III. 1788. exaggerating his influence, aware of what was expected of CHAP. him, he bent his whole attention to the vital question of the convocation of the States-general, and left the ordinary details of his office to his friend, Dufresne de Saint-Leon. Alive to the incalculable importance of the measure which was now to be adopted, and knowing that a single false step would probably prove irretrievable, Necker concurred with the King in thinking that the Notables should be convened afresh, to deliberate on the course to be adopted. They were convoked, accordingly, for the 3d November 1788. Necker had previously made up his own mind what to do; his known professions and opinions left him hardly room for choice. But, like all men who are rash in opinion but timid in action, he wished to throw the sibility of the change he meditated off himself sign that he was not adequate to the crisis. general seldom calls a council of war: Napoleon rarely summoned one-Wellington, never.1 respon 1 De Stael, sur la Rev. a sure 305.Necker, A great i. 52, 53. 127. form of voting in the Statesgeneral. It was historically known that on former occasions, when the States-general were assembled, the representa- Ancient tives of the three orders of the nobles, the clergy, and the Tiers Etat,-named in equal numbers in the different electoral districts, or bailliages, as they were called, whatever the population of those districts was, met in a common hall to verify their powers and adjust the roll. This done, the representatives of each order retired to a separate chamber, where they deliberated on the matters submitted to them; and, when they had come to a decision, they returned into the common hall, and then the judgment of the whole was taken, not by head but by order; so that, if any two of the orders concurred, the third was outvoted. This, in particular, was the form observed in the last meeting of the estates in 1614, and indeed on all previous occasions. It need hardly be observed, that this is strictly in conformity with the structure of modern society as it has appeared in all the old forms of national assemblies; and it is still observed without the slightest NEW) 11040. FREE HARLEN BRANCH SIRCULATING LIBRARY III. 1788. 432, 433. 296. CHAP. deviation in the British parliament, where the sovereign, in the first instance, meets the Lords and Commons in the House of Lords; but, before business begins, the Commons withdraw, and every vote on public questions is 1 Mont. i. taken in each house separately.1 It was equally well Lab. ii. 295, ascertained that the States-general had never, in any period of French history, possessed the privilege of commencing legislative measures, or even putting a simple negative upon those issued by the King. Royal ordinances could alone originate laws or legislative changes; what the states had to do was only to consider the ordinances in which each order was interested, either in the existing laws or in proposed modifications of them, and make their remarks upon them, which were to be decided on by the King in council. They were only invested with aux Ordon- the right to make remonstrances, or tender advice: the exclusive power of originating and altering laws was vested in the King in council, enlightened, when it was so offered, l'Histoire, by their advice. And in the event of a royal edict issuing Robertson's on such advice, it was addressed, not to the States-general i. 460, 461. as a whole, but to the particular order which was interested in the question, and had tendered the advice.2 2 Preface nances, tome iii. 20. Ferrand, Esprit de iii. 88. Charles V., 128. party con chamber, deputies from the Tiers Etat. When the States-general were promised by Brienne, The popular and appointed to meet in May 1789, the whole popular tend for one party in France immediately united their strength to gain and a double two points, entirely at variance with all these usages. number of These were,-1. That the number of the deputies elected by the Tiers Etat should be equal to that elected by the two other orders taken together. This, it was contended, was indispensable to prevent the two privileged orders, whose interests were identified, entirely crushing the third estate, which had rights and interests adverse to theirs to contend for. 2. That the whole orders should deliberate and vote, not in separate chambers, but by head, in one assembly. This, it could not be denied, was an innovation hitherto unknown in the French, or indeed any European constitution; but it was strenuously argued that it was III. 1788. an innovation loudly called for by the changes in the cir- CHAP. cumstances of society, and the increasing wealth, importance, and intelligence of the commons. The interests of the three orders, it was said, are not in reality at variance: they have only been rendered so by unjust privileges having been assumed on the one side, and general ignorance existing on the other. But at length all these causes of discord have been removed, by the increasing liberality of the age, the dictates of an enlarged philosophy, and the augmented information of the people. Now, then, is the time to impress this new character, already communicated to the age, upon its institutions, and build up the monarchy afresh upon the only basis 1 Lab. ii. which is likely to be durable—a conformity to the wishes, Bertrand de necessities, and interests of the people. All objections 138. Hist. drawn from the perilous tendency of such sweeping changes de la Rev. were lost upon the heated generation which had now Mem. ii. sprung up into social activity: the threatened danger traigues, was in their estimation a recommendation the more, an les Etats objection the less. They replied in the words of the turbulent democracy of Poland: "Malumus periculosam libertatem quam quietam servitutem." 