N THE CUSTODY Or ThE
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
SHELF N°
A N
/
O
HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL
V
I
E
W
OF THE
CONSTITUTION AND REVOLUTIONS
O F
G E jsr E r Ay
IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
WRITTEN ORIGINALLY IN FRENCH,
B Y
FRANCIS D'lVERNOIS, ESQ, LL. D.
(late citizen op geneva)
AND TRANSLATED BY
-JOHN F A R E L L, A. M.
^â–
'LONDON:
PRINTED FOR T. CADELL, IN THE STRANB,
O
M.DCC, Lxxxiy.
T O
DAVID LATOUCHE, JuN. Ese.
SIR,
1 HE Author of the following Sheets dedicated
his Work to the French Monarch, in hopes of
averting the blow which, under the fandion
of his royal name, threatened immediate de-
ftrudion to the Liberty of Geneva. That
fatal ftroke was notwithftanding cruelly in-
flidled, and the Genevefe were reduced to a
dreadful alternative — to renounce their
COUNTRY, or, THEIR FREEDOM. Permit
me. Sir, to prefent to you the Tranflation of
this Hiftory, as a fmall teftimony of refpeft
to one of thofe benevolent Men, who exerted
themfelves
DEDICATION.
themfelves to procure an honorable afylum
for thofe unfortunate Patriots. I have too
often heard the Author dwell on your praife,
not to be convinced, that my choice will meet
with his warmeft wilhes, as well as the appro-
bation of the Public, who have taken fo lively
a concern in the advancement and fuccefs of
the new Colony : they will learn with pleafure,
but without furprife, that you were one of the
moft zealous and enlightened promoters of that
eftablilhment,
I am,
SIR,
With fentiments of the moft profound refpeifl,
your moft obedient
humble fervant,
JOHN FARBLL,
Dublin, May, I784»
TO HIS
MOST CHRISTIAN MAJESTY
LEWIS XVL
K I N G O F
FRANCE AND NAVARRE.
SIRE,
I PRESUME to dedicate to Your
Majesty the pidure of the revolutions
of my country, of their origin and f ital
confequences. The king whofe ftudy is
the happinefs of his fuhjetts cannot be
indifferent to the welfare of his nei-^h-
bours; and Geneva has the honor of
being connected with Your crown by
folemn treaties The great eft, the moft
auguft of Your anceftors {a)-, the prince
in whofe fteps You tread, offerred to de-
fend our independence, even at the hazard
a of
(«) HENRY IV.
[ vl ]
of his facred Perfon. I come to con-
jure his Succeffor, not fo much to fup-
port that independence, as to prevent
his royal name from being abufed, to au-
thorize the attacks made on it. I come
to lay at the foot of his throne the
truth which efcapes the eyes of his mi-
nifters.
It is not furprifing that they have
hitherto been unable to difcover the real
caufes of the difturbances of fo fmall a
ftate. Principal adminiftrators of an em-
pire, the immenfe extent of w^hich re-
quires the moft immediate execution of
' their orders, they muft confider the
flighteft delay in public obedience as a
revolt againft authority; how greatly
is it not therefore to be feared, that
wifhing to calm the agitations of a fmall
republic, they may miftake the meafures
to be adopted ; and that whilft they ima-
gine they are providing for its happi-
nefs, they may contribute to its dettruc-
tion ?
Such, SiRF, is the caufe of our alarms;
and if almofl: the entire body of the peo-
ple of Geneva feem to repulfe the kindly
hand of Your minifters, it is not from
any
[ vii ]
any doubt of the lively concern they take
in our profperity ; but, from a melancholy
experience of forty years, that truth falls
iliort of them, and that, abforbed in ait
immenfity of objeds, they cannot difcern
her faint light amidft the obfcurity with
which it is induflrioufly furrounded.
This truth, the fafeguard of the
weak, of oppreffed innocence, fhall be
ours, if I fucceed in freeing it from the
(hackles with which paffion has fettered
it. Such is the projed I dare to form.
