122] 
Prussian Majesty’s dominions. He 
left his army under General Duval, 
and went to Liege to meet General 
Dumouriez about the 10th or 12th 
of December, When he arrived.at 
Liege, he found General Dumov- 
riez very much disheartened and 
displeased with the government and 
intrigues of Paris. A conference 
was held between the commissaries 
Camus, Gossouin, Danton, and La 
Croix, and the Generals Miranda, 
Valence, and Dumouriez. Com- 
missaries had arrived for the pur- 
pose of settling the dispute between 
General Dumouriez, on the one 
part, and the-minister Pache, and 
the contractors for the army, on 
the other. In this conference 
General Dumouriez spoke with 
asperity about the decree of the 
Convention (of the 15th of Novem- 
ber) by which Belgium was de- 
prived of the rights and advantage 
offered to them by Dumouriez’s 
declaration, ‘* That he would not 
obey any bad laws; and that the 
decree was impracticable.” This 
proposition was. very ill received 
by the commissaries, who however 
tried to sooth him. General Va- 
lence spoke next, and.assented en- 
tirely to.the opinion of Dumouriez.. 
General Miranda then spoke in his 
turn, and gave an opinion in di- 
rect contradiction to the principles 
of Dumouriez ; acknowledging, at 
the same time, the decree in ques- 
tion to be unjust,—in some mea- 
sure gimpracticable, and very im- 
politic ; but that if a General was 
permitted to say that he would 
not obey a law, passed according 
to the constitutional forms of the 
State, “because he thought the 
law bad,” there was an end of all 
government. That.his.counsel was, 
to suspend the execution of the 
decree;; to remonstrate with the go- 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1792. 
vernment on the impolicy and injus- 
tice of it: but if the government, 
after this, insisted upon the exe- 
cution of it, their duty, as soldiers, 
was to obey, and to enforce it_as 
far as their command extended,— 
This declaration pleased the com- 
missaries very much: Dumouriez 
felt the justness of it; and they all 
agreed to remonstrate and suspend 
the execution of the decree. 
This circumstance may confirm 
the opinion of those who think that 
the true principles of a free govern- 
ment were little understood in 
-France, even by such enlightened 
men as Dumouriez. 
The motive upon which Dumou- 
riez had written for General Mi- 
randa to join him was, a letter from 
a member of the Committee of Ge- 
neral Defence, informing him that 
government had agreed to appoint 
General Miranda commander in 
chiefoftheFrenchislandsinthe West 
Indies, where an army of 12,000 
regulars, 15,000 people of colour, 
anda fleet of some sail of the le, 
was collected, for the purpose of 
making the Spanish colonies in 
America free and independent: 
That General Miranda was to be 
entrusted with this command, and 
to act as he should think proper > 
That a frigate was waiting for him 
at Brest, and should immediately 
sail, &c. Though the object of 
this plan was not disapproved, (as 
that of the revolution of Spain had 
previously been) by General Mi- 
randa, yet he thought that the po- 
sition of France at that moment 
was not safe; and above all, was 
less sanguine than many others in 
his expectations of the benefits.to 
be expected from these political. 
principles that began to be propa+ 
gated in France at that periad> 
He therefore remonstrated strongly 
against 
