PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS BY JOHN fENHO, No. 69, HIGH-STREET, BETWEEN SECOA'O AND THIRD ST I'EFTS, PHILADELPHIA
[.No. 56, of Vol. lII.] Wednesday, August 51, 1791-
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY,
ON THE FLIGHT OF THE
KING AND ROYAL FAMILY.
(COA'TINU ED.)
Friday Morning, June 24.
A Deputation from the diftrift of Clermont dated frcfli parti
culars relating to the capture of the King.
M. Damas undertook by order of M. Bouille, to protrft his
flight; but, abandoned by his dragoons, he was himfelf obliged
to fly.
The King had a passport, of which this is a copy :
44 On the part of the King.
" To all officers, civil and military, charged with the fuper
intendance and maintenance of public order in the diff rent de
partments of the kingdom :
" We enjoin you to fufFef to pass, without interruption, the
Baroness de Kortz, going to Frankfort* with two children, a wo
man, a valet-de-chambre, and three domestics, without giving or
fuffering her to reeeive an) hindrance.
" This pafTport to continue in force for one month only.
" Given at Paris, June 5, 1791
(Signed)
" By the King,
(Signed)
M. Montmorin was ordered to the bar, to (late by whom and
how this passport was granted. He endeavored to exculpate him
felf, by faying, he had been futprifed.
Friday Night.
The fitting was opened by the report of the Commiflioncrs
charged to examine the condufl of M. Montmorin with refpe&io
the King's passport.
The Commidioncrs stated, that having examined the rcgifters,
they had found that the passport had been obtained at the request
of M. Simolin, the Ruflian Ambalfadoi in France.
A deputation of the Municipality of Paris prefentcd to the Af
the two citizens who Hopped the King.
then gave the following recital :
RffwFn the Postmaster of Sainte Menehoud, formerly a dra
the regiment of Conde. My comrade, William, wa&
■H|v a dragoon of the Queen's regiment.
|HW5n the 8i ft of June, at half past ieven o'clock in the evening,
two carriages and eleven horses baited at my house I thought 1
recognized the Queen; and perceiving a man at the back part of
the carriage, on the left, I was struck with the resemblance of his
countenance to the King's .effigy on an aflignat of 50 ,
" These carriages were conduced by a detachment of dragoons,
which succeeded a detachment of hussars, under pretence of pro
te&inga treasure. This escort confirmed me in my suspicions;
particularly when I saw the commander of ihe detachment fpea&
with great animation to one ot the couriers. However, fearing
to exciteJalfe alarms, being alone and having no opportunity of
consulting any one, I fuffcred the carriages to depart.
" But feeing immediately the dragoons making
to follow them, and observing that, after having alk<d horles for"!
Verdun, the carriages took the road to Varennes, I went a cross
joad, in order to rejoin them
" I arrived be fore them at Varennes. It was eleven o'clock at
light, very dark, and ev.ery one gone to bed. The carnages were
Hopped in a street, by a difputc which h,d taken place between
the poflillions and the poft-rnaller of the place. The pott-maltcr
was desirous that they should (lop and rctneth their horses accord
ing to custom. The King, on the conti arts,* was desirous to hasten
his departure. t
•' I then said to my comrade, " Are you a staunch patriot!"
44 Don't doubt it," replied he. " Well (said I) the King is at
Varenues. He muff be flopped.'' We then alighted, and re
fle&ed, that in order to secure success to oar plan, it was necessary
to barricade the street artd the bridge by which the King was to
pals.
" My companiQn and I then went to the bridge of Varenncs;
fortunately there was a carriage there loaded with furniture—we
overturned it, so as to render the road impassable ; we then ian to
feck, the Procureur de la Commune, the mayor, the commandant
of the national guard, and in a few minutes our number increafcd
to eight men, who were all hearty in the cause.
" The commander of the national guard, accompanied by the
procureur, approached the carriage, asked the travellers who they
were, and where thev were going ? The Queen answered that they
were in a hurry. A fight 01 the passport was then demanded.
