dent of the Ministry ad tnfenum, and Oc¬ 
tober 8, 1862, he was appointed President of 
the Ministry of Slate and Minister of Foreign 
Affairs. In 1864 lie was invested by the 
King of Prussia with the highest honor in 
his power to bestow — the Exalted Order of 
the Black Eagle. September 15, 1865, he 
was raised to the rank of a Prussian Count. 
After a severe illness, May 7, 1806, Count 
Bismarck was walking abroad for the first 
time, returning from an interview with the 
king when two shots wore fired at him, 
one bullet just grazing his side. He turned, 
and saw a young man before him just rais¬ 
ing his revolver to fire a third shot. Bis¬ 
marck seized him by the arm and throat, 
and the third shot just grazed liis shoulder. 
Transferring the revolver to the left hand, 
the assassin fired two more shots, one of 
which took effect; but the count held on to 
Ills prisoner and handed him over to officers 
who came to his aid. The wound did not 
prove serious. Following this event was the 
w ar with Austria, which resulted in Sadowa, 
which resulted in “ the peace of Prague.” 
September 20, 1866, Bismarck assumed 
the place of honor in the triumphant entry 
of the victorious Prussian troops to Berlin, 
ns Major-General and Chief of the Seventh 
Heavy Landwehr Regiment of Horse, to 
which King William had appointed him. 
July 14, 1867, he was appointed Chancellor 
of the North German Confederation. 
The data given above are but the way- 
marks of a most active political and diplo¬ 
matic life. Bismarck is recognized as the 
spirit which has secured to Prussia the pres¬ 
tige as a European Power w hich it to-day 
holds. How, subsequent, to Sadowa, Napo¬ 
leon ran tilt with Bismarck on the Luxem¬ 
bourg question, and got worsted, and how 
the French to-day both fear and hale him, is 
history so recent that, had we space, we need 
not. review it. What the rest of his life is to 
bring forth, cannot he foretold ; but that he 
is the inspiration of Prussia to-day, and a foe 
Napoleon Shrinks from encountering, is ap¬ 
parent from the news which comes over the 
cable as we close“ No blood is shed yet.” 
-4-4,*- 
FRANCE AND PRUSSIA. 
Popnlittion of France. 
The population of France, according to 
the census of 1866, was (exclusive of 125,000 
soldiers, stationed outside of the empire) 
88,067,064, of which 11,595,848 lived in 
towns, and 26,471,716 in the rural districts. 
As regarded nationality, 635,495 were resi¬ 
dent foreigners, the remainder native French 
men. The difference of language among 
the natives of France has been the subject 
of an official census. It is estimated that 
about 1,200,000 of the population (Alsace 
and Lorraine) speak German as their native 
tongue; 200,000 Flemish; 1,800,000 Wal¬ 
loon ; 1,100,000 Breton. In their religious 
faiths the people are divided as follows: 
Catholics, 37,107,211; Protestants, 846,619 ; 
Jews, 89,040; other sects, 24,186; and in 
Algeria:—Catholics, 211,196; Protestants, 
5,002; Jews, 35,787; Mohammedans, 2,688,- 
746; other seels, 17,232. The population of 
the French colonies (not included in the 
above enumeration) is 2,640,678, and the 
population of countries in Asia, Africa, and 
Oc.caniea, under the protection of Franco, is 
3,693,575—making a grand total of people 
living under the sway of the French Empe¬ 
ror of 44,535,317. 
F renc li F i na ncc». 
The public debt in 1869 amounted to 12,- 
925,718,073 francs, or upwards of $2,585,- 
000,000. The revenue for I860 appears to 
have been 1,755,843,303 francs, and the ex¬ 
penditures 1,751,241,931 francs. 
The French Army. 
The army, according to the new law of 
February, 1, 1868, consists of the active 
army and the reserve, each numbering 4U0,- 
000 men. A Garde Nationals Mobile, which 
avus to number about 550,000, was to co¬ 
operate for the defence of fortresses, coasts, 
and frontiers. The National Guard lias a 
military organization, and is placed under 
the Minister of War. It comprises 250>bat¬ 
talions, having each eight companies of 2,000 
men, and 125 batteries of 200 men ; together 
the active army, the reserve, and the Na¬ 
tional Guard, number 1,350,000 men. 
The active army is as yet low. Of course 
it will be greatly increased when placed on 
a war footing. 
Staff... 1,773 
Infantry..252.(62 
Cavalry. .. («,79S 
Artillery. 3o,wS 
Engineers. v.iso 
Gendarmes...24,5X5 
Troops ol the Administration. 15,ooo 
Total.401,182 
At the head of the French army arc eight 
Marshals of France, namely: — Count Vail- 
lant, Count Paraguay dTIillicrs, Count Ran- 
don, and tie Bonif, F (J. Gamohert, M, E. P. 
