Page:The Rise and Fall on the Paris Commune in 1871.djvu/124

 The Central Committee received a letter from Garibaldi thanking the members for the honor done him in offering him the command of the army of Paris, but declining the proffered post. In his letter he pointed out that a Commander of the National Guard, a General-in-Chief of the forces, and a Directing Committee, as they existed, were incompatible with the present situation of France; the advantage possessed by despotism was the concentration of power; and in a crisis like the existing one, a similar centralization should be opposed to the enemies of the Republic. He recommended them to choose a citizen such as Victor Hugo, Louis Blanc, Felix Pyat, Edgar Quinet, or some other of the democratic leaders—or even Generals Cremer or Billot, who appear to possess the confidence of the people; and to place the supreme power in a single hand. He added, that if France had the good fortune to find a Washington, she would speedily rise greater than ever.

The official organ of the insurgents published the following proclamation:

"Whereas the Government of Versailles is openly trampling under foot the rights of humanity and the laws of war, and has been guilty of atrocities such as have not even been perpetrated by the foreign invader, the Commune decrees as follows:

"Art. 1. All persons charged with complicity with the Government of Versailles shall be incarcerated.

"Art. 2. They shall be deferred within twenty-four hours to a jury of accusation.

"Art. 3. The jury shall give its judgment within twenty-four hours.

"Art. 4. All accused retained in custody by the verdict of the jury will be made the hostages of the people of Paris.

"Art. 5. The execution of a prisoner of war or of a par