Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1874-06-12


Geneva, l>73. -Hnper's Wsekis.
IocheforI's Defence of the Paris Commune.
The n. Y. Herald publishes fye-column
letter from Henri Rochefort. largely devoted
to 4 defence of the commune lie admits
that revenges were allowed full play and
that priests were shot, an archbishop and a
journalist. But he declares that never
were reprisals better excused by the terri
bic scenes which provoked them. We quote
from the HeralFs clumsy translation:
At the moment that these disastrous
things were being produced, Paris, it is
known now, was literally drowned with
blood Fifteen thousand cOrpses of men,
women and children covered the sidewalks
and the streets on the eve of the death of
the archbishop. The greatest of the crimes
that history has yet had to chronicle had
been committed. One OF the electors of
Paris, representing the people IN the ma
| tional assembly, the citizen Milliere, had
/ been arrested at his iather-in-law 5, in the
midst of his family, brought by squadron
of soldiers TO the very steps of the Pam
theon, and there shot without trial by q
certain Capt. Garcin, acting under the or
ders of Gen. De Clssey.
This assassination remains as their exter-
nal condemnation, for this showed how the
eonquerers of Paris treated that city, with
out a show of law, and the national will, in
the name of which they pretended to fight
In thus getting rid without precedent Of
one of its members, the national assembly
committed suicide for later on it legalized
all the attacks made against its autonomy
! pIu fpr
the Laban barracks, wrote the immortal
author OF - L'Annee Terrible" Hundreds
of prisoners were taken in chains and placed
before the mitrailleuses and blown to pieces
AT the battle OF ChaumOnt the ignOble
Gallifet caused the Lational guards to dig
immense graves. at the sides Of which he
grouped entire battaliOns. whom he fired on
till they fell in these imprOyised tombs.
One of our companions in captivity IN
the easements of Fort Bayard was brave
Republican who had been but badly slaugh-
tered, and waited for the advent of night to
crawl out from among the cadOres with
which he was surrounded and to gain q
place of retreat, from which he was not
taken till several months afterwards. Be-
hind the prison walls of La Roquette the
butchery had been such that burial had be-
come impossible, and the good health OF the
ueighbOrhood was much interiered with.
The officers in charge Of the execution had
found a- they Thought, the solution o. the
matter by bringing into reqaisition large
number Of wagons, into which they pitched
the dead a. they were handed out. Probably
to give an interest to the proceedings they
compelled the national guards 10 put into
carriages the bodies OF their dead brothers
in arIuS, and each time that prisoner had
finished his sinister task. and he was pre-
pariug 10 descend from the carriage, a shot
from a gun stretched him next to his COM
paniOns. and the carmen carried to the same
grave both the dead and their grave dig
gers.
At the depot called Des Chantiers of Yer
sailles the female prisoners fthe commune,
instead Of being guarded by women as the
law and propreties demand, were obliged
to sleep and TO dress under the impudent
looks OF soldiers, to whom their chiefs gave
themselves the pleasure Of permitting every
thing These unhappy women, OF whom
seyen-e hths had committed no other crime
than to not have denounced the retreat of
their brethren of their fathers. OF OF their
husbands, were for the least breach OF dis
cipline of pure fantasy deprived of their
clothes and thrown thus before the guar
dlanS and the male prisoners under the fro
zen pumps of the large court of the depot.
Children of ten, eleven, OF twelve years, ar
res;ed by hundreds under pretext OF accusa-
tions of the most futile kind, were huddled
together without beds, and almost without
food in the most pestilential atmosphere.
A lieutenant of dragons was instructed
to take charge OF this hell upon earth, and
every day he racked his ingenuity to invent
some new tortures for his prisoners. On
the coolest days he bound naked men togeth-
er and then let them pass the night exposed
to snow and hail, and occasionally he would
20 down and beat them with his walking
cane with an amount of iercclty only TO be
equallcd by n madman. These atrocities
were carried To such an extent that protests
were made. and two deputies Of the lett
went to tine place in question 10 investigate
the conduct of this wretch and OF his treat
ment of his victims. Marserault lost moth
Ing of his cynicisIn lie made the terror he
had spread among the prisoners profitable
to himself, and by menaces he gained over
two or three, who declared publicly that
there was really no ground for serious com
plaint against Lieut.. Marserault.
1t Is useless 70 add that this campaign
obtained for him captainey Of the New
Caledonia slave trade. Hardly month ar
rives but that corsairs boldly come to an
ehor in the port of NoUmea with cargo OF
slaves taken from the FIJI. Lipon or new
Hebrides islands. The slave ships call at
these spots and organize on board or on the
shore festival, which attracts the natives.
and under the pretext of distributing glass
ornaments from Europe make them descend
in a barred space between decks bordered
with cannon. where they go but to be sold
in the isles of Oceaniea or in the Philip
pines. The English pitilessly fight this
kind OF traffic and actively hunt these
H.. rbay bon
highest yard arm when they capture them.
The pirate finds an asylum. n protection,
and an advantageous market for his cargo
with the government of New Caledonia.
The medium price of a slave varies from 2o0
to $50 francs Ii il stipulated in the treaty.
for the purpose of concealing the sale, that
sale is simple agreement to work Tor TWO
years, after which the negro Is given baek to
the vender, those duty 1t Il 10 send MIN
back to his home. Nobody can fail to SEQ
the value of this clause !: First. the native
does not receive any paymen. for the bogus
engagement ID. when the two years oil
service have expired he is surrendered 10 MS
master You can fancy what takes place
then. The eorsair again receives on ooaru
ship his human merchandise and goes 10
DISPOSE of him elsewhere, so in reality the
unfortunate slave does not change his con.
dition, but simply changes his master, all
of which helps to make this trader moro
cruel and rapaeious than ever.
OF the Count de Chambord he says; |
have reason 10 believe that he prefers, and l
felicitate him upon it, the ROYALTY OF name
which he has enjoyed II long time, to the roy
alty Of fact of which they would dispossess
him 80 quickly if he committed the FAULT to
! accept It,
Euu, MINE.-The meeting OF the famous
Emma Silver Mining Company on the 18th