M. Mat,•Mahon, (Duke of Magenta,) 0. F. 
Forey, F. A. Bazaine. The army is divided 
into seven army corps. The headquarters 
of the army corps are as follows: 
Headquarters. Commanders. 
.1 7 tty 8 ...Marshal Canrohert. 
-• {i'Ue.Cen. De. L'Admirnnlt. 
■1. Nancy.Marshal Bazaine. 
j. Lyons.Gen. Count de Palikao. 
g lours.Marshal d’Hilliers. 
0 loulonse.Gen. deGoyon, 
• - Algiers.Marshal McMahon. 
France has 119 fortresses, of which eight 
are of the first rank:—Paris, Lyons, Stras¬ 
bourg, Metz, Lille, Toulon, Brest., and Cher¬ 
bourg. The fortifications of Paris are slated 
to have cost $40,000,000, and up to 1868 
there had been, expended 011 Cherbourg 
$34,000,000. 
The French Navy. 
The fleet, on the 1st of January of last 
year, was composed as follows: 
Description. 
Number. 
Guns. 
Screw steamers, Iron-clad. 
.55 
l.itW 
Screw steamers, nori-tron-olad_ 
.233 
2,(ilH 
Wheel -maulers. 
.51 
II li 
Sailing vessels... 
'.HI 
Total. 
4,1180 
Besides these there were 8 screw steamers, 
iron-dad, with 68 guns, and 23 non-iron-clad, 
with 14*1 guns, building. 
The following is a list of the chief vessels 
in the French iron-clad navy, with their 
strength in guns and nominal horse-power: 
Naum. 
Guns. 
Horse 
P’wer Name. 
Guns. 
Horse 
P'wer 
Magenta_ 
...52 
1,000 Vsilcurnnso. 
... .SO 
000 
Kolfortno ... 
.. ..52 
l.ooo Mngnaniine 
i*K) Tanreauieup 
.. 
IKK) 
I’onronue . 
...111 
la) l 
500 
Normandie. 
POO Tukiiiuute.., 
... 10 
225 
Invincible. 
....30 
000 D under be tic 
.10 
1,000 
Glolre. 
. .30 
000 Devastation 
... 10 
223 
Provence.. 
Oik) Lave. 
. . . l() 
225 
Heroine.... 
.36 
!>00 Fondroyanto...lO 
225 
Savoie. 
..3f5 
IKK) Congreve — 
...10 
225 
Revanche— 
..30 
Old Saigon. 
...II 
300 
Siirvelllante. 
..30 
0t»i Patoutro. 
..14 
IKK) 
Flandre. 
. .30 
000 Peil,... 
...II 
300 
Gnyemio. 
..30 
'mo jAsljthaua. ..,. 
...II 
300 
GaulolbO. 
...30 
000 
The French naval force consists of 73,446 
men. There are two admirals, C. Rigattld 
de Genoullly and F. T. TrchouaiT; 6 active 
vice-admirals, and 80 act ive counter-admirals. 
Population of PriitMila, 
The total population of the kingdom of 
Prussia, according to the census of Decem¬ 
ber 0, 1867, was 24,043,296. This includes 
the population of the territories lately “ ab¬ 
sorbed” by Prussia. The total population 
of towns and cities, was 7,456,350. 
PriiNtilfta FIuuhcVh. 
The national debt of Prussia is443,639,373 
thalers, or over $200,000,000, The total rev¬ 
enues are about 170,000,000 thalers, and the 
total expenditures 160,000,000 thalers. 
The Prussian Army. 
The German military organization is com* 
plcte, and, according to a statement in the 
Prussian Military Gazette, “ a million sol¬ 
diers can at any moment he placed under 
nrms by a single telegram from Berlin.” The 
Prussian troops, the same authority adds, 
Consist of 325 battalions of infantry, 268 
squadrons of cavalry, 11 regiments of artil¬ 
lery, with 1,146 guns, and 13 battalions of 
engineers, making in all 110,000 soldiers. To 
those should be added the Federal contin- < 
gents of Saxony, Brunswick, Mecklenburg- ^ 
Strelitz, and Hesse Darmstadt—in all 53,000 
men. But this force of 463,000 only repre¬ 
sents the standing army of North Germany. 
In ease of emergency, Prussia can also com¬ 
mand the services of the troops of Baden, 
Wiirtemberg, and Bavaria, and immediately 
order a reserve, consisting of an army of 
143,000 men. An additional force of 200,000 
men is at her disposal for the occupation of 
towns and garrisons. Every Prussian sub¬ 
ject is enrolled as a soldier as soon as lie has 
completed his 20th year. He serves, unless 
exempted, three years in the regular army, 
four in the reserve, and at the end of this 
term enters the Landwehr or militia for nine 
years. Leaving the Landwehr he is finally 
.enrolled in the Lansturm until he is 50 years 
of age. 
