and others wifhed for a total change, many proposed to adopt at once the French conftitution, as it was already prepared; and a great number, confifting of what in France had been called jacobins, and who had acquired the exaggerated and anarchical ideas of that fect, ardently defired a conftitution ftill more popular. The partifans of the stadtholderate were very few, or at least, thought it prudent to diffemble their opinions. One of the first acts of the affembly was a declaration of war against England, which power had then deprived the republic of almoft all its colonies both in the Eaft and West Indies. The English cabinet (on the 3th March), by the agency of its ambaffador to the Helvetic ftates, had communicated to the government of France a feries of propofitions relative to a general pacification. The apparent motive of this communication was to afcertain whether there was any difpofition in France to open a negotiation with his Britannic majefty and his allies, for the establishment of a general peace on juft and equitable conditions; and whether, for this purpose, it would be agreed to appoint a congrefs to arrange the terms; whether France would fignify what her intentions were with refpect to the bafis of a general pacification; or whether the had any other mode to propose whereby that end could be attained? The directory, anxious to evince its difpofitions for peace, without noticing the disrespectful manner in which this communication was made, anfwered that it was its fincere defire to make peace, and detailed the conditions on which it was prepared to offer it; of which one was indifpenfable, namely, that of retaining the provinces in the Low Countries, which by the conftitutional act had been united to the French republic. Thefe propofitions, as might have been forefeen, were immediately declared by the English miniftry to be utterly inadmiffible; while on the other hand the French government felt itself humbled in having been made the dupe of the application, and having in confequence of it committed the dignity of the republic. The fituation of France at this period was fuch, as to enable the government to take a review of the hoftile difpofitions which many of the Swifs cantons had evinced towards it at the commencement of the war; and which were continued till they were awed into respect by the fplendour of French victories. The directory, therefore, with the defign of recalling to the remembrance of the Swifs their paft conduct, rather than from any ferious apprehenfions entertained of the danger, demanded, on the 26th March, from the magiftracy of Bafle, as being the neareft canton, and that which lay between the army of the empire and that of the republic, an explanation concerning certain plans fuppofed to have been formed by the coalefced powers, of violating the neutrality. It was afferted, that, with the aid of feveral of the citizens of various cantons of Switzerland, and with the connivance of the government of Bafle, the Auftrians had projected the invafion of the departments which formerly compofed the province of Franche-Comté, by paffing over that narrow poi tion of the territory of Bafle which divides France from the imperial dominions in the Frickthal, and N 3 lies lies along the Rhone, from Bafle to Schaffhaufen. The manner of conveying the fentiments of the directory to the government of Bafle, which was only by way of extract from their regifters, was as humiliating as the accufation. The magiftrates fhewed in their answer how much they felt this contempt, and, after remarking the novelty of the mode of application, denied the charge, and complained of the hoftile manner in which it was made; at the fame time declaring, in reply to the infinuation of the French government, that, "if they were not fufficiently strong to defend their own territory, the directory muft take measures to infure the fafety of the French republic," that they accepted the refponfibility impofed on them by the French government, and that they could not only depend on the inhabitants of their own canton, but on thofe of the whole Helvetic confedera tion. The tone of this explanation caufed further umbrage; and the directory made another remonftrance, demanding a more formal exculpation from the charge. This fecond remouftrance wore too formidable an afpect to be treated otherwife than with the moft ferious attention. Accordingly it was determined by the cantons to fend an ambaffador to Paris, to confer with the directory. The embafly was entrusted to Mr. Ochs, the chancellor of Bafle, whofe known attachment to the caufe of the re volution was likely to render his miffion fuccefsful. The proper explanations took place between the envoy and the French government, and ended in a further confirma tion of amity between the two republics. Although the public tranquillity had remained undisturbed at Paris, where the different factions were kept in check by the immediate force of government, who had created a feventh minifter, with the title of the minifter of the police, the south of France was delivered up to the moft dreadful diforders. This country had been moft frequently the theatre of violence and bloodfhed from the beginning of the revolution, and during the reign of terror had felt the moft fatal effects of jacobinical