The Express.
London, England, 1851-12-06 00:00:00

THE STATE OF PARIS AFTER

THE FIGHT.

PARIS, FRIDAY EVENING.
I hear from a trustworthy source that Bordeaux is
placed in state of siege, and that General Bourjolly
has been sent this morning to take the command of
the troops there.
I attempted to send you this morning, by tele-
graph, the number of people supposed to have been
killed, which is estimated at between two and three
hundred, but the despatch was not allowed to pass.
A remarkable feature in the emeute of the last two
days is the abstention of the national guard from
taking any part in it. General Lawoestinc has, in
fact, hindered the rappel from being beaten. But it
cannot be concealed, that if the sympathies of the
national guard are not enlisted on the side of the
insurgent republicans, they are certainly quite as
little attached to the cause of Louis Napoleon. I call
your attention to a proclamation of General Lawoes-
tine, posted up to-day, which betrays in a certain
measure the misgiving of the new commander-in-
chief of the national guard on this head. It is as
follows:

Soldiers of the National Guard,—l have not called on
you to take part in the new struggle undertaken by the
exciters of anarchy against society, and so valiantly sus-
tained and terminated by our bravo army. I know that if
your co-operation had been necemery, the country and your
general might hive relied on it, but you have made the
impulse of your patriotism yield to the obedience which I
had asked from you. I always expected as much from you,
and I thank yon fur it.
The General

LAWOESTINE,

(Countersigned) Irta&A, Col.-in-Chief of Statf.
A proclamation by Michel (de Bourges) and
Mathieu (do is Drorne) has been placarded to-day,
and torn down by the government.
M. Baudin, the representative, was buried to-day.
The precautions of the government prevented any
disturbance at his funeral.
Notice has been given that the representatives'
salary of 25fr. per day, up to the lst of December,
will be paid to thorn at the Treasury on and after
the 7th inst.
For the moment an overwhelming military force
has crushed a feeble and irresolute attempt at infirm-
section. It is well known that the great mass of the
democratic party have abstained from taking any-
part in the present i'meute, the only object of which
has been to fatigue the soldiers, and to knock up
their horses. Five or six more such days as yester-
day, or even to-day, and the enormous armament
now in Paris will be in a very different condition.
The magnificent regiments of carabineers and
cuirassiers are obliged to encamp and bivouac
in the Champs Elysees, under a cold and rainy
sky. If the inmate is not renewed in a few
days the troops will be withdrawn. Under
these circumstances, how long order will remair

rndisturbed there is no means of predicting. But
Louis Napoleon having taken the parliament by snr-
prise, it is possible the retaliation will be equally
sudden and rapid. For the next few days we may
enjoy some peace ; the shops may be opened, and
business resume its usual course. But there will
remain a deep and stern feeling of resistance to a
government which, in forfeiting the ground of le-
gality, has put forward,at the point of the sword, an
ambitious and unpopular scheme, totally unsuited to
the time. There has been a crushing display of
military force, which might have passed
without censure had it not been used
most unscrupulously against the moat peace-
able orders of society, in order to enforce a vi-
sionary scheme. Batteries of cannon have been
pointed and discharged against the largest commer-
cial establishments, in the most opulent quarter of
Paris. The blood of unarmed citizens has been shed
profusely ; property destroyed, life lavished, work
suspended, and the whole capital paralysed with
terror, without producing ono result of the least
benefit. The socialists are not beaten, nor
the royalists dismayed. Both will combine
with greater force than ever to overthrow
Louis Napoleon, who has shown by his proposed
constitution that his knowledge of the public mind
and public wants in France is as limited as has been
represented by his worst enemies in the press.
This morning the following representatives were
still at Mont Valerien : Generals Oudinot and Lau-

riatan, Henriot de la Rozicre Placatory, Pascal Du.
Laborde, Bene, Emile Perin, Eugene Sue,
Th• , Lagarde, Renaud, Turgolle, &c.
ere were this morning at Vincennes MM.
Cretan, Dahirel, Leo Laborde, Dufougerais, Sauvaire,
Barthelemy, Farreau, l'Abbe &echo°, Teilhard.
Among those at St. Lazar are MM. do ltemtmat and
Alfred Nettement.

The represeptatives who arrived at Ham yesterday
were Generals Cavaignac, Charras, Chantarnier, La
Flot, Lamoriciere, and Bedeau. and WC Roger du
Nord and Raze.