I owe it to my country, I owe it to
the greatnefs of Your charafter, to the
deluded equity of Your minifters. Happy
my fellow-citizens, that in their misfor-
tune they are fummoned to plead the
caufe of liberty before a Monarch, its Pa-
tron, its Protedor ^ a Monarch, w^ho fince
the beginning of his reign has been an
objed of veneration to true republi-
cans !
Yes; to defend our conftitution with
fuccefs before a Prince, the friend of
virtue and morality, it will be fufficient
to delineate the influence of that confti-
tution on the public and private manners
of a free and calumniated people. I ap-
a 2 peal
Vlll J
peal with confidence to fuch foreigners,
as, during their refidence in Geneva, havo
not difdaiaed to cultivate the friendfhip
of the numerous clafs of citizens, who,
equally remote from that degree of opu*
lence, by which the mind is depraved,
and from mifery by which it is debafed,
are there confidered as the heart of the na-
tion ; citizens, who, in the golden mean
earned by honeft induftry, have preferved>
as a facred trull, the national charadter, ve^
neration for the laws, and all the fim-
plicity of republican manners. |
Let Your Majesty condefcend to in-
terrogate thofe foreigners, their teftimony
will be, that thefe citizens fupport the
ftate by adive induftry and flourifhing
commerce; that the aftonifliing degree
of profperity to which they have raifed
a country deftitute of every local re-
Xource, has rendered it an obje6t dear
to their affedions, dear perhaps to their
pride ; that the greater exertions they
have made for this their country, the more
they think they owe it; ft:nfible that the
fruits of their induftry are grafted on
the tree of liberty, deprived of which
abjed indigence muft be their portion;
and that it is by this ever-adivefentiment
they
[ i^ ]
they are animated, from generation to ge-
neration, to ftruggle againft the attacks
made on their conftitution.
In fine, thofe foreigners, if they have
penetrated into the interior economy of
our families, will further atteft, that,
notwithilanding the ridicule thrown by
fome opulent men on a rigid obfervance
of domeftic virtues, they have feen a-
mongft us many happy fpoufes, few in-
clined to celibacy, and many young and
fober fathers 5 that education is daily
making rapid ftrides towards perfedi-
on ; that virtue is revered by the men,
pradifed by the women ; that mothers
find no guardian neceffary for the honor
of their daughters, and that the liberty
of both is its only fecurity.
Such are the public,- fuch the private
virtues of our citizens, to which even
fl^nder has given but a brighter luftre.
And were YouPv Majesty to inveftigate
the caufes, why fuch a people has notwith-
ftanding long exhibited to Europe a fpec-
tacle of ever-reviving inteftme divifions,
Your Majesty muft perceive that thefe
divifions
[ X ]
vifions originate in Geneva from the am-
bition of its rulers, from the wounds re-
peatecly inflided on perfonal liberty, and
from the inability of the citizens to put
a flop to the violation of law at home,
and the confequences of intrigue abroad.
Above all Youj; M jesty mull perceive,
that thefe di vifions were never attended
with any alarming fymptoms for Geneva,
until fome ambitious men conceived the
criminal hope of introducing the interpo^
fition of foreign powers, by painting our
diffenfions in the colours of exaggerati-
on.
The citizens of Geneva, as they re-
prefent them, are become, by a moft ex-
traordinary metamorphofis, a people of
enthufiails, w^ho require, in their frenzy,
to be eafed of a liberty which hangs
heavy on them, and who mull, even in
fpite of them, be taught to be happy.
What pretence has been made ufe of
to raife fuch clamours againll them ? Are
they reproached w^ith running into the
public places, at the nod of a few feditious
demagogues ? Have they efpoufed a part
in family quarrels ? Have they endeavoured
to raife any one to the fummit of au-
thority
[ xi ]
thority, as in the republics of the mid-
dle age? Have they rifen up for theatres,
as at Athens ? Have they called aloud
for a divifion of lands, as at Rome ?
