Page:Ernest Belfort Bax - A Short History of the Paris Commune (1895).djvu/38

 32 seats through death, double elections, and resignations—were held. The change was very marked from the 26th of March. Instead of the 146,000 who had appeared at the polls in the same arrondissements on the previous occasion only 61,000 voted now. It was felt that all hope of peace was at an end, and that all who voted were voting for war to the knife with Versailles. The inactivity and vacillation of the Commune up to this time had also alienated many sympathisers.

After these elections, on the 19th, it was finally decided to issue a political programme. This programme which was supposed to be drawn up by a commission of five members was mainly the work of a journalist, Pierre Denis, assisted by Delescluze. The former, a writer in Jules Vallés Cri du Peuple, was fanatical on the question of federal autonomy, and this he managed to place in the forefront of the new declaration which demanded the recognition of the republic, and the autonomy of the township or commune (irrespective of its size) throughout France. In the first instance, however, it was only the autonomy of Paris which was called for. The rest of France was to follow suit as best it could. The rights of the Commune were defined as including the voting of the budget, of taxation, the organisation and control of the local services, magistracy, police, and education, the administration of communal wealth, &c., in short, to all intents complete autonomy. A central council of delegates from the various communes throughout France was referred to, but its functions were nowhere defined. It was apparently forgotten that without adequate safeguards such a council would have been a hopelessly reactionary body owing to the fact that the large majority of the small rural Communes would have voted under clerical influence. The idea was for the complete autonomy of Paris in all internal