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strength to carry all before them, but in this valorous intention they failed. The prefect subsequently informed the garde nationale that he had received unlimited powers from the government over the regular troops, so as to be able to deal effectively with any attempt at disturbance. He was everywhere well received, and the soldiers swore to support him to the utmost.

At Marseilles, also, great excitement followed the news of the surrender of the emperor. The people rushed en masse to the Bourse, decapitated the statue of Napoleon, and derisively rolled the trunk through the streets and flung the eagles into the port. They pitched inkstands at the picture of the imperial family, breaking furniture, tearing curtains to shreds, and finally regaling themselves from the cellars. The news was received at Bordeaux with similar popular manifestations. An equestrian statue of the emperor, erected in the Allées de Tourny, was torn from its base, and in falling broke into fragments. Thousands of people then paraded the streets, and shouted "Vive la Republique!" before the Hôtel de Ville. Similar proceedings took place at Toulouse, where an informal committee was constituted in much the same manner as at Lyons.

With the earliest days of the revolution reappeared the extreme section of the press, which had been suppressed during the Palikao ministry. The Marseillaise attacked the provisional government. The Reveil and the Rappel were moderate in their tone, but enthusiastic in their praise of the republic. In the latter journal, Victor Hugo, who had returned to "save Paris," issued to the German people a magniloquent address, which commenced as follows:-" Germans, he who speaks to you is a friend. Three years ago, at the epoch of the Exposition of 1867, from exile, I welcomed you to our city. What city? Paris. For Paris does not belong to us alone. Paris is yours as well as ours. Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, Munich, Stuttgard, are your capitals; Paris is your centre. It is at Paris that one feels the heart of Europe beating. Paris is the city of cities; Paris is the city of men. There was Athens, there was Rome, there is Paris. Paris is nothing but an immense hospitality. To-day you return there. How? As brothers, like you did three years ago? No, as enemies. Why? What is this sinister misunderstanding? Two nations have made Europe. Those two nations are France and Germany. This war, does it proceed

from us? It was the Empire which willed it. The Empire is dead. It is well. We have nothing in common with that corpse. It is the past, we are the future. It is hatred, we are sympathy. It is treason, we are loyalty."

M. Victor Hugo also addressed a long and inflated epistle to the Parisians, for the purpose of encouraging them under the anticipated hardships of the siege :-" Two adversaries," said the writer, "are in presence at this moment. On one side is Prussia, with 900,000 soldiers; on the other Paris, with 400,000 citizens. On one side, force; on the other, will. On one side, an army; on the other, a nation. On one side, night; on the other light. It is the old contest between the Archangel and the Dragon which is recommencing. It will have now the same termination as before; Prussia will be cast down. This war, frightful as it is, has hitherto been but trifling; it is about to become great. I am sorry for you, Prussians, but it is necessary that you should change your method of dealing."

The

Among the arrivals in Paris at this period were the Orleans princes, the Duc d'Aumale, the Duc de Chartres, and the Prince de Joinville, who under the Palikao ministry had previously offered their services, which were not accepted. On the 7th September they reached the capital from Brussels, and communicated with the government of national defence; presuming that, as exceptional laws had been practically repealed by the revolution, the decree which exiled them was also set aside, and expressing their desire to be allowed to serve their country in propria persona. government, however, apprehensive that their presence might be misconstrued, declined their offer; and in very courteous and sympathetic terms appealed to them, in the name of patriotism, to depart, upon which they immediately left the capital. Meanwhile, the Legitimist candidate for the French throne, the Comte de Chambord, issued an address in which he said :— "Amid all these poignant emotions, it is a great consolation to see that public spirit, the spirit of patriotism, does not allow itself to be cast down, but rises with our misfortunes. Above everything it is necessary to repulse the invasion, to save at any price the honour of France, the integrity of its territory. Every dissension must be forgotten at this moment, every after-thought put aside. We owe our whole energy, our fortune, our blood, to

the deliverance of our country. A true mother will rather abandon her infant than see it perish. I experience the same feeling, and say incessantly, May God save France, though I should die without seeing it again !"

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General Garibaldi also, writing from Caprera, September 7, addressed the following to his friends: Yesterday I said to you, War to the death to Bonaparte; I say to you to-day, We must help the French republic by all possible means. I am an invalid, but I have offered myself to the provisional government of Paris, and I hope it will not be impossible for me to perform some work. Yes, my fellow-citizens, we should regard assistance to our brothers of France as a sacred duty. Our mission will not certainly consist in combating our German brethren, who, being as the arm of Providence, have overthrown in the dust the germ of the tyranny which weighed upon the world; but we should sustain the only system which can assure peace and prosperity among nations."

