The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-11-22

EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI.


Among tue antiquities of the Commercial Office
the gatherings Of nearly half centuryare several
old numbers Of old English and American Journals
These, al occasional moments of leisure, We have
recently been examining, and the search has resulted
In the discovery Of divers miscellaneous articles
which, # not new, possess considerable Interest oil
one sort or another We give below conlempora-
neous account of the condemnation and execution oil
the French monarch, copying from the Jersey State
Gazette of April 10, 1893, which copied from Lon
don journals then Just received via Greenock and
Norfolk That sa me Jersey State Gazette, by the
way is still published, and is of the Oldest news
papers in America.
NATIONAL CONVENTION OF FRANCE,
THURSDAY, January I6, 1898.
The appeal nominal on tire question, "a What pun
ishmeDt shall be inflicted on Louis Capet." con-
tnued through the whole of yesterday and the pre-
cedIng night, each member assigning reasons ioi ms
opinion. The following are the most remarkable
Garran dc Coulon. g am of opinion we cannot
exercise, at the time the functions Of accusefs
Judges and Jury. The people did not delegate 10 us
the right Of pronouncng without their ratification
| consider that to be tyranny when men place them,
selves above that sacred law the sovereignty oil
the people ! respect the opinions OF those VINO en-
ertain sentiments different from mine but cannot
adopt them"
Chabot-"I vote for death, because Louis has
been tyrant because he still is one, and because
he may again become So"
Robesperre - " Because you have established
yourselves the judges of Louis, without the usual
forms, are you less his judgesi You cannot sePa-
rate your quality of Judge from that of legslator-
These two qualities indivslbe. You have
acknowledged the crimes Of the tyrant. 1t IS your
duty to punish them. No consideration should make
you hesitate respecting the punishment reserved Tor
the greatest criminal that ever existed. vote Tor
the punishment OF DEATH"
Danton--"I am not one Of those statesmen who
know not how to determine but from political prin
cples. l am republican, and do not hesitate re-
speeding the choice of that punishment reserved for
Louis the last You ought to strike terror into ty-
rants by inhexibility OF character vote for the
| punishment of death"
Robert" vote for death; and if any regret re-
| mains with me, it is, that my competence does not
| extend to all tyrants. would condemn them all to
death"
| Egalite--" Those who have made or may make
attempts against the sovereignty of the people, de-
serve DEATH vote for DEATH"
| Condorcet-"l declare that no circumstance, ex-
cept the present, could induce me TO pronounce SEN
tence of death against any one. | request that the
severest punishment, next TO death, may be inflicted
| on Lous-but in case death shall be pronounced, l
request that the political consideration presented by
Malche, viz Z" whether the punishment ought to be
accelerated or retarded" ought to be discussed"
Lanansl-"A republican is a man of few words.
The motives Of my opinion are here. Laying his
hand on his heart vote for DEATH"
Barbaroux-"l vote for the death of the tyrant--
In few moments shall vote for the expulsion of
his family"
Villet,e--"I vote for the confinement of Louis as
an hostage of peace. He is overturned amidst the
ruins of the throne, and will close up every
avenue of it,"
| Ana har sine frl,ot 10 In, No Of ba n
race, vote for the death Of LOUIS
| Thomas Paine-"I vote for the provisional con-
fnement of Louis, and for his expulsion after the
war"
Brssot-"I am of opinion that the only way of
avoiding the dangers which threaten US, is to pro-
nounce the punishment of death against Louis, and
defer its execution to the moment when the people
shall have sanctioned the constitution which we shall
| present them
The President announced that he was going to
proclaim the result of the appeal nominal The
most profound silence prevailed for some minutes
| He said
"The assembly is composed of 745 members
one of these is dead, indsposed, absent without
cause and censured in the minutes conformable to
the denree-ll absent upon commissions and who
do not vote, making in all % members who have
given opinion. The number Of votes is thus
duced to 100 In order that there may be majority
is necessary that there should be union of 36l
| suifrages ~ members have voted for death, with
the demand of d cussion on the period Of his
cuton one has voted for death with the reserve Of
its Communication or delay; two for death, not to be
carried into execution till peace, unless in Of
invasion Of the French territory, to be inflicted in
"a hours after the invasion for chains; 3l9 for
Imprisonment and Punishment and 366 for death.
The President then lowering the tone of his voice,
amidst the most awful silence, pronounced the follow
| ing sentence
al declare then, in the name of the convention,
-
LOUIS CAPEr, is DEATH.
| SATuRnAy JANuIpy