14} ANNUAL REGISTER, 1795. 
causes of complaint against their 
exercise of power should be afford- 
ed to those who were endeavouring 
to misrepresent it, to the intent of 
casting. a stigma upen the new sys- 
tem of government. This fortu- 
nite determination led them gradu- 
ally to lay aside the maxims of the 
terrorists. Many of the heads of 
that party, who were now in office, 
perceived also the propriety of re- 
laxing from them, if they meant to 
preserve the tranquillity of the pub- 
lic, and secure its acquiescence in 
the power .which they were con- 
scious had not heen obtained by 
them through justifiable means. 
Thus terrorism seemed to dectine of 
itself, and merely from the impraéti- 
eability of reconciling it with the 
measures necessary for the support 
and credit of the new mode of go- 
¥ernment. 
Still, however, the society of 
the Pantheon subsisted. Itwas, in 
faét, the jacobin society revived; 
it acted precisely on the same gene- 
ral plan, and was advancing, by 
rapid strides. towards the same ends. 
The directory were sensible of the 
consequences that must infallibly 
result from the sufferance of so 
dangerous an assembly ; happily 
‘for them, the public viewed this 
assembly in the same light; the 
remembrance of the many evils oc- 
‘easioned by the jacobin clzb dwelt 
forcibly in every mind that was in- 
elined to a renewal of them. The 
directory judiciously seized the cri- 
tical moment of general disappro- 
bation of this meeting. It issued an 
order, by which it was formally sup- 
pressed, and the house itself shut 
up, with a severe prohibition to 
open it any more for the purpose of 
* such an assembly. 
This was the first measure of 
J 
great importance adopted by the 
direftory: it established, at once, 
their charaéter for strength and de- 
cision, and shewed they were firm- 
ly cererm'ned to permit ne compe- 
tition with the supreme power of 
the state. This proved, at the’same 
time, a no less severe than unex. 
pected blow to the terrorist faction, 
who had promised themselves the 
paramount direCtion of affairs, in 
the same manner in which it had 
formerly been exercised by the jaco- 
bins. No invectives were spared 
to the authors of this bold measure; 
but the public applauded it loudly, 
as an a¢tion of men who had there- 
by shewn themselves worthy of 
the great honours and powers to 
which they had been exalted. 
‘The members of the suppressed 
society were asked, by what au- 
thority they pretended to controul 
a government established by the 
unanimous consent of the nation? 
they were told to look back to the 
confusions that arose from admit. 
ting of two governments in the 
state. These reasonings, which 
were evidently founded on truth, 
did not, however, silence the mem. 
hers of this society; though’ de- 
barred. from the opportunity of 
meeting in large numbers, they 
still continued to asscciate in smal- 
ler, and here they gave full vent 
to the "rage they felt, at being de- 
prived of the expetations they 
had formed, of treading in the 
steps of their jacobin predecessors, 
and of enjoying, under another 
name, the very same authority. — 
In default of the opposition, 
which the terrorist party had form- 
ed against the directory, in the so. 
ciety which these had the cou. 
rage and good fortune to suppress, 
another subsisted of a much. more 
serious: 
