Cries are raised that if the Government refuse to resign, its members
will be arrested.
“Yes! yes! seize them!” And an officer springs forward to make them
prisoners as they sit in council.
“Excuse me, Monsieur, but what warrant have you for so doing?” asks one
of the members.
“I have nothing to do with warrants. I act in the name of the people!”
“Have you consulted the people? Those assembled here do not constitute
the people.”
The officer was disconcerted. Not long afterwards, however, the crowd
is informed that the members of the Government are arrested.
The principal scene took place in the cabinet of the ex-prefect.
Citizen Blanqui approaches the table; addressing the people, he
requests them to evacuate the room so as to allow the commission to
deliberate. The commission! What commission? Where does it spring from?
No one knew anything of it, so the members must evidently have named
themselves. Monsieur Blanqui had seen to that, no doubt. During this
time the adjoining room is the theatre of the most extraordinary
excitement; the men of the 106th Battalion, who were on guard in the
interior of the Hôtel de Ville, are compelled to use their arms to
prevent any one else entering. After some tumult and struggling, but
without any spilling of blood, some National Guards of this battalion
manage to fight their way through to the room in which the members of
the Government are prisoners, and succeed in delivering them.
At about two o’clock in the morning, the 106th Battalion had completely
cleared the Hôtel de Ville of the crowds. No violence had been done,
and General Trochu was reviewing a body of men ranged in battle order,
which extended from the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville to the Place de la
Concorde. An hour later, quiet was completely restored.
The members of the Government, who had been incarcerated during several
hours, now wished to show their authority; they felt that their power
had been shaken, and saw the necessity of strengthening it. What can a
Government do in such a case? Call for a plébiscite. But this time
Paris alone was consulted, and for a good reason. Thus, on the 1st
November, the people, of Paris were enjoined to express their wishes by
answering yes or no to this simple question:—
“Do the people of Paris recognise the authority of the Government for
the National Defence?”
This was clear, positive, and free from all ambiguity.
The partizans of the Commune declared vehemently that those who voted
in the affirmative were reactionists. “Give us the Commune of ’93!“
shouted those who thought they knew a little more about the matter than
the rest. They were generally rather badly received. It is no use
speaking of ’93! Replace your Blanquis, your Félix Pyats, your Flourens
by men like those of the grand revolution, and then we shall be glad to
hear what you have to say on the subject.
The inhabitants of Montmartre, La-Chapelle, Belleville, behaved like
good citizens, keeping a brave heart in the hour of misfortune.
However it came about, the Government was maintained by a majority of
557,995 votes against 62,638.
Well, Messieurs of the Commune, try again, or, still better, remain
quiet.
During the night of the 21st of January the members of the National
Defence and the chief officers of the army were assembled around the
table in the council-room. They were still under the mournful
impression left by the fatal day of the nineteenth, on which hundreds
of citizens had fallen at Montretout, at Garches, and at Buzenval.
Thanks to the want of foresight of the Government, the people of Paris
were rationed to 300 grammes of detestable black bread a day for each
person. All representations made to them had been in vain. Ration our
bread by degrees, had been said, we should thus accustom ourselves to
privation, and be prepared insensibly, for greater sufferings, while
the duration of our provisions would be lengthened. But the answer
always was: “Bread? We shall have enough, and to spare.” When the great
crisis was seen approaching, the public feeling showed itself by
violent agitation. It was not surprising, therefore, that all the faces
of these gentlemen at the council-table bore marks of great depression.
The Governor of Paris offered his resignation, as he was in the habit
of doing after every rather stormy sitting; but his colleagues refused
to accept it, as they had before. What was to be done? Had not the
Governor of Paris sworn never to capitulate? After a night spent in
discussing the question, the members of Government decided on the
following plan of action. You will see that it was as simple as it was
innocent! The following announcement was placarded on all the walls:—
“The Government for the National Defence has decided that the chief
commandment of the army of Paris shall in future be separate from the
presidency of the Government.
“General Vinoy is named Commandant-in-Chief of the army of Paris.
“The title and functions of the Governor of Paris are suppressed.”
A trick was played: if they capitulate now, it will no longer be the
act of the Governor of Paris. How ingenious this would have been, if it
had not been pitiful!
“General Trochu retains the presidency of the Government.”
