The Newhampshire gazetteer — Exeter, N.H., 1791-10-28 00:00:00, page 1

Newhampfhire
fl FRIDAY, Oftober 28, 1791.] ^
Being an ANSWER to Mr.
Burke's ATTACK on the
FRENCH REVOLUTION.
By Thomas Paine, ,
Secretary for Foreign Affairs to Congress
in the American War, and Author of
the Work entitled Common S&nJc.
WHILE these matters wore agita.
ting,the National Affemb!y flood
In the m6ft perilous 6 critical situation
that a body of? men can be feppofed
to a& in. They were devoted victims,
and they knew it. They had the hearts
and wiihes of their country on their fide,
but military authority they had none.
The guards of Broglio surrounded the
hall where the assembly fat, ready, at
the word of command, to seize their
persons, as had b^en done the year be
fore to the parlkirenet in Paris. Had
the National Assembly deferred their
trust, or had they exhibited signs of
Weakness or fear, their enemies had been
encouraged, and the country deprefled.
When the filiation they food in, the
cause they were engaged in, and the
crisis then ready to burn which should
determine their p^rforial and politico'
fate, and that of their country, and pro
bably of Europe, are taken infoj one
View, none bat a heart callous with pre
judice, or corrupted by dependence, cant
ar,Old interesting itfelf in their,fuccefs..
The Archbishop of Vienne was at
ths tide Prdftdfat of th^ National Afi
feebly ; a person too 01d to, undergo
cite fCeiie that a few days, or a few
hoorty might bring fourth. A man pf
more a^ivity, and bolder, fortitude was
nece&Qy;,and° tlfe' Natidnalj Affably
chose (under stye form of a Vice,reft-,
dent,Joffe prefidenc,, dill, raided in
the Arfhbilhap) M. de U R$,U& and
this is th~fy^,j„&^ a Viceprefcl
&i£ beiri^. s cti^n. ^
moment th^tt this ftarm was peering .
(July 11) that .a_j*hrafon of rights :
was brought forward far M, geJX Fay
ede, and is the fame which is (allu
ded to in page 9,) ft was haftify, drawn;.
up, and mafo.oily a part ,of a more, :
extendvt declaration of ri,® agreed '
upon and ^ adopted % afterwards by
the National Affembly.' .TE?.::parti- ,
cular reason for bringing' it forward at •
this moment,' (M. de UiFayeye has
finee informed me) 04% that if the Na
tional Assembly diouia fall in the threat
ened deftreaiem thatihere surrounded it;
some traces of ig principW mig^^
the chance [of funding the wreck: CT.
. Every tning was port, rawfog to #
crisis. The event was freedom or sla
very,, On one fide, (an army of, nearly
30,000 men ; on the o:her% an unarmed
pody of 'citizens,; for. the citizen, of
Paris on whom the National Afferably
must immediately depend, were as unar
med & as undifciplincd as the citizens^
London are nd% The French gdar&
haQgiven strong fyniproms of their bc{
ing attacked Write national cause ; but
their number were finally,pt, tenth
part of the force that Bro,<,command-:
ed and &^ officers were In the intereit
ts Brogiio.
Matters being'now ripe for exe
cution, the nefo mini dry made their
appearance in oflite./ The reader will
carry inhiimind, that the Bastille was
^aken the tyh iOf Jaly'x the phint of
time lam now {peeking okis the izxb.
Immediately on the ntewref the change
pfminfftr, fecUng%i#7i^^^^,
noon, all tbe pfay. houses and places of
entertainment, (hops' #nd hbufefr were;
ffi,toty{;ll|M>^^ @
Gonfidered as the prelude of hostilities.
EXETER, (New-Hampfoire) Printed and Pubjifhed by HENRY RANLET, at Nine Shillings per annum.
RIGHTS of MAN:
[I/z continuation.]
arid, the opinion was righrfy founded.
