VIII. CHAP. and, on the motion of Tallien, voted that the Republic was one and indivisible, and dismissed the accused unpunished, to reap the fruits of a real victory. 1792. 54. Louvet arraigns Robespierre. Oct. 29. 66 A more formidable accusation was shortly afterwards brought forward by Louvet, one of the ablest and most intrepid leaders of the Gironde, against Robespierre. Roland, as minister of the interior, now thoroughly alarmed both for the Republic and himself, had made a luminous statement of the situation of the metropolis, in which he boldly exposed the sanguinary measures of the municipality. When the principles of revolt and carnage," said he, "are openly avowed and applauded, not only in clubs, but in the bosom of the Convention, who can doubt that some hidden partisans of the ancient régime, some pretended friends of the people, veiling their wickedness under the mask of patriotism, have conceived the design of overturning the constitution, and slaking their thirst for blood and gold in the midst of public ruin? The situation of the Republic is expressed in a few words: administrative bodies without power; the municipality despotic; the people good, but deceived; the public force excellent, but ill commanded; the Convention delaying to take the most necessary steps to insure the public safety. I know this statement will ruin my popularity, but I prefer my duty to my life." He then read a letter from the president of the second section of the criminal tribunal, announcing that his own life and that of his colleagues were menaced, and that, in the language of the times, a new bleeding was requring for the state. At this announcement, all eyes were turned 1 Hist. Parl. to Robespierre, who immediately mounted the tribune, and exclaimed, "No one will dare to accuse me to my face."1 xix. 410, 415. 55. "I accuse you," said Louvet with a firm voice and His power- unshrinking eye: "Yes, Robespierre, I accuse you." The ful speech. tyrant was moved at the glance of his adversary, whose talent and courage he had previously experienced in the VIII. 1792. hall of the Jacobins. Louvet then, in an energetic and CHAP. your associates may it rest for ever! 1 Hist. Parl. 436. Moni Roland spoke in vain; the tutelary arm of Pétion was enchained; Danton refused to move; the presidents of, the sections waited for orders from the general in com- xix. 423, mand, which never arrived; the officers of the munici- teur, Oct. 30, pp. 1292, pality, with their official scarfs, presided at the executions; 1294. and the orders you had given were too fatally obeyed."1 duct of the The Assembly was strongly moved by the eloquence of 56. Louvet, but he was feebly supported by his friends among Feeble conthe Girondists. He repeatedly appealed to Pétion, Girondists. Vergniaud, and the other leaders, to support his statements; but they had not the firmness boldly to state the truth. Had they testified a fourth part of what they VIII. 1792. CHAP. knew, the accusation must have been instantly voted, and the tyrant might have been crushed at once. As it was, Robespierre, fearful of its effects, demanded eight days to prepare for his defence. In the interval, the whole machinery of terror was put in force: the Jacobins thundered out accusations against the intrepid accuser, and all the leaders of the Mountain were indefatigable in their efforts to strike fear into their opponents. "The object of the Girondists," said Robespierre the younger at the Jacobins, "is clear. They want to inculpate the heroes of the 10th August as the authors of the massacres of September, to bring about a counter-revolution. They would destroy in detail all the patriots; Robespierre first; next Danton, Marat, and Santerre ; Merlin and Chabot will soon follow; then the municipality of Paris will be the chosen victim; then the Faubourg St Antoine, and the forty-eight sections of Paris. M. Louvet himself has justified the municipality; for he commenced one of the placards of the Sentinelle- Honour to the grand council of the municipality: it has sounded the tocsin it has saved the country!"" By degrees the impression cooled, fear resumed its sway, and the accused mounted the tribune at the end of the week with the air of a victor. The deputies, mastered by terror, affected to regard the accusation as a private quarrel between Louvet and 1st and 6th, Robespierre, and felt no apprehension for a man whom Louvet, 52. they regarded, as Barère said, "as a man of the day-a little mover of discord." 1 Journal des Jacobins, Nov. No. 93. 