Blandford Weekly News. — 1886-10-02 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

ANARCHISTS ON TRIAL..  The three Anarchists, Guesde, Lafargue, and Sushi, who were recently sentenced in default to various terms of imprisomnent, for having incited to pillage and murder at a public meeting, have now been unexpectedly acquitted by a Paris jury, on a second trial. They admitted having used strong language„ but tried to explain away the particular phrases attributed to them. Guesde Was charged with saying "The day when Rothschild is at Mazes, the Republic will exist. Yes, it must be to Mazes or to the wall. On the day when we have the revolution there will spnm; from it a resort to the liberating gun." Lafargue was reported to have said: "It is not the Government which must be changed; property 7dest be seized and Rothschild plundered and sent to Mazes." Susini's words, it was alleged, were "We must make prosulytes. Let those who are in misery rise against the army of assassins ; and, if necessary, let guns be fired." Guesde said that at the meeting he spoke 60,000 or 80,000 words, as is his costoin, very rapidly. Out of these a l'olice Commissary had selected about 30, which had been put one after the other, and to which a meaning had been given. He did not deny that he had used the words, but he disputed the meaning that had been drawn from them. Susini said it WAS his custom to note down carefully all that he said. He :tad printed the exact text of his speech, which was not that put into his mouth. Lafargue said that if the words attributed to him were joined to those which preceded and to those which followed them it would be seen that, so far from having excited to pillage, he had done the very reverse. Only one witness was called, M. Veron, the Commissary of Police, who stated that the expressions which he had quoted from the speeches were delivered by the accused. M. Stumm who was the first to speak in defence, read the passages of his speech, which, he said, had supplied the Police Commissary with the materials for the phrases introduced into his report. The most inflammatory part of the speech according to his own version, was: "Let the working men combine Ind form an army of the robbed against the robbers, of the murdered against the murderers ; and if we are driven to extremities; if we are provoked, if we are compelled to resort to the gun, well, then, so much the worse for those who give the provocation." The accused then sought to ahew that these words were not a provocation to murder, said more especially not a direct provocation, as was required by the law. Paul Lafargue then spoke. He inveighed against financiers, capitalists and "the king of plunderers," Rothschild. He and his friends whi•ed to make them disgorge, as was done under the old Monarchy, and in doing so they would not be plunderers, but the enein'.-s of the plunderers. After quoting passages from all sorts of writings in justification of his doctrine, he told the jurymen that they had to pronounce against the robbers or against the robbed. They had to choose between thee-niternatives. But whatever they did, they might rest aswired that the accused and their friends would continue with zeal the propaganda they had begun, and when they Caine to form the government they would send the financiers to execution. This was received with applause from the back of the hall, which was checked by the presiding judge. M. Jules Guede, who spoke last, said that what he and his friends the Collectivists wished was to put an end to the legal murder and pilage to which society was a prey. Their part was to tell the people that they were made tools of, and plundered. That would continue until the proletariat bad its 1780, as the bourgeoisie had had theirs. Ile added: We are reproached with having spoken isf liberating guns.' Were the revolutions of 1780 and 1830 brought about with broom-handles? All the administrations, the public institutions, and the army are schools of murder." The judge, interrupt' g, said he could not allow the army to be described as ja act evil of murder. M. Gnesde continued: "The army r necessity. Ido not deny it. Murder, theft, I repeat, are everywhere. They are in the mines, where the miners are crushed every instant. We do not preach murder and pillage. We wish, on the contrary, to tint an end to them." The verdict of acquittal was received with some applause, and the defendants were released amid cries of Vire la Repub. ~.c &dale l"