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hope of obtaining by way of an amicable negotiation the redress of these different grievances and is equivalent to a declaration of war;

Decrees that there is urgency.

The National Assembly declares that the French nation, faithful to the principles consecrated by its constitution, not to undertake any war with a view to making conquests, and never to employ its forces against the liberty of any people, takes arms only to maintain its liberty and its independence;

That the war which it is forced to sustain is not a war of nation against nation, but the just defence of a free people against the unjust aggression of a king;

That the French will never confound their brothers with their real enemies; that they will neglect nothing in order to alleviate the scourge of war, to spare and preserve property, and to cause to return upon those alone, who shall league themselves against its liberties, all the miseries inseparable from war;

That it adopts in advance all foreigners, who, abjuring the cause of its enemies, shall come to range themselves under its banners and to consecrate their efforts to the defence of its liberty; that it will favor also, by all the means which are in its power, their establishment in France.

Deliberating upon the formal proposition of the King, and after having decreed urgency, [the National Assembly] decrees war against the King of Hungary and Bohemia.

20. The Three Revolutionary Decrees.

These three decrees were passed by the Legislative Assembly amid the excitement produced by the unexpected Austrian victories on the French frontier. Inspired by doubt regarding the King's competency and loyalty to the nation, they became important faetors in producing the movement which finally resulted in the suspension of Louis XVI on the 10th of August. To document B the King gave a reluctant consent; the other two were rejected.

REFERENCES. Gardiner. French Revolution, 111-112; Mathews, French Revolution, 193-195: Aulard, Revolution Francaise, 189; Stephens, French Revolution, II, 78-82.

A. Decree for the Deportation of the Non-juring Priests. May 27, 1792. Duvergier, Lois, IV, 177-178.

The National Assembly, after having heard the report of

its Committee of Twelve, considering that the troubles excited within the kingdom by the non-juring ecclesiastics require that it should apply itself without delay to the means of suppressing them, decrees that there is urgency;

The National Assembly, considering that the efforts to overthrow the constitution, to which the non-juring ecclesiastics are continually devoting themselves, do not permit it to be supposed that these ecclesiastics desire to unite in the social compact, and that it would compromise the public safety to regard for a longer time as members of society the men who evidently are seeking to dissolve it; considering that the laws are without force against these men, who, operating upon the consciences in order to mislead them, nearly always conceal their criminal maneuvers from the attention of those who might be able to cause them to be repressed and punished; after having decreed urgency, decrees as follows:

I. The deportation of the non-juring ecclesiastics shall take place as a measure of public security and of general police, in the case and according to the forms hereinafter set forth.

2. All those are considered as non-juring ecclesiastics, who, being liable for the oath prescribed by the law of December 26, 1790, may not have taken the oath; also those who, not being subject to that law, have not taken the civic oath subsequent to September 3 last, the day whereon the French constitution was declared completed; finally, those who shall have retracted either oath.

3. When twenty active citizens of the same canton shall unite to ask for the deportation of a non-juring ecclesiastic, the department directory shall be required to pronounce the deportation, if the opinion of the district directory is in conformity with the petition.

4. When the opinion of the district directory shall be in conformity with the petition, the department directory shall be required to cause commissioners to ascertain by examination whether the presence of the ecclesiastic or ecclesiastics denounced is injurious to the public tranquility, and upon the opinion of these commissioners, if it is in conformity with the petition, the department directory shall be required to pronounce the deportation.

5. In case a non-juring ecclesiastic may have excited disturbances by overt acts, the facts may be denounced to the department directory by one or several active citizens, and after the verification of the facts, the deportation shall likewise be pronounced.

16. Those of the ecclesiastics against whom deportation shall have been pronounced, who may remain within the kingdom after having declared their retirement, or who may return after their departure, shall be condemned to the penalty of imprisonment for ten years.

B. Decree for Disbanding the King's Body Guard. May 29, 1792. Duvergier, Lois, IV, 180-181.

The National Assembly, considering that the admissio 1 into the existing paid guard of the King of a large number of persons who do not meet the conditions required for that service by the constitutional act; that the spirit of incivism with which that body is generally animated and the conduct of its higher officers excite just alarms and may compromise the personal security of the King and the public tranquility, decrees as follows:

1. The existing paid guard of the King is disbanded, and it shall be renewed without delay in conformity with the laws.

2. Until this renewal of the paid guard of the King, the Parisian guard shall do service about his person, just as and in the same manner as it did before the establishment of the paid guard.

