It is inexperienced and alarmed. It is not surprising that， in the exercise of its extemporized power， it should pass beyond its natural or legal limit， and without being aware of it， overstep the metaphysical line which the Constitution defines between its rights and the rights of the State. Neither hunger， fear， rage， nor any of the popular passions can wait； there is no time to refer to Paris.
Action is necessary， immediate action， and， with the means at hand， they must save themselves as well as they can. This or that mayor of a village is soon to find himself a general and a legislator.
This or that petty town is to give itself a charter like Laon or Vezelay in the twelfth century. "On the 6th of October， 1789，[14]
near Autun， the market-town of Issy-l'Evêque declares itself an independent State. The parish assembly is convoked by the priest， M. Carion， who is appointed member of the administrative committee and of the new military staff. In full session he secures the adoption of a complete code， political， judiciary， penal and military， consisting of sixty articles. Nothing is overlooked； we find ordinances concerning"the town police， the laying out of streets and public squares， the repairs of prisons， the road taxes and price of grain， the administration of justice， fines， confiscations， and the diet of the National Guards."He is a provincial Solon，[15] zealous for the public welfare， and a man of executive power， he expounds his ordinances from the pulpit， and threatens the refractory. He passes decrees and renders judgments in the town-hall： outside the town limits， at the head of the National Guard， saber in hand， he will enforce his own decisions. He causes it to be decided that， on the written order of the committee， every citizen may be imprisoned. He imposes and collects taxes； he has boundary walls torn down； he goes in person to the houses of cultivators and makes requisitions for grain； he seizes the convoys which have not deposited their quote in his own richly stored granaries. One day， preceded by a drummer， he marches outside the walls， makes proclamation of "his agrarian laws，" and proceeds at once to the partition of the territory， and， by virtue of the ancient communal or church property rights， to assign to himself a portion of it. All this is done in public and consciously， the notary and the scrivener being called in to draw up the official record of his acts； he is satisfied that human society has come to an end， and that each local group has the right to begin over again and apply in its own way the Constitution which it has accorded to itself without reference to anybody else. - This man， undoubtedly， talks too loudly， an proceeds too quickly； and first the bailiwick， next the Chatelet， and afterwards the National Assembly temporarily put a stop to his proceedings； but his principle is a popular one， and the forty thousand communes of France are about to act like so many distinct republics， under the sentimental and constantly more powerless reprimands of the central authority.
Excited and invigorated by a new sentiment， men now abandon themselves to the proud consciousness of their own power and independence. Nowhere is greater satisfaction found than among the new local chiefs， the municipal officers and commanders of the National Guard， for never before has such supreme authority and such great dignity fallen upon men previously so submissive and so insignificant. - Formerly the subordinates of an intendant or sub-delegate， appointed， maintained， and ill-used by him， kept aloof from transactions of any importance， unable to defend themselves except by humble protestations against the aggravation of taxation， concerned with precedence and the conflicts of etiquette，[16] plain townspeople or peasants who never dreamt of interfering in military matters， henceforth become sovereigns in all military and civil affairs. This or that mayor or syndic of a little town or parish， a petty bourgeois or villager in a blouse， whom the intendant or military commander could imprison at will， now orders a gentleman， a captain of dragoons， to march or stand still， and the captain stands still or marches at his command. On the same bourgeois or villager depends the safety of the neighboring chateau， of the large land-owner and his family， of the prelate， and of all the prominent personages of the district. in order that they may be out of harm's way he must protect them； they will be pillaged if， in case of insurrection， he does not send troops and the National Guard to their assistance. It is he who， lending or refusing public force to the collection of their rents， gives them or deprives them of the means of living. He accordingly rules， and on the sole condition of ruling according to the wishes of his equals， the vociferous multitude， the restless， dominant mob which has elected him. - In the towns， especially， and notably in the large towns， the contrast between what he was and what he is immense， since to the plenitude of his power is added the extent of his jurisdiction. Judge of the effect on his brain in cities like those of Marseilles， Bordeaux， Nantes， Rouen and Lyons， where he holds in his hand the lives and property of eighty or a hundred thousand men. And the more as， amid the municipal officers of the towns， three-quarters of them， prosecutors or lawyers， are imbued with the new dogmas， and are persuaded that in themselves alone， the directly elected of the people， is vested all legitimate authority. Bewildered by their recent elevation， distrustful as upstarts， in revolt against all ancient or rival powers， they are additionally alarmed by their imagination and ignorance， their minds being vaguely disturbed by the contrast between their role in the past and their present role：