Maid of Orleans.' This information, although a seeming fable, has been stated officially from the head-quarters of the Army of the South, and is therefore worthy of being chronicled." THE FRENCH EMPEROR'S PRIVATE PROPERTY. In reference to the allegations that have been made as to the large amount of private property accumulated by the Emperor Napoleon, and invested in safe quarters against a rainy day, and also in regard to the statements of the "Daily News" respecting alleged misappropriations of the monies voted for war purposes, the " Times" of September 20 publishes in its original French a letter ad« i dressed to the editor by the Emperor's Private Secretary. The following is the text of this letter, which has been translated for I another journal : — " To tho Editor of the " Times." Sir, — Since the sad eventß which have occurred in France, the Emporor Napoleon has been the constant object of the most violent attacks and calumnies of every kind, which, no doubt, he will simply treat with contompt. But if it is becoming for him to preserve silence under such circumstances, it does not follow that those who are attached to him should suffer to be published, without refutation, such reports as are daily issued affecting him in certain French and foreign papers. Among the basest of these reports must be mentioned that given by an English paper, which has not hesitated to attribute the causes of the war to the embarrassments of the Civil List, and to the necessity which arose therefrom for the Emperor yearly to make appropriations of fifty millions from the Budget of the Minister of War ; appropriations every trace of which it was necessary to destroy by absorbing them among the expenses of a great war. So monstrous an imputation shows on the part of the author of the article a profound ignorance of the laws which in France regulate the finances of the State, or, at least, indicates his bad faith. Malversations are utterly impossible in France; for the disbursement of the Civil List is the object of a close examination; and that of the State is submitted to the Btrict control of the Corps Legislatif and the Court of Audit (Cour des Comptes.) Another London journal declares that every one at Amsterdam knows the Emperor Napoleon has invested a sum of ten million francs in the shares of the Dutch railways. I formally deny the fact, and I affirm besides that the Emperor has not invested a centime in foreign funds. Finally, a German paper has exhibited the position of the Emperor in an utterly different aspect, and haa described him as so devoid of means that at Sedan the Prussian Staff had to advance him two thousand thalers. This last statement is no more accurate than its predecessors. I trouble myself to point out these allegations, so contrary to the truth, not in the hope of putting an end to attacks aimed at a Sovereign who ought to be protected from them by the misfortune which has befallen him, but in order to show what small foundation they have, and how little worthy of belief they are. I hope, sir, that you will cheerfully give this letter a place in the columns of your paper ; and in thanking you beforehand for so doing, I' beg you to accept the assurance of my great respect, J. Pietbi, Private Secretary of the Emperor Napoleon. Wilhelmsbohe, 15th September. CARLYLE EXULTING. The " Weimar Gazeite" publishes some extracts from a letter written by Mr Thomas Carlyle, in which he says, "So far as my reading goes, never was such a war,, never such a collapse of shameless human vanity, of menacing, long-oontinued arrogance, into contemptible nothingness. Blow has followed blow as if from the hammer of Thor, till it lies like a shapeless heap of ruins, whining to itself ' in the name of all the gods and all the devils, what is to become of us P' . . . . All Germany may now look forward to happier day6 in a political sense than it jhas seen since the Emperor Barbarossa left it. My individual satisfaction in all that is great, and all England, I can say all the intelligent in England, heartily wish good fortune to brave old Germany in what it has accomplished — a real transformation into one nation, no longer the chaotic jumble which invited the intrusion of every ill- disposed neighbor, especially of that ill-disposed France, which has inflicted on it Buch interminable mischief during the last 400 years — wars heaped upon wars without real cause except insatiable French ambition. All that, through God's grace, is now at an end. I have, in my time, seen nothing in Europe which has so much delighted me. ' A brave people,' as your Goethe calls them, and as I believe a peaceful and a virtuous one. I only hope that heaven will send them the wisdom, patience, and pious discretion to turn to a right use all that has been achieved." PAHIS- AS IT IS. "Under the Verandah" says Paris must have been a very pleasant place of rendezvous in the beginning of November. " Luxury and display have long since cc ased to flaunt there ; brilliant equipages, prancing horses, and liveried lacqueys had disappeared with their masters; gone, also were the milliner and demi monde, the grandes dames, and the jeunesse doree. Advocates and journalists, shopkeepers, working men, gardes mobiles and concierges wore the only class left." The same correspondent adds that there were no new fashions, flags, songa, musio, books, or photographs, the theatres were dosed, the comic journals and books of fashions had ceased to appear, and there had been no new novel since the commencement of the war. One of the principal restaurants had announced as its greatest attraction "a fine horse, the property of Count Lagrange, just slaughtered." All the women were dressed in mourning. - One of the latest novelties for the fair sex is an india-rubber thimble with a little tube containing prussio acid at the end. The wearer is to engage in conversation with a Prussian, and watoh her opportunity to pour it into his eyes.

To Housemen. — The " Journal of Chemistry" gives the following as a preventative of horses being teased by flies, which is likely to be of use in the country districts this weather : — Take two or three small handfula of walnut leaves, upon which pour two or three quarts of cold water ; let it infuse one night, and pour the whole next morning into a kettle, and let it boil for a quarter of an hour. When cold it will be fit for use. No more is required than to moisten a sponge, and before the horse goes out of the stable, let those parts which are most irritable be smeared over with the liquor — namely, between and upon the ears, the neck, the flanks, &o. Not only the gentleman or lady who rides out for pleasure will derive pleasure from the wulnut leavea thus pre^ pared, but the coachman, the waggoner, and all others who use horses during the hot months,