The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-06-03 00:00:00

Pe ,itouqribqc 0115ctinr.

iATURDAY, JUNE 3, 1371.

PARIS.

What a 8 iol of thoughts crowd upon the mind
of the observant reader of current history when
eye or ear catches the word " Paris." At one
time it was the city of pleasure, of refinement,
and of luxury, if not the city of luxurious and I
refined vice. It had its cloud-capped towers, its
g; .rire..ue palaces. its solemn temples; it was a l
city of beauty, where Art displayed henielf in
her richest dresses, where Science Lad reached i
its z-nith, where Pleasure exeieited herself in
her ;toed feecinatitig moods. Feint ell parts of
the world the rich and the refined etreenied into
Paris, there to enjoy their el,tee.fite niente —for
simply to be in Paris was a pleasure and a luxury.
But how has Paris, spared by the Prussians, fal-
len n prey to the French 'Phi- villations Com-
mune seems to have determine:l that if they
c-uld not defend the city from the besieging
Versailes troops, the latter should only ewer a
city of ruins. Unhappily, much of this awful
resolve wee carried out. lany after day we have
been receiving the most horrible and heartreud-
ing news from the devoted city—news of palaces,
public buildings, and private houses being fired,
of the flames raging in several parts of the town
at once, and of the fearful work of deves,etion
and ruin talon carried tint with a fieudish male•
volence that must have incited an intense feeling
of horror witerever the Red narrative has been
resit 'Peke this new. in the in 444, and it must
be regareed as having como upon us by surprise.
We in this co-nary, never Ii id any reason to ex-
pect mich moderaeon from the Commune, SO
far as theories or political acts were coucerned ;
but their theories have been far outdone by their
atrocious seta, and there political feeling seems
to have had nothing to do with them. The acts
of the incendiary COninniniaiS, have been the
acts of demone ratio r than of men ; they have
poeitively reeelied in fire and blood. That the
Commutie shoual revile religion, utter blasplie-
Metre iggedocio, and endeavour to abolish the
institutiau of marriage—this we could easily
underataud ; it was bat part and parcel of their
" principles ;" but these principles need not ne-
cessarily have led to the iuccudiarism and
butcheries of which we have heard so much of
late. How far Communist principles have led
to Communist acts we will not endeavour to as.
certain, but we do not think mach argument
would be required to prove their connection.
Hat it is certain that the Commune nas in its
fail" left a name at which the 'world turns pale,
to point a moral or adorn a tale." We need hut
refer to one of the last episodes of Coinumuist
atrocity, the murder of the Archbishop of Paris
and of 68 other hostagee, and this in cold blond,
while but far the timely iutervehtion of the Ver.
saline.' troop% 169 other hostages would have been
sander'''. murdered.
Bat if we turn from the itieurgente to tbosa
who have been eudeavouring to crude the ineur-
iection—from the Comeanniste to the party of
miter—ass find that the latter too have commit.
ted acts of atrocity %%Lich cause a shudder, and
uiany of which appear to have been quite inn
called for. These has been this decided differ.
ence—that on the part of the Versaidee troops
and Goverunient there have been neither pillage
on' imiendiarisin—a resua which can surprise uti
one; hut on the other bend there has been it
frightful amount of blood shed in revenge for
the atrocities of the ineurgents, and - what u
mockery it seems—in the cause ef order. Here
ere sone painful itenie of news of this character:
—" All prisoners are inunedietely sent up for
jadgeoieut to toe Provest M ;relitrie Court at the
Cherie,. 'lll- executions nov take place a'
three fixed p --the Chanipe de Mars, the
Pere Alm:crime, am! hear the Hotel de Vii e.
Batches of as many ne SO Red 100 it a time are
shot." Ai meet at the ineniaere if the Commune
h ;Vs been ca,atured trod sot. They were eXe-
cated ft tile spot as taken. It may perhaps he
c eallenity stated that, woh a terrible secrifica
of huanut life, and this under the most ravoli leg
circumstauceet, the Commune has been crushed
and the insurgents totally defeated; hut it eana
not be said thet thare is 4 ceseetioti of hoetin-
ties, or that there is even auyterug iike order
establiehed. eireat part of Pao-Isle ii ashes, and
it ie scarcely air el olgeration to wry that the
tares have heenexibiguished with blood. What
ho the vein scene in this hea.trending
tragedy we forbear to epeculate.

LOCAL LAW CASE.