264 
powerful kings menaced the liberty 
of France; they fancied that they 
had a right to fix to what degree 
the interest of their despotism per- 
mitted us to be free, and flattered 
thernselves that they should see the 
sovereignty of the people and the 
independence of the French empire 
fall down before the arms of their 
slaves. 
Thus every thing announced a 
civil and religious war, of which a 
foreign war would soon increase the 
danger. 
The National Assembly thought 
it their duty to repress the emi- 
grants, and to restrain the factious 
priests by severe decrees; and the 
King employed against these decrees 
the suspensive refusal of sanction, 
which the constitution granted him. 
In the mean time, those emigrants 
and those priests were busily acting 
in the name of the King; it was to 
re-establish him in what they called 
his lawful authority that the former 
had taken’up arms; and the latter 
were preaching assassination and 
treason. These emigrants were the 
brothers of the King, his relations, 
his former body-guards. And while 
the correspondence of these facts 
with the conduct of the King autho- 
rized, nay, enjoined distrust, this 
refusal of the sanction applied to 
decrees that could not be suspend- 
ed without being annihilated,shewed 
clearly how the veto, suspensive 
according to the law, rendered de- 
finitive by the manner of employing 
it, gave to the King the unlimited 
and arbitrary power of rendering 
null all the measures which the le- 
gislative body might think neces- 
sary for maintaining liberty. 
From that moment, from one 
end of the kingdom to the other, 
the people shewed those gloomy 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1792. 
discontents that announced storms; 
and the suspicions which. accused 
the executive power displayed 
themselves with energy. 
The National Assembly were not 
discouraged. Princes who professed 
themselves the allies of France, had. 
given to the emigrants not an asy- 
lum, but the liberty of arming, of 
forming themselves into military 
bodies, of levying soldiers, of pro- 
viding warlike stores, and the King 
was invited, by a solemn message, 
to break, on this violation of the 
rights of nations, a silence that had 
been kept but too long. He seemed 
to yield to the national wish ; pre- 
parations for war were ordered ; 
but it was soon perceived, that the 
negotiations conducted by a minis- 
try weak or treacherous, were con- 
fined to obtaining vain promises, 
which,remaining unexecuted, could 
not be regarded but asa snare or an 
insult. ‘The league of kings assum- 
ed, in the mean time, a new acti- 
vity ; andat the head of this league 
appeared the Emperor, brother-in- 
law to the King of the French, 
united to the nation by a treaty 
useful to himself alone, which the 
constituting assembly, deceived by 
the ministry, had maintained, by 
sacrificing, to preserve it, the hope, 
at that time well founded, of an 
alliance with the house of Bran- 
denburgh. 
The National Assembly thought 
that it was necessary for the safety 
of France, to oblige the Emperor 
to declare whether he would be her 
ally or her enemy, and to pronounce 
between two contradictory treaties, 
of which the one bound him to 
give succours to France, and the 
other engaged him to attack her ; 
treaties which he could not recon- 
cile, without avowing the inane 
ty) 