The foreign'troops&gan tq advance
towards the.qty. The Princede Lam
befc, who commanded X body of Ger- :
man cavalry, approached by the plate
of Louis XV. which connedh itfelf with,
some of the: ffr<fo.44n hie march Tie,
insulted and ftreek - : an g@ man with ttis<
sword.. The mepdh,^ remarkable faf
their refpea Gold age, & the insolence
wiffiwhichfa afepearea to be done, unj
gi&wi'hlth general fermentation, they 1
were in, fralured a powerful effift, and
@gftg%4/@f 7 t^ arms / spread itfelf
in a mothentov'y the city.
,Arms <hey had nohe, no'r scarcely
any who lutew the use of them : but &f
--perate f<ffiktion w when every hope is
at ft.ke, supplies; for a piffle, the want
of arms, ^ear,, wfcre..the. F-ince de
Lambefc was drawmap, wire large;piles
of tones collected for building the. new
bridge, and with these, the people at,
tacked she cavitry. ; A, p^rty of the
French guards, upon hearing the firing;
rushed from thir starters and joined
the people • and night coming on, the.
cavalry retrefte'd. v .
. Tfe greets of P^ris A being narrow,
dre favourable for ..defence ; and the
lofiioefs of the V^, ? confining of mfr
hy ^eries, from which great annoyance
might be given, secured g&& against.
. QQ&urhat'enterpJfcs; and. the^night
was. (pent in pGpytfing themselves wi<h~
eyery fare of weapon ,they could make
erproEire ; Guns, fjords, blackfeiths'
hammers, carpenteti' axes, iron crows,
pikes,halberts, pitethforks, (pits, clubs,
;^AeTte'^ rirabera with which
they assembled the next morning, and
tfe ftilLmor^ incredible reflation they
exhibited:, embarraff^.and afto^^
their enemies. Little did the^ew mi
nistry exped tuch &,.(%&. Aocuftom
ed to Lavery themfefres, .they had no
ideanhat Liberty was capable of fdeh
infoirarico, or that, a body of, unarmed
citizens would dare to face the military
farce of, thirty ,thousand, men.: E/ery
moM<:n(x>f this day, was^ employed in
cofcftinj %??; cafeertieg plans, artd
:arranging ttiemfelVes into & be& or
der which foeWty inftantaneods move
ment could afford, Bfoglio, continued
lying round the city, bat : mz& t\Ofur
: ther advances this day,and the fiftceed
• Ing night paired with as much Tranquil
lity as such a fee ne could, possibly pro-.
,duce. . °
Bat defence only was notthe objefi
s os .tire citizens: They had a cause at
ffak^on which depended their freedom er
ftarery..o They every moment expelled
ty attack,or ^0 hear. of„We made omthe
National Affcmbly ; and in such a situ
ation the molt 'prompt measures are
foire titfesthe best. The objgt : that
now presented itfelr, was the Bastille ;
andthe edat4s &rr,ihg'fua a fottrefs
in the fee of fuchan army, ^ould not
failed foifteh terror intothe new mi^
I biflty,whd had yet fiercely time to meet.
By,fome intercepted correspondence this
imorning it was difcovftd, tfet the
Mayor of Paris, M-Deffleffels, who ty
peared tabe in their interest, was be
traying t,he^ ; and froth this^ifcovefy
there remained 2nd doubt that Broglio
would reinforce th± 3ahilie the frfqxhg
evening: .ft was' therefore necessary to
attack it that day ; but before . this
eould'tedbn^, * was firft necessary to
procure 4 better fupptjp of arms than
they were then possessed of.
