historical chronicle.^ 



"exist towards the man who has 

 wrested them from him : 



" Considering that no means 

 ought to be neglected of termi- 

 nating a war which the French 

 nation has undertaken for the 

 sole purpose of defending her 

 constitution and her indepen- 

 dence, and that among those 

 means (he ought, above all, to 

 prefer fuch as, by tending to 

 spare the effusion of human 

 blood, are therefore most ac- 

 cordant with her principles : 



" Considering, in fine, that 

 if the cause of liberty be the 

 cause of all men, and if it be 

 the duty and the best interest 

 of all men to devote them- 

 selves to its defence, the 

 French nation ought neverthe- 

 lefs, if it were only under the 

 title of an indemnification, to 

 give marks of her gratitude to 

 those warriors, who ihall come 

 to range themselves under her 

 colours, or quit those of her e- 

 nemies in order not to be forced 

 to turn their arms against a peo- 

 ple, all whose wi(hes and whose 

 principles are directed to the u- 

 niversal peace and hanpinefs of 

 mankind. 



'^ Desirous, moreover, of ma- 

 king known to foreign natians 

 the principles of justice which 

 always direft its conduct, de- 

 crees, as follows : 



I." The non-ccmmifsioned 

 officers and soldiers of the e- 

 Ifiemy's ai'mies, who, zealous to 

 live in a land of liberty and 

 equality, ftiall abandon the 



France, and present themselvjs 

 at any military post to any of 

 the constituied authorities, or 

 to a French citizen, (hall be 

 greeted with frienddiip and 

 fraternity ; and to receive in the 

 first instance, as a sign of a- 

 doption, a cockade of the three 

 national colours. 



2. " The non-commifsioned 

 officers and soldiers, after de- 

 claring their wifli to embrace 

 the cause of liberty, (hall re- 

 ceive as an indemnification for 

 the sacrifice which they may 

 have made, a brevet for a pen- 

 sion of a ICO livres a year, du- 

 ring their residence in France, 

 to be paid in advance from 

 three months to three months^ 

 by the receiver of the district 

 in which they (hall reside. 

 They (hall be admitted to take 

 the civic oath, and a copy of 

 the ciinute of their having ta- 

 ken this oath (hall be delivered 

 to them. 



3. " They (hall receive a 

 gratification of 50 livres to be 

 paid by order of the military 

 or civil officer, before whom 

 they (hall have made the de^- 

 claralion prescribed in article 

 second. 



4. " They fliall not be obli- 

 ged to enter into any military 

 engagement ; but such of them 

 as chuse to do so, (kail be ad- 

 mitted into any of the French 

 corps in service without distinc- 

 tion. 



5. " Such of them as fliall 

 enter Into these corps {l\all re- 



colours of a power at war with ceive the usual bounties over 



