37 1 3 THE PLEBISCTTE IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 73 



of the act of December 15 and so, despite all former pro- 

 fessions, they set to work to force the Belgian population 

 into formal annexation with France/® 



Dumouriez was forced to consent to do what he had at 

 first refused.^" The chief tools were the numerous political 

 clubs created and supported by them in the Belgian cities. 

 These clubs did not represent the public opinion of Bel- 

 gium.®^ " The democrats who at first frequented them, 

 finally left. In February 1793 the Societe populaire of 

 Bruxelles counted hardly a dozen Belgians. * Few citizens,' 

 so the commissioners of the Convention wrote, * dare to 

 belong to the clubs of Louvain, Malines and Anvers : ' the 

 Club of Louvain admitted that it consisted of soldiers from 

 the garrison; that of Malines included 92 Frenchmen and 

 ID members from Malines ; that of Tournai, 70 persons at 

 the most. An agent of the Ministere saw in the Club of 

 Gand only few native born. Frenchmen, civilians and mili- 

 tary formed the majority of these clubs; 'there are only 

 few popular societies in Westfianders . . . and those of the 

 cities are not numerous ; almost everywhere officers and 

 French commissaries are at their head. . . .'" The patron 

 and protector of the Club of Brussels was General Moreton 

 who ardently approved of the decree of December 15. 

 " Alexandre Courtois was one of the first to demand the 

 conquest of Belgium because France, as he said, must, to 

 maintain herself, aggrandize herself incessantly. Le Brun 

 charged him to establish new clubs, to speak in the popular 

 societies, to publish bulletins for the instruction of the 

 people. . . ."^ On December 18 the Club of Brussels 

 ordered the formation of a legion of sansculottes of Bel- 

 gium and Liege. The first article of its rules proclaimed all 

 troops of the line or national guards, French as well as 

 Belgian and those of Liege, in law and in fact units of the 



70 Ihid., p. 207. 

 "" Ibid., pj). 204-207. 



"1 Ibid., p. 214. The following quotations are from the same 

 source, p. 215 fT.. wliere the original documents arc cited. 

 "^ Ibid., pp. 216-218. 



