News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1901-09-11

headed by the Girondins, appointed a
commission of twelve to examine and
report upon the illegal acts of the com
mune, the stronghold of Marat's infu
ence, and, in fact of the revolution in
its essence.
Marat organized opposition in the
commune, and all the radical clubs, in
GLIDING Dantons Cordeliers and the
Jacobins, took alarm and held perma-
nent session. Marat went into the ma
tiOnal convention and moved on behalf
of the commune the suppression of the
commission of twelve as a dangerous
counter revolutionary body. He gave
his reason for demanding the suppress
sion that its continuance threatened to
provoke instruction. When Marat sat
down, a deputation from one of the in
terror sections of the commune pre-
scented itself and demanded not only
the suppression of the commission, but
the trial of its members before the rev.
olutionary tribunal.
The message of the communist depu-
ties to the convention ended with these
significant words: "The sections would
know how to save the republic of them
selves if forced to do it," This called
the president of the convention, mod
crate to his feet. Said he: 'If the con-
vention were outraged through any of
those disturbances in Paris which have
been so frequent since the 10th of
March and which within the last week
have become a daily occurrence in all
quarters of the city; if they should
take the shape of even an attempt to
coerce the national representation, l
tell you in the name of the whole of
France that Paris will be annihilated.
Yes, France will take such vengeance
on the guilty city that it will soon be
necessary to inquire on which bank of
the Seine the capital once Stood"
This was the moment of Danton's
pre-eminence in the revolutionary coun-
ellis, and he lowered above Robespierre
only to rouse his envy and become
marked for the guillotine. The assem-
bly, broke out in an uproar and Dan
tons voice was heard above the tumult,
shouting in the face of the president:
"This impudence is beginning to be too
much for us! We shall resist you! Let
there be no more truce between the
Mountain and the towards who have
wished to save the tyrantn'
Danton had previously posed as a
moderate, and even later, when it be-
came war to the death between Giron-
din and Jacobin, he tried to save the
Girondins. But the limit had been
reached, and the end was that the
president was forced from his chair
and a close friend of DantOn elevated
in his place. A vote was taken which
suppressed the obnoxious commission
of twelve. Danton, Robespierre and
Marat, with the mayor of Paris, began
the organization of the communists
for general instruction. This was the
end of the Girondins. Thirty-two mem
bers of that faction were arrested, and
the remainder fled the city.
All France was thrown into q tu-
multi, and it became a struggle with
Paris against the whole country. Dan
ton fought with Robespierre against
the Girondins until it came to the
point of killing them, when his old tenn
per of moderation again mastered him.
But Robespierre had cast the die and
even at last sacrificed his colleague, an
ally forced upon him by circumstances
and one he had always secretly hated.
Branded as a moderate, Danton was
seized and thrown into prison. Some
of the convention tried to save his life,
but it was decreed that Gin the name Of
virtue terror is irrevocably the order Of
the day." The charge against Danton
was that he was the accomplice of the
enemies of the republic, the very men
he had helped to destroy, and he was