V. 1789. in every direction, were extolling it to the skies. The CHAP. funeral obsequies of those who had fallen in the attack of the Bastille were celebrated with extraordinary pomp, in presence of an immense crowd of spectators. "It is the aristocracy," said the Abbé Fauchet, "which has crucified the Son of God!" This impious speech was received with unbounded applause. Vast crowds continually thronged the ruins of the Bastille, which already, by orders from the Hôtel de Ville, was in process of being demolished. The people were never weary of examining the dark vaults and gloomy corridors of that long-dreaded prison the stone couches, worn by continued lyingthe huge rings, to which chains had once been attached -the frightful implements of ancient torture, were surveyed with insatiable avidity. But meanwhile all work was at a stand, and the usual symptoms of division after success were apparent. Already murmurs were heard against the Electoral Assembly at the Hôtel de Villefrom some for having done too much, from others for having done too little provisions were beginning to be scarce; the people without work had no money to buy food; and so pressing did the danger become, that within four days after the Bastille had been taken, a provisional committee of sixty persons was appointed by the municipality to superintend the distribution of provisions, organise an urban guard, and establish a police; and to pay considerable sums of money to every workman who could produce a certificate of his having given up his arms and resumed his labour.1* 1 De Conny, Hist. de la Lac.iii.246. i. 144. Rév. ii. 6. Hist. Parl. 6. feed Paris But all the efforts of the provisional government at the Hôtel de Ville were unavailing: the money indeed was Efforts to got by the applicants, but it was on false certificates of prove insufthe arms having been given up: the people did not resume * "L'Assemblée des électeurs arrête - Qu'il sera formé un comité provisoire pour remplacer le comité permanent; qu'il sera composé de soixante membres élus dans son sein; et qu'il sera divisé en quatre bureaux; le premier de distribution, le second de police, le troisième des subsistences, le quatrième sera le comité militaire, dans lequel entreront les officiers d'état-major de la garde ficient. V. 1789. CHAP. their labours; and ere a few days had elapsed, the most pressing dangers, as well from anarchy as famine, were experienced. All the efforts of Moreau de St Méry, the new provost of the merchants, and of Bailly, who had been appointed mayor of Paris, proved inadequate to arrest the growing evils. The capital was in such a state of confusion, the disorder arising from so many co-existing authorities was so excessive-the supply of provisions so precarious the suspension of credit so universal-that the utmost exertions of Bailly and the magistrates were required to prevent the people from dying of famine in the streets. Tailors, shoemakers, bakers, blacksmiths, assembling at the Louvre, the Place Louis XV., and other quarters, deliberated on the public concerns, and set at defiance the Hôtel de Ville and the municipality. Night and day Bailly and the Committee of Public Subsistence were engaged in the herculean labour of providing for the wants of the citizens; the usual sources of supply had totally ceased with the public confusion; the farmers no longer brought their grain to market, fearing that it would be seized without payment by the sovereign multitude ; and the people, as the first consequence of their triumph, were on the point of perishing of famine. Every thing required to be provided for and done by the public authorities large quantities of grain were bought up by their agents in the country, and conducted into Paris, as if into a besieged city, in great convoys, guarded by regiments of horse. This grain was ground at the public expense, and sold at a reduced rate to the citizens; but such was the misery of the people, that all these measures would not suffice, and loud complaints that the citizens were starving nationale. Les Gardes Françaises demandent que l'on choisisse les futurs officiers parmi les sous-officiers et soldats du régiment. L'Assemblée arrêteQue les ouvriers sont invités à reprendre leurs travaux, et qu'en rapportant un certificat de leur maître ou chef-d'atelier, portant qu'ils ont repris leurs travaux, et un certificat de district, portant qu'ils ont déposé leurs armes dans le dépôt indiqué pour le district, il leur sera payé une somme de 9 francs."Extrait de Procès Verbal de la Commune- Paris, 18 Juillet 1789; Histoire Parlementaire, ii. 142. 1 V. 1789. incessantly assailed the Assembly. The loss sustained by CHAP. the municipality within a week after the taking of the Bastille, in thus feeding the people at a reduced rate, amounted to 18,000 francs (£720) a-day:* and yet such was the fury of the populace in consequence of the general want, that Deux great numbers of carts and stores were seized and pillaged 100. Bert. by clamorous and starving multitudes. All the efforts of 65, 67. the government could not supply the absence of that Thi. 111. perennial fountain of plenty and prosperity, which arises from general security and public confidence.1 Bailly, ii.96. thing can Notwithstanding all the vigour of the public authori- 7. ties, the distress of Paris, both as regarded the muni- Which nocipality and the citizens, soon became overwhelming. alleviate. Almost every species of manufacture was at a stand: purchases by the wealthy classes had totally ceased; and all the numerous artisans who depended on these, in that great mart of luxury and indulgence, were in the utmost straits. The popular magistrates were obliged to dissipate all the corporation funds at their disposal, and contract large debts, in order to provide for the necessities of the people, who had already fallen as a burden on the public funds. Above 2,500,000 francs (£100,000) were expended in this way by the municipality of Paris within a few months; but even this ample supply afforded only a temporary relief; and after exhausting their credit, and overwhelming with debt the public revenue, they were obliged to come to the National Assembly with the piteous tale that their resources were exhausted, and that Paris, as the first-fruits of its political regeneration, was on the verge of ruin.