Have they in fine folicited an abrogation
of their laws ? . . . . Sirf ; it v^as a know-
ledge of thefe very laws that the citizens
of Geneva demanded ! They called for a
code, to ferve their chiefs as the bafis of
power, and the people as the ftandard
of obedience. Mutual confidence was
about to reft on the ground-work of pub-
lic order and common fecurity; already
the work of this precious monument was
begun ; when, on a fudden, ariftocracy
founded the alarm, turned againft liberty
the fhaft ready to ftrike at arbitrary pow-
er, and the moft falutary projecS funk in-
to nought.
But, S RF, will it be credited? It was
by a violation of public faith that Your
fupport has been folicited, to fupprefs the
remonftrances of the friends to peace,
who had been difappointed of their fond-
eft hopes ! . . . .
I fhall here pafs over in filence the
means employed to introduce into Ge-
neva
[ xii ]
neva a foreign interpofition ; it was
wifhed that Your miniflers would arm
againft us ; it was therefore necelTary to
raife difturbances, and difturbances have
been raifed Why are we forced to
the painful neceffity of publifhing wrongs
we were inclined to pardon P Was it not
already too much for her children to
have fown diffenfion in the bofom of
their country ? fhould they have dragged
their fellow-citizens before a foreign tri-
bunal, to difcufs the rights of their com-
mon parent ?
Geneva is a free, independent and fo-
vereign republic; the ancient Genevefe
hold that fovereignty from God and their
fword; their fucceffors have preferved it
unimpaired.
This fovereignty refides in the general
council'^ the republic belongs to it by the
fame rights as Your crown belongs to
Your Majesty. As Grotius fays, there is
no difference between a free people and a
real king.
V/e wifli to defend that fovereignty,
becaufe it is our birth-right j a right to
us
[ xiii ]
US invaluable j becaufe we have fworn
to maintain it ; and that we are account-
able for it to all fovereign ftates, amongft
which, how fmall foever it be, we hold
our place.
We wifh above all to preferve the rights
of the general council, and to ftem the
torrent of ariftocracy, which, in a ftate
circumfcribed like ours, would be the
v/orft of governments, multiplying maf-
ters ad infinitum^ and at every llep prefent-
ing tyrants amidft equals.
There is, Sir f, a facred principle in all
republics â– , that they are inftituted, not
for the governing, but for the governed.
A view of the difTenfions with which we
have been agitated fince the beginning of
thiscentury will prove to Your Majesty,
that when this principle is trampled un-
der foot, magiftracy is unreftrained, the
fpring of public confidence broken, and
the tranquillity of the ftate deftroyed.
A perfpedive of thefe revolutions, each
exhibiting a fcene remarkable for the
crimes of ambition, the long forbearance
of the people, and the duplicity of their
rulers, will enabl e You r M a j e s t y todifco-
ver
[ xiy j
ver the fource of all our calamities, in the
manner wherein the heads of the ftate
have affeded to fet themfelves above the
opinion of the public, and to defpife that
general confidence, v^hich is the funda-
mental principle of our free aflbciation.
How can 07ie man rule twenty millions ^ faid
one of your ableft minifters— -^ puhlic
opinion^
And v^puld the magiflrates of a fmall
ftate pretend to ground their power on
any other balls than that of Yours ? Shall
it be poffible for them to throw off the
falutary yoke of this confidence, the moft
powerful of guarantees, which ought to
be ft ill more precious to them than even
to us, fince it is at once the true fubfti-
tute where the law is imperfed, the
ftrength of the rulers, and their moft
pleafing recompenfe.
To deceive themfelves in the lofs of
this poifefilon, our rich men continually
repeat that the Genevefe are honeft but
miftaken. Sire, whoever will have influ-
ence enough to perfuade You that the
voice of the people is directed by error,
will have divefted You of Your firll glory,
the
the reward the moft worthy of Your ex-
ertions.
But You a Majesty, who well knows
how to honor and appreciate the opinion of
the public, knows alfo that it cannot be
long deceived ; and after having an-
nounced to the univerfe, that You would
reign by confidence alone. You will not
affift the ariftocratic fadion in annihi-
lating the firil of our laws, the only one
that can compel them to deferve it.
