The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-07-11

and great numbers OF people were either
But when compared with the Inundation
which has now, we nope, subsidized, all others
SINK Into comparative insignl1cance. week
ago to-day. our correspondent tells us, the River
Garonne. at Toulouse was unu 'ually high, but nc
serious danger was apprehended and no precau'
tlonary measures were taKeu. On Wednesday
the waters rose rapidly aud ny ten O'Clock III thd
morning they mad reached the level OF the hood OF
1855. At two O'Clock two arches OF bridge and
twenty houses were swept away. and the nOatIng
swimming baths and lavatories were torn rom
their moOrlngS ana nuriie down the torrent. AZ
live the water OvernOwod the parapet which pro-
Jects the populou5 quarter OF ST. CyDrian; at SIX
Ii WAS ten leet deep Ia The Straets, and before
night this quarter was cut or from the rest OF the
town, the three bridges OF communication Deina
destroyed. All night the crash Of falling housed
THE CRIES AND sHRIeKs OF SUFFERERS
were heard. On Thursday the nood oegan to
apate and the water had Iaen SIX feet by the
evening. In the town OF Toulouse alone. II Is said
800 persons nave persisted ana 20, 900 are left de5
tItute. Nearly 1000 houses have iallen, and the
destruction OF property Ii roughly estimated at
from El2 600 900 to els 000, 900 sterling Tue whole
valley on tile Garonne IS SAID to res emble q vast
lake. covered with fragments OF the ruins OF the
town, AS well us WITH wreck proug a9n Sow sn ION
tnem wearing the costume of places twenty
leagues away.
Although 1t 10 upon this particular district THAI
the Calamity has fallen with the greatest force, yet
THE NEIGHBoRING DEPARTMENTS
have also been terrible sufferers. In Aude the
crops nave been extensively destroyed. At Bag
nei es de BIgorre the Adour has carried awav
bridges and cottages. AT Verdun (Ariege) moro
thaa hlly houses have lallen, and many persons
have been drowned. In Tarn-et-Garonne crops
have persisted; aud at Nenouillet q village six
Kilometres from Toulouse, only three houses out
or four hundred are lett standing. The railway
between Bordeaux ana Toulouse Is cut In dozen
places and the whole country IL submerged. Tn,
power OF the surrounding districts TO assist tue
Greatest sufferers is crippled by their own Iosses
ana the communication with distant parts OF rns
country Is greatly mpedeo. IL IL doubtful wnetneR
the DESCRIPTION OF what has actually happened viii
include even tue greater part OF the calamity. Az
the waters recede surface saturated with moist
ufe Will re exposed, am this surface VIII DC
win m n N m Ia tm
every stage OF decomposition Exposed to the
exhalatious hence arising there VIII be q large
population reduced TO absolute want-dependent
upon charity Tor ali the necessarles OF lfe desi.
Jute alike OF Clothes OF iood, OF shelter anu OF en-
ployment. TO communities thus situated disease
comes with footsteps tnat are neither tardy nor
uncertain. and it Is only by the most prompt ana
energetic AID from external sources that Ine IN.
habltants or Toulouse can be saved from even
gre Ills II such be possible taan those which
have already Defallen taem.
Tbs CAUSE OF THE CALAMITY.
In order TO form an Idea OF the causes or the lns
undation IL Is only necesi ary to 81 nee NJ the
physical geography vi the departments In WHICH
IL mas occurred. Tney lie ON the northern slopes
oI tire Pyrenees, and are intersected by numerous
ana rapid rivers Of winch at least four unite to
form the Garonne before ie reaches Toulouse.
There mas been heavy and continuous rain over
the whole OF the mountain range and a fail or
snow AZ Luz where II would directly swell the
head waters Of the GarOnne. IL Is said that NJ
least a contrlbutory cause Is furnished by the
great destruction OF timber in the district during
the last century. Trees not only absorb water
LARGELY from The SOIL eat they asS 6t Inc
sun, and they check the rapidly and abrupt.
ness with which Pain would otherwise
reach the ground. Wsen 1t tails unlmpeded
upon dry ana barren hill sides. 1t VIII
run rom them almosI AS freely as from the slop-
the WAFER OF the mountain storm to SVEN the vol
une OF the nearest river. IL Is easy u be Wise
all tile event; but IN district SO situated there
Is great room Tor measures oI prevention, and the
riparian authorities, whoever tney may oe. should
be lniruSted Win powers commensurate to the
magnitude or the recurring evis, watch, by wise
precautions, they might DO much to mitigate or
avert. even the tiny floods wnicn sometimes oc.
cor IN this country are often greatly aggravated
by local neglect, ny some sitting up oil the channel
OF a stl cam, or oy soms displaced Dfidge, WINCH
forms an OBSTACLE TO ne passage or an unusual
body OF water. In rivers which are Liable
TO be swolea BY mSuntaiG torrents rents. tGs
unceasing sUllcitude, and the span ana construc
ton o! bridges should DO determined Dy otnei
than purely local considerations.
