N C E. 
??0 FRA 
hundred and forty-feven, was fixed at feven hundred and 
forty-five. 
It would neither be interefting to the reader, nor con¬ 
fident with the limits of an encyclopaedia, to enter into a 
long and complicated detail of decrees which refpeft the 
minutiae of this new government-, but the addrefs of the 
adembly to the nation may be confidered as an authentic 
record of their fird or primary intentions* and as fitch 
deferves a ccnfiderable fnare of public attention. It was 
publidted about the middle of February 1790; and was 
preceded by the following oath, which u'as adminidered 
to every deputy, and to the different didrifts throughout 
France : “ I fwear to be faithful to the nation, to the 
law, to the king ; and to maintain with all my power the 
conditution decreed by the national afTembly, and accept¬ 
ed by the king. 
The addrefs dated, “ That the national afTembly had 
traced with a firm hand the principles of a conditution, 
which fecured for ever the freedom of the French peo¬ 
ple. That they had edablifhed the rights of men , for¬ 
gotten and infulted for fo many ages. That they had 
redored to the nation the prerogative of taxing them- 
felves ; while they had preferved the principles of the 
monarchy in pronouncing the fovereign inviolable, and 
the throne hereditary. That thofe orders, or claffes of 
men, whofe ancient pretenfions were the objefts of lo 
mu-ch jealoufy, were now lod in the general name of 
citizens ; and that an army compofed folely of citizens, 
alTembled by patriolifm, and infpired by honour, watched 
over the fafety, and were anxious to preferve the tran¬ 
quillity, of the date. That the feudal fydem, To long 
obnoxious and degrading to man, was abolidied ; thatthe 
provinces were delivered from a vexatious and venal ad- 
minidration of judice ; that all arbitrary diftinctions were 
annihilated ; and that the national aflembly, by the new 
divifion of France, had effaced the lad traces of prejudice, 
and indituted, indead of a narrow attachment to a parti¬ 
cular province, a love for the kingdom in general.” The 
addrefs then concludes as follows: 
“ Behold, Frenchmen, the profpeft of happinefs and 
glory which opens to your view ! Some deps yet remain ; 
and thence the afperfionsof theenemiesof the revolution. 
Diftrud too much vivacity ; above all, dread every kind 
of violence, fince diforder may become fatal to liberty. 
You love that liberty ; you are now poffeffed of it, flievv 
yourfelves worthy of preferving it; attend faithfully to 
the fpirit and the letter of the decrees of your reprefen- 
tatives accepted or fanctioned by the king. Think on 
the three facrcd words which fecure thofe decrees; The 
nation , the Law , and the king. The nation, is you ; the 
law, is you again, becaufe it is your will; the king, is the 
guardian of the law. Whatever falfehoods may be dif- 
perled, confide in that union. The king was formerly de¬ 
ceived ; it is now you that are ; and the virtues of the king 
are grieved at that deception. He would preferve his 
people from thofe deceivers w hom he has banifhed from 
his throne; he will defend from them the cradle of his 
Ion ; fince in the midft of your reprefentatives he has de¬ 
clared that he will render the heir of the crown the guar¬ 
dian of the confutation. For our own part, purfuing our 
inceflant labours, devoted, confecrated to the completion 
of the conditution, your work as well as ours, we (hall 
finifh it, a Aided by all the information of France, and 
.vanqnifhers over all obiiacles. Satisfied of our own rec- 
-t-itude, and convinced of the definable progrefs towards 
your happinefs, we (hall place in your hands this facred 
depofit of the conffitution, entrulted to the protection 
of thofe new virtues ; the feeds of which, long fecreted 
in your bofoms, have burd forth on the firft dawn of 
liberty.” 
