HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



1S7 



wKich was authorized to order the 

 arrest and trial of individuals, was 

 at first so limited in its authority 

 and duration, that Robespierre soon 

 discovered its insufficiency for the 

 execution of his designs, unless both 

 were extended- The members ot 

 this committee at its institution, 

 were to be. renewed every month : 

 but on his being appointed a mem- 

 ber, and perceiving of what use he 

 eould make it, he immediately 

 availed himself of the influence he 

 possessed over the Convention, and 

 procured a decree by which it was 

 rendered permanent. Those v/ho 

 composed it, being thus through 

 his interest elevated to the highest 

 rank and dignity, became wholly 

 subservient to his views ; and, 

 through them, he ruled with an 

 authority more despotic than ever 

 had been exercised by any King of 

 France, or indeed of any kingdom 

 in Europe. In the mean time, his 

 party, being uncontroulably pre- 

 dominant in the Convention, every 

 decree which they proposed was 

 carried with every latitude he could 

 require. In a short time the autho- 

 rity of the Convention was totally 

 absorbed in that of Robespierre. 

 Through the suffrages of that body, 

 now implicitly acquiescent, he gra- 

 dually obtained every species of 

 power in favour of the committee 

 of public safety, which, in fact, be- 

 came superior to the Convention 

 Itself. In virtue of the power with 

 which this committee was invested, 

 he disposed of all places of any 

 consequence j he appointed nati- 

 onal agents in every part of the 

 country ; their commissions were 

 uuhmiied by any instructions but 

 his own ; and no other accounts 

 were given to the Convention of 

 the committee's secret reasons for 



their proceedings, orratherhis own* 

 than he judged convenient. The 

 servility of that assembly became at 

 length so notorious, that it was pub- 

 licly spoken ot in terms of con- 

 tempt and derision. Tiie ministe- 

 rial reports laid before it, which 

 were in factthose of the committee, 

 were listened to with scandalous 

 complacency. They tamely re- 

 gistered the decrees moved for by 

 the ruling party ; and they passed 

 much oftener by acclamation than 

 after any real dehberation, as it 

 daily became more dangerous to 

 thwart them. On these occasions, 

 the firmness of the parhaments in 

 opposing and refusing to register 

 the royal edicts was well remem- 

 bered ; and recalled to the attention 

 of the public, in a style no ways fa- 

 vourable to the Convention. The 

 inconsiderable numbers to wliich 

 this body was now reduced, was 

 also noticed with much disappro- 

 bation. The House, when com- 

 plete, amounted to seven hundred 

 and fifty members ; but very rarely- 

 more than two hundred were pre- 

 sent. Various were the causes of 

 this paucity. Some had fled, some 

 were employed in committees, 

 others in provincial commissions t 

 but the fewer they were, the greater .. 

 was the influence exercisea by 

 Robespierre, who always found 

 means to procure the absence of 

 those in whom he did not place 

 the most entire confidence. 



Armed with such power, it was 

 not surprising that he made him- 

 self, if not the nominal, still the 

 real sovereign of France. He was 

 not only the executive but the le- 

 gislative power of the state. He 

 obtained the passing of any decree 

 that he thought proper, and exe- 

 cuted it discretionally. In order to 



perpetuate 



