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the origins of contemporary france-3-第99部分

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compels him to leave the chair through weariness and exhaustion。 It

drives out his successor; Fonfrède; in the same manner; and ends by

putting Hérault…Séchelles; one of its own accomplices; in the chair。

 Meanwhile; at the entrance of the Convention; 〃the regulations have

been violated〃; a crowd of armed men 〃have spread through the passages

and obstructed the approaches〃; the deputies; Meillan; Chiappe and

Lydon; on attempting to leave; are arrested; Lydon being stopped 〃by

the point of a saber at his breast;〃'130' while the leaders on the

inside encourage; protect and justify their trusty aids outdoors。 

Marat; with his usual audacity; on learning that Raffet; the

commandant; was clearing the passages; comes to him 〃with a pistol in

his hand and puts him under arrest;〃'131' on the ground that the

people and its sacred rights of petition and the petitioners must be

respected。 There are 〃five or six hundred; almost all of them

armed;〃'132' stationed for three hours at the doors of the hall; at

the last moment; two other troops; dispatched by the Gravilliers and

Croix…Rouge sections; arrive and bring them their final afflux。 Thus

strengthened; they spring over the benches assigned to them; spread

through the hall; and mingle with the deputies who still remain in

their seats。 It is after midnight; many of the representatives; worn

out with fatigue and disgust; have left; Pétion; Lasource; and a few

others; who wish to get in; 〃cannot penetrate the threatening crowd。〃

To compensate themselves; and in the places of the absent; the

petitioners; constituting themselves representatives of France; vote

with the 〃Mountain;〃 while the Jacobin president; far from turning

them out; himself invites them 〃to set aside all obstacles prejudicial

to the welfare of the people。。〃 In this gesticulating crowd; in the

half…light of smoky lamps; amidst the uproar of the galleries; it is

difficult to hear well what motion is put to vote; it is not easy to

see who rises or sits down; and two decrees pass; or seem to pass; one

releasing Hébert and his accomplices; and the other revoking the

commission of the Twelve。'133' Forthwith the messengers who await the

issue run out and carry the good news to the H?tel…de…ville; the

Commune celebrating its triumph with an explosion of applause。



The next morning; however; notwithstanding the terrors of a call of

the House and the fury of the 〃Mountain;〃 the majority; as a defensive

stroke; revokes the decree by which it is disarmed; while a new decree

maintains the commission of the Twelve; the operation; accordingly; is

to be done over again; but not the whole of it; for Hébert and the

others imprisoned remain at liberty; while the majority; which;

through a sense of propriety or the instinct of self…preservation; had

again placed its sentinels on the outposts; consents; either through

weakness or hopes of conciliation; to let the prisoners remain free。

The result is they have had the worst of the fight。 Their adversaries;

accordingly; are encouraged; and at once renew the attack; their

tactics; very simple; being those which have already proved so

successful on the 10th of August。



The matter now in hand is to invoke against the derived and

provisional rights of the government; the superior and inalienable

right of the people; also; to substitute for legal authority; which;

in its nature; is limited; revolutionary power; which; in its essence;

is absolute。 To this end the section of the City; under the vice…

presidency of Maillard; the 〃Septemberizer;〃 invites the other forty…

seven sections each to elect two commissaries; with 〃unlimited

powers。〃 In thirty…three sections; purged; terrified; or deserted; the

Jacobins; alone; or almost alone;'134' elect the most determined of

their band; particularly strangers and rascals; in all sixty…six

commissaries; who; on the evening of the 29th; meet at the Evêché; and

select nine from their midst to form; under the presidency of Dobsen;

a central and revolutionary executive committee。  These nine persons

are entirely unknown;'135' all are obscure subordinates;'136' mere

puppets and manikins; eight days later; on finishing their

performance; when they are no longer needed; they will be withdrawn

behind the scenes。 In the mean time they pass for the mandatories of

the popular sovereign; with full power in all directions; because he

has delegated his omnipotence to them; and the sole power; because

their investiture is the most recent; under this sanction; they stalk

around somewhat like supernumeraries at the Opera; dressed in purple

and gold; representing a conclave of cardinals or the Diet of the Holy

Empire。  Never has the political drama degenerated into such an

impudent farce!  On the 31st; at half…past six in the morning;

