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not henceforth deviate from the path of political rectitude. M. Necker and count Montmorin were immediately reinftated in their offices. The count d'Artois, marshal Broglio, the prince of Condé, and other leaders of the court faction, were compelled to feek for fafety in flight: and on the 17th of July the king made his triumphal entry into Paris.

The affembly now proceeded without interruption in their labors; and in a fhort time feveral very important decrees, containing the first principles of the new conftitution, importing the fubordination of the executive, the fupremacy of the legislative, and the independency of the judicial powers, were prefented for the royal acceptance. After a delay of many weeks, and an urgent reapplication, the royal affent was most reluctantly given, with an exprefs falvo for the antient effential and conftitutional prerogatives of the crown. All the former jealoufies were now revived; and it was univerfally rumored and believed, that preparations were in train to facilitate the retreat of the king to Metz in Lorraine, where the royal standard was to be raised in hoftile oppofition to the national affembly. Inflamed and enraged with this dreadful apprehenfion, another popular infurrection, of a nature not less extraordinary than the former, took place, October the 6th, in which a nocturnal attack was made on the palace of Verfailles, the king and the queen, by whofe fatal counfels the monarch had been chiefly guided, made captives, and conducted to Paris, where the palace of the Tuilleries, fecured by a strong military guard, was affigned them for their future refidence. The effect of this violence on the perfon of the fovereign was an explicit and unconditional acceptance on his part of the articles of the conftitution, formerly prefented; and the national affembly removed their fittings to Paris, where they were henceforth deeply occupied in executing the Herculean task of regenerating

the

the whole fyftem of the national polity, laws and govern

ment.

Amongst the decrees which most excited the admiration or aftonishment of the world were those which pronounced the annihilation of all feudal privileges, the abolition of all distinction of orders, the refumption of tithes and other ecclefiaftical and monaftic property; the diffolution of monaftic inftitutions; the allotment of the kingdom into a new territorial divifion, under the name of departments, eighty-three in number, nearly equal in population and extent; finally, the extinction of the provincial parliaments, and the establishment of departmental affemblies, of courts of justice, and the trial by jury in each department. The general principles on which the government of the kingdom was modelled, were comprehended in a declaration of rights, drawn up with great precifion and ability; and which may ferve as a perpetual charter of liberty to mankind*.

It

*This famous DECLARATION, which well deferves a place in the frontifpiece of every national code of laws, is fubftantially as follows:

1. Men were born, and always continue, free and equal with respect to their rights. Civil distinctions therefore can be founded only on public utility.

II. The end of all political affociations is the prefervation of the natural and imprefcriptible sights of man. And these rights are liberty, property, fecurity, and refiftance to oppreffion,

III. The nation is effentially the fource of all fovereignty.

IV. Political liberty confifts in the power of doing whatever does not injure another.

V. The law ought only to prohibit actions hurtful to fociety.

VI. The law is an expreffion of the will of the community. All being equal in its fight, are equally eligible to all honors, places and employments, without any other diftinétion than that created by their talents and virtues.

VII. No man fhould be accufed, arrefted, or held in confinement, except in cafes determined by the law, and according to the forms which it has prescribed.

VIII. No one ought to be punished but in virtue of a law promulgated before the offence.

IX. Every man is to be prefumed innocent till conviction of guilt.

X. No man ought to be molefted on account of his opinions, not even his religious opinions; provided his avowal of them does not disturb the public order.

XI. Every man may speak, write, and publifh freely-being refponfible for the abufes of this liberty in cafes determined by law,

XII. A public force is neceflary only to give fecurity to the rights of men and citizens.

XIII. Public

It is no wonder that a revolution fo extraordinary, and which, notwithstanding certain unhappy concomitant irregularities and exceffes, afforded fo fair a prospect of future and permanent happiness, should excite great exultation amongst the friends of liberty in England. The first pub

lic demonftration of this appeared on the occafion of an anniversary meeting of a whig affociation in the metropolis, known by the name of the revolution fociety, on the 5th of November, to celebrate the memory of that great monarch, by whofe heroic interpofition, at a crifis of imminent danger, the laws and liberties of Great Britain were, under the favoring aufpices of heaven, fettled on a folid and permanent bafis. Previous to the affembling of the members at the ufual place of feftive meeting, a fermon or difcourfe on the love of our country" was preached to fuch as chofe to hear, at a chapel belonging to the diffenters at the Old Jury, by the famous Dr. Price; in which the primary principles of government were flated in a mode which the fanction of a century had rendered familiar in this country; and the great doctrines of liberty inculcated with all that emphasis and energy which characterized the pen of that distinguished and venerablepat riot. "The improvement of the world depended," as the preacher affirmed," on the attention given by men to this topic. Nor will mankind be ever as virtuous and happy as they are capable of being, till the attention to it becomes univerfal and efficacious. If we forget it, we fhall be in danger of an idolatry as grofs and ftupid at that of the antient heathens,

XIII. Public contributions ought to be divided equally among the members of the community, according to their feveral abilities.

