TILE ENGLISH MAIL.

Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 895, 9 June 1871, Page 2

TILE ENGLISH MAIL.

1 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. L The telegraphic intelligence received by the Suez mail, and also that brought by 5 the Wonga Wonga, on her return to . Auckland, after completing the Hall j postal service, dated down to the 17th of l April, so that the present, reaching to the t sth of May, gives a fortnight later. At 3 this latter date affairs in France remained i; almost unchanged. In the Californian 5 papers appear daily intelligence of fighting ' between the troops of the recognised Go- ; vernment of France — now sitting at Ver- [ sailles, some twelve miles from Paris as ', the crow flies, or about eighteen by the road— and the insurgents, or Communists, [ who hold the city of Paris, several of the } suburbs, and some of the forts erected for } the protection of the city, r To give without order or arrangement . a string of these telegrams, full of conl tradiction, and abounding with names > which convey no distinct i(?eas, would be r the easiest way of filling our columns, but t we prefer making something like a digest . of the fortnight's war news, so that our f readers may form some notion of how . parties really stood towards each other in I this horrible civil strife at the time of our ( latest dates. , It will be well, perhaps, to give a few I words of preliminary explanation. The v Republican Government, which took 7 charge of the affairs of France on the i downfall of Napoleon, removed from Paris t to Tours, a city beyond the Loire, ?.bout 1 ninety miles south-west of the capital, [ when the Germans commenced their b march on the capital. When, therefore, t Paris capitulated to the enemy, the Go- ) vernment was only weakly represented 3 there ; and the populace having to a large - extent been armed, the Communists, or , Red Republicans, who advocate common ■ rights in property, and who form a large i portion of the working-class in Paris, I when the Germans retired, made them- ■ selves masters of the city and several of I the forts on the south-west side, includr ing Issy and Vauvres — places of great s strength. , The intelligence received by the two r former mails gave some of the particulars - of the struggle which then ensued between I the National Government, directed mainly . by the veteran statesman Thier3, and • which removed to Versailles to be near r the capital, and the insurgents, governed • by a few obscure and violent men, but - who having entire possession of the capital s and some of the forts beyond the ram- - parts, wielded an immense power for E mischief. The chief military leader of i the, insurgents was General Cluseret, who , was not without valuable assistants. r The first attempt of the Government to , put down this dangerous rebellion was signally unsuccessful. Whether the i troops sent against the insurgents were unwisely chosen, or whether they were i the only ones available at the moment, ; we cannot say, but instead of fighting the s insurgents, they fraternised with them, ■ and thus added considerably to their I strength. There was hesitation also on s the part of the Government to proceed lo extremities against the rebels, which would involve the destruction of a great amount i of private property belonging to its own subjects, and cause great loss »f life, probably of women and children, and this hesitation emboldened the rebels, and enabled them to organise and acquire additional strength until they thought themselves a match for the Government sitting at Versailles, and accordingly marched against them. For this temerity, however, they paid clearly, Mount Valevien, the strongest of all the forts being held for the Government, cannonaded the road to Versailles, and the rebels were dreadfully cut up by a fire, which they believed would not have been opened upon them. This brief narrative brings us down to the date of the news received by the previous mails, and what follows will be a condensation of the intelligence brought by the present steamer. Taking up the order of events from the middle of April, a more determined warfare appears to have been carried on between the Communist and the Govern- , ment forces than existed at any time between the French and their invaders. The great struggle has centred around Fort d'lssy and Fort de Vauvres, between which run one of the lines of the Versailles railway. Repeated attempts have been made by the Government troops to take these forts, and at one time so hot was the attack on Issy that the rebels abandoned it, but it was re-occupied before the Government could get possession, and the officer in command who gave up so important a post, is to be tried by court-martial. Day after day the telegrams transmitted to America from London, abate the varying success of the contending forces around these f orts, and in the neighboring suburbs of the capital ;

