Amiens, Jan. 30, 1795.
Delacroix, author of "Les Conſtitutions Politiques de l'Europe," [The Political Conſtitutions of Europe.] has lately publiſhed a work much read, and which has excited the diſpleaſure of the Aſſembly ſo highly, that the writer, by way of preliminary criticiſm, has been arreſted. The book is intitled "Le Spectateur Francais pendant la Revolution." [The French Spectator during the Revolution.] It contains many truths, and ſome ſpeculations very unfavourable both to republicaniſm and itſ founders. It ventures to doubt the free acceptance of the democratic conſtitution, propoſes indirectly the reſtoration of the monarchy, and dilates with great compoſure on a plan for tranſporting to America all the Deputies who voted for the King's death. The popularity of the work, ſtill more than its principles, has contributed to exaſperate the Aſſembly; and ſerious apprehenſions are entertained for the fate of Delacroix, who is ordered for trial to the Revolutionary Tribunal.
It would aſtoniſh a ſuperficial obſerver to ſee with what avidity all forbidden doctrines are read. Under the Church and Monarchy, a deiſtical or republican author might ſometimes acquire proſelytes, or become the favourite amuſement of faſhionable or literary people; but the circulation of ſuch works could be only partial, and amongſt a particular claſs of readers: whereas the treaſon of the day, which compriſeſ whatever favours Kings or religion, is underſtood by the meaneſt individual, and the temptation to theſe prohibited enjoyments is aſſiſted both by affection and prejudice.—An almanack, with a pleaſantry on the Convention, or a couplet in behalf of royaliſm, is handed myſteriouſly through half a town, and a brochure [A pamphlet.] of higher pretenſions, though on the ſame principles, is the very bonne bouche of our political gourmandſ. [Gluttons.]
There is, in fact, no liberty of the preſs. It is permitted to write againſt Barrere or the Jacobins, becauſe they are no longer in power; but a ſingle word of diſreſpect towards the Convention is more certain of being followed by a Lettre de Cachet, than a volume of ſatire on any of Louis the Fourteenth's miniſters would have been formerly. The only period in which a real freedom of the preſs has exiſted in France were thoſe years of the late King's reign immediately preceding the revolution; and either through the contempt, ſupineneſs, or worſe motives, of thoſe who ſhould have checked it, it exiſted in too great a degree: ſo that deiſts and republicans were permitted to corrupt the people, and undermine the government without reſtraint.*
* It is well known that Calonne encouraged libels on the Queen, to obtain credit for his zeal in ſuppreſſing them; and the culpable vanity of Necker made made him but too willing to raiſe his own reputation on the wreck of that of an unſuſpecting and unfortunate Monarch.
After the fourteenth of July 1789, political literature became more ſubject to mobs and the lanterne, than ever it had been to Miniſters and Baſtilles; and at the tenth of Auguſt 1792, every veſtige of the liberty of the preſs diſappeared.*—
* "What impartial man among us muſt not be forced to acknowledge, that ſince the revolution it has become dangerous for any one, I will not ſay to attack the government, but to emit opinions contrary to thoſe which the government has adopted." Diſcours de Jean Bon St. Andre ſur la Liberte de la Preſſe, 30th April, 1795. A law was paſſed on the firſt of May, 1795, a ſhort time after thiſ letter was written, making it tranſportation to vilify the National Repreſentation, either by words or writing; and if the offence were committed publicly, or among a certain number of people, it became capital.
—Under the Briſſotins it was fatal to write, and hazardous to read, any work which tended to exculpate the King, or to cenſure his deſpotiſm, and the maſſacres that accompanied and followed it.*—
* I appeal for the confirmation of this to every perſon who reſided in France at that period.
—During the time of Robeſpierre the ſame ſyſtem was only tranſmitted to other hands, and would ſtill prevail under the Moderates, if their tyranny were not circumſcribed by their weakneſs. It was ſome time before I ventured to receive Freron's Orateur du Peuple by the poſt. Even pamphlets written with the greateſt caution are not to be procured without difficulty in the country; and this is not to be wondered at when we recollect how many people have loſt their lives through a ſubſcription to a newſpaper, or the poſſeſſion of ſome work, which, when they purchaſed it, was not interdicted.
As the government has lately aſſumed a more civilized caſt, it waſ expected that the anniverſary of the King's death would not have been celebrated. The Convention, however, determined otherwiſe; and their muſical band was ordered to attend as uſual on occaſions of feſtivity. The leader of the band had perhaps ſenſe and decency enough to ſuppoſe, that if ſuch an event could poſſibly be juſtified, it never could be a ſubject of rejoicing, and therefore made choice of melodies rather tender than gay. But this Lydian mood, far from having the mollifying effect attributed to it by Scriblerus, threw ſeveral Deputies into a rage; and the conductor was reprimanded for daring to inſult the ears of the legiſlature with ſtrains which ſeemed to lament the tyrant. The affrighted muſician begged to be heard in his defence; and declaring he only meant, by the adoption of theſe gentle airs, to expreſs the tranquillity and happineſs enjoyed under the republican conſtitution, ſtruck off Ca Ira.
