8th. There fhall be in every city, or principal commune, a municipality, whofe fub-prefect shall be prefident. The municipa lities fhall take care of the property of the communes.

9th. The conftituted authorities fhall be maintained by the public money.

10th. The plan of a conftitution, adopted in the canton of Leman, ci-devant Pays de Vaud, fhall be followed in every thing. Nevertheless, the power of arreft given to national projects, fhall be regulated and limited by the legislative body.

11th. The legislative body fhall put in practice the criminal inftitution of trial by jury. It fhall be at liberty in two years to revife the conftitution, and to fubmit its alterations to the primary affemblies for their fanction.

Cuftoms and ufages favourable to morals and liberty, religious opinions and worship, fhall be refpected. The legislative body hall give an example of this refpect.

(Signed)

BRUNE.

Meffage from the Executive Directory to the Council of Five Hundred, 23d Ventofe (March 13).

Citizens Reprefentatives,

THE Executive Directory informed you, by their meffage of the 9th Pluviofe laft, of the aggreffions which the governments of Berne and Fribourg had committed againft the French republic, and the advantage which might be derived from immediately repreffing them, by caufing the troops detached from the army of Italy to enter the Pays de Vaud, under the provifional command of Brigade-general Menard.

You will remark, that at the conclufion of this message the Executive Directory then hoped that there would be no occafion for undertaking any more hoftile meafures in order to redrefs the injury done by the Swifs government to the republic; and indeed nothing was neglected by them to perfuade us that they entertained pacific difpofitions. Deputations at Bafle to the French minifter; deputations at Payerne to General Brune, commander in chief of the French troops in the Pays de Vaud; amicable letters to Ge-. neral Schauenbourg, who, under the orders of General Brune, occupied the frontiers of the department of Mont Terrible with a corps detached from the army of the Rhine; were all employed to perfuade the French government that the Helvetic oligarchies had difcovered their errors, and felt the neceffity of repairing them.

But under thefe dreadful appearances there was concealed a hatred more envenomed than ever against the French republic. This hatred was at firft difplayed against all perfons who endea

voured to re-establish political equality in Switzerland. Hence the taking and pillaging the town of Arau, the feat of the Helvetic diet, as a punishment for the tree of liberty having been planted there. Hence the imprisonment of the patriots of Soleure, the threat to burn the houfes of thofe of Dorneck, &c.

On the 11th of this month the mask was at last pulled off, and a difpatch from their staff announced that hoftilities would commence on their part that day, at ten o'clock in the evening. The French army being attacked, feized its arms. It was the contest of liberty against tyranny: was it poffible that liberty should not triumph?

On the 12th General Schauenbourg, at the head of his corps of 17,000 men, after fome fkirmishes with advanced pofts, took poffeffion of the town of Soleure, where, attended by the acclamations of a vaft multitude, he broke the chains of the unfortunate men whom the oligarchy had held in confinement for nearly a month, and on whom they had already fired in the prifons.

On the 14th he pushed his advanced guard to Schainen, and brought the main body of his army to Lhofne.

On the 15th, at five in the morning, the troops began to march. Five fucceffive actions difplayed, on the one part, the greatest courage infpired in the Bernefe militia by fanaticifm; on the other, the invincible fuperiority of French valour. Victory was every where faithful to the ftandard of the republic; and on the fame day, at one in the afternoon, General Schauenbourg entered Berne.

To thefe preludes of new hoftilities were added all the preparations of war. In a fhort time, the members of the government of Berne, always fkilful in fanaticizing the mind of the people, collected under their standard an army of 50,000 men, and then kept no measures except fuch as were necellary to conceal their perfidy a little longer.

On the 7th of this month, while they were negotiating with General Brune, they directed a detachment of their forces against him, and took poffeffion, by furprife, of the village of Leyfin, a dependency of the Pays de Vaud. This was doubtlefs fufficient to determine General Brune to break off the conferences; but being more the friend of peace than defirous of new laurels, he still afforded time for conciliation. The conferences were continued, but produced no other confequences than enabling the government of Berne to ftrengthen itfelf more and more, particularly in occupying the towns of Soleure and Fribourg, the magiftrates of which were entirely devoted to that government.

On the following night he was, joined by the advanced guard of the corps which had left the Pays de Vaud, under the immediate command of the general in chief, Brune. His march was alfo a series of victories, which are the more glorious that

they were difputed with fingular bravery and inconceivable obfti

nacy.

Ón the 12th, at the fame moment that Soleure opened its gates to General Schauenbourg, Fribourg was carried by affault; but which muft, however, praife the moderation of the conqueror. Perfons and property were as religiously refpected as if the town. had furrendered by capitulation. Even the prifoners that had been taken were fet at liberty, and tears of joy attested their gra

titude.

On the fame day, in the evening, the Bernese evacuated Morat, a town famous for the battle which was gained there over the Bourguignons in 1476, for the manner in which the bones of the vanquished were preferved. A trophy fo infulting to the French nation could not fail to be destroyed under fuch circumstances. This in fact was done, and, what is very remarkable, it was performed by the battalions of the department of the Cote d'Or, on the very day which was the anniverfary of the battle of Morat. A tree of liberty was immediately planted in the room of this monument, which the oligarchies pointed out beforehand as deftined to be a fecond time the tomb of the French.

On the 14th the commander in chief caufed a column, under the orders of General Rampon, to advance towards the famous paffage of Gumine, which the enemy had planted with batteries. At the fame time the column of General Pigeon attacked the paffage of Neveneck, on the Sauffen.

