The Counter Revolution of June-July 63 



had been given on June 13 to the sixteenth bureau for examina- 

 tion^-^ and a report was made on them June 14. M. Prefelne 

 who reported for the bureau at this time stated that all the cre- 

 dentials were in good form except that there was a little diffi- 

 culty concerning Malouet because he had been chosen by accla- 

 mation and not by ballot. M. Prefelne stated, however, that no 

 one had objected to this vote. The assembly listened to the read- 

 ing of the credentials of M. Malouet and postponed decision on 

 the question until after the assembly had been constituted.^-' Thus 

 on July 10, Goupil de Prefelne, reporting for the committee of 

 verification, brought the question before the assembly by asking 

 two questions; first, "Is an election by acclamation regular?; 

 second, are thgre facts which can prevent the application of a 

 principle and cause us to admit the vote by acclamation? "^^^ Ac- 

 cording to the Point du jour, our chief source of information on 

 this subject, Goupil continued by saying that " if the regulations 

 for election were to be followed the question would not be diffi- 

 cult, for they ordered the vote by ballot, but supposing the regu- 

 lations to be only instructions, natural principles must be con- 

 sidered which require that the general wish be stated in a positive 

 manner. Acclamation is a tumultuous vote which can never state 

 the general wish. How many acclamations have never been con- 

 firmed when the ballot was taken ! "^-* The proces-verbal of the 

 election in the senechaussee showed that there were 156 signa- 

 tures conforming the election but it was observed that there were 

 557 electors in the senechaussee. Malouet had accepted the elec- 

 tion only after it had been urged upon him three times. ^-^ The 

 reporter added that " although there had been no contest about the 

 election strict conformity to the reglewient, which distinguished 

 absolute nullities from those which are only relative would not 

 permit an election infected by a vice of absolute nullity because 

 that it insists on the right that elections are free and that the 



321 Proces-verbal of the commons from June 12 to June 17, 52. 



322 Proces-verbal of the commons from June 12 to June 17, 73. 

 ^^^ Asscniblee nationale, I, 459; Point du jour, I, 157. 



32i Point du jour, I, 157. 



^-^ Point du jour, I, 159; Assemblce nationale, I, 461, 462; Courrier de 

 Provence, I, 19th letter, 6. 



345 



