The Mirrour — Concord, N.H., 1792-11-26 00:00:00, page 1

FRANCE. _ <
I Expoftion of the Motives on which the Freneb Na
tional Assembly have proclaimed the Convocation (
of re National Convention, and pronounced the
Sufpenfan of the Executive Power in the Hands
Lours xvi.
[Concluded from our laft.];
LETTERS from the Minister of the home
Department, direding the employing of
Forces against the Federates, who might wish
totake at Puris the Oath to fight for Liberty,
and it required all the Activity of the National
Assembly, all the Patriotism of the Army, all
the zeal of the enlightened Citizens, tapre
vent fatal effects of this plan of Diforgani
zatis which might have lightened up the
Flames of civil War. An Emotion o. Patri
otifin had extinguished fraternal Unton, the
divisions that had appeared too often in the
National Assembly ; and from this also the
, meins of Safety might have sprung.—The
Prbfecution commenced by the King's Orders
at the instance of the Intendant of the civil
A Lift, might have been flopped. .The Virtu
ous PETION punished, by an unjust Suspen
sion, for having spared the Blood of the Peo
ple, might have been reinstated by the Kin^ ;
and it was possible that this long furies of
faults and treasons might have fallen again
entirely upon those perfidious Counfellors, to
whom a confiding People had the long Habit
of attributing all the Crimes of our King.
The National Assembly then saw that the
Safety of the Country required extraordinary
meaftires.
They opened a discussion on the means of
saving their Country ; they instituted a Com,
mission charged to confider of and prepare a
Plan of these Means. „ .
The Declaration that the Country is in
Danger, railed all the Citizens to the com
mon Defence, aM Persons in Publick Trust to
, their Posts, and yet in the midst ofComplaints
' unceasingly repeated of the inaction of Go
+ vernmen't, on the negle9,or ill Mana^ment
of the Preparations for War, on the useless or
QI dangerous Motions, of the Armies the avow
ed Objeds of which was to favour the politi
cal Plans of one of the Generals, Ministers,
►unknown, or fufpeded, were seen to succeed
b one another rapidly, and to present, under
, new Names, the fanie Inactivity, and the-fame
Principles. °
A Declaration of the General of the Ene
my, which doomed to Death, all Freemen,
F&nd promised to Cowards and> Traitors his
Aifgraceful Proteaion, could not but add to
these suspicions. In it the Enemy of France
} seemed tp attend to nothing but the Defence
of the King of t lie French. Twenty fix mil
lions of Men were nothing in his estimation,
in comparifonof a privileged Family : Their
Blood must wet the Earth to avenge the
k flighted: Insult ; and the King instead of ex
tpreffing his Indignation against a Manjfefto
intended to take from him the Confidence of
People, seemed to expose toik and that
, reluctantly, a cold and timid Disavowal.
Who then can be astonished that
distrust in the Supreme Head of the
l Executive Power should inspire Citi
zens with the desire of no longer fee
-1 ing the Forces intended for the com-
L mon Defence, at the Disposition CT a
b King, in whose name France was at-'
{ caked, and the care of maintaining her
linternal tranquility, confided to him,
whose inttrefts were the pretexts of all
her troubles ? To thele Motives, com
fy mon to all France, were joined others,
'particularly to the Inhabitants of
$ Paris. They saw the Famines of the
jConspirators at Coblentz, forming the
habitual Society of the King and his
Family. Writers paid by the civil lift,
'Volume Ij CO NCORD, MONDAY, November ^ {792. [Number 5.]
The /Mirrour.
endeavoured, by base calumnies, to
render the Parisians odious or fufpe^b
ed in the eyes of the rest of France;
Attempts were made to sow Division
between Paris and Coblentz^ and their
audacity encreafed with their number.
The Conftityrion enjoined the king
to give notice of imminent Hostilities
to the National Aflfembly j and long
solicitations were necessary to obtain
from the Minifry the tardy Informa
tion of the March of the °Pruffian
Troops. The Confutation pronounc
ed Abdication against the King if he
did not, by some formal ad, declare
his opposition to Eoierprizes under
taken in his name against the nation ;
and the emigrant Princes had opened
publick Loans in the King's name, had
hired foreign Troops in his "n^me, had
levied French regiments in his name,
had formed a Military Houfehod
for him out of France ; and these
fads were known for more than fix
months before the King, whole pub
lick Declarations, whose remonstrances
with foreign Powers might have hin
dered the, success of these measures, had
difeharged the duty imposed upon him
by the Conftitutioo.
