The Times' correspondent in Paris has opened fire on General
Farre, the Minister of War, whom he charges with hopeless incapacity. He accuses him of neglecting the insurrections, of picking out regiments from all parts of France for African ser-
vice, of allowing commanders to correspond direct with the War Office, and of withdrawing troops too hastily, to make things smooth for the elections. All this is intended, of course, as a side-blow atlf. Gambetta, who selected General Farre ; but it would hardly have been said, unless General Fevre were dis- trusted by a considerable section of the Army. There is much reason to believe that the rapid withdrawal of troops from Tunis, which was undeniably a mistake, and the hesitation in crushing the insurgents, are both due to a burst of sickness caused by the unusual heat in the Mediterranean. The French Government deny this, but inde- pendent correspondents affirm it, and from the days of Napoleon I. the French War Office has never told the truth about hospital returns until the campaign was over. Its chiefs think that the dread of fever, or dysentery, or sunstroke takes the zeal out of the regiments. In the Crimea, all was said to be perfect until the war was over, when the death-rate was admitted to be heavier than our own.
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