--- --..
The following confused and questionable account ..
HALT-PAST Two, PAL
of the events of yesterday is given by the govern- I have just returned from a walk up the boule-
ment ergsn, the Patrie: yards eastward so far as circulation is permitted.
~ The prefect of polies seems to hare the gift of From the mouth of the Rue de hi Paix upward the
multiplying himself, and watches the execution of broad pathway on the south side is crowded with the
his orders in all parts of Paris with a characteristic serious of all classes, streaming in either direction.
zeal and presence of mind which neither the fatigues The north pathway, being mostly occupied by strong
of the night nor the turmoil of the day can weary or pickets of infantry, was less frequented. The people
diminish. The proclamation of the Moutagnard seemed in general sullen and dejected, and were very
has not appeared. It remains in the pockets silent for a crowd of Frenchmen. Few women were
of the disciples of Robespierre and De Ba- about, and no children. Conversation was carried on
bard. At nine o'clock in the morning the in low and smothered tones. All the shops had
inauseetion re-commenced almost in the same their shutters up, but the doors of many were
Sodas on Wednesday, except that in the Feu- open, with female faces peeling from within, mostly
St. Antoine tranquillity was not disturbed. 1 anxious and eager in expression, the very coquettes
es were re-constructed upon several points i being pale and dashed with fear. At the mouth of
whore there were no troops, especially in the Rase 1 every street on the right and lett two cuirassiers
Reaubourg, 'I rananonain, and Aware, at the Porte rods slowly up and down round each corner, like
Bt. Denis and in the Rue St. Mery. At noon, three teapot& pacing a cage, and held out their cocked
barricades were taken by our brave troops, and many ' pistols. Every now and then these formidable sen-
prisoners were made. At 11 o'clock, barricades rose tinels gruffly ordered the people who stopped by any
in all directions in the Rue Rambuteau and accident to keep moving on. The whole line of bou-
the neighbourhood. The Mayor of the 7th levards is mew:tied by strong piquets of cuirassiers.
arrondisseineut, fearing the invasion of his These are generally dismounted ; their horses, with
mansion, sent for the troops encamped in their bridles taken off, and loosened
.girths, stand
the national printing house. A detachment of 23 close together, eating the hay which is spread for
of the Gendarmerie Mobile arrived instantly. They them on the border of the pavement. Here and there,
took one barricade and several prisoners. Two between the mouths of the streets, single cuiraseers,
soldiers, a brigadier, and a drummer, were seriously sword in hand, ride up and down, and prevent stop-
wounded. At three o'clock all the barricades in this pages or the formation of groups. The piquets
quarter were overthrown by cannon. Many spent of the line on the north pathway have
cannon balls fell in the court of the printing house. tucked their red trousers inside their boots,
The printers were at work during the whole time of for the streets are muddy with the fallen and
the firing, and the director, M. De St. George, was still slightly falling rain. They have unbuckled
a witness to the excellent spirit of the men. The their knapsacks, which they set in order against the
arrests of socialist leaders continue. On the Route- shop-fronts, and are mostly occupied in lunching off
yard Bonne Nouvelle attempts were made to thick slices of bread and brawn, which are dispensed
construct a barricade ant of the materials of a house from the little green covered carts of the cannmeres,
now in course of construction near the Theatre of drawn up at intervals. Here you see an athletic
the Gymnase. A squadron of Lancers arrived, with cuirassier reaching up his hand to receive a slim of
some artillery, and dispersed the mob without large sausage, which a neat-looking buxom woman is
bloodshed. At four o'clock the barricade at the cutting on her lap as she sits perched in the hooded
Pale St. Denis was taken by cannon. The mouth of the smallwaggon which contains her
interior et the barricade was filled with dead stores. There the helmets, removed awhile from
bodies. Those who escaped fell back upon the Porte sweating temples, lie amid trusses of hay and straw.
St. Martin, and found themselves between two The first decided bates which I met of the fighting

