书城公版The Origins of Contemporary France
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第863章

[13] Mallet-Dupan ("Correspondance avec la cour de Vienne," I., 292, August 30, 1795). - Moniteur, XXV., 518, 551. (Session of Fructidor 3.) The first idea of the commission of Eleven was to have the Convention itself choose the two-thirds. "Its opponents took advantage of the public outcry and broke off this plan. . . . of the Girondist cabal." Louvet, Fructidor 3, mounted three times into the tribune to support this project, still more scandalous than the other. "Eh, what electoral assembly could be better than yours! You all know each other well." Louvet adds this significant expression:

"The armies also will vote the new constitution. I have no fears of its fate."[14] Moniteur, XXII, 22. (Report of Lindet, 4th sans-culottide, year II.) "Each man confines himself to his family and calculates his resources."[15] Meissner, 58.

[16] Decree of Fructidor s. "All Frenchmen who voted at the last primary assemblies will be admitted to vote on the acceptance of the Constitution." - Archives Nationales, A. II. B. 638. (General recapitulation of the vote on the Constitution of the year III and on the decrees of Fructidor 5 and 13 printed by order of the Convention Vendémiaire, year IV.) Number of voters on the constitutional bill, 1,107,368.

[17] Moniteur, XXV., 637. (Address to Frenchmen by Lareveillère-Lepeaux, in the name of the Commission of Eleven, affixed to the decree of Fructidor 13.) "Let all opposition to the legitimacy of this measure cease! The only legitimate measure is that which saves the country! Besides, if the majority of the primary assemblies of France approve of it, who dares say that the people would have renounced its sovereignty in thus expressing its will! " - Cf. Sauzay, VII., 653 to 667, on the details and circumstances of the elections in one of the departments.

[18] Archives Nationales1 A. II. B., 688. (Procés-verbaux of the primary meetings of Seine-Inférieure, Dieppe, "Liberté" section, session of Fructidor 20.) The constitution is unanimously accepted by forty-four voters, on a call of names. Then, "before proceeding to the nomination of electors the law was read, concerning the mode of electing the two-thirds of the National Convention. The President having asked if any one wished to speak on this law the order of the day was immediately called for on all sides." The electors are appointed forthwith and the assembly adjourns.-The clerk, who has to draw up the minutes, writes on the margin "forty-four voters unanimously accept the Constitution as well as the decrees of Fructidor 5 and 13," which is false. It is clear that the scribe had been instructed to enlarge the number of votes accepting the decrees, which suggests doubts on the truth of the total furnished by the convention.

[19] Ibid., A. II. B., 638 (General recapitulation). I have taken the number of primary assemblies in the twenty-two first departments on the alphabetical list, that is to say, one quarter of the territory, which warrants a conclusion, proportionately, on the whole country. In these twenty-two departments, 1,570 assemblies vote on the constitution and only three hundred and twenty-eight on the decrees. The figures are herewith given: in the C?tes-du-Nord, eighty-four primary assemblies; only one votes in favor of the decrees. Bouches du Rhone, ninety primary assemblies; four vote on the decrees, two for and two against. Aude, eighty-three primary assemblies; four vote on the decrees, three for and one against.

Arriége, fifty-nine primary assemblies; two vote on the decrees.

Basses-Alpes, forty-eight primary assemblies: two vote on the decrees.

Maritime Alps, twenty-three primary assemblies; not one votes on the decrees.

[20] Ibid., (Procés-verbaux of the primary assemblies of the department of the Seine, Popincourt section, Vendémiaire) 91. This section, on learning that its vote against the decrees" was put down as a cipher in the general count of votes," protested and declared that "when the vote was taken at the meeting of Fructidor 22, it was composed of 845 citizens representing 2,594 votes." Nevertheless, in the general recapitulation of Vendémiaire its vote counts for nothing.