No association in France， indeed， dates farther back， and has an equal prestige. It was born before the Revolution， April 30， 1789.[30] At the assembly of the States-General in Brittany， the deputies from Quimper， Hennebon， and Pontivy saw how important it was to vote in concert， and they had scarcely reached Versailles when， in common with others， they hired a hall， and， along with Mounier， secretary of the States-General of Dauphiny， and other deputies from the provinces， at once organized a union which was destined to last. Up to the 6th of October， none but deputies were comprised in it； after that date， on removing to Paris， in the library of the Jacobins， a convent in the Rue St. Honoré， many well-known eminent men were admitted， such as Condorcet， and then Laharpe， Chénier， Champfort， David， and Talma， among the most prominent， with other authors and artists， the whole amounting to about a thousand notable personages. -- No assemblage could be more imposing -- two or three hundred deputies are on its benches， while its rules and by-laws seem specially designed to gather a superior body of men. Candidates for admission were proposed by ten members and afterwards voted on by ballot. To be present at one of its meetings required a card of admission. On one occasion， a member of the committee of two， appointed to verify these cards， happens to be the young Duke of Chartres. There is a committee on administration and a president. Discussions took place with parliamentary formalities， and， according to its status， the questions considered there were those under debate in the National Assembly.[31] In the lower hall， at certain hours， workmen received instruction and the constitution was explained to them. Seen from afar， no society seems worthier of directing public opinion； near by， the case is different. In the departments， however， where distance lends enchantment， and where old customs prevail implanted by centralization， it is accepted as a guide because its seat is at the capital. Its statutes， its regulations， its spirit， are all imitated； it becomes the alma mater of other associations and they its adopted daughters. It publishes， accordingly， a list of all clubs conspicuously in its journal， together with their denunciations； it insists on their demands；henceforth， every Jacobin in the remotest borough feels the support and endorsement， not only of his local， club， but again of the great club whose numerous offshoots reached the entire territory and which extends its all-powerful protection to the least of its adherents. In return for this protection， each associated club obeys the word of command given at Paris， and to and from， from the center to the extremities， a constant correspondence maintains the established harmony. A vast political machine is thus set agoing， a machine with thousands of arms， all working at once under one impulsion， and the lever which the motions is in the hands of a few master spirits in the Rue St. Honoré.
No machine could be more effective； never was one seen so well contrived for manufacturing artificial， violent public opinion， for making this appear to be national， spontaneous sentiment， for conferring the rights of the silent majority on a vociferous minority， for forcing the surrender of the government.
"Our tactics were very simple，" says Grégoire[32]. "It was understood that one of us should take advantage of the first favorable opportunity to propose some measure in the National Assembly that was sure to be applauded by a small minority and cried down by the majority. But that made no difference. The proposer demanded， which was granted， that the measure should be referred to a committee in which its opponents hoped to see it buried. Then the Paris Jacobins took hold of it. A circular was issued， after which an article on the measure was printed in their journal and discussed in three or four hundred clubs that were leagued together. Three weeks after this the Assembly was flooded with petitions from every quarter， demanding a decree of which the first proposal had been rejected， and which is now passed by a great majority because a discussion of it had ripened public opinion."In other words， the Assembly must go ahead or it will be driven along， in which process the worst expedients are the best. Those who conduct the club， whether fanatics or intriguers， are fully agreed on this point.