InfiucncG of the Breton Deputation 65 



them. Received with enthusiasm and supported by the 

 eloquent Lall^-Tollendal and a number of others, it 

 seemed as if it would be adopted,^ when the deputies of 

 BretagTie began a maneuver to defeat it.- On July 7, 

 Legendre and Mo^-ot wrote relative to this motion : "It 

 'will not have escaped you how much importance we at- 

 tach to it with regard to the preservation of the fran- 

 chises of the province of Bretagne. That article is par- 

 ticularly recommended in the powers of Kennes, Nanties, 

 and Fougeres; it is so likewise in the wish and conscience 

 of all the deputies of the province, especially under the 

 present circumstances in which our prelates and nobles 

 affect to reproach us with the desertion of the Breton 

 privileges."^' Aside from these motives, they were in- 

 fluenced by distrust of Tallyrand whom they did not know 

 at this time,'* fearing that he concealed under his motion 

 the declaration that the vote by head was not imperative. 

 They therefore prepared an amendment to prevent this 

 consequence should they fail in defeating the motion en- 

 tirely.^ Sieyes seems to have acted once more as their 

 spokesman, for on July 7 he moved that the assembly de- 

 clare that there was no "occasion to deliberate."*' This 

 was the formula which had already been agreed upon by 

 the deputies of Bretagne,^ and when Sieyes renewed his 



^Point du Jour, I, No. 18. 



-Bulletin de Brest. I, No. 20. "Comme ce projet d'arrete pourrait 

 contrarier les privileges provincaires de Bretagne, on fera des efforts 

 pour faire dire qu'il n'y a lieu a deliberer sur la motion de M. I'Eveque 

 d'Autun." 



^MSS. in the Archives de Brest. 



^Le Roulx, July 15. "Comme les mandats imperatifs Staient gener- 

 ale et I'eveque d'Autun n'etait pas connu de I'Assemblee, et surtout de 

 nous, nous avions crains qu'il n'interdit que le vote par tete etait iifP 

 peratif." 



°Le Roulx, July 15. 



"Point du Jour. I, No. 18, pp. 133, 134. 



'See note 2, above. 



271 



