roads. After this the two parties armed against each other. Even
camps began to be formed. Horrible massacres and conflagrations
followed, the reports of which, when brought to the mother-country, were
so terrible, that the Assembly abolished the decree in favour of _the
Free People of Colour_ in the same year.

In the year 1792, the news of the rescinding of the decree as now
stated, produced, when it reached St. Domingo, as much irritation among
the People of Colour, as the news of the passing of it had done among
the Whites, and hostilities were renewed between them, so that new
battles, massacres, and burnings, took place. Suffice it to say, that as
soon as these events became known in France, the Conventional Assembly,
which had then succeeded the Legislative, took them into consideration.
Seeing, however, nothing but difficulties and no hope of reconciliation
on either side, they knew not what other course to take than to do
justice, whatever the consequences might be. They resolved, accordingly,
in the month of April, that the decree of 1791, which had been both made
and reversed by the preceding Assembly in the same year, should stand
good. They restored therefore the People of Colour to the privileges
which had been before voted to them, and appointed Santhonax, Polverel,
and another, to repair in person to St. Domingo, with a large body of
troops, and to act there as commissioners, and, among other things, to
enforce the decree and to keep the peace.

In the year 1793, the same divisions and the same bad blood continuing,
notwithstanding the arrival of the commissioners, a very trivial matter,
viz. a quarrel between a _Mulatto_ and a _White man_ (an officer in the
French marine), gave rise to new disasters. This quarrel took place on
the 20th of June. On the same day the seamen left their ships in the
roads, and came on shore, and made common cause of the affair with the
white inhabitants of the town. On the other side were opposed the
Mulattos and other People of Colour, and these were afterwards joined by
some insurgent Blacks. The battle lasted nearly two days. During this
time the arsenal was taken and plundered, and some thousands were killed
in the streets, and more than half the town was burnt. The
commissioners, who were spectators of this horrible scene, and who had
done all they could to restore peace, escaped unhurt, but they were left
upon a heap of ruins, and with but little more power than the a