It was on motives thus powerful
that numerous Petiri^s, feat from a
great number of the Departments, the
wish of several Sedions of Paris, fob
lowed' by the general Expression of
the wish of the whole Commons, fo
licried the forfeiture of the King, or
the suspension of the Roy^l Power ;
and the National Aflfembly could no
longer shrink from the Examination of
this grand question.
It was their duty not to decide but
after a matured and well confidered'
Examination, after a solemn discussion,
after having heard and weighed all
opinions. But the patience of the Peo
ple was exhausted ; all at once they
appeared united as one Man in the
fame Will ; they marched towards
the place of the King's Residence,> and
the King came to seek an Asylum in
the Aflfembly of the Reprefentarives of
the People, whose fearhe knew th^t
thebfcaternal tonion of othe inhabit
;tanfs of Paris, with the Citizens of
the Departments, Wputf ^^ Sprier
an Asylum inviolable and sacred.
'National Guards had been charged
with defending the Residence which
the King had abandoned, but with
them ; Swift Soldiers were ftacioned.
The People had long seen with pain
ful surprise, Swiss battalions ffiaring
the Guard of the King, although the
ConftiTution did not allow him to have
a foreign Guard. It had long been
easy to forefee that this direst, viola
tion of the Law, whweh by its nature
conftanti, obtruded itfelf on every eye,
would sooner or liter occafmn great
misfortunes. The National Assembly
had neglected nothing to prevent
them. Report, difeuffions, motions
made by individual Members and re
ferred Committees,' had apprised the
King several months before, of the ne
cessity of dismissing from about his
Person, Men, whom every where else
the French always regarded as Friends
and Brothers ; but whom they could
not fee retained about a Constitutional
King, in direct contradiction to the
Constitution, without fufpe&ing that
they had become the instruments of the
Enemies of their Liberty.
A Decree had ordered their Remo
val ! Their Commander, supported by
the Ministry, demanded Changes in
the Decree : The National Assembly
consented to those Changes. A part
of the Soldiers was to remain near
Paris, but without doing any duty
that might renew disquiets ; and it
was contrary to the Sepfe of the Na
tional Assembly, contrary to the Law,
that on the ipth of August, they were
employed.oh a service, from which
every motive of humanity <nd of pru
dence ought to have kept them away,
hhey received orders to fire on the
armed Citizens, at the Inflanc the lat
ter were inviting them to Peace.—
when unequivocal signs of fraternity
announced that Peace was going to be
accepted ; at the Instant when a De
putation of the National Assembly was
seen Advancing in the midst of aims,
to speak the words of Peace and Con
ciliation, and to prevent Carnage,—
Then nothing could flop the Ven
geance of the People, who had thus
proof of a new ad of treachery, at the
very moment they were coming to
complain of those of Which they had
been the Vidims. ;>
In the midst of these disasters, the
National Assembly, afflicted, but
calm,took the Oath to main tain Equal
icy and Lwerty^r to d^at their posts ;
they took the Oath to save France, and
they fought f^fthe means.
They saw but one, which was that ,
of recuring to the Will Supreme of
the People, and inviting them to exer
c^& itafficdi^tely theif
of Sovereignty, which tlje tynft^^
has recognized, and which it could not
futya to any reftri^ion. The Pub
lick interest required that the People
Ihould ma^ifeft their Will by the sense
o£a National Convention, formed of
ReprrferitltiVes mvefted by them with
unlimited. Powers it required no less
that the Members of &is Convention
fhoul&beeleded in each Department
in an uniform Manner, and according
to a regular Mode. But the National
Afftipbly ;couk|MUeftrain rhe Pow
ers of the sovereign People, frem whom
^foh^hetWtembere of tfirf Assembly
^^^^^ ffil',f&
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