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the morning after his arrival, to assure the provinces of his intention to remain in Paris. A sacrifice still more difficult was reserved for him; he was compelled to part with his body guards, whose fidelity he had experienced; two had been massacred, and several wounded, while in obedience to the order which they had received not to fire. All the art of the factious was employed in misrepresenting the conduct of a faithful wife, who was then confirming all her former good conduct; it was even evident, that all their machinations were directed against the king himself. It was to the soldiers of the French guard and of the Parisian national guard that the custody of the king was committed, under the orders of the municipality of Paris.

The king thus saw himself a prisoner in his own state; for in what other condition could he be, who was forcibly surrounded by persons whom he suspected? It is not for the purpose of censuring the Parisian national guard, that I recal these circumstances, but for that of giving an exact statement of facts; on the contrary I do justice to their attachment, when they were not acted upon by factious persons. The king convened the States-General; granted to the tiers etats a double representation; the union of the orders, the sacrifices of the 23rd of June were all his work, but his cares were not under stood. When the States-General gave themselves the name of the National Assembly, it may be recollected, how much influence the factious had upon several provinces, how many endeavours were used to overcome the principle, that the

confirmation of the laws should be given in concert with the king.

The Assembly ejected the king from the constitution, when they refused him the right of sanctioning the constitutional laws, and permitted themselves to arrange in that class those which they pleased, at the same time limiting the extent of his refusal, in any instance, to the third legislature. They voted him 25 millions per annum, a sum which was totally absorbed by the expences necessary to the dignity of his house. They left him the use of some domains under certain restrictions, depriving him of the patrimony of his ancestors; they were careful not to include in the list of his expenses those for services done to himself, as if they could be separated from those rendered to the state.

Whoever observes the different traits of the administration, will perceive, that the king was ex¬ cluded from it. He had no part in the completion of laws; his only privilege was, to request the Assemblytooccupy themselvesupon such and such subjects. As to the administration of justice, he could only execute the decrees of the judges, and appoint commissioners, whose power is much less considerable than that of the ancient attorney-general.

There remained one last prerogative, the most acceptable of the whole, that of pardoning criminals, and changing punishments: you took it from the king, and the juries are now authorized to interpret, according to their pleasure, the sense of the law. Thus is the royal majesty diminished, to which the people were accustomed to re

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thinks herself at liberty to violate them whenever her own interest makes it appear convenient.

Your desire to cause justice between nations to be observed, and to maintain the friendship that subsists between your kingdom and our empire, will certainly induce you to disregard this pretended convenience, which cannot be obtained but with the detriment of treaties, and does not allow us to doubt, that the instances which we now renew to you, both in our name and the name of the empire, will effect a cessation of all the in

novations made since the beginning of August, 1789, as far as they affect the states and vassals of our empire; that they will operate the re-establishment of the latter in the enjoyment of all the revenues of which they have been deprived; and, finally, that the re-establishment of all things, on the foot determined by the treaties, will be the consequence.

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We entreat your majesty to make known to us if this be your full intention. The more prompt your answer, and the more conformable to received custom, the less doubt we shall entertain of the sincerity of your desire, and that of your nation, to cultivate peace and friendship with the empire. We wish your majesty every thing that can contribute to your happiness.

Given at Vienna, Dec. 3, 1791.

Memoir, or Proclamation, left by the French King, and presented to the National Assembly of France on Tuesday, June 21, 1791.

While the king had any hope of seeing order and

happiness restored, by the means employed by the National Assembly and by his residence near the assembly, no sacrifice would have appeared to him too great, which might conduce to such an event; he would not even have mentioned his own personal deprivation of liberty, from the month of October, 1789. But at present, when the result of every transaction is only the destruction of royalty, the violation of property, and the endangering of persons; when there is an entire anarchy through every part of the empire, without the least appearance of any authority sufficient to control it; the king, after protesting against all the acts performed by him during his captivity, thinks it his duty to submit to the French nation the following account of his conduct.

In the month of July 1789, the king, he declares it upon his conscience, had no fear on coming amongst the Parisians. In the month of October of the same year, being advised of the conduct of some factious persons, he apprehended that his departure might afford them a pretence for fomenting a civil war. All the world is informed of the impunity with which crimes were then committed. The king, yielding to the wish of the army of the Parisians, came with his family, and established his residence at the Thuilleries. No preparations had been made for his reception, and the king was so far from finding the accommodations to which he had been accustomed, that he was even without the comforts common to persons of any condition.

Notwithstanding every constraint, he thought it his duty, on

the

the morning after his arrival, to assure the provinces of his intention to remain in Paris. A sacrifice still more difficult was reserved for him; he was compelled to part with his body guards, whose fidelity he had experienced; two had been massacred, and several wounded, while in obedience to the order which they had received not to fire. All the art of the factious was employed in misrepresenting the conduct of a faithful wife, who was then confirming all her former good conduct; it was even evident, that all their machinations were directed against the king himself. It was to the soldiers of the French guard and of the Parisian national guard that the custody of the king was committed, under the orders of the municipality of Paris.

The king thus saw himself a prisoner in his own state; for in what other condition could he be, who was forcibly surrounded by persons whom he suspected? It is not for the purpose of censuring the Parisian national guard, that I recal these circumstances, but for that of giving an exact statement of facts; on the contrary I do justice to their attachment, when they were not acted upon by factious persons. The king convened the States-General; granted to the tiers etats a double representation; the union of the orders, the sacrifices of the 23rd of June were all his work, but his cares were not under stood. When the States-General gave themselves the name of the National Assembly, it may be recollected, how much influence the factious had upon several provinces, how many endeavours were used to overcome the principle, that the

confirmation of the laws should be given in concert with the king.