profcription. The glaciere of Avignon, the fufillades at Lyons, and the commiffion of the revolutionary tribunal at Orange, make a memorable part of the hiftory of that fanguinary period. The authors of thefe maffacres had been delivered up to punishment; but the fame juftice had not been exercised on all who had commanded or perpetrated those revolutionary murders. The maffacres at Toulon after the evacuation of that place by the English and Spanish armies, having had more the appearance of national punishment, had been but little inveftigated. The two miffionaries who had been fent to revolutionize in the interval of the recapture of Toulon and the fall of Robefpierre, were Barras, fince a member of the directory, and Freron, a deputy of the national convention. According to the returns made by these miffionaries to their conftituents, the committee of general fafety at that period, the murders committed under their direction equalled in atrocity, if not in numbers, these of their moft ac tive colleagues; fince, according to the correfpondence of Freron, publifhed afterwards by a member of that committee, he appears to have celebrated the maffacre of the twenty-two deputies of the Gironde party, by a public festival at Toulon, where he boafts of dispatching the inhabitants at the rate of two hundred a day. The perpetration of fo many crimes required a multitude of agents: and when the reign of jacobin terror ceafed, the inhabitants of those countries in the fouth where its atrocity had been moft feverely feit, revenged the numerous victims it had made by the deftruction of thofe who had been the immediate inftruments of its fury. This reaction against jacobinifm, which in many places had gone to the full extent of justice, was checked by the moderation and authority of thofe members of the national convention who had been fent to tranquillize the country, and who had themfelves been profcribed under the decemviral regime. In the number of thefe perfons were Ifnard and Jourdan, who, while they repreffed the reviving fury of the jacobins, particularly on the occafion of a mo⚫mentary reyolt which at that time took place at Toulon, checked alfo the popular vengeance which fometimes rofe too high against them. The wife and conciliatory meafures adopted by thofe commiffioners, had almost healed the wide wounds inflicted on the country by thefe heated parties, when the jacobin faction, immediately after the revolt of Vendemiaire, fent Freron, as commiffary general of the executive power, once more into the fouthern departments. His arrival was again the fignal of the return of terror. Clothed with the fu preme aut! ority, he broke the departie tal adminiftrations named by the people, and filled the vacancies with men covered with crimes and blood. He inftituted anew popular focieties, revolutionary committees, and central commiffions at Marseilles, by the authority of which thofe municipa lities in the departments were broken, the fentiments of whofe members were not in conformity to their own. Although the conftitution was now in activity, the decrees of Freron, in decided contradiction to its fpirit and letter, had all the force of laws; nor was it until that unhappy country had groaned four months under this revolutionary regimen, which had fpread univerfal terror and defolation, that the directory yielded to the repeated reclamations of the opprefied inhabitants, and intimated to Freron, that he was no longer a portion of the executive power. Freron was in no hafte to divest himfelf of his proconfular autho rity; nor was it till the directory had peremptorily ordered one of its commiffioners in the fouth to notify its difpleasure to him, that he at length returned to Paris. The diftracted ftate of the fouth called for the immediate interpofition of government: the legislature, on the motion of the two former miffionaries, Jourdan and Ifnard, ordered (24th March) a commiffion to be inftituted to inquire into the caufe of the troubles, and take a review of the provifionary and contradic- · tory laws by which the admini, ftrations were regulated. As this commiffion was invested with authority to collect evidence, the refult of which would lead, as the mover obferved, to important difcoveries, and tear off the veil N 4 which which had concealed fo many horrors, an a tempt to render the members of it fufpected, and fruftrate their labours, was made by a denunciation of a terrorift-commune in the fouth. This denunciation was fent to the counfel under the equivocal fanction of Barras, who ditavowed it as foon as the affembly in a fecret committee had declared the accufation to be calumnious and ill-founded, The failure of this project did not difcourage the jacobin party from creating new obstacles to the report: and the interests of the fac tion were fo much implicated in thefe tranfactions, and fome perfons high in office, as has been obferved, were fo immédiately concerned, that the council, under pretence of difcouraging thefe party feuds and perfonal animofities which had fometimes divided the convention, diffolved the commiffion, on the motion of a jacobin deputy, and ordered the examination of the caufes of the difcontents on which the report was propofed, to be continued by the directory. Without making any report to the councils, the