ss} ANNUAL RE 
twelve and one o’clock, went, a 
few of them, to each of the forty- 
eight sections; and seizing the 
books and papers, suspended their 
deputies in the general council in 
the town-house, and named them- 
selves, or some of their most zea- 
lous partizans, in their place. The 
new deputies hastening to the hall, 
assumed the government of Paris 
and the kingdom. ‘The suspended 
deputies ‘were ordered to return 
quietly to their respective homes, 
and say nothing. 
The first use made by the usur- 
pers of their new power, was to 
send for Mandat, the commander 
of the guards, stationed at the pa- 
Jace. The unfortunate Mandat 
hesitated between his duty to his 
Sovereign and obedience to the 
town-council. Being sent for ase- 
cond time, he reluctantly obeyed. 
When he arrived at the town- 
house, he was interrogated with 
harshness, and accused of a design 
to slaughter the people during their 
intended march from the suburbs 
to the palace, treated like a crimi- 
nal, and ordered to prison. On 
descending the stairs under a zuard, 
his brains were blown out, and his 
body thrown into the river.. The 
council then appointed Santerre, 
a brewer in the suburbs St. An- 
toine, commander of the national 
guards of Paris, Mandat, who was 
an honest man of plain sense, had 
made a very judicious movement 
in placing a part of the national 
guards on the Pontneuf, with some 
cannon, on purpose to cut off the 
communication between those who 
were assembling in the different 
suburbs of the opposite sides of the 
river. The new council-general 
saw the detriment of this post to 
GISTER, 
their design, and ordered the guard 
to be removed from the bridge. 
Thus, with a decision and prudence 
worthy of a better cause, while 
they disorganized and shook’ the 
ee of guards at the Thuilleries; 
y Opening a free communication 
between each side of the Seine, 
they rendered the power of the 
insurgents more compact and for 
midable. 
Although an order was found in 
the pocket of the murdered Man- 
dat, from the Mayor, in case of the 
palace being attacked, to oppose 
force to force, it was surmised at 
the time, and is now generally be- 
lieved, from a consideration of cir= 
cumstances, and of the character of 
Petion, that there was a secret un= 
derstanding between him and. the 
conspirators, and that nothing was 
done without his privacy and collu- 
sion. Itwas only in order to prevent 
the council-general and the depart- 
ments of Paris, both of them au- 
thorities superior to his own, from 
penetrating his designs, at least, in 
order to cut them off from any 
pretext for superceding him in his 
authority, that he stationed some 
troops to defend the palace, and 
gave the written order to Mandat, 
just mentioned, 
After ,all, it is impossible to 
penetrate into the real sentiments 
and views, and these probably flue- 
tuating, that governed the mind of 
Petion ; nor would this be of any. 
importance. What is certain: isy 
that, although the enemy, of the 
King, and the friend and confidant 
1792. 
of the Jacobins, he was in the pa-. 
lace till two or three o’clock of the 
morning of the 10th of August. 
He had been with the King to give 
an account of the state of Paris, but . 
remained 
! 
