RIOTS IN FRANCE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 279, 18 April 1911, Page 5

RIOTS IN FRANCE

THE POSITIOX SUMMARISED. INDECISION OF AUTHORITIES. By Cable —Press Association—Copvriifht. London, April 14. Tlie Paris correspondent of the Times states that the Senate under pressure from Aube declared against all delimitation. The Chamber of Deputies, under the impulsion of Marne rioters, supports the Government, which is inclined to yield to the greatest and most recent pressure. The seriousness of the situation lies in the fact that large sections of the masses are convinced that the proper way to influence public opinion in Parliament and the Government is to indulge in violence. The partisans of sabotage scarcely fear the arm of the law or the military as they are confident tnat M. Jaures (the Socialist leader) and his friends will keep the action of both the law and the military within bounds. The question is how long Frenchmen will go about their daily business on these terms, in horror of increasing lawlessness, which possibly some day will exceed that existing at present, from the widespread horror of reaction. The 20,000 troops occupying Marne were mobilised 48 hours too late. Winegrowers' losses are estimated at £250,000. The authorities have been enjoined to restore order at all costs. A MANIFESTO. A PECULIAR POSITION. Paris, April 14. Senators and deputies for the Department of Marne conferred with the Winegrowers' Federation. The latter then issued a manifesto attributing the worst incidents to anarchists, also to the ineitations of a cyclist falsely representing himself as an emissary of the Federation Committees. The manifesto appeals to vine-dressers to await the coming solution. It is understood that the vines are considerably affected by blight, foreshadowing a poor vintage year. The smaller wine-growers in Marne are suffering from a series of bad harvests, and their estates are heavily mortgaged. They sell their products to big firms which enjoy a reputation for genuine Marne champagne, hence they are of one mind with the latter, and the cellarmen, in supporting delimitation of the. champagne district,, are violently protesting against abrogation or revision of the present conditions. TOTAL LOSSES £750,000. AN ANARCHIST PLOT. RIOTERS CONVERGING ON RHEIMS. Received 16, 5.5 p.m. Paris, April 15. Dubois and Laboehe, ringleaders in the recent riots, have been arrested. M. Azala and some other wine shippers have decided to quit the country. Azala's losses were £'200,000. The total losses amount to £750,000. Papers seized at Venteuil indicate that the disorders were the outcome of a plot, emanating, it is supposed, from Parisian anarchist quarters. Minor demonstrations have been made at various points. The strategic approaches to Rheims arc now closely guarded. Many bodies of rioters are converging on the "city. Artillery are protecting the champagne depots. MORE SABOTAGE. MILITARY CHARGE WITH SWORDS. Received 17. 7 p.m. Paris, April 16. Vine dressers at Trepail barricaded the village, and pillaged the residence of a wine merchant. Soldiers demolished the barricades, and, being ordered to stop the devastation, charged with swords. Fiftv acres of vines belonging to Moet Chandon were uprooted at Vernegav. Fifty arrests have been made in the disturbed area. A FOREST ON FIRE. BALL CARTRIDGE SERVED. By Cable —Press Association—Copyright Received 17, 0.25 p.m. Paris, April 17. There is a general calm in the winegrowing districts, except in Fontainsuray, where the forest has been set afire. Ball cartridges have been served to 20,000 troops in the Epernay district,' and a cordon drawn around Ay. Troops have been ordered to butt-end trespassers. Several rioters are in the hospital, and stables and schools have been converted into barracks.