Such is the length to which they have
been carried by the prejudices of educa-
tion, by falfe calculations of their real in-
terefts, and the too natural lull of power.
However they imagine themfelves already
in the road to triumph: from a flight com-
motion they have brought us into real
danger. Even blood is perhaps going to
be flied ! And what blood ? Almighty
God ! the blood of the innocent ....
The moft alarming preparations fur-
round our frontiers. Our neighbours, in-
ftead of the olive-branch of negotiation,
brandifli before our eyv s the fword of war.
What have we done, what crime of ours
can juftify fuch raeafures ? Sire, we nei-
ther
[ xvi J
ther fue for pardon nor mercy; it is juf-
tice we implore. We claim the fupport
of a conftitution that is our right, that is
difpleafing to the rich, and that we only
aiked to preferve unaltered. But let us
once be left to ourfelves, let ambition
have no foreign alfiftance to rely on, and
peace will foon be reftored by mutual fa-
crifices j never would it have been dif-
turbed, without the hope of that affift-
ance.
Such, Sire, is the general voice of the
Genevefe; fuch is the opinion of the
public acquainted with the caufe of our
misfortunes ! As long as we can entertain
a hope of making that opinion reach Your
throne, we fhall claim it as ourfhield, and
our confidence will be grounded on the
virtues of Your minifters. Could we har-
bour a thought that they would abufe
their power to opprefs us, we fhould have
nothing left but defpair ; but we flatter
ourfelves that truth will force its way;
and, happen Vv^hat will, our refiftance
will be the nobleft homage that can ever
be paid to their intentions and to thofe of
Your Majesty.
We
[ xvil ]
We are told from every quarter that
refinance will terminate in our deftrudi-
on. Without doubt ; we are confcious of
our weaknefs, of the fmallnefs of our num-
ber and the impofTibility of fucceeding :
but we have before our eyes our rights,
our oaths, thofe of free nations, and the
title oi citizens of Geneva^ of which we
are determined to be worthy to our lateft
breath. If we muft renounce our laws,
'we Jhall 072 ly have to defer t a country we
were unable to defend^ or to pay it our laft
duty by falling with it, and honourably
lofing an exiftence, which, deftitute of
liberty, would be ignominious to us.
There is one truth more I have to lay at
the foot of You a Majesty's throne, a
truth of great importance to the glory of
Your reign, and to the tranquillity of our
minds — that if we thus fall victims to the
intrigues of a few of our men in opu-
lence, if we are cruflied under the weight
of Your power, pofterity that judges
kings, pofterity, whofe approbation You
daily endeavour to deferve, will lit as ar-
biter between You and us, compare the
good You have done Your fubjeds with
Your condud to the Genevefe, and, not
knowing that Your MAjEsxy.and Your
minifters
[ xviii ]
nifters were bafely deceived, will believe
that Geneva was deftroyed, becaufe re-
publican virtues muft be difpleafing to
kings.
Bat no ! Your Majesty will not drive
to defpair the inhabitants of a city, diftin-
guifhed by its profperity, and honoured
by citizens, whofe only ambition was to
render it a feminary of enlightened, ufe-
ful and virtuous men. Sire! Deign to
call an eye upon Geneva, and behold
Yourfelf what a ftrudure the hands of li-
berty have ereded on this barren fpot. I
often contemplate it with tranfport, and
exclaim ^ no ! it is not Lewis the fixteenth
that will deftroy the work of liberty and
the afylum of virtue! My country
will flourifh and preferve her freedom ; or
if fhe ever lofes her liberty, indiijiry will
take its flight along with it : Geneya (hall
then be but a dungeon of flavery, and the
court of fome opulent and depraved men :
no longer will it fix the attention of
philofophers; and if it be ftill inhabited,
no induftry, no citizen, no Genevefe will
be found amongfl: its inhabitants.
