Such is the military force in the hands of the Jacobin masses； nothing remains but to place the civil power in their hands also， and， as the first gift of this kind was made to them by the Girondins， they will not fail to make them the second one. -- On the 1st of July， they decree that the sessions of administrative bodies should thenceforth be public； this is submitting municipalities， district， and department councils， as well as the National Assembly itself， to the clamor， the outrages， the menaces， the rule of their audiences， which in these bodies as in the National Assembly， will always be Jacobin.[38] On the 11th of July， on declaring the country in danger，[39] they render the sessions permanent， first of the administrative bodies， and next of the forty-eight sections of Paris， which is a surrender of the administrative bodies and the forty-eight sections of Paris to the Jacobin minority， which minority， through its zeal and being ever present， knows how to convert itself into a majority. -- Let us trace the consequences of this， and see the selection which is thus effected by the double decree. Those who attend these meetings， day and night， are not the steady， busy people. In the first place， they are too busy in their own counting-rooms， shops and factories to lose so much time. In the next place， they are too sensible， to docile， and too honest to go and lord it over their magistrates in the H？tel-de-ville， or regard themselves in their various sections as the sovereign people. Moreover， they are disgusted with all this bawling. Lastly， the streets of Paris， especially at night， are not safe； owing to so much outdoor politics， there is a great increase of caning and of knocking down. Accordingly， for a long time， they do not attend at the clubs， nor are they seen in the galleries of the National Assembly；nor will they be seen again at the sessions of the municipality， nor at the meetings of the sections. -- Nothing， on the other hand， is more attractive to the idle tipplers of the cafés， to bar-room oracles， loungers， and talkers， living in furnished rooms，[40] to the parasites and refractory of the social army， to all who have left the social structures and unable to get back again， who want to tear things to pieces， and， for lack of a private career， establish one for themselves in public. Permanent sessions， even at night， are not too long either for them， or for lazy Federates， for disordered intellects， and for the small troop of genuine fanatics. Here they are either performers or claqueurs， an uproar not being offensive to them， because they create it. They relieve each other， so as to be always on hand in sufficient number， or compensate for a deficiency by usurpations and brutality. The section of the Théatre-Fran？ais， for instance， in contempt of the law， removes the distinction between active and passive citizens， by granting to all residents in its circumscription the right to be present at its meetings and the right to vote. Other sections[41] admit to their sittings all well-disposed spectators， all women， children， and the nomads， all agitators， and the agitated， who， as at the National Assembly， applaud or hoot at the word of command. In the sections not disposed to be at the mercy of an anonymous public， the same herd of frantic characters make a racket at the doors， and insult the electors who pass through them. -- Thanks to this itinerant throng of co-operating intruders， the Jacobin extremists rule the sections the same as the Assembly； in the sections as in the Assembly， they drive away or silence the moderates， and when the hall becomes half empty or dumb， their motion is passed. Hawked about in the vicinity， the motion is even carried off； in a few days it makes the tour of Paris， and returns to the Assembly as an authentic and unanimous expression of popular will.[42]
At present， to ensure the execution of this counterfeit will， it requires a central committee， and through a masterpiece of delusion， Pétion， the Girondist mayor， is the one who undertakes to lodge， sanction， and organize the committee. On the 17th day of July，[43] he establishes in the offices belonging to the Commune， "a central bureau of correspondence between the sections." To this a duly elected commissioner is to bring the acts passed by his section each day， and carry away the corresponding acts of the remaining forty-seven sections. Naturally， these elected commissioners will hold meetings of their own， appointing a president and secretary， and making official reports of their proceedings in the same form as a veritable municipal council. As they are elected to-day， and with a special mandate， it is natural that they should consider themselves more legitimate than a municipal council elected four or five months before them， and with a very uncertain mandate. Installed in the town hall of Paris (H？tel-de-ville)， only two steps from the municipal council， it is natural for them to attempt to take its place； to substitute themselves for it， they have only to cross over to the other side of a corridor.
IV.
Vain attempts of the Girondins to put it down. -- Jacobin alarm， their enthusiasm， and their program.
Thus， hatched by the Girondins， does the terrible Commune of Paris come into being， that of August 10th， September 2nd 1792 and May 31st.