directory proceeded to take fuch meafures as hould reftore tranquillity to the fouth; and it appears that these measures were attended with beneficial effects. An infurrection that broke out in the department of the Nievre, where the infurgents, under the title of the Company of the King and of Jefus, had taken poffeffion of the town of Sancerre, was likewife suppressed; but although the directory had endeavoured to hold the balance between the different parties who conténded.for fupe riority in directing the ftate or in fluencing the meafures of government, it acquired the confidence of neither party, The jacobins, in particular, who boafted that the directory was of their formation, and who had hitherto filled almost exclufively the places under government, were enraged at feeing the return of moderate and humane principles, and themfelves pointed out, with the fanétion of the government, as objects of public animadverfion, if not of punish ment. The directory had avowed by a public refolution, that its confidence had fometimes been betrayed, and its views fruftrated, by the nomination of unworthy individuals to offices of truft; and invited the citizens to give information against all fuch perfons. The jacobins were alarmed at this defection, as they eftemed it, of the directory from their party; and this alarm was converted into purposes of vengeance, when their affemblies were difperfed by order of government, and their places of meeting fhut up. The directory had now declared hoftilities against this implacable faction, whofe boldness increased in proportion to the refiftance they encountered. Further measures of feverity were exercised against them, fuch as laws to punish with death feditious affemblies, provocations to the re-establishment of royalty, or of the conftitution of Robespierre; and the police was ordered to remove from Paris fuch members of the former convention, and members of revolutionary committees and tribunals, as were held to be the chiefs of this faction. afcendency, underwent a fevere fcrutiny. This fpirit of infubordination was not confined to the civil departments; the military force of Paris was found likewife to be tainted with jacobinifm. The directory, with the authority of the councils, broke the divifion known by the name of the legion of police, part of which refufed to obey the orders, and declared themselves in open revolt. It had long been the aim of the jacobins to gain the military force of Paris to their fide; for which purpose every mode of feduction had been put in practice; and this part of their plan would not have been unattended with fuccefs, had not the vigilance of government defeated it by fpeedy interpofition. The jacobins, perceiving that their caufe was rather injured than promoted by these partial movements, and that the hand of government was ftrengthened against them, conceived at length a more daring project, which was that of fubverting the whole government, and introducing once more the revolutionary regime. For the space of fix weeks, confufed rumours ran through the city of Paris, of a projected infurrection of the jacobins; but the Parifians, familiarized to the terms of infurrection and revolt, and believing that the law lately patfed against the groupes would preferve the city against any farther attempts of the terrorists, paid little attention to these reports. The government, however, did not remain in the fame incautious fecurity. Apprized early of the horrible confpiracy which was forming, and which may be called the laft agony of expiring jacobinifm, the executive directory had watched its progrefs, and was employed in taking measures to counteract its defigns. The first of these measures was the demand made to the legislative body, of a decree against the affembling of the groupes, as we have before related; the fecond was the ordering, what was called the legion of police, to leave Paris. This legion confifted of ten thousand men, horfe and foot, who, in the affair of Vendemiaire, had been selected from different divitions of the army, to come to Paris, and defend the conventional caufe. Thofe foldiers having gained the victory over the fections, had been at first flattered and cherished by the government, and afterwards corrupted by the licentioufnefs of the capital, and feduced in great numbers by the jacobins, but above all, by the incendiary appeals which were frequently addreffed to them by the apoftle of anarchy, Gracchus Babeuf. The directory, aware of the danger which might refult from this powerful re-inforcement to the ja cobins, ordered the legion of police to join their respective corps upon the frontiers. The foldiers refufed to obey. Fortunately, the jacobin confpiracy was not yet ripe to take advantage of this mutiny, which was fuppreffed by the arrival of a fufficient number of troops from the camp near Paris; fome of the battalions fubmitted and were pardoned; the rest were broken, and fent, ftrongly guarded, to their refpective communes. The government were partly led to the difcovery of this jacobin plot, by the unguarded expreflions which had been used by one of the confpirators, Drouet, the postmafter at Varennes, who had arrefted Lewis the Sixteenth, and had in confequence been chofen a legiflator, without any other quali fication |