The Saint-Marc assembly gave the colony a constitution of its own.

The comte de Peynier, who governed the colony in those times of anarchy, an ardent royalist, seemed more concerned with the fate of the monarchy, then threatened in France, than with covering the men of color with the protection of the laws. His attention was chiefly absorbed by the intrigues of the Saint-Marc assembly, which aimed at the proclamation of the political independence of the island; and indeed the designs of that assembly were no longer a matter of any doubt: the decree of 8 March gave the colonial assemblies only the right to express their wishes on the legislation of the islands; it fell to the National Assembly to make the law. But the Saint-Marc assembly, usurping legislative power, gave the colony on 28 May a constitution to its liking, boldly regulated the relations of the country with the mother country; and, protected by the comité colonial, whose workings Barnave continued to direct, it enjoyed complete impunity for all these acts of omnipotence.