but while the Communists are often successful, they get the worst of the fighting in the long run, and they must grow weaker from exhaustion, while the Government, recruited by the regular troops which they are now able to summon around them, were becoming stronger ; and a great'effort to retake the city, which at whatever cost was absolutely necessary, was likely to be made within a few days following our latest advice. There is a large body of men within the walls known to be willing to support the Government when the time comes that they can do so safely; but as barricades have been erected in all quarters, in anticipation of what is coming, a fearful slaughter on both sides may be fully expected. There is already a bitterness of feeling between the antagonists, which has led in some instances to a refusal of quarter,' and street fighting will intensify this. The Communists, by making requisitions and imposts, appear to have found no difficulty in the way of money, but they are greatly disorganized, and jealousy and suspicion prevail amongst them. General Cluseret was first dismissed from Ms office as Minister of War, by the Gohimune, and then arrested, it being attributed to negligence on his part that Fort Issy was compromised. It wa3 suggested that he be shot within forty-eight hours. A young officer of Engineers, named Rossel, appointed to the command held by Cluseret, has shown great ability and energy, and it is said the Government are far from pleased at the change. The Freemasons in Paris made an effort to bring about an accommodation between the two parties. A deputation, consisting of a member of each lodge in Paris, went in procession to Versailles to see M. Thiers, but returned without effecting anything, and then planted their flags on the ramparts, which were shot down by the Government troops. Emissaries from these different lodges were despatched into the provinces to incite the people to support the Communists, previous attempts to creat disturbances in the principal cities of France not having met with success. On April 19th, the Commune issued in Paris a manifesto, saying : — " Paris is once more laboring and suffering for the regeneration of France, and demands the local encouragement of the provinces. She j does not aim at dictatorship, but she desires a decentralised unity of the country." The document pronounces a compromise with the Versailles Government impossible. It closes with an appeal to France to disarm the troops now threatening the capital. Seven thousand troops reached Versailles from Switzerland, and three thousand more were ready fo leave the same quarter. ' On the 21st April, another revolution appeared imminent. The Commune had arrested the Central Committee, accusing the members of negotiating with Thiers to betray Pari3. The National Guards were indignant, and threatened to arrest the Commune unless the Committee were released. Complete anarchy reigns. The discipline of the National [Government] troops is bad. The men placed on guard at one of the gates coolly left without orders. A captain of the Eightyfourth Regiment was ahot by his men, who charged him with a want of energy. Five hundred million francs' worth of property were destroyed in the last few days of April in Paris and its neighborhood. The Montmartee [rebel], battalions are mutinous ; they complain of hard work and bad armament, and declare they marched recently only because they were forced by tho chassepots of the Belleville battalions. Two battalions abandoned a post unnattacked. The commandant of the Fourth Battalion refused to march to the ramparts. Many similar acts of disaffection occur. Count Moltke has given notice he will make a line of fortifications to guard against all attacks in the occupied provinces of France, until the indemnity is fully paid, and a regular government firmly established. There is a strong reaction in the provinces favorable to Napoleon, while a number of deputies desire Aumale, an Orlean Prince, to be President of the Republic. The Beveille says the daily revenue of the Commune averages 600,000 francs, and is sufficient to provide for men under arms and the conduct of the war. Thiers, in a speech, tells the country the situation is painful. French blood is flowing, but a consoling denouement is near. All are doing their duty, especially the army, which is eulogised. He says it is commanded by a cavalier without fear or reproach, who, completely unfettered, has now completed the investment of Paris, and commenced active operations. Fort Issy is silenced. Molineux is captured. As we are not the assailants, but defenders of law and order, we wish conciliation ; we wish to save liberty against despotism born of unbridled license. Thiers defended the Assembly and the Republic. He said the insurgents were isolated. All France is with the Assembly in its efforts to combine unity with liberty. A delay of forty-eight hours is granted persons in Paris, between the ages of thirty-nine and forty-nine, to join the battalions, otherwise they will be courtmdrtialed. The Freemasons informed the Commune that they had exhausted the meana of conciliation at Versailles. They are rosolved to plant their banners on the ramparts, and, if struck, will march against the Versaillists, and appeal to brother Masons for support. The Archbishop of Paris was released from confinement on May 1. Several agents of the Paris Commune arrived in London on the Ist May, commissioned by that body to enter into contracts for the purpose of re-victualling Paris, but they propose to pay for goods in 30 days. Dealers decline to contract with them. On the sth May, the Communists abolished political and professional oaths. M. Thiers has refused to make a commercial treaty with the Germans. Thiers has ordered the expulsion of the Orlean Princes from France. Rumors were circulating in London on the 4th May, that the insurrection in Algeria ia extending, and that the Government at Versailles is heedless of the growing danger. The Emperor" Napoleon has declared that he would not return to France, nor had he given any promise of his return; Thiers has determined on a coitp d'etat after entering Paris, making himself and Marshall M'Mahon joint Regents with the Empress.