H́nh ảnh trang
PDF
ePub

appeared undecided how it would of the mob. They directed the us, faid he, without dooming them Many of their least partial friends to death, caft away these monsters heavily censured them for not ha from our fociety. In this manner ving adopted a line of more security, terminated the career of Barrere, against men who would have shewCollot d'Herbois, and Billaud Var-ed them no mercy, and who, by

terminate, the public was agitated with the most serious fears of feeing a renovation of the horrors from which they hoped to have escaped. The fpirit of moderation, which had, Ince the fall of Robespierre, been predominant, was so unacceptable to the Jacobin party, which, though checked, was not fuppreffed, that, availing themfelves of the lenity profeffled by government, they aflembled in various places, and held difcourses of a tendency to rouse into an infurrection all that were disposed to join them. The pretence, by means of which they excited the populace to discontent, was the scarcity of bread. Whether this was real or effected, through their machinations, an immenfe crowd arose on the first of April, and proceeded to the hall of the convention, demanding bread, and the conftitution of 1793. The latter of these demands plainly thewed who were the instigators of this insurrection. The Jacobin members of the convention explicitly abetted these demands. Emboldened by this fupport, the spokesman of the infurgents told the convention, that those in whose name he addressed them were the men of the fourteenth of July, the tenth of August, and the thirty-first of May; that they would not fuffer the accused members to be facrificed to their enemies; and expected the convention would alter its meafures.

When the infurgents broke into the hall, the convention was employed in a discussion how to remedy the scarcity that was complained of; but this sudden interruption forced them to have recourse to immediate means, for their preservation from the fury

alarm bells to be rung through all Paris, and the citizens to be called to the aid of the convention. They readily obeyed the fummons, and affembled to the number of twenty thousand. But, from two in the afternoon till fix in the evening, the convention was in the power of the infurgents, from whom, as they had forcibly entered the hall, danger was reafonable apprehended; their words and demeanour being full of insolence and menaces.

The city was no less alarmed than the convention. Knowing the number and resolution of the Jacobins, and dreading a return of their tyranny, they took up arms with the utinost zeal in every section; and, by this demonstration of adherence to the convention, intimidated the infurgents, who, finding themselves unequal to the force ce that opposed them, were compelled to disperse. What highly contributed to the fuppreffion of this tumult was the presence of Pichegru, who happened aufpiciously to be at Paris. He took the command of the Paris military, and quickly restored the public tranquillity. Delivered from their perilous fituation, the convention pasled a decree for the punishment of the authors of this riot. As it had evidenly been excited to prevent the trial of the denounced members, it was moved by Dumont, a popular member, of noted firmness, that they should immediately be sentenced to punishment. In order to foften the rigour of a condemnation that might appear precipitate, their lives were spared; but they were banished to Guiana, and ordered to be tranfported thither without delay. Let [G3]

us

rennes, after having made fo confpicuous a figure during the two first years of the republic. Vaudier, their afsociate, had found means to make his escape.

The party of the moderates refolved to improve this opportuity of ridding the convention of fome of those turbulent spirits that still 'guided the motions of the remaining members of the mountain. That bold and restless faction, though fubdued, was not destroyed, and loft no occafion of reviving and enforcing its atrocious maxims. A bout twenty of the principal among them were put under arrest, and imprisoned in the castle of Ham, in the province formerly called Picardy. Had they acted in the same manner against the government of Robespierre, as they had done against the prefent, no one doubted that they would have to fuffer death. The system of moderation, against which they so violently declaimed, was the fole cause of their preservation; and yet individuals arose who, with that philofophic coolness which, however praiseworthy in its principle, is too prone to require the fame regularity of proceeding in tempestuous as in peacable times, took upon them to describe the conduct of the moderate party as deferving of cenfure, on this occafion, for having neglected the formalities of a regular trial. Without entirely absolving this party, the universal affent of all those who dreaded the renovation of the jacobin system a fufficient juftification of the they took to prevent it.

the clearest laws of retaliation, were entitled to no more lenity than they had themselves displayed, whenever the evil deftiny of their country had thrown its government into their

hands.