When the ceremony was over, one Brival propoſed, that the young King ſhould be put to death; obſerving that inſtead of the many uſeleſs crimeſ which had been committed, this ought to have had the preference. The motion was not ſeconded; but the Convention, in order to defeat the purpoſes of the royaliſts, who, they ſay, increaſe in number, have ordered the Committees to conſider of ſome way of ſending this poor child out of the country.
When I reflect on the event which theſe men have ſo indecently commemorated, and the horrors which ſucceeded it, I feel ſomething more than a deteſtation for republicaniſm. The undefined notions of liberty imbibed from poets and hiſtorians, fade away—my reverence for names long conſecrated in our annals abateſ—and the ſole object of my political attachment is the Engliſh conſtitution, as tried by time and undeformed by the experiments of viſionaries and impoſtors. I begin to doubt either the ſenſe or honeſty of moſt of thoſe men who are celebrated as the promoters of changes of government which have chiefly been adopted rather with a view to indulge a favourite theory, than to relieve a people from any acknowledged oppreſſion. A wiſe or good man would diſtruſt hiſ judgment on a ſubject ſo momentous, and perhaps the beſt of ſuch reformers were but enthuſiaſts. Shafteſbury calls enthuſiaſm an honeſt paſſion; yet we have ſeen it is a very dangerous one: and we may perhapſ learn, from the example of France, not to venerate principles which we do not admire in practice.*
* I do not imply that the French Revolution was the work of enthuſiaſts, but that the enthuſiaſm of Rouſſeau produced a horde of Briſſots, Marats, Robeſpierres, &c. who ſpeculated on the affectation of it. The Abbe Sieyes, whoſe views were directed to a change of Monarchs, not a diſſolution of the monarchy, and who in promoting a revolution did not mean to found a republic, haſ ventured to doubt both the political genius of Rouſſeau, and the honeſty of his ſectaries. Theſe truths from the Abbe are not the leſs ſo for our knowing they would not be avowed if it anſwered hiſ purpoſe to conceal them.—"Helaſ! un ecrivain juſtement celebre qui ſeroit mort de douleur ſ'il avoit connu ſes diſciples; un philoſophe auſſi parfait de ſentiment que foible de vues, n'a-t-il pas dans ſeſ pages eloquentes, riches en detail, pauvre au fond, confondu lui-meme les principes de l'art ſocial avec les commencemens de la ſociete humaine? Que dire ſi l'on voyait dans un autre genre de mechaniques, entreprendre le radoub ou la conſtruction d'un vaiſſeau de ligne avec la ſeule theorie, avec les ſeules reſources deſ Sauvages dans la conſtruction de leurs Pirogueſ!"—"Alaſ! has not a juſtly-celebrated writer, who would have died with grief, could he have known what diſciples he was deſtined to have;—a philoſopher aſ perfect in ſentiment as feeble in his views,—confounded, in hiſ eloquent pageſ—pages which are as rich in matter as poor in ſubſtance—the principles of the ſocial ſyſtem with the commencement of human ſociety? What ſhould we ſay to a mechanic of a different deſcription, who ſhould undertake the repair or conſtruction of a ſhip of the line, without any practical knowledge of the art, on mere theory, and with no other reſources than thoſe which the ſavage employs in the conſtruction of his canoe?" Notices ſur la Vie de Sieyes.
What had France, already poſſeſſed of a conſtitution capable of rendering her proſperous and happy, to do with the adoration of Rouſſeau'ſ ſpeculative ſyſtems? Or why are the Engliſh encouraged in a traditional reſpect for the manes of republicans, whom, if living, we might not improbably conſider as factious and turbulent fanatics?*
* The prejudices of my countrymen on this ſubject are reſpectable, and I know I ſhall be deemed guilty of a ſpecies of political ſacrilege. I attack not the tombs of the dead, but the want of conſideration for the living; and let not thoſe who admire republican principles in their cloſets, think themſelves competent to cenſure the opinions of one who has been watching their effectſ amidſt the diſaſters of a revolution.
Our ſlumbers have for ſome time been patriotically diſturbed by the danger of Holland; and the taking of the Maeſtricht nearly cauſed me a jaundice: but the French have taught us philoſophy—and their conqueſtſ appear to afford them ſo little pleaſure, that we ourſelves hear of them with leſs pain. The Convention were indeed, at firſt, greatly elated by the diſpatches from Amſterdam, and imagined they were on the eve of dictating to all Europe: the churches were ordered to toll their only bell, and the gaſconades of the bulletin were uncommonly pompouſ—but the novelty of the event has now ſubſided, and the conqueſt of Holland excites leſs intereſt than the thaw. Public ſpirit is abſorbed by private neceſſities or afflictions; people who cannot procure bread or firing, even though they have money to purchaſe it, are little gratified by reading that a pair of their Deputies lodged in the Stadtholder'ſ palace; and the triumphs of the republic offer no conſolation to the families which it has pillaged or diſmembered.
