The SPY of the FRENCH REVOLUTION

CHAPTER 1

The State of France before the Revolution

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The most perfect of the European monarchies, the French monarchy, had degenerated by a multitude of abuses to the point where a new order of things was imperative. It had been so disfigured that the way was clear for an ambitious despotism to arise easily and with little regret.

The seeds of unrest were sown by Louis XV when he asserted his law-making supremacy by saying: "We hold our crown by the grace of God. The right to make laws belongs to us alone without reservation or division."

[Background Note:
"Absolute monarchy" is a term more used by historians than by the kings themselves or their subjects. Only when pressed very hard, as Louis XV was before the Parlement of Paris in 1766, would a ruler emphatically assert his absolute or divinely appointed power... Royal absolutism was limited even in theory. As Bossuet had said, the legitimate power of the king of France was absolute but not arbitrary. The king could not do simply as he wished or claim to embody some historic destiny or national will; he was a Christian monarch, operating within the laws of religion and of the church.
- Source: "The World of the French Revolution" by R.R. Palmer, p27-28.]

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This statement gave rise to opposition. It inspired political writings and made one wish for reform. Those who backed the monarch and his principles determined the fate of the French, and since it was the royal court rather than the king who controlled the state, there was much intrigue. The ministers were invested with sovereign authority, and acts of tyranny were perpetrated in the name of the king [eg. Lavrillere gave lettres de cachet coolly; the influence that Mrs. Sabatin had on him is well-known].

The courts [parlements]were unceasingly subservient to the monarch which gave rise to violent jolts with the state and showed the need for the restoration of a sound basis for justice. The feudal system weighed too much against the common vassals as the privileges of the nobility were crushing them. [Each new noble gave place to a new distribution but the proportionate tax burden on each canton did not decrease.] Intendants controlled France in the same manner as the bachas in Turkey. Meanwhile the priests had too much influence on public policy. The Revolution proved there were many rascals among them. [Amar and Joseph Lebon were priests.] Corruption and bribery

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placed the fortune, honor, and the life of citizens in the hands of the inexperienced or ignorant.

The national debt, created originally by the costly wars of Louis XIV and then exacerbated by those of Louis XV and his dissipations, skyrocketed. The state existed by policies which only worsened the problem, weakened its resources, and depleated its treasury.

Louis XV, convinced that his kingdom was being badly managed, but regarding the situation in France as hopeless was dazed by the financial statements. Thus he diverted his attention through pleasures and concerns that could poison his life. Of course, the convocation of the Estates-General was a remedy, but this prince understood the hazards of doing that.

Louis XV, called "le bien aimé"... at the beginning of his reign
[Portrait by Maurice Quentin dela Tour]

On the other hand he saw the difficulty in balancing his accounts and he knew that his reputation was ruined since his tastes were preventing him from regarding his subjects as his children. They sensed he was sitting on a volcano and that a revolution would shake his empire.

However, Louis XV had a

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policy of maintaining several parties that could reverse any intrigue when it came near him. This policy also prevented any one party from becoming too dominant.

He was certain that the honest man no longer had any confidence; that he was merely introducing new systems which attracted people eager to fish in troubled waters under the pretext of attempting to restore the finances. He perceived very well that few believed in the solutions that only widened the cracks, but at least it gained a little time. Meanwhile he conferred his authority on the first-comers of new programs without even bothering to examine their moral faculties.

One of his ministers (the abbot Terray) even dared to imagine the destruction of the welfare plan through nearly all of the bureaucratic actions pertaining to the poor people who, as a precaution against the horrors of misery in their old age, had to sacrifice their present for the future. This violated a sacred trust and rather than returning a heritage of growth to the state, it tore off the vines of Naboth.

In vain the bureaucracy wanted to hide the weight of 150 years of disorder, and in vain they tried to distract the French through lotteries and loans, but the machinery of government could topple at any moment.

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During this time, writers with a clear vision instructed the people and kindled their spirit. They prepared the leaven and fermentation for a general uprising. Such was the situation of the most beautiful empire in the world when Louis XVI mounted the throne of his fathers.

King Louis XVI

It would have been easy for the young king to avoid the enormous burden that his predecessors had placed on his head by beginning a new career, but by a virtue which characterized this monarch, he aimed to improve the economy by limiting the state's expenditures and to familiarize himself with the deprivations of the people. He sought to clean house and to redeem itself in the vain hope that the debts of his ancestors could be paid off, and to make the benefits of good government more generally felt.

The advent of Louis XVI assuming the crown was marked by striking features of impartiality and benevolence. His first acts of sovereignty were the remission of the tax of joyous advent; the abolition of personal servitude in his domains - the 'corvee' - an obligation for people to perform free labour. Also the arbitrary tax assessment was immutably fixed.

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He freed criminal justice of all its cruelties such as torture in order to obtain a confession from suspects [on August 24, 1780]. The Protestants who were persecuted received legal safeguards and marital status which extended to them the advantages of the social order.

Louis XVI was seen to be pious without being superstitious and without prejudice or intolerance. He proved that in the effervescence of youth and passion, and surrounded by tempting objects, a king can still lead an exemplary life. He is the only one since Charlemagne who wanted to base public freedom on an immutable basis, and to place limits on his authority.

This extremely popular prince was the most excellent of men. In the hard winter of 1788, having gone out alone, he came to a wood lot and approached those who maintained it. When he inquired as to the destination of this load of wood, he learned that it was to be delivered to him. He then instructed the men to distribute the wood to the poor instead.