C. Decree for Establishing a Camp of Fédérés. June 8, 1792. Moniteur, June 9, 1792. (Reimpression, XII, (07.)

The National Assembly, deliberating upon the proposal of the minister of war converted into a motion by a member, and after having heard the report of its military committee, considering that it is urgent to convey to the frontiers the troops of the line who are in the capital; considering that it is important to remove every hope of the enemies of the public weal who are devising conspiracies in the interior; consid

ering that it is advantageous to draw still closer at the time of the 14th of July the ties which unite the National Guards of all the other departments with those of Paris, who have served the revolution so well and merited so well of the fatherland by an unlimited devotion and an arduous and constant service, decrees that there is urgency,

The National Assembly, after having decreed urgency, decrees as follows:

1. The armed force already decreed shall be augmented by 20,000 men.

3- The 20,000 additional men shall assemble at Paris on the 14th of July next.

8. No citizen shall be allowed to enroll himself who has not done personal service in the National Guard since July 14. 1790, or since the formation of the National Guard of the canton of his commune, or lastly since he has reached the age of 18 years, unless, however, upon leaving the troops of the line with a discharge in regular form he has directly entered the National Guard.

He shall be required, besides, upon presenting himself for enrollment, to deliver to the municipality a certificate of civism of the officers, under officers and National Guards of the company in which he served.

21. The Petition of the 20th of June.

June 20, 1792. Moniteur, June 22, 1792 (Reimpression, XII, 717).

This petition was carried to the Legislative Assembly by the great crowd which after presenting it broke into the Tuileries on June 20, 1792. Two features of it deserve attention: (1) what it shows as to the state of mind of the people of Paris, (2) the precise character of its demand in regard to the King. The progress of events may be traced by comparing it with No. 23.

REFERENCES. Gardiner, French Revolution, 111-114: Mathews, French Revolution, 195-197; Stephens, French Revolution, II, 82

Legislators, the French people come today to present to you

their fears and their anxieties; it is in your midst that they set forth their alarms and that they hope to find at last the remedy for their ills. This day recalls the memorable date of the 20th of June, the Tennis Court in which the representatives of the people met and swore in the face of Heaven not to abandon our cause and to die in defence of it.

Recall, gentlemen, that sacred oath and allow these same people, afflicted in their turn, to ask you if you will abandon them. In the name of the nation, which has fixed its eyes upon this city, we come to assure you that the people are aroused, that they are equal to the occasion and are ready to make use of unusual methods in order to avenge the majesty of the outraged people. These extreme means are justified by article 2 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, resistance to oppression.

What a misfortune, however, for the free men who have entrusted to you all their powers to see themselves reduced to the cruel necessity of steeping their hands in the blood of the conspirators! It is no longer time to conceal it: the plot is discovered; the hour has arrived. Blood will flow or the tree of liberty which we are about to plant will blossom in peace.

Legislators, do not let this language astonish you. We do not belong to any party; we do not wish to adopt anything other than what shall be in accord with the constitution. Could the enemies of the fatherland imagine that the men of the 14th of July are asleep? If they had that appearance, their awakening is terrible; they have lost none of their energy. The immortal Declaration of the Rights of Man is too profoundly graven upon their hearts. That precious boon, that boon of all the nations will be defended by them and nothing shall be capable of depriving them of it. It is time, gentlemen, to put in execution that article 2 of the Rights of Man. Follow the example of the Ciceros and Demosthenes and unveil in open senate the perfidious machinations of the Catalines. You have men animated by the sacred fire of patriotism: let them speak, and we will act. It is in you that the public safety now resides. We have always believed that our union made our strength. Union and general harmony ought to rule in a sti!l greater degree among you; we have always believed that when the interests of the State were under discussion they alone ought to be looked to, and that the legislator ought to have a heart inaccessible to any individual interest. The image of