: ' t&ffte^,bi^^
' farge^magiziaapdf arfaM depbfft&f it
tWfoffiUt,^rifr,*!% the
citizens: Tummbned, to fur^nder ; and
<s the place was, ,jQt#efeiirf^^
: tempted much defenerthey soon succeed
; ed. :CThn s,pH@ ,[ ttfyto^ed to
: attack th'eßfflj&^m tadtfc?
tude of all ages, and of all degrees, and
• raffi^&Lg'
O>^H E
r ^'
armed witherforts of weapons.' Ima
gination would fail in describing to it
.teg the appearance of fach a procefiion,
and of the anxiety for the events which
a few hours, or a few minutes might
produce. What plans, the miciftry was
forming were.as,unknown to the people
within ¥c:ty, as what the; citizens
were doiQ was unknown to Ahem ; and
what raoremeats Broglio might make
for. the sup port or relief cf the place,
were to tife citizens equally as well un
known. ~ : All' was my'ftery.and hazard.
.< That the . Baftiile was attacked with
an enthusiasm. of heroffm, such only as
the highest animation of liberty could
inspire, and carried in the (pace of a
few hears. ^ an eVentWhicS the world
is fall, poffefted of., I anl.no^ undertak
ing ri detail of the attack, but bringing
into view the conspiracy against the Na
tion which provoked It, ,an 4 which fell
with the Baffille. Th^prifon to which
the new ministry wcrcdcomingthe Na
tional Assembly, in addition to its be
ing the feign altar and castle of defpo
cifm. , became the proper object to be
gin with.: This enterprise broke up
the ne^v rainier,, who began now to
fly front the ruin they hrid prepared for
others. %The troops of Broflid difyer
4ed, and : himfelfßed alto. :
Mr. Burke has spoken a great deal
about plo%but he has never once spoken
of this plot agairi ft the National Affein
bLy, and the liberties of the nation;
and that he might not, he has paired
over all the ; circumstances that might
throw it in his way. The exiles who
have fletbfto.il France, whafe case he so
much, interests himfelf in; hdd from
whom hehas had his Sefton,fifed in conse
quence of the mifearriage of this ple;
No plot;was lorried againff them :it
were they who were plotting again#
others ; and those who fell,met, not un'-
jaftly,tte puniffiment they were prepar
ing to^ execute. But will Mr. Burke
fay, that if this, plot , contrived with the
fubtilty of an, ambofcade, had faceted
ed,>he fuccefsful party whould have Ye
ftrained their wrath so soon ? Let the
hidory of all old governments answer
the foeaich<, '
Whom h*s tho^ National Assembly
bruagh^td the fciffold ? None. ^They
were rhemfclves the devoted victims of
this plot, and they have not retaliated;
why then are they charged with revenge
they have not a&ed ? fn the tremen
dous breaking forth of a whole people,
in which degrees, temper and charac
hers are confounded, and ° delivering
'ch^ra^es, by a mirade o' exertion/
: from the deftruftion meditated aga^nft
, them,.is it tri be expected thae-riething
will;happen ? When men are sere with the
fenfetofWpr^ ** menaced with.
;the pro,c& es new ones, is th? ,fr
'nefs of philosophy, or the palsy of irtfen
ftkility, to be, 'looked for > Mr, Burke
ex&imirigairirt outrage ; yet the grea
teff-is tfa: which Eimfelf has tortittii, j
redi? ^# boo!: ifa volume cf outrage?'
. not apologis'd for by. the impulse of a
moment, but cherifhed' throughnfpacc
of ten months; yet Mr. Burke, had no
provocatibn,no life, no interest at ftak<
;Motecitizens fell in this Hruggle than :
of thtir-epfonebts/; four or ft,e
fot'< were feize^by the populacejaricf in
ftaitly but to death' ; tfe Governor of
the Bastille/ and the Mayor of Paris,
who was deleted in the 4& „f' betray
ing them ; and afterwards Foulori, one
lof the mew miniftry,' and Berthier Bis
fori th law; who hail Accepted the office
of intendant of Paris. \? Their heads
'were ^uck ttpoh fpik^s, and carried a,
bout the eity ^ andjt isupon this mode
: of phriifosnt' that M, BarkebuiHs
't great peft'6f his't#aock scene , Let
us therefore examine how then came by
4 the idea oTfonifhingin this manner. •'
They leirri it from the governments
4
Gazetteer.
