The First Revolutionary Step 23 



was necessary to answer it at once ; but a third party saw the in- 

 tentions of the framers of the clergy's plan, namely to entrap the 

 deputies of the third estate. A deputy explained the evident pur- 

 pose of the proposition : to accept the plan would cause delay in 

 constituting the assembly, and delay would have its evil and irrep- 

 arable consequences. But rejection would drawn down the dis- 

 favor of the king upon the assembly, and the public would accuse 

 the commons of being the cause of the misfortunes and of being 

 insensible to the public misery : "they will lose the confidence of 

 the people, and with it the means to help them." 1 



Invectives against the clergy were not spared. It was pro- 

 posed to denounce their resolution to the king and to the nation 

 as seditious. 2 "Complaints against their wiles "were heard, and 

 against their perfidies, against their enormous riches and against 

 the scandal which was produced by the employment of their 

 wealth. It was said that the property of the clergy belonged to 

 the poor and that it ought to go to them." 3 This violence must 

 have spurred the higher clergy to greater opposition to the cause 

 of the third estate. The expressions used against the clergy in 

 this heated discussion pointed already to the abolition of the feu- 

 dal rights of the famous night of the 4th of August. But the 

 deputies of the third estate soon saw the advantage of calmer 

 deliberation and, artful as was the device of the clergy, the as- 

 sembly of the commons contained men who could meet the emer- 

 gency. It was suggested that before the consideration of the 

 proposition of the clergy, the commons should summon the depu- 

 ties of the clergy to present themselves in the hall of the states 

 general and unite themselves with the commons in order to con- 

 sider plans which might result in relieving the poor. It was 

 argued that, in case the clergy did not accept the invitation, their 



1 Rccit, 84-86; La revolution francaise, XXIII, 521; Biauzat, II, 96: "On 

 croyait les deux parties egalement dangereuses pour le tiers-etat . . . 

 s'occupant d'affaires d'administration et y travaillant par commissaires 

 nommes separement par les chambers, on entrait en exercise d'etats-gen- 

 eraux; . . . et Ton entrait en exercise en chambres distinctes, ce que 

 le tiers-etat voudrait eviter, parce qu'il il craint de consacrer des abus." 



-Recit, 85. 



3 La revolution francaise, XXIII. 521; Recit, 85; Dumont, 63, 64; Moni- 

 teur, I, 56-57. 



23 



