The Commune of Paris is strongly suspected of intending to
establish a Reign of Terror. The evidence as yet adduced of this design is, however, insufficient, though the Com- mune has gone far beyond the limits usual in a state of siege. Not only has it arrested " suspects," which a regular government does in dangerous times, but it has sequestrated the houses of M. Thiers, M. Picard, and other members of the Government, has decreed the seizure of Church property—and executed the decree by plundering the Madeleine and other churches—has arrested the Archbishop of Paris and several eminent clergymen to hold them as hostages for its men when taken prisoners,—a step not excused even by the facts, as the Generals of the Assembly shoot only mutineers. It has farther decreed a levee en masse, prohibited the emigration of men under 35, and threatened to treat all opponents as traitors. It will pro- bably fall under the control of the Enrages, and begin executions on a great scale ; but it has not as yet quite lost its head, and life in Paris goes on much as usual, except that there is no work.
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