The Oppressed.
I. Revolutionary Destruction.
Magnitude of revolutionary destructiveness. - The four ways of effecting it. - Expulsion from the country through forced emigration and legal banishment. - Number of those expelled. - Privation of liberty. - Different sorts of imprisonment. - Number and situation of those imprisoned. - Murders after being tried， or without trial.
- Number of those guillotined or shot after trial. - Indication of the number of other lives destroyed. - Necessity and plan for wider destruction. - Spoliation. - Its extent. - Squandering. - Utter losses. - Ruin of individuals and the State. - The Notables the most oppressed.
The object of the Jacobin， first of all， is the destruction of his adversaries， avowed or presumed， probable or possible. Four violent measures concur， together or in turn， to bring about the physical or social extermination of all Frenchmen who no longer belong to the sect or the party.
The first operation consists in expelling them from the territory. -Since 1789， they have been chased off through a forced emigration；handed over to jacqueries， or popular uprisings， in the country， and to insurrections in the cities，[1] defenseless and not allowed to defend themselves， three-fourths of them have left France， simply to escape popular brutalities against which neither the law nor the government afforded them any protection. According as the law and the administration， in becoming more Jacobin， became more hostile to them， so did they leave in greater crowds. After the 10th of August and 2nd of September， the flight necessarily was more general； for， henceforth， if any one persisted in remaining after that date it was with the almost positive certainty that he would be consigned to a prison， to await a massacre or the guillotine. About the same time， the law added to the fugitive the banished， all unsworn priests， almost an entire class consisting of nearly 40 000 persons.[2] It is calculated that， on issuing from the reign of Terror， the total number of fugitives and banished) amounted to 150 000[3] the list would have been still larger， had not the frontier been guarded by patrols and one had to cross it at the risk of one's life； and yet， many do risk their lives in attempting to cross it， in disguise， wandering about at night， in mid-winter， exposed to gunshots， determined to escape cost what it will， into Switzerland， Italy， or Germany， and even into Hungary， in quest of security and the right of praying to God as one pleases.[4] - If any exiled or deported person ventures to return， he is tracked like a wild beast， and， as soon as taken， he is guillotined.[5] For example， M. de Choiseul， and other unfortunates， wrecked and cast ashore on the coast of Normandy， are not sufficiently protected by the law of nations. They are brought before a military commission； saved temporarily through public commiseration， they remain in prison until the First Consul intervenes between them and the homicidal law and consents， through favor， to deport them to the Dutch frontier. - If they have taken up arms against the Republic they are cut off from humanity； a Pandour[6] taken prisoner is treated as a man； an émigré made prisoner is treated like a wolf - they shoot him on the spot. In some cases， even the pettiest legal formalities are dispensed with.
"When I am lucky enough to catch 'em，" writes Gen. Vandamme， "I do not trouble the military commission to try them. They are already tried - my saber and pistols do their business."[7]