By the side of this placard was the proclamation of General Thomas.
“TO THE NATIONAL GUARD.
“Last night, a handful of insurgents forced open the prison of Mazas,
and delivered several of the prisoners, amongst whom was M. Flourens.
The same men attempted to occupy the _mairie_ of the 20th
arrondissement (Belleville), and to install the chiefs of the
insurrection there; your commander-in-chief relies on your patriotism
to repress this shameful sedition.
“The safety of Paris is at stake.
“While the enemy is bombarding our forts, the factions within our
walls use all their efforts to paralyse the defence.
“In the name of the public good, in the name of law, and of the
high and sacred duty that commands you all to unite in the defence
of Paris, hold yourselves ready to frustrate this most criminal
attempt; at the first call, let the National Guard rise to a man,
and the perturbators will be struck powerless.
“The Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard,
“CLEMENT THOMAS.
“A true copy.
“Minister of the Interior ad interim,
“JULES FAVRE.
“Paris, 22nd January, 1871.”
In the morning, large groups of people assembled from mere curiosity,
appeared on the Place of the Hôtel de Ville, which however wore a
peaceful aspect.
At about half-past two in the afternoon, a detachment of a hundred and
fifty armed National Guards issued from the Rue du Temple, and
stationed themselves before the Hôtel de Ville, crying, “Down with
Trochu!” “Long live the Commune!” A short colloquy was then held
between several of the National Guards and some officers of the
Mobiles, who spoke with perfect calmness. Suddenly, a shot is fired,
and at the same moment, as in the grand scene of a melodrama, the
windows and the great door are flung open, and two lines of Mobile
Guards are seen, the front rank kneeling, the second standing, and all
levelling their muskets and prepared to fire. Then came a volley which
spread terror amidst the crowds of people in the Place, who
precipitated themselves in all directions, uttering cries and shrieks.
In another moment the Place is cleared. Ah! those famous chassepots can
work miracles.
The insurgents, during this mad flight of men, women, and children, had
answered the attack, some aiming from the shelter of angles and posts,
others discharging their rifles from the windows of neighbouring
houses.
Then the order to cease firing is heard, and a train of litterbearers,
waving their handkerchiefs as flags, approach from the Avenue Victoria.
At the Hôtel de Ville one officer only is wounded, but on the Place lie
a dozen victims, two of whom are women.
At four o’clock the 117th Battalion of the National Guard takes up its
position before the municipal palace. They are reinforced by a
detachment of _gendarmes_, mounted and on foot, and by companies of
Mobiles, under the command of General Carréard.
General Clément Thomas hastens to address a few words to the 117th;
later, he paid with his life for thus appearing on the side of order.
Finally, General Vinoy arrives, followed by his staff, to take measures
against any renewed acts of aggression. Mitrailleuses and cannon are
stationed before the Hôtel de Ville; the drums beat the _rappel_
throughout the town, and a great number of battalions of National
Guards assemble in the Rue de Rivoli, at the Louvre, and on the Place
de la Concorde; others bivouac before the Palais de l’Industrie, while
on the other side of the Champs Elysées regiments of cavalry, infantry,
and mobiles, are drawn out. The agitators have disappeared, calm is
restored, within the city be it understood, for all this did not
interrupt the animated interchange of shells between the French and
Prussian batteries, and a great number of Parisians, who had twice
helped to disperse the insurgents of October and January, thought
involuntarily of the Commune of the 10th of August, 1793, which headed
the revolution, and said to themselves that there were perhaps some
amongst the present insurgents who, like the former, would rise up to
deliver them from the Prussians. For these agitators have some
appearance of truth on their side: “You are weak and timorous,” they
cry to those in power; “you seem awaiting a defeat rather than
expecting a victory. Give place to the energetic, obscure though they
may be; for the men of the great Commune, of our first glorious
revolution, they also were for the greater part unknown. We have
confidence in the army of Paris, and we will break the iron circle of
invasion.”
Though the Communists have since then shown bravery, and sometimes
heroism, in their struggle against the Versailles troops, we are very
doubtful, now that we have seen their chiefs in action, whether the
efforts they talked of would have been crowned with success. Their
object was power, and, having nothing to risk and all to gain, they
would have forthwith disposed of public property in order to procure
themselves enjoyment and honours. The few right-minded men who at first
committed themselves, proved this by the fact of their giving in their
resignation a few days after the Commune had established itself.