1 304, 306. Molleville, Garat's 307. D'En Mem. sur Généraux, 250, 256. 129. ment of changes. The parliament of Paris was the first body to give the signal of resistance to these sweeping innovations. That The parliapowerful assembly had too long been in alliance with the Paris resist leaders of the Tiers Etat, not to be well aware of the these aspiring temper of that body; and was too well versed in constitutional law, not to be sensible how completely the pretensions so strongly advanced by them were at variance with former usage. Gloomy presentiments, accordingly, seized several of its leading members, as to the ultimate tendency of the prodigious excitement which now agitated the public mind, and the proposal to invest popular vehemence at once with supreme power, by the duplication of the Tiers Etat, and the voting in a single chamber. Robert de Saint-Vincent, in particular, who had taken so decided a part against the King in former contests, know III. 1788. Sept. 25, 1788. CHAP. ing what a fabric of popular usurpation the Tiers Etat proposed to build upon the duplication of their numbers, and voting in a single chamber, was filled with the most dismal apprehensions. He was haunted by perpetual terrors of a vast social conflagration, of which posterity would accuse him of being the author. Impressed with these ideas, he strongly opposed the proposed measure; and after a violent debate, the parliament, by a considerable majority, resolved that the States-general should be assembled according to the forms observed when they last met in 1614. This was a very important decision, as it was held by the constitutional party that a registry by the parliament was essential to give legality to a royal ordinance; for, as matters now stood, it was registered only under this qualification.1 1 Lab. ii. 294, 295. Montg. i. 432. 130. And imme diately lose larity. their popu In an Never did a public body experience so quickly the eternal truth, that the popularity of popular leaders is entirely dependent on their advancing with the movement, as the parliament of Paris did on this occasion. instant their influence was gone. Brienne, Lamoignon, themselves, were not the objects of greater obloquy. Such was the universal odium into which they fell, that they could not appear in the streets without being insulted. D'Espréménil had been prevented from attending at this debate by his detention in the Isles d'Hières; and being soon after liberated, he was received along the whole road with the most intoxicating marks of public admiration. But no sooner did he arrive in Paris, and learn from Adrian Duport, his intimate friend, the designs of the popular party, than he at once gave in his adherence to the decision of the parliament. He was the supporter of constitutional right, not speculative change. This honourable act of moral courage, which proves the sincerity and force of his character, instantly raised against him a host of enemies; he was Gallard, accused of treachery, weakness, corruption, because he did ii, 297, 299. not choose, disregarding the laws he had sworn to observe, to adventure on the boundless sea of innovation.2 Already 222. Lab. III. he began to feel in his own person the truth of the prophecy CHAP of D'Ormesson, that heaven would punish them for demanding the States-general by granting their supplication. 1788. 131. the Not confirm the the parlia ment of The Notables met soon after, and took into consideration the all-important subject of the form of convoking Meeting of the States-general. They consisted of the same indivi- ables, who duals who had been assembled two years before; and decision of Necker secretly flattered himself that he would give a decisive proof of his influence and popularity by triumph- Paris. ing over the aristocratic body, which had proved so refractory to the proposals of Calonne. But the event soon showed that he was mistaken. The question was Nov. 3. warmly debated before them, not only in oral discussion, but in a multitude of pamphlets, which, professing to go to the bottom of the question, lost sight entirely of usage or precedent, and launched into the boundless fields of speculation and ambition. Nothing was omitted which could tend to inflame the public mind. The grossest falsehoods, the most extravagant exaggerations, were passed off without contradiction on the people-the parliament was loaded with obloquy on account of its recent decision-Necker extolled to the skies-and, to accustom the people to a contempt of things sacred, many parodies appeared on pieces of the church service, which had a prodigious circulation.* But though these *The titles of some of these were "Litanies du Tiers Etat; son Evangile; ses Vêpres; sa Passion; sa Mort, et sa Résurrection."-BERTRAND DE MOLLEVILLE, Hist. de la Révolution, i. 138. The following commencement of a catechism regarding the parliament of Paris will show the temper of the times, and the obloquy into which that once popular body had fallen :-"Question. Qu'êtes-vous de votre nature?-Réponse. Nous sommes des officiers du Roi, chargés de rendre justice à ses peuples.— Q. Qu'aspirez-vous à devenir?-R. Les legislateurs, et par conséquent les maîtres de l'état.-Q. Comment pouvez-vous en devenir les maîtres?-R. Parceque, ayant le pouvoir législatif et le pouvoir exécutif, il n'y aura rien qui puisse nous resister.-Q. Comment vous êtes-vous conduits d'abord avec le Roi?R. Nous nous sommes opposés à toutes ses volontés, en persuadant aux peuples que nous sommes leurs défenseurs, et que c'est pour le bien de tous que nous refusons d'enrégistrer les impôts.-Q. Le peuple ne verra-t-il pas que vous ne vous êtes refusés aux impôts que parceque vous aurez à les payer vous-mêmes? -R. Non; parceque nous lui ferons prendre le change, en disant que la nation seule peut consentir aux impôts, et nous demanderons les états-généraux.-R. Si VOL. I. 2 C |