at die Rue de Gram-
maw, oppugn's a pretty old house of
the regent of with a round pavi-
lion of highly ted architecture, has
been renovated to the taste of a
tailor of the Mosaic order, and turned into
a sumptuous magazine of paletots. The windows
here were riddled with balls, and the embellished
front considerably fractured. From this point on-
ward more or less the windows of houses are
smashed, and their fronts scarred with bullets. But
I was surprised to find Tortoni's, which was said
yesterday to have been stormed, quite intact, and in-
deed still open. As we approached the Rue Riche-
lieu we found the houses worse treated, and in some
instances a dead set seemed to have been made at
one building in particular. In such instances not a
pane of glass was left; and from the plinth of the
shop to the garret it was dotted and dinted with balls.
A whole company of infantry were posted on the
north-side of the commencement of the Boulevard
Montmatre • and I observed at once, by the crowded
force and the peremptory demeanour of the pistol-
bearing cuirassiers, that we were getting into a
new and more dangerous quarter. The piquots of
infantry stood in order of battle on the pavement,
and appeared prepared to fire on the least hint of
disturbance. The young trees had been all cut down
and stuck up in bundles, like enormous hop-poles, on
the small earthy circles in which they formerly
flourished. A little further on, in the boulevard
Poissonniere I saw the first traces of the devastating
artillery. Three magnificent houses on the south
side of the sumptuous establishment of the famous
D'Aubusson carpets. and two fine mansions stand-
ing on either side of it, were breached with
cannon, which must have been pointed
directly against their fronts. It was fear-
ful to look at the enormous gaps of ruin rent by
cannon in these costly establishments. If the troops
were fired upon from such places surely a more ter-
rible indication of the nature of the conflict now en-
gaged could hardly be imagined, for it proves that
the military dictatorship is resisted desperately in
three quarters upon which all governments in France
must ultimately depend for support, namely the
tradespeople. Beyond the end of tho Boulevard
Poissonniere all circulation was barred. The road
and pavements were bare of all bat troops.
Many of the shops had fresh planks nailed across
the shattered shutters. Here and there slight traces
of blood were visible ; but if the people snatched
more than a hasty and fearful glance at the spot, or
stopped fir an instant to gaze, they received instant
warning from the cuirassiers, who rode in without
scruple on the pavement, and used the flat of their
sabres without ceremony.
Ten wounded soldiers have been brought down the
boulevards by soldiers, in litters, as if to try the
feeling of the people. No demonstration whatever
has been made anywhere at this party. A chain
of twenty-five or thirty blouses, taken prisoners,
and conducted by the soldiers, have been con-
ducted along the same great thoroughfare, equally
without exciting the least manifestation. The public
is completely cowed by the tremendous develop-
ment of force.
The regiments of cuirassiers and carbineers are
now passing, at five o'clock, along the Boulevard back
to the Champs Elysees. As far as eye can reach on
either hand, the long line of helmetted horsemen in
their white cloaks, under the drizzly sky, stretches.
A band of trumpeters on their white horses goes
before sounding the retreat. A general and his
staff follow. Then comes the interminable procession
of horsemen ten or twelve abreast. It is a magni-
ficent spectacle, but sad when thought upon.
Now a cry of " Vine Napoleon . is raised along
the line, but it finds no echo in the bystanders.
Six p.m.—The soldiers are all withdrawn from
the boulevards. The whole line is, I am told, now
open. The people stand and talk in groups. In
general a feeling of terror prevails. Little favour
is shown to the President. Stories are told of a man
having been shot in the Boulevard Bonno Nouvelle
for crying" A bas Napoleon !" The Cafe du Circle,
at the Passage Jouffroy, the Maison Doric, and the
Cafe Richelieu, are the only cafes I see open. A bill
has been posted up, dated this day, and declaring
that fresh news received from the departments is
favourable; that the adhesions to the President's acts
are unanimous; that everywhere the demagogic
are terrified; and that calm and order reign.
The Orammont Club was surrounded last night,
and the inmates kept prisoners for an hour.
Many rumours are in circulation respecting the
atrocities of the military ; but, as none of these have
been related to me by eye-witnesses, and appear
to be merely, in many cases, the inventions of
terror, opposition, and credulity, I do not attach to
them the least importance. 'thus, I know not on
what authority it is affirmed that people were mur-
dered in Tortoni's, and pitched out of the fifth-story
windows. _ . .

There was a rumour yesterday that several Ameri-
cans had been killed at the barricades. This is not
confirmed. Not an Englishman or American, as far
as we can learn, has mixed himself in any way with
the affair. It is true, however, that several Amen-
cans were on the Boulevards Poissonnidre when the
firing commenced there, and that one of them, atter
having seen several persons full dead at his feet,
laid down upon the pavement to escape the fire, and
was in consequence reported as shot.
The following proclamation has been issued to the
army:
Paris, Dee. 4.

Sol•liers,—You have accomplished to-day a great act of
your military life. You have preserved your country from
anarchy and pillage, and saved the republic. You have shown
yourselves such as you are, such u you will always be—brave,
devoted, and indefatigable. France admires and thanks you.
The President of the Republic wili never forget your devo-
tion. Victory could not be doubtful. The true people, honest
men, are with you. In all the garrisons of France your
companions in arms are proud of you, and would follow, if
need were, your example.
The Minister of War,
A. 1, ST. AILNAUD.

This morning a man was seen tearing down the
proclamations at the corner of the Rue de Rotten ; a
sentinel on duty expostulated with him, when he
struck the soldier, who, retiring a few paces, imme-
diately shot him dead on the spot.
The following is the decree as to secret instead of
open Toting:
In the name of the French people, the President of the
Republic ;
Considering that the mode of election promulgated by the
decree of the 2nd of December had been adopted under
other circumstances, as guaranteeing the sincerity of elec-
tion

But eonsidermg that the vote by ballot as actually prac-
tised appears to be a better guarantee for the real meaning
of the votes (intelligence des suffrages) ;
Considering that the essential object of the decree of the
2nd of December is to obtain the free and sincere expression
of the will of the people ;

Articles 22 3, and 4 of the decree of the 2nd of December
are modified as follows:
Art. 2. The election shall take place by universal anf.
(rage. All Frenchmen aged 21, enpning their civil and
political rights, are called on to vote.
Art 3. They will be required to identify themselves,
either by their inscription on the electoral lists drawn up in
virtue of the law of March 15, 1849, or by having accom-
, plinked since the formation of those lists the conditions re-
quired by that law.
Art. 4. The ballot will be opened during the days of the
20th and 21st December, in the chef-lieu of each commune,
from Bin the morning to 4in the afternoon. The suffrage
will take place by secret ballot, by yes or no, by means of a
menurcript or printed bulletin.
(Signed) LOUIS NAPOLEON BON•PAUTE.
Given at the Palace of the Elyse*, Dec. 4.