32] 
exert their new liberty in enforcing 
_ by violence every claim which ca- 
price, folly, or the worit paflions 
might fucgett. 
They added, that in order to 
avoid thele mifchiefs and dangers, 
which were too obvious to be over- 
looked by any body, the affembly, 
after involving itfelf in a tafk of 
great moment and_ expectation, 
would be afraid to execute, con- 
fiftently and properly, that difficult 
bufinefs which it bad fo needlefsly 
and wantonly undertaken; for that 
under thefe fhackles it could only 
form a patched up, imperfeét, in- 
confiftent work, under the name of 
a declaration of rights, which would 
be a difgrace to the authors as well 
as to the fubject, the parts militat- 
ing againit each other, and contra- 
dicting the title, from the number 
of reftraints and limitations with 
which, in fuch untoward circum- 
flances, it muft of neceflity abound ; 
and thus the mighty whole, when 
it came forth, inftead of'a political 
creed, which fhould convert- all 
mankind by the juftnefs and fim- 
plicity of its principles, would prove 
an infignificant, incoherent, ‘ con- 
tradictory jargon. They faid, the 
afflembly, by this premature attempt, 
would find itfelf involved in other 
difficulties which it did not feem 
aware of, with refpe& to the great 
caution which was to be ufed .in 
not confining its own powers of 
legiflation, and the danger of a 
contradiction between general prin- 
ciples and particular laws; this 
mutt cccafion’ their declaration of 
thofe principles to be timid and 
circumfpe&, if not equivocal; and 
the production ‘will appear to be 
merely the offspring of their pre- 
fent neceffities, and of the ruling 
prejudices of the moment. 
ANNUAL REGTS PER; 17m 
Were it not better, therefore, 
faid they, to defer your declaration 
of rights, untif the conftitution is 
completed and eftablifhed? We 
fhall then have it in our power to 
appropriate the one to the other, * 
and to make them harmonize to- 
gether.—A fhrewd queftion was put 
by Malouet’: “ Why,” faid he, 
« fhould we tranfport men to the 
« ideal fummit of a mountain, and 
« fhew them the extenfive domain 
“of their rights beneath, when we 
“ fhall moft affuredly be obliged to 
«« make them defcend, and to bring 
«them into the real world, where 
«* they will find every ftep fettered 
“with reftraints.” 
The much more numerous party . 
who fupported the meafure, hooted 
at and {coffed the idea of fuppofing 
danger in enlightening the public, 
and communicating to them a 
knowledge of their rights. It was 
not difficult, efpecially in the pre- 
fent ftate of things, to find a circle 
of common place arguments upon 
this head—That it had been the 
old trick of defpotifm in all ages 
and places to keep the people igno- 
rant, in order to rivet their chains 
the more firmly, and to render 
their flavery eternal. They talked 
in lofty language, but not always 
eafily underitood, about the native 
rights of man, which, they faid, are 
eternal, inalienable, and impre- 
fcriptible; that their fource is in 
nature itfelf; that they are equal 
and unchangeable in every age and 
every country, and can never yield 
to any reafon of convenience or 
neceflity. That, as the fole objec 
of fociety is the prefervation of 
thefe rights, to declare what they 
are, is an indifpenfable preliminary 
to the eftablifhment of a political 
conftitution, That the reprefenta- - 
tives 
