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AN ADDRESS,

DELIVERED BEFORE THE

COOPER UNION

FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND ART,

NEW-YORK, FEBRUARY 10, 1872.

ELLIOT C. COWDIN

NEW-YORK:
PRINTED FOR THE COOPER UNION.

1872.

JOHN W. A MERMAN, PRINTER,
No, 47 Cedar Street, N. Y.

PETER COOPER,

FOUNDER OP THE

COOPER UNION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND ART,
THIS ADDRESS,

PREPARED AT THE REQUEST OP THE TRUSTEES, IN THE MIDST OP
ACTIVE COMMERCIAL PURSUITS, IS DEDICATED, AS A SLIGHT EXPRES-
SION OF RESPECT AND ADMIRATION FOR HIS MUNIFICENCE
IN CREATING AND HIS DEVOTION IN FOSTERING, AN
INSTITUTION OF INESTIMABLE VALUE TO THE
INDUSTRIAL CLASSES OF NEW-YORK, BY
HIS SINCERE FRIEND, THE

AUTHOR.

ADDRESS.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :

Four years ago I had the honor of speaking before
this excellent institution on the subject of the Paris
Universal Exposition of 1867, that is, on the triumph
of the arts of civilization, which then seemed to inau-
gurate in Europe an era of fraternity and peace. But
now the traces of relentless war — the destructions and
desecrations of an organized barbarism — are visible in
the same great capital.

An old adage tells us, that " what a man knows
should find expression in what he does." With this
conviction, and appreciating the noble mission of the
Cooper Union in elevating the industrial classes, I come
before you as a merchant, from the care and toil of a
busy life, to speak this evening of France : the War —
the Commune — the International.

The incidents of the terrible foreign war, and the yet
more terrible social revolution, which have shaken
France to the centre, but yet failed to ruin it, you
have doubtless followed with the deepest interest.

Owing to the unparalleled liberality, enterprise and

talent of the American press, you at home were better
informed of the progress of events than we who were
detained in Europe. You were apprised of the for-
tunes of war, thanks to the telegraphic nerve, whose
westward thrills outstrip time itself in velocity, almost
before the reverberations of the terrible artillery had
died away upon decisive battle fields. Day by day
you traced the progress of that tornado of invasion,
which, in one month from the commencement of hos-
tilities at Saarbruck, overwhelmed, uprooted and
swept away the Empire.

You saw what the popular heroism of France re-
fused to recognize, that, when the French army
capitulated, and Napoleon III. surrendered his sword
at Sedan, the contest was virtually ended. Marshal
MacMahon recognized it on that fatal morning of
September 1st, when, on being urged to retire from
his perilous post, he answered : "Let me alone! Let
" me show these kings and princes, who hide thern-
" selves behind masses of men, how a French Marshal
" can fight and die when victory is no longer possi-
" ble." Gen. Trochu recognized it, when he declared
that the defence of Paris was " a heroic folly."

Yet the efforts to arrest the chariot wheels of destiny
were glorious. " Heroic folly !" It was such indeed !
but a people capable of such chivalric madness cannot
perish from the face of the earth. The long resist-
ance of Strasburg ; that of Metz ; the desperate defi-
ance of little Phalsbourg, which did not open its gates

to the enemy until every musket had been broken
and every cannon spiked ; above all, the constancy
with which Paris endured the long horrors of invest-
ment and bombardment ; — these claim that tribute
which generous natures must ever pay to unavailing
valor and indestructible patriotism.

The simple secret of the immense military disaster
which struck down the proudest nation of Europe is
patent to all : Prussia was prepared for war, and
France was not.

It has been said that the Emperor was unaware of
the superior efficiency of the Prussian army and the
completeness of its organization. Such, however,
could not have been the case, for the reports he re-
ceived from Lieut. Col. Baron Stoffel, his military
attache to the French Embassy at Berlin, submitted in
1868, 1869 and 1870, were minute and exhaustive.

These reports showed that in time of war the
German Confederation could bring into the field
900,000 men, which, in an emergency, could be
raised to 1,200,000, or more; that the number of
young men of the age of 20 was 300,000, and the
annual contingent, 93,000 ; that the duration of military
service was 12 years, three of which were to be passed
iath. e active army, four in the reserve, and five in the
Landwehr, with further liability in the Landsturm, until
the age of 42.

It was shown that the whole Confederation of
German States was divided into twelve great circum-

scriptions, each of which was so organized as to send
into the field a complete army corps, consisting of two
divisions of cavalry, one reserve of artillery, one battal-
ion of pioneers, and all the requisite field service ; and,
lastly, that the quality of these troops was tried and
generally excellent.

That the Emperor had studied these reports is
proved by a printed but not published document,
found among his papers at the Tuileries, apparently
prepared by himself, in which the effective strength of
the German and French armies was minutely set forth
in parallel columns, accompanied by the following re-
marks :

" Compare the military state of Northern Germany
" with ours, and judge whether those who desire to
" reduce our national forces yet more, are well en-
" lightened as to the real interest of the country."

Even these statements were based on the apparent
effectiveness of the French army. The test of expe-
rience proved that corruption had been at work there,
as elsewhere ; that men, arms, munitions and pro-
visions, which figured on paper, had no existence in
fact ; and that a war with Prussia in 1870 was equally
unstatesmanlike and unsoldierlike rashness.

The tremendous military power of Prussia could not
be hidden from the eyes of the world ; but her secret
preparations were quite as formidable, and they show

the maturity of her plans and the thoroughness with
which she entered upon the campaign.

Her spies pervaded Europe from St. Petersburgh to
Paris, and well known French writers have asserted
that they were afterwards found among the fomenters
of the civil war of the Commune. More than this,
many of the most influential journals in Europe were
paid Prussian organs, one of which, according to M.
Edw. Schure, whose published pamphlet is my au-
thority, received 800,000 francs (or $160,000) per
annum for its venal services.

This great Franco-German war between parties so
unequally matched, had its origin neither with the
people of France nor with the people of Germany ; on
the contrary, their sympathies as well as interests,
were, as I know from actual observation, wholly on
the side of peace.

The real author of the war was Napoleon IIL, in
the interest of his dynasty, while his willing accomplice
was the King of Prussia, in the interest of his ambition.
In other words, it was a dynastic duel between the
Bonapartes and the Hohenzollerns. But when hos-
tilities were once commenced, the spirit of patriotism,
as in all international wars, united each nation in the
defence of its flag.

We learn from Count Benedetti's vindication of
himself, as late French Ambassador to Berlin, — assum-
ing the fairness of his statements, — that Napoleon was
fully informed of Prussia's intended attack on Austria,

in 1866, long before it took place, and exhibited an
unaccountable supineness with regard to it. It is
admitted that his quiescence must have been pur-
chased by a kind of understanding with Prussia, that
if she was allowed to pursue her scheme of aggrandize-
ment, France would be allowed to extend her limits
by annexation of neighboring territory, provided it
was of French-speaking people, and this might be
done by the absorption either of Belgium or portions
of Switzerland. Had Napoleon acted promptly, he
might have seized Belgium, at the hazard of a war
with England, but without any fear of Prussia. The
opportunity, however, slipped by unemployed.

Prussia humbled Austria in a campaign of unex-
ampled brevity, and stood before the eyes of Europe
as a military Colossus, victorious and armed at all
points.

France beheld with shame and indignation the
expansion of her ancient enemy, with no compen-
sation of increase of territory on her part. A war
between the two countries seemed inevitable. But
here difficulties interposed. In their hatred of Im-
perial sway, the French opposition, though weak,
rallied adherents, by raising the ever popular cry of
economy ; and the 120 millions of francs, which Mar-
shal Niel called for as imperatively necessary, were cut
down to five millions. At the same time the radical
party were inflaming the passions of the people by
harping on the exasperating theme that France had

been overreached by Prussia. The Constitutional re-
forms inaugurated by Napoleon's memorable letter of
the 19th of January, 1867, only served to loosen the
bonds which held together the political fabric of the
nation. The extended liberty of the press and the
right of meeting proved advantageous only to the
enemies of the Empire.

Conspicuous among the causes of discontent was the
ignominious failure of the Mexican Expedition, which
brought humiliation to the heart, and heavy financial
losses home to the purse, of Paris. That expedition
was one of the Emperor's fatal mistakes ; indeed, it may
be called the besrinning of his downfall. It was un-
dertaken, too, in the darkest hour of our great rebel-
lion, when he believed the union of the States was for-
ever dissolved. Had the attempt been made when
our arms were unemployed, it would doubtless have
led to instant war, for a republican people, brave and
strong as ours, can permit no king or Kaiser to erect a
permanent throne upon the soil of North America.

