The First Revolutionary Step 49 



assemblee de represeiitants dc vingt-cinq millions de Frangais. 1 

 Le point du jour of June 19, 1789, 2 says: "M. Barrere de 

 Vieusac, depute de Bigorre, proposed represeiitants de la tres- 

 majeure partie des Frangais dans I' assemblee nationale, and Che- 

 rest quotes Barrere as proposing reprcscntants legitimes de la 

 majeure partie des frangais on de vingt-quatre millions d'hommes 

 dans Vasscmblee nationale." 3 



The speech of the day was delivered by Mirabeau. 4 Arthur 

 Young, who heard him, says : "Mons. de Mirabeau spoke without 

 notes for near an hour, with a warmth, animation, and eloquence 

 that entitle him to the reputation of an undoubted orator." 5 

 Mirabeau advocated the title, "Representatives of the French 

 people." We learn from his journal and from his tremendous 

 exertion during the debate that Mirabeau considered the matter 

 of the title of the very highest importance. He began by saying 

 that he had been afflicted for several days with a very disagreeable 

 fever, which was attacking him at that very moment and weak- 

 ened him greatly. He begged his audience, therefore, to be very 

 quiet and attentive ; their sympathy would furnish him strength 

 during his discourse; he wished to present a number of resolu- 

 tions upon which he had meditated a long time and which he had 

 drawn up when he was not suffering as he was at present. 6 By 

 way of introduction, he spoke of the advantages to the commons 

 of having waited so long before constituting themselves. Time 



^Courrier de Provence, Lcttre XI, 7; Duquesnoy, I, 96: "Representants 

 de 26 millions d'hommes, idee vague, abstraite, dont le resultant serait de 

 nous laisser ce que nous sommes et ne nous donnerait aucun droit a la 

 legislation." Biauzat, II, 117. 



~Le point du jour, no. I, 1. 



3 Cherest, III, 151; Cherest, III, 148, 150, 151, 152, states that the "Pro- 

 ces-verbal des seances de I'ass. nationale, in - 4°, t. I, 3 e partie, Annexes, 

 p. 13 et suiv." contains the motions of Sieves. Barrere, Mirabeau, and 

 Mounier. The original octavo edition of the Proces-verbal has only the 

 motion as finally carried on June 17 (I, 2-4). 



*Courrier de Provence, Lettre XI, 7-30. For Mirabeau's speech and 

 motion, see also Biauzat, II, 117 ; Duquesnoy, I, 96 ; Journal des etats- 

 generaux, I, 90, 91 ; Revue dc la revolution, XIII, Documents inedits, II ; 

 Dumont, 61, 62. 



5 Young, 164. 



a Courrier de Provence, Lettre XI, 7-8; Journal des etats-generaux, I, 

 90-91 : "M. de Mirabeau presented another plan which is perhaps more 



49 



