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tire inspection of the garrison (containing one foreign regiment, at that time created, includingthe superintendance of the fortifications, outworks, arsenals, and military stores, as also the internaland external police of the republic.
In order to be eligible to either of these councils, it was necessary to be a citizen of five andtwenty years of age. What I mean by citizens, were those whose parents or relatives already en-joyed the right of bourgeoisie, the better to distinguish them from the latter, who, though ex-cluded from filling any public functions in the Genevese government, were yet held in greater con-sideration, and had more privileges than the natifs, who were not allowed a seat in the GeneralAssembly ; whereas the bourgeois had a right to assist at the general election.
To all these changes, both in the magistracy and military department (added to the expensesof keeping foreign troops in pay),'to the increase of taxes for their maintenance, to the disarmingof the people, and bereaving them of their right of meeting and discussing as usual, may be at-tributed the discontent which so immediately succeeded, and which sufficiently indicated, duringmy last stay in that city, that these new regulations would be obeyed no longer than submissionto them was compelled by force, and that the people at large only waited for a favourable oppor-tunity of raising fresh disturbances. This probability has indeed been but too unfortunately con-firmed since 1790,' for, iio sooner had the French revolution been effected, than, the Genevesehaving nothing to fear from that power, many of the discontented citizens, who had retired intovoluntary exile in 1782, returned, and, uniting with their fellow-citizens, the regulations formed in1782 were, in a short time, totally overturned. This revolution was accompanied with the perpe-tration of horrors and massacres, w hich have cast an indelible stain, not only on those by whoseorders they were perpetrated, but on those who so shamefully deserted their country in the hourof peril; instead of remaining at their post and employing their best efforts to conciliate the mindsof the people, and to endeavour to stem the torrent of discontent by their example, courage, andtalents. These fugitives, on the contrary, limited the service they owed their distracted countryto the writing of a few wretched pamphlets, which served more to gratify the private pique orvengeance of a few individuals, than to promote the general good.