‘ 
HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
were endeavouring to recover, re- 
called Freron, and commissioned 
two men of moderate principles, 
Isnard and Jourdan, to inquire, in 
conjunction with others, into the 
causes of the discontents and distur- 
bances that had happened in those 
departments. But the jacobin party 
laboured so earnestly to frustrate this 
commission, by calumniating the 
members that composed it, that, 
notwithstanding their accusations 
were formally declared malicious 
and ill-founded, it was judged requi- 
site, In order to prevent feuds and 
animosities in the two councils, to 
dissolve the commission. - Govern- 
ment was!apprehensive it would make 
discoveries that might involve per- 
sons high in office, and occasion jea- 
lousies to be revived, which might 
defeat the conciliatory views pro- 
posed by the new constitution. The 
inquiry was, therefore, entrusted to 
the direétory, which wisely deter- 
mined to drop retrospeétive mea- 
sures, and, by lenient means, to re- 
store tranquillity to the departments 
1n question. 
The jacobins were highly offend- 
ed by the moderate councils which 
they now perceived the direétory 
was resolved to pursue. They ac- 
cused it of having abandoned those 
democratical principles on which 
the republic was founded, and base- 
ly betrayed those from whom it de- 
rived its power in the state. But 
the direétory, unintimidated by their 
threats, steadily adhered toits deter- 
minations, and gradually introduced 
into office individuals of their own 
Opinions, in preference to the jaco- 
bins, who had hitherto enjoyed 
almost exclusively the first places 
under government. 
This desertion of the jacobin ins 
terest subjeéted the directory to the 
[149 
most violent rancour of that restless 
and daring party: but, heedless of 
their hatred and menaces, govern- 
ment alleged these as reasons for 
putting a period to their meetings, © 
and shutting up their places of re- 
sort. They represented them to the 
public in the most odious light, ex- 
horting all good citizens to watch 
their motions, as full of danger and 
malevolence to the state. They 
procured laws to be enaéted, obvi- 
ously levelled at them: those, for 
instance, that made it a capital 
crime to bold seditious meetings, or 
to attempt the re-establishment of 
the constitution under Roberspierre. 
Those members of the late convene 
tion and committees, reputed the 
heads of this party, were ordered to 
leave the capital, and the major 
part of those in offices of trust were 
dismissed. 
It was not without pressing mo- 
tives that the direétory.aéted with 
this severity towards the jacobins : 
they were labouring to disseminate a 
spirit of disobedience through all the 
civil and military departments in the 
metropolis. They had seduced into 
open rebellion a body of the latter, 
known by the appellation of legion of 
the police. It consisted of men se- 
lected from various corps of the 
army, and ordered to Paris for the 
support of the convention when the 
Parisians opposed that article of the 
constitution, which ordained a re- 
election of two thirds of its members 
to the new legislature. 
As they amounted to ten thou 
sand men, such a force appeared too 
formidable to be left in the hands of 
the jacobins, who had so perverted 
them, that they were no longer to 
be trusted. They were directed to 
repair to their respective regiments. 
Upon their refusal to obey, @ power 
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