PARIS 1870-BERLIN 1919

Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 128, 3 June 1919, Page 2

PARIS 1870-BERLIN 1919

INCOMPLETE PARALLELS

Events which have followed the retirement to private life of the Imperial Government of Germany, more particularly those subsequent to the armistice of 11th. November, provide an interesting parallel, both internal and international, with those which in 1870-71 brought the Franco-Prussian War to a close, abolished the Second Napoleonic . Empire, and established the present Republic Like Berlin, Paris suffered from a regime of anarchy—from the Communards, the Bolsheviks of that day—and what- [ ever mental similarities they may have lacked there was certainly a striking physical resemblance between Rosa LusrT f°L th n SPartac^« and Louise Michel of the Commune. There was also an armistice, a: preliminary peace, and a final peace-the negotiations for the last lArif ft disturbed by-the Commune in lans,_ihat Bismarck was on the point of breaking them off more than onco, not being sure that the Government which signed the .treaty would have the authority to promulgate it. Similar forces have prolonged the period between the Orerman capitulation and. the present projected preliminary peace negotiations In tracing the course of events however,! from the time Napoleon 111 sm ... rendered at Sedan an army of 83,000 men on 2nd September. 1870, till nearly a year lii i- en, the French National Assembly definitely accepted the new political order, there may be noted also certain contrasts with the events of 1918-19. \ THE THIRD REPUBLIC. Two days after the surrender of Sei jx\ °?r ps LeSislatif at Paris declared the Emperor and his descendants excluded from . the thione," created a Government of National Defence with bambetta at its head, and proclaimed the ihird Republic. No similar declaration and proclamation have as yet been made by the de-facto Government at Berlin, and there still remains much : mystery in regard to the transition period of 4th October-9th November ' when Prince Max changed his status < trom Imperial Chancellor to that of '! Regent with Eberfc as Chancellor, who before the sun had set on the 9th had dropped all Kaiserlich designation. There is mjre mystery concerning the letters of abdication said to have been signed by the Kaiser and the Crown Prince, respectively, on 28th November and Ist December. The siege of Paris by the Germans began 27th December, 1870, and ended 28th. January, 1871, by the. signing of an armistice. Meanwhile the King of Prussia, established at Versailles, had been made German Emperor by.the German States on 18th January. The armistice did not at once end all military ■ operations—Bourbaki's army : escaped surrender by retiring into Switzerland, aud Belforfc still withstood siege until 16th February. It was different with the armistice of 11th November. . By the terms of the armistice which Jules Favre negotiated with Msmarck a truce of twenty-one days, dating from. 28th January, was agreed upon; elections were to take place on Bth February for a National Assembly; all forts on the outer line of defence were to be surrendered; the German Army should not enter Paris, whose ramparts were to be dismantled and whose garrisons were to be surrendered as prisoners of war; the National Guard, with weapons, were to police the capital, which might receive food from outside; Paris must pay 40,000,000 dollars—no valuables were to be removed or weapons introduced; an exchange of prisoners was to be made and a postal service for unsealed letters instituted. PPvOTEST AGAINST AN ARMISTICE. Gambetta protested against the armistice, and resigned on Bth Februai'y. Five days later the New National Assembly was opened at Bordeaux, and elected Thiers head of the Government. On 21st February he began at Versailles those negotiations which were to end five days later with the signing of the preliminary treaty ,of peace. On the German side it was signed by Bismarck, the Bavarian Minister yon Bray, the Wurttemberg Minister yon Waehter, and the Badaiiese Minister Jolly; on the French by Thiers and Favre. Its terms may be thus briefly summarised : One—Alsace, except Belfort, and Ger-man-speaking Lorraine, including Metz, are^to be surrendered. Two—l,ooo.ooo,OOOdol. to be paid, 200,000,000 in 1871, the rest by 1873. Three—after,- ratification by the National Assembly-the evacuation will begin, but six departments with Belfort are to remain occupied by 50,000 troops, who (4-6) are to be maintained at the expense of the French Government; inhabitants of annexed territories- to choose between the two nationalities ; prisoners of war to be immediately set at liberty. Seven—Negotiations for a definite treaty to be opened after ratification of this treaty. Eight—Administration of occupied territory to be entrusted to French officials accountable to German military chiefs. In two supplementary conventions it was agreed-that parts of Paris on Ist March were to be occupied by 30,G00 German soldiers; the rest might inspect the city without arms. On Ist March these preliminary terms were ratified by the National Assembly at Bordeaux by a ; vote of 546 to. 107. Two days later the evacuation of the capital began. On 7th March the German Emperor quitted Versailles, which on 20fch. March became the seat of the Thiers Government. COMMUNE BREAKS LOOSE. ( ' Two days before the Commune had broken loose in Paris. It was to dominate thn city until 29th May, and cost 20,000 lives. In the last month it was a street to street fight between" the Versailles troops and the Communards, 20.000 of whom were taken- prisoners, many of whom, when found with arms, were shot oh the spot. A month before its fall the Commune had complained in a proclamation that "the bandits of Versailles every day throttled or shot their prisoners," and threatened that it would reply in the ratio of two lives for one. It did so, and executed tho eminent hostages it held, including tho Archbishop of "Paris. Meanwhile, soverely tempered by anarchy in the capital, negotiations for a definite treaty of peace were proceeding at Frankfort. On 10th May that treaty was signed, together with _ three side treaties —Bismarck and Arnim for the German Emperor, and Favre, PouyerInerties, and de Gouiard for France. Ratification by the National Assembly at Versailles followed- on 12tli May by a vote of 440 to 98. In Berlin the 29tli May of Paris may have been reached. Tho 20th February of Versailles is approaching.- The 10th. May of Frankfort seems very remote.