taphor!

"The duty of the Commune is to affirm and determine the aspirations
and the views of the population of Paris; to fix precisely the
character of the movement of the 18th of March, misunderstood,
misinterpreted, and vilified by the men who sit at Versailles."

Ah, yes, that is the duty of the Commune, but for heaven's sake don't
keep us waiting, you see we are dying with impatience.

"Once more, Paris labours and suffers for the whole of France, and
by her combats and her sacrifices prepares the way for intellectual,
moral, administrative and economic regeneration, glory and
prosperity."

That is so true that since the Commune existed in Paris, the workshops
are closed, the factories are idle, and France, for whom the capital
sacrifices herself, loses something like fifty millions a day. These are
facts, it seems to me; and I don't see what the traitors of Versailles
can say in reply.

"What does Paris demand?"

Ah! yes, what does she ask? Truly we should not be sorry to know. Or
rather, what do you ask; for in the same way as Louis le Grand had the
right to say, "The State, I am the State," you may say "Paris, we are
Paris."

"Paris demands the recognition and the consolidation of the
Republic, the only form of government compatible with the rights of
the people, and the regular and free development of society."

This once you are right. Paris demands the Republic, and must yearn for
it eagerly indeed, since neither your excesses nor your follies have
succeeded in changing its mind.

"It demands the absolute entirety of the Commune extended to all the
localities of France, ensuring to everyone the integrity of its
rights, and to every Frenchman the free exercise of his faculties
and abilities as man, citizen, and workman. The rights of the
Commune should have no other limit, but the equal rights of all
other Communes adhering to the contract, an association which would
assure the unity of France."

This is a little obscure. What I understand is something like this. You
would make France a federation of Communes, but what is the meaning of
words "adherence to the contract?" You admit then that certain Communes
might refuse their adhesion. In that case what would be the situation
of these rebels? Would you leave them free? Or would you force them to
obey the conventions of the majority? Do you think it would be
sufficient, in