New-York tribune., 1884-03-24
INDUSTRIAL FRANCE.
VII.
THE SILK wEAYERs OF LYONS.


tFRoM A sPECI,L CORRESPONDENT or TIE TRIBUNEl
LYONS France October 26.
The early history of this beautiful city was con
nected with two familiar names Nero rebuilt
Lyons and she at least mourned for him. Cahguia
was born in a Roman palace on the heights the size
of which is now occupied by hinge straggilng nos
ptal for madmen. The interesting author OF i ne
Atelier de Iys" Miss Roberts, says OF the ancient
history of Lyons: Raised by Augustus from
village to a great city, Lyons was the point whence
diverged the four great Augustine roads through
Canl. and the roads TO Helvetia and to Italy,
the Cottian Aims also started from it. At the con-
fuence of the Sa6ne lArarl and Rhone stood the
temple dedicated to Augustus and Rome, with the
statues of the sixty Gallo cities or rather States
aronnd the imperial altar" Here Caligula estab-
Ilshed contests Of eloquence where the vanquished
were to be thrown into the Rhone, unless they pre-
ferred to lick off their discourses from the waxen
tablets on which they were written.
The Lyons of to-day is handsome city, extend
ing on both banks of the Rhone and Sa6ne, next TO
Paris the largest and most important city of France
The handsomest and newest part of the city, in
Gliding the Pare de Ia T6te dor. the artillery bar
racks. etc, is on the left bank of the Rhone
Formerly LYONS was confined to the right bank OF
the Rhone and the Sa6ne went boldly through the
middle of the city, while he " the Rhone SAID
Gr6vy, "passes iHc0g outside the walls, but warts
for her a little below" This IS all changed now,
and both rivers run through the city. At the be-
ginning of the present century Lyons had popula-
tion of about 100000; to-day she has nearly
100000. If were not dealing particularly with
industrial topics, it might well be worth while to
panse and recall some of the history of this beautl
ful city. Rebuilt by Nero its subsequent history
has not been without blood-stan Here in the early
mart of the Christian era was said to be well which
oyerhowed with the blood of martyrs massacred III
the reign OF Septimius Seyerus. 1t would not, now
ever be necessary to turn back so lar as the dawn
of the Christian to remind the reader OF some OF
the bitter periods in the history of this fair city on
the swift-fowing RhOne.
To punish the people of Lyons for the stand they
took against the Jacobin party, the most terrible
deeds were perpetrated by the Revolutionists.
Couthon. the day after he took possession OF the
city. wrote to Paris that the inhabitants consisted
of three classes: l. The guilty rich 2. The selfish
rich; g. The ignorant workmen, incapable OF any
wickedneSs. "The first" he said, should be
cllotined and their houses destroyed the for
tunes of the second confscated: and the third re-
moved elsewhere" The very name of Lyons was
ordered to be changed to Commune Afiranchie'
On the ruins of this infamous city said BareTe IN
the name of Committee of Public Salvation. shall
be raised a monument and on il shall be the in
scription Lyons made war on Freedom. Lyons
is no more
Then both Couthon and Corot d'Herbois set TO
work to destroy the city and its inhabitants. The
sanguiaarv part fell to the actor who had been
hissed off the stage Of Lyons ten years before. and
the demolition of the edifces was undertaken by
COuthon. Carried in an armchair by four men,
dressed out and perfumed, COuthOn was borne from
house to house striking three blows on the door Of
each and saying in gentle accents, RebelLous
house. l strike you in the name of the law
Twenty thousand rutfans were IN the pay OF the
Convention for the purpose of destroying buildings
The expense of this work which continued in Lyons
six months was Sc, 800, 900. In the meantime
blood flowed in torrents from the famous Place Bel
lecour The bodies of the slain were fOated in
such numbers down the Rhone that the waters
were poisoned BaTere announced the executions TO
the Convention in this way The cOrpses OF the
rebelliOus Lvonese, fOated down the Rhone will
teach the perfdiOus citizens of Toulon the fate
which awaits them" Thus were the wealth. spirit
and intelligence which had sprung mp with the com
mercial prosperity of this remarkable city de-
stroyed.
The weaving and dyeing of silk, for which Lyons
has been for centuries celebrated, was introduced
from Sicily during the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries. The number of workpeople at Lyons en-
gagged in this manufacture between 1850 and 1850
did not exceed 10000. After the revocation
of the Edict of Nantes in 1855, the num-
Der fell about One-half and 50 remained
until about 1850 from which date to 1890
il gradually increased TO $4,000. When Arthur
Young visited Lyons just before the Revolution.
he was disappointed at the town and the people.
No one wOnld give him any information about the
silk industry and he was disgusted to find 10000
people living on charity. Indeed at this time the
manufactures of France very unlmportant
compared with it's agriculture. The terrible period
of the Revolution utterly destroyed the industry
and when Napoleon assumed the reins Of govern
ment it is supposed that not over one-sixth of the
$4,000 artisans were engaged in the manufacture
of silk. But five pacific years of his government
and the exclusion of British manufactures from the
Continent in consequence of the war, dfused
extraordinary degree of prosperity into this and
other industries Here is The increase since that