775 • • F RA 
t>e-entitled to any authority, which is, not exprefsly de¬ 
rived from it. 
• 4. Political liberty confifts in the power of doing what¬ 
ever does not injure another ; the exercife of the natural 
•rights of every man, has no other limits than thofe which 
are neceffary to fecure to every other man the free exer¬ 
cife of the fame rights ; and thefe limits are determinable 
only by the law. 
5. The law ought to prohibit only aCtions hurtful to 
fcciety : what is not prohibited by the law fhould not be 
oppofed ; nor tliould any one be compelled to that which 
the law does not require. 
6. The law is an expreflion of the will of the commu¬ 
nity. All citizens have a right to concur, either perfo- 
nally or by their reprefentatives, in its formation. It 
tliould be the fame to all, whether it protects or punifhes; 
and all, being equal in its fight, are equally eligible to all 
honours, places, and employments, according to their 
different abilities, without any other diftinCtion than that 
created by their virtues and talents. 
7. No man (hall be accufed, arreffed, or held in con¬ 
finement, except in cafes determined by the law, and ac¬ 
cording to the forms which it has prefcribed. All who 
promote, folicit, execute, or caufe to be executed, arbi¬ 
trary orders, ought to be punifhed; and every citizen 
called upon or apprehended by virtue of the law, ought 
immediately to obey, and renders hiinfelf culpable by 
refiftance. 
8. The law ought to impofe no other penalties than 
fuch as are abfolutely and evidently neceffary ; and no 
one ought to be punifhed but in virtue of a law promul¬ 
gated before the offence, and legally applied. 
9. Every man being prefumed innocent till he has 
been conviCted, whenever his detention becomes indif- 
penfable, all rigour to him, more than is .neceffary to fe¬ 
cure his perfon, ought to be provided againft by the law. 
10. No man ought to be molefted on account of his 
opinions, not even of his religious opinions, provided his 
avowal of them does not difturb the public order efta- 
blifhed by law. 
11. The unreftrained communication of thoughts and 
opinions being one of the moff precious rights of man, 
every citizen may (peak, write, and publifli freely, pro¬ 
vided he is refponfible for the abufie of this liberty in 
cafes determined by the law. 
12. A public force being neceffary to give fecnrity to 
the rights of men and citizens, that force is inftituted tor 
the benefit of the community, and not for the particular 
advantage of the perfons to whom it isentrufted. 
13. A common contribution being neceffary for the 
fupport of the public force, and for defraying the other 
expences of government, it ought to be divided equally 
among the members of the community, according to 
their abilities. 
14. Every citizen has a right, either by himfelf or his 
reprefentative, to a free voice in determining the necellity 
of public contributions, the appropriation of them, and 
their amount, mode of affeffment, and duration. 
15. Every community has a right to demand of all its 
agents an account of their conduit. 
16. Every community, in which a feparation of powers 
and a fecurity of rights are not provided for, wants a con- 
ftitution. 
17. The right to property being inviolable and facred, 
no one ought to be deprived of it, except in cafes of 
evident public necefiity, legally afcertuined, and on con¬ 
dition of a juft indemnity. 
This celebrated declaration of rights, and the articles 
of the new conftitution, foothed the angry (pints of the 
multitude, and kindled the anxious hopes of France; 
but her harveft of prolperity was blafted by the chilling 
breath of famine ; neither the exertion of the committee 
of fubfiftence, the precautions of the minifter of the fi¬ 
nances, nor the liberality of the duke of Orleans, who 
devoted his princely revenue to alleviate the public dif- 
N C E. 
trefs, could prevent the Parifians from being affailed by 
that dearth which (till afflicted France, and was alfo felt 
in feveral of the neighbouring kingdoms. Even Ver¬ 
failles, the royal refidence, was not exempt from its fhare 
of mifery ; fome popular tumults, excited by the extra¬ 
vagant price of bread, ferved as a pretext for the muni¬ 
cipality to demand, and the king to grant, the regiment 
of Flanders to be called in to preferve the public tran¬ 
quillity. This meafure, which at firft appeared of no 
importance, was foon productive of confequences the 
moff fatal and fanguinary. The capital, ever alive to 
imaginary danger, beheld with fufpicion a body of regu¬ 
lar troops, whofe prefence, it was afferted, could be pro¬ 
ductive of no good ; and whofe confumption of corn 
would increafe that fcarcity, from which the inhabitants 
of Paris fo feverely fuftered. Such were the fubjeCts of 
remonffrance, when a new caufe of jealoufy prefented it- 
felf. The gardes-du-corps, or houiehold troops of the 
king, had invited to an entertainment the regiment of 
Flanders. Though it is an ancient cuftom in the French 
fervice to pay this compliment to every regiment that ar¬ 
rives, yet, as it had been delayed fome time, prudence 
at lead would have dictated the omifiion of it at fo criti¬ 
cal a moment. 
The circumffances that attended the entertainment, 
were far from allaying thofe fears which had been excited 
by the arrival of the regiment of Flanders. Befides that 
corps, the houfehold troops invited feveral officers of the 
militia of Verfailles, with their commander the celebrated 
count d’Eftaing. Towards the clofe of the evening, fe¬ 
veral ladies of the court prefented themfelves, and dif- 
tributed white cockades, which were eagerly received, 
though the regiment of Flanders had previoufly borne 
that of the nation ; a circumftance, which, if innocent in 
itfelf, was neverthelefs highly imprudent. The rumour 
of thefe occurrences rapidly fpread from Verfailles to Pa¬ 
ris ; it had preceded by a report that it was the intention 
of the king to quit his palace, and accompanied by the 
queen, whofe reproaches, it was fuppofed, had aroufed 
him to thisdecifive meafure, to efcape to Metz ; there to 
aftemble what forces he could depend upon ; and ereCt 
again the ffandard of defpotifm. The recal of regular 
troops to the neighbourhood of the capital gave weight 
to this report; and the Parifians had no fmall reafon to 
apprehend that from the moment of the king’s retreat, 
the (canty fupplies of grain which furnifiied at prefent 
but a bare fubfiftence to the capital, would be entirely 
intercepted. 
Thefe difcontents were not long confined to fecret and 
ineffectual murmurs ; on the intelligence of the myfte- 
rious entertainment of Verfailles, the clamours of the po¬ 
pulace airumed a louder and more menacing tone. The 
militia of Paris, and the ancient French guards, joined in 
the general indignation. On the 4th of October, the 
marquis de la Fayette, who was then at the committee 
of police, was addreffed by fix grenadiers, who informed' 
him that they were deputies from the fix grenadier com¬ 
panies ; that though they entertained no doubt of his in¬ 
tegrity, they believed he himfelf to be betrayed by the 
government ; that it was time an end fhould be put to 
the public diftrefs; that they could not turn their arms 
againft women who demanded bread ; that the committee 
of fubfiftence deceived them, and ought to be abolifhed. 
That they were determined to go to Verfailles, and ex¬ 
terminate the gardes-du-corps and the regiment of Flan¬ 
ders, who had trampled under foot the national cockade. 
That if the king of France was not (it to wear the crown, 
they would depofe him, and that they would crown his 
fon ; and then all would go well. Language fo feditious, 
it might have been expected would have induced the mar¬ 
quis de la Fayette, as colonel general of the militia, to 
have adopted every pofiible precaution ; but whatever 
were his motives, that general contented himfelf with 
fimply recommending patience and forbearance. His elo¬ 
quence was not attended with the fmulleft eff'eCt. Some 
hundreds 