She at length gave her passport to two guards of honour, who
alighted and came to the inn.
" When the passport was read, some said it was fufficient—we
combated this opinion, bccaufe it was not signed by the President
of the National Affcmbly, as it should have been. If you are a
foreigner, said we to the Queen, how came you to have fufficient
influence to have a detachment lo follow you ? How come you,
when you passed through Clermont, to have fulHcicnt influence to
be followed by a firft detachment ?
*' In consequence of these reflections, and our perseverance, it
was determined that the travellersJhould not proceed till the follow
ing day. Thev alighted at the house of the procurcur.
" Then the king said to us, ' I am the King ! Thcfe are my
wife and children ! We conjure you to treat us with that refpeft
■which the French have ever (hewn their Kings!
4t The national guards immediately came in crowds, and at the
fame time the huilars arrived sword in hand—they endeavored to
approach the houfc where the King was, but we let them know,
that if they persisted in taking him away, they (hould not tear him
from us alive.
41 The commander of the national guard* had the precaution to
bring up two (mall field-pieces, which he planted at the upper
end of the fticei, and two others at the lower end, so that the huf
fdrs were between two fires. They were fummoricd to dismount.
M. Jouglas refufed ; he said, that he and his troop would guard
the Km# ; he was answered, that the national guards would guard
him without his. affiftjnee. He persisted in his resolution ; upon
which the commander of the national guards gave orders to the
gurineis to form their ranks, and to fiie. They tdok the matchcs
in tfieir hands—but the cannons were not then loaded.
41 In a word, the commander of the national guaids, and the
national guards, acted so judiciously, that they contrived to dis
arm thehuflars. The King was then made a prifoncr f
" Having thus fulfilled our duty, we returned home, amidst the
applause of oi.r fellow-citizens ; and we are comc to lay before
the National Aflcmbly ;he homage of our Cervices/*
FRANCE
MONTMO R I N."
The President congratulate :hcfe brave citizens on the eininen;
fi-rvice they had rendered to iheir vountry.
The meeting was then suspended.
Satur day, Jure 25,
The Aflrmhly paSTe-d the toilowing decrees :
1. The K-ng, on hts return to the Chateau des Thuilleries, (hall
have provifionaily, a guard l'ubjedl to the dirc3 order of the com
mandant general, who (ball be responsible for its condu£t.
2. There (hall be likewise given to the preemptive heir, a
guard, under the order ol the commandant general, and a gover
nor, who (hall be nominated by the National AHembly.
3. That all those who accompanied the Royal Family (hall be
am-(ted and examined, and that the King and Queen (hal! be
neard in their vindication, that such mealures (hall be adopted in
consequence as mav be judged proper.
4. That a guaid (hall likcwife be appointed previously for the
King.
5. That, till it (hall be othei wife ordained, the mimfterof jus
tice (hall be authorised, as he has alreacy done since the flight of
the King, to a;rx the seal of the (late to the a£ls of the legislative
body.
6 The minifleis, and the commiflioners of the King, are autho
rised to cxcrcife, being relptmlible, the fun&tons of the executive
:>ower.
MONDAYy J une 2 7*
M. Tronchet gave, in the name of the three Commiflioncrs ap
points d to receive the declarations of the King and Queen, the
f 'Mowing account of the manner in which they had executed their
coninnflion :
LOUIS
" For the purpose of executing your decree of yesterday, M.