The murder of Victor Noir by a Bonaparte prince
increased the peril of the situation, and led to danger-
ous agitation in the capital.

Still, by shrewd management, by adroit manipula-
tion of parties, by evoking the Red spectre of revolu-
tion to terrify the conservatives, by pointing to the real
services of the Empire in maintaining order, in devel-
oping the material resources of France, in improving
the capital, the seaports and the great cities, in foster-

ing commerce, manufactures and agriculture, and in
opening new sources of employment for the masses, the
Emperor signally triumphed in the plebiscite of May,
1870 ; and for the third time a majority of millions of
votes seemed to assure him the unchallenged occu-
pancy of the throne.

But gathering years and infirmities admonished him
to think of his successor. He thought he could hope
to secure the crown to the Prince Imperial only by sur-
rounding his brow with a halo of military glory, which
had hitherto never failed to dazzle the eyes of France.
A Dynastic necessity seemed to compel him, all unpre-
pared as he was, to quarrel with Prussia, and to declare
war on a pretext. The selection of a German prince
as a candidate for the Spanish crown, though disa-
vowed by King William, led to the demand for farther
concessions incompatible with the dignity of the Prus-
sian monarch.

The French declaration of war was made July 15,
1870. Notwithstanding the efforts of the Imperialists
to create enthusiasm, the war was not really popular.
The reports from Prefects, since discovered in the ar-
chives, show that the rural populations were averse to
war ; and, in Paris, though the news produced univer-
sal excitement, it was not the excitement of martial
spirit. The streets of the city were filled with an in-
quisitive and anxious populace, representing every
class and interest. To ascertain the temper of the
masses, I drove early in the evening, in company with

an American friend, in an open carnage through the
principal Boulevards, and nowhere could we perceive
among the dense crowds any marked expressions of
genuine enthusiasm. Here and there a small pack of
clacqueurs, like those who are paid to start the applause
at theatres, uttered shouts of "Vive la guerre!" — " On
to Berlin !" But these cries were followed not long
afterwards by shouts of " Down with the Empire !"

It is hardly necessary to add, that many of the most
eminent writers and thinkers of France openly pro-
claimed their opposition to the war. Ernest Renan,
Daniel Stern, Edgar Quinet and Michelet, not to
mention such statesmen as Messieurs Thiers, Jules
Favre and others, were most determined in their hos-
tility to it, and were energetically seconded by some
of the most powerful journals of Paris.

When the war broke out, the French could bring
into the field scarcely more than one-third of the men
that Prussia had called to arms. Strasburg was armed
with old ordnance, and imperfectly provisioned. One
of the forts of Metz was unfinished. Tbe Commissariat
was a failure from the outset. Political corruption had
eaten into the very heart of the military strength of
France. Then came a series of disasters such as never
before befell a great nation in the world's history, and
the Empire perished in a breath.

The petty affair of Saarbruck, magnified by the
Emperor in his bulletins into a serious victory, in which
the poor boyish Prince Imperial gallantly received the

" baptism of fire," was followed by the crushing blow
dealt by the Crown Prince of Prussia at Weissem-
bourg; by the French retreat all along the lines; by
McMahon's second and terrible defeat at Woerth ; by
Forbach ; by successive days of fighting and disaster;
by the terrible actions of Gravelotte, Mars Latour,
Beaumont, St. Barbe ; and last, and worst of all, Sedan.

Only vague rumors of reverses reached Paris. The
Government was deterred from publishing the facts by
the fear of provoking a political uprising. When the
truth could no longer be lied away, when Paris knew
that the capitulation placed in the hands of the enemy,
Louis Napoleon, a Marshal of France, 8,000 prisoners
outside, 4,000 officers of all ranks, 79,000 soldiers shut
up in Sedan, 14,000 wounded, 10,000 horses, the
whole war material of a great army, 400 field pieces,
70 mitrailleuses, 150 rampart guns, all the small arms
and baggage; — that it opened to the enemy the road to
Paris, and virtually placed the whole French territory
in the hands of the Germans ; — then the empire perished
in a storm of hisses and execrations. A passionate
insurrection in Paris swept it away on the 4th of Sep-
tember, 1870. The people, rushing to the Corps
Legislatif, demanded, or rather declared, the dc-
cheance — the forfeiture — of the existing Government.

Thirteen men, chiefly lawyers, journalists and novel-
ists, seized the helm of the ship of State, and, with the
assent of the people of Paris, formed a Provisional

Government of National Defence, taking possession of
the Hotel de Ville.

" In a few brief hours of a Sabbath day I had seen
"a dynasty fall, and a republic proclaimed, and all
" without the shedding of one drop of blood." How
full of meaning were these few words of Mr. Wash-
burne !

And here let me say that, did time permit, I would
gladly speak in detail of the subsequent services which
our indefatigable, intrepid and sagacious Minister ren-
dered during the Siege and during the domination of
the Commune, not only to his countrymen, but to all
who required his aid. His brave good sense and be-
nevolence elicited universal commendation. In the
British House of Commons, Mr. Gladstone, the Prime
Minister, celebrated, in sonorous periods, the self-
devotion of our resolute Minister ; and some members
of the House did not hesitate to contrast his pres-
ence at the post of duty and danger, with the desertion
of that post by the Ambassador of Great Britain.
All the members of the American Legation and of
the Consulate General ably seconded their devoted
chiefs, while the efficient service of the American ambu-
lance corps France will long hold in grateful remem-
brance.

The offices of the new Government of National
Defence were thus distributed : General Trochtt, (who
had previously acted as Governor of Paris by Napo-
leon's appointment,) Minister of War ; M. Gambetta,

Minister of the Interior ; M. Jules Favre, Minister of
Foreign Affairs ; M. Ernest Picard, Minister of Finance ;
M. Jules Simon, Minister of Public Instruction ; and
M. Cremieux, Minister of Justice.

The improvised Government had at command, the
proceeds of a loan of 800,000,000 francs, just sub-
scribed, and a War Minister of acknowledged ability,
particularly as an organizer.

Mobile Guards, hastily recruited in the Western
provinces, were streaming into Paris, together with
provisions of all kinds. The works requisite for defend-
ing Paris, planned by the late war minister, Palikao,
had only to be continued, and a due enforcement of
the rules of the siege would have ensured the tran-
quillity of the capital during the impending blockade.
Instead, however, of applying themselves with resolu-
tion and unity of purpose to the task of ensuring a
successful resistance to the enemy, the Government of
National Defence began by temporizing with political
demagogues and adventurers. Its first act was to
abolish the stamp duty on newspapers, the effect of
which was that the streets were constantly flooded with
incendiary sheets, pandering to the vilest passions of
the populace — a populace, by the way, which were
furnished with the best fire-arms, when the supply was
inadequate for the needs of the regular troops. Sixty
new battalions of National Guards, mainly consisting of
the most turbulent revolutionists, were created.

Then came the suppression of the old police, and the

creation of an unarmed force ; proclamations declaring
the profession of printer and bookseller free, substitut-
ing the word National for Imperial on public buildings,
and creating a commission for changing the names of
the streets. For instance, the street in which our office
is situated, was called, under the Empire, Rue du Dix
Decembre, in honor of the day on which Louis Napo-
leon Bonaparte was first elected President of the Re-
public. It now takes the name of Hue du Quatre
Septembre, the day on which the present republic was
proclaimed and Napoleon dethroned. A Paris satirist
has suggested that it be again changed, and take the
name of Rue de la Prochaine Revolution.

But, during the week preceding the siege, military
measures were not neglected. The Government of De-
fence sought also to consult the people, and issued a
decree convoking the electoral colleges for the 16th of
October ; but the election could not take place, owing
to the state of the country, one-fourth of which was
occupied by the enemy. The Government, therefore,
remained in power, without the ascertained consent of
the nation.

Another praiseworthy act of the Government of
National Defence was that of accepting, before the
blockade, the services of M. Thiers, who offered to
visit the foreign courts to solicit their good offices be-
tween victorious Prussia and almost prostrate France.
Though his mission led to no immediate result, yet its
effects were perceptible after the war.

The Prussians continued to advance on the city by
forced marches, and, on the 19th of September, after
an action in which the Parisian troops were driven
from Chatillon, an important position which com-
manded two of the southern forts, the investment was
complete. On that day, M. Jules Favre had an inter-
view with Count Bismarck, in reference to terms of
peace ; but the demands of the Prussian Premier were
so exorbitant that the attempted negotiation failed.
Unfortunately, the Government of France, ignoring the
fact that victory gives the conqueror the right of dic-
tating terms, had placed itself in a false position, by
declaring that " it would not surrender one inch of
" territory, nor one stone of a fortress."

