To suppress in advance any tendency to administrative inertia, it has
had withdrawn from the too powerful, too much respected, department
governments, "too inclined to federalism," their departmental dominance
and their "political influence."[11126] It reduces these to the levying
of taxes and the supervision of roads and canals; it purges them out
through its agents; it even purges out the governments of municipalities
and districts. To suppress beforehand all probability of popular
opposition, it has had the sessions of the sections reduced to two
per week; it installs in these sections, for about forty sous a day,
a majority of sans-culottes; it orders the suspension "until further
directives" of all municipal elections.[11127]
Finally, to have full control on the spot, it appoints its own men,
first, the commissioners and the representatives on missions, a sort of
temporary corps of directors sent into each department with unlimited
powers;[11128] next, a body of national agents, a sort of permanent
body of sub-delegates, through whom in each district and municipality it
replaces the procureurs-syndics.[11129] To this army of functionaries is
added in each town, bourg or large village, a revolutionary committee,
paid three francs a day per member, charged with the application of its
decrees, and required to make reports thereon. Never before was such
a vast and closely woven network cast from above to envelope and keep
captive twenty-six million people. Such is the real constitution which
the Jacobins substitute for the constitution they have prepared for
show. In the arsenal of the monarchy which they destroyed they took the
most despotic institutions--centralization, Royal Council, lieutenants
of police, special tribunals, intendants and sub-delegates; they
disinterred the antique Roman law of lèse-majesty, refurbished old
blades which civilization had dulled, aiming them at every throat and
now wielded at random against liberties, property and lives. It is
called the "revolutionary government;" according to official statements
it is to last until peace is secured; in the minds of genuine Jacobins
it must continue until all the French have been regenerated in
accordance with the formula.
*****
[Footnote 1101: Titus Flavious Clemens, (Greek writer born in Athens
around 150 and dead in Cappadoce in 250) He lived in Alexandria. (SR).]
[Footnote 1102: The words of Marat.]
[Footnote 1103: After the Constitution is completed, said Legendre, in
the Jacobin club, we will make the federalists dance.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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