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Frenchmen who are among us conduct themselves, indeed, like brethren. Every idea of plunder, of rapine, or of injuftice of any kind, is unknown to them. Fraternity with them, as with us, is the fole order of the day.

In the name of the revolutionary committee,

P. J. B. C. VANDER AA. Amfterdam, Jan. 19, 1795, and the ft day of Dutch freedom.

Proclamation of the Reprefentatives of
the French Nation to the People of
Batavia. Amfterdam, 1ft of Plu-
viofe (Jan. 20, 1795) in the third
Year of the French Republic, one
and indivifible.

The Reprefentatives of the French
Nation with the Armies of the
North, the Sambre, and the
Meufe, to the People of Batavia.

THE tyrants who have combined against the freedom of nations declared war against us, and threatened to conquer and fubjugate us.

The treacherous ftadtholder, having reduced your government under his power, entered into the bafe confederacy formed by the tyrants, to force a great people to fubmit to the yoke of flavery.

Your blood, your treasures, were lavished for this vile purpofe; but the fuccefs of our arms has made manifeft the juftice of our cause, and our all-conquering armies have entered into your country.

Batavians! we knew you too well to imagine you could be accomplices of fo abominable a confpiracy. Our enemies are alfo yours. The blood of the founders of the republic of

the United Netherlands ftill flows in your veins; and in the midst of the confufion of war we confider you as our friends and allies. It is under this name that we enter your country. We feek not to terrify but to infpire you with confidence. It is but a few years fince a tyrannic conqueror prescribed you laws; we have abolished them, and restore you to freedom.

We come not to make you flaves; the French nation thall preserve to you your independence."

The armies of the republic fhall obferve the strictest military discipline.

All crimes, and civil offences of

citizens against citizens, fhall be punished with the most rigid juftice.

Perfonal fafety fhall be fecured, and property protected.

The freedom of religious worship fhall fuffer no restraint.

The laws and cuftoms of the country fhall be, provifionally, maintained.

The people of Batavia, exercifing that fovereignty which is their right, fhall, alone, poffefs the power to alter or modify the form of their government.

GILLET, BELLEGARDE, J. B.
LACOSTE, JOUBERT, POR-
TIEZ DE L'OISE.

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ceffary, that no members of the old police or the judicial adminiftration, their agents, or officers, whether they yet poffcfs functions, or are forbidden to exercise them any more, fhall hereafter leave the city, or continue to live out of it, without the previous knowledge and confent of the general committee of fuperintendance; think proper to decree and ordain, and it is decreed and ordained by thefe prefents, that no one of them thall hereafter leave the city without having first addreffed the committee of fuperintendance, and obtained a card of permiffion, on fhewing which, the pafiports at prefent in ufe fhall be delivered by the committee appointed to iffue them; on pain of being deemed fufpected perfons, and having their goods fequeftered. It is further ordained, that all the faid perfons already refiding without the city, fhall return within a month from the date hereof, on pain of being deemed as above, leaving notwithstanding, to thefe laft, the power (if they think themselves abfent on any lawful caufe) to inform the committee of fuperintendance thereof, which is enabled to difpenfe with their return, if it thinks the exigence of the cafe requires it. It is further declared, that every perfon, of whatever defcription, convicted of having fraudulently required pafports under falle names, will be punished according to the nature of the offence: the committee of general fuperintendance will fit from ten o'clock in the morning till one, to deliver the aforefaid cards of permiflion.

Decreed and published the 30th of Jannary, 1795, first year of Batavian liberty.

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LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY.

THE provifional reprefentatives of the people of Amfterdam having taken into their confideration, that the commiflions of many colleges and officers are on the point of expiring, and informed that feveral officers and perfons employed in this city are embarraffed by their continuance in their places and employments, authorize and require by thefe prefents, that all citizens, who have been established, or who have been engaged in any public employment or office in this city, fuch as all commiflioners, as well thofe of the different chambers as others, all colleges, corporations, and in general, all officers and perfons employed in this city, without diftinction, who have not been exprefsly difcharged from their pofis, thall remain in their offices, employments, and functions, till it ihall be otherwife ordered, and thus provifionally fhall continue refpectively to discharge the duties thereof, in the most advantageous manner for the citizens, without being permitted to excufe themselves, on any pretext, or for any reafon whatever, to withdraw themselves from the commiflions, offices, or employments with which they have been charged, under pain of being confidered and treated as difaffected and evil-minded perfons. The aforefaid reprefentatives expect and exhort each of them to ufe his utmost efforts for

difcharging the duties of his ftation with all poffible zeal and diligence, and to contribute all in his power to endeavour to promote good order in the adminiftration of the affairs of this city.

Decreed, &c. 30th Jan. 1795. (Signed) G. BRENDER,

defire to be faithful to their duty, to lay down certain and evident principles, and to fix them as the rule of their conduct; for though we thought the final fettlement of /thefe rights ought to be the first work of a national convocation of the reprefentatives of the people named to decree and fix a form of government, we nevertheless owe to the confidence which our fellowcitizens have placed in us, to make a public and folemn recognition of the rights of man, and of a citizen, Declaration of the Rights of Man in declaring, as we recognise and

A BRANDIS, Secretary.

Public Inftrument of the new Order of Things folemnly published at the Hague.

and of a Citizen.

LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY,

THE provincial reprefentatives of the people of Holland, believing, that they owe to their fellowcitizens a folemn declaration of the principles upon which their proceedings and actions depend, to all thofe to whom thefe prefents fhall come, or who fhall hear them read, health, they make known,

That we are perfectly convinced the power, which has been confided to us, repotes only on the free choice of our fellow-citizens, and that it is from this choice alone we have received it; that no fupreme power refides in us; but that the proper fovereignty refts in the people, and this in fuch a manner, that the people can confer the exercife of it on their reprefentatives, but can never alienate it from themselves: that we are atfured the evils which this day bear fo beavily on this country, and the other provinces, owe their origin principally to the perverfe ideas which have been diftilled into the people by artifice and violence: and therefore it is the duty of the reprefentatives of the people, who

declare by these prefents,

That all men are born with equal rights, and that thefe natural rights cannot be taken from them.

That thefe rights are equality, liberty, fafety, property, and refiftance to oppreflion

That liberty is the faculty which belongs to every man, to be able to do that which does not affect the rights of other men; therefore its natural limitation is found in this principle, "Do not to another that "which thou wouldst not with him "to do unto thee."

That therefore it is permitted to all and to each to make known to others his thoughts and fentiments, be it by the way of the prefs, or by any other means.

That each man has the right to ferve God in fuch manner as he pleafes, without being in this refpect any way reftrained.

That fafety confifts in the certainty of not being troubled by. another in the exercife of his rights, nor in the peaceable poffeilion of property, legally acquired.

That each man has the right of fuffrage in the legislative affembly, of the entire fociety, either per

fonally

fonally or by representation, in the choice of which he has concurred.

That the end of all civil focieties ought to be to affure to men the peaceable enjoyment of their natural rights.

That therefore the natural liberty of being able to do every thing, which does not hurt the rights of others, ought never to fuffer any infringement, except when the end of civil fociety requires it.

That fuch bounds to natural liberty cannot be impofed, but by the people or their reprefenta

tives.

That confequently no perfon can be obliged to cede, or facrifice any part of his particular property to the general commonwealth, unlefs this thall be exprefsly regulated by the will of the people, or their reprefentatives, and according to a previous indemnity.

That the law is the free and folemn expreflion of the general will; that it is equal for all, either to punish or to reward.

That no perfon can be accufed, arrefted, or put in prifon, but in fuch cafe and according to fuch formalities as thall be previously fixed by the law itself.

That in cafe it thall be judged neceffary to hold any perfon prifoner, no one ought to be treated more rigorously than is abfolutely neceffary for confining his perfon.

That all men being equal, all are eligible to all pofts or employments, without any other motives of preference than those of virtue and of capacity.

That every one has the right to concur in requiring, from each functionary of public adminiftra

tion, an account and juftification of his conduct.

That there never can be laid the smallest restriction on the right of each citizen, to reprefent, that which is his interest, to those in whom the public authority is entrufted.

That the fovereignty`refides in the entire people, and that there fore no portion of the people can arrogate it to themselves.

That the people have at all times a right to change their form of government, to correct it, or to choose another.

That fuch are the principles upon which we have believed it to be our duty to found our actions and our proceedings; and being defirous of applying them to the order of things, which had heretofore taken place, we forthwith difcovered that the form of government, which was confirmed in 1787 by means of the invasion of the Pruf fian army, and confequently by force only, was in every respect contrary thereto.

That the perfons who heretofore compofed the affembly of the felfnamed States of Holland and Wet Friefeland, were never elected by their fellow citizens to be reprefentatives, and that therefore this government could not exift, as being abfolutely contrary to the rights of man and of a citizen: that we allo prefently perceived that all hereditary- dignities, fuch as that cí hereditary ftadtholder, captain ge neral and admiral of this province, and of the equeftrian order, as well as all hereditary nobility, are repugnant to the rights of man, and that they ought to be held and declared abolithed, as they are

declared

declared to be abolished by these prefents.

That we affure ourselves, by this declaration, all the extorted,and illegitimate oaths on the foi-difant ancient conftitution prefcribed in 1787 and 1788, become in fact of no value, inafmuch as fuch an oath ought to have been previously binding; but to tranquilife all and each, we declare befides in the name of the people of Holland, as it is well and exprefsly declared by thefe prefents, that all citizens who may have taken the above oath are hereby difcharged therefrom.

That in the fame manner the college (as the ci-devant deputy counsellors of the Southern and Northern Quarter were called,) the divifion of the economical adminiftration in regard to finances, &c. and the chamber of accounts, are entirely incompatible with thefe principles, as they all refulted from the old defective form of government, in which there was no real representation whatever, and confequently we have judged it to be our duty to fupprefs and abolish them all; and we now fupprefs and abolish them accordingly by thefe prefents, and eftablith and appoint a committee of public fafety, a military committee, a committee of finance, and a committee of accounts, the whole provifionally, and only until definitive arrangements fhall be made on thefe fubjects by an affembly of reprefentatives, chofen by all the people, who thall be convoked for that purpofe as speedily as poffible; that befides, we have not thought it fit to attach any other title to our prefent allembly than that of provitional reprefentatives of the people of Holland, without add

ing to it the name of West Frieseland, having judged that it would be better to comprehend the entire province of Holland under that denomination.

We will and ordain exprefsly the courts of juftice in this province, as well as the regency of the cities and bleffed places fitu-.. ated in it, that our prefent publication fhall be made known to all the citizens of this province by. the founding of trumpets and ringing of bells, and fuch other folemn manner as fhall be judged the most convenient in each city or place, and that it fhall be pofted up according to cuftom, and that each one fhall conform himself to it precifely.

Done at the Hague under the fmall feal of the country, the 31ft of January, 1795, the first Jear of Batavian liberty.

(Signed) P. PAULUS, Vt. C. J. DE LANGE VAN WINGAERDE.

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