By this time business in Paris was generally sus-
pended. The streets were filled by gangs of men
roaring the Marseillaise, and marching to and fro. To
control the excited masses by giving them employment,
General Trochu, as Governor of Paris, conceived the
idea of forming an army out of this raw material. In
less than two months, the army of Paris numbered
300,000 men, partially drilled, armed and equipped,
and provided with a train of 600 field guns and
mitrailleuses, all cast and finished within the besieged
capital.

Another feature of this memorable siege was the
postal arrangement of air balloons, which became a
regular institution. The postage on letters more than
paid for the expense of the balloons. Each balloon took

out a basket fall of carrier pigeons, the birds returning
with government and private despatches, miscrosco-
pically photographed.

These miscroscopic despatches were afterwards en-
larged and transcribed. It was in a balloon that the
fiery Gambetta escaped from Paris to join three of his
colleagues at Tours, and organize the provisional armies
which made so gallant but so fruitless a resistance to
the enemy. We all know that every desperate sortie
from Paris failed to break the iron line of the invest-
ment, and that, notwithstanding the brilliant affairs of
Bourget, Montretout and Buzenval, the Prussians
steadily advanced.

Whether wisely or otherwise, the Government of
Defence laid no restrictions on public meetings. The
result was, that a great number of revolutionary clubs,
— " Pted Clubs," as they were called— sprang into exist-
ence. At most of these, particularly the clubs of
Favie, Belleville and Montmartre, the most subversive
doctrines Were preached. Every thing that the world
holds sacred, the family and the rights of property,
public order, the sanctities of religion, were mocked
at ; rebellion was advocated, and assassination justified.

Two formidable attempts to overthrow the Govern-
ment of National Defence, one on the 31st of October,
1870, the other on the 22d of January, 1871, origi-
nated in these clubs. Every kind of absurdity and
atrocity found utterance at these gatherings.

One of the speakers, referring to an article in the

official journal, announcing that the Government was
ready to fight or to treat for peace on honorable
terms, exclaimed : " Is this the language of a Republi-
" can Government ? No ! no ! it is the language of
" treason ! A Republican Government ought to decree
" victory or death !"

At the Democratic Club of Les Batignolles, (on the
9th of December,) the President declared that " France
" would go to the relief of her heroic sister of the
" North (Poland) as soon as circumstances ivould per-
" miV The reservation was judicious.

"What we want," cried one of the orators, " is '93.
11 Well, '93 will come again ; be sure of it. Citizens,
11 we shall find new Robespierres and new Marats."
This sentiment was received with thunders of ap-
plause.

On another occasion, later, a speaker, endorsing
Henri Rochefort, because he had justified regicide in
his paper, Le Mot oVOrdre, exclaimed : —

" Regicide, citizens, Regicide ! If there is a man
" among you who would kill all the kings, I would not
" content myself by making him a deputy, I would
" make him a God, if I believed there was one /"

At the Club of the Revolution, a speaker delivered
himself in this wise : " I have been in Africa, where
" the French have beaten the Arabs, one against a
" hundred, and I can't understand why we cannot

" make an end of the Prussians. Are we degenerate ?
" I saw a Frenchman fight a whole day against a
" thousand Arabs, in the plain of Mitidja, and succeed
" by nightfall in putting them all to flight !"

In the Club of the Rue d' Arras, a citizen excited the
indignation of the audience against his landlord be-
cause he had the " meanness" to complain of him for
burning up the doors of his house for fuel.

Hunting for Prussian spies, and for traitorous signals
to the enemy, afforded much occupation to such
patriots as these during the siege. One night, in the
Avenue des Thermes, a party of vigilant citizens de-
tected a " red and green signal" in the front window
of a house. Mad with suspicion, they rushed up to
the room on the fifth floor, and found a good old lady
scraping lint for the wounded. The " red and green
signal" turned out to be a harmless parrot, swinging
in a caere at the window.

It would be repeating a twice-told tale to recount
how a National Assembly, elected by universal suffrage,
meeting first at Bordeaux, and then adjourning to
Versailles, with M. Thiers as President of the Repub-
lic, concluded the best terms of peace they could
obtain after all the heroic efforts to turn the scale of
victory had proved fruitless; and how the Parisians
were compelled to submit to the indignity of seeing a
Prussian detachment march into the city on March 1,
1871, and occupy the Champs Elyseas for a couple of

days, in assertion of their complete triumph over
French patriotism and French pride.

Before sketching the tremendous catastrophe which
followed shortly after the settlement of the terms of
peace, let us glance for a moment at the political
divisions of French opinion.

There are now four factions in France : the Repub-
licans, the Imperialists, the Orleanists and the Legiti-
mists, neither of which has a majority of the people on
its side, and neither of which is without hope of suc-
ceeding in establishing a government for the country,
based on its own exclusive ideas. The principles of
the Republicans, now virtually in power, require no
definition.

The Imperialists claim that the Empire, ratified by
universal suffrage, has never been legally dissolved,
and assume that another plebiscite would restore and
re-affirm it.

The Orleanists claim the inheritance of a constitu-
tional title, and are represented by princes whose per-
sonal character and talents are above question. Two
of them, the Duke d'Aumale and the Prince de Join-
ville, have been elected to the National Assembly, and
finally permitted to take their seats. Their nephew,
the Count de Paris, is a pretender to the throne.

There are pleasant memories of the long and peace-
ful reign of the Citizen-King among the middle classes,
and his grandson is not without a powerful party.
But the mass of the people cannot forget that the

Monarchy of July deceived their aspirations, and, in its
later days precipitated a revolution by repeating the
despotism and errors of the elder Bourbons.

The people of France had but a small share in its gov-
ernment under the reisrn of Louis Philippe. There was
a Legislature composed of a Chamber of Peers and a
Chamber of Deputies, corresponding to our Senate and
House of Representatives. But the King appointed
the Peers, and as no man was allowed a vote for repre-
sentatives who was not a landed proprietor, paying
200 francs, or $40, annual tax, there were but about
200,000 voters out of a population of over 30,000,000 ;
in fact, less voters than there were office holders ap-
pointed by the Government. This small body of elect-
ors was easily manipulated by public officials. Di-
rectly, or indirectly, both Chambers were practically
appointed by Louis Philippe and his ministers. There
were also other abuses in the system. The deputies,
chosen by royal influence, were often functionaries who
received salaries while retaining their seats in the
Chamber. If they did not vote with the Government,
of course they were removed. The result was, that
Louis Philippe, though he did not openly and boldly
declare, " I am the State," as Louis XIV. did, ac-
tually exercised the same authority.

In striking contrast with this is the fact, that, in the
recent election, the Republican authorities prohibited,
in the most formal manner, the interference of office

holders in the canvass, leaving the people entirely free
to express their will.

The Count de Chambord, the claimant of the throne
of France, supported by the Legitimist party, which
hopes to see him crowned as Henry V., rests his pre-
tentions on the Divine Right of Kings. Against this
right the people of France protested in 1789. The
first and second Republics, the first and second Em-
pires, the choice of Louis Philippe, as King of the
French, were the assertions of the right of an elective
government against the pretensions of the right divine.
Foreign bayonets restored Louis XVIII. ; French
bayonets could not retain Charles X. on the throne.
Yet the Legitimists still hope to see the Bourbon lilies
and the white flag, the symbols of Divine Right, once
more replace the Eagle and the Tricolor. The Church
supports their cause. The Catholic clergy, as a choice
of evils, accepted Louis Napoleon, and he secured
their adhesion by sustaining the temporal sovereignty
of the Pope. It was under his auspices that the Ro-
man Republic of 1849 was destroyed. The final with-
drawal of the French troops by the Emperor was an
act which the clergy can never forgive, as it opened
the gates of Rome to Victor Emanuel.

A fusion of the Legitimists and Orleanists has been
talked of, but that is hardly possible, for it would in-
volve the surrender by each party of its logical basis.
The assertor of Divine Right would have to recog-
nize the claims of a Revolutionary dynasty, and the lat-

ter compelled to admit that royalty had a supernatural
origin. The Count de Chambord could not bequeath
the throne to the Count de Paris, though the Count
de Paris is his " legitimate" successor ; for the elder
branch of the Bourbons has systematically warred
against the rights of the people, and inevitable revolu-
tion has long ago negatived its capacity to bequeath
the Government of France as an inheritance.

We must now consider as briefly as possible certain
theories and certain associations, whose applications
and acts were terrible elements in the recent tragic
history of Paris.

