GEN 
t)y Charles duke of Savoy, to feize on the city by fiir- 
prife. Some troops approached the ramparts of Geneva 
in the night, and a number of foldiers had already fcaled 
a baftion, and penetrated into the town. By a fortunate 
accident the citizens were alarmed, lime enough to re- 
pulfe the enerny, and drive them from their walls. The 
memory of this deliverance was long preferved by an an- 
niverfary fete. A war commenced in canfequence of 
this perfidy, but was followed by a folemn peace the 
following year, figned at St. Julien, the aifl of July, 1603; 
at which time the conflitution of the republic, and the 
clalTes of the people, tvere eftabliflied and fettled in the 
following manner: I'hofe who had obtained permiflion 
to eftabli.fh their domicilium in the city, or on its terri¬ 
tory, were termed domicilies. This permiflion was folely 
for one-year, and was revocable at will. Their only 
privilege was to live under the protedlion of the govern¬ 
ment. Thofe who were born in country-places, de¬ 
pendent on the ftate, and had acquired property, were 
named filjeEls. Thofe diftipguifhed by the title of in- 
habitanti were fuch as were formerly fimply domiciliated, 
but to whom the edift of 1782 afterwards granted the 
right of commerce and labour. The clafs called natives 
were thofe born of inhabitants. The laft clafs, fuperior to 
all the others, was that oi citizen-, but thefonof a citizen, 
when born out of the country, was confidered as a fim- 
ple bourgeois-, nor could he be admitted into the fenate. 
A citizen was eligible to the firfl employments in the 
republic, and might become a member of the petit con- 
feil. It was on account of this fuperiority of title, that 
Houfleau afterwards affumed it with fo much triumph, as 
a check to the pride of thofe noble JhbjeQs who were his 
greateft antagonifls. From the general alfembly of ci¬ 
tizens and burgers, the inferior councils, invelfed with 
the executive power, derived their origin. T hefe formed 
three colleges. The college or council of twemy-Jive, 
which regulated the police: the council of Jixty, whole 
proper department was fimilar to that of our privy-coun- 
eil; and the council of two hundred, fuperinteiident of 
the other councils. Four Jyndics prelided at thefe,couh- 
cils, whofe charge was annual. The moll: important, 
and the mofi: fplendid office was that oiprocureur general, 
chofen from the council of two hundred. 1 he object of 
his department was to fupport the rights of the citizens, 
and to protect the conltitution. His commilfion was 
iifually for three years, but it might be extended to fix. 
To give even a general idea of the repeated commo¬ 
tions that have difturbed the repofe of Geneva, fince 
the above period, would greatly exceed the limits of 
our plan. Suffice it to obferve, that previous to the re¬ 
volution of 1782, Geneva had undergone three political 
changes fince the commencement of the eighteenth cen¬ 
tury. In the firfl, in 1707, the citizens had demanded 
the re-eflablifhment of periodical general affemblies; 
and although they had, in a great meafure, fucceeded 
according to their wilhes, yet the fenate, taking ad¬ 
vantage of the arrival of a body of Swifs troops, had 
caufed fome of the leaders to be executed : among thefe, 
fell the illuflrious Fatio ; who, contrary to all forms of 
juftice, and, after a general amnefty, pronounced by 
themfelves, was, by order of the fenate, fhot in his pri- 
fon. The next caufe of complaint arofe from the two 
councils taking to themfelves the right of impofing 
taxes, and of ereCling fortifications without the confent 
of the general council. Thisdifpute increafed ; till, in 
173S, the parties coming to open hollilities, France, 
•Zurich, and Berne, offered their mediation, which was 
accepted. Their interference, doubtlefs, was friendly, 
and their decifion was impartial: but this a6l, which 
v/as then thought to be a benefit, afterward proved the 
.calamitous fource of the greatefi miferies to Geneva. 
