312 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1797. 
fers relative to the royalift confpi- 
racy. Thefe papers, the auihenti- 
city of which is inconteftable, de- 
tail the plots, name the confpira- 
tors, and develope the thread of 
the treafons. Thefe texts are too 
pofitive and clear to need any com- 
ments. It is fufficient that the Di- 
rectory fhould retrace to you, in a 
few words, the events to which 
thefe papers refer. There are facts 
fo palpable, that no impofture can 
difguife them in the eyes of nations: 
fuch was the confpiracy of Vende- 
miaire. It was in vain that tribu- 
nals, which in the firft inftance did 
. not deny its exiftence, declared af- 
terwards that there was neither re- 
volt nor fedition: royalifm itfelf 
bluthed at this lie. All the circum- 
ftances of that event too clearly 
proclaimed its aim, nature, and cha- 
racteriftics ; and the opinion of Eu- 
rope would have been. invariably 
‘fixed on this head, provided even no 
difcovery had been made by the 
correfpondence of Lemaitre, by 
the papers of the emigrant Gelin, 
and by the palpable and convincing 
proofs of the intercourfe which the 
principal agitators, the plotters and 
the libcllers of Vendemiaire, kept 
up with the exterior royalifts. An 
important circumftance, however, 
of that epoch was long concealed 
from us; and in laying it before 
you we fulfil a painful duty, fince 
we have to denounce to you a 
traitor in the perfon of a man, who 
fometimes led your defenders to 
victory. While the diffolution of 
the national convention was plot- 
ting in Paris, and the faction, en- 
deavouring to feize on the fupreme 
authority, Picheyru, ftationed on 
the bank of the Rhine, received the 
propofitions of Conde, and replied 
to them by plen;s of invafion and 
royalifm. . If the white flag was not 
difplayed in the French camp; if 
the Rhine was not croffed by the 
hoftile army ; if your ftrong holds 
were not delivered up and taken 
poffefiion of, in the king’s name, 
by imperial troops; if Pichegru 
did not march to Paris; if he did 
not come hither in the fpace of a 
fortnight,-—citizens, it is dreadful to 
have to ftate to you, that it was 
Condé who refufed to put in exe- 
cution Pichegru’s plan. This plan 
would not, however, have fucceed- 
ed: the brave foldiers whom the Ge- 
neral dared to infult would not have 
permitted it to have been carried 
into effect, They were calculated 
to obey the voice of patriotifin 
alone; and would have repulfed 
and overcome the treafon. 
“J fhall leave nothing unfinifh- 
ed,” faid Pichegru; ‘ I do not with 
to be the new third volume of 
La Fayette and Dumourier.” He 
was defirous to refemble them in 
perfidy: but he wifhed «lfo to fur- 
pafs them in fuccefs, and in the 
completion of his guilt. Behold 
then the fecret of that favour which 
rovalifm conftantly afterwardsgrant- 
ed to Pichegru. This is the reafon 
why he was the firft to be chofen 
prefident of the Council of Five 
lundred, after the entry of the . 
third. And this explains the ca- 
lumnies which were heaped on the 
Executive DireGtory, when it mere- 
ly, however, accepted of the refig- 
nation of that General, whofe in- 
fidelity it fcarcely began to fee 
through and fufpeé. Subdued on 
the 13th Vendemiaire, royalifm for 
a moment yielded to the ftorm : for 
f{everal months after, it difplaved it- 
felf under the hideous features of 
terrorifm alone, perfectly certain of 
profiting almoft equally either, by 
the fuccefs or defeat of this new 
kind of manceuvre. Such, citizens, 
1S, 
