The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-04-15 00:00:00

SPEECH OF M. JULES FAVRE, IN THE
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.
VERSAILLE9, April 10, Evening.
lu to-day's sitting of the National Assembly M. Jules
Farm, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, delivered a speech
relating all the efforts made by the fliecutive Government in
avour of peace, in the course of which he said .

'The insurrection which has broken out In Paris ham caused
all the European Gorenr eats to express their sympathy to
the Government of Versailles. The German authorities at
first manifested some legitimate uneasiness lest our obliga-
tions towards them should be compromised, but we protest
against the calumnies brought forward by those who pretend
that an understanding exists between us and the Germans.
'lke documents which will be laid before you will be a proof
of our sincerity, and will testify on the cont,ry that we
constantly declined the assistance which was offered to us by
the Germans. It was also no less important that the position
of the German authorities towards the Insurrection should
be clearly determined. They have always considered, as did
all the other Powers, that the Government issued from uni-
versal suffrage was alone legitimate and presenting serious
guarantees.'
Alluding to the report that the members of the Commune
had opened negotiations with the German authorities, which
had been favourably received, M. Jules Fevre declared that
It was perfectly exact that on the 4th Inst. a memlmr of
the Commune sent a communication to General Fabric°.
"That document shows that the men who have the
management of the Commune of Pails merely desire to
satisfy their own passions. They declare themselves bound
by the treaty of peace as the other parts of France •, state
they have a right to know how it is carried out, and con-
sequently demand of General Fabric° whether the N'ersaidee
Goserninent has paid the first instalment of 5.0,000,000 f.,
which nowt be f illowed, acconikg to the stipulations of the
treaty, by the surrender of all the northern forts forming
part of the Commune of Parts by the Germans."
Mr. Julies Fevre added .

"General Fabrics did not send any reply, and ho is of
opinion, as I am, that the only answer that could have been
made was ennui contempt. The Commune thug alto addressed
a circular to the foreign Governments, declaring that they
desire to live in peace with all nations, but with the excep-
tion of France I should imagine."
M. lucre announced that the insurgents had taken away
all the plate at the Foreign Office, remarking that such were
the political manifestations by which they made themselves
known. Ile further added that the moment was not far
distant when that sham Government would succumb, Co
pressed his confidence in the population of Paris. and In con-
eluding his speech sahl :—" A. to ourselves we shall do our
duty, and shall re-establish order In Faris, and our brave
army can rely on our devotion.. we can rely on Its courage.'
ii Jules Favre's speech was loudly cheered.

PAM-, Tuesday.
There h a Intl in tha fighting, which hor now been
Incessant tor nine dam Both Bides are burying their dead,
sad preparing for renewed titans.
. .

- -
Dombrowski reports as a great fact this Morning, that he
hi firmly Installed at Asnldres, and holds the north-east
corner of Senilly, while he is also strongly posted at Villiers
and Levailois.

The Porte Maillot, damaged by the fire of Versailles, has
been pretty well repaired.
Ihe (Viola! Journal publishes two papers to-day, to put
the National Guards in good spirit. hie II a decree pro-
Mithla a pension of GoOf. a year to the wives of N Wenn]
Guards slain, and ot 3651. a year to all the children o
National Guards up to the age of 18, whether legitimate or
Illegitimate. Also, In certain cases, the fathers, mothers,
brothers, and sisters of deceased National Guards are to have
pentdons.
The other paper published by the Journai OJfltel Ix an
address from certain female citizens of Paris to the women
of Paris, adjuring them to fight to the last extremity at the
barricades ; arid if they unmet find a musket, to mate use of
Monts. _ _ .

PARP, Tuesday night.
The action has commenced again, and this time it la ,ii
posed that It will proceed with more definite result'.
It beg= with the retreat of the Guards from Asnif res, a
feint which it was expected would lead to the destruction of
a large portion of the Versailles troops, who, however, have
not fallen into the trap.
Mont Valerian has been mounted more pr.,/

The COMlktine dOMOillbOd Lo-is y the barrtcadse about the
Place de la Concorde. chiefly through diseatidaotira with
their gaadtton. The barricades are to be ocuatructe.i ng•ln
in • different manner.

Marshal MaoMahon's appotatment aa Commanderdw Chief
ot the Feench Army ho been gazette&
A National Unard named Julien wu executed on Wednew
day morning for the murder of his captain.
The Gnulois estimates the number of the clergy arrested
at 3,10.
Geusral Henry bar not escaped, as was reported, hit has
been removed from Ver"llles. .