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Beyond reproach in his control, the most austere virtue always guided his actions. Never did he divert his eyes from the needs of his people. He could be fooled by the pretexts with which one covered the requests that were made to him, but when it was a question between his business and his personal tastes, his answer was always the same: "If it's for me, it isn't urgent." And if he signed something which looked questionable, he would write: "Fine, provided that it will not cause a new expenditure." [See the warning of the description of the red book, signed Camus, Goupil de Prefeln.]

In the dreadful state that the kingdom was in, it was impossible for Louis XVI to follow the impulse of his virtues. Born to be the head of a happy people, he could not reign properly, because the rudder of the empire was broken. The nobility, the Court and the clergy, often divided by ambition or selfish interest, caused a violent storm to break over their heads. They saw the alarming progress of philosophy, and consequently, they saw the 'handwriting on the wall'. Then they felt that they could survive only by seizing the avenues of power

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through the throne. Having done that, they intended to mislead the best of kings and to make him the instrument of their despotism. But their actions only dug more deeply the abyss that was already half-opened. The national debt had increased, on the one hand by the American war of independence which since 1777 until 1783 had cost France 733 million. On the other hand, by the enormous expenditure which had to be made to establish a navy capable of resisting the ambitious aims of England.

Then there was also a young queen [Marie Antoinette] sitting on the most illustrious throne of the universe, and surrounded by people who were able to charm through their seductive flatteries - those who cheated and misled; vampires who tormented, and ministers of bad faith who cunningly showed which avenues could be exploited.

This young queen, without experience and full of generosity, abandoned herself to the whims of her heart and contributed (without even suspecting it) to the total demise of the nation's finances. As the public embarrassments increased, the court was coming under closer scrutiny. It was shown how the queen had plundered the treasury in order to pass wealth to her brother, the Emperor. The expenditures of the count d' Artois was calculated, as were the acquisitions of St. Cloud and the masonry of small Trianon, etc. These useless excesses

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plus the unfortunate business of the collar gave rise to indignation and complaint.

The king, however, played absolutely no role in these excesses, displaying a very remarkable wisdom because it was commonly known that he was informed about the arts, sciences and literature.

The duke d'Orleans, meanwhile, wanted to have the position of Lord High Admiral since he had naval experience but had displayed no aptitude for combat in the naval battle of Ushant [on 27th of July 1778]. Instead, the position of Lord High Admiral was intended to be given to the elder son of the count d' Artois. This embittered the duke d'Orleans so much that he ceased appearing at Court. Then it was proposed that he marry off his elder daughter to the elder son of the count d' Artois.

Louis Philippe Joseph
(aka Philippe Égalité, Duke d'Orleans)

Meanwhile the duke of Penthièvre was to relinquish the title of Lord High Admiral against the dowry of his daughter. [Note: In 1769 the duke d'Orleans had married Louise Marie Adelaide de Bourbon-Penthievre, daughter and heiress of the duke of Penthievre, grand admiral of France, and the richest heiress of the time.] All this was accepted by all parties, however the marriage never took place. Then the duke of Orleans showed himself to be the enemy of the king. Suspecting the queen of having orchestrated this breakdown, he sought to make the monarchy odious by the most inflammatory libel. Here is the real cause of the great crimes of the revolution.

Through revolution, America had recently separated from England with the foolish help of France.

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Chatham (imitating the father of Hannibal) had recently left his son, Pitt, his hatred against the French, his talents and his politics. The people, absolutely corrupted by this same philosophical spirit of liberalism, no longer had any public decency.

[Note: In 1783 William Pitt (24) became prime minister of Britain and the youngest leader of the Tories. He was one of Great Britain‘s greatest peacetime leaders and served as prime minister from 1783-1801 and from 1804 until his death in 1806. Pitt was the son of William Pitt the Elder, who served as prime minister from 1766 to 1768. Obviously Isaac Mathieu Crommelin had a very low regard for Mr. Pitt.]

William Pitt
Prime Minister of England

The court was composed only of charlatans eager to plunder the treasures of France. Their daily needs were a lucrative market for the capitalists who lent them funds but under conditions that made the state fall into a quagmire.

The influence of the clergy was on account of religion and thus even religion was no longer respected. The bishops and abbots, instead of supporting the dignity of their state by a great austerity of morals, lived in Paris and proved that they too had the same passions as other men. This threw religion into contempt.

The balance of Thémis [justice] had become that of interest and favour; the courtesans judged more lawsuits than the courts. The courts [parlemens], in which there were a great number of egoists, were little embarrassed by the fact that France staggered, provided that they were free from taxes.

The duke d'Orleans, moved by his hatred against the royal family, was at the head of a mob

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of writers who unceasingly undermined the government and its authority. He was essential to Pitt, being a very influential conspirator who travelled incessantly between Paris and London, there to seek pleasures and to weave vengeful intrigues.

The peace of America had brought back to France a multitude of adventurers attached to the ranks of Lafayette. They had rescued the United States and learned to love independence and the philanthropic ideas drawn from the Quakers in Philadelphia.

Emotionally-charged words of 'fraternity' [brotherhood], 'equality', 'oppression' and 'tyranny' entered their conversation incessantly. In them burned a desire to 'quakerize' the French, without stopping to consider that one should not go about seeking new applications for untried fads beyond two miles from home.