From below， they have provoked， excused， amnestied， or tolerated and authorized all the popular attacks on property，[3] countless insurrections， seven successive jacqueries， some of them so extensive as to cover eight or ten departments at the same time. The last one let loose on all France a universal and lasting brigandage， the arbitrary rule of paupers， vagabonds and ruffians； every species of robbery， from a refusal to pay rents and leases to the sacking of chateaux and ordinary domiciles， even to the pillage of markets and granaries. Free scope was given to mobs which， under a political pretext， tax and ransom the "suspects " of all classes at pleasure， not alone the noble and the rich but the peaceable farmer and well-to-do artisan. In short， the country reverted back to a natural state， the sovereignty of appetites， greed and lust， to mankind's return to a savage， primitive life in the forests. Only a short time before， in the month of February， 1793， through Marat's recommendation， and with the connivance of the Jacobin municipality， the Paris riff-raff had broken into twelve hundred groceries and divided on the spot， either gratis or at the price it fixed， sugar， soap， brandy and coffee.
From above， they had undertaken， carried out and multiplied the worst assaults on property， vast spoliations of every sort； the suppression of hundreds of millions of incomes and the confiscation of billions of capital； the abolition without indemnity of tithes and quitrents； the expropriation of the property of the clergy， of emigrés， that of the order of Malta， that of the pious， charitable and educational associations and endowments， even laic； seizures of plate， of the sacred vessels and precious ornaments of the churches. And， because they have the power， others still more vast. After August 10， their newspapers in Paris and their commissioners in the departments，[4]
have preached"the agrarian law， the holding of all property in common， the leveling of fortunes， the right of each fraction of the sovereign people" to help itself by force to all food and stores at the expense of the owner， to hunt down the rich， proscribe "land-owners， leading merchants， financiers and all men in possession of whatever is superfluous."Rousseau's dogma that "the fruit belongs to everybody and the soil to no one" is established at an early date as a maxim of State in the Convention， while in the deliberations of the sovereign assembly socialism， openly avowed， becomes ascendant， and， afterwards， supreme.
According to Robespierre，[5]
"whatever is essential to preserve life is common property to society at large. It is only the excess which may be given up to individuals and surrendered to commercial enterprise."With still greater solemnity， the pontiff of the sect， in the Declaration of Rights which， unanimously adopted by the all-powerful Jacobin club， is to serve as the corner-stone of the new institutions， pens the following formula heavy with their consequences：[6]
"Society must provide for the support of all its members. The aid required by indigence is a debt of the rich to the poor. The right of property is limited， and applies only to that portion which the law guarantees. Every ownership， any trade， which bears prejudicially on the existence of our fellow-creatures is necessarily illicit and immoral."The meaning of this is more than clear： the Jacobin populace， having decided that the possession of， and trade in， groceries was prejudicial to its existence， the grocers' monopoly is， therefore， immoral and illicit， and consequently， it pillages their shops. Under the rule of the populace and of the "Mountain，" the Convention applies the theory， seizes capital wherever it can be found， and notifies the poor， in its name，"that they will find in the pocket-books of the rich whatever they need to supply their wants."[7]
Over and above these striking and direct attacks， an indirect and hidden attack， even more significant， which slowly undermines the basis of all present and future property. State affairs are everybody's affairs， and， when the State ruins itself， everybody is ruined along with it. For， it is the country's greatest debtor and its greatest creditor， while there is no debtor so free of seizure and no creditor so absorbing， since， making the laws and possessing the force， it can， firstly， repudiate indebtedness and send away the fund-holder with empty hands， and next， increase taxation and empty the taxpayer's pocket of his last penny. There is no greater menace to private fortunes than the bad administration of the public fortune.