XIV. Every citizen has a right, by himself or his reprefentative, to a free voice in determining the neceffity and appropriation of public contributions.

XV. Every community has a right to demand of its agents an account of their conduct.

XVI. Every community, in which the separation of powers is not determined, nor a fecurity of rights provided for, wants a conftitution. XVII. The right to property being inviolable and facred, no one ought to be deprived of it, except in cafes of evident public neceffity legally af certained, and upon condition of a previous and just indemnity.

heathens, who, after fabricating blocks of wood or ftone, fell down and worshipped them." At the conclusion of this discourse, in expatiating on the favorableness of the prefent time to all exertions in the cause of liberty, he broke out into the following eloquent exclamation"What an eventful period is this! I am thankful that I have lived to it: and I could almost fay, LORD! now letteft thou thy fervant depart in peace, for mine eyes have feen thy falvation. I have lived to fee a diffusion of knowledge which has undermined fuperftition and error; I have lived to fee the rights of men better understood than ever, and nations panting for liberty which feemed to have loft the idea of it. I have lived to fee thirty millions of people indignantly and refolutely fpurning at flavery, and demanding liberty with an irrefiftible voice; their king led in triumph, and an arbitrary monarch surrendering himfelf to his fubjects.-After fharing in the benefits of one revolution, I have been fpared to be a witnefs to two other revolutions, both glorious; and now methinks I fee the ardor for liberty catching and fpreading, and a general amendment beginning in human affairs-the dominion of kings changed for the dominion of laws, and the dominion of priests giving way to the dominion of reafon and confciBe encouraged, all ye friends of freedom, and writers in its defence! The times are aufpicious. Your labors have not been in vain. Behold kingdoms admonished by you, ftarting from fleep, breaking their fetters, and claiming justice from their oppreffors! Behold the light you have ftruck out, after fetting America free, reflected to France, and there kindled into a blaze, that lays defpotifm in afhes, and warms and illuminates EUROPE!"

ence.

Impreffed with thefe noble and elevated fentiments, the fociety, whofe numbers on this occafion far exceeded thofe of any former anniversary, unanimously refolved, on the motion of Dr. Price, to offer in a formal addrefs" their congratulations to the national affembly, on the event of the late glorious revolution in France." This being tranf

mitted

mitted by the chairman, lord Stanhope, to the duke de la Rochefoucault, and laid by that diftinguished nobleman before the affembly, was received with loud acclamations. "It belonged," faid the duke de la Rochefoucault in his reply," to Dr. Price, the apoftle of liberty, to propose a motion tending to pay to liberty the faireft homage—that of national prejudices." In that address is feen the dawn of a glorious day, in which two adverfe nations fhall contract an intimate union, founded on the fimilarity of their opinions, and their common enthufiafm for liberty." Alfo the archbishop of Aix, prefident of the national affembly, tranfmitted to lord Stanhope, in a manner the most polite and flattering, the vote of the affembly, relative to the addrefs, ftating, "that the affembly was deeply affected with this extraordinary proof of esteem, and directing the prefident to exprefs to the revolution fociety, the lively fenfibility with which the national affembly had received an addrefs, breathing thofe fentiments of humanity and univerfal benevolence, that ought to unite together in all countries of the world the true friends of liberty, and the happinefs of mankind."

Such was the general state of things, when the parliament of Great Britain was convened at Westminster, January the 21ft, 1790. The king's fpeech contained nothing remarkable. It flightly and ambiguously glanced on the affairs of France, in declaring "the internal fituation of the different parts of Europe to have been productive of events which had engaged his majefty's moft ferious attention." But early indications appeared of the light in which the recent tranfactions in that kingdom were viewed by the court. Lord Valletort, in moving the addrefs, took occafion to contraft the tranquil and profperous fituation of England with the anarchy and licentiousness of France, and to ftigmatize the revolution in that kingdom as an event the moft difaftrous, and productive of confequences the most fatal which had ever taken place fince the founda

tion

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