2 Jeanette Needham. 
by the assumption of supremacy on the part of the third estate, 
when, on June 17, it declared itself a national assembly. 
As the consequence of this decisive step, which in a sense — 
marked the end of the first phase of the early revolution—the 
strife of the orders—the government, through Necker, began the 
formulation of a plan for a second interference by which it hoped 
to compromise with the deputies of the commons and to prevent _ 
all power from passing into their hands. However, before the 
execution of the project—delayed by the opposition of the 
reactionary court to Necker—could be effected, the government 
itself had forced on the very thing that the plan was to avert. 
On June 19, the same day on which Necker’s plan for a royal 
session was considered for the first time in the council of ministers, 
the clergy closed their discussion of verification of credentials 
and put the matter to a vote. The vote resulted in a very small 
plurality for verification by order because the majority of the 
deputies had divided their votes among three other propositions, 
all of which, however, favored verification in common. 
After what appears to have been the closing of the session,! 
this majority remained in the hall and held a meeting with the 
Archbishop of Vienne as the presiding officer. The result of 
two hours of deliberation was the unanimous agreement of the 
one hundred forty-one members present to the following decree: 
“The plurality of the members of the clergy assembled have 
been of the opinion that the definitive verification of credentials 
should be done in the general assembly, under the reservation 
of the distinction of orders and other reservations of right.” 
Those present signed the decree and eight absent members 
added their names later, making a total of one hundred forty- 
nine in favor of common verification. 
This action of the majority created consternation among the 
adherents of verification by separate assemblies. The union was 
to occur the next day. Not only would it be a severe blow to 
1 The minority claimed that the assembly had been legally adjourned before 
the majority held this session. The majority, as will be shown later, denied 
that such was the case. Their version of the affair was that the minority, 
seeing that they were losing their advantage, proclaimed the assembly ad- 
journed in spite of the protests of the majority. The minority left’the hall, 
but the majority continued the work of checking up the vote. 
116 
Dy Transfer 
APR 16 1919 
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