>From this time forth the commune ceases to be an independent proprietor； it has nothing to fall back upon. In case of distress it is obliged to lay on extra taxes and obtain， if it can， a few additional sous. Its future revenue is at present in the tightly buttoned pockets of the new proprietors. - The prevalence of short-sighted views is once more due to the covetousness of individuals. Whether national or communal， it is always public interest which succumbs， and it succumbs always under the usurpations of indigent minorities， at one time through the feebleness of public authority， which dares not oppose their violence， and at another through the complicity of public authority， which has conferred upon them the rights of the majority.
IV.
Cupidity of tenants. - The third and fourth jacquerie. -Brittany and other provinces in 1790 and 1791. - The burning of chateaux. - Title-deeds destroyed. - Refusal of claims. -Destruction of reservoirs. - Principal characteristics， prime motive and ruling passion of the revolutionWhen there is a lack of public force for the protection of public property， there is also a lack of it for the protection of private property， for the same greed and the same needs attack both. Let a man owe anything either to the State or to an individual， and the temptation not to pay is equally the same. In both cases it suffices to find a pretext for denying the debt； in finding this pretext the cupidity of the tenant is as good as the selfishness of the tax-payer. Now that the feudal system is abolished let nothing remain of it： let there be no more seignorial claims. "If the Assembly has maintained some of them， yonder in Paris， it did so inadvertently or through corruption： we shall soon hear of all being suppressed. In the meantime we will relieve ourselves， and burn the agreements in the places where they are kept."Such being the argument， the jacquerie breaks out afresh： in truth， it is permanent and universal. Just as in a body in which some of the elements of its vital substance are affected by an organic disease， the evil is apparent in the parts which seem to be sound：
even where as yet no outbreak has occurred， one is imminent；constant anxiety， a profound restlessness， a low fever， denote its presence. Here， the debtor does not pay， and the creditor is afraid to prosecute him. In other places isolated eruptions occur. At Auxon，[59] on an estate spared by the great jacquerie of July， 1789， the woods are ravaged， and the peasants， enraged at being denounced by the keepers， march to the chateau， which is occupied by an old man and a child； everybody belonging to the village is there， men and women； they hew down the barricaded door with their axes， and fire on the neighbors who come to the assistance of its inmates. -In other places， in the districts of Saint-étienne and Montbrison， "the trees belonging to the proprietors are carried away with impunity， and the walls of their grounds and terraces are demolished， the complainants being threatened with death or with the sight of the destruction of their dwellings." Near Paris， around Montargis， Nemours， and Fontainebleau， a number of parishes refuse to pay the tithes and ground-rent (champart) which the Assembly has a second time sanctioned； gibbets are erected and the collectors are threatened with hanging， while， in the neighborhood of Tonnerre， a mob of debtors fire upon the body of police which comes to enforce the claims. - Near Amiens， the Comtesse de la Mire，[60] on her estate of Davencourt， is visited by the municipal authorities of the village， who request her to renounce her right to ground-rent (champart) and thirds (tiers). She refuses and they insist， and she refuses again， when they inform her that " some misfortune will happen to her." In effect， two of the municipal officers cause the tocsin to be rung， and the whole village rushes to arms. One of the domestics has an arm broken by a ball， and for three hours the countess and her two children are subject to the grossest insults and to blows： she is forced to sign a paper which she is not allowed to read， and， in warding off the stroke of a saber， her arm is cleft from the elbow to the wrist； the chateau is pillaged， and she owes her escape to the zeal of some of her servants. - Large eruptions take place at the same time over entire provinces； one succeeds the other almost without interruption， the fever encroaching on parts which were supposed to be cured， and to such an extent that the virulent ulcers finally combine and form one over the whole surface of the social body.
By the end of December， 1789， the chronic fermentation comes to a head in Brittany. Imagination， as usual， has forged a plot， and， as the people say， if they make an attack it is in their own defense.
- A report spreads[61] that M. de Goyon， near Lamballe， has assembled in his chateau a number of gentlemen and six hundred soldiers. The mayor and National Guard of Lamballe immediately depart in force； they find everything tranquil there， and no company but two or three friends， and no other arms than a few fowling-pieces. - The impulse， however， is given， and， on the 15th of January， the great federation of Pontivy has excited the wildest enthusiasm. The people drink， sing， and shout in honor of the new decrees before armed peasants who do not comprehend the French tongue， still less legal terms， and who， on their return home， arguing with each other in bas-breton， interpret the law in a peculiar way. "A decree of the Assembly， in their eyes， is a decree of arrest" and as the principal decrees of the Assembly are issued against the nobles， they are so many decrees of arrest against them.