The commander-in-chief of the army and 
navy is the King. The chief of the staff is 
General de ^Iolt.ke. The regular army is 
divided into eleven corps or divisions, with 
the following commanders;— 
Headquarters. Commandnrs. 
1— Kn'iilgsborg..General de Man ton Hal. 
2— Sti.rtii). .. .Prince Frederick WUUatn. 
3— Berlin .Prince Fred in-ink Charles. 
4— MiiK'ltdioui'K. .General d'Alvemdehon. 
5— Posen.General de Stelmnet/,. 
C—Breslau.General do Tumpllng. 
7- Minister...General de Zustrow 
8— Colilentr. .General do Ultlonfeld. 
!)—Schleswig. ..General de Munstein. 
10— Hanover.General de VolKtK-lthotz. 
11— Cassel.General do I'lonski. 
The commander of t he Corps of the Guard 
is the Prince Augustus of Wurtejnberg. 
There are twenty-nine fortresses in the king¬ 
dom, of which five arc of the first rank. 
The Prussian Navy. 
Count Von Bismarck has been able to 
assert that the Prussian navy is now second 
to none in the Baltic Sea. Since i860 vessel 
after vessel has been rapidly launched, until 
Prussia, which a few years ago was really 
contemptible on the sea, has now become a 
formidable naval power. According to the 
latest returns the fleet of Prussia is com¬ 
posed as follows: 
No. or 
r>OB(Tl|iUon. Vessels. Guns. 
Iron -clads. I 4!) 
Frigates and corvettes .a 202 
Gunboats.23 54 
Yacht. I 2 
Paddle corvettes.... 3 15 
Sailing vessels,..50 315 
Total. .tit) "(OT 
The steam fleet is being increased as rapid¬ 
ly as human efforts will admit of. The 
largest, vessels in the navy are the King Wil¬ 
liam of 5,988 tons, and the Renown of 7,500 
tons. The former, which is the most formi¬ 
dable vessel afloat, was built in England for 
the Sultan of Turkey; but as lie could not 
pay, it was snapped up by the Prussians. 
The armament consists of twenty-three guns 
of the heaviest caliber known, manufactured 
of tlic famous Ivrupp steel, at the works in 
Westphalia. The steam power is 1,150 
horse, the crow 900 men. The Renown is 
less heavily armored, and has only 1,200 
horse power, with an armament of four 1l- 
incli guns, six 90 pounders, twelve 73 pound¬ 
ers, and twelve 24-pounders on the upper 
deck. The crew amounts to 1,000 men, ex¬ 
clusive of officers. This vessel was built in 
Kiel. On the stocks at the navy yard in 
Wilhelmahafen is the heavy iron-clad frigate, 
the Grosser Knrfurst; and the Frederick the 
Great, of the same class, is nearly completed, 
ut Dantzlc, where the steam frigate Ariadne 
has been commenced, and the steam sloops 
Albatross and Nautilus. To bo built by 
1877 are eleven iron-clads of the largest size, 
eleven double-banked frigates, seven heavy 
sloops, and three transports. The vessels in 
commission aro manned by 5,012 sailors, 
797 engineers, 370 carpenters and mechan¬ 
ics, 192 warrant, officers, and 255 officers. 
Beside this, there is a reserve of 4,156 men, 
which can be called upon at any time, and 
a second reserve, called Seeicchr, which acts 
on’y in time of war, and may he translated 
sea militia. 
-♦-»» ~ 
THE MAP OF THE WAR. 
We give herewith a map showing the lo¬ 
cation of the French army about Strasburg, 
Nancy, Metz, Tldonville, Ac., in the North¬ 
east corner of France, in the Provinces of 
Moselle, Mourthe, Low Rhine, and Vosges. 
Its location is on the border of Rhenish 
Prussia, Rhenish Bavaria,and Btulen, which 
(with the exception of Rlieuisli Prussia, 
which lies on both sides,) lie on the west side 
of the Rhine, which Napoleon desires to 
make the eastern boundary of France. 
We can say little of the strategic posi¬ 
tion, not, being versed in military affairs. 
But it is apparent that acquisition of the 
Rhenish Provinces is the objective purpose 
of France. Tire latest news is that the 
Prussian army Is concentrating at Kolflentz, 
on the Rhine, about eighty miles northeast 
of Metz. It is believed that the first battle 
will take place on the Moselle river, near the 
frontier of France and Prussia, a few miles 
north of Metz, and not far from Luxem¬ 
burg. 
We shall give hereafter, if the war which 
seems inaugurated continues, maps showing 
the local positions of the troops of the re¬ 
spective armies. But our readers need not 
he surprised to hear, at any moment, that 
the war cloud has blown over. 
MAP SHOWING THE SEAT OF WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND PRUSSIA. 