The mind, narrowed and occupied by the little cares of hunting out the neceſſaries of life, and evading the reſtraints of a jealous government, is not ſuſceptible of that lively concern in diſtant and general eventſ which is the effect of eaſe and ſecurity; and all the recent victorieſ have not been able to ſooth the diſcontents of the Pariſians, who are obliged to ſhiver whole hours at the door of a baker, to buy, at an extravagant price, a trifling portion of bread.
* "Chacun ſe concentre aujourdhui dans ſa famille et calcule ſeſ reſources."—"The attention of every one now is confined to hiſ family, and to the calculation of his reſources." Diſcours de Lindet. "Accable du ſoin d'etre, et du travail de vivre."—"Overwhelmed with the care of exiſtence, and the labour of living." St. Lambert
—The impreſſion of theſe ſucceſſes is, I am perſuaded, alſo diminiſhed by conſiderations to which the philoſopher of the day would allow no influence; yet by their aſſimilation with the Deputies and Generals whoſe names are ſo obſcure as to eſcape the memory, they ceaſe to inſpire that mixed ſentiment which is the reſult of national pride and perſonal affection. The name of a General or an Admiral ſerves as the epitome of an hiſtorical relation, and ſuffices to recall all his glories, and all his ſervices; but this ſort of enthuſiaſm is entirely repelled by an account that the citizens Gillet and Jourbert, two repreſentatives heard of almoſt for the firſt time, have taken poſſeſſion of Amſterdam.
I enquired of a man who was ſawing wood for us this morning, what the bells clattered for laſt night. "L'on m'a dit (anſwered he) que c'eſt pour quelque ville que quelque general de la republique a priſe. Ah! ca nous avancera beaucoup; la paix et du pain, je crois, ſera mieux notre affaire que toutes ces conquetes." ["They ſay its for ſome town or other, that ſome general or other has taken.—Ah! we ſhall get a vaſt deal by that—a peace and bread, I think, would anſwer our purpoſe better than all theſe victories.">[ I told him he ought to ſpeak with more caution. "Mourir pour mourir, [One death's as good as another.] (ſayſ he, half gaily,) one may as well die by the Guillotine as be ſtarved. My family have had no bread theſe two days, and becauſe I went to a neighbouring village to buy a little corn, the peaſants, who are jealouſ that the town's people already get too much of the farmers, beat me ſo that I am ſcarce able to work."*—
* "L'interet et la criminelle avarice ont fomente et entretenu deſ germes de diviſion entre les citoyens des villes et ceux deſ campagnes, entre les cultivateurs, les artiſans et les commercans, entre les citoyens des departements et diſtricts, et meme deſ communes voiſines. On a voulu ſ'iſoler de toutes parts." Diſcours de Lindet. "Self-intereſt and a criminal avarice have fomented and kept alive the ſeeds of diviſion between the inhabitants of the towns and thoſe of the country, between the farmer, the mechanic, and the trader— the like has happened between adjoining towns and diſtrictſ—an univerſal ſelfiſhneſs, in ſhort, has prevailed." Lindet's Speech. This picture, drawn by a Jacobin Deputy, is not flattering to republican fraternization.
—It is true, the wants of the lower claſſes are afflicting. The whole town has, for ſome weeks, been reduced to a nominal half pound of bread a day for each perſon—I ſay nominal, for it has repeatedly happened, that none has been diſtributed for three days together, and the quantity diminiſhed to four ounces; whereas the poor, who are uſed to eat little elſe, conſume each, in ordinary times, two pounds daily, on the loweſt calculation.
We have had here a brutal vulgar-looking Deputy, one Florent-Guyot, who has harangued upon the virtues of patience, and the magnanimity of ſuffering hunger for the good of the republic. This doctrine has, however, made few converts; though we learn, from a letter of Florent-Guyot's to the Aſſembly, that the Amienois are excellent patriots, and that they ſtarve with the beſt grace poſſible.
You are to underſtand, that the Repreſentatives on miſſion, who deſcribe the inhabitants of all the towns they viſit as glowing with republicaniſm, have, beſides the ſervice of the common cauſe, views of their own, and are often enabled by theſe fictions to adminiſter both to their intereſt and their vanity. They ingratiate themſelves with the ariſtocrats, who are pleaſed at the imputation of principles which may ſecure them from perſecution—they ſee their names recorded on the journals; and, finally, by aſcribing theſe civic diſpoſitions to the power of their own eloquence, they obtain the renewal of an itinerant delegation—which, it may be preſumed, is very profitable.