This voluntary destruction of property can be best observed in the third department， that of Corrèze.[77] Not only have the peasants here refused to pay rents from the beginning of the Revolution； not only have they "planted maypoles， supplied with iron hooks， to hang " the first one that dared to claim or to pay them； not only are violent acts of every description committed "by entire communes，""the National Guards of the small communes participating in them；"not only do the culprits， whose arrest is ordered， remain at liberty， while "nothing is spoken of but the hanging of the constables who serve writs，" but farther， together with the ownership of the water-sources， the power of collecting， directing， and distributing the water is overthrown， and， in a country of in a country of steep slopes， the consequences of such an operation may be imagined. Three leagues from Tulle， in a forming a semi-circle， a pond twenty feet in depth， and covering an area of three hundred acres， was enclosed by a broad embankment on the side of a very deep gorge， which was completely covered with houses， mills， and cultivation. On the 17th of April， 1791， a troop of five hundred armed men assembled by the beat of a drum， and collected from three villages in the vicinity， set themselves to demolish the dike. The proprietor， M. de Sedières， a substitute-deputy in the National Assembly， is not advised of it until eleven o'clock in the evening.
Mounting his horse， along with his guests and domestics， he makes a charge on the insane wretches， and， with the aid of pistol and gun shots， disperses them. It was time， for the trench they had dug was already eight feet deep， and the water was nearly on a level with it： a half-hour later and the terrible rolling mass of waters would have poured out on the inhabitants of the gorge. - But such vigorous strokes， which are rare and hardly ever successful， are no defense against universal and continuous attacks. The regular troops and the gendarmerie， both of which are in the way of reorganization or of dissolution， are not trustworthy， or are too weak. There are no more than thirty of the cavalry in Creuse， and as many in Corrèze. The National Guards of the towns are knocked up by expeditions into the country， and there is no money with which to provide for their change of quarters. And finally， as the elections are in the hands of the people， this brings into power men disposed to tolerate popular excesses. At Tulle， the electors of the second class， almost all chosen from among the cultivators， and， moreover， catechized by the club， nominate for deputies and public prosecutor only the candidates who are pledged against rentals and against water privileges. - Accordingly， the general demolition of the dikes begins as the month of May approaches. This operation continues unopposed on a vast pond， a league and a half from the town， and lasts for a whole week； elsewhere， on the arrival of the guards or of the gendarmerie， they are fired upon. Towards the end of September， all the embankments in the department are broken down：
nothing is left in the place of the ponds but fetid marshes； the mill-wheels no longer turn， and the fields are no longer watered.
But those who demolish them carry away baskets full of fish， and the soil of the ponds again becomes communal. - Hatred is not the motive which impels them， but the instinct of acquisition： all these violent outstretched hands， which rigidly resist the law， are directed against property， but not against the proprietor； they are more greedy than hostile. One of the noblemen of Corrèze，[78] M. de Saint-Victour， has been absent for five years. From the beginning of the Revolution， although his feudal dues constitute one-half of the income of his estate， he has given orders that no rigorous measures shall be employed in their collection， and the result is that， since 1789， none of them were collected. Moreover， having a reserve stock of wheat on hand， he lent grain， to the amount of four thousand francs， to those of his tenants who had none. In short， he is liberal， and， in the neighboring town， at Ussel， he even passes for a Jacobin. In spite of all this， he is treated just like the rest. It is because the parishes in his domain are "clubbist，"governed by associations of moral and practical levelers； in one of them "the brigands have organized themselves into a municipal body，"and have chosen their leader as procureur-syndic. Consequently， on the 22nd of August， eighty armed peasants opened the dam of his large pond， at the risk of submerging a village in the neighborhood， the inhabitants of which came and closed it up. Five other ponds belonging to him are demolished in the course of the two following weeks； fish to the value of from four to five thousand francs are stolen， and the rest perish in the weeds. In order to make this expropriation sure， an effort is made to burn his title-deeds； his chateau， twice attacked in the night， is saved only by the National Guard of Ussel. His farmers and domestics hesitate， for the time being， whether or not to cultivate the ground， and come and ask the steward if they could sow the seeds. There is no recourse to the proper authorities： the administrators and judges， even when their own property is concerned， "dare not openly show themselves，"because "they do not find themselves protected by the shield of the law. " - Popular will， traversing both the old and the new law， obstinately persists in its work， and forcibly attains its ends.
