Paris under the Commune Part 41

And thou wouldst leave it! Thou! more cunning than Falsehood, More viperous than Hate."

VIII. (Page 231.)

JOURDE.

Jourde certainly occupied one of the most difficult offices of the Commune, for he had to find the means to maintain the situation, but as the Ministry of Finances is burnt, no doc.u.ments can be found to show the employment he made of the funds which pa.s.sed through his hands. On the 30th of May, when he was arrested, disguised as an artizan, with his friend Dubois, he had about him a sum of 8070 francs in bank notes, and Dubois 3100 francs; making a total sum of 11,170 francs between the two.

A part of Jourde's cash was hidden in the lining of his waistcoat; he declared that it was the only sum taken by him out of the moneys belonging to the state, thus clearly proving that he had been guilty of embezzlement.

The amounts declared to have been received by Jourde form a total of 43,891,000 francs, but as the expenses amount to 47,000,000 francs, it is clear there is a deficiency of 3,309,000. Notwithstanding this fact, all the payments were made up to the 29th of May. It is, then, certain that other moneys were received by Jourde, and as he says that cash has been refused from some unknown persons who offered to lend 50,000,000 francs on the guarantee of the picture gallery of the Louvre, the suggestion comes naturally to the mind that the 3,309,000 francs may have been produced by the sale of valuables in the Tuileries. Jourde was sentenced by the tribunal of Versailles to transportation beyond the seas.

IX. (Page 316.)

These are the last proclamations from the Hotel de Ville. They refer immediately to the burning of the capital.

In the evening of the thirty-first of May, when Delescluze denied with vehemence that the regular army had made its entry, he wrote to Dombrowski:--

"CITIZEN--I learn that the orders given for the construction of barricades are contradictory.

"See that this be not repeated.

"Blow up or burn the houses which interfere with your plans for the defence. The barricades ought to be unattackable from the houses.

"The defenders of the Commune must be removed above want: give to the necessitous that which is contained in the houses about to be destroyed.

"Moreover, make all necessary requisitions,

"DELESCLUZE, A. BILLICRAY."

"Paris, 2nd Prairial, an 79."

On the 22nd appeared the following proclamation:--

"CITIZENS,--The gate of Saint-Cloud, attacked from four directions at once, was forcibly taken by the Versaillais, who have become masters of a considerable portion of Paris.

"This reverse, far from discouraging us, should prove a stimulus to our exertions. A people who have dethroned kings, destroyed Bastilles, and established a Republic, can not lose in a day the fruits of the emanc.i.p.ation of the 18th of March.

"Parisians, the struggle we have commenced cannot be abandoned, for it is a struggle between the past and the future, between liberty and despotism, equality and monopoly, fraternity and servitude, the unity of nations and the egotism of oppressors.

"AUX ARMES!

"Yes,--to arms! Let Paris bristle with barricades, and from behind these improvised ramparts let her shout to her enemies the cry of war, its cry of fierce pride of defiance, and of victory; for Paris with her barricades is invincible.

"Let the pavement of the streets be torn up; firstly, because the projectiles coming from the enemy are less dangerous falling on soft ground; secondly, because these paving-stones, serving as a new means of defence, can be carried to the higher floors where there are balconies.

"Let revolutionary Paris, the Paris of great deeds, do her duty; the Commune and the Committee for Public Safety will do theirs.

"Hotel de Ville, 2nd Prairial, an 79,

"The Committee for Public Safety,

"ANTOINE ARNAULT, E. EUDES, F. GAMBON, G. RANVIER."

These are the commentaries made by Citizen Delescluze:--

"Citoyen Jacquet is authorised to find men and materials for the construction of barricades in the Rue du Chateau d'Eau and in the Rue d'Albany.

"The citoyens and citoyennes who refuse their aid will be shot on the spot.

"The citoyens, chiefs of barricades, are entrusted with the care of a.s.suring tranquillity each in his own quarter.

"They are to inspect all houses bearing a suspicious appearance &c., &c.

"The houses suspected are to be set light to at the first signal given.

"DELESCLUZE."

X. (Page 335.)

FERRe.

At half-past nine on the morning of the 18th of March Ferre was at No.

6, Rue des Rosiers, opposing the departure of the prisoners of the Republican Guard, by obtaining from the Commander Bardelle the revocation of the order for their dismissal, which was known to have been issued. He went to the council of the Chateau Rouge, whither General Lecomte was about to be taken, and made himself conspicuous by the persistency with which he called for the death of that general. On the morning of Monday, the 24th May, a witness residing at the Prefecture of Police saw Ferre and five others going up the stairs of the Prefecture of Police. Ferre said to him, "Be off as quick as you can. We are going to set fire to the place. In a quarter of an hour it will be in flames." Half an hear afterwards the witness saw the flames burst forth from two windows of the office of the Procureur-General.

When Raoul Rigault was installed during the insurrection, a woman saw some persons washing the walls of the Prefecture of Police with petroleum. Seeing them going out by the court of the St. Chapelle, she noticed among them one smaller than the rest, wearing a grey paletot with a black velvet collar, and black striped trousers. On the same day a police agent went to La Roquette to order the shooting of Mgr. Darboy and the other prisoners--the President Bonjean, the Abbe Allard, the Pere Ducoudray, and the Abbe Deguerry. On Sat.u.r.day, the 27th, Ferre installed himself in the clerk's office of the prison, and ordered the release of certain of the criminals and gave them arms and ammunition.

Upon this they proceeded to ma.s.sacre a great number of the prisoners, among whom were 66 gendarmes. Several witnesses saw Ferre that day at the prison.

XI. (Page 342.)

At the trial of Ferre, August 10, Dr. Puymoyen, physician to the prison for juvenile offenders, opposite La Roquette, gave the following graphic evidence:--

"Immediately after the insurgents, driven back by the troops, had occupied La Roquette, they installed a court-martial at the children's prison opposite, where I live. It was from thence I saw the poor wretches whom they feigned to release, ushered in to the square, where they encountered an ign.o.ble mob, that ill-treated them in the most brutal manner. I was told that Ferre presided over this court-martial.

Its proceedings were singular. I saw an unfortunate gendarme taken to the prison; he had been arrested near the Grenier d'Abondance, on a denunciation. He wore a blouse, blue trousers, and an ap.r.o.n, and was charged with having stolen them. The mob wanted to enter the prison along with him, but the keepers, who behaved very well, prevented the invasion of the courtyard. The escort was commanded by a young woman carrying a Cha.s.sepot, and wearing a chignon. I entered the registrar's office with this unfortunate gendarme. One Briand, who was charged to question the prisoners summarily, asked him where his clothes came from.

The man was very cool and courageous, and his perfect self-possession disconcerted this _juge d'instruction._ He was asked if he were married, and had a family. He replied, 'Yes, I have a wife and eight children.'