Bourbaki's Bourbaki's Losses of the War. By the Convention of Paris, the Departments of the Côte d'Or, Jura and Doubs had been excepted from the armistice, in order that Bourbaki might have an opportunity of relieving Belfort. When Jules Favre made these conditions, he did not know that Bourbaki was separated from Garibaldi, and that his army was in the Jura in a miserable condition, without clothes or ammunition. After an engagement at Salins on January 27th, Bourbaki's troops were attacked not far from Pontarlier on January 29th and driven to the frontier, where 10,000 prisoners fell into the hands of the Germans. The last two days of January witnessed the Battle of Frasne, which caused still greater losses, and Bourbaki was reduced to such a state of despair that he attempted his life. But the wound was slight, and he was conveyed to Lyons, where he speedily recovered. His place was taken by Clinchant, who, on February 1st, had the alternative of a capitulation like that of Sedan or of crossing the neutral frontier. He chose the latter, and Europe witnessed the spectacle of an army of 65,000 men in the most miserable condition, half-starved and scarcely like human beings, crossing the frontier and laying down their arms, the Swiss doing their utmost to supply their needs. General Cremer, with a small force of cavalry, contrived to reach the soil of France. An eye-witness tells us that when the French arrived in Switzerland their clothes were rent and dropping off them, their hands and feet were frostbitten, their shrunken features and uncertain gait told of gnawing hunger, their deep coughs and hoarse voices bore witness to long nights spent on snow and frozen ground. Some had tied bits of wood under their bare feet to protect them from stones; others wore wooden sabots; hundreds had no socks, and such as were worn were only of thin cotton. For weeks none had washed or changed his clothes or removed his boots. Some had lost their toes; for three days they had neither food nor fodder served out to them, and before that only one loaf was allowed among eight men. This was the fourth French army which had been rendered useless for further combat since the Germans had invaded France in August, the others being those of Sedan, Metz, and Paris. Belfort, which had been so nobly defended by Denfert-Roehereau, capitulated by order of the French Government on February 16th, and the garrison, in recognition of their bravery, were allowed to march out with the honours of war. Thus ended one of the most remarkable wars in history, marked by twenty-three battles and an endless number of other engagements. Never before had such large masses of men been END OF THE WAR seen in conflict. The losses of the Germans were calculated at 5,254 officers and 112,000 men, while those of the French in killed, wounded, and prisoners almost defy enumeration. The number of German prisoners captured by the French did not exceed 10,000, whereas at least 400,000 unarmed Frenchmen crossed the Rhine as captives. The CHAPTER X THE COMMUNE THE National Assembly at Bordeaux consisted of 750 Deputies, Bordeaux elected in Cantons from a list of candidates for each DepartAssembly. ment. The general desire was for peace. The peasants had The The in Paris. chosen Orleanists and Legitimists, as being men well known and of position, who could be trusted and were in favour of peace. They formed the majority of the Assembly, numbering 400 against 350. The Departments of the south-east, where the war had been most severe, returned Republicans, and in Paris many Revolutionaries were chosen. There was not a sufficient number of Monarchists to outweigh the Republicans, but they were determined not to submit either to Gambetta or to Paris, and therefore they left the choice of the form of government to the future. Jules Grévy, a Republican and an opponent of Gambetta, was made President, and Thiers was placed at the head of the Executive, as he had been elected in twenty-six Departments and was very popular in consequence of his protest against the war. He was, indeed, master of the situation. He selected for his Ministers moderate Republicans, who belonged to the peace party, and announced that his policy would be confined to reorganisation, the restoration of credit, and the revival of industry. On February 26th Thiers and Jules Favre signed the preliminaries of peace, which were ratified by the Assembly on March 1st by 546 votes to 107, with 23 abstentions. Napoleon III. was formally deposed and declared responsible for the ruin of France. On this same day the German troops marched through a portion of the capital. The amour propre of France had been so far considered that an occupation of Paris had been given up, but the march had been conceded by Thiers as a ransom for Belfort. Prussian and Bavarian troops marched from Mont Valérien, through the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Élysées. The Palais de l'Industrie and the Cirque Impérial were assigned to the German troops, and a strong French force guarded the line which separated the occupied districts from the remainder of the city. The day passed without serious incident, but was kept throughout ANARCHY IN PARIS Paris as a day of mourning. Neither