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An Inside View Of The Parisian Revolt

An Inside View Of The Parisian Revolt image
Parent Issue
Day
18
Month
August
Year
1848
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

París, June 20, 1848. The public papers wíl] ifcvoii lengthy details upon the terrible events which have just taken place in Paris. These events are so multiple and varied in their characrer, t!iat it is impossiblc to grasp them in their totality and give any exact, statement in regard to them. - The most. distnrtcd and erroneous accounts are spread in cvery directiün, ainl eatfa party wil! ■■ivf its iiwii Cl iring tO whttt hus taken place, insfèad rtf s&eking tD discover ihe exact truih, and making it knuwn. I will not uiidertike to give a history ofihe crisis thröugh which ihis capitn] has jtisl paiaöd. 1 do abt wheïber any óhe can do it at present, tor, a l unclersíand, the recent evenis are ton varied to be sninmp.i up Btid reduced to nrder so soon at'ter their occurrence. I will, therofnre, simply slate what I have seen m.;el;', ".i which I can gua'fan'teë1 the autiiefiticityi 1 will wríte a mero e")isode of the late crisis, and ■ leave you to form as good an idea of the v. !iu!e as you can f rom the i'ragment which ! you. It may nót be unintorestin to vive some count of mv joiirney from Efoa'Tog'ne to Paris, as some incidents took place which enahled me to judge of the spirit of the popnlation in i the provinces. I len Boulogne on the morntngof the 2-lth, in company with Lord Wall - court, a warm friend and advocate of the doo trines, of the Association, and who has applied them in part to the. management of his estafes in Ireland, and with Dr. J. .T. Garth Wilkinson of London, and Mr. Doherty of of Paris. Rumors had reached Boulogne on the morning we left that an insurrection of a violent characier had brokeu out in Paris, and the muiarrival of the cars, which had performed their trips regularly since the revolution in ' ary, sliowed that something very serious must have taken place. We arrivnc) at Amiens, which is some 80 miles from Paris, and alm it half way between the latte r city and Bouglogne, without bèing able lo obtain any news, ov anvtlung occurring which denoted that the éXcttement had reached the interior of tlie country. On ar:iving at Amiens, however, the scène chángpd. A larc-e nuihbêr of tiómil Gu'ards were drnvvn up near tlio ra road station. Some liad left for Paris1, olhcrs were preparing to leave, and others were c.i dnty, to Keep order, f nec-essary. The railróad depot fronts alargo public square ; aromii this wëre statiotipd cavalry, belonging to i troops ot tlie line. A large mass of' workmen in blouses wère collected in front ofthe square, u-lio were kept back by the cavalry. As the train was obliged to remaiii For a couple of hóurS, T had time to go among ilie workmen. and-ascertained the sentirnents tlmt animated rJiem. 1 mik ml with diaerent srtoupa. and tpiired what their political sentiments were. - " All wo want," said iliev, '■ ia work ; politica do not concern ns mucli ; we want ernpleytnent, by which to gain a living; for those last four mnnths, since the revolution took p!a we have been able to obtain no work, anti we il!]mt breail. " The workmen," I Raid, "rein of the Ropub'lic, are they notl" " Oh, ves," they answereil, ' bnt. what we want is work - it is ail. we wtèhf.' T saw by i1 corivèrsadoTi tha.t the.' cared very littlp abnut the Repubiic, aini in to draw out an epri-ssiun of opinión. ! said to (hem, tliat if the present state of Jlingi were to continue, i would gul liri'd cif tlie Republic. " es indi was thereply," "atul we are tited e.f'it alri-ady." 1 was convincod ('rom lajking wiih ihem thát sucb was the tact, aillhough they were unwilling to express it at The dennigement oí' indnstry, and the privalion of labor have caused them to look wilh dislike upoíi a politica] tiiovernent which caiised it. I have learned since I havo been in Paris that ihe ces are not republican, that it is the largo cities only which are so, and that the ropublican opinión is snstaineaJ by that moral orce which j comes from determined minds, although they i form but a minonty, and even a sinall oue, in ' society. Thosn ni' the 'National Guards, who werc to leave for Paris, bad enorrnous loaves of bread, Büch as the French. only make, stucl-: iipon tfieir bayonets ; it was ihus they carrieti their provisions witli them. A de n : of these Güards had léftthe evening li"loro for J'ims ; Otl Hefltendilïg trom the f.ars they wcre attacked by a body of insuriicnls and eighteoo weca killed ; ths I boarned &er my arrival in Paris. At tbs next town atwhich wb nrnvpd, ufter loavmg Amiens, we föund the National (iuards drawn Up in the sanie way ; thcy wcrc pré' pared and excessively anxi'.ius ti start ür Vm-is to ;úd in Bbduinu the insurrccticn. Uut the cars were all full ; therc werd no extra cars ai the phice, so that U was iin)ossillo to take them. Tlns gave nse lo a violent conlention ; the Guards were bent npon going, and wished to turn the passengers out, saying thát it was of inore importance for ihem td go to Paris than travelers ; the conductors and orhor persons connected wiih the railroai resisted stoutly, and a veliemence oí' controversy, a íhouting and hallooing. such as ari' only heard in Frnnce, took phice. In the inulsl of n all, the erifjineer siartcd off the train, hoping lo setlle the question by taking French Icave, but. the National Güards wcre nol to be ovcrreached in tins wnv ; some of them ran idiead as;.he train was moving slowly, and leveled their muskets at the cngineer ; he slopped and B6Veral of' them placing each the breech of his musket underthe wheels of the locomotive, we were fairly blocked The contr versy (hen bagun igam loudar and moro veliemcntly than ever ; the conduotors glpod up manfully for the rightsofthe passengcrs, and final ly tbrough the inlluencc ofsonn: persons of' authonly the tr.iu was periniUed to go on. At th! next .station we saw tho National Guards drawn up in tho sanie way, with the same enottnous loaves of bread stutk lengt.hwise or sidewise IJ pon liayonets ; the conductors had giiined experience by this time, BO lustrad of sloppinc, the enctneer was order[ i Cd ' t ed to prooeeoon, whieh he-diJ at a round rafe, anl as wc: dnshed by tin' station, tho National Guards saw the trick which w.is pluyed upon them ; immediately several leveled tlnir muskets at tho train, luit they did not iire , they shouted and cursed a little ; the conductors Uuffhed and on we went. At the next station there were extra cars, and an extra locorno'tivc; immediately tlie cars were cramrned, and oíT we went with a heavy load of defenders of Liberty, Equaüty, and particularly Fraternity. At the remaining stations we met wilh no lifficulties ; being nearer Paris, those of the National Öuards who wished to go the Capital had aireudy Uft ; we liean now to meet with 11.? depQta wlnc'i bad beep hurned down duriiig the i'cac.tiiiu of Ffliniary ; they were ribt rebuiit, atul the companies liad no money ; the mina were neatly cleared ip, so thnt they did rtot presiMir that sppctacle of devastation wiiich one vvould have supposed. [Te be Coptin.ued.1