Their edi6t confirmed to the council-general all legifla- 
tiv.e, confederative, and elective, power, as well as. the 
right of. making war and peace^.of impofing taxes, and 
EVA. SI5 
of augmenting tlie fortifications; and, that no future dif. 
putes might arife, the tlireo powers agreed to become 
joint guarantees to the new law. 
The third revolution h:id its rife in the unjuft decree, 
palled in i762,againlt J. f. Rouifeau, as noticed above. 
This decree occafioned remonjlrancesonth<eneg^\et\. of the 
law, which, in the eagerneis of their zeal, the lenate 
had violated. The remonjlranls argued, that, as the. 
lenate would not redrefs tlie grievances wliicit had been 
produced by intringing the law, tlieir complaints ought 
to be lubmitted to the decifion of the council-general, 
whole duty it was “ to watch over the laws, fo that no 
change whal'foever lliould be made without its confent.” 
The recufants infilled that the lenate were the proper 
judges, whether they had infringed the law, or not; and 
that, as no matter could be brought before the council- 
general, unlefs propofed by the fenate and council of 
two hundred, the fenate and council therefore were to 
determine whether this complaint fliould be heard : in 
fall, that they polfelTed a negative power, by whicli they 
could, in their own body, crufii all remonftrances, and 
prevent tlie propofal of any quellion, which they did not 
willi Ihould be inveftigated. Tlie lenate thus refilling 
to fuller any appeal to the council-general, the confe- 
quence was, that, at the eleltion of fyndics, who were 
to be chofen by the council-general from the members 
of the fenate, the citizens, in turn, rejetled the whole 
lill. I'hey were obliged by law only to elect fuch as 
were, agreeable to th.em; and, by the fame law, they were 
permitted to refufe a part, or the wliole, of the names 
which were ottered : as, then, none were agreeable, they 
rejedted all. . The fenate now had recouiie to the ru¬ 
inous expedient of foliciting foreign alfiltance ; and, in- 
Head of lillening to terms of accommodation with their 
countrymen, they appealed to the infidious power of 
France. The cantons of Zurich and Berne, to v, hich 
the lenate likewife applied,, delayed, for a while, their 
interference: but, finding that the fenate perlilled in its 
determination, tliey at length joined in a meafure vvhich 
tiiey could not prevent. I'lieir mediation was fo un- 
pleafant to the citizens, that, when their propofals for 
a reconciliation were ofiered to the council-general, they 
were rejected by a large majority. The guaranteeing 
powers then retired to Soleure, wliere they pronounced a. 
decree, winch the due de Choifeul, at that time prime, 
mifiiller of France, in vain attempted to compel tiie 
Genevele to relpect. Their reliflance was unconquer¬ 
able, and the decree, (0 far from being put in force, was 
not even luiieied to be read in the general afiembly. 
Tlie fenate now found tlie necelfity of entering into fome 
terms of agreement; and, in 1768, a treaty was con¬ 
cluded, by wliich the council-general, in exchange for 
its right of refufal, in election of lyndics, received the 
privilege of eledling one lialf of the counci! of two hun¬ 
dred. The citizens obtained, likewile, the riglit ot 
re-ele£lion, or of annually excluding from tlie fenate four 
of its members, v/ho, after a lecond exclulion, could 
not again be chofen. This power was given as a balance 
to the droit negatif of the fentite, concerning wliich, no¬ 
thing was llipulated. 
During thefe troubles, the contention was between, 
the citizens and the magifirates ; between two parties, 
in whom equal power was veiled, ftruggling for the id, 
periority : but there v/as andther, and a more numerous, 
clafs of men at Geneva, whofe liberties feein to have 
been but little regarded. The citizens, whofe anger was 
fo vehement againfl the arillocracy, appear to have for¬ 
gotten that they, in fail, formed a part of that arillocracy; 
that they were the governors, while the natives were the 
governed and opprelled. Though debarred from all 
power of making or aflentiiig to laws by whicli they 
were bound, forbidden to engage in the pra6li.ee of the 
liberal profeflions, excluded from the benefit of trial by 
their equals, and deprived of the fruits of their own in- 
dufirvj 
