The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-10 00:00:00

THE VOTE ON THE PLEBISCITE.

The long-looked-for day of the Plebiscite passed aer
tranquilly throughout France. In Paris where naturally
some uneasiness had been felt there was no breach
of the peace, though the excitement was, of
course, great, and the people flocked to the
bureaus in crowds. The electors succeeded each other in
thousands round the ballot boxes where oui and non were
tossed in indiscriminately. The people seemed
bent on proving that universal suffrage was .
consistent with order and decency. The d
zens formed themselves into lines and waitelf_
patiently their turn at the boxes, and this s
control was maintained all day. The number
voters was even greater than was expected, many
had previously resolved on abstention changry
their minds on the decisive day, and putting
their votes in the boxes. The International agents le:
quested, it is said, the workmen of the great manufaer
tories to keep quiet on the day. Whether they did
no, it certain that the quiet was undisturbed.
The Government took the most elaborate precautions.
council of war was held at the Tuileries on Saturday,unae r
sat from 12 till 3, the whole army of Paris being l
arms, ready to march at beat of drum. Marsha,.
Canrobert and all the generals of the Finig_
division were present at the council. The ,1-,
nisters were fully prepared to act if t'elci,
had been any occasion, and M. 011ivier, it is report,
passed Saturday night at the Prefecture of Police.
nOoI lic(i
C'rovernment orgahs were eager in exhorting all
cititens to vote early in the day, to avoid 11".
and the Pays, in particular, begged the Goverranet'.,
to Watch the gunsmiths' shops. Meanwhile the (Ali?'
censors have been busy among the papers. Four Parisian
journals, the SiEcle, • the Avenir National, the
Revell, and the Rappel, were simultaneously seiz„
e
on Saturday, their offence being publishing a t,
proclamation professing to have been issued bys
the Emperor in 1848. The proclamation
not new, having. been published in a provincial jouoilr;
some time since. It was then passed s_eA,
by the Government, but they thought it 3iiri
visable to interfere ' when it reappeared
the Paris journals at a time when their circulation. is
enhanced by the Plebiscite. It is thought the Siecle. by
no means one of the extreme papers, would have been le o
harshly dealt with, had not M. Cernuschi, the Italian,Wi
subscribed eight thousand pounds to the anti-PlebiscitarY
fund, been one of the shareholders. One man has ress°!,,
.
to be grateful to the Plebiscite, for a new explanation 1.
now given of the reprieve of the murderer LathaweTs:
which a few days since puzzled and displeased the publiee
It appears that it was thought imprudent to risk the
assembly of a crowd at the place of execution on thi.
eve of the plebiscite, and as there was an unwl
lingness to prolong the man's suspense it was decided to
commute his sentence instead of delaying its execution'
M. Lermina, who was under trial for reading a libel
against the Emperori at a public meeting, has been se';
tented to two years' imprisonment, two years' addition3'
loss of civil rights., and £4OO fine. The police, it is
said, consider he is implicated in the complot.
On Sunday the Prefect of Police placarded a notice in
Paris, which stated that rumours had been propagated in
several quarters to the effect that disturbances watlit
break out after the verification of the vote. The Prefect
informed the inhabitants that prompt measures had beer,
taken to repress any seditious attempt, and invited au
good citizens to avoidthose places where seditious attempts
might be made. By this means he declared that theY
would strengthen the hands of the authorities, whose duty'
it was to maintain order.
In Paris the official result was as follows :
Noes
Ayes
In the Department of the Seine :
Noes
Ayes
In the barracks of Prince Eugene the voting was
Ayes
Noes
This result was of course what was looked for in Paris;
and in Lyons the return was equally unfavourable. LY°'„
which has 79,597 registered voters, gives :
Noes 35,769
Ayes 22,294
The returns from Lille shew 65,367 ayes and 13,803
5"
110,14
Marseilles, with 76,627 registered voters, has 34110,14 a
noes, noes, 18,412 ayes, 866 notes being anw
Toulouse, with 30,817 votes, has 12,534 noes • 9,112 apes
In Bordeaux the ayes have been 18,469, and the
10,187.
The total result of the vote, so far as known on g°ll
day morning, was :
Ayes ... .
Noes ...
A later return is as follows :
Ayes 6,189,506
Noes 1,315,881
An afternoon return is complete with the exception d
twenty-six arrondissements and the vote of the arnlY 31
navy and Algeria. The numbers are :
Ayes
Noes
The latest results of the voting, including those 11.'
ceived from Algeria and a part of the army, and only e
cepting five arrondissements of France, give-
-7,138,000 Ayes.
1,518,000
At eight o'clock last evening numerous groups assemblet!
before the barracks of the Chateau d'Eau and in the Fe,
bourg du Temple, and it is stated that an omnibus OP
been overthrown by a mob in the Belleville quarter.
The other parts of Paris are perfectly calm.

5,180,000
1,130,000