+ Meanwhile the people, feeling their * "D'abord la farine revenait le plus souvent au gouvernement à 90 francs le sac-ce qui donne le pain à 16 sous, 4 deniers, les 4 livres; en le donnant à 14 sous et demi, le gouvernement perdait donc deux sous pour 4 livres; à ce qui fait relativement à la consommation de Paris, environ 18,000 francs de perte par jour."-Mém. de BAILLY, ii. 96. + In July 1789," said M. Bailly, mayor of Paris, "the finances of the city of Paris were yet in good order; the expenditure was balanced by the receipts, and she had 1,000,000 francs (£40,000) in the bank. But the expenses she has been constrained to incur, subsequent to the Revolution, amount to 2,500,000 V. 1789. 1 Moniteur CHAP. wants continually increasing, loudly demanded the heads of the monopolisers who kept back the grain: one named Thomassin was seized by them near St Germain, and with difficulty saved from instant death when the rope was round his neck. The Assembly, glad to veil its weakness under the guise of moderation, was constrained, Lab.i.280, instead of vindicating the law, to limit itself to passing a Parl. ii. 146, vote of thanks to the Bishop of Chartres, who, by force of tears and entreaties, rescued the unhappy victim from his murderers when already at the foot of the scaffold.1 20th and 21st July 1789, p. 92. 281. Hist. 147. Bailly, ii. 86, 96. 8. Necessary institution of the Mu tic basis. It was sufficiently evident that this state of distress and anarchy could not be permitted to continue; and as the former authorities were wholly annihilated by the nicipality on prostration of the crown and the defection of the troops, there was no alternative but to organise an effective government at the Hôtel de Ville. But the municipality had no regular or paid force at its command: its strength was based entirely on the support of the multitude, and the co-operation of the great civic militia, which had sprung up as if by enchantment during the late insurrection. Thus the formation of a municipality on a purely democratic basis became a matter of necessity; and it arose so naturally from the circumstances in which men were placed, after the overthrow of the royal authority, that it excited very little attention. The electors, about three hundred in number, chosen to appoint the deputies to the States-general, who had at first organised the urban force at the Hôtel de Ville, were speedily alarmed at the magnitude of the responsibility which was thrown French Rev. upon them, when they beheld the disorders with which 1. 316, 317. they were surrounded; and gladly acceded to the prode la Com- position of their constituents, that each of the sixty elecParis, i. 65. toral districts of Paris should elect two deputies, who July 24. Procès Verb. mune de should form a temporary administration, and who, being francs (£100,000) in a single year. From these expenses, and the great falling off in the produce of the free gifts, not only a temporary, but a total want of money has taken place."-See BURKE'S Consid., Works, v. 431. V. 1789. the acknowledged representatives of the people, might CHAP. assume, in conformity with the new principles of government, a legitimate authority. Their number was afterwards raised to a hundred and eighty, and by a final decree, on 28th July, was fixed at three hundred. 9. Assemblies Munici These three hundred deputies formed the new municipality of Paris; but such was the jealousy which univer- The primary sally prevailed of all power, even when directly delegated begin to by the people, that, in order to control and compel them control the to bend to the popular will, each electoral district retained pality. its hall of assembly-the same where the first election of the deputies for the States-general had taken place-in which meetings of the whole primary electors were held almost every night to discuss public affairs, and constrain. the representatives at the Hotel de Ville to obey the popular voice. These primary meetings speedily became little national assemblies for their own districts: they issued proclamations, passed decrees, raised armed bands, and granted passports; and these acts of power were implicitly obeyed, as the direct and immediate voice of the sovereign people. Thus Paris became tormented with sixty republics, each with a general assembly, where every Frenchman was permitted to speak and to vote; and the general municipality, and armed force at its disposal, the only remaining relic of sovereign power, was nothing but the executive committee of the highly excited majority. To those who duly reflect on these things, the subsequent history of the Revolution, and the atrocious part which 1.317. the municipality of Paris took in all its excesses, will appear noways a matter for surprise.1 1 Hist. Parl. Smyth's ii. 151, 152. French Rev. 10. account of M. Dumont, the friend of Mirabeau, and framer of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, an eyewitness of these Dumont's scenes, has left the following graphic picture of these these priprimary assemblies:-"The noise which prevails in these mary Asmeetings is enough to distract any one who is not accustomed to it. Every speech is followed or interrupted by the loudest and most clamorous applause, or the most semblies. |