It is expected that the Versailles Government will shortly
have to eucounter an Insurgent army numbering 2..10,000
men.
AU kinds of expedients are being resorted to by those who
wish to escape from Parle, and some have got out of the city
through the sewers.
•
.

The Insurgents have, It Is reported, sent a message from
Paris that unless a million franca (440,0ue) be paid. La a
ransom tor the Archbishop, he will be killed.

-
Thr Soir bums up the preseut c.tudition of hula thus
" hare et, longer the liberty oh the Prem., ter of public
meeting, übr of coureleuce, our perbuttal liberty."
- - - -

_
Dombrowski, the new Insurgent soncral, oud who Is looked
upon on an able man in military umaers, is a Pole, and was
tem right baud incu of thribalcii
I Allege still goes on In PAris. Among the latest v!ctlcis Is
• solicitor, whose house has been broken into and ransacked,
10,01.10 francs and various papers being abstracted
Priests continue to be arrested tu large numbers. ''he
curve of Ste. Denevii,ve anti St Enstache have now to he
added to the Mt.

There are ouly two or three klmalsh visitors in Parts,
among whom has been Str t Inite The great hotels are
deserted, and trade is idle.
'

lhe foUndstion of s strong barricade has been laid out on
the Pont de Solferino. This hridgo hears the only remaining
mention of the name of Napoleon 111. which can be found In
Prete.

- More hags have been heaped about the statue 0 Straaburg
In the Place de In Concorde, on which Is now hung a large
placard bearing the words —Rummage des Entails de la
Typographie de Strasburg."
it is announced from Havre that a It dills of gunboats has
gone up the Sane to operate against the Parts Insurgents.
Siege guns, for aro against the forts, are alto on their way to
the French capital.
- -

Another muller of the insurgent Government, If. Rine,
has sent In his resignation, on the grJund that he disapproves
upon several important points of the direction given to the
Communal movement. Ile returns to the ranks, he says, as
a simple soldier of Paris, the Commune and the Republic.
“.1 tiaturday the insurgents, it is reported, turned their
own mins upon Parts, and fired into it several shot and shell
The rel,ll gave out that It was the troops of the Versailles
Government who tired Into the city. this story many
thousand persons gave credence—Daily Telegraph.

M. Ihiers, in a circular to the Prefects, dated the 10th
Inst., says that order everywhere prevails in France, except
In the capital ; that the Government Is firmly carrying out
Its plans; and that honest citizens may have confidence in
the future.

A certain number of wive. of former sergeants-de-vine,"
says the PariepaperjheCommun,,..have been arrested by the
National Guards of Belleville. These unfortunate women
report says, are to be placed in front of the battalions when
going into action, In order to see if the en-policemen will tire
on them."
Colonel Menet, commander of the French guerilla. In the
west, who was condemned to death by a court-martial of
Garibaldian otii,ers and afterwards remitted by Gambetta to
second comet' of war, has Just been acquitted at Lyons of
the charge which has been preferred against him.
- •

lieneral Cluseret displays great activity In reorganising the
National Guard and In enlisting men from 19 to 49 years of
ago; but those who refuse to serve the Commune form
really the moat substantial and courageous portion of the
population.

The Meseagerdti Midi says that M Digeon, head of the
Insurrection in Narbonne, was arrested In a Ilnen.draner's
house, whither he had gone on leaving the flUtel de Vide
The crowd was quiet as he was led through the streets,
guarded by a score of men. Misty other Insurgents have site
been arrested In the town.
A Special CorreSpolldent In Path 1111)1 that the plan of
the (*immune now livery like the plan of Trochu wandering
the siege, namely, to make the city Impregnable, and to
hope for the provinces. The organs of the Commune assert
that great successes have been obtained at Limoges, NO.vre,
and V let zon

The arrest of citizen Ant is said to have been caused by a
speech in which he declared that the Clininune was going
beyond its legal powers, and that it bad no right to march
on Versailles. "We should not give way," he .id, "to the
opinion of the ignorent masses we have already ,I .Le too
moth, and most of our decrees have alienated min's minds
Instead of converting them."

