The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-06-22
Battalion ofInfantryLay
 Down Arms.
HAVE JOINED RANKS
 OF THE WINE GROWERS
Situation in Southern France Grows
 More Critical.
News of the Mutiny of the Troops Has Caused the Gravest Concern Throughout All
 France.


 L,Orient, France, June 21.-There is a persistent rumOr aflOat that q grave mutfny has taken place aboard the Erench srmored cruiser Victor Hugo on inc coast of the United states. No con- firmation of the rumOr Is obtainabie and the officials are skepticai of tne truth of the storyr.
 New York, June 21.-A despatch rom L,Orient May 5 said that 1@o men ot The crew of the Victor Hugo, which was linen about to sail for the Jamestown ErpOsitfon remained ashore under the uretext that the discipline on the ship was too severe. The Victor Hugo "r- rtved on May 20 and sailed for Hamp- ton Roads May 31.
 Paris, France, June 2l.-A pat. talion of the 17th infantry resinlen' stationed at Agde, in the oep", ment to Herault, has deserted with US arms and ammunition and joined the ,nsurpent wire growers at Beziers, the headauarters of the regiment. me n,utineers who were mostly recruited among the wine growers huhioe.e about four hundred men. They narcno no cd into Beziers, which mas apout oV'VVv inhabitants with drums oeatins anu coIors flying and are now camped III tha nrincinal square of that city with stacked arms The deserters trieo to enlist the sympathies with the re- matnder of the regiment, stationeo ~ Bezters, but failing to do 50 shes promised to eject them from thelr par racks. ratact
 Early this afternoon the sup-prelec' of Beziers notified Premier Clemenceah 1Ngo n Agde on the condition that they "oulo not he punished. A little later they Tenewed their demand to be allowed 10 ,aToccuny their former barracks at Raziars. M. CIemenceau curtly replied that iie refused to part with the desert- CTS and consider any proposition Dus unconditional surrender. adding tnaerne was determined to utiiize aM lHe sJsI ernment's force energy In this upris- Ing. 4pa. batallion of the 17th infantry regimenf sent from Beziers to Agde on accouh. of the soldiers sympathy with. the Iocai swine growers mutinied there tnls morn ing. raided the magazine, niled theis pouches with cartridges ana With hAeu havonets. and flags flying, marcned out nf Agde and fled to Beziers When notiAed of the mutiny. General Crois- sade commonging the first brigade, met the muttners at Villeneuve ana attempt ed to persuade them to return 10 duty'
 "soldters." he commanded, XIII me pr obey me-
 The soldiers replied that they nao no desire to kill the general but were de- termined to return to Beziers.
 Al detachment of gendarmes tried 10 har inc road, but after the mutineers had fired a volley in the air they were nermitted to pass. The mutineers,! ai- though without offciels, marched into Beziers in perfect order at O'CLOCK this morning, the cheers or local cro"us mingling with the rolling or the oruIs ana the strains of the bugles. Alter stacking arms, the deserters announced their intention to remain on the square until allowed to re-occupy their bar racks. from whence they recently trans ferred. The people gave the mutlneers A warm welcome and furnished them with ample supplies or straw upon which the tired soldiers threw them selves, after stationing pickets and pro- claiming their determination to dereno their lives in the event of being at- tackled.
 The news of this momentous defec- tion of troops together with reports of other mutinous acts at various points in the revolting provinces reached the government this morning
  mier Clemenseau summoned a cabinet noeetfng, At the ministry of the inter- for at noon inquirers ware informed that the reports from Narbonne and Montipelier showed that both cities were comparatively quiet. At o'clock this morning 1t was announced that the governments watchword remained the law must reign"
 Interior Minister Briand indignantly denied the rumors that he has resigned
 Governments Course.
 Paris. June 21.-The government was 3nterpellated in the chamber of deputies this afternoon on measures which 1t proposed to take in order to restore order in the south. Premier Clemencau, fin the course of his reply said that over one hundred soldiers were wound ed in the fighting with rioters yester- day at Norbonne. He then fully con- Armed the dispatches of the Associated Press in regard to the mutiny of the battalion of the 17th infantry at Agde and It's mahch to Beziers and said he could not listen to any proposition TOT the conditional surrender of the mutin- eers. The premier concluded by de- manding a vote of confidence.
 The opposition deputies firecely at- tackled the government saying the Cuirissars acted like cossacks, that the troops fired without proVocauon ana notification. Women and children had been slaughtered and the release of M Ferroule, ex-mayor of Narbonne alone would restore order; otherwise. accord ing to one of the speakers, the bloody rioting of today will be the revolution of tomorrow.
 By majority of 1O4, the Chamber of Dputies this afternoon voted confidence fin the government and gave the min fsters a free hand to employ the meas ures they think best to re-establish the sovereignty of the law in the disturbed departments of the south This result came after a day of excitement over the mutinous movement of troops in the south. following the widespread dis orders of the wine growers.
 The grave view the French capital takes from outbreaks in the south of France and the tragic outcome was evil denced by the scene in the Chamber of Deputies today when the govern ment was interpellated in the meas ures it proposedsto take to re-establish order. Even standing room was not