EXECUTION OF. ROSSEL AND FERRE.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1094, 30 January 1872, Page 2

EXECUTION OF. ROSSEL AND FERRE.

Babis, Nov. 2^.

Though fully expectedj' the news of execution of Ijtossel (whom one naturally separates frp.ni his fpllow-sufferers) created a prpfound sensation. En all classes and in all parts of the countiy the fate of tiiis Ulented young officer had awakened the liveliest interest, and the Committee of Pardons andthe 'Government in having him executed have acted in opposition to the wishes of the nation. The universal cry was that enough blood had been shedj and that Paris had more than expiated its; folly and guilt by the Joss of 20,000 men shot down iii Jts streets, fele-

graphV^iUjiJyye conveyed to you a descriptioii ofjjihe deaths of the three men exebut&dpthjs' morning. Ferre and Bourgeois now'qecupy prominent niches in the Radical Pantheon, and are heroes and demigods. Colonel Merlin, president of the court which condemned Ferre. and ning wrote, in the AntirJacopijtr-- „ .y Who now trom Naples, Home or Berlin, commanded the \Qqos9j, ..Figaro gives the following account of the execution :— "The first blood of the .Communists was shed on the 28th November at Sartory. Rossel, FerreV?and Bourgeois^ a sergeant of the 45tti ißegiment; i^iw'OTeT^aliy shot. Bourgeois Vas the first to -know hu^ate. At 4 a.m. he was marched from the Chantier's Prison to the Central Prison/ Mn which Rossel" arid ' Ferre ' wei'e i 'confinda. Though riot told,so;/ he guesßßd :that/hiis hour had come, and asking for ; a cigar, smoked and drank wine tranquilly in his cell, while the other prisoners w.ere being awakened. Tlie advocate^ : Albert ' : J6ly^ aroused RosseT from. . ; a,, sound sleep. Rossel said,' Friend, is it for this morning?'' Upon-, being answered , in.. ,the affirmative,, he begged to, be left. alone for a few minutes ; but this request was. retfused. Rossel then dressed rapidly, and embraced Albert Joly; The Protestant minister Passa prayed with him. ■ Ferre jumped from bed at a bound, was half an hour dressing,' arid made a careful toilette. He declined, but notifudely, "the"' Services of the prison chaplain, the Abbe. Follet. At half-past seven, three ambulance, car- " riages^commanded by Chef d'Escradron Cferiitz,"pr6ceeded^t6* Sartory. ""Six tfiou"sand troops were'pfes'e'riifbn the execution parade, and the sad task devolved on Colonel Merlin, who .condemned Rossel and Ferre, tosee his o'Wnjigentence carried out. The mormn'g^^_yery cold and foggy. Scarcely 1 fifty civilians were prer s'entj arid as they kept; outside .'the i lArtfe military' square, they could see" nothing. Three postsj 6ft. high ''and- 20 i yards apart, were 'erected opposite the ? artillery butts. Against each , .of . these posts a prisoner' was ■ placed^ Rossel :, on 't^e' jjet,f t, Bourgeoisiii the centre; 'and Ferfe' brithb right. -By what may bec'alled/eitKerCa'refinement of cruelty or an exemplary retribution, the firing party selected to shoot Rossel were men: of. his own ; .iegiment. The prisoners were not' tied, ijp-tne posts, but stood erect, with their backs againsl them.- Ferre puffed a- pigar rabidly the Registrar read the judgniehtr' ! Rb'ssel begged leave tp give the command to f^re, but wais ; refused. ' He tbe n .asked: to be aUowed, to shake hands with an old friend, an artillery officer,; ■■ This request was, also refused,;: He -then threw off his hat and ■paletot, :;■ and' r suffered his : eyes to, '.ha bandaged, and rubbed his bands' to keep them warm. Bourgeois was also bandaged, but Ferre said he could look death in the face, and no handkerchief was put onJiiiri. As. the soldiers fired, thirty-six shots went off at once ; Rossel fell backwards, quite dead. Ferre, whom several balls missed, twisted about in agony, and was finished by a shot close to his ear. l: -the' cottp de grace was also given to Bourgeois. •Then, pursuant' to a shocking custom^ the re.gim.ents marcheft ! pas* the ' bleeding corpses, the bands playing polkas %^4 opera tunes.. -The bodies of Rossel arid Ferre were claimed,' arid' giveri'up' to their : families. Bourgeois, alone was interred in one of three graves dug ; in Saint Louis Cemetery." ' ' ; '!'.^'^ .