Tranquillity had returned. In the morning of the 25th, guards patrolled
the Place de la Bastille, the Place du Château d’Eau, the Boulevard
Magenta, and the outer boulevards. Paris started as if she had been
aroused from some fearful dream, and the waking thought of the enemy at
her gates stirred up all her energies once more.
The Communists had been defeated for the second time; but they were
soon to take a terrible revenge.
The vow made by the Governor of Paris had been repeated by the majority
of the Parisians, and all parties seemed to have rallied round him
under the same device: vanquish or die. After the forts, the
barricades, and as a last resource, the burning of the city. Who knows?
Perhaps the fanatics of resistance had already made out the plan of
destruction which served later for the Commune. It has been proved that
nothing in this work of ruin was impromptu.
The news of the convention of the 28th of January, the preliminary of
the capitulation of Paris, was thus very badly received, and M.
Gambetta, by exhorting the people, in his celebrated circular of the
31st of January, to resist to the death, sowed the seeds of civil war:—
“CITIZENS,—
“The enemy has just inflicted upon France the most cruel insult
that she has yet had to endure in this accursed war, the too-heavy
punishment of the errors and weaknesses of a great people.
“Paris, the impregnable, vanquished by famine, is no longer able to
hold in respect the German hordes. On the 28th of January, the
capital succumbed, her forts surrendered to the enemy. The city
still remains intact, wresting, as it were, by her own power and
moral grandeur, a last homage from barbarity.
“But in falling, Paris leaves us the glorious legacy of her heroic
sacrifices. During five months of privation and suffering, she has
given to France the time to collect herself, to call her children
together, to find arms, to compose armies, young as yet, but
valiant and determined, and to whom is wanting only that solidity
which can be obtained but by experience. Thanks to Paris, we hold
in our hands, if we are but resolute and patriotic, all that is
needed to revenge, and set ourselves free once more.
“But, as though evil fortune had resolved to overwhelm us,
something even more terrible and more fraught with anguish than the
fall of Paris, was awaiting us.
“Without our knowledge, without either warning, us or consulting
us, an armistice, the culpable weakness of which was known to us
too late, has been signed, which delivers into the hands of the
Prussians the departments occupied by our soldiers, and which
obliges us to wait for three weeks, in the midst of the disastrous
circumstances in which the country is plunged, before a national
assembly can be assembled.
“We sent to Paris for some explanation, and then awaited in silence
the promised arrival of a member of the government, to whom we were
determined to resign our office. As delegates of government, we
desired to obey, and thereby prove to all, friends and dissidents,
by setting an example of moderation and respect of duty, that
democracy is not only the greatest of all political principles, but
also the most scrupulous of governments.
“However, no one has arrived from Paris, and it is necessary to
act, come what may; the perfidious machinations of the enemies of
France must be frustrated.
“Prussia relies upon the armistice to enervate and dissolve our
armies; she hopes that the Assembly, meeting after so long a
succession of disasters, and under the impression of the terrible
fall of Paris, wilt be timid and weak, and ready to submit to a
shameful peace.
“It is for us to upset these calculations, and to turn the very
instruments which are prepared to crush the spirit of resistance,
into spurs that shall arouse and excite it.
“Let us make this same armistice into a code of instruction for our
young troops; let us employ the three coming weeks in pushing on
the organization of the defence and of the war more ardently than
ever.
“Instead of the meeting of cowardly reactionists that our enemies
expect, let us form an assembly that shall be veritably national
and republican, desirous of peace, if peace can ensure the honour,
the rank, and the integrity of our country, but capable of voting
for war rather than aiding in the assassination of France.
“FRENCHMEN,
“Remember that our fathers left us France, whole and indivisible;
let us not be traitors to our history; let us not deliver up our
traditional domains into the hands of barbarians. Who then will
sign the armistice? Not you, legitimists, who fought so valiantly
under the flag of the Republic, in the defence of the ancient
kingdom of France; nor you, sons of the bourgeois of 1789, whose
work was to unite the old provinces in a pact of indissoluble
union; nor you, workmen of the towns, whose intelligence and
generous patriotism represent France in all her strength and
grandeur, the leader of modern nations; nor you, tillers of the
soil, who never have spared your blood in the defence of the
Revolution, which gave you the ownership of your land and your
title of citizen.