Thefe are, Sirf, the great truths, faith-
fully delineated in the hiftory of our re-
volu-
[ xix ]
volutions. This hiflory is founded on
authentic fads ; and 1 prefume to hope that
fome generous mind will make it known
to Youx Majesty. The author's name is
configned to oblivion; it would add but
little weight to this attempt (h). Born
amongft the people, I boaft no other title
but that of Citizen of Geneva, and the
only reward I afpire to, is to fee the tri-
umph of innocence. We fhall not think
that triumph dearly bought at^any price ;
we fhall fupport, with equal conftancy,
calumny and its concomitant, misfortune;
convinced that misfortune will ceafe, the
moment
(b) This volume was publlfhed during the fiege
of Geneva, that is to fay, fome weeks before it re-
ceived the death-wound with which it was threatened,
and which I ftill endeavoured to avert. In hazarding
a laft attempt, to remove the mift of party fj/irit from
before the eyes of the ariftocratic fa6tion, prudence
impofed on me the necefTity of laying afide whatever
might awake tliat paffion; and befides, the extreme
moderation I liad prefcribed myfelf tov/ards them,
gave me a right to be anonymous : but now that the
crime of the fubje6lion of Geneva is accomphflied,
now that it is no longer queflioned of preventing it,
but revealing its authors, now that I have no more
meafures to obferve, but adherence to truth, to conceal
my name would be cowardice ; I accufe, I name, I
ought therefore to name myfelf.
[ ^x ]
moment Your M aje st y (hall be informed
of it. Alas! If YourMajf STY difclaims
affifting virtue in obfcurity and diftrefs,
where will it henceforth meet protedors
worthy of it ?
CON-
[ xxi ]
CONTENTS.
Page
ADVERTISEMENT. xxix
INTRODUCTION.
The Confiitution of Geneva before and af-^
ter the Reformation — A View of itsfuc-
cejfive Revolutions^ and the Senate's Ufur*
Rations to the beginning of the Eighteenth
Century^ when the Regeneration of the
Spirit of Liberty paved the way to the
Revolution ^ 1707. i
!■■« WfWBff.gE'jBejllU III n
PART I.
CHAPTER I.
The Revolution of 1 707. 28
C H A P. II.
The printing of the ediBs — The repeal of
the periodical General Councils, ^j
b C HA P.
xxii CONTENTS.
and Bern.
Page
CHAP. III.
Of the new taxations — the important quef-
tion they gave rife to — of the anonymous
letters^ and the fenate's per qtiifit ions
againfl the author. 68
CHAP. IV.
Of Micheli, his fyfletn and misfortunes, 73
CHAP. V.
An account of the troubles of the Tear
1734. 78
CHAP. VI.
Of the events preparatory to the mediation
of France^ and the cantons of Zurich
93
CHAP VII.
France and the cantons of Zurich and Bern
offer their mediation to the citizens., who^
after vain efforts to render their offer in-
effectual^ are confirained to accept of it. \ or
CHAP. VIII.
The hiftory of the mediation ^2/^1737. II2
CHAP.
CONTENTS.
Page
CHAP. IX.
A difcujffion of the edi6l ^/ 1738. 117
CHAP. X.
Of the a^ of guarantee annexed to the
edid of 1 738*— <?/* its tenor y its drift ^ and
its confequences. 133
CHAP. XL
7 he acceptance of the edi5l — The public re-
joicings^ and departure of the mediators, 140
xxjii
PART IL
CHAPTER L
Of the years fubfequent to the edi6l of i']q^^
''^Profperity in commerce — Improvement
in the arts-^Progrefs in knowledge. 147
CHAP. IL
The firji feeds of the public dif content —
Of the reddence of J. J. Roufleau in
Geneva^ his writings^ the decree againft
hiniy and his misfortunes — The fentence
h Z of
xxiv CONTENTS.
Page
o/* Pidtet — The ere^ion of a tribunal
without fyndics — The alarming aggran-
dizement of the Tronchin family, 1 59
CHAP III.
RouffeauV abdication — The attempts of the
friends to peace to obtain jufiice for him —
The Senate's cbftinate reffiance The
firfi reprefentations of the citizens - ^
Their conjequences. 171
C H A P. IV.
