414 Readings in European History people, still sustains it. But each day this great cause is deserted by a portion of those who make public opinion, although it demands the closest cooperation of every faction and party in the realm. The people are, moreover, only informed of the almost inevitable mistakes of a legislative body which is too numerous, whose footing is insecure, and which has gone through no apprenticeship : no emphasis is laid upon the ease with which such mistakes could be cor- rected by the next legislature. The only way to save the state and the nascent constitution is to put the king in a position which will allow him, without delay, to unite with his people. King's criti- Paris has long swallowed up the taxes of the kingdom. cal position p ar i s i s the seat of the financial regime which the provinces loathe. Paris has created the debt. Paris, by its miserable stock gambling, has destroyed public credit, and has com- promised the honor of the nation. Must the National Assembly, too, regard this city only, and sacrifice the whole kingdom for it? Several provinces fear that the capital will dominate the Assembly and direct the course of its work. What then is to be done? Is the king free? His free- dom is not complete, nor is it recognized. Is the king safe? I do not think so. Can even Paris save him alone? No; Paris is lost if she is not brought to order and forced to moderation. Will the National Assembly finish its session without being harassed by the disturbances which a thousand circumstances lead us to anticipate? He would be bold, certainly, who should guarantee this ! Should no successful effort be made to give another direc- tion to public opinion, to enlighten the people as to their true interests, to prepare, by instructions given to constitu- ents, the spirit of the new legislature, will the state recover its tranquillity, the army its strength, the executive power its influence, and the monarch his real rights, whose exercise is essential to public liberty? Or will the monarchy be shaken to its foundation and very probably dismembered, — that is to say, dissolved? It is easy to foresee what is to be appre- hended by what has already happened. Some measures must obviously be taken, as all the facts clearly indicate.