57. Reply of Robespierre. In the conclusion of his address, which was nervous and forcible, Robespierre observed, in allusion to the massacres of September 2d-" Without doubt," said he, "the massacres in the prisons were illegal; but what was the revolt on 10th August, or on 14th July? If we are to go back to what is legal, who can defend the Revolution, or save you all from a conviction for high treason? Beware how, by such doctrines, you cast a doubt on the origin of your own power. Without illegal measures VIII. 1792. despotism never yet was shaken; for what sovereign will CHAP. establish legal means for his own overthrow? The sensibility which laments only the enemies of liberty, is ever suspicious! Cease to agitate the bloody robe of the tyrant before my eyes, or I will believe you wish to replace Rome in its fetters! Eternal calumniators! would you disgrace the Republic in its cradle, and furnish arms to all Europe against the Revolution which has produced it? It is said that an innocent individual has perished. The number of the sufferers has been greatly exaggerated; but supposing there was one such, it was doubtless too much. He was perhaps a good citizen, one of our best friends. Weep for him-weep even for the unworthy citizens who have fallen under the sword of popular justice; but let your grief, like every human thing, have a termination. But let us, at the same time, reserve some tears for more touching calamities: Weep! a hundred thousand citizens sacrificed by tyranny! Weep! our fellow-citizens massacred in their cradles, or in the arms of their mothers! Have you no brothers, or children, or wives, to revenge? The family of French legislators is their country-is the whole human race, excepting tyrants and their supporters. Weep, then, humanity debased under an odious yoke; but be consoled by the reflection, that by calming unworthy discord, you will xx.208,213. secure the happiness of your own country, and prepare Nov. 6. that of the world." 1 1 Hist. Parl. Moniteur, 58. of the As sembly, and the accusation is Nov. 5. Divided by opposite opinions, the Assembly willingly closed with the proposal of Robespierre to put an end to Irresolution these personal altercations, and pass to the order of the day. Barbaroux and Lanjuinais vainly endeavoured to maintain the accusation; the leaders of the Gironde them- quashed. selves, irresolute in action, hesitated to support them. "If, indeed," said Barère, "there existed in the republic a man born with the genius of Cæsar, or the boldness of Cromwell; if there was to be found here a man with the talent of Sylla, and his dangerous means of elevation; if CHAP. 1792. we had amongst us a legislator of vast ability, boundless ambition, and profound dissimulation; a general, for example, returning loaded with laurels to dictate laws to your choice, or insult the rights of the people,-I would be the first to propose against him a decree of accusation. But let us cease to waste our time on men who will fill no place in history; let us not put pigmies on pedestals; the civic crowns of Robespierre are mingled with cypress." The agitation for some time was extreme in the Assembly, and Barbaroux, Lanjuinais, and Louvet strenuously contended for a reply to Robespierre. But they were deserted by their party, who, like all other men without nerve, think they will avert danger by postponing a collision. 1 Hist. Parl. At length it was nearly unanimously agreed to pass to xx.220,222. the order of the day. The Girondists flattered themMig. i. 224. selves that this would extinguish Robespierre's influence as Lac. ii. 18, completely as exile or death, and actually joined with the teur, Nov. 6. Jacobins in preventing the reply of Louvet—a fatal error, which France had cause to lament with tears of blood.1* It was now evident that the Girondists were no match Weakness for their terrible adversaries. The men of action on their dists on this side, Louvet, Barbaroux, and Lanjuinais, in vain strove to rouse them to the necessity of vigorous measures in contending with such enemies. Their constant reply was, that they would not be the first to commence the shedding of blood. Their only vigour manifested itself in Louvet, 56. Th. iii. 229. 19. Moni 59. of the Giron. occasion. *The press in Paris, as usual in periods of revolutionary excitement, had already adopted the system of reporting only the speeches of the popular leaders, and this appears in an especial manner in the report of this debate in the Moniteur. This was admitted to Robespierre by its editor.—“ Cependant vous devez avoir remarqué que toujours le Moniteur a rapporté avec beaucoup plus d'étendue les discours de la Montagne que les autres. Je n'ai donne qu'un court extrait de la première accusation qui fut faite contre vous par Louvet, tandis que j'ai inséré en entier votre réponse. J'ai rapporté presqu'en entier tous les discours qui ont été prononcés pour la mort du Roi, et je ne citais quelques extraits des autres qu'autant que j'y étais indisputablement obligé pour conserver quelque caractère d'impartialité. Je puis dire avec assurance que la publicité que j'ai donnée à vos deux discours et à celui de Barère n'a pas peu contribué à déterminer l'opinion de l'Assemblée et des départemens."Papiers Inédits trouvés chez ROBESPIERRE, ii. 130; Rédacteur du Moniteur à ROBESPIERRE, 18 Juin 1793. |