To strengthen the authority of the provisional government, the ministry, on the 8th of September, issued in the Journal Officiel the following proclamation for the appointment of a Constituent Assembly:"Frenchmen,-In proclaiming four days ago the government of the National Defence, we ourselves defined our mission. Power was lying in the dust. What had commenced by a crime finished by a desertion. We simply grasped the helm which had escaped from powerless hands. But Europe has need to be enlightened. It is necessary that she should know by irrefragable testimonies that the entire country is with us. It is necessary that the invader should meet on his route not only the obstacle of an immense city resolved to perish rather than yield, but an entire people erect, organized, represented—an assembly, in short, which can carry into all places, and in spite of all disasters, the living soul of the country. Consequently, the government of the National Defence decrees:-Art. 1. The electoral colleges are convoked for Sunday, the 16th of October, for the purpose of electing a National Constituent Assembly. Art. 2. The elections will be held by collective voting, conformably to the law of the 15th of March, 1849. Art 3. The number of members of the Constituent Assembly will be 750. Art. 4. The minister of the Interior is charged with the execution of this decree. Given at the Hôtel de Ville of Paris, September 8, 1870."

This proceeding was regarded as of the first importance, and subsequently the provisional government fixed on the 2d of October for the elections. M. Jules Favre issued a second diplomatic circular, dated the 17th September, the language of which was more moderate in its tone than that of the document already quoted. The minister of Foreign Affairs thus concluded- "I will sum up our entire policy. In accepting the perilous task which was imposed upon us by the fall of the imperial government we had but one idea; namely, to defend our territory, to save our honour, and to give back to the nation the power emanating from itself, and which it alone could exercise. We should have wished that this great act might have been completed without transition, but the first necessity was to face the enemy. was to face the enemy. We have not the pretension to ask disinterestedness of Prussia. We take account of the feelings to which the greatness of her losses and the natural exaltation of victory have given rise to her. These feelings explain the violence of the press, which we are far from confounding with the inspirations of statesmen. These latter will hesitate to continue an impious war, in which more than 200,000 men have already fallen. To force conditions upon France which she could not accept, would only be to compel a continuance of the war. It is objected that the government is without regular power to be represented. It is for this reason that we immediately summon a freely-elected Assembly. We do not attribute to ourselves any other privilege than that of giving our soul and our blood to our country, and we abide by its sovereign judgment. It is therefore not authority reposed in us for a day. It is immortal France uprising before Prussia-France divested of the shroud of the empire, free, generous, and ready to immolate herself for right and liberty, disavowing all political conquest, and all violent propaganda, having no other ambition than to remain mistress of herself, and to develop her moral and material forces, and to work fraternally with her neighbours for the progress of civilization. It is this France which, left to her free action, immediately asks the cessation of the war, but prefers its disasters a thousand times to dishonour. Vainly those who set loose a terrible scourge try now to escape the crushing responsibility, by falsely alleging that they yielded to the wish of the country. This calumny may delude people abroad, but there

is no one among us who does not refute it as a work of revolting bad faith. The motto of the elections in 1869 was peace and liberty, and the plébiscite itself adopted it as its programme. It is true that the majority of the Legislative Body cheered the warlike declarations of the duke of Gramont; but a few weeks previously it had also cheered the peaceful declarations of M. Ollivier. A majority emanating from personal power believed itself obliged to follow docilely and voted trustingly; but there is not a sincere person in Europe who could affirm that France freely consulted made war against Prussia. I do not draw the conclusion from this that we are not responsible. We have been wrong, and are cruelly expiating our having tolerated a government which led us to ruin. Now we admit the obligation to repair by a measure of justice the ill it has done; but if the power with which it has so seriously compromised us takes advantage of our misfortunes to overwhelm us, we shall oppose a desperate resistance; and it will remain well understood that it is the nation, properly represented in a freelyelected Assembly, that this power wishes to destroy. This being the question raised, each one will do his duty. Fortune has been hard upon us, but she is capable of unlooked-for revolutions, which our determination will call forth. Europe begins to be moved; and sympathy for us is being reawakened. The sympathies of foreign cabinets console us and do us honour. They will be deeply struck by the noble attitude of Paris in the midst of so many terrible causes for excitement. Serious, confident, ready for the utmost sacrifices, the nation in arms descends into the arena without looking back, and having before its eyes this simple but great duty, the defence of its homes and independence. I request you, sir, to enlarge upon these truths to the representative of the government to which you are accredited. He will see their importance, and will thus obtain a just idea of our disposition.'