[Numb. 17 of Volume 6—
they live under, and retaliate the pua
nifhments they have been accu Homed to
behold. The heads ftucfc upon spikes,
which remained for years upon Temple
bar, differed nothing in the horror of
the feene bora those carried about upon
spikes at Paris : yet this was done ^y
the Ecgllffi. government. It may per
haps be fet^, that it signifies nothing to
a man what is done to him after he is
dead; but it lignifies much to the Ifo
ving: it either tortures their feeling, or
.hardens their hearts r and in either case,
it inQrims them' how to punilh when .
power falls into their hands.
kLay then the ax to the root, 2nd teach
governments humanity. It is their san
guinary punifnments which corrupt
mankind. In England the punishment
in certain cases, is by hanging, drawing
snd 'quartering : the heart of the fufferer
is cut out, and held up to the view of
the populace. : In. France under the for
mer government, the punishments were
not Jess barbarous.; Who does not re
member the execution of Damien, torn
to pieces by horses ? The effed of chofc
creel fpefoeje, exhibited to the popu
lace, is to destroy fendernefsror excite
revenge : and by the base and falfe idea
of governing men by terror, ioftead of
rcafon they become precedents. It is
overtheldwcft elafs cf mankind that
government by terror is intended tp o-.
perate, and it is dn them that it ope
rates to the worst effect. They have
sense enough to feel they are the objects
aimed at ; and they infima in their 'tur,
the examples of terror they have been
intruded w praftife.
" There are in all European countries,
a large elafs of people of that descripti
on' which itr England are called the
"'mob.'’ Os this clefs were chafe who com
mitted ttie burning "and deraftations' in
London in 1780, and of this elafs were
those who carried the heads upon spikes
in Paris. Foulon & Beithier were taken
up in the country, and sent to Paris, to:
undergo their examination at the Hotel
de Ville ; for the National Affcmbly,
immediately on the new raihiftry com
ing into office,, palled a decree, which
' they communicated to? the King 2nd
Cabinet,that the, (the National Assem
bly) would hold the mifliftry, of which
Foulon was one, refpenfible for the
misfires the/ were advising and puf
fuing'; tut tfe mob, incensed at the ap
pearance of Foulon and- 'Betthief, tore
them from their cendu^ors before they
were carried to the Hotel de Ville, and
executed them on the foot. Why then
does Mr. Bafkecharge cutrages of this
ktod on a whole people ? As well might
hecharge" the riots and outrage's of 17S0
qn all tie people of London? or those
in Ireland pn'his country. ,
' iEut every thiug-we fee orhehr effenfive
to our^eelirgs t:n^ derogatory to tbe
human charaßer, ffioald lead to other;
r^fleaicfos thin t^ofe of ft,i6&Erefr
' the" beings™^h§%^ Have
f^me daito Krefurdonfiderationr.; How'
'then ii if that fefeb vest classes of map
" kind as are diffingviffied by-the.appcl-
Qttyfrof ,ti ivulgar, or the ignorant
m&ale fd^ufflero'os ih, If old cc,ri-'.
^tries ?, The i#ftsirwe aft oifrlilyes this
qaeftidri, teHeaion feels an„anfw%
'They arife;'af°aV unay^ corife?
'quence, out of xhe ill conftreaion of all
'the oli jgovernment'sin Eorcpe,Engia,d ,
included With the' reft.lt is by cHlbmed- .
tyfaihiite'fom^ fen; that other;, aic
aftortedly deßaAxf, till the Wholfe is'o,y
*of nature.- '.A va'ft : mrffifmankind a^
degraded!, thrown into the back ground
'of the human tfiaafg to bring forwarc,..-
Ni^ greater glar£ tfe puppet Ihow or
ftatearid arilldWafy.'ln th, comineofc.,
metftbf #-r¥+6liM'oriohbr,fc
~footersW'tte ttythan ^ tiiefaft
^of liberty; iffd have yet to be it
: ffrußed hor to reverence it: