Influence of the Breton Deputation 85 



uncontrolled movement of the people which he himself 

 had been the first to invite at a time when the Third 

 Estate needed this force to gain possession of power, and 

 instead of continuing the Breton policy of urging vigi 

 lance and the expression of- opinion in order to influence 

 the assembly, both he and Legendre and Moyot now urged 

 moderation, asking that the assembl}' be permitted undis- 

 turbed to complete its wovk. How strongly this advice 

 was called for, the facility with which a large number of 

 municipalities of Bretague had adopted such a violent 

 address as that of liennes is evidence. But in the depu- 

 tation itself, the discussion over the veto had brought con- 

 fusion and caused the deputies to lose their equilibrium 

 so far as to consider the advisability of withdrawing from 

 the assembly in case the absolute veto passed.^ 



In the assembly, the Breton deputies did not reach a 

 compromise upon the veto. When the question came to 

 the vote, the deputies of Rennes, who were probably fol- 

 lowed by a number of others, opposed any veto whatso- 

 ever, while the rest voted for a suspensive one.^ As to 

 its duration, they all voted that it should cease after the 

 first legislature,"' being therefore, upon the whole, de- 



^Le Roulx wrote on September 11: "Je n'aurait point quitte I'as- 

 semblee, que de concert avec les autres deputes de Bretagne. Car 

 nous voulons sincerement le bien general et n'avons pas comme toute 

 la province, de plus grand interet, mais si le vceu de nos commettans 

 eut ete elude par la majorite, qui eut adopte le veto absolu, alors, 

 il ne nous restait plus en nous retirant, apres avoir encore pris votre 

 avis, qu'a gemir sur le malheur de la patrie." In an undated letter 

 (from its contents probably the 5th or 6th of September) No. 59 in the 

 register, he says: "Cependant je crois qu'il a perce dans I'assemblee 

 que si le veto absolu passait, la Bretagne rappelerait ses deputes." 

 Compare with the Bulletin de Rennes, II, No. 4, p. 45. 



-Letter of Hardy de la Largere, September 21, to the committee at 

 Vitre, Archives (Vllle et Vilaine. The letter is in manuscript and ufl- 

 signed, but clearly from Largere since the writer was mayor of Vitre 

 at a time when that office' was held by Largere. "Toute la senechaus- 

 see fut pour cet avis (the rejection of the veto entirely), les autres 

 Bretons furent divises, beaucoup se separent de nous." 



^Boulle, September 22. 



291 