the Emperor nor the Crown Prince accompanied the troops. As soon as the ratification of the treaty had been notified by Favre to Bismarck, Paris was evacuated and the march home begun. The headquarters of Versailles were broken up on March 7th. Assembly. As soon as the preliminaries had been ratified, four of the Paris Revolutionary Deputies for Paris resigned, refusing to sit in an Repudiates Assembly which had surrendered two provinces, dismembered the France, and ruined the country. It was inevitable that a conflict should break out in the Bordeaux Assembly between the Revolutionaries of the towns, especially of Paris, and the Deputies for the country districts. The decree allowing the Prussians to enter Paris roused intense indignation in the city, and there were signs of a coming storm. The cannon which had been purchased by the citizens for the defence of Paris were removed to Montmartre and Belleville, but the people had the good sense not to attack the Prussians. Another cause of offence was that the Bordeaux Assembly determined to sit at Versailles and not at Paris. Moreover, the commercial interests of the capital were neglected by the Assembly refusing to sanction the postponement of rent and of payments due for commercial transactions which had been granted during the siege, and the payment to the working men as National Guards, which cost a considerable sum, was stopped. Without Government. When Thiers arrived at Versailles on March 15th he sent Paris troops to bring back the cannon from Montmartre, and three days later the soldiers made common cause with the people. Lecomte, who commanded the troops, was shot by the mob, and so was Clément Thomas, who happened to be passing. During the day the insurrection grew, and Thiers and the other members of the Government left Paris, intending to return with an army and destroy the rebels who would pillage Paris and ruin France. Thus on the morning of March 19th Paris was without regular government, and all authority passed into the hands of the old war party-the National Guards and the revolutionary Republicans. A Central Committee of the Federation of the National Guards, which had been formed at the end of February and chosen on March 15th, installed itself at the Hôtel de Ville and sent representatives to the different Ministries. On March 19th the red flag floated from the Hôtel de Ville, and at half-past eight the Central Committee of the Commune held their first meeting in the room from which Trochu used to give his orders. The president was a young man of thirty-two— Edward Moreau, a commission agent. The Committee spent their Programme of the Commune. The Central in Power. time organising the elections and providing for the carrying out of public affairs, and sat till 1 o'clock. At 2 the proclamation they had drawn up was posted in the town: "Citizens, the people of Paris, calm and impassive in their strength, have awaited, without fear as without passion, the shameless fools who wish to touch our Republic. Let Paris and France together lay the foundation of a true Republic-the only government which will for ever close the era of Revolution. The people of Paris is convoked to make its elections." This was signed by twenty obscure persons. Twenty thousand men were encamped in the square before the Hôtel de Ville, with pieces of hard steel at the ends of their muskets, and fifty cannon and mitrailleuses were drawn up in front of the building. At the same time a meeting of the heads of battalions of the National Guard and of the mayors and deputies of the Department of the Seine was being held at the Town Hall of the third arrondissement. The Committee fixed the date of elections for the following Wednesday, declared the state of siege at an end, abolished court-martials, and gave an amnesty for all political causes and offences. At 8 p.m. it received a deputation from the mayors and deputies, of which Clémenceau was the best-known member. The discussion was stormy, and lasted till 10.30. The Commune proclaimed its programme-the election of the municipal council, the suppression of the Prefecture of Police, the right of the National Guard. to elect its officers, the proclamation of the Republic as the legal government, the remittance of all rents due, an equitable law on over-due bills, and the exclusion of the army from Parisian territory. There was yet a third meeting of mayors and deputies of the several arrondissements; this included Louis Blanc, Carnot and Floquet. At its close the Central Committee held a heated debate which lasted far into the night. The Next morning the Central Committee was summoned to leave the Hôtel de Ville, but they refused to yield, and arranged. the election of the municipal council for March 22nd. Committee also managed to get 1,000,000 francs advanced for current expenses. March 21st was the day of trial for the Committee. The Place Vendôme was occupied by their soldiers, and an attack was made upon them by those who desired to support the authority of the Assembly. Firing took place, and a certain number were killed. Paris was divided between the friends of the Committee and the supporters of the Assembly. The night passed quietly; the Place Vendôme was defended by |