“No! Not one Frenchman will be found to sign this infamous act; the
enemy’s attempt to mutilate France will be frustrated, for,
animated with the same love of the mother country and bearing our
reverses with fortitude, we shall become strong once more and drive
out the foreign legions.
“To the attainment of this noble end, we must devote our hearts,
our wills, our lives, and, a still greater sacrifice perhaps, put
aside our preferences.
“We must close our ranks about the Republic, show presence of mind
and strength of purpose; and without passion or weakness, swear,
like free men, to defend France and the Republic against all and
everyone.
“To arms!”
The Government, by obtaining from M. de Bismarck a condition that the
National Guards should retain their arms, hoped to win public favour
again, as one offers a rattle to a fractious child to keep him quiet;
and it published the news on the 3rd of February:
“After the most strenuous efforts on our part, we have obtained,
for the National Guard, the condition ratified by the convention of
the 28th January.”
Three days after, on the 6th of February, Gambetta wrote:
“His conscience would not permit him to remain a member of a
government with which he no longer agreed in principle.”
The candidates, elected in Paris on the 8th of February, were Louis
Blanc, Victor Hugo, Garibaldi, Gambetta, Rochefort, Delescluze, Pyat,
Lockroy, Floquet, Millière, Tolain, Malon. The provinces, on the other
hand, chose their deputies from among the party of reaction, the
members of which have been so well-known since under the name of
_rurals._
Loud murmurs arose in the ranks of the National Guard, when the decrees
of the 18th and 19th of February, concerning their pay, were published;
and later, when an order from headquarters required the marching
companies to send in to the state depôt all their campaigning
paraphernalia.
On the 18th of February, M. Thiers was named chief of the executive
power by a vote of the Assembly.
On Sunday, the 26th of February, the Place de la Bastille, in which
manifestations had been held for the last two days in celebration of
the revolution of February ’48, became as a shrine, to which whole
battalions of the National Guard marched to the sound of music, their
flags adorned with caps of liberty and cockades. The Column of July was
hung with banners and decorated with wreaths of immortelles. Violent
harangues, the theme of which was the upholding of the Republic “to the
death,” were uttered at its foot. One man, of the name of Budaille,
pretended that he held proofs of the treachery of the Government for
the National Defence, and promised that he would produce them at the
proper time and place.
Up to this moment, the demonstrations seemed to have but one
result—that of impeding circulation; but they soon gave rise to scenes
of tumult and disorder. Towards one o’clock, when perhaps twenty or
thirty thousand persons were on the above Place, an individual, accused
of being a spy, was dragged by an infuriated mob to the river, and
flung, bound hand and foot, into the look by the Ile Saint Louis,
amidst the wild cries and imprecations of the madmen whose prey he had
become.
The night of the 26th was very agitated; drums beat to arms, and on the
morning of the 27th the Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard issued
a proclamation, in which he appealed to the good citizens of Paris, and
confided the care of the city to the National Guard. This had no
effect, however, on the aspect of the Place de la Bastille; the crowd
continued to applaud, frantically, the incendiary speeches of the
socialist party, who had sworn to raise Paris at any cost.
[Illustration: Column of July, Place de La Bastille.]
On the same day, the 27th of February, the Government informed the
people of Paris of the result of the negociations with Prussia, in the
following proclamation:
“The Government appeals to your patriotism and your wisdom; you
hold in your hands the future of Paris and of France herself. It is
for you to save or to ruin both!
“After a heroic resistance, famine forced you to open your gates to
the victorious enemy; the armies that should have come to your aid
were driven over the Loire. These incontestable facts have
compelled the Government for the National Defence to open
negotiations of peace.
“For six days your negotiators have disputed the ground foot by
foot; they did all that was humanly possible, to obtain less
rigorous conditions. They have signed the preliminaries of peace,
which are about to be submitted to the National Assembly.
“During the time necessary for the examination and discussion of
these preliminaries, hostilities would have recommenced, and blood
would, have flowed afresh and uselessly, without a prolongation of
the armistice.