On the 15th, at four o'clock in the morning, this paffage was forced, and the enemy's camp carried, after an action which lafted about five hours. General Rampon alfo forced the paffage of Gumine.

While the troops were in action upon thefe two points, an infurrection took place in the extremity of the Pays de Vaud, near Yverdun. Some Bernese officers and emigrants commanded the rebels, who had paffed two pieces of cannon by the lake of Neufchatel. Fortunately, the general in chief had taken proper meafures: the rebels were defeated, and their cannon taken, by a detachment partly compofed of Vaudefe volunteers.

This is not the only occafion on which thefe volunteers have fhown that they were worthy of combating for the liberty of their country. They diftinguished themselves at the taking of Fribourg, where the blood of many of them flowed.

Twenty-nine ftandards, a numerous artillery, the punishment of the oligarchy, liberty restored to Switzerland, and the national juftice facrificed-fuch, citizens reprefentatives, are the fruits of the victories which the aggreffions of the tyrants of Helvetia have forced our brethren in arms to obtain over them.

Thefe victories are the more aftonishing, as the French troops had every where to furmount obftacles prefented by pofitions which VOL. VII.

U

nature

nature feemed to have rendered impregnable, which art had fortified with all its refources, and which were defended by the most formidable artillery.

When the armies of the republic have conquered the troops which were reckoned the most warlike of Europe, you will doubtlefs judge, citizens reprefentatives, how tranquil France may be as to the iffue of the coalition which the cabinet of ***** *****'* feeks to renew, and for which it employs all that is powerful in falfehood, in gold, and in feduction.

The triumph of the republic in Switzerland is the more glorious and the more pleafing, that, while it is a new victory, and a victory particularly obtained over England, which had made this country the centre of its intrigues, it will reftore the eftimable people of Helvetia to their original dignity, and deliver them for ever from the humiliating yoke of the moft tyrannic oligarchy. (Signed) MERLIN, President.

LAGARDE, Sec. General.

Proclamation of the General in Chief of the French Army in Helvetia, to the Helvetic Nation.

Brave Helvetians,

Head Quarters at Berne, July 8. ONE of the moft perfidious means which the enemies of our regeneration have employed to fhut your hearts against confidence in us, and to fpread around fufpicion and anxiety, is to afcribe to the French republic the defign of uniting the territory of the Helvetic republic to that of the French republic. Cowardly wretches! Finding they were unable to refift thofe victorious arms which broke afunder the chains of the patriots, and delivered the victims of oligarchy, they wifhed at leaft to avenge their difgrace, by exciting hatred and difguft against a government which foftered among you the establishment of an order of things to which itself owes its force and its luftre-against an army which overwhelmed anarchy and fanaticifm by turns, which, but for its valour, would have, converted Switzerland into one vast tomb.

Brave Helvetians! to you, who have recovered thofe rights of which a free conftitution will fecure the enjoyment--to you, who do not confound the tranfient crifis of a revolution with the bleffings which muft fucceed to it-to you it will doubtlefs be fufficient to point out this new stratagem of your enemies, to ensure its defeat, and to turn its effect against its authors themselves.

Is not France already fufficiently powerful-fufficiently extenfive? Has the added to her territory Holland, and the fine countries of Italy, which were conquered by the force of her arms? Are not the Batavian, Cifalpine, Ligurian, and Roman republics,

monuments

monuments of her refpect for the independence of nations and the fovereignty of every people? Have not yourselves received the most unequivocal proofs of it?

No! Switzerland is not deftined to augment the number of our departments. The country of William Tell is worthy of ranking among free states and reprefentative governments: fhe will accomplish that fplendid deftiny, and the will find in the French republic a faithful ally and a fincere friend, always ready to protect her against all her enemies.

(Signed)

SCHAUENBOURG.

Felix Deportes, Commisary of the Government, to the Executive Directory.

Geneva, 27 Germinal (April 16)...: GE ENEVA is now happy; its union with the French republic has been unamimously proclaimed by the extraordinary commiffion, after the fovereign council which had been held in the morning. A folemn deputation, preceded by a crowd of citizens, who made the air refound with cries of "Live the great nation! Live the Executive Directory!" came to announce this refolution I accepted in your names the withes of the Genevele people. The moft criminal and unparalleled intrigues were made ufe of to interrupt the defigns of the fovereign council. The hofts of anarchists wifhed to deftroy the hopes of the people, they wifhed to prevent the prolongation of the powers of the commiffion. But the patriots of Geneva braved the vociferations and poniards of their tyrants, and out of 3197 voters, 2204 gave their fuffrages for the prolongation, and 33 votes were declared null and void. The commiffion then could no longer doubt of the voice of the citizens, and haftened to fatisfy their impatience. At this moment that committee is treating with me in negotiating. a treaty of union. After the fitting of the fovereign council under the exprefs demand of the Genevefe, I put within their walls an armed force commaded by General Gerard, and only confifting of about 1200 men, merely fufficient to fupprefs the fury of the brigands who threatened to destroy the friends of the French. The half of this force returns this morning to its cantonments at Carrange and Ferney, the remaining part reft in barracks at Ge neva. Such is the wifh of the Geneve fe people, and it is upon the promife of my keeping amongst them the conquerors of the Rhine, that the friends of France have mounted the tri-coloured cockade. I will not fpeak to you, citizens directors, of the enthufiafm with which our brave defenders were received by their new fellow-citizens; all their wants were anticipated; there was a general emulation to afford them every fpecies of accom U 2 modation;

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