Page:The Rise and Fall on the Paris Commune in 1871.djvu/46

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have the appearance of men bent on sustaining the proper authorities.

In the Faubourg St. Antoine numerous barricades were raised. One of the largest was in the Rue de Charonne, near the fountain; it was defended by several cannon from La Roquette, and was manned by National Guards. All circulation was prevented, and well-dressed people were obliged to shoulder a musket or be sent to work on some barricade; mounted gendarmes were obliged to surrender their horses and sabres. Barricades were erected on Rue Piat with one piece of cannon, on Rue Delamarre, Rue Godfrey, Rue de la Roquette, Rue de Flandres, Rue Vincent de Paul, Faubourg du Temple, Faubourg Saint Martin, Place de la Barrière Blanche, and several other points of importance.

In the course of the afternoon the following proclamation, addressed to the National Guards of the Seine, was posted up in Paris:


Paris, 18th March, 1871.

"The Government calls on you to defend your city, your homes, your property, and your families. Some misguided men, placing themselves above the law and obeying only a secret authority, are pointing against Paris the guns which have been saved from the Prussians. They are resisting by force the National Guard and the army. Will you permit such an act? Will you in sight of the foreigners, ready to take advantage of our disorders, abandon Paris to sedition? If you do not stifle it in the bud, the Republic will be lost, and perhaps France also! You have your future in your hands. The Government has allowed you to retain your arms. Take them up resolutely to re-establish the regime of the law, and to save the Republic from anarchy, which would be its ruin. Rally