Whatever reputation the national aflembly might ex- 
peft to derive from this addrefs, they neglected not to 
add to it by every other favourable means. The fcanty 
pay of the army had long been a fubjeft of complaint; 
.and the foldiers looked forward with anxious joy to the 
relief of thofe grievances, which had been rendered more 
intolerable by the exaftions of their officers. In June 
1790, a decree was publiflied which increafed the pay of 
the army full one fourth ; and this was foon followed 
by a fecund order, which imparted the fame augmentation 
to the Tailors and marines. 
About this time a difpute refpefting the right of fifhery 
on the coafl of America, threatened to involve the courts 
of Madrid and London in open hoflilities ; both urged 
their warlike preparations witli equal diligence ; and the 
king of France, who confidered himfelf bound by the 
family compaft to fupport the pretenfions of the kindred 
throne of Spain, demanded of the national adembly fup- 
plies neceflary for equipping fourteen fail of the line. 
The meflage of the fovereign, although immediately 
complied with, was unexpectedly productive of confe- 
quences the moff important to the conditution. The ex- 
pences of a war could not but preis heavy on a people 
who had been taught to expeft the daily diminution of 
their burdens; the difcontent of the majority of the no¬ 
bility was deep and undifguifed ; their lituation called 
them to military command ; the foldiers, it was true, had 
hitherto difplayed the mod generous ardour ; but when 
once alTembled in a camp, thofe arms which had been 
provided againft the foreign enemies of France, might be 
employed to fubvert her conditution. The king of Spain, 
it was prefumed, could not behold the depreflion of the 
royal prerogative of the houfe of Bourbon without fecret 
indignation ; the intrigues of the baron de Breteuil, who 
had always pofleffed the confidence of the queen, were 
fuppofed to have extended to the court of Madrid ; and 
it was well known that the aridocratieal party regarded 
an approaching war with hope and exultation. Thefe 
confiderations fuggeded to the national aflembly the dan¬ 
ger of leaving in the hands of the fovereign the uncon¬ 
trolled right of peace and war. It was urged indeed 
that this right could not with propriety be feparated from 
the executive power ; and count Mirabeau, w ho had hi¬ 
therto appeared the mod zealous champion of the people, 
fupported on this occafion the prerogative of the crown. 
He urged that the executive power confided in the right 
of employing the public force ; “ and what (demanded 
he) is war, but an application of that force ?” His argu¬ 
ments were drenuoudy oppofed ; it was aflerted that the 
fubjefts in alirtod every war had been the viftims of the 
caprice or ambition of the fovereign and his miniders ; 
and that the profperity of the empire had been continu¬ 
ally facrificed to the lud of tranfient conqueds, or the 
acquifition of barren laurels. France dill groaned under 
the viftories of Louis XIV. and every triumph ferved 
only to augment the debt,and increafethe embarraflments, 
of the nation. After this debate, it was decreed that the 
right of peace and w-ar belonged to the nation ; and that 
war could not be declared but by a decree of the national 
adembly, originating in a meflage from the king, and 
fanftioned by him. That the care to watch over the ex¬ 
ternal fecurity of the kingdom, and to maintain'its rights 
and podeffions, was delegated to the king by the conditu- 
tion ; that to him were entruded all foreign correfpond- 
ence ; the conduft of political negociations ; the choice 
of agents ; the preparation of a war edablidunent propor¬ 
tioned to that of the neighbouring dates ; the didribution 
of the forces both by land and by Tea; and the direction 
of them in cafe of aftual hoflilities. And the adembly, 
delirous of acquiring the confidence of Europe, and of 
extinguidiing all jealoulies that might have arilen from 
the armament they had lately decreed, Refolved, “ that 
the French nation would never embark in any war with a 
view to conqued, nor ever employ her forces againd the 
liberties of any people.” 
Thus the national alfembly transferred from the crown 
of France a prerogative which it had peaceably enjoyed 
for fourteen centuries; and was preparatory to a decifive 
and lignal triumph over the French nobility. While the 
titles and diltinftions of that order remained, it was conli- 
dered 