As foon as this dangerous infurrection had fubfided, the convention determined to enter on the long, defired, though highly arduous, undertaking, of forming a conftitution that might be acceptable to all reafonable people, and thereby bid fair to be more permanent than the preceding. A committee was appointed to prepare the method of carrying this plan into execution. The result of its consultations was, that a commission of eleven members of the convention should be authorised to draw up a system of government, comprehending a circumftantial organization of all its parts. All men were invited to communicate their sentiments on these subjects. The commiffioners selected for this great work were Languinais, Lareveillere Lepaux, Thibaudeau, Boifly D'Anglas, Le Sage, Latouche, Louvet, Bertier, Daunou, Durand, Baudin. A provisional system of government was, in the mean while, established, and to remain in force till the conftitution had been completed and accepted. It was framed on principles confiftent with those of the moderate party, and calculated to maintain a strict concord and correspondence between all the departments of government. These proceedings took place in the course of May.

An

P

An object of no less importance no less a fum than seven thousand

to France, in its critical fituation respecting foreign powers, was the providing means to carry on the war with fo many potent enemies. Cambon, the financier, so long celebrated for his labours in the department of finance, had been dismisled by the convention, and fucceeded by Johannot, a man of established reputation in that branch of political knowledge. In a report which he presented on the fixth of May to the convention, upon the fituation of the rational finances, he proposed two regalations to be observed, with inviolable fidelity: the one was a frict and punctual payment of the interest due on the national debt; the other was the establishment of a finking fund, to pay off the principal. Allowing the war to continue two years longer, still, he contended, money enough would remain, after defraying all other expences, to answer the purposes of fuch a fund. According to his ftatements, the property of the nation, in lands and forests, estates of the emigrants, royal palaces, and domains, together with the produce of the fame nature in Belgium, were valued altogether at a sum equal to more than 11,00001. sterling per annum. This, he afferted, was an amount amply fufficient for the expences of the war, on a fuppofition of its lasting a much longer space than probable, and for a complete liquidation of the whole debt. After entering into various calculations, to prove the justness of his ideas, he concluded by asserting, that, after defraying all charges, there would remain, clear and unappropriated, according to the accounts and valuations referred to,

millions of livres.

This enumeration of the refources remaining to France afforded great fatisfaction to the public; but the deeper class of fpeculators could not refrain from hinting their doubts of the folidity of the multifarious objects on which his calculations were founded. Admitting their exactness, still the uncertainty of those amounts, which were to arife from assets exifting only in expectation, was alone a defect, that reduced his system to a mere poffibility. But this, in pecuniary matters, was no foundation to build upon; especially in a country, the government of which was liable to fo many viciffitudes, and the finances of which could not, of course, be confidered in a situation of stability.

The late commotions had left an impreffion on the public mind, fo inimical to the jacobins, that the convention, no less defirous of depreffing that turbulent party, and punishing the chief agents in its enormities, resolved, in compliance with the reiterated defire of the majority, to bring to justice, conformably to their promise, the execrated instruments of Robespierre's cruelties, the prefident and judges of the revolutionary tribunal. The multiplicity of crimes they were accused of required fome time to be arranged: they were accused of having prostituted the adminiftration of justice, in the most scandalous and infolent manner, to ferve the purposes of oppreffion and cruelty; and of having made out lifts of persons to be fentenced to deatli, under juridical forms, merely to gratify private enmity. Contrarily suffer him to go unpunished. He was unanimously delivered up to a court of justice, in that city, where he had exercised most of his enormities, and there brought to a trial, which terminated in his execution some time in July.

to the laws of humanity, and of too well apprised of his guilt to all civilized countries, pregnant women had been ordered for execution, Such was their thirst of blood, that they had been known to take no longer a space of time than three hours to try and condemn fixty individuals. They were so hardened and unfeeling in this work of death, and their conduct so careless and inattentive, that the father had been executed for the fon, and the son for the father Frequently they had refused copies of indictments to prifoners. Instead of a legal felection of juries by lot, out of the body of citizens, they had packed and chosen them as they thought proper. At the head of these accufations stood the name of Fouquier Tainville, a man as much detested as his patron Robespierre. Fifteen others were comprehended in the lift, either judges or jurors of the revolutionary tribunal. They were condemned and executed on the ninth of May, to the universal fatiffaction of the humane and equitable part of society.