Dandre, M. Duport, and I, met ; und, about nine in the evening,
proceeded to the Thuiilerus. We were introduced into the
King's apartment, where we found him alone. After having read
to him your decree, I judged it receffary to remark, that the de
claration of his Majesty (hould re er according to the intent and
meaning of the decree, as well to all the tranfa&ions of the 21 It
of June, as to the occurrences coinetted with them, whether of
an interior or posterior dare. king answered, that he did
not undciftand submitting to interrogatories ; but that he would
deliver in a declaration conformably to the requ:fition which had
been made to him by the National Assembly. We then took his
declaration, to every page of which he had fel his fignalure. We
went afterwards to the apat tments of the Queen, whom we found,
w itn Madame Elizabeth, preparing to fit down to table ; but,
the latter informing us that her Majesty could not then receive us,
because she was going to the bath, we dcfircd her to appoint ano
ther hour; and she fixed upon eleven this morning. Ot course,
wc retired ; but, re urntng at the time prefci ibed, were intro
duced into the bed-chamber, where the Queen was without any
one attendant whatever. Wc then read to her the decree of the
National Assembly, subjoining to it the fame obfeivation which
wc had made to the Kii.g. She dittated to us her declaration,
and, having afterwards heard it read over, put her signature to
every page of it."
DECLARATION OF THE KING.
* 11 1 obfervc, Gentlemen, by your commiflion, that nothing
jjike an interrogatory is meant ; but I am dcfirous of complying
1 with the wifties of the National Aflemblv, and I shall never de
i the motives of myconduft. The motives for my
journey were the outrages and the threats offered to my family
and to myfclf on the 18th of last April ! fubfequentto that period,
I and k»y family have frequently been infultcd and menaccd in se
veral writings ; and the authors of ihefe have remained unpun
ished. I conceived that the fafety of my family, and of my own
pcrfon, forbade me to continue any longer in Paris. I wished
to leave it ; and it was for the purpose of departing with less in
terruption, that I preferred the night-time. My intentions never
were to quit the kingdom. I had not concerted any measures
whatsoever, either with foreign powers, or with the French emi
grants beyond the kingdom. The circumstance of apartments
having been prepared for my reception at Montmedy, may be
adduced as a proof that I had no design to pass beyond the fron
tiers. I chose this place, because, as it was fortified, my family
might have remained there in security ; and because, being thus
near the frontiers, I (hould have been more at hand to resist every
attempt to invade France. Here, in the cafe of an invalion, I
could immediately have prefentcd myfelf in the poll of danger,
"n short, I chose Montmedy even in the moment when I might
havechofen any other retreat. One of my principal motives was
to re-cftabliih the vigor of the g vernment, and to render my'ell
fftfure. Had I felt an inclination to depart from the kingdom, I
(hould not upon the very fame day, have sent my declaration to
the National Assembly, but I should have waited for the moment
of my having palled beyond the frontiers. I always adhered to
ihe desire of returning to Paris. It is in this sense that the last ex
preflions of my memorial (hould be undcrftood :—Frenchmen, and
above all, citizens oj Paris, what pfeafuie Jhall I feel to be among you !
I had not, in the cariiage, more than the sum of 13,200 livrcs in
gold, and 560,000 livres in aflignats ; and these were incloicd
within the port-folio which has been returned to me by the de
partment.
" I did not communicate my intentions to Monsieur until
within a ftiort time previous to my departure ; and he only pro
ceeded into a foreign State with the intention of returning to
Montmedy, but without taking the fame road. Several days be
fore I had cfdered the three persons who attended me, to provide
themselves the dreftes of couriers, in which they might bear my
difpatrhes. It was not until the preceding evening that I told
them they were to accompany me. I only took a paflport for
going out of the kingdom, becauie none is granted at the Office
for Foreign Affairs for the inter ior parts of the kingdom : neiihei
was the road marked out even at all pursued. I never made an\
other protections than those which I addrefTed to the aflembl
on the day of my departure ; and these do not bear so much up
on the ground work of the principles of the constitution as upon
i he torm of fanthons, upon the deficiency of that freedom which
I ought to enjoy and upon the point, that as the constitutional de
crees were not presented to me in one mass, I could not poflibly
Judge of them in a collected view, and altogether. The princi
pal part of this memorial rcits upon the defeat of the administra
tive and executive mcafures. I was sensible, during my journey,
that the public opinion was decidedly in favor of the conltiiution.
