The First Revolutionary Step 59- 



other motions. 1 Target spoke also: "It is certainly necessary to 

 constitute ourselves, but when? Today. In what manner? As 

 Sieyes has explained. The word peuple does not answer to our 

 idea. Does it signify the commons? Then it says not enough. 

 Does it signify the entire nation? That is too much. Choose a 

 mean which, placed between the two extremes, will neither com- 

 promise our rights nor our principles. 2 We are the known rep- 

 resentatives of the nation." 3 Chapelier spoke also and again 

 showed his boldness. He proposed that the phrase connus et 

 verifies be dropped and that the title presented by Sieyes be 

 changed to representants dc la nation frangaise legalement veri- 

 fies. This change indicated a step in advance ; it brought Sieyes' 

 title nearer the goal, national assembly. "This amendment was 

 supported by several members and generally approved" by the 

 assembly. 4 



Bergasse favored the motion of Sieyes, but accepted Chapelier's 

 recommended change in the title. 5 He explained the purpose of 

 Sieyes in inserting connus et verifies, viz., "in order to calm our' 

 fears, also to inform the other two orders that, in taking the title 

 which is proposed to us, we do not pretend to deprive them in 

 any way of the power of representatives of the nation, and that 

 we wish only to remain faithful to our principles, to the system 

 which we have adopted in the common verification of creden- 

 tials, the system which permits us to recognize as deputies of the 

 nation only those who shall have consented to have their creden- 

 tials verified in common with us." Bergasse thought that such 

 fears were not well founded and that, therefore, the phrase connus 

 et verifies was not necessary. The title assemblee des communes, 

 even the title representants du peuple, was not a proper one. 



1 Biauzat, II, 118; Duquesnoy, I, 97; Journal des etats-gencraux, I, 103; 

 Courrier dc Provence, Lettre XI, 37, note. 



2 Biauzat, II, 118; Journal des ctats-generaux, I, 98, 99; Duquesnoy, I, 97. 



^Journal des etats-gencraux. I, 98, 99. Target emphasizes the impor- 

 tance of the question under discussion : "II faut decider avec prudence, 

 mais avec celerite; et ce n'est qu'avec effroi que j'arrive a la discussion." 



4 Journal des ctats-generaux, I, 102. 



5 Journal des ctats-generaux, I, 100-2 ; Duquesnoy, I, 97. The Archives 

 parte mentaires, VIII, 114-18, claims to possess the entire speech of Ber- 

 gasse. The extracts given in the Journal des etats-gencraux agree w'th it. 



59 



