3-034-788 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Scene in a cabaret in the north of France, 1871. '...orders were issued by the Minister of the Interior...[compelling] public-house keepers to stop the practice of laying written petitions or memorials on their tables for signature. The motive of this decree was probably the consideration of some danger to the public peace which might arise from tolerating the heady mixture of stern appeals to democracy...with the consumption of such intoxicating fluids as cognac, absinthe, or...wine...[Here] two gendarmes [have] come in...to enforce the removal of the objectionable paper from the tap-room, where three or four sturdy Republican citizens, deliberating over their glasses and pipes on the affairs of the nation, seem disposed to resent this official interference. Their host...is doubly perplexed by the fear of displeasing his customers if he shows a lack of civil courage, and by the menace of having his license withdrawn, and his establishment summarily closed, if he does not instantly obey the command of the Versailles Government. His goodwife...is not afraid to point to the title, "French Republic," at the head of M. Thiers's proclamation..., and to ask those...minions of power whether they think it proper...to put down the right of petition'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.