In the previous chapter we recounted the energetic measures of the authorities for the defence and provisioning of the capital. On the morning of the day (September 4) when the republic was proclaimed, the Crown Prince of Prussia and the Crown Prince of Saxony, accompanied by the king of Prussia and Count von Bismarck, started on their march to Paris. As the German armies drew nearer day by day, unremitting exertions,

which had been commenced by the Count de Palikao, were continued to man and provision the city, and to put the enceinte and the detached forts in a condition to sustain a 'lengthened siege, while the surrounding belt of country was cleared of its inhabitants. The completeness of these preparations was amply attested by subsequent events, and the prolongation of the siege.

On the 14th September a grand review of the whole armed force in Paris was held by General Trochu. Apparently the spectacle was one of the most stirring on record, and for the first time in twenty years Paris appeared openly and fully armed. The troops consisted of soldiers of the regular army, national guards, and the garde mobile, to the number of 300,000, who were drawn up in line, extending from the Place de la Bastille to the Arc de Triomphe. The number of regular troops was considerably increased by the return of General Vinoy and his army, who had failed to join MacMahon before the battle of Sedan, and also by the scattered remnants of defeated soldiers who had managed to make good their escape. As General Trochu, accompanied by a brilliant staff, rode along the ranks, he was received with great enthusiasm, amid cries of “Vive Trochu!" and "Vive la Republique!" The feeling of the troops was admirable; but, beyond the regulars, few were armed with the Chassepot, and the uniform of many consisted only of the kepi. While the troops marched back to their quarters after the inspection the air resounded with patriotic songs, and the muzzles of many of their muskets were ornamented with bouquets and tricoloured flags, which gave a lively and brilliant appearance to the scene. The governor subsequently issued the following general order :"To the National Guards of Paris and the Gardes Mobiles of Paris and the Departments, Never before has any general witnessed so grand a spectacle as that which you have presented; three hundred battalions of citizens organized and armed, enveloped by the entire population of the city, unanimously proclaiming the determined defence of Paris and of liberty. If those foreign-nations which doubt you, if the armies which are marching upon you, could only have heard that, they would have understood that misfortune has done more in a few weeks to rouse the soul of the nation than long years of prosperity have done to abase it. The spirit of devotion and of sacrifice

Switzerland resolved, however, to remain in
Paris.

While the government were thus taking their measures of defence, M. Thiers was sent to England, and thence to Vienna and St. Petersburg, charged with a diplomatic mission. But the difficulties in the way of the veteran statesman were insurmountable. Count von Bismarck had determined to decline all intervention, and the courts of Europe, to whom M. Thiers was delegated, thus found no favourable opportunity to enter upon negotiations.

It is worthy of notice, too, that before the government had been in existence a fortnight they had the courage to abolish the entire system of police surveillance. A short time before the Prussians finally invested the capital, M. de Keratry, the prefect of police, addressed to the provisional government a report recommending the

ready and efficient instrument in the hands of successive governments for seventy years. The system had been most abused under Napoleon I., by whom it was founded in 1800, and who had extended its powers during his reign. So great was the importance attached to it, that at the change of each régime the first care of the victors was to secure its influence.

has infused itself into you, and to it you owe that hearty union which will prove your safety. With our formidable effective force the daily guard of Paris will be 70,000 men. If the enemy by a fierce attack, or by a surprise, or by effecting a breach, should pierce our protecting fortifications, he would encounter barricades which are being prepared, and his columns would be driven back by the successive attacks of ten reserves stationed at different points. Remain, therefore, perfectly assured, and know that the enceinte of Paris, defended as it is by the persevering efforts of public spirit, and by 300,000 muskets, is impregnable. National guards of the Seine and gardes mobiles, in the name of the government for the National Defence, of which I am towards you but the representative, I thank you for your patriotic solicitude for the cherished interests which you have in charge. Now let us proceed to work in the nine sections of the defence. Let there be every-suppression of an institution which had proved a where order, calmness, and devotion; and remember that you are charged, as I have previously informed you, with the police of Paris during this critical period. Prepare to bear your task with constancy, and then you will not fail to conquer." The provisional government meanwhile completed its preparations against the impending investment of the capital. Communications with the departments were abandoned, bridges were destroyed, sometimes too hastily, telegraphs severed, obstacles placed in the path of the advancing enemy, and the woods near Paris filled with combustibles. In the beautiful woods of the Seine and Marne, the forests of Lagny, De Ferriéres, Clamart, Bellevue, Bondy, and the woods around St. Cloud, openings were effected by the axe of the garde mobile and francs-tireurs, large numbers of whom were told off for the service. The Journal Officiel published decrees authorizing the minister of justice, M. Crémieux, to transfer the criminal chamber to Tours; and placing 40,000 francs at the disposal of the Scientific Committee of Defence. All legal appeals were suspended, together with the octroi duties upon the importation of goods. The government further decided to sit at a town in the interior of France during the siege; and besides M. Crémieux, the minister of Marine and M. Glais-Bizoin established themselves at Tours, where they were joined by Lord Lyons and several other foreign ambassadors. The envoys of the United States, Belgium, and

VOL. II.

