The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1870-12-22
THE CONQUERED FRENCH.
How They are Governed.

How They are Governed.
Mr. Edward King writes to the Bos-
ton Journal from Germany:
The Governor. General over the French
Provinces now occupied by Prussian
troops has fixed his seat of government
at Rheims, and the attention of the
world is rapidly turning that way. You
have perhaps heard that the Grand
Duke of Mecklenburg Schwerin was
originally appointed to this office, but
was found too tender-hearted for the
post, so he was recalled to the command
of his corps under Paris, and Gen. de
Rosenberg Guizynski was appointed to
fill up the interregnum. He is soldier
even down to his boots, and knows moth
ing but soldering. After this Governor
General there are two civil Commission
er-Generals: Prince Charles of Hohen-
lohe for the interior and finances, and
Count Taufkirchen for other matters.
There is also a prefect in the chief town
OF each department, a sub-prefect in
the next smaller towns, where there is
also generally an officer commanding
the place, and an "Etape." AS expect
to have good deal of business with the
Etapes during the next few days,
must explain to you their duties. At
every important railway station there is
an Etapen-Commando," who furnishes
all information Tor withholds it) as he
thinks best ; arranges the billets Of SOL
diers and strangers for transportation,
and is general executive for the high
military officers. You do not travel in
France now from town to town; you go
from "Etape" to Etape;" and you
never know, when leaving one, whether
you will be allowed to proceed beyond
another. The Etape is a very Sultan in
the arbitrary nature of his authority.
Garrisons, Of course, abound every
where. There are 1900 men at Rheims,
1900 at E pernay, 1000 at Chalons, and
500 at the camp of the same name, with
an immense hospital, 200 at Sulppe, 200
at Sainte Menehould, and 800 at Rethel,
in which latter place vast ambulance
has been constructed at the expense of
the town. At Chalons the soldiers are
barracked; the officers lodge with the
inhabitants, but the city has to pay
their board. At Rheims the barracks
are not yet organized, so that all the
soldiers live in the private houses. The
Grand Duke used to live in the Hotel
Chquot, and his successor will probably
initiate so seductive an example.
The Prussian authorities have been
much criticised for their arbitrary meas
ures in compelling the municipal gov
ernment at Rheims to subscribe to the
official paper which the Provincial gov
ernment has seen fit to start. To show
you how sharp and decisive are the
faly hut ha I
must mention that the Duke of Mech
lenburg Schwerin was censured because
he did not place prominent citizen of
the town on the locomotive of the first
train that left every morning, intending
In this manner to guarantee against any
malicious attempts to upset the trains.
The inhabitants of all these sections are
almost frantic because the Prussians
force them to pay the same tax they did
last year, the burden now being quite
overwhelming. One other measure
which seems needlessly hard is the i'm
perative command to all the captured
towns to prepare a list of every man
between the ages of twenty and forty
five, and the imposition of fine of fifty
francs for every day of absence without
m0tive on the part of any individual
mentioned on the list. Bread is lacking
nearly everywhere; the people of Saint
Menehould went without, recently, for
three days. Cnalons has been obliged
to level to the ground its magnificent
trees ON the promenade which old LIE
Fotre planted. Chalons is condemned
to pay 100000 francs. The environs
of Soissons are totally ruined for at
least two years to come. The arbitrary
arrests continue to excite considerable
Indignation. The other day the Count
de Chevigny was taken from his chateau
at Bouisault, and locked mp forty. eight
hours-then set at liberty without ex-
PLANTATION. The Mayor of Rheims got
five days in Jail for some tritiing insub-
ordination. But the otficials-the
French, mean-in spite of their great
vexations and sorrows, are doing all
they can to build up that section OF the
country once more. They all refuse to
serve Prussia, and the consequence is
that post offices, tax-bureaux, every
thing relating to the collection of any
species of revenue, is barren of en-
ployees. The daily work can never be
effected only one, two, and three days
behind time. The French spirit, with
the love of the grotesquely horrible, is
admirably illustrated in the case of a
little town which had not made any
very brave resistance. and which was
refused food in its distress few days
after by the French authorities of the
department, who said that people who
could defend themselves no better de-
served to die of famine!