New-York tribune., 1871-04-15
.c,,,uoy BEdTEy ONCE MORE.

u,CU1UON BEATEN OACE MORE
Far two days very serious conflict has
.od south and west of Paris, and on both
,tdos &C tbe Seine. On the right of the Yer
sa;1Ios army. south of Paris, it has been
chiefly confined to the artillery, the real at
tocl, being by the left wing upon Asnieres and
Nouilv west of the city. At these
roints the latter of which the Com
munists had retaken without securing
tbo bridge which there crosses the Seine, the
insurgents have had a strong force operating
on the left flank of MacMabon, and by thus
threatening it have prevented the meditated
assault upon Porte Maillot. Until this force
is driven back, across the Seine and behind
the ramparts of Paris, no general assault at
the Porte MailOt is practicable. And unfor-
tunately for MacMahon it is only at this
point that no is near enough to the walls to
venture on an attack.
The battle of Thursday and yesterday
seems to have been with this purpose OF
driving the right wing of the insurgents.
The relief of body Of three thousand
of his men who were surrounded
in an island of the Seine by the
recapture of Neuilly was secondary
designs are clearly failures. On Thursday
the insurgents were driven for n short time,
but being reinforced were enabled to regain all
they had lost. OF the details of the battle yes
torday we have nothing; the result is told in q
brief dispatch from London dated at p m,
which says the Versailles troops were re-
pulsed at every point. 1t can only be
concluded from this very indefinite statement
that the insurgents remained strictly on the
defensive, and that MacNlahOn has lost no
ground, but failed to gain tho important
positions which he sought. The Versailles
troops doubtless still hold the Neuilly bridge,
which the Communists 40 stoutly defended
week ago. and which, lying under the guns OF
Fort Mont Valeren, is untenable for them.
lis advantage to Macllahon has not yet been
made apparent, nor can it be developed while
the insurgents hold their positions on his left
flank.
Meantime, while peace negotiations have
been carried on, none have been concluded,
and 10 disposition to compromise IS evinccd
by the Communists. Indeed, their Minister of
Foreign Affairs, VI. Groussct, declares that
Cancellation il impossible. The Versailles au-
thortics cvince a different disposition, but
even there too nice punctillo IL suffered to
embarrass a possible settlement in the inter
oSts of peace. NJ. Thiers stands on question
Of etiquette, and refuses to recognize
the Commune authorities "a anything
but assaSsins lie il ready to grant municipal
reforms to Paris, and to give assurances OF
the maintenance of the Republic, but refuses
10 treat with the Paris authorities. The AS
semby has in fact voted to make the conccS-
sions as to the election of officers which the
Parisians demanded at the outset of their re-
bclliOn, but these will not now satisfy the
Commune leaders, it, indeed, it would be ac-
ceptable to the people of Paris.
The fighting appears, in short, to have
brought Paris and Versailles no nearer an
agreement. The first makes n stOuter defense
than the dcmoralized condition of her bat
talons led us to expect; but 1T must be re-
mcmbcrcd, on the other hand, that the diff
cultes of approaching Paris from the south
are manifold, as the siege of the German
army revealed The necessity of interpOsing
between the two cities for the defense of the
Assembly and Government Is imposed on
Marshal MacNlahOn, who can, therefore, make
an attack from no other direction than the
west His last attack having failed, he has
declared his intention to remain on the
defensive for the present, doubtless to await
the arrival from Germany of more French
soldiers of the old army.