76.) 
of which -vere specified, to be com- 
miticd t> orison, as accused of being 
accomplices in a conspiracy against 
the republic, in favour of royalty ; 
and they carefully transmitted their 
thanks to the guards of the two 
councils, for the fidelity they had 
displayed to the interests of the re= 
public, in preference to all others. 
But the measure which princi- 
pally occupied their attention, was 
to convince the citizens of Paris, 
and the people of France, that go- 
vernment had been. compelled, by 
unavoidable necessity, to use severe 
means, for the preservation of the 
commonwealth, against the machia- 
tion of its enemies. In their address 
to the citizens of Paris, the directory 
explicity asserted, that the royalists 
had, during the whole of ‘the pre- 
ceding year, been labouring to over- 
turn the republic. When they 
thought themselves sufficiently able 
to accomplish its final destruction, 
their first attacks were intended 
against the supreme depositaries of 
the executive power. Arms had 
been distributed to the conspirators, 
and a large quantity of bonds seized, 
from which the delivery of a great 
number of firelocks was proved. 
€ards, stamped with the words, Le- 
gislative Body, and marked with an 
R, were circulated, in order to serve 
as reciprocal tokens to the conspi- 
rators. Those members of the di- 
rectory and of the legislature, who 
adhered to the republic, were to 
have been massacred. Numerous 
bodies of emigrants, and of insur- 
gents from la, Vendée, had repaired 
to Paris, attracted by the counte- 
nance publicly shewn to them, and 
were preparing to attack the di- 
rectory. But its vigilance, and that 
ef the. armed force surrounding 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1797. 
( 
’ give the signal of civil war, and, by 
them, had frustrated the designs of 
their enemies. ; 
The citizens of Paris, the directo~ 
ry said, would shudder with horror, | 
when apprised, by the authentic 
proofs that would be laid before 
them, of the plots entered into 
against their persons, and their dear- 
est rights and possessions. When 
France, crowned with victory, and 
surrounded with immortal glory, 
was beginning to reap thé fruits of 
the successes obtained by its invin- 
cible defenders; when agriculture, 
commerce, public credit, confidence 
and security, began to revive, that 
was the moment pitched upon to 
rekindle domestic animosities, to re= 
establish superstition, and reorganize 
the power of fanaticism, to open ave 
nues for the return of emigrants, to 
thus infusing fresh hopes into the 
foreign enemies of the common= 
wealth, to retard that peace, which 
it was on the point of securing. 
Such was the description given by 
the directory, of the designs in agi- 
tation against the state. They call- 
ed, in consequence, upon the citi- 
zens of the metropolis, to exert 
themselves manfully in the defence 
of those liberties and valuable ob- 
jects, for,-which they had beert so 
long contending. They admonished 
them particularly to beware of be- 
ing hurried, -by the fury of resent- 
ment, into unjustifiable excesses, and 
to confine their obedience to the 
chiefs avowedly appointed. over 
them by government. 
In the general address, issued to 
the people of France, the directory 
entered more at large into circum= 
stances and details, for the verificae 
tion of the conspiracy. The docu- 
ments which they submitted to the 
inspection 
