EUROPEAN.

Dunstan Times, Issue 498, 3 November 1871, Page 1 (Supplement)

EUROPEAN.

o TUE COMMUNIST TRIALS. The Paris correspondent of the London Times , says : —ln regard to the Court Martial for the trial of Communists. I was surprised at the want of interest shown by the public. The place was little more than half full. The Court, priSoneis and newspaper reporters were all occupying a platform raised above the b«dy of the ha'l. The men I had seen the day before in their prison neglige I now saw arrayed 0 as for the Boulevards. r J he one idea evidently dominant in the Somewhat unpreposessing coutenances was nne so dear to their countrynien generally, that the e\ es of Europe were upon them. They struck muck heroic anitudes, then glanced round to see whether they had produced tiie desired effect. They laughed and talked tor effect at the moment when the indictments charged them with the heaviest offences. Fern;re was particularly tickled al the stress laid upon his complicity in the murder of hostages, and Assi was rippling over with jo' es from the beginning to the end of his acte d’accusation. Eegere, with scrupulously-littinggloves c vering his .small hands, which he affectedly passed through his carefully brushed hair, and with the stiffest and whitest shirt collars, stood for the most part surveying the audience with u bland and patronising smi'e It seemed an especial pleasure to anyone of them to find aii ieiu l in the audience ami to nod to him in a familiar manner, as though to reassure him, and then laugh perhaps because the friend showed some confusion at the unwelcome n cognition. In" fact thev seemed to regard the whole affair as an elaborate and not bad practical joke got up for their especial benefit. The ; evidence given before the Court-mar- ' tial at Versailles was of the terrible de- i senption. Dr. Puyineigoii testified that the Commune, on the 24th of ■ May; firmed a kind of Coift-martial i at La Petite Koquette. He saw a t man condemed to death in five minutes i by some young wretches, about seven- < teen or eighteen years of age, who ' gave themselves airs of the greatest s importance. A young soldier was tried for the dime of not joining the Coni-

u ; ,ul ° • u «> ««««» were uounci J»eHmci his hack, and he was tortured most inhumanly. He was ordered t o kneel to the chief uf the assassins, and the soldier knelt down He was told to get up ;he map, and was then made to kneel again ; a handkerchief was tied over his eyes, then re-adjuste.i, and finally the lad was shot, and his body tossed into a vegetable cart amid shouts of laughter. Four other persons were massacred in a sin ilar manner, among them Bishop Surat, who had escaped from prison, but who was caught by some of the younger offenders at the barricade and brought I back. A woman ucmanded the honour of killing him, and she set on the : unfortunate prelate with a poi«nard I striking at his face, but the Bishop ( kept her off with his hands ; at last, losing patience and jeered by the crowd, this fury drew a revolver and shot down her victim. The evidence given before the Court-martial establishes the fact that federals, disguised as firemen, fed the flames in Paris with petroleum hate foreign journals give interesting details of the trials of the Commune prisoners at Versailles. - In the examination of Assi, the following colloquy took place: Pr sident (to Assi)—You gave an order for the assassination of Generals Lecomte and Thomas, on the 18th of March. “Itis false,” replied Assi. “ Were you not Chief o'the Commune against the Government I !'' “ Yes, you attacked us, and we ac cepted the stiuggle. ’ • “And yon voted for the massacre of the hostages 1” “Yea. when at war it is necessary to resort to retaliation.” A murmur of indignation arose among the audience, but Assi only smiled disdainfully. Ihe President—“ Why did you purchase sulphur and coal? You wished to burn down Paris.,’ The accused retorted by observing that the troops had done their worst by firing explosive shells into the dtv “Itis an infamous li cried the Pul lie Prosecutor, greatly moved. You made requisitions for petroleum.” “It was unnecessary to do an,” replied Assi, “ forty mines were full of it." * A'ssi, in answer to a question of tho President, did not seem to deny his membership in the international Society He admitted that lie was a member of the Central Committee He is a Freemason. He was at tho Central Commutee’s on March 10; was not at Rue de Rositress ; knew

nothing of the executions of Generals Thomas and T.ecompte. Aasi went on to Pay he had not approved the law on hostages, but should not himself have executed them. He had said (he only way to save their brethren at Versailles was to threaten reprisals ; an “eye for an eve” was his maxim Govern exclaimed, “You take throe eyes for one”—he had signed the de«ve for pulling down the Vendome C'o'nmn. Decrees were imputed to him that he had not signed, but admitted ho had

not protested and never thought of re signing On account of them. The Horrible details brought to light at the trial created the profuuudest indignation among the public.