The relations of Capital and Labor have for many
years been the subject of the profoundest study of the
greatest minds, and they now raise questions which
have assumed a colossal magnitude. In Europe these
questions are fraught with danger to civilization itself;
•in this country, I dare to hope, they are divested of all
future peril. They are dangerous in Europe, because
the conditions of a pacific solution, a free ballot, free
speech, a free press, common schools and general cul-
ture, are there mainly wanting. But they are no longer
dangerous in America, because here these conditions
exist ; because the opportunities for success are uni-
versal ; because almost boundless tracts of land afford
an outlet for excessive populations in crowded lo-
calities ; and because the local claim of capital to the
ownership of labor has been for ever settled by force of
arms.

In a country where most of our capitalists, both na-
tive and adopted citizens, have risen from poverty to
affluence by their own exertions, by manual toil or
inventive genius, by labor of head or hand ; where the
consolidation of inherited wealth is an exception to
the general rule ; there is little danger that any for-
midable number of our working men will adopt the
fundamental axiom of the International Society, that
" capital is the enemy of labor," or endorse the horrible
propositions of Prudhon, that " property is theft, mar-
" riage an immorality, God an evil."

Here the inter-dependence of capital and labor is
generally recognized, and the regulation of their rela-
tions, amicably and satisfactorily, is provided for by
the very nature of our institutions, and the character
and traditions of our people.

It is gratifying to know that, in this country, the
questions growing out of the relations of capital and
labor, the condition of the latter, its claims on legisla-
tion, and kindred topics, are now to be thoroughly in-
vestigated by a Congressional Bureau, recently estab-
lished by law.

The idea of an inevitable war between capital and
labor, in which one or the other must be destroyed or
enslaved, is an absurdity unworthy the intelligence of
an average American school boy.

The grandeur and glory of every Nation belong to
the People. By their labor, by their valor, by the
men of genius sprung from their ranks, they have

won their full share of enduring renown. We accept,
as a law, the community of interests in every so-
ciety. The wise statesmen looks watchfully to the
claims of the masses ; and none but the veriest de-
magogue seeks to array one class against another,
whether it be by favoritism or class legislation in the
interest of the rich, or by appeals to the passions
and prejudices of the poor. In this free country, •
where the ballot is in every man's hand, and education
is provided for all ; where there is no restriction on
the rights of laboring men to form co-operative soci-
eties,— which are worthy of all praise ; where every op-
portunity is offered to workmen to better their con-
dition,— there is no excuse, as I trust there is no desire,
for the violent measures which have produced such de-
plorable results in Europe.

From time to time, charlatans have appeared who
have claimed to possess sovereign panaceas for all
social evils, as there have been at all times quacks who
have pretended to cure all physical maladies. Both
have made converts, and both have generally contrived
to enrich themselves at the expense of their dupes.

Only a passing allusion is necessary to Plato's " Re-
public," Sir Thomas More's " Utopia," Morelly's
" Code of Nature," the Socialist movement of the 16th
century, and Babeuf's " Conspiracy of Equals," to show
the antiquity and persistence of theories for the radical
renovation of society. They all misconceive the na-
ture of man.

The French revolution of 1830 brought into promi-
nence the doctrines of St. Simon, Fourier and Cabet.
These theories took no permanent root. A more prac-
tical influence in France was exerted by the philan-
thropic impossibilities of the scheme of Louis Blanc,
published in 1840, and largely accepted by the work-
ingmen of Paris. Hatred of rivalry, and love of abso-
lute equality, were the passions to which he appealed
with a certain success. According to his plan, the
skilled mechanic was to receive no higher remunera-
tion than the unskilled workman ; the man of energy
and genius was placed side by side with the dawdler
and the simpleton. The prevention of laziness, the
suppression, indeed, of all crimes, was to be secured
by means of no police officers or courts of justice, but
by the simple announcement on a placard, " The Idler
is a Robber!"

When the Revolution of 1848 triumphed, a decree
of the Provisional Government, of which Louis Blanc
was a member, guaranteed work to all who needed it.

In July of that year the Assembly voted a credit of
5,000,000 francs for the purpose of making advances
to such workingmen as wished to form associations.
Thirty-two of these were formed in Paris, and twenty-
nine in the departments, absorbing nearly the whole
of the appropriation. The abolition of competition
and the equality of salaries were the two great features
of Louis Blanc's system. One hundred and eighty
(180) societies of workmen were formed in Paris,

without the aid of the Government. Most of these
societies started with Louis Blanc's theory, but aban-
doned it in practice, labor being remunerated accord-
ing to its quality. His system proved a complete
failure. In 1858 there remained at Paris but nine of
the associations fostered by the Government, and only
four of those were prospering, while of the 180 co-
operative societies existing iu 1850, but ten were in
existence in ] 867.

Before the establishment of any of these societies,
combinations had been formed among the workingmen
in defiance of law. Under the Restoration and the
Monarchy of July, the coalitionists were repeatedly
prosecuted. These assaults on a natural right alienated
the workingmen from the Government, and threw them
into the revolutionary ranks. The republic of 1848
did not enforce the law, and it was abolished in 1864,
only acts of violence being punished. In England the
rights of the laborer were secured in 1825.

A Delegation of French workingmen, with the sanc-
tion and aid of the French Government, visited the
great London Exhibition of 1862. While there in con-
sultation with their English brethren, they laid the
foundation of the International Association of Working-
men, which is said to number now 2,500,000 mem-
bers. The English Trades Unions, with many good
features, such as a provision for members in case of
sickness or accident, insurance against loss of tools, &c,
exercised great tyranny in the enforcement of Strikes,

and committed sanguinary outrages, particularly in
Sheffield. But their influence was local. They had
no relation with the continental Trades, and no means
of preventing the importation of continental mechanics
to fill the places of strikers. The International Society
proposed to unite the workingmen of the world in one
body. Provisional statutes were drawn up at a meeting
held in St. Martin's Hall, London, September 28, 1864.
There was nothing very alarming in the programme ;
it dealt chiefly in " glittering generalities."

The first committee of the International sketched
vaguely the organization of the future society, the
principal point being the establishment of a general
Annual Congress, which should fulfill the office of a con-
stituent and legislative assembly, and appoint a perma-
nent general Council, destined to be the real govern-
ment of the Association. A more or less considerable
number of the members of the Association grouped
together, either because they belonged to the same
trade in the same locality, or because they lived in the
same town or quarter, formed a federation. All the
united federations composed the Association, which is
directed by annual Congresses, and governed by the
general Council. The members of each section were
to choose delegates to represent them, some in the
federal Council, others in the Congress which elects the
members of the general Council. Practically the found-
ers of the society seem to have constituted the general
Council from the outset, their powers having been con-

tinued and confirmed by the annual Congresses. All
the federations of a single locality are combined under
the name of branch, and the combination of all the sec-
tions, federations and branches, constitutes the Interna-
tional Society of Workingmen. The annual cost of
membership is small — in some localities only two cents.
In France the total annual assessments of a member
never exceed 8 francs, or $1.60. The aggregate fund,
however, enables it to sustain strikes in any locality,
whenever it is thought advisable.

It would occupy too much time to go minutely into
the detail of the machinery of this Association. Suffice
it to say, that all its branches are in constant commu-
nication with each other, and that they succeed in
maintaining this correspondence even in countries
where such societies can have no legal existence. All
orders emanating from the general Council in permanent
session in London, are implicitly obeyed by the whole
fraternity. The first Congress was opened at Geneva,
Sept. 3, 1866 ; the second at Lausanne, Sept. 2, 1867;
the third at Brussels, Sept. 6, 1868; and the fourth at
Basle, Sept. 6, 1869. Owing to the state of the conti-
nent, no Congress met in 1870. We may regard the
Commune of Paris as the Congress of 1871.

A "French Positivist," author of "Political Notes
on the Present Situation in France," published in Lon-
don, thus describes the theories of the International:

" Their philosophy is atheism, materialism, the ne-

" gation of all religion. Their political programme is
" summed up in absolute individual liberty, obtained
" by the suppression of all government, and the divis-
" ion of Nationalities into Communes more or less feder-
" ated. Their political economy consists essentially in
"the dispossession, with compensation, of capitalists, and
" the transfer of their money, implements of labor and
" land, to workingmen's associations. Their historical
" theory is that the nobility and middle class have had
u their day, and that of the laboring class has now
"come. They exclude all persons outside of the
"working class."

How far this representation is correct, we shall see
from the reports, speeches and resolutions of the Con-
gresses, and from studying the International at ivork in
Paris. A Swiss workingman having proposed to open
with prayer the Congress of 1866, according to the
custom of his country, the motion was indignantly re-
jected, and most of the delegates formally declared
their atheistic and materialistic sentiments. In the
same Congress a motion declaring the equivalence of
functions was adopted — that is, the day's work of one
man was worth no more than the day's work of an-
other. In 1866 it was declared by a vote of 50 out
of 65, that society has a right to abolish individual
property, to transfer it into collective property, and
that there is a necessity for effecting this transformation
of property as soon as possible. The division of pro-
perty is characterized by the new name of Collectivity.