“This prolongation could only be obtained on the condition of a
partial and very temporary occupation of a portion of Paris:
absolutely to be limited to the quarter of the Champs Elysées. Not
more than thirty thousand men are to enter the city, and they are
to retire as soon as the preliminaries of peace have been ratified,
which act can only occupy a few days.
“If this convention were not to be respected the armistice would be
at an end: the enemy, already master of the forts, would occupy the
whole of Paris by force. Your property, your works of art, your
monuments, now guaranteed by the convention, would cease to exist.
“The misfortune would reach the whole of France. The frightful
ravages of the war, which have not heretofore passed the Loire,
would extend to the Pyrenees.
“It is then absolutely true to say that the salvation of France is
at stake. Do not imitate the error of those who would not listen to
us when, eight months ago, we abjured them not to undertake a war
which must be fatal.
“The French army which defended Paris with so much courage will
occupy the left of the Seine, to ensure the loyal execution of the
new armistice. It is for the National Guard to lend its aid, by
keeping order in the rest of the city.
“Let all good citizens who earned honour as its chiefs, and showed
themselves so brave before the enemy, reassume their authority, and
the cruel situation of the moment will be terminated by peace and
the return of public prosperity.”
This clause of the occupation of Paris by the Prussians was regarded by
some people as a mere satisfaction of national vanity; but the greater
number considered it as an apple of discord thrown by M. de Bismarck,
who had every reason to desire that civil war should break out, thus
making himself an accomplice of the Socialists and the members of the
International. Confining ourselves simply to the analysis of facts, and
to those considerations which may enlighten public opinion respecting
the causes of events, we shall not allow ourselves to be carried over
the vast field of hypothesis, but preserve the modest character of
narrators. On the night of the 27th of February, the admiral commanding
the third section of the fortifications, having noticed the hostile
attitude of the National Guard, caused the troops which had been
disarmed in accordance with the conditions of the armistice to withdraw
into the interior of the city. The men of Belleville profited by the
circumstance to pillage the powder magazines which had been entrusted
to their charge, and on the following day they went, preceded by drums
and trumpets, to the barracks of the Rue de la Pépinière to invite the
sailors lodged there to join them in a patriotic manifestation on that
night. Believing that the object was to prevent the Prussians entering
Paris, a certain number of these brave fellows, who had behaved so
admirably during the siege, set out towards the Place de la Bastille
but having been met on their way by some of their officers, they soon
separated themselves from the rioters. Thirty of them had been invited
to an open-air banquet in the Place de la Bastille; but seeing the
probability of some disorder they nearly all retired, and on the
following morning only eight of them were missing at the roll-call. Not
one of the six thousand marines lodged in the barracks of the Ecole
Militaire absented himself. On the same day, the 28th, a secret
society, which we learned later to know and to fear, issued its first
circular under the name of the Central Committee of the National Guard;
the part since played by this body has been too important for us to
omit to insert this proclamation here: its decisions became official
acts which overthrew all constituted authority.
“CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL GUARD.
“Citizens,—
“The general feeling of the population appears to be to offer no
opposition to the entry of the Prussians into Paris. The Central
Committee, which had emitted contrary advice, declares its
intention of adhering to the following resolutions:—
“‘All around the quarters occupied by the enemy, barricades shall
be raised so as to isolate completely that part of the town. The
inhabitants of the circumscribed portion should be required to quit
it immediately.
“‘The National Guard, in conjunction with the army, shall form an
unbroken line along the whole circuit, and take care that the
enemy, thus isolated upon ground which is no longer of our city,
shall communicate in no manner with any of the other parts of
Paris.
“‘The Central Committee engages the National Guard to lend, its aid
for the execution of the necessary measures to bring about this
result, and to avoid any aggressive acts which would have the
immediate effect of overthrowing the Republic.’”
But here is a little treacherous placard, manuscript and anonymous,
which takes a much fairer tone:—
“A convention has permitted the Prussians to occupy the Champs
Elysées, from the Seine to the Faubourg St. Honoré, and as far as
the Place de la Concorde.
“Be it so! The greater the injury, the more terrible the revenge.
“But, if some panderer dare to pass the circle of our shame, let
him be instantly declared traitor, let him become a target for our
balls, an object for our petroleum, a mark for our Orsini bombs,[2]
an aim for our daggers!
“Let this be told to all.
“By decision of the Horatii,
“(Signed) POPULUS.”
