The club held many extra meetings and discussions, but every effort that was made by its members met with furious opposition in the Assembly. At last, in desperation, they resolved to write and despatch an address to the King, pointing out to him the deplorable state of the Colony, and appealing for his intervention. The address, which was probably the work of Cormier, after having depicted the calamities which were overwhelming Saint-Domingo, hinted at the cause of these woes; they were (it pointed out) a direct sequence from the recent Decrees of the Assembly.
“For three years it has been the untiring aim of the Assembly to sow broadcast in our midst the seeds of trouble and revolt. In vain we multiply our efforts to escape their snares; and now a society founded by foreigners and cranks for our ruin and the humiliation of France, and using ignorance and credulity for its pernicious ends, is inundating us with incendiary writings, and flaunting its emissaries in our very workshops.”
The planters, for all their impassioned denunciation, had proved powerless to avert the detested action of the Friends of the Blacks; therefore they now brought the King to take their part.
“Our cause is that of all the American Colonies; our cause is that of French Commerce, which must inevitably be ruined if we are ruined; our cause is that of the creditors of the State, whom these events will bring to bankruptcy; our cause is that of six millions of men employed directly or indirectly in the navigation, the commerce, and the victualling of the Colonies; our cause is that of the monarchy, which will lose all splendour when we are no longer wealthy, which will lose all power on the sea if we are to perish. Sire, you are the Supreme Head of the Executive, you are the preserver of the Public Peace, and the guardian of the public rights. We beseech your Majesty to take the French Colonies under your protection. We beseech you, while our total ruin is not yet consummated, to oppose your authority to the new designs of these men, who will never be satisfied until they have filled our cup of misery to the brim. We ask for powerful aid for our almost despairing brethren; we ask for the most searching inquiries, and the most elaborate justice upon the authors of these cabals.”
There were a hundred signatures of Colonists and members of the club to this bold and convincing manifesto of Cormier’s, when it was read at the session of November. First, it “was decided to print 3000 copies to be sent broadcast throughout France.”
On the next day, Wednesday, towards eleven o’clock a.m., a group of black-garbed men assembled at the Tuileries Palace, in the Hall of the Nobles. As each arrived, he was presented by one of their party—a broad-shouldered, energetic-looking personage—to a gentleman before whom each bowed respectfully: this was M. Bertrand de Molleville, Minister of the King, and head of the Naval Department. The men thus severally presented to him were none other than the members of the Massiac Club, headed by their President, M. Cormier. When every one had arrived, they set off towards the Royal apartments. The King was in his study. The Colonists were permitted to enter, and were then presented one after the other to His Majesty, after which Cormier began to speak:—
“Sire, the news from Saint-Domingo has caused consternation among the Colonists of that unhappy land. But confident of your Majesty’s sentiments towards them, and assured of that fatherly solicitude of which France has already enjoyed so many touching evidences, they have set forth their fears and their desires in the address which they have the honour to present to you. They implore your Majesty’s gracious consideration of it.”
The King, when he had been informed of the calamitous events in the Colony, tried, in a voice full of emotion, to calm the anxiety which he saw in every face. “I still hope, gentlemen,” he said to them, “that the evils are not so great as rumour would have them. I shall see that all measures are taken to give powerful help to the Colonists in the shortest possible time.” And in speaking privately to one or two of the delegates he reaffirmed these promises of succour.
Their business finished, the planters were about to withdraw, when somebody suggested a further appeal, this time to the Queen. The proposal was eagerly acclaimed, and Count de Duras brought almost directly an affirmative reply. Without going back to the courtyard, but by way of the Royal apartments, the visitors were conducted to the ground-floor, and found themselves in presence of the Queen. Cormier spoke—
“Madame, in our time of great misfortune, we felt the need of seeing your Majesty, that by so doing we might both find consolation and study an example of lofty courage.”