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When I came near to Lichtensteig, I again encountered whole troops coming away from there. For our local ne'er-do-wells had likewise been met together on that day, to deliberate on the affairs of the country. Ha, thought I, things will go the same way with us as in the Appenzell country. One can already see and hear everywhere parties intriguing against parties, one throws out what the other proposes. Here and there parties have appeared, who smell strongly of those Jacobin clubs who want to see such liberty and equality brought in, all monasteries and great cities razed to the ground, if it lay in their power. And they are men of respect, but who with all their cry of liberty and equality are yet friend to no man, except for as long as they have an interest in common. And yet they claim to be ardent patriots. They hide themselves behind the farmers who are of their way of thinking, who in their narrow circles are the most arrant despots, who sooner than allow product of their petty domains to reach a poor neighbour at a low price, would rather drive it up as high as they can.

When the price of butter rose to a guilder a pound, they were capable of asking 16 batzen for it. But when it soon fell again to 10 batzen, some were capable of holding up the sale of their butter for a week, but as they well deserved, it brought them even less. Heaven be thanked! But this class of men is not the majority. In our country and everywhere one becomes aware of more men who love order, who wish for a just administration of justice, [...] What a pity that these peace-loving men cannot find a voice everywhere and make valid their good and honest thoughts. A pity that they are always shouted down by those factionists and are too kind-hearted to stop their mouths with violence. They would rather draw back in silence and keep peace and harmony among themselves.

But patience! People will in the end learn to perceive what noble fruit the tree of peace and harmony bears, and on the other hand what evil consequences come from division and disunity. People become clever when they come to harm, and yet cleverer from the example of neighbouring and more distant nations, they will clear from their road all the stumbling-blocks that can cause division and carry all for the general good and shake hands on it as brothers." [Voellmy, v 2 pp 311-313]

28th Feb. "In continuation: People from my neighbourhood are just returned from the extraordinary Appenzell assembly at Teufen. They say that it went off in a pretty tumultuous manner and resulted in bloody heads by the hundred. But they believe that none, or at any rate very few, paid for it with their lives. The Pundt party tried, using force, to help Pundt onto the platform, to answer for himself before the whole people of the land, which the opposition party would by no means allow to happen. Over this the scuffles began, but in them the Pundt men, by far the smaller party in numbers, had the worst of it, and most of them received injuries. But notwithstanding these they would not let the matter rest, although Pundt was known to be without honour or the means to defend himself and had put himself outside the law. In this tumult some foreigners who were there only as spectators are said to have received blows, choice fruit of the highest liberty and independence. Here in the Toggenburg the rage for liberty is pardonable, for full freedom is still quite new to us, so that as if a little intoxicated with new wine we tumble all over the place, collide with each other and in the beginning cannot rightly understand each other. Patience! In time it will all go better with us.

The number of representatives of the people has now been increased to 120, who dutifully assemble to deliberate over the general affairs of the region, and to meet all necessary preliminaries for establishing a proper form of government as soon as possible. But a few completely Catholic communes are holding separate commune assemblies, sending their deputies seldom or never to the conference, and are making as if to break away and set up a separate form of government. Whether they have their good reasons for this, or whether it arises from political or religious fanaticism, is not for me to say. Enough, up to this day they do not seriously intend to make common cause, notwithstanding good offers and friendly speeches, until at last the Protestant party are plainly declaring, that they are weary of these mummeries and will continue

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