"Divide!" says Batle St. John — who cannot be ac-
cused of virulent hostility to Communism — " why, in
" six weeks the whole world would be mortgaged to
"usurers !"

A story is told of Baron de Rothschild, which shows
his appreciation of th's system. A couple of Commu-
nists waited on him, and told him that his wealth be-
longed not to himself, but to the people of France col-
lectively. "Ah!" said the Baron, as he took a scrap
of paper and made a prompt calculation, " then your
" share will be four francs. Here's a five franc piece.
" Never mind about the change, but go about your
" business."

How the transfer of property from its present to its
future possessors, or how the liquidation of capital,
to use the phrase of the Internationals, is to be effected,
has never been clearly indicated ; but some such pro-
ceeding as this has been suggested. If a man borrows
a hundred dollars, and pays yearly installments of ten
dollars each, at the end of ten years the debt will be
paid. President Andrew Johnson, it will be remem-
bered, proposed to pay our vast war debt in this way.
The abolition of interest is a prominent feature in the
new system.

It is hardly necessary to add, that the funda-
mental idea of the Internationals, the negation or
denial of the rights of property, with its chimeri-
cal conclusions, the subordination of capital to labor,
the suppression of wages, and the establishment of ab-

solute equality, is essentially false and inconsistent with
the nature of men and things. Make what laws you
please, you cannot abrogate the laws of God. Men,
equal before the law, and in freedom equal, are by nature
made unequal in capacity. The strong and healthy
will ever be superior to the weak and feeble ; the giant
will ever overtop the pigmy ; men will always be rela-
tively rich and poor.

The International plan of social re-organization is
summed up in one word — Communism — or, rather, Col-
lectivity. Agriculture, mining, manufactures, and all
the branches of labor are to be controlled by working-
men alone. Capital is to receive but a minimum of
subsistence. In short, " war against capital" is the
watchword of the new party. If the association had
confined itself to theory and argument alone, it would
have been comparatively harmless, for error in time
refutes itself. Unfortunately it abandoned its pacific
ground, and resorted to revolution. In the history of
the Commune of Paris, its record is written in letters
of fire and blood.

The Paris International Branch contributed largely
to the overthrow of the Imperial Government on the
4th of September. To establish the Republic, it was
necessary to enlist every shade of liberal opinion, and
it was the adhesion of the radical Red Party which en-
sured the favorable response of Lyons, Marseilles, Bor-
deaux, Toulouse and other cities and towns of less im-
portance to the Paris revolution. The Government of

National Defence, when firmly seated in power, was
compelled to oppose the dangerous radical element,
and this led to armed attempts, one nearly successful,
to overthrow the party of order. The leading conspi-
rators, such as Flourens, Blanqui, Felix Pyat, and
others of the same type, though foiled, continued to
foment discontent and hatred among the revolutionary
masses, and only waited for an auspicious time to strike
a fatal blow at the heart of France.

While the insurgents held for a few hours possession
of the Hotel de Ville, on the 31st of October, 1870, be-
fore the Breton Mobiles drove them out, they nomi-
nated a ministry, embracing the names of Dorian, Felix
Pyat, Blanqui, Milliere, Raspail, Rochefort, Motta,
Louis Blanc, Arrial, Delescluze, Ledru Rollin
and Victor Hugo. Milliere's brief authority was sig-
nalized by his sending an order on the Treasury De-
partment for the modest sum of 15,000,000 francs.
The draft was not honored, but the messenger was dis-
honored by being arrested on the spot. As the count-
er-revolutionists claimed that their right to assume
power was at least as good as that of Messrs. Jules
Favre and his colleagues of the Government of National
Defence, the latter decided to settle the question by an
appeal to universal suffrage. A general vote was taken
in Paris on the 3d of November, in which the Govern-
ment of National Defence obtained in all 558,196 votes,
against 62,638, polled by their opponents. At the
election held in the interest of the Commune, on the 16th

of March, only 109,236 votes were cast, of which about
two-thirds were for the candidates of the Commune.
In the supplementary election of April 16th, when the
friends of order abstained from voting, the Red Re-
publican vote was 45,454, or less than one-tenth of the
original vote given in favor of the Government of
National Defence, whose authority the " Reds" repudi-
ated.

These facts demonstrate that the destructives were
but a miserable fraction of the population, whom, for
a time, like the Jacobins of '93, they ruled by terror ;
and that it is as unjust to charge the citizens of Paris
with the robberies, conflagrations and murders of the
Commune, as it would be to charge the citizens of
New- York with the burning of the Orphan Asylum,
and the hauging of colored men in the riots of July,
1863.

The Internationals took no apparent part in the
assaults on the Hotel de Ville during the Prussian
siege ; they had a deeper object in view. Their hour
had not arrived. The Central Committee of the or-
ganization had been gradually forming and organizing,
without the knowledge of the authorities. They had
caused their agents and blinded dupes to be enrolled
in the National Guard, and in the temporary or march-
ing regiments, but with the strict injunction not to
imperil their valuable lives. When they were ordered
to the front or to the trenches, they were either so
intoxicated as to be unfit for service, or they broke

and ran, thus giving a bad name to the loyal and brave
men who honestly risked their lives for their country.
They were instructed to hoard their ammunition for
the use of the Central Committee, and whenever a man
of the association returned from duty, his cartridge-
box would be empty, though he had not fired a shot.
The bullets that spared the Germans were reserved
for the hearts of Frenchmen. Ammunition wagons
sent to the forts, under escort of the Internationals,
reached their destination singularly lightened. More-
over, nearly all the Chassepot rifles mysteriously dis-
appeared. The Government could not be ignorant of
the main facts of the situation, and lived in constant
trepidation. Thus, when M. Jules Favre went to the
Prussian camp to capitulate, he expressly stipulated,
contrary to Count Bismarck's advice, that the Mobiles
and not the National Guards should be disarmed ; for
he well knew that an attempt to deprive the latter of
their arms would instantly produce open insurrection.
When, on the 3d of March, 1871, the Prussians
evacuated Paris, in consequence of the ratification of
the preliminaries of peace by the Assembly, the capital
was in this condition : The chief of the executive
power had, in virtue of the articles, a force of 12,000
regular troops for the maintainance of order. He
could, in addition, rely upon about 60,000 National
Guards of the better class ; but he had to deal with
upwards of 50,000 National Guards devoted to a
mysterious Central Committee, well provided with

field guns, rifles and cartridges. The Germans were
outside, in possession of all the forts. In a few days
they were to evacuate the left bank of the Seine, which
included Versailles and the forts of Mont Valerien,
Ivry, Bicetre, Montrouge, Issy and Vanves. At this
time there were in Paris great discontent and much
sullen anger at the result of the contest. A vast num-
ber of workingmen, who had contracted habits of
idleness, and who were living on their pay as National
Guards, while drawing rations for their families, were
alarmed at the prospect of a sudden cessation of these
resources. Traders, ruined by the siege, were dissatis-
fied with the vote of the Assembly regulating the pay-
ment of debts. The national representatives were
generally distrusted. It was very easy for the Central
Committee, through their active agents, to fan the
flame of discontent and aggravate the fears of the
populace. The rebellion, indeed, was prepared ; the
mine was ready to be exploded.

After the official announcement of the capitulation,
it was ascertained that the Germans could only exact
the surrender of the arms and munitions in the forts
and outside the walls. General Vinoy gave orders to
bring in all the war material within the circuit of the
exterior works. But the greater portion of it was
taken possession of by the National Guard and dis-
tributed inside the barrier of Italy, at the Park
Monceaux, the Heights of Montmartre and the Place
des Vosges. Finally, the National Guards concen-

trated about 200 pieces at Montmartre. The Guards
engaged in this work all belonged to the dangerous
Faubourgs : La Villette, T Belleville, Montmartre and
Batignoiles ; — to the class that received 30 cents a day
each, and were under the control of the ringleaders of
the two violent demonstrations at the Hotel de Ville.
This was a great oversight or a grave mistake on the
part of the Government. If the regular troops could
not be trusted, (lest an attempt should be made to re-
instate Napoleon III.,) the loyal National Guards, in
the centre of the city, might have been safely em-
ployed.

On the 17th of March, Gen. Vinoy attempted to
take possession of the guns in the Place des Vosges,
but the National Guards refused to surrender them ;
the troops retired ; and 56 pieces were removed by the
rebellious guards to Belleville and the Buttes Chau-
mont. The revolutionists of Montmartre now no
longer masked their purposes. An acting Committee
of 40 members was chosen, claiming authority for 215
battalions. M. Thiers issued a proclamation, appealing
to popular reason and patriotism, and announcing that
the guns stolen from the State should be restored to
the National arsenals.