The Assembly ejected the king from the constitution, when they refused him the right of sanctioning the constitutional laws, and permitted themselves to arrange in that class those which they pleased, at the same time limiting the extent of his refusal, in any instance, to the third legislature. They voted him 25 millions per annum, a sum which was totally absorbed by the expences necessary to the dignity of his house. They left him the use of some domains under certain restrictions, depriving him of the patrimony of his ancestors; they were careful not to include in the list of his expenses those for services done to himself, as if they could be separated from those rendered to the state.

Whoever observes the different traits of the administration, will perceive, that the king was excluded from it. He had no part in the completion of laws; his only privilege was, to request the Assemblytooccupy themselvesupon such and such subjects. As to the administration of justice, he could only execute the decrees of the judges, and appoint commissioners, whose power is much less considerable than that of the ancient attorney-general.

There remained one last pre rogative, the most acceptable of the whole, that of pardoning criminals, and changing punishments: you took it from the king, and the juries are now authorized to interpret, according to their pleasure, the sense of the law. Thus is the royal majesty diminished, to which the people were accustomed to re

cur,

cur, as to one common centre of goodness and beneficence.

The societies of friends of the constitution are by much the strongest power and render void the actions of all others. The king was declared the head of the army; yet the whole conduct of it has been in the committees of the National Assembly, withoutany participation: to the king was granted the right of nomination to certain places, but his choice has already met with opposition. He has been obliged to alter the duty of the general officers of the army, because his choice was not approved of by the clubs. It is to these that the revolt of several regiments is to be imputed. When the army no longer respects its officers, it is the terror and the scourge of the state; the king has always thought that officers should be punished like the soldiers, and that these latter should have opportunities of promotion according to their merit.

As to foreign affairs, they have granted to the king the nomination of ambassadors, and the conduct of negotiations; but they have taken from him the right of making war. The right of making peace is entirely of another sort. What power would enter into a negotiation, when they knew that the result must be subject to the revision of the National Assembly? Independent of the necessity for a degree of secrecy, which it is impossible should be preserved in the deliberations of the Assembly, no one will treat but with a person, who, without any intervention, is able to fulfil the contract that may be agreed upon.

With respect to the finances, the king had recognized, before the States-general, the right of the nation to grant subsidies; and, on the 23rd of June, he granted every thing required from him upon this subject. On the 4th of February the king intreated the Assembly to take the finances into their consideration, with which they somewhat slowly complied. But they have not yet formed an exact account of the receipt and expenditure; they have adopted hypothetical calculations; the ordinary contribution is in arrear, and the resource of twelve hundred millions of assignats is nearly perfected. Nothing is left to the king but barren nominations; he knows the difficulty of such a government; and, if it was possible that such a machine could go on without his immediate superintendence, his majesty would only have to regret, that he had not diminished the taxes, which he has always desired, and, but for the American war, should have effected.

The king was declared the head of the government of the kingdom, and he has been unable to change any thing without the consent of the Assembly. The chiefs of the prevailing party have thrown out such a defiance to the agents of the king, and the punishment inflicted upon disobedience has excited such apprehensions, that these agents have remained without power.

The form of government is especially vicious in two respects. The Assembly exceeds the bounds of their power, in taking cognizance of the administration of justice, and of the interior parts of the kingdom; and exercises, by its committee

committee of researches, the most barbarous of all despotisms.-Associations are established under the name of friends of the constitution, which are infinitely more dangerous than the ancient corporations. They deliberate upon all the functions of government, and exercise a power of such preponderance, that all other bodies, without excepting the national assembly it self, can do nothing but by their

order.

The king thinks it impossible to preserve such a government; and as a period approaches to the labours of the assembly, so do they lose their credit. The new regulations, instead of applying a balm to former wounds, on the contrary, increase the pain of them; the thousand journals and pamphlets of calumniation, which are only the echoes of the clubs, perpetuate the disorder; and never has the assembly dared to remedy them.-All this tends only to a metaphysical government, which is impossible in the execution.

Frenchmen! was it this that you intended in electing representatives? Do you wish that the despotism of clubs should be substituted for the monarchy under which the kingdom has flourished for fourteen centuries? The love of Frenchmen for their king is reckoned amongst their virtues. I have had too affecting proofs of it to be able to forget it. The king would not offer this memoir but for the pur pose of representing to his subjects the conduct of the factious. Per sons torn away by the triumph of M. Necker affected not to pronounce the name of the king: they pursued the archbishop of Paris; one of the king's couriers was arVOL. XXXIII.

rested, and the letters which he carried opened.

During this time the assembly appeared to insult the king; he determined to carry to Paris the words of peace: upon the journey, it was resolved that no cry of vive le roi! should be permitted. There was even a motion for carrying off the king, and putting the queen in a convent, which was loudly applauded.

In the night of the 4th and 5th, when it was proposed to the assembly to repair to the king, it was replied, that consistently with its dignity, it could not remove: from this moment the scenes of horror were renewed. On the arrival of the king at Paris, an innocent person was massacred almost within his sight, in the garden of the Thuilleries; all those who had declared against religion and the throne received the honours of a triumph. At the fœderation, upon the 14th of July, the national assembly declared, that the king was the chief, by which it was implied that they had a right to name another. His family was placed in a situation apart from himself, but that was, notwithstanding, one of the happiest moments they have passed since their stay in Paris.

Afterwards, when, on account of their religion, Mesdames, the king's aunts, wished to go to Rome, their journey was opposed, in contradiction to the declaration of rights, and both at Bellevue and Arnay le Duc, the orders of the assembly were necessary to release them, those of the king being despised. In the tumult factiously excited at Vincennes, the persons who remained about the king were ill-treated, and they carried their

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audacity

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