The effervescence in the minds of the people was so great, that the
entry of the Prussians was delayed for forty-eight hours, but on the
first of March, at ten in the morning, they had come into the city, and
the smoke of their bivouac fires was seen in the Champs Elysées. On the
evening of the same day, a telegram from Bordeaux announced that the
National Assembly had ratified the preliminaries of peace by a majority
of 546 voices against 107. On the following day the ex-Minister of
Foreign Affairs left for Versailles, and by nine o’clock in the
evening, everything was prepared for the evacuation of the troops,
which was effected by eleven, on the third of March. During the short
period of their stay, the city was in veritable mourning; the public
edifices (even the Bourse) were closed, as were the shops, the
warehouses, and the greater part of the cafés. At the windows hung
black flags, or the tricolour covered with black crape, and veils of
the same material concealed the faces of the statues[3] on the Place de
la Concorde.
All these demonstrations had, however, a pacific character, and the
presence of the enemy in Paris gave rise to no serious incident.
Nevertheless, the agitation of the public mind was not allayed; some
attributed this to a plot the Socialists had formed, and which had
arrived at maturity. Others believed that the Prussians had left
emissaries, creators of disorder, behind them, in revenge for their
reception on the Place de la Concorde. In truth, their entry was
anything but triumphal; their national airs were received with hisses;
their officers were hooted as they promenaded in the Tuileries, and
those who attempted to visit the Louvre were compelled to retreat
without having satisfied their curiosity. On the evening of the 3rd of
March, a note emanating from the Ministry of the Interior, pointed out
in the following terms the danger to be feared from the Central
Committee:—
“Incidents of the most regrettable nature have occurred during the
last few days, and menace seriously the peace of the capital.
Certain National Guards in arms, following the orders, not of their
legitimate chiefs, but of an anonymous Central Committee, which
could not give them any instructions without committing a crime
severely punishable by the law, took possession of a considerable
quantity of arms and ammunition of war, under the pretext of saving
them from the enemy, whose invasion they pretended to fear. Such
acts should at any rate have ceased after the departure of the
Prussian army. But such is not the case, for this evening the
guard-house at the Gobelins was invaded, and a number of cartridges
stolen.
“Those who provoke these disorders draw upon themselves a most
terrible responsibility; it is at the very moment that the city of
Paris, relieved from contact with the foreigner, desires to
reassume its habits of serenity and industry, that these men are
sowing trouble and preparing civil war. The Government appeals to
all good citizens to aid in stifling in the germ these culpable
manifestations.
“Let all who have at heart the honour and the peace of the city
arise; let the National Guard, repulsing all perfidious
instigations, rally round its officers, and prevent evils of which
the consequences will be incalculable. The Government and the
Commander-in-Chief (General d’Aurelle de Paladines, nominated on
the same day by M. Thiers to the chief command of the National
Guard) are determined to do their duty energetically; they will
cause the laws to be executed; they count on the patriotism and the
devotion of all the inhabitants of Paris.”
[Illustration: The Hill of Montmartre—with the Guns Of The National
Guard Parked There. View Taken from the Place St. Pierre.]
It was indeed time to put a stop to the existing state of affairs, for
already twenty-six guns were in the possession of the insurgents, who
had formed a regular park of artillery in the Place d’Italie, and this
is the aspect of the Buttes Montmartre on the sixth of March, as
described by an eye-witness:—
“The heights have become a veritable camp. Three or four hundred
National Guards, belonging partly to the 61st and 168th Battalions,
mount guard there day and night, and relieve each other regularly,
like old campaigners. They have two drummers and four trumpeters,
who beat the rappel or ring out the charge whenever the freak takes
them, without any one knowing why or wherefore. The officers, with
broad red belts, high boots, and their long swords dragging after
them, parade the Place with pipes or cigars in their months. They
glance disdainfully at the passers-by, and seem almost overpowered
with the importance of the high mission they imagine themselves
called upon to fulfil.