The fenate^ injlead of refioring peace to the
republic^ publicly announce their determi -
' nation to rejign their places — The delicate
Jituation of the citizens—^ oltdAXt makes
fome efforts to reconcile the two parties*^*
The fenate inform him that they will not
liflen to any negotiation. 18®
CHAP. V.
New efforts of the friends of pea ce — Ihe
general council refufes to ele5l magijirates
— Invocation of the guarantee, 190
CHAP.
CONTENTS. xxT
Page
e H A P. VL
A brief examination of the three principal
points of law in difpute between the fe^
nate and the citizens.
L
Imprifonment without reflri6lion or condi-
tion,
IL
*The right of reprefentation^ and the nega-
tive right^ by which the fenate endea-
'voured to annihilate it,
III.
The line of new ele5lion^ or the unlimited
right of refujing to eleB,
J ft. Of imprifonment without refiri6lion or
condition, 198
CHAP. VII.
Arrival at Geneva of the envoys of the
guaranteeing powers — The firfl proceed-
ing of thofe minifiers — They confent to
the citizens appointing tiventy-four com-
miffaries
xxvi CONTENTS.
Page
miffaries^^The fenate at length drop the
majky and exprefsly demand a repeal of
the edi6lof I'^o^^. 2ii
CHAP. viir.
Of the jujiification granted to the fenate by
the guaranteeing powers — The efforts of
the citizens to prevent it^^Its confe-,
quences, 224
' C H A P. IX.
CharaEler of the duke de Choifeul, and the
mediators — Noble refufal of the court of
England to interfere in the diffenfions of
Geneva, 233
CHAP. X.
Of fome events that preceded the project of
pacification drawn up by the plenipoten-
tiaries — Examination of this project, 240
C H A P. XI.
Of new menaces employed againji the citizens
-'^Proceedings previous to the project of
the mediators being laid before the general
council — RejeUion of the projeH — Confe-
quences of its reje^ion. 255
PART
CONTENTS.
XXVll
PART III.
CHAPTER I.
Page
The public calamities — Severe trials of the
citizens — The reprefentants are precluded
from any communication with France —
Commerce is prohibited — The citizens con- •
Jlancy. ' 269
CHAP. II.
The guaranteeing potvers dif agree about the
objects to be coyitained in the decijion —
^he citizens avail themfelves of the
flownefs with which that work advances^
to make their cafe known to foreign
fates. 283
CHAP. III.
Of the condition of the natives — The part
they aEled in the divijions of 1766 — '
Proceedings of the c^th of January 1767. 294
CHAP. IV.
The fenate perfift in wanting to fubje5l the
citizens to the decijion. — The reprefen-
tants in vain endeavour to dijfuade them
^ from
XTvm CONTENTS.
Page
/rem their fatal refolution — The remon-
ftrance of the i6th of Odober 1*767—^
Necker*i arrival in Geneva. 302
C H A P. V.
The three guaranteeing powers ratify the
decifion and fend it to Geneva — Exami-
nation of that 'Work — Difpojitions to an
^ccomfwdation to which it paved the way, 325
C H A P. VI.
Thefenate at length appear difpofed for an
accommodation without foreign xijffijiance —
. They refufe to appoint regular conferences
with the citizens^ and draw up articles of
peace without confulting them-^Their pro-
je^ is rejeffed in the general council. 339
CHAP. vir.
The fenate enter on new negotiations^ which
lead to preliminaries of peace— The ac-
commodation is accepted by every order cf
the Jiate^ and ratified in the general coun-
cil on the I i/A of March 1768. 352
Supplemental advertifment. 3619
[ XX1> ]
ADVERTISEMENT.
jL H E imminent danger which threatens the re-
public of GENEVA compels its inhabitants
to make an immediate appeal to the public, con-
cerning thofe tranfaOiions which have, brought on
the calamities to which they are expofed. I venture
to take upon me this tafk, which, though a painful,
is a facred one ; earnefl: to perform it, my firft
duty is regard to truth, and, in difcharge of that,
I choofe to facrifice whatever might render the
fubje6t agreeable. The true citizen ought to pre-