The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-17

VIA 1850 u u IDC nON
eminent for n monopoly OF dospotism," Good
men. he thought. should take part in neither.
lie had no doubt that the King and his Ministers
would make great concessions to the pcoplc
rather than small ones to the Parliament" 1t
is curious, indeed, to see Jefferson's moderation
asserted in the midst OF eNtroiuc political thco-
ries: to observe how eagerly he crashed. frat. Mt
tho Assembly Of Notobles, then at the Plcnary
Court, then at tho States General, as furnishing
tho possible germ OF a real national legislature.
WhatimprovoInonts had been made would servo
well, he thought, as the groundwork for future
ones. What was neodful above all was peace.
Nothing, lie said. could be more unfortunate
than n hasty and premature appeal to arms.
There ia neither head nor BODY in the nation
to promise q successful opposition to 200, 900
regular troops. Some think tho army could not
DO depended on by tho Governments; but tho
breaking men TO military discipline is breaking
their spirits to principles of tacit obedience"
Looking over the field in 1888, Jefferson
thought the course of events would be as fol.
lows: This nation is rising from the DUST" it
was rising 30 quietly and with such scltcontrol
and decorum that Jefferson thought 1t probably
would, within two or three years. DO IN tho
enjoyment OF a tolcrably free constitution, and
that without its having cost them n drop Of
blood for none has yet been split. though the
English papers have set the whole nation to
cutting throats.". AS tho year 1888 wore on.
the States General doomed larger on tho horizon
and brought up tho preliminary questions:
Should there DO one Chamber, or two chambers,
or three Should the ommon load the way, or
should they he skilfully c~hecknatedl That the
King would not stand in tho way OF tho
popular will Jefferson was confident: ale
is the honcstcst man in tho kingdom,
and the most regular and economical. He
has no foible that will enlist him against
the good Of his people, and whatever con-
s~titution will promote this he will bcfriend:
but he will not betricnd it obstinately;
he has given repeated proof of a readiness to
sacrifice his opinions TO the wish of the ma
ton Later events seemed to show Jefferson
that the mobiles and clergy would combine To
oppose great reforms; and that, consequently.
the people would be thrown into the scale OF the
King. This may end in liberty or dcspotism,
at his will. think that both he md his Min.
istry are in favor of liberty, and that, having
twenty-threc millions and n half OF the people
on their side, they will call the other half million
to order and show thcm that, instead of having
two-thirds Of the nation, they are but the forty
eighth part"
When tho States General had actually as
scmbled, jefferson continued to show n wise
and sane moderation. "If they do not aim at
too much" he said, they may begin n good
constitution. Thcro are three articles which
they may easily obtain: First, their own meet
ing periodically; second, the exclusive right of
t%axation; third, the right Of registering laws
and proposing amendments TO them. as eyer-
ciscd now by the Parliaments. This last would
be readily approved by the court, on account Of
its hostility to the Parliamcnts, and would lead
Immediately to the origination of laws; the sec
ond has been already solemnly avowcd by the
I-..- .~I IL t. I'll ~.
will be no opposition to the first. If they
push ut much more, all may fail" Referring to
the same subject in another letter. he writes:
III the States stop here for the present moment,
all will probably end well. and they may in fu.
ture sessions obtain n suppression of icttrrs de
cdchCt. a free press. a civil list, and other modi.
~fications of their government. But it is to be
feared that an Impotence to rectify everything
at once which prevails in some minds may ter.
rify the court and lead il to appeal to force, and
to depend on that alone That Franco herself
was not ready for greater reform. or even for
certain rights deemed elementary and indispcn.
sable in English countries, jefferson
clearly saw. some. he said. would try to obtaina
habeas corpus law and a free press: Il doubt II
the latter can be obtained yet, and. as for
the former, I hardly think tho nation Itself
ripe TO accept it. Though they SEQ the evils OF
lttrsS dc c"chct. they believe these do more good
on the whole. They will think better in time.
II is q notable fact that jefferson undertook ia
frame a charter for France in ten short articles
which he forwarded to Lafayette and to a mem,
Ter OF the Third Estate. lie proposed that the
King. In "a royal session. should come forward
with the charter in his hand, to be signed by
himself and by every member OF the three
orders. This attempt to draw up n constitution
for n foreign country was not so presumptuous
ns il NAV now spsm for Jefferson WAS thnupht
OF and spoken OF in Paris as a connoisscur in
revolutions.
Prof. Hazen has compared Jeferson's letters
with the autobiography penned by him long
afteIward, and finds the latter relatively value
less in reference to the events OF tho RevOlu,
ton. For instance. in his autobiography. Jeifer
son lays the whole responsibility OF the Rcvolu,
ton upon the Queen. The King, he says, would
willingly have acQuicsccd in any scheme of gov
ernmcnt upon which the rcformers could agree
b he had n Queen OF absolute sway over his
weak mind and timid virtue. and Of character
the reverse of his in all points. This angel. as
she is gaudily painted in the rhnpsodics OF Burke
with some smhrtncss of fancy, but no sound
sense. was proud, disdainful OF restraint. indig
naut of all obstacles TO her will, caCcrin the pur.
suit of pleasure and firm enough to hold to her
desires or perish in their wreck. Her inordi
nate gambling and designations, with those
of tho Count d'Artois and others of her
clique. had been a sensible item in the cxhaus
ton of the treasury, which called into action the
reforming hand of tho nation; and her opposi
ton to 1t. her infcxiblc pcrvcrscnoss and daunt
less spirit, led her to tho guiilotine, drew the
King on with her, and plunged tho world into
crimes and calamities which will forever stair
the pages OF modern history. have ever believed
that, had there been no Queen. there would have
been no revolution. No force would have beer
provoked or exercised. Tho King would hay,
gone hand In hand with the wisdom of hi
soundcr councillors, who. guided by the in
creased lights Of the age. wished only, with thu
same pace. to advance the principles OF thei
social constitution. The decd which closed tn,
mortal course OF these sovercigns | shall neithc
approve nor condemn. | should no
have voted with this portion OF the Legislature
1.-THE portion that decrccd tho death Of Loui
XVII. l should have shut up the Queen in
convent. putting harm out of her power, ant
placed the King in his station, investing hin
with limited powers, which, l verify believe, h
would have honestly exercised. In this way