“This is of what their mission consists: at the moment of the entry
of the Prussians into Paris, the National Guard of Montmartre,
fearing that the artillery would be taken from them to be delivered
to the enemy, assembled and dragged their pieces, about twenty in
number, up to the plateau which forms the summit of Montmartre, and
then placed them in charge of a special guard. Now that the
Prussians have left, they still keep their stronghold, thinking to
use it in the defence of the Republic against the attacks of the
reactionists. The guns are pointed towards Paris, and guard is kept
without a moment’s relaxation. There are four principal posts, the
most important being at the foot of the hill, on the Place Saint
Pierre. The guards bivouac in the open air, their muskets piled,
ready at hand. Sentinels are placed at the corner of each street,
most of them lads of sixteen or seventeen; but they are thoroughly
in earnest, and treat the passers-by roughly enough.
“All the streets which debouche on the Place Saint-Pierre are
closed
by barricades of paving-stones. The most important was formed of an
overturned cart, filled with huge stones, and with a red flag
reared
upon the summit. A death-like silence reigned around. There were
but
few passers-by, none but National Guards with their guns on their
shoulders.”
[Illustration: Sentinels at Montmartre]
The appearance of the Boulevard de Clichy and Boulevard Rochechouart is
completely different. The cafés are overflowing with people, the
concert-rooms open. Men and women pass tranquilly to and fro, without
disturbing themselves about the cannon that are pointed towards them.
The Government, before coming to active measures, appealed to the good
sense of the people in a proclamation, dated the 8th of March, saying
that this substitution of legal authority by a secret power would
retard the evacuation of the enemy, and perhaps expose us to disasters
still more complete and terrible.
“Let us look our position calmly in the face. We have been
conquered; nearly half of our territory has been in the power of a
million of Germans, who have imposed upon us a fine of five
milliards. Our only means of discharging this weighty debt is by
the strictest economy, the most exemplary conduct and care. We must
not lose a moment before putting our hands to work, which is our
one and solitary hope. And at this awful moment shall our miserable
folly lead us into a civil strife?...
“If, while they are meeting to treat with the enemy, our
negotiators have sedition to fear, they will break down as they did
on the 31st of October, when the events of the Hôtel de Ville
authorised the enemy to refuse us an armistice which might have
saved us.”
This form of reasoning was not illogical, but those who were working in
secret for the furtherance of their own ambition, oared little to be
convinced, and their myrmidons obeyed them blindly, and gloated over
the wild, bombastic language of the demagogic press, which, though they
did not understand it, impressed them no less with its inflated
phrases.
The Government, perceiving that it would be perhaps necessary to use
rigorous measures, gave orders to hasten the arrival of the rest of the
Army of the North.
Some few days after the 18th of March, they resolved to deal a decided
blow to the Democratic party in suppressing at once the _Vengeur_, the
_Mot d’Ordre_, the _Cri du Peuple_, the _Caricature_, the _Père
Duchesne_, and the _Bouche de Fer_.
The National Guards had a perfect mania for collecting cannon; after
having placed in battery the mitrailleuses and pieces of seven, the
produce of patriotic subscriptions, they also seized upon others
belonging to the State, and carried them off to the Buttes Montmartre,
where they had about a hundred pieces. The retaking of this artillery
was the matter in question. While they at Versailles were occupied with
the solution of the problem, the National Guards continued their
manifestations at the Place de la Bastille, dragging these pieces of
artillery in triumph from the Champ de Mars to the Luxembourg, from the
park of Montrouge to Notre Dame, from the Place des Vosges to the Place
d’Italie, and from the Buttes Montmartre to the Buttes Chaumont.
Before making use of force, the Government desired to make a last
effort at conciliation, and on the 17th of March the following
proclamation was posted on the walls:—
“INHABITANTS of PARIS,
“Once more we address ourselves to you, to your reason, and your
patriotism, and we hope that you will listen to us.
“Your grand city, which cannot live except with order, is
profoundly troubled in some of its quarters, and this trouble,
without spreading to other parts, is sufficient nevertheless to
prevent the return of industry and comfort.
“For some time a number of ill-advised men, under the pretext of
resisting the Prussians, who are no longer within our walls, have
constituted themselves masters of a part of the city, thrown up
entrenchments, mounting guard there and forcing you to do the same,
all by order of a secret committee, which takes upon itself to
command a portion of the National Guard, thus setting aside the
authority of General d’Aurelle de Paladines so worthy to be at your
head, and would form a government in opposition to that which
exists legally, the offspring of universal suffrage.
