The Departments.
I.
Provence in 1792. -- Early supremacy of the Jacobins in Marseilles. --Composition of the party. -- The club and the municipality. --Expulsion of the "Earnest" regiment.
Should you like to see the revolutionary tree when， for the first time， it came fully into leaf， it is in the department of the Bouches-du-Rh？ne you have to look. Nowhere else had it been so precocious， nowhere were local circumstances and native temperament so well adapted to enhance its growth. -- " A blistering sky， an excessive climate， an arid soil， rocks， . . . savage rivers， torrential or dry or overburdened，" blinding dust， nerves upset by steady northern blasts or by the intermittent gusts of the sirocco. A sensual race choleric and impetuous， with no intellectual or moral ballast， in which the mixture of Celt and Latin has destroyed the humane suavity of the Celt and the serious earnestness of the Roman； "complete， tough， powerful， and restless men，"[1] and yet gay， spontaneous， eloquent， dupes of their own bombast， suddenly carried away by a flow of words and superficial enthusiasm. Their principal city numbering 120，000 souls， in which commercial and maritime risks foster innovating and adventurous spirits； in which the sight of suddenly-acquired fortunes expended on sensual enjoyments constantly undermines all stability of Character； in which politics， like speculation， is a lottery offering its prizes to audacity； besides all this， a free port and a rendezvous for lawless nomads， disreputable people， without steady trade，[2] scoundrels， and blackguards， who， like uprooted， decaying seaweed， drift from coast to coast around the entire circle of the Mediterranean sea； a veritable sink filled with the dregs of twenty corrupt and semi-barbarous civilizations， where the scum of crime cast forth from the prisons of Genoa， Piedmont， Sicily， indeed， of all Italy， of Spain， of the Archipelago， and of Barbary，3accumulates and ferments.2 No wonder that， in such a time the reign of the mob should be established there sooner than elsewhere.[3] -- After many an explosion， this reign is inaugurated August 17， 1790， by the removal of M. Lieutaud， a sort of bourgeois， moderate Lafayette， who commands the National Guard. Around him rally a majority of the population， all men "honest or not， who have anything to lose."[4]
After he is driven out， then proscribed， then imprisoned， they resign themselves， and Marseilles belongs to the low class， to 40，000destitute and rogues led by the club.
The better to ensure their empire， the municipality， one month after the expulsion of M. Lieutaud， declared every citizen "active" who had any trade or profession[5]； the consequence is that vagabonds attend the meetings of the sections in contempt of constitutional law. The consequence， was that property-owners and commercial men withdrew， which was wise on their part， for the usual demagogic machinery is set in motion without delay. "Each section-assembly is composed of a dozen factious spirits， members of the club， who drive out honest people by displaying cudgels and bayonets. The deliberations are prepared beforehand at the club， in concert with the municipality， and woe to him who refuses to adopt them at the meeting！ They go so far as to threaten citizens who wish to make any remarks with instant burial in the cellars under the churches."[6] The argument proved irresistible： "the majority of honest people are so frightened and so timid" that not one of them dare attend these meetings， unless protected by public force. "More than 80，000 inhabitants do not sleep peacefully，" while all the political rights are vested in "five or six hundred individuals，" legally disqualified. Behind them marches the armed rabble， "the horde of brigands without a country，"[7] always ready for plundering， murder， and hanging. In front of them march the local authorities， who， elected through their influence， carry on the administration under their guidance. Patrons and clients， members of the club and its satellites， they form a league which plays the part of a sovereign State， scarcely recognizing， even in words， the authority of the central government.[8] The decree by which the National Assembly gives full power to the Commissioners to re-establish order is denounced as plébécide； these conscientious and cautious moderators are qualified as "dictators"； they are denounced in circular letters to all the municipalities of the department， and to all Jacobin clubs throughout the kingdom；[9] the club is somewhat disposed to go to Aix to cut off their heads and send them in a trunk to the president of the National Assembly， with a threat that the same penalty awaits himself and all the deputies if they do not revoke their recent decrees. A few days after this， four sections draw up an act before a notary， stating the measures they had taken towards sending an army of 6，000 men from Marseilles to Aix， to get rid of the three intruders. The commissioners dare not enter Marseilles， where "gibbets are ready for them， and a price set on their heads." It is as much as they can do to rescue from the faction M. Lieutaud and his friends， who， accused of lése-nation， confined without a shadow of proof， treated like mad dogs， put in chains，[10] shut up in privies and holes， and obliged to drink their own urine for lack of water， impelled by despair to the brink of suicide， barely escape murder a dozen times in the courtroom and in prison.[11] Against the decree of the National Assembly ordering their release， the municipality makes reclamations， contrives delays， resists， and finally stirs up its usual instruments. Just as the prisoners are about to be released a crowd of "armed persons without uniform or officer，" constantly increased "by vagabonds and foreigners，" gathers on the heights overlooking the Palais de Justice， and makes ready to fire on M.