Citoyen Danton: As you read English, I write this letter to you without
passing it through the hands of a translator. I am exceedingly disturbed
at the distractions, jealousies, discontents and uneasiness that reign
among us, and which, if they continue, will bring ruin and disgrace on
the Republic. When I left America in the year 1787, it was my intention
to return the year following, but the French Revolution, and the
prospect it afforded of extending the principles of liberty and
fraternity through the greater part of Europe, have induced me to
prolong my stay upwards of six years. I now despair of seeing the great
object of European liberty accomplished, and my despair arises not from
the combined foreign powers, not from the intrigues of aristocracy and
priestcraft, but from the tumultuous misconduct with which the internal
affairs of the present revolution are conducted.
All that now can be hoped for is limited to France only, and I agree
with your motion of not interfering in the government of any foreign
country, nor permitting any foreign country to interfere in the
government of France. This decree was necessary as a preliminary toward
terminating the war. But while these internal contentions continue,
while the hope remains to the enemy of seeing the Republic fall to
pieces, while not only the representatives of the departments but
representation itself is publicly insulted, as it has lately been and
now is by the people of Paris, or at least by the tribunes, the enemy
will be encouraged to hang about the frontiers and await the issue of
circumstances.
1 This admirable letter was brought to light by the late M.
Taine, and first published in full by Taine's translator,
John Durand ("New Materials for the History of the American
Revolution," 1889). The letter to Marat mentioned by Paine
has not been discovered. Danton followed Paine to prison,
and on meeting him there said: "That which you did for the
happiness and liberty of your country I tried to do for
mine. I have been less fortunate, but not less innocent.
They will send me to the scaffold; very well, my friend, I
will go gaily." M. Taine in La Revolution (vol. ii., pp.
382, 413, 414) refers to this letter of Paine, and says:
"Compared with the speeches and writings of the time, it
produces the strangest effect by its practical good sense."
--_Editor._,
I observe that the confederated powers have not yet recognized Monsieur,
or D'Artois, as regent, nor made any proclamation in favour of any
of the Bourbons; but this negative conduct admits of two different
conclusions. The one is that of abandoning the Bourbons and the war
together; the other is that of changing the object of the war and
substituting a partition scheme in the place of their first object, as
they have done by Poland. If this should be their object, the internal
contentions that now rage will favour that object far more than it
favoured their former object. The danger every day increases of a
rupture between Paris and the departments. The departments did not send
their deputies to Paris to be insulted, and every insult shown to them
is an insult to the departments that elected and sent them. I see but
one effectual plan to prevent this rupture taking place, and that is to
fix the residence of the Convention, and of the future assemblies, at a
distance from Paris.
I saw, during the American Revolution, the exceeding inconvenience that
arose by having the government of Congress within the limits of any
Municipal Jurisdiction. Congress first resided in Philadelphia, and
after a residence of four years it found it necessary to leave it. It
then adjourned to the State of Jersey. It afterwards removed to
New York; it again removed from New York to Philadelphia, and after
experiencing in every one of these places the great inconvenience of
a government, it formed the project of building a Town, not within
the limits of any municipal jurisdiction, for the future residence of
Congress. In any one of the places where Congress resided, the municipal
authority privately or openly opposed itself to the authority of
Congress, and the people of each of these places expected more attention
from Congress than their equal share with the other States amounted to.
The same thing now takes place in France, but in a far greater excess.
I see also another embarrassing circumstance arising in Paris of which
we have had full experience in America. I mean that of fixing the price
of provisions. But if this measure is to be attempted it ought to
be done by the Municipality. The Convention has nothing to do with
regulations of this kind; neither can they be carried into practice. The
people of Paris may say they will not give more than a certain price
for provisions, but as they cannot compel the country people to bring
provisions to market the consequence will be directly contrary to their
expectations, and they will find dearness and famine instead of plenty
and cheapness. They may force the price down upon the stock in hand, but
after that the market will be empty.
I will give you an example. In Philadelphia we undertook, among other
regulations of this kind, to regulate the price of Salt; the consequence
was that no Salt was brought to market, and the price rose to thirty-six
shillings sterling per Bushel. The price before the war was only one
shilling and sixpence per Bushel; and we regulated the price of flour
(farina) till there was none in the market, and the people were glad to
procure it at any price.
There is also a circumstance to be taken into the account which is not
much attended to. The assignats are not of the same value they were a
year ago, and as the quantity increases the value of them will diminish.
This gives the appearance of things being dear when they are not so in
fact, for in the same proportion that any kind of money falls in
value articles rise in price. If it were not for this the quantity of
assignats would be too great to be circulated. Paper money in America
fell so much in value from this excessive quantity of it, that in the
year 1781 I gave three hundred paper dollars for one pair of worsted
stockings. What I write you upon this subject is experience, and not
merely opinion. I have no personal interest in any of these matters, nor
in any party disputes. I attend only to general principles.
As soon as a constitution shall be established I shall return to
America; and be the future prosperity of France ever so great, I shall
enjoy no other part of it than the happiness of knowing it. In the mean
time I am distressed to see matters so badly conducted, and so little
attention paid to moral principles. It is these things that injure the
character of the Revolution and discourage the progress of liberty all
over the world. When I began this letter I did not intend making it so
lengthy, but since I have gone thus far I will fill up the remainder of
the sheet with such matters as occur to me.
There ought to be some regulation with respect to the spirit of
denunciation that now prevails. If every individual is to indulge his
private malignancy or his private ambition, to denounce at random and
without any kind of proof, all confidence will be undermined and all
authority be destroyed. Calumny is a species of Treachery that ought to
be punished as well as any other kind of Treachery. It is a private vice
productive of public evils; because it is possible to irritate men into
disaffection by continual calumny who never intended to be disaffected.
It is therefore, equally as necessary to guard against the evils
of unfounded or malignant suspicion as against the evils of blind
confidence. It is equally as necessary to protect the characters of
public officers from calumny as it is to punish them for treachery or
misconduct. For my own part I shall hold it a matter of doubt, until
better evidence arises than is known at present, whether Dumouriez has
been a traitor from policy or resentment. There was certainly a time
when he acted well, but it is not every man whose mind is strong enough
to bear up against ingratitude, and I think he experienced a great deal
of this before he revolted. Calumny becomes harmless and defeats itself,
when it attempts to act upon too large a scale. Thus the denunciation
of the Sections [of Paris] against the twenty-two deputies [Girondists]
falls to the ground. The departments that elected them are better judges
of their moral and political characters than those who have denounced
them. This denunciation will injure Paris in the opinion of the
departments because it has the appearance of dictating to them what sort
of deputies they shall elect. Most of the acquaintances that I have in
the Convention are among those who are in that list, and I know there
are not better men nor better patriots than what they are.
I have written a letter to Marat of the same date as this but not on the
same subject. He may show it to you if he chuse.
Votre Ami,
Thomas Paine.
Citoyen Danton.