The storm of revolution suddenly burst on the night
of the 17th— 18th of March. The tocsin sounded and
the drums beat the generate. The men of Montmartre
stood to their guns in their entrenchments. In the
morning, General Lecomte advanced on the insurgents,

but his own soldiers fraternized with them, and he was
taken prisoner. He had previously been urged by the
Mayor of Montmartre to retire from a hopeless position,
and save his life. He replied, " I cannot. Here is a
" written order from General Vinoy, commanding me
" to hold my ground at all hazards. I cannot leave
" without a counter-order."

General Vinoy, himself, had an engagement in La
Place Blanche with the insurgent guards, but was not
supported by his men, who retreated in spite of the
efforts of their officers. One hour afterwards the rebels
were in undisputed possession of Montmartre. All the
approaches to Montmartre and Belleville abounded with
barricades, and the members of the Red Clubs were
everywhere fanning the flame of rebellion with incen-
diary appeals. The revolution spread like fire on the
prairies, and the Red flag floated defiantly even from
the column of July.

General Clement-Thomas, formerly commander of
the National Guards, went to the lines of Montmartre
in citizen's dress, in the spirit of conciliation, and was
made prisoner. His sad fate, and that of General
Lecomte, are well known. A band of National Guards,
in a state of beastly intoxication, took these two gallant
generals, tied their hands behind them, dragged them
into a secluded place, formed on the spot a so-called
Council of War, composed of an insurgent captain, a
lieutenant and a few guards, who forthwith condemned
them to be shot. General Thomas, turning to General

Lecomte, said : " General, an hour ago I had not the
" honor of your acquaintance ; nevertheless, I am to
" die with you." General Lecomte replied, "Alas! yes.
" Why have the balls of the enemy spared us ?" They
were both placed against a wall, and asked if they had
any thing to say. " Yes," replied General Thomas,
" you are cowards and assassins I" The order to ufire "
was then given. General Thomas expired instantly.
General Lecomte survived a few minutes, and ex-
claimed, " My poor wife ! my poor children ! will
France take care of you ?" These were the first mur-
ders committed by the Commune — unhappily they
were not the last.

On the evening of the 18th of March, the insurgents
had obtained possession of the head-quarters of the
National Guard, of the Ministry of Justice and of the
Hotel de Ville, while General Vinot, not daring to trust
his troops, retired, leaving to the loyal portion of the
National Guard the task of restoring order. M. Thiers
requested the different ministers to secure their papers,
and repair to Versailles. The insurgent Central Com-
mittee issued two proclamations, one addressed to the
people of Paris, the other to the National Guard, de-
claring that they had fulfilled their mission of organiz-
ing the defence, and of overthrowing the Government,
and convoking the voters of the sections to elect the
Municipal Council of Paris. Of course, the regular
Government retorted by a counter-proclamation.

We have seen what a mere fraction of the people

endorsed the Commune at the polls. The insurgent
Committee declared the state of siege raised, perma-
nent councils of war abolished, an amnesty for all
political offences, and a determination to maintain the
preliminaries of peace. Respect for all liberties, that
of the press being emphatically specified, was pro-
claimed.

Various efforts were made to effect a compromise
between the rebels and the regular Government, but
all failed on account of the exorbitant demands of the
Commune. An unarmed demonstration of the friends
of order was made, but the procession, on its way to
the Place Vendome, was fired on in the Rue de la
Paix, and dispersed. The leading journals of Paris
were one by one suppressed by the Commune for dar-
ing to denounce the insurrection. Then commenced
a reign of terror, of spoliation and assassination. A
system of espionage was established, and denunciation
invited. Churches were pillaged and desecrated ;
priests and nuns were robbed and persecuted. All
the officers of the National Guard who did not rally to
the Central Committee were made liable to the penalty
of death. The Bank of France was forced to make
advances to the insurgent administration ; capitalists
were condemned to furnish subsidies ; the cash-boxes
of charitable societies were rifled ; orphans were de-
prived of their means of subsistence ; railway compa-
nies compelled to contribute funds. A tax of 500,000
francs was levied on Baron de Rothschild, but he is

said to have compromised by paying 200,000 francs.
The expenses of the Commune were 800,000 francs a
day, or nearly $5,000,000 a month.

It is not my purpose to obtrude personal experi-
ences, but perhaps a single reminiscence may be par-
doned. On the 26th of March, eight clays after the
inauguration of the Commune, I passed a day with
three American Generals visiting the chief points of
interest. Taking an open barouche, in company with
Lieutenant-General Sheridan and Generals Forsyth
and Merritt, we first drove up the Boulevards nearly
to the column of July, where we encountered a huge
barricade. A grim savage, in the uniform of a Na-
tional Guard, on beim? asked if we could make our
way through a by-street to the Hotel de Ville, gruffly
answered : " No ! The best thing you can do is to go
"back where you came from." Americans, however,
are not apt to give up a project so easily. We finally
succeeded in reaching the desired point in the Rue de
Rivoli, where another barricade confronted us, with a
zigzag passage through it. Here we alighted from
the carriage, and General Sheridan taking the lead,
passed the sentinel, and, with the crowd, went inside
the square. Not altogether fancying the prospect
before us, I advised the General to come back, which
he attempted to do, but was stopped by the sentry, a
bright, intelligent, honest-looking fellow. On telling
the sentry who the General was, he exclaimed, most
feelingly : " Ah ! an American General ! You are

" republicans. We want to be republicans like you—
"that is all we ask for; then we shall be content;"
and earnestly grasping my hand, he gave orders to allow
the General to return.

By a skillful flank movement, we passed a second
barricade and reached the square of the Hotel de
Ville, where we found a crowd, and a large number
of National Guards under arms. Presently a shot
was fired, occasioning much alarm ; but at once the
arms of the soldiers were reversed, showing that
there was nothing to fear. In a moment after
another gun was fired. I asked a sullen looking by-
stander : " What is that ?" He roughly replied :
" What is it ? You know as well as I do — it was a
"gun-shot," making the remark in a tone hardly in
keeping with ordinary French politeness. What was
going on we could not learn — nobody seemed to
know ; but we had satisfied our curiosity, and con-
cluded to move on. Regaining the carriage, we con-
tinued our drive through the heart of Paris, passed
out over the Point du Jour to Sevres, visiting; St.
Cloud and Montretout, returning under the silent guns
of Mont Valerien, by Courbervoie and Neuilly.

The character and bearing of the persons composing
the different regiments seemed strongly to impress
General Sheridan. " They are not bad looking men,"
he repeatedly remarked. And, indeed, a large portion
of the rank and file seemed to be honest but deluded
citizens, who thought they were fighting for municipal

rights and the Republic, against a government of roy-
alists, which designed to restore the monarchy and
betray the people. Distrusting M. Thiers and the
Assembly, their purposes were in the main patriotic.
Their honest intentions were misdirected by the Com-
munist leaders, and their valor and enthusiasm em-
ployed by these leaders in an assault on the social
fabric, when they really thought they were defending
republican institutions. Exceptions, of course, must
be made. A portion of the insurgent troops, espe-
cially those from Belleville, were indeed true types of
the most ferocious revolutionists. As one of the bat-
talions from that turbulent quarter was passing, even
General Sheridan, with a shake of the head, could not
help saying : " Well, those are hard-looking fellows —
all of them!1'

When military operations against the Commune
commenced on the 1st of April, it was feared that the
troops would not fight resolutely against the insurgents.
But an act of the federals, as they called themselves,
removed all doubt. The commander of the Govern-
ment troops sent a flag of truce to the rebels, in the
hope of inducing them to retire without an engage-
ment. The officer who bore it was fired upon and
killed. This atrocious murder exasperated the troops,
and from that day forward all wavering was at an end.
The insurgents made a sortie on Versailles, counting on
the neutrality of Mount Valerien, but the Commandant,
who had pledged the neutrality of the fort, had been

removed, and its heavy artillery opened on the rebels
with terrible effect. The result was, that many were
killed, many more made prisoners, and the rest sought
safety in retreat.

The notorious Gustave Flourens, who had cre-
ated himself a General, took refuge in a house at
Chaton. A gendarme opened the door and summoned
him to surrender. " This is my reply," said he, dis-
charging his revolver point blank at the unfortu-
nate soldier, and killing him instantly. "And this
is mine ! " said, a Captain of the Gardes de Paris, who
entered the room a moment after, as he split the skull
of the insurgent chief with one stroke of his sabre.

