Banquet in Gürzenich

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Cologne, March 20. Yesterday evening a banquet was held in Gürzenich to mark the anniversary of last year’s barricade batdes in Berlin. Whereas even at the bourgeois concert of March 18 “to celebrate the promise” of a Constitution etc. etc., the biggest hall of our city was fairly well filled, yesterday there was not room enough to hold half the public streaming towards it. While 5,000-6,000 persons stood crowded in the hall side by side, several thousand more tried in vain to get in. The hall had filled so rapidly that even a number of speakers succeeded only after 9 o’clock in forcing their way through.

Karl Schapper was in the chair and opened the meeting with a toast to the sovereign people, the sole source of all legal power. Further toasts were drunk as follows: H. Becker, to the memory of those who died on March 18 and 19; Citizen Wächter, to the improvement of the German Michel; Citizen Weyli. to the complete revolution, not an incomplete one; Citizen Ritlinghausen: to the downfall of the German Emperor; C. Cramer, to the democratic women present at our banquet; W. Wolff, editor of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung: to the Jiaiiati republics; E. Dronke, editor of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung, to the proletarian revolution; P. Nothjung. to the victory of the Magyars and Kossuth; H. Bürgers, editor of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung, to the eve» throw of Austria. F. Wolff, editor of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung. to the accused on triai in Bourges[1]; F. Engels, editor of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung, to the June insurgents in Paris; K. Schapper. to the English Chartists and their revolutionary leaders, Ernest Jones and G. J. Harney; Carl Cramer: to the Poles; Chr. Esser, editor of the Arbeiter-Zeitung[2] : to the Red Republic.

The banquet, which went off entirely peacefully and orderly, concluded at about 11 p.m. with unanimous cheers for the Red Republic. In contrast to the concert held by the wailers,[3] in Gürzenich on March 18, we are glad to note that never before has there been a festival in Cologne which has brought together such a numerous and at the same time so judicious a public as that at the banquet held yesterday evening under the auspices of the red flag.

  1. On the trial of Barbès, Blanqui, Raspail and other revolutionary leaders held in Bourges between March 7 and April 3, 1849, see Note 78.
  2. i.e. the newspaper Freiheit, Brüderlichkeit, Arbeit.—Ed.
  3. The reference is to the banquet organised by liberals and moderate democrats in Cologne to mark the anniversary of the revolution of March 18, 1848. Wailers — see Note 136.