The feeling el the ~ourgeonde for the Prusrlans 13 under-
going a great change, the great Chancellor Is no more
spoken of se ''thou" and " a,ozgoin," but usually as
" Prince Bismarck." Portraits of the King and the Royal
Family of Prussia are freely exhibited for sale in the shop
windows. There Is no doubt that a German intervention
would be highly popular with an increasing portion of the
respectable Inhabitants of Paris.
A very large number of shops writes a Parts cotreepon.
dent) have closed during the but few days, but whether
owing to a complete absence of all trade, or from the pro-
prietors desiring to escape being victimized by Goofs of the
Commune, it is impossible to say. Most of the theatres,
however, keep open, and all the old favourite pieces are
hiring played while the "fratricidal struggle "I. going on.
The Cute of the Madeleine hal died at the Presecture of
cougestEm of the brain. The Cure of St. Eustache, who had
been arrested, was released on Saturday night. I n the fol-
lowing morning. he performed high maxs in tde church.
. .

AN hen the Cure ascended the pulpit, an extraordinary
scene immediately ensued. The men wave I their hats,
the women their handkerehlefs. Nut a word was spoken.

A detachment of the 20th battalion of Ch,ssurs started
from Boulogne on luesday at 030 am. for Vonatiles, but on
their arrival at Amiens were refused permission to proceed
further, aud being desired to leave the Department of La
(Somme, they returned here at two pm, In the meantime a
telegram was rectiveli._frorn the P.russtr Illsadmarters, to

which the matter had been referred, authorizing the passage
of Lhasa troops through the Prussian liner. Tney started
. . . . '" '

afresh at 4 40 p.m. for Versailles, en/ Amiens and Rouen.
It is becoming more and more dillionli for Frenchmen to
leave Parts Foreigners get out with little difficulty by
showing their passports, for which, at the various Embassies,
there are Very numerous applications. Paris has in COMM-
queue,' a very deserted look, especially at night, when many
of the restaurants are, by order of the Commune, closed
earlylas in the first days of the siege Frequent patrils see
that the order is obeyed. It haa, as often happens, create-i
more discontent than wore important measures.
A Correspondent, writing from St. Germain, who
has witnessed some of the lighting outside Paris, states that
the streets which run up from the Seine to Courbevoie have
been much battered, and that some of the buititngs by the
river are quite knocked to pieces. Every where about
Courbevoie the signs of destruction are visible, and no life
seems to be left in the people. All the shops are shot;
fragments of dead horses are lying about • and the whole
aspect of the place is one of gloom and prostration.
The Insqrgent Government has suppressed the grade Of
general, as hieing Incompatible with the Democratic charac-
ter of the National Guards. Citzon Cluscret, the Minister
of War, at the same time rebukes the National Guards for
their love of military query. Citizen Cluseret also announces
a modification in the recent decree respecting service to the
National Guards. With men from 17 to 10 years of age ser-
vice Is to be voluntary t but compulsory with all from 19 to
40 years of age. National Guards who will not fight for the
insurgent Government are to be disarmed.

At the hotel de Ville 'says the correspondent of the Trio.
gral h there is an exhibition the like of which was probably
never seen before. here it is that all particulars may be
obtained of these who have been killed or wounded during
the different engagements In the lung corridors you meet
everywhere, wandering purposelessly, with handkerchiefs to
eyes, the female relatives of the fallen. But not even this
sight brings home the horror of the struggle so forcibly as
another that meeta your eyes. This he a eerie. of photographs
—photographs of the dead, whom HO one has yet recognized.
Side by side with these are the number of the regiment to
which the dead belong, and that of the coffins In which
their remains have been enclosed.

