第321章

They do not wish to make enemies for themselves in their commune， and they abstain from any positive action， especially in all tax matters. Nine months after the decree on the patriotic contribution， "twenty-eight thousand municipalities are overdue， not having (yet) returned either rolls or estimates."[23] At the end of January， 1792， "out of forty thousand nine hundred and eleven municipalities， only five thousand four hundred and forty-eight have deposited their registers； two thousand five hundred and eighty rolls only are definitive and in process of collection. A large number have not even begun their sectional statements."[24] - It is much worse when， thinking that they do understand it， they undertake to do their work. In their minds， incapable of abstraction， the law is transformed and deformed by extraordinary interpretations. We shall see what it becomes when it is brought to bear on feudal dues， on the forests， on communal rights， on the circulation of corn， on the taxes on provisions， on the supervision of the aristocrats， and on the protection of persons and property. According to them， it authorizes and invites them to do by force， and at once， whatever they need or desire for the time being. - The municipal officers of the large boroughs and towns， more acute and often able to comprehend the decrees， are scarcely in a better condition to carry them out effectively. They are undoubtedly intelligent， inspired by the best disposition， and zealous for the public welfare. During the first two years of the Revolution it is， on the whole， the best informed and most liberal portion of the bourgeoisie which， in the department as in the district， undertakes the management of affairs.

Almost all are men of the law， advocates， notaries， and attorneys， with a small number of the old privileged class imbued with the same spirit， a canon at Besan？on， a gentleman at N？mes. Their intentions are of the very best； they love order and liberty， they give their time and their money， they hold permanent sessions and accomplish an incredible amount of work， and they often voluntarily expose themselves to great danger. - But they are bourgeois philosophers， and， in this latter particular， similar to their deputies in the National Assembly， and， with this twofold character， as incapable as their deputies of governing a disintegrated nation. In this twofold character they are ill-disposed towards the ancient régime， hostile to Catholicism and feudal rights， unfavorable to the clergy and the nobility， inclined to extend the bearing and exaggerate the rigor of recent decrees， partisans of the Rights of Man， and， therefore， humanitarians and optimists， disposed to excuse the misdeeds of the people， hesitating， tardy and often timid in the face of an outbreak - in short， admirable writers， exhorters， and reformers， but good for nothing when it comes to breaking heads and risking their own bones. They have not been brought up in such a way as to become men of action in a single day. Up to this time they have always lived as passive administrators， as quiet individuals， as studious men and clerks， domesticated， conversational， and polished， to whom words concealed facts， and who， on their evening promenade， warmly discussed important principles of government， without any consciousness of the practical machinery which， with a police-system for its ultimate wheel， rendered themselves， their promenade， and their conversation perfectly secure. They are not imbued with that sentiment of social danger which produces the veritable chief； the man who subordinates the emotions of pity to the exigencies of the public service. They are not aware that it is better to mow down a hundred conscientious citizens rather than let them hang a culprit without a trial. Repression， in their hands， is neither prompt， rigid， nor constant. They continue to be in the H？tel-de-Ville what they were when they went into it， so many jurists and scribes， fruitful in proclamations， reports， and correspondence. Such is wholly their role， and， if any amongst them， with more energy， desires to depart from it， he has no hold on the commune which， according to the Constitution， he has to direct， and on that armed force which is entrusted to him with a view to insure the observance of the laws.

To insure respect for authority， indeed， it must not spring up on the spot and under the hands of its subordinates. It loses its prestige and independence when those who create it are precisely those who have to submit to it. For， in submitting to it， they remember that they have created it. This or that candidate among them who has but lately solicited their suffrages is now a magistrate who issues orders， and this sudden transformation is their work. It is with difficulty that they pass from the role of sovereign electors to that of docile subjects of the administration， and recognize a commander in one of their own creatures.[25] On the contrary， they will submit to his control only in their own fashion， reserving to themselves in practice the powers the right to which they have conferred on him.