The First Revolutionary Step 13. 



On May 16 Target appeared for the first time in the assembly 

 and strongly favored the election of commissioners. He had 

 been president of the electoral college of the tiers-etat of Paris, 

 was elected deputy of Paris (beyond the walls) and as such and 

 because of his ability and popularity had a great deal of influence. 1 

 Rabaut de Saint-Etienne, accepting various suggestions made in 

 the course of the long discussion, made two amendments to his 

 motion. Commissioners to meet those chosen by the other orders 

 should be elected, but with the understanding (1) "to limit the 

 conferences of the commissioners to the question of verification 

 of credentials in common" and (2) "to oblige these commission- 

 ers to render a written account of the conferences." Until the 

 end of the session these amendments were principally discussed. 2 ' 

 On Sunday, May 17, the deputies took a holiday. Just as soon 

 as the first roll call was ended the next morning, the second call 

 was started. The motion of electing commissioners with the two 

 amendments was adopted by a very large majority. The com- 

 missioners elected were therefore not allowed to discuss the ques- 

 tion of a single or separate chambers. 3 



The first two conferences of the conciliatory commissioners 

 were held on May 23 and May 25. Long arguments ensued. 

 The commissioners of the nobility attempted to prove historicallv 

 that the credentials of the deputies to the states general had been 

 verified in separate chambers, while the commissioners of the 



beau, Volney, and Target discussed them. Mirabeau's journal itself states, 

 (p. 8) after having reproduced Malouet's motion, which it says was made 

 on May 15, that the debate was continued until May IS, but that it would 

 give only one discourse which in a sense was a resume of the whole dis- 

 cussion. The speech is without doubt that of Mirabeau ; his speeches were, 

 however, revised at times before they were printed. 



1 Proces-verbal . . . des elect eurs de Paris, I, 4-54. 



2 Accounts of the session of May 16 are found in the Recit, 23-24; Revue 

 de la revolution, XI, Documents incdits, 15-16; Duquesnoy, I, 23-25; Biau- 

 zat, II, 65; La revolution francaise, XXIII, 366. 



3 Biauzat, II, 68, says that seven voted for the first motion, thirty-three 

 for the first motion with the first amendment, and three hundred and 

 twenty for the first motion with the two amendments, and sixty-six for 

 the second motion. Revue de la revolution, XI, Documents incdits, 16, 

 Boulle says that sixty-six voted for the second motion and that the first 

 with its two amendments had a plurality of three hundred and twenty 

 votes. Recit, 24 ; Etats-generaux, 44. 



13 