There still remained a man equally guilty with the worst of those who had fuffered, and who had signalized himself by his barbarities as copioufly as Robespierre himself. This was Joseph Lebon, already mentioned. Loaded as he was with crimes and murders, the convention allowed him to speak in his own defence. He was one of those men, whom nature, in an evil hour for the community, endows with a firewed head and a wicked heart. He pleaded his cause eight or nine fuccessive days, with as much coolness and resolution as if his conscience had been wholly clear of all offence. But though his audience might be aftonished at his abilities, they were

This marked spirit of vengeance, on the jacobin party, roused its abettors in every quarter; and they too determined to seize the first moment of revenge. They loudly ac. cused the moderate party of thield. ing themselves under that denomination, the more fecurely to conceal the plots they were contriving for the restoration of royalty. But the falsity of these accufations was fo manifest, that they passed unheeded by the more cool republicans. The convention did not seem in the least inclined to favour the royalifts. It enacted at this very time some severe regulations to prevent their return into France, without lawful permission. It softened, indeed, the unneceffary rigour with which they had hitherto been treated. The property of none was confiscated, but actual emigrants: the estates of fuch as had fuffered during the late tyranny, were restored to the lawful heirs: and the relations, and even the creditors of known emigrants were excepted from the severity of the laws against them.

But the lenity which the convention seemed evidently inclined to adopt, whenever occafion offered, could not fail to procure them the ill-will of those unruly multitudes, whose minds had been perverted by the inexorable maxims of the terrorists. They watched in filence for another opportunity of rifing against the convention; and a favourable one foon recurred. The scarcity

carcity of bread in the late commotion, whether real or artificial, was now become too true. The principal of the remaining leaders of the poobins, who lay concealed in the obicurest parts of Paris, availed themselves of the ill-temper of the hungry populace, and perfuaded them that the want of provifions was due to the indolence of the convention, and their neglecting the proper means of providing supplies for the metropolis. Among those leaders were two members of the cwention, whom it had fentenced to imprisonment with feveral others: bat they contrived to escape, and were now concealed in that most turbulent faction of all the metropolis, the fuburb of St. Antoine. These were Cambon, the financier, and Thurot, men equally dangerous through their abilities, their refolution, and their influence over the multitude. Through their machinations the people were excited to the most outrageous complaints and menaces against the government, and a determination taken to rife in arms against the convention.

The day chosen for this purpole was the twentieth of May. They prepared it on the preceding day, by diftributing papers in the several fections full of the most rancorous charges against the convention, and of exfiortations to submit no longer to fo weak and incapable a government. Those measures produced their intended effect; the members of the convention were openly reviled in the streets, and compelled to withdraw to places of shelter, but this manifestation of popular fury, contributed in the issue to their Jafety. Forewarned thereby of what was preparing, they had time for the taking of fome precautions,

In the inflammatory papers, circulated by the exciters of the infurrection, they recommended it unequivocally, as the duty of the people when they were aggrieved. They advised the citizens of Paris, without diftinction, of age or fex, to repair to the convention, there to demand bread and the conftitution of 1793, the diffolution of the convention, and the arrest of all its mem: bers, and the immediate convocation of the primary aflemblies for the election of another. After these arrangements had taken place, and the multitude had been provided with pikes and other weapons, at the dawn of day the alarm bell was rung, and the drums beat to arms in the fuburbs of St. Antoine. The convention had, in the while, affembled; and after ifluing a proclamation to the citizens, to arm in their defence, passed a decree to out-law every one that beaded the infurgents: but thele now rounded the hall of the convention, and numbers of them ruthing in, loaded the deputies with abuse and infult. The tribunes being in poffeffion of the populous, for came neceffary to expel them, and a fierce contest ensued between them, and the conventional guards. The crowd was every moment bursting into the hall, exclaiming bread and the conftitution of 1793. It was with extreme difficulty the prefident could obtain a few minutes of ilence. He told the crowd that the convention was anxioufly deliberating on the means of fupplying them with bread; but, that unless they defifted from riot and diforder, none could be procured. He firmly assured them, that the convention was not to be intimidated, and would refolutely

mean

fur

force be

encounter

« TrướcTiếp tục »