IMAGINATION AND NAPOLEON HI.-How THE CHARrTY
AND ENERGY OF BOTH HAVE BEEN TESTED AT
IRON the Loudon Telegraph, June 2o.l
Not al Instant s too soon AID Marshal MacMahon
trict. in England tue appearance Of the Chief Of
the State Oh TIE scene OF a great public calamity
woul1 be deemed wholly unnecessary. aad weeks
would perhaps elApse ere Parliament was oIlci-
ally made acquainted with the extent VI the nis-
ioI tune and the need for aleviatlng 1t by grant
ei pubic money Whine, even III America, where
The Chief Magistrate Is generally ready to answer
any popular CAL ON his personal me rposltion, tina
ine scene VI some 'iresaet" on the Mississippi or
amid the enlDers OF some colossal conlagration at
not DO oeman eI by puolc opinion. But,
in France. personal government, although its
Principe Is indignatly SECUTED 0y an advanced
scnool OF polihclans is III practice. accepted aad
relied upon IN cases o UNUSUAL peril. not only hy
politicians al ali. When sacn q casualty as taai
OIL tue rising OF tho Garonne occurs, tue Frenou
pendeaee upon the e oSler OF the STATE waic6 was
our own condition Ia England during the tre OIL
1900 ana wnea Charles ~ .oG once N ms me- old
or the disaster, by personally directing ana
ENCOURAGING the EFFORTS OF those VINO were
endeayornR to extngulsh the names and
dering wnoie clocks OF houses to oe blown un
with gunpowder. And thus,too, many generations
later, did the Emperor Nlcnslas render valuable
personal aid, Uotn moral and mtter,al, TO the
population OF st. Petersburg, alternately cOwed
ana frenZl9d as they were ny The ravages OF the
cholera and bJ the burning OF the WINTER Palace.
people VINO are incapable of governing or who
are not suffered to govern themselves must needs
some one TO govern them, and In evil lines 1t
is imperatvely necessary that the governor should
be on The spot. Ii the turncuck has to telegraph
~ Pars 1or orders, aud II The project IL uncertain
as 10 what the Minister Of tue Interior Will say to
him II he directs q broken siuce gate 10 DC
repaired It Is OBVIOUS that Things are apt
10 go awkwardly; put when all local
officials alike PROSTATE and panic-strcKen
10y :he occurrence OF some ovei whelming disaster,
there Is Unly one remedy Tor the EVIL and tuat II
the Immediate evolution oil the Deus er ntdchtnd.
Jupiter, or at least Cesar. must come, whether ne
be emperor, King, military ulctntOr, or cOnsLIu.
tonal president Tue action taken by Marshal
MacMahon, equally humane, graceful, energetic
and polite as IL must be cOnsldered, was AT tins
same time matter OF simple necessity, and IL was
based strictly on the famous precedent set In q
similar crisis nearly twenty years ago by that soy.
ereign whose memory mas been t.eated with such
cruel inarattude by the people Tor whose welfare
he did 80 mucn.
Beginning GA the Soth OF May, there were
IN THE YEAR 1856
dreadful foundations In France. Vast tracts OF
iand between Paris and Lyons and on vi ARCS TO the
sea were laid under water. Roads aud railways
were rendered lm passaDle. Human bodies, cattle,
furniture and agricultural produce were Dorne
along the fusnlng torrents. anu Lae streets OF
ma foNVn ha fra val nnly mats Ar
the Urleans railway station the water reached the
fourth story OF the building. Al Tours 1t was leo
feet deep. AT Anglers the immeqSo STATE quarriea
were gu merged and 10 OUO men were thrown
out oil employment. Ia many cantons whols
VILLAGES were swept away. anu at LyonA
where the nundation chiefly lett In
tue oensely populated suburbs OF the Gull
lotIere ana the CrUix Rouse, the amount OF
misery and destituton caused Dy the noods was
well nigh incalculaUie. Inc Emperor Napoleon
Ill. saw at once what was TO be done. without
losing moment he took an express Ior Lyons.
And there GetlIng ON h. raeh nck. and with Opau