" Paris Is most decidedly besieged, and, what is more, is
being bombarded. However large and valiant a city may be,
two sieges in one year are too much. For two days shells
have been failing In the wealthiest parts of the town and on
the finest houses Every evening an attack Is announced for
the next day. The att.ck does not come, but the enemy'
do not remain Inactive ; they continue to advance. In the
official proclamations here the ' enemy' means the French
army ; and the French soldiers are also called 'the bandits
of Versailles, Prussians, savages, elevens, Insurgents, bri-
gand., butchers, brutes, traitors. monsters, and wild beasts,
These amenities do uot help to strengthen the bonds of Re-
publican fraternity. The Federal, are, on the other hand,
the 'victims of right, of justice, and of honour, heroes in the
sacred cause of humanity, martyrs for the Republican faith.'
A man must hold his head with both hands for it not to
turn."—Correspondent of The limes.
The Archbishop of Paris we, arrested at four pm,. with
his sister, Mdile Darboy, and the whole pemonnel of the
archiepiscopal residence by a number of deb gates of the
Commune armed with revolvers, and who threatened to
shoot any person r ffering ri sistance. The whole party were
taken to the Conciergierle. Throughout the whole night
the archbishopa residence was pillaged ; cartloads of pro.
perty, both personal and belonging to the 0 .ate, including
religious ornaments and valuable plate, were taken away,
Monseigneur de burn, Apostolic Prothonotary, was also
arrested. The establiehment of the scholars of the Jesuit
F'athers, in the Rue Thornond, those of the P,res du Saint
Eine% the 1/ minis:in Fathers, the large College of the
Jesuits in the Rue des Postes, and the Rollin College were
all visited, pill4ged, and a large or small Lumbar of the
Inmates arrested. The curates of Si. Phillips du Route, St.
Augustin, and of the Madden° are all confined in the c,m-
nitre fie. . . „

This morning (says the Versailles Correspondent of The
Times in his despatch of NI onday afternoon the obsequies of
Generals Beason and Pmhot, killed in the attack on the
Bridge of Neuilly, were performed at the Cathedral. The
Place St. Louts, In which the cathedral is situated, was lined
witti soldiers of the both Regiment, ranged in three double
lines on each side A guard of honour of the lame regiment
was ranged up the step. of the church, and from the
entrance door to the screen of the sanctuary soldiers,
fully armed, stood while the coffin. were being
carried up and during the funeral service. Over the
black palls the flag of France was spread on each eolith, and
on it were the kept, tunic, and sword of the general.. The
perch, the altar, and the pillar. of the cathedral were draped
with black cloth, and hundreds of lights burned along the
nave. The coffins were placed side by side In front of the
screen, at their head being a large crucifix, and all round
them were tall wax lights. At nine o'clock the coffins were
borne In, followed by a number of generals in uniform,
among whom was General Troclm. The bishop, a most
venerable looking man, took his seat on the episcopal throne.
The mass for the dead was then chanted amid mournful
strains of vocal and Instrumental music. At the elevation of
the Host the soldiers along the nave presented arms and
dropped on one knee. There was a Rlllll,l solemnity about
the whole service. al. ThiersAnd SI. Joins Payee were pre-
sent.
" Paris dies, and does not surrender :In spite of the
racoonst of negotiations, both sides seem resolved, according
to the latest Intelligence, to continue the struggle. The fil-
leted City has no choice in the matter. There is no one to
speak or to act for her. She is a prey to a mai: set of crlml•
nals, who are responsible to no man, who have nothk.g to
hope, and whom nothing can relieve from their fears. They
light "with halter, round their necks." The choice fur
Item lies between being shot like men and being hanged
, like dogs. How the capital of a great country, with two
nitilions of highly civilized beings, could con. Into the
power o inch desperate wretches—how she should find
It impossible to shake off their tyranny and regain the
mastery over her destinies—may well be a wonder to
the present and to all coming generations but the
fact is before us, undeniable, If inexplicable. The
Commune has done it all, we are told, or the Committee
from which the Commune sprang but these are words that
convey no meaning. We look In vain for men. IR vain we
Inquire of what forces they dispose, wherein lies their
prestige. One after another they rile and fall. The Revolu•
Lion devours her children, not by deadly strife and wholesale
execution as In the day. of the Gironde and the Mountain,
but quietly, at the beck of some Invisible, Imeslstlble power
all the leading men—Tallier, Amid, Bergeret, Delescluze—all
the known members of the Commune and of the Committee
cease to be, yet the Commune and the Committee are stronger
than ever—strong enough to decree that Paris shall perish
and not surrender—strong enough to bring all the manhood
of the City Into their ranks, and to bring all the City to
contribilte to their support."—Leader in The Times.

A TORPEY PuLt.—At one of the London
Police-offices, on Easter Monday, an Irishwoman
named Conway was charged with being drunk and in.
capable of taking care of herself, a constable having
found her insensible on the pavement at half-past five
on Saturday—Toe Magistrate : This is very disgrace-
ful. What have you to say ?—Prisoner Well, your
worship, I could not help it. I was out with my hus-
band, and he made me get drunk.— The Magistrate :
That is all nonsense; a man may compel his wife to
steal diamond rings, &c., but he cannot compel her to
get drunk. That is no excuse; you are fined Is. The
fine was paid.