Dobsen and his bullies present themselves at the council…general of

the Commune; tender their credentials; and make known to it its

deposition。 The Council; with edifying complacency; accepts the fiat

and leaves the department。  With no less grateful readiness Dobsen

summons it back; and reinstates it in all its functions; in the name

of the people; and declares that it merits the esteem of the

country。'137'  At the same time another demagogue; Varlet; performs

the same ceremony with the Council of the department; and both bodies;

consecrated by a new baptism; join the sixty…six commissaries to share

the dictatorship。  What could be more legitimate? The Convention

would err in making any opposition:



〃It was elected merely to condemn the tyrant and to frame a

constitution; the sovereign people has invested it with no other

power;'138' accordingly; the other acts; its warrants of arrest; are

simply usurpations and despotism。 Paris; moreover; represents France

better than it does; for Paris is 〃the extract of all the departments;

the mirror of opinion;〃'139' the advance…guard of patriotism。

〃Remember the 10th of August;'140'  previous to that time; the

opinions in the Republic were divided; but; scarcely had you struck

the decisive blow when all subsided into silence。 Have no fear of the

departments; with a little terror and a few instructions; we shall

turn all minds in our favor。〃 Grumblers persist in demanding the

convocation of primary assemblies。 〃Was not the 10th of August

necessary? Did not the departments then endorse what Paris did? They

will do so this time。 It is Paris which saved them。〃'141'



Consequently; the new government places Henriot; a reliable man; and

one of the September slaughterers; in full command of the armed force;

then; through a violation by law declared as a capital offense; it

orders the alarm gun to be fired; then; on the other hand; it beats a

general call to arms; sounds the tocsin and closes the barriers; the

post office managers are put in arrest; and letters are intercepted

and opened; the order is given to disarm the suspected and hand their

arms over to patriots; 〃forty sous a day are allowed to citizens with

small means while under arms。〃'142'  Notice is given without fail the

preceding evening to the trusty men of the quarter; accordingly; early

in the morning; the Committee of Supervision has already selected from

the Jacobin sections 〃the most needy companies in order to arm those

the most worthy of combating for liberty;〃 while all its guns are

distributed 〃to the good republican workmen。〃 '143'  From hour to

hour as the day advances; we see in the refractory sections all

authority passing over to the side of force; at the Finistère; Butte…

des…Moulins; Lombards; Fraternité; and Marais'144' sections; the

encouraged sans…culottes obtain the ascendancy; nullify the

deliberations of the moderates; and; in the afternoon; their delegates

go and take the oath at the H?tel…de…ville。



Meanwhile the Commune; dragging behind it the semblance of popular

unanimity; besieges the Convention with multiplied and threatening

petitions。 As on the 27th of May; the petitioners invade the hall; and

〃mix in fraternally with the members of the 'Left。〃' Forthwith; on the

motion of Levasseur; the 〃Mountain;〃 〃confident of its place being

well guarded;〃 leaves it and passes over to the 〃Right。〃'145'  Invaded

in its turn; the 〃Right〃 refuses to join in the deliberations;

Vergniaud demands that 〃the Assembly join the armed force on the

square; and put itself under its protection〃; he and his friends leave

the hall; and the decapitated majority falls back upon its usual

hesitating course。 All is hubbub and uproar around it。 In the hall the

clamors of the 〃Mountain;〃 the petitioners; and the galleries; seem

like the constant roar of a tempest。 Outside; twenty or thirty

thousand men will probably clash in the streets;'146' the battalion of

Butte…des…Moulins; with detachments sent by neighboring sections; is

entrenched in the Palais…Royal; and Henriot; spreading the report that

the rich sections of the center have displayed the white cockade; send

against it the sans…culottes of the faubourgs Saint…Antoine and Saint…

Marceau; cannon are pointed on both sides。  These loaded cannon must

not be discharged; the signal of civil war must not be given; it is

simply necessary 〃to forestall the consequences of a movement which

could be only disastrous to liberty;〃'147' and it is important to

ensure public order。 The majority; accordingly; think that it is

acting courageously in refusing to the Commune the arrest of the

Twenty…two; and of the Ministers; Lebrun and Clavière; in exchange for

this it consents to suppress its commission of Twelve; it confirms the

act of the Commune which allows forty sous a day to the workmen under

arms; it declares freedom of entry into its tribunes; and; thanking

all the sections; those who defended as well as those who attacked it;

it maintains the National Guard on permanent call; announces a general

federation for the 10th of August following; and goes off to

fraternize 
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