The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-04-28

member OF the Chamber of Deputies, took |
place in Paris last Tuesday. Ii was made
the occasion Of a great Radical demonstra-
ton in the streets of the city. multi |
tude OF people, estimated in our dispatches
Mt 200 900, lined the route OF the procession
from the Rue Rivoli to the cemetery of
Pore In Chaisc; the masses chccrod for the
Republic aud for amnesty; ana such Radi-
Gals ~ NicfoR 1lrGo, RAspAIL ana BAR
oDEr received oyations during the funeral
march.
An incident OF this KIM would ha re-
Garied as very INDIGENOUS in the United
States. II would shock tho public sense
of proprcty. and be considered sacri-
lcgious violation % the solomnitics of death
and the grave. But such pOlltico-funcreal
demonstrations are not uncommon In
Paris. The last one similar in character
and consequence to this " Madame blanc,
and the first one of the kind In Paris after
the fnll OF the Empire, was that of the
| burial OF NtcrOR llUGo's son, FRAScoi'.
which took place in December Of 1s,3.
Young lIrGo was not only the son of the
most celebrated literary man In France,
but he was rs radical IN politics rs his
father lie had been the editor Of the
| Rdppd, Red Republican organ, had
often been subjected to prosecution by
the Government. and had on these ac-
counts become an especial favorite OF the
Radical party In Paris. The diy of his
funeral was memorable one for the Paris
ians His father appeared Mt the head Of
| the procession. in which tens of thousands
of workinginen marched through the cou-
t,.,fn
the ceremonies of the occasion were closed
with an Grafton 10y LOUIS BLANC.
During the last Empire there was no.
| thing that gave more trouble 10 LOUIS
NAPOLEON than some of these radical
funerals. At that time, when nll the or
binary means Of expressing political oppo-
sition had been made Illegal; when Repub-
| hcan meetings or professions were pro-
hbited; when the press was under rigid
censorship, AMI elections were regulated
bv impcrialist machinery, the ingenious
| Partisan mind. always fertile in cXpeli-
ents. saw, or rather recalled the fact of
| French history, that funerals could oitcu
be made to take OH n peculiar political
| significance, and could yet be used, in the
last resort, ns n means of expressing an-
tagonism TO the Imperial Government or
its measures. Hence, on the death NJ any
noted adversary OF the Empire, or Rroub-
lican champion, or any man who hal been
especially obnoxious to the Government
multitudcs Of sympathlzers would turn
out to his funeral. on several such occa-
sions the garrison of Paris WAS strength
ened, and the vigilance of the police be-
came extreme for fear that the funeral
might terminate in u revolutionary out
break. If any Radical on the march dis
played AN obnoxi )us badge or color, ut
tered provoking cry, or hummed line
Of the Marscilaise, he was instantly ar
rested and If, when an Grafton had been
allowed at the grave, the speaker was not
very careful Of his words, his eulogy over
the coffin was sure TO be cut short. The
Emperor knew how TO overawe the city at
these times. Yet the mere fact of ten or
twenty thousand people taking part in
such a funeral. or, ms the French say, as
sisting at 1t. was fun of significance, and
enabled all parties to form some idea of
the strength of the sentiment which could
not find expression otherwise.
BY far the most alarming denomination
in the funeral line, during the Empire, took
place in January OF 1870, at the bural of NJ
NICTOR NoGR, who was killed by Prince
PIERRE BoNAPARTE. BY that time the En-
peror had modified his Government so n
to make it much less repressive than II had
been in former years ho had given Il
larger measure of liberty TO the press he
permitted the holding of opposition politi-
cal meetings, and he seemed dcsirous of
trying how far he could let the Parisians
| a. hnTi e.
ty. The radical mind OF Paris was raised
to the highest pitch Of excitement over
the death OF Nom, the young, hot-headed
confrere OF Henri RocHEFoRT; but the
Emperor did not suppress the first sign OF
any obnoxious political manifestation, as
he had previously done, though formidabl,
military preparations were made 10 pre-
serve the peace of the city during the flu
neral. Marshal CANROBERT, then Com
c mander-in-Chief of Paris, had place.
heavy bodies OF cavalry and batteries Of
artillery in all the principal streets an'
squares, and had given orders TO the troops
} in the barracks to begin operations upon
the mob with their chnssepots as soon n
the first shot was fired upon the represen
tatives OF authority. The Government
would not permit the hearse TO be paradet
n through the city, and the funeral demon
y stratiou took place out Mt Neuilly, where
G the dead man had resided, though the i'll
I furated Radical leaders had expected t
=. display his corpse Mt the windows o
0 RocHEFoRr's newspaper Office. More thai
5 n hunlr thousand men made their wa,
Il through tho streets OF Paris TO Neuilly
g aud its cemetery. The procession there
o marching in broad lines, and headed
p, by IA body of young men bearing crowns o
r mmortelles, followed the hearse, while tn
o air was rent with revolutionary cries, ant
10 stalzas Of the Marseillaise were chanted II
st intervals. When the ceremonies, til
I'd speeches, and the display at the gray
l. were over, the masses took their way bacl
r toward their quarters in the city, Still
y. singing their revolutionary hymns; bu
a. suddenly, wnen entering the Champ
t. Elysees, dark mass of troops moved on
s. ana barred the way; an officer advanced
IS and summoned the people to dispersC
10 three short rolls of the drum OF warnin