A brief review of the financial condition of the country, prior to the final investment of Paris, will be found suggestive. The trade bills under discount at the bank of France amounted at the close of June to £26,000,000. On the 8th of September they had increased to £57,000,000, or nearly 120 per cent.; and while the aggregate of cash and bullion in the bank continually diminished, the paper circulation increased. The weekly drain of the precious metals is represented by the following table:

July

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66

Cash and Bullion in
Bank of France.

Amount.

7 £50,723,000

French Bank Notes in
Circulation.

Weekly
Decrease.

Amount.

Weekly Increase.

£57,557,000

49,809,000 £914,000 58,209,000 £652,000

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14

21

48,590,000 1,219,000 58,808,000 599,000

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On the 12th August the bank suspended pay- | ments in specie, and the following week nearly £5,000,000 was withdrawn. At the same time the note circulation was increased by upwards of £5,250,000.

With regard to the foreign relations of the provisional government, it may be stated that the republic was early recognized by the United States of America. On the 5th of September M. Favre officially notified its institution to the American ambassador, Mr. Washburne, who, on the day following, replied: "I have the satisfaction of announcing to you that I have received from my government a telegram empowering me to recognize the government of the National Defence as the government of France. I am consequently ready to enter into relations with the government, and, if you wish it, to treat with it on all the matters arising out of the functions with which I am invested. In making this communication to your excellency, I beg to tender to yourself and to the members of the government of the National Defence the congratulations of the government and people of the United States. They will have learnt with enthusiasm the proclamation of the republic which has been instituted in France without the shedding of one drop of blood, and they will respond heartily and sympathetically to the great movement which they hope and believe will be fertile in happy results for the French people and for humanity at large. Enjoying for nearly a century immeasurable benefits from a republican government, the people of the United States cannot but witness with the deepest interest the efforts of the French people, attached to them by the bonds of a traditional amity, who seek to found institutions by which will be assured to the present generation, as well as to posterity, the invaluable right of living, by working for the welfare of all." M. Jules Favre, in acknowledging this letter, hailed as a happy augury for the French republic that the American government should have been the first to recognize and countenance it. Subsequently a large gathering of citizens visited the American legation, and gave enthusiastic cheers for the United States. The crowd then waited on M. Jules Favre, who replied, "I am happy to hear of your demonstration. I am, as you know, the personal enemy of war, which divides and tears in pieces mankind. I retain the

hope of an honourable peace; but if it is necessary, we will sacrifice everything to the very last for the defence of the country."

In the United States the successes of the German arms, and the surrender of Napoleon, caused exuberant rejoicings among the German population and those of Teutonic origin, as well as among a large part of the nation itself, whose sympathies were against the French empire. In Philadelphia long processions, bearing torches and transparencies, and led by the German musical societies, went singing through the streets, while the offices of the newspapers favourable to the German cause were serenaded, as well as the residence of the German consul. With this feeling throughout the country, there was a general hope of a speedy peace. On the intelligence of Napoleon's downfall, the premium on gold fell from above 117 to 113.

The news of the establishment of the republic in Paris, however, caused a sensible diminution of the sympathy with the Germans, and, combined with the overwhelming defeats inflicted on the French, excited a general desire for peace on moderate terms. France was more frequently spoken of as "our ancient ally," and, as already stated, the government promptly recognized the republic. Nevertheless, with France as a military nation, or with her military standards of morality, there was little sympathy. The democrats, however, gained courage in their denunciations of Germany from the French defeats, and the Irish grew more noisy than ever in their demonstrations of fellow-feeling, especially with the disasters of MacMahon, who was generally believed amongst them to be the lineal descendant of an Irish king. There was undoubtedly a strong dislike of the Germans in the country.

The new government in Paris was also acknowledged by Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal. Switzerland expressed a hope that the republic "would be able shortly to procure for France the blessings of an honourable peace, and to consolidate for ever liberty and democratic institutions." Chevalier Nigra informed M. Jules Favre that he had received instructions from Florence to keep up relations with the provisional government in every way conformable to the sympathies existing between the two countries. A similar statement was made by Senor Olozaga, the Spanish ambassador, to whom M. Jules Favre replied, "It is precisely at this cruel moment for

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