A FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY MEETING.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VIII, Issue 1396, 11 August 1881, Page 2

A FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY MEETING.

Onk of the most extraordinary meetings pver held in France by the Revolutionary party has juat taken place at Lyons, under the auspices of Louise Michel, the amnestied Communist. About 2,000 persons, chiefly from the low district known as " Croix Rousse," were present. Citoyen Borda opened the proceedings by proposing the inaugurations of '» the equality system of meetings without a chairman," The motion was carried, but not without some opposition. The " Grande Citoyenne" then got on the platform, and delivered a long and violent harangue. She denounced in strong terms the false promises made by the Deputies to their conutituents, and cited the example of M. Andrieux, member for Lyons, who had become "the policeman of Russia as well as France. " After stigmatising the conduct of the Perfect of Police ana other officials, she exclaimed : " This state of things cannot last, We must

put a stop to it ; for we are not the valeta of the butchers, and when we raise our heads we shall crush theie monsters under our feet." Deafening applause and cheering greeted this sentiment. Then, raising her eyes to the ceiling and extending her arms in the attitude of a prophetess, she said : — " The people are marching straight to the Revolution. The time, I tell you, is near at hand, let us group together for we have the agony of the old world to support, and that agony will be terrible. At the burial of the martyr BLinqui, the venerated citizen, we unfurled the red flag. We were numerous on that occasion, and nobody dared to sty anything to us. It was under the shM"W of that flag that we bore the rw- - mains of the martyr to their last resting place. Let us group together, and we shall bo able to deliver ourselves from the filth in which those who govern us feral ; for there are vermin which cah Inot live without filth. The people must get rid of this mire, and take a bath afterwards, even if the bath be of blood," Enthusiastic plaudits and cries of '' Vive la Revolution !' here burst from the audience. Louise Michel next spoke of the Commune, of the 30,000 corpses, of the soldiers intoxicated with blood, of the priesthood in league with the Government, etc. "Why," she asked, "are you the slaves of priests and despots t Because you won't stir, and yet numbers are on your side. What have you gained since 1789 ? The Social Revolution still remains to be made. The men who govern are imbecile and rotten. We have only reactionary laws. The Chambers are more Royalist than those of Royalist countries. As for myself, if I come into the provincss it is to raise a ory ef appeal to the Revolution. We must act ; but let us first of all get rid of the lions and other wild beasts. The rest will follow. This tirade was welcomed with cries of " Vive la Commune ! " i( Vive la Revolution !" "A bas Gambetta ! " "A mort Andrieux ! " "Vive les Nihilistes ! " When the excitement had subsided, a little girl presented a blood-red wreath of flowers to Louise Michel, who raising it up to the audience, exclaimed in solemn tones " I swear before the people, and on this wreath, fidelity to the Revolution. He who just cried ' Vive les Nihilistes ! " forstalled my thoughts. Let us raise together our cry of revindication, as the Nihilists raise . theirs, under the gibbet—* Vive la Commune! ' " The meeting was brought to a close by the voting of a protest against the Tunisian expedition and the general policy of the Government.