"That massacre of Trafalgar Square began the civil war， though， like all such events， it gathered head slowly， and people scarcely knew what a crisis they were acting in.""Terrible as the massacre was， and hideous and overpowering as the first terror had been， when the people had time to think about it， their feeling was one of anger rather than fear； although the military organisation of the state of siege was now carried out without shrinking by the clever young general. For though the ruling-classes when the news spread next morning felt one gasp of horror and even dread， yet the Government and their immediate backers felt that now the wine was drawn and must be drunk. However， even the most reactionary of the capitalist papers， with two exceptions， stunned by the tremendous news， simply gave an account of what had taken place， without making any comment upon it. The exceptions were one， a so-called `liberal' paper (the Government of the day was of that complexion)， which， after a preamble in which it declared its undeviating sympathy with the cause of labor， proceeded to point out that in times of revolutionary disturbance it behooved the government to be just but firm， and that by far the most merciful way of dealing with the poor madmen who were attacking the very foundations of society (which had made them mad and poor) was to shoot them at once， so as to stop others from drifting into a position in which they would run a chance of being shot. In short， it praised the determined action of the Government as the _acm巁 of human wisdom and mercy， and exulted in the inauguration of an epoch of reasonable democracy free from the tyrannical fads of Socialism.""The other exception was a paper thought to be one of the most violent opponents of democracy， and so it was； but the editor of it found his manhood， and spoke for himself and not for his paper. In a few simple， indignant words he asked people to consider what a society was worth which had to be defended by the massacre of unarmed citizens， and called on the Government to withdraw their state of siege and put the general and his officers who fired on the people on their trial for murder. He went further， and declared that whatever his opinion might be as to the doctrine of the Socialists， he for one should throw in his lot with the people， until the Government atoned for their atrocity by showing that they were prepared to listen to the demands of men who knew what they wanted， and whom the decrepitude of society forced into pushing their demands in some way or other.""Of course， this editor was immediately arrested by the military power； but his bold words were already in the hands of the public， and produced a great effect： so great an effect that the Government， after some vacillation， withdrew the state of siege； though at the same time it strengthened the military organisation and made it more stringent.
Three of the Committee for Public Safety had been slain in Trafalgar Square： of the rest， the greater part went back to their old place of meeting， and there awaited the event calmly. They were arrested there on the Monday morning， and would have been shot at once by the general， who was a mere military machine， if the Government had not shrunk before the responsibility of killing men without any trial.
There was at first a talk of trying them by a special commission of judges， as it was called--_i.e._， before a set of men bound to find them guilty and whose business it was to do so. But with the Government the cold fit had succeeded to the hot one； and the prisoners were brought before a jury at the assizes. There a fresh blow awaited the Government； for in spite of the judge's charge， which distinctly instructed the jury to find the prisoners guilty， they were acquitted， and the jury added to their verdict a presentment， in which they condemned the action of the soldiery， in the queer phraseology of the day， as `rash， unfortunate， and unnecessary'. The Committee of Public Safety renewed its sittings， and from thence-forth was a popular rallying-point in opposition to the Parliament. The Government now gave way on all sides， and made a show of yielding to the demands of the people， though there was a widespread plot for effecting a _coup d'巘at_ set on foot between the leaders of the two so-called opposing parties in the parliamentary faction fight. The well-meaning part of the public was overjoyed， and thought that all danger of a civil war was over. The victory of the people was celebratedd by huge meetings held in the parks and elsewhere， in memory of the victims of the massacre.""But the measures passed for the relief of the workers， though to the upper classes they seemed ruinously revolutionary， were not thorough enough to give the people food and a decent life and they had to be supplemented by unwritten enactments wiithout legality to back them.