I have spoken of the suppression of independent
newspapers by the Commune. One of its own organs
was called " Free Paris." It was amusing to hear the
newsboys shouting, "Here's your Free Paris! six
" newspapers suppressed ! "

On the eve of the fall of the Commune, Henry Vrig-
nault, a courageous journalist, wrote thus of its pre-
tensions, and the impotency of its acts :

" Behold the works of the Commune ! The^e are
" the benefits of the Government which was to confer
" perfect happiness on the laboring man. Has it opened
" one workshop ? Has it organized one factory ? No.
" It has confiscated the factories of the capitalists for
" the benefit of the workingmen ; but as it has at the
" same time confiscated workingmen for the profit of
" the National Guard, what do they gain by it? Be-

" sides, spoliation is not organization. To arrest priests,
" to hunt down nuns, to remove the crucifix, to estab-
" lish clubs in churches, is neither policy nor philoso-
" phy ; it is loaferdom, donkeyism, stupidity."

In proportion as the regular Government gained
strength, and pressed the siege of Paris, did the despo-
tism of the Commune become intensified. The levy en
masse was decreed, and all able-bodied citizens of Paris,
between the ages of 19 and 45, were compelled to take
up arms against their loyal countrymen, and they were
not unfrequently driven to the front at the point of the
bayonet. Had this revolutionary faction been per-
mitted to execute all its projects, social disorganization
would have been complete. It arrogated to itself the
powers of the National Assembly. It went beyond the
true province of the State, since it invaded those indi-
vidual rights which it is the duty of the State to protect.
It encouraged indolence, stimulated class hatreds,
and substituted for religion a boastful Atheism. It
plundered rail-road companies, and would have ruined
the Bank of France, but for the courage and tact of its
officers, and the resistance of M. Beslat, one of its own
delegates. It decreed the confiscation of the property
of the clergy, and also that of capitalists who had ab-
sented themselves from the city. It suppressed all
papers that dared to question the wisdom of its acts,
while it failed to produce a single salutary measure of
its own. It adopted the red flag as " The symbol of
" Universal Human love," that flag which Lamartine

truly said, "had only been trailed in the blood of
" Frenchmen through the Champ de Mars." Yet,
under this symbol, in violation of all the laws of war,
it assassinated the President of the Court of Cassation,
the Archbishop of Paris, his fellow priests, and other
non-combatants held as hostages. It carefully abstained
from offending the Prussians, and pulled down the
column in the Place Vendome, which commemorated
the triumph of France over Germany. It cordially
welcomed all foreigners of military talent and socialistic
opinions, who were willing to shoot down loyal French-
men. Dombrowski, a Pole, was for a time its leading
General, and according to La Petite Presse, received
at the outset, in cash, the sum of 100,000 francs, as
the price of his hireling sword.

But the end was approaching. Beaten at every
point, and seeing that their cause was hopeless, the
Communists determined to destroy the capital of
France, its central glory, the pride of the civilized
world. This monstrous idea was not a new one.
General Cluseret, who figured largely in the councils
of the Commune, a man well known in the United
States, had announced it long before, in a letter —
quoted by M. Edmund Villetard, in his History of
the International — dated New- York, February 17,
1870, in which he said :

" As for myself, all which has just passed shows that
" the Orleanists are creeping by degrees towards

" power, gnawing the claws of L. N. in such a way as
" to have only to substitute themselves for him some
" fine morning. Now, on that day, we must be ready,
" physically and morally. On that day ourselves or
" nothing! Until then I shall probably remain quiet ;
" but on that day, I affirm to you, and I never say yes
u for no, Paris shall be ours or Paris shall cease to
" exist It will be the decisive moment for the
" people."

The moment came, and the decree went forth that
Paris should cease to exist. The vilest women were
released from the prison of St. Lazare, on the sole
condition that they should go forth, petroleum in
hand, to aid in firing the doomed city.

The story of the terrible street fighting during the
last days of the Commune is well known, but some
striking incidents may interest you.

The fiendish outrages perpetrated by the Commu-
nists in their desperation, not on the proud and
wealthy, but on humble and hardworking men, guilty
of no offence but patriotism, are almost without a
parallel in the history of crime. Of the many appalling
illustrations of this fact, I will cite but one. When the
insurgents were retiring along the Boulevard St.
Martin to the Place du Chateau d'Eau, they entered a
well known restaurant, kept by M. • Ronceray, and
demanded its surrender, in order that they might find
there a shelter while firing on the Government troops.

" Take it," said the proprietor, powerless to resist, as
he prepared to retire, followed by his waiters ; but he
was suddenly stopped by the rebel captain, and ordered
to take a musket in the insurgent ranks. " I fire on
Frenchmen! never!" was the heroic reply. The
employees, to a man, gave the same answer to the same
demand. "Shoot every one of them !" was the Cap-
tain's order. The savage and drunken rebels, yelling
like ferocious beasts, obeyed with alacrity. One volley
was sufficient. A few moments after, Ronceray and
his faithful gargons, hurled from the window by their
assassins, were lying on the sidewalk, where they re-
mained for the rest of the day — their dead bodies the
most eloquent of all protests against the mad brutality
of the most relentless and inhuman of all French
factions.

As the last hour of this insolent despotism drew
near, evidences of mutual hatred and distrust in its
own ranks were everywhere conspicuous. In their
cowardly selfishness, a portion of its most noted chiefs
disappeared, seeking safety in foreign lands, while its
really honest but deluded supporters were still fighting
with a bravery worthy of a nobler cause. Delescluze,
for example, one of the principal promoters of the
Commune, honest Delescluze, as he was fondly called,
divining the inevitable result of the' contest, at-
tempted to escape in his carriage, by the gate of
Vincennes. He was sternly refused a passage by his
own troops, posted at that point. " Go back to the

field of battle," said the major in command, '•' and die
like a true republican." The aged revolutionist re-
turned, and on arriving at the Place clu Chateau
d'Eau, was recognized by a woman in the ranks, armed
with a Chassepot, who charged him with treason and
cowardice. She assailed him, and he replied by a
push. Then the mob rushed on him, beat him, and
rolled him in the gutter. Delescluze, recovering,
and nerving himself up to die, said to his assailants :

"Yes, I was wrong in devoting my talents and ex-
" perience to your service. You call me a traitor
" because I repulsed a vile creature who insulted me,
" in spite of my years and my gray hairs. You com-
" bined to assault me — now follow me, and I will
" show you whether I am afraid to die."

With a sudden revulsion of feeling, the insurgents
shouted, " Vive Delescluze /" as the old man advanced
to the barricade on which shot and shell were literally
raining. Shortly after he received two balls in hiK
breast, and instantly dropped lifeless.

The women who were in sympathy with the Com-
mune did their full share of burning and fighting
through its last disastrous days. Those from Mont-
martre were specially prominent, circulating through
the heart of Paris, and with milk-cans filled with petro-
leum, savagely bent on fulfilling their incendiary mis-
sion to the bitter end.

Finally, the Commune fell; and, on the 28th of
May, Marshal MacMahon was enabled to issue a pro-
clamation, closing with these words : " The strife is
ended ; order, work and security will revive ;" — a
promise speedily sustained by facts.

The excesses which the regular troops committed
in their hour of triumph, whatever may have been their
provocations, were wholly unjustifiable.

It cannot be denied that the French army, in the
fierce elation of victory, treated the champions of the
Commune as a hunter treats tigers and wolves. The
dreadful thirst to kill was dominant both in officers
and in soldiers. Little discrimination was shown in
the mad desire to exterminate everybody who was
supposed to be engaged in the work of exterminating
French civilization. It must, however, be said, that
the murders of the French army were sins of impulse,
while the murders of the insurgents were sins of
system.

"Rule or ruin" was the object of the Commune;*
and when it was unable to overthrow the legal gov-
ernment of the country, it carried out its original
plan, and with premeditation set fire to Paris, deter-
mined that its dwellings, its libraries, its museums, its
monuments should cease to exist.

Its spirit was simply barbaric ; and when the Com-
mune was stricken down, the civilized world expected
that its friends would at least disavow its atrocities ;
but such was not the case.

Throughout Europe the organs of the International
defended its most indefensible acts. The Italian In-
ternationals, in an address emanating from the Milanese
Sections, said : " The principles of the Commune of
" Paris are just, and we accept the responsibility of its
" acts."

The English Internationals echoed this sentiment.
Mr. Johnson, one of their speakers, at a meeting
held last June, in London, declared that " those work-
" ingmen who, since the fall of the Commune, blush
"for it, are to blame. The Commune had a perfect
" right to execute the hostages."

Germany was especially outspoken in its defence.
Herr Babel, a member of the German Parliament from
Saxony, made a speech before that body, in which he
said : " The aim of the Paris Commune is neither an
" impossible nor a pernicious one, as it has been erro-
" neously called by a previous speaker. On the con-
" trary, in all Europe, those classes not dead to all
" feeling of liberty and independence, look upon Paris
"as their staff of hope. Never mind whether the
" insurrection is suppressed or not, what is now doing
" at the French capital is only an outpost skirmish,
"which will.be followed up some day by a great
" European battle. War to the palaces, peace to the
" cottages, and death to luxurious idleness, is, and
" ever will be, the watchword of the proletariat in all
" parts of the world."