“These men, who have already caused you so much harm, whom you
yourselves dispersed on the 31st of October, are placarding their
intention to protect you against the Prussians, who have only made
an appearance within our walls, and whose definite departure is
retarded by these disorders, and pointing guns, which if fired
would only ruin your houses and destroy your wives and yourselves;
in fact, compromising the very Republic they pretend to defend; for
if it is firmly established in the opinion of France that the
Republic is the necessary companion of disorder, the Republic will
be lost. Do not place any trust in them, but listen to the truth
which we tell you in all sincerity.
“The Government instituted by the whole nation could have retaken
before this these stolen guns, which at present only menace your
safety, seized these ridiculous entrenchments which hinder nothing
but business, and have placed in the hands of justice the criminals
who do not hesitate to create civil war immediately after that with
the foreigner, but it desired to give those who were misled the
time to separate themselves from those who deceived them.
“However, the time allowed for honourable men to separate
themselves from the others, and which is deducted from your
tranquillity, your welfare, and the welfare of France, cannot be
indefinitely prolonged.
“While such a state of things lasts, commerce is arrested, your
shops are deserted, orders which would come from all parts are
suspended; your arms are idle, credit cannot be recreated, the
capital which the Government requires to rid the territory of the
presence of the enemy, comes to hand but slowly. In your own
interest, in that of your city, as well as in that of France, the
Government is resolved to act. The culprits who pretend to
institute a Government of their own must be delivered up to
justice. The guns stolen from the State must be replaced in the
arsenals; and, in order to carry out this act of justice and
reason, the Government counts upon your assistance.
“Let all good citizens separate themselves from the bad; let them
aid, instead of opposing, the public forces; they will thus hasten
the return of comfort to the city, and render service to the
Republic itself, which disorder is ruining in the opinion of
France.
“Parisians! We use this language to you because we esteem your good
sense, your wisdom, your patriotism; but, this warning being given,
you will approve of our having resort to force at all costs, and
without a day’s delay, that order, the only condition of your
welfare, be re-established entirely, immediately, and unalterably.”
As soon as the party of disorder saw the intentions of the Government
of Versailles thus set forth, a chorus of recriminations burst
forth:—“They want to put an end to the Republic!”—“They are about to
fire on our brothers!”—“They wish to set up a king,” &c. The same
strain for ever! In order to prevent as far as possible the mischievous
effects of this insurrectionary propaganda, the Government issued the
following proclamation, which bore date the 18th of March:—
“NATIONAL GUARDS of PARIS!—
“Absurd rumours are spread abroad that the Government contemplates
a _coup d’état._
“The Government of the Republic has not, and cannot have, any other
object but the welfare of the Republic.
“The measures which have been taken were indispensable to the
maintenance of order; it was, and is still, determined to put an
end to an insurrectionary committee, the members of which, nearly
all unknown to the population of Paris, preach nothing but
Communist doctrines, will deliver up Paris to pillage, and bring
France into her grave, unless the National Guard and the army do
not rise with one accord in the defence of the country and of the
Republic.”
The Government had many parleys with the insurrectionary National
Guards at Montmartre; at one moment there was a rumour that the guns
had been given up. It appeared that the guardians of this artillery had
manifested some intention of restoring it, horses had even been sent
without any military force to create mistrust, but the men declared
that they would not deliver the guns, except to the battalions to which
they properly belonged. Was there bad faith here? or had those who made
the promise undertaken to deliver up the skin before they had killed
the bear.
Public opinion shaped itself generally in somewhat the following
form:—“If they are tricking each other, that is not very dangerous!”
Many an honest citizen went to bed on the seventeenth of March full of
hope. He saw Paris marching with quick steps towards the
re-establishment of its business, and the resumption of its usual
aspect; the emigrants and foreigners would arrive in crowds, their
pockets overflowing with gold to make purchases and put the industry of
Paris under contributions the French and foreign bankers will rival
each other to pay the indemnity of five milliards.
The dream of good M. Prudhomme[4] was, however, somewhat clouded by the
figure of the Buttes Montmartre bristling with cannon; but the number
of guards had become so diminished, and they seemed so tired of the
business, that it appeared as if they were about to quit for good. The
following chapter will inform you what were the waking thoughts of the
Parisians on the morning of the eighteenth of March.
[Illustration: THE GENIUS OF THE RED FLAG.]