WHOLESALE DUELLING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6566, 2 December 1882, Page 2 (Supplement)

WHOLESALE DUELLING.

Undismayed by the fatal issue of the duel fought between M. de Mat.sas and M. Diehard, a radical paper in Paris is attempting to organize a series of encounters on a hitherto unprecedented scale. Ten ccmtributors to the Citoyen have, in fact, says the London Telegraph, sent collective and individual challenges to ten members of the staff of M. Henri Maret's paper, Le Radical. The circumstances under which the alleged necessity for this intended wholesale slaughter arose are worthy of explan:>tio>i. ; Citizen Godard, an anarchist by profession, at a recent public meeting alluded to the Citoyen as a mercenary orj;an. The fditor of the Citoyen retorted by calling Citizen Godard a fatted pit; and a police spy. Hereupon the latter took unto himself tive other anarchists, invaded the office of the Citoyen and attacked M. Guesde, the editor in chief. Assistance was at hand nnd, after a central struggle, the invading force was kicked flown stairs. M. Guesde, for some reason bent known to himself, chose to see in Citizen Godard, uot an affronted gentleman come to avenge the epithet of "fatted porcine," but an agent of another paper, i.e Radical, to whose editor M. Guesde forthwith .sent a challenge to fight, unless he wished to he treated rs "the lowest of cowards?." iJ. Henri Maret, the editor of the R-hlkml, refused to accept the responsibility of Citizen Godard's erratic and violent proceedings r.nd a note was inserted in the p:ip;.-r signed by j "The Staff," to the effect th:vt "the geniuses | of the Citizen were not in the hahit of challenging people who would be likely to i (icht them." At this aspersion on their j honour the staff of the Citizen rose like o:so i man. Each contributor singled out a writer on thestaffof the Radical, aud ten challenges, each supported.by two seconds, were forthwith sent to the office of the latter journ.il. • Here they met with a feriou.s check. Possibly the requisite number of seconds, 20 in all, were uot forthcoming at so short a notice, for even Parisian journalists do not keep two friends always with them to settle little matters of this kind. At any r-ite no terms wore arrived a;, nnd the Radical this morning ridicules tiie idea to ten or tw.-lve couples, if the two editors be included, sallying forth to battle attended by 4S seconds. Furthermore, the Radical reminds its adversary that two months rge- it insulted the Citoj'en without the challenge being taken up. Tilings have at preset reached this stage. Whether the ten fighting men of. the Citoyen will adopt the usual course and box the ears of an equal number of writers for the Radical remains to be seen. Meanwhile it is pointed out that if the proposed butchery really takes place the Champ de Mars will be required to accommodate such a host of principals and seconds.