If it be objected that certain sections and certain

orators merely expressed their individual opinions, it
is only necessary to point to the address of the General
Council of the International Workingmen's Associa-
tion, dated in London, May 30,. 1871, "printed and
published for the Council, by Edward Truelove, 256
High Holborn, London," to show that the Society, by
its highest authority, fully endorses the Commune and
its acts. This address styles the fallen rebels " mar-
tyrs," declares them enshrined in the hearts of the
laboring classes, and asserts that " history has already
" nailed their exterminators to the eternal pillory, from
" which all the prayers of their priests will never suc-
" ceed in rescuing them."

As recently as December 1, 1873, three conspicuous
members of the Commune, signers of its last decrees —
Ranvier, Cournet and Arnaud — having fled from the
just punishment of their crimes, were honored by
being elected members of the General Council in Lon-
don. Ranvier was one of those who issued orders for
setting fire to the public buildings of Paris, as was
shown by papers found on the persons of some of the
fallen insurgents. Recent advices from Europe an-
nounce that the refugee Communists, abusing the hos-
pitality of England, are now busily at work circulating
incendiary pamphlets among the pauper population in
London, (estimated at 120,000 souls,) inciting them to
rise and make way with the rich. Can it be wondered
at that some of the European Governments have de-
cided to use the severest measures against an associa-

lion which employs the torch of the incendiary, and
the bullet of the assassin, to advance its cause ?

On the 30th of May, 1871, the London Times asserted :
" Paris, the Paris of civilization, is no more. It pitted
" itself against France, and rather than be beaten, has
" destroyed itself. We may look for it, but we shall
"find its place alone. Dust and ashes, tottering walls,
" twisted or molten iron- work, smoulder and stench are
u all that remain of edifices and collections, famous in
"history — the resort of all nations."

Happily this statement is most grossly exaggerated.
The timely entrance and persistent bravery of the loyal
troops saved the city from such wholesale ruin. The
Tuileries, the Hotel de Yille, the Ministry of Finance,
the Palace of the Quai d'Orsai, and the Palace of the
Legion of Honor, were destroyed, together with the
libraries of the Hotel de Ville, the Louvre, the Prefec-
ture of Police, and the Council of State. But the
Louvre galleries, with their precious souvenirs of Ra-
phael, Titian, Rubens and Murillo, were saved. The
archives and all the great libraries, all that makes
" Paris the first city in the world for the student," (to
quote the words of M. Jules Simon,) remain intact.
The spires of all the churches yet point heavenward.

The incubus of destruction removed, Paris revived
with a rapidity truly marvelous. Instead of sitting
down in despair, every man went to work to repair
the damages of the war. The gaps in the ranks of the
beautiful trees in the Champs Elysees have already

been filled. The traces of sliot and shell have, for the
most part, been effaced from the house fronts. A
fairer Hotel de Ville will rise from the present ruin ;
and we may confidently predict that the stately front
of the Tuileries, increased in beauty, will soon face the
happily untouched obelisk of Luxor, and send its
haughty glance along the vista closed by the majestic
mass of the Arc de Triomphe.

Most bravely have the French people met the finan-
cial question. In one month after the fall of the
Commune, the Bourse of Paris exhibited as much
activity as in its most prosperous years. The Gov-
ernment of France called for the largest loan ever
asked for by any nation, 2,000,000,000 francs, (or
$400,000,000,) ' and with the enemy still occupying
a large portion of the French territory, with the insti-
tutions of the country still unsettled, the people re-
sponded by subscribing in a few hours more than twice
the amount asked for, or nearly the whole war indem-
nity, thus showing that the credit of the nation had
not been shaken.

Of the prompt return of the people of Paris to their
sober second thought on political matters, we have only
to record the fact, that on the 2d of July, 1871, in the
election for representatives, since the fall of the Com-
mune, among those chosen to the National Assembly
were M. Alfred Andre, the eminent banker, M.
Edward Laboulaye, our tried and devoted friend and
defender during our own great rebellion, and M.

Wolowski, of the French Institute, a well known pro-
fessor and writer on political economy. In all Paris,
three better men, or more useful legislators, cannot be
found.

The terrible story of 1870-71 will long be remem-
bered. Those who control public opinion must and
will unite in preventive measures to guard against
the recurrence of similar political convulsions and dis-
asters in the future. To this task the finest minds of
France are directing their studies and their energies.

It would be unbecoming in me to say what is for the
best interests of the French people, or hazard a con-
jecture as to what will be the immediate political
action of their representatives ; but I venture to assert,
that no government will have a stable existence in
France, save that which is based on the clearly ascer-
tained will of the people, expressed in a free election,
through the medium of universal suffrage.

The persistent tendencies of the French people have,
for nearly a century, been in the direction of self-gov-
ernment ; and, even in view of the existence of four
great parties, was not M. Thiers unquestionably right
when he said : " The Republic is that Government
" which divides us the least ?"

It seems evident that any Government springing from
this or that royal family can be but an expedient.
France has had enough of dynasties and dynastic wars.

Even in this century, Charles X. was obliged to fly
from France, and died in exile, while the Duke de

Bordeaux, in whose favor he abdicated, was repudiated
by the voice of the people.

Louis Philippe humiliated the nation, and prepared
his own overthrow by scheming to perpetuate the for-
tunes of his family.

The first Empire drained the life blood of France to
place European crowns on the heads of Bonaparte
princes.

The second Empire plunged into the last disastrous
war to secure the throne to the Prince Imperial.

Although Napoleon III. by the last plebiscite was
sustained by a majority of millions of votes, yet, at the
very first election after his overthrow, only five of his
partizans were chosen to the National Assembly, while
his most uncompromising opponent, M. Thiers, was
elected by 27 different Departments, when he could
only serve one of them.

It is a little remarkable, and in my judgment to be
deplored, that many of our own best citizens despair of
the establishment of a Republic in France.

If French Republics have hitherto been overthrown,
what has been the fate of French monarchies? We
have only to consult history, to see that monarchical
governments in France have been, in the main, a fail-
ure, replete with folly, extravagance and crime, strug-
gling always to promote the interest of a dynasty
rather than the welfare of the nation. For a period
of two hundred and seventy-eight years France has
submitted to twenty-seven different governments — an

average of a new government every ten years, and
during two hundred years of that period she has been
engaged in foreign war.

Of all the monarchs that reigned over France during
that time, only four died a natural death on the throne,
and there was only one of them about whose succes-
sorship there was no dispute.*

If a Republic has little stability, can we say much
of the permanence of Kingly and Imperial rule ?

Indeed, what the nation really needs to secure for her
a happy future, is the infusion of fresh vitality into her
veins, generated by the promulgation of sound liberal
ideas, through the agency of common schools, a free
press, free speech, free religious worship and an open
Bible. In short, she needs a system of education
similar to our own, which the eloquent Laboulaye has
so ably advocated, and which will form an enduring
basis for national regeneration. With such a system,
let us trust that the people will never repeat the ex-
cesses which hitherto have attended the struggles for
popular rights against hereditary, Kingly or Imperial
power and aristocratic privilege. " Pour instruction
on the heads of the people ; you owe them that bap-
tism," was the injunction of a French philanthropist.

Such an institution as this Cooper Union, founded
by the intelligent munificence of a workingman, him-
self the architect of his own fortune, (whose presence

* France and Hereditary Monarchy, by John Bigelow, 1871.

honors us to-night,) would, in Paris, be more potent
against the false and fatal theories of Communism than
all the cannon, mitrailleuses and Chassepots that can
be arrayed against their champions. Education is at
once the chief defence and political safety of a nation.
" School-houses," said Horace Mann, u are the re-
publican line of fortifications." Physical force is, in
the end, powerless against ideas.

Let us hope that France will gather wisdom from
the bitter lessons of the war and the Commune. Let
us give to her people our hearty sympathy in their
efforts for national recuperation. And let us hope for
a new France, regenerated, strong in the right, trium-
phant over internal dissensions, no longer a menace to
the nations, but a bright exemplar in the peaceful
march of material progress, intellectual advancement
and moral grandeur ; — realizing the magnificent image
in which Milton celebrated the England of Cromwell,
of " a mighty and puissant nation, rousing herself, like
" a strong man out of his sleep, and shaking his invin-
cible locks!"

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
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Full text of "France in 1870-71; an address delivered before the Cooper Union for the advancement of science and art, New York, Feb. 10, 1872"

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