New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-01-08

count for the fact that Her Majesty Invariably
complained Of feeling I'll after spending more
than twentyfour hours In this palace That a
huge sewer OF this Kind should have existed
right under the palace within few feet of the
floors OF the royal cellars without any one being
aware of Its presence there speaks volumes
for the happy go-lucky methods that govern
the subterranean portion Of the British metrope-
lis. -
UNDERGROUND PARIS
The same ignorance prevails with regard to
the underground portion OF Paris. for which.
how ever. there Is more excuse than in the case
of the English metropolis. For the subter-
ronean part of the Gallo capital Is OF ancient
origin. and many centuries old. True, the State
maintains an engineer, who bears the title Of
Inspector General" of this Plutonian region.
and he has at his disposal liberal resources as
well as large staff for the purpose OF snoring
up wherever the surface shows signs of, sub
sidence. But he Is obliged to walt for these
manifestations, as no plan chart Of subter-
ranean Paris is In existence. and large portion
thereof at any rate, is as yet UNEMPLOYED. JIG
1t is asserted that more than a third, indeed
nearly one-half Of Paris is underrun by the
quarries out of which the stone that went to
These underground passages and tunnels bear
the name Of catacombs. but were not originally
intended such. Indeed, 1t was only at the close
of the last century that the Government con-
ceved the idea Of converting a portion of these
tunnels In the stone to .sepulchral uses and
from 1856 until the end Of the Revolution all
the bones Of the dead were collected from the
various churches and cemeteries OF Paris where
thew had been accumuiafnp for centuries md
were deposited in these vaults. 1t is calculated
that the remains Of over three million human
beings were thus disposed Of. the bones, as a
rule. being laid closely in order. with their ends
outward, while at regular intervals skulls are
interspersed in ranges to present al
ternate rows Of the back and front part OF the
heads. The portion of underground Paris de-
voted to these relics of humanity is known Of
fcially as the "ossuare municipal"-the mu-
nicipal bonery-and, strictly speaking, it is
only this part that should be known as the cata-
combs. But it forms a relatively small portion
of the entire maze beneath the surface of Paris,
which is 20 such extent undermined that the
city may almost be said to be built pillars
and buttresses, rather than solid ground.
AS just stated. no one knows the extent OF
underground Paris Tunnels and subways the
presence Of which had been unsupported, are
constantly being found, and it is no exaggera-
ton to state that 1t is almost impossible TO
make any excavation along streets built before
the present century without finding subter
ranean passages and vaults. OF the advantages
which all the latter offer to the criminal classes
1t IS hardly necessary to speak and many a
robbery has been perpetrated by burglars max
Ing their way into the cellars through tunnels
the existence of which was ignored by the owner
Of the house.
1t Is with the object Of protecting the Bank
Of France from burglaries Of this kind that the
institution has been, provided with a most in
genious system OF tanks, which would have the
effect Of dkscharging an enormous volume Of
water into any tunnel thieves might endeavor
to bore from the secret subways beneath the
city into the vaults Of the bank. The disap-
pearance Of the water from the tanks has the
effect Of starting off burglar alarm
At the close Of the Commune a number Of the
insurgents are known to have sought refuge
In this underground portion of Paris, and, owing
to the absence of any charts or plans. the au-
thorities were soon obliged to give up the
search 1t Is understood that the majority Of
the fugtives got lost below ground and starved
to DEATH although soIle are known to have
escaped But to this day the so-called
or carrieres, aioro hldlng place
for the criminal classes, where they are rela-
lively safe from intrusion on the part Of the
police. who only venture into the outer GAL
lerles. and do not attempt to involve them
selves in the maze Of passages and subways
which remain to them terra incognita- Oc-
when the Seine floods its banks there
are sudden and mysterious irruptons Of water
into these tunnels. and, as was shown by the
destruction Of the Champeaux restaurant the
other day. gas escaping from leaks in the bis
mains sometimes accumulates in the subways
and eXplodes.