Page:The Rise and Fall on the Paris Commune in 1871.djvu/305

 tried the Lieutenant-Colonel, Daviot, and Commandant Vanostat of the 115th battalion of the National Guard, for having, without any superior orders, abandoned their posts at the Convent of Issy, thereby allowing the position to be occupied by the enemy. It appeared that the battalion was seized with a panic and took to flight towards Paris; it had lost twenty-six men the night before in an attack badly conducted, and had become sadly disorganized. The two prisoners attempted to stop the men, but without effect; and, finding that they could not induce them to return, had at last yielded to the current, and proceeded themselves towards the gates of the city. Several witnesses deposed to the general good conduct and courage of the prisoners, but the court condemned Daviot to fifteen years, and Vanostat to ten years imprisonment; further, it ordered that the 115th battalion be struck off the list, and the men drafted into other bodies of the same force.

A proclamation was published announcing that the Central Committee had, on the proposition of the Committee of Public Safety, and with the approval of the Commune, undertaken the Administration of War since the 19th.

M. Mortier, a member of the Commune, proposed the abolition of religious worship in all churches, and expressed the wish that they might be only opened for lecturing on Atheism and annihilating old prejudices.

Reports were spread throughout the city on the evening of the 20th that Fort Montrouge had been evacuated. The Central Committee ordered larger numbers of troops and quantities of matériel to be dispatched to the threatened points. Several members of the Commune had also left for the advanced posts among the troops. There was something in the air which presaged immediate danger.

While the Commune of Paris was excited by a forebod