I did not conceive that I could fully have ascertained the nature
of this public opmion at Paris; but upon the road, and in con
fcquence of all the elucidations, which, as the result of my en
quiries, flafliea upon my mind, I became convinced, as I now
am, how indifpenfibly neceflary it is even for the constitution to
give power to those officers of the fiatc who are appointed for tie
maintenance of public order. As soon as I could afceitain the
141
[Whole No. 244.]
nature of the public opinion, I did not Ik lit ate to facriiicc my
peilonal inteveft.s to the welfare ol my people, this being the
great object ol all m/wi.Qiesand desires.
tf I shall willingly forget all the unpleasant circumstances that
I have experienced, to fecucc the peace aud the happiness of the
nation."
[The King, after reading this declaration, observed, " That he
had omitted to add, that his Son's Governess, and the Ladies in
his suite, were apprized of his departure but a short time only
before it took place ; and the King signed it with us.]]
(Signed) LOUIS,
Tkonchet, Dukort, Dandre,"
D ECLAT lON OF THE QUEEN.
tc I declare, that the King being dcfirous of quitting Paris with
his children, nothing in nature could have dissuaded me from
following him ; for, that I never will consent to quit him, my
whole conduct for these two years past, has given fufficient proof#.
I was confirmed in my determination to follow him, from the
confidence and persuasion which I had, that he would never quit
the kingdom. Had he been lo inclined, all my influence would
have been exerted to prevent I im. The Govemefs of my daugh
ter, who "jhad been indisposed for five weeks did not receive or
ders for departure till the evening preceding She had not even
taken any clothes with her—l was obliged to lend her some—■
She was absolutely ignorant of our destination. The three cou
riers neither knew the destination nor the object of the journey—
they were fupplicd, from time to time, with money upon ihe road,
and received our orders as we proceeded. The two Jemmes de
chambre did not receive orders till the moment of our departure—-
One of them, whofc husband was in the Palace, had not an op
portunityof feeing him. Monsieur and Madame separated from
us, and took the road to Mons, onlv to avoid embarrassment,
and to prevent delay from the want of horses upon the road—Thev
weie to rejoin us in France. We went out of the Palace by pac
ing through the apartment of M. Villequier ; and that we might
not be perceived, we went separately, and at some distance of
time from each other."
[After reading over this declaration to the Queen, (he acknow
ledged it to be such a declaration as Jhe intended to make, and
signed it with u .] (Signed).
The Declaration being read, M. Tronchet said, 44 The King
is dHiromto have a duplicate of these declarations; without doubt,
the assembly will authorifc us to deliver thein."
The assembly complied with the r quest, and ordered the de
clarations to the committee which shall be appointed to make a
icport on this affair.
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY,
TO THE FRENCH.
A PROCLAMATION.
Decreed in the fitting of "Juris 22, r 79 r -
" A GRAND offence hasjuft been committed.
The National Aflembly was near the conclusion
of its long labours ! the constitution was ahnoft
completed : the tumults of the Revolution were
about to ceafc ; and the enemies of the public
welfare were eager, by a single crime, to facri
fice the whole nation to their vengeance. The
King and the Royal Family were carried off on
the 21ft inilant.
" Buc your Regrcfentatives will triumph over
all tliis obstacle. eftiriiate calmly the ex
tent of the duties imposed upon them. The pub
lic liberty shall be maintained ; con fpi rat org and
slaves (hall understand the intrepidity ps the
French Nation, and we make, in the name of the
Nation, a solemn engagement to revenge the law,
or die !
" France would be Free, arid she (hall be so.
It is intended to make the Revolution recede,
but it recedes not. —Such, Frenchmen, is your
will—it (hall be accomplilhed. It is neceflary to
accommodate the law to theftateof the kingdom.
The King, in the Constitution, exercise* the pow
er of the Royal fancftion over the Decrees of Lc
giflative Body , He is the Head of the Executive
Power, and, in that capacity causes the laws to
be executed by responsible ministers.
" If the firft officer of the public deserts lil>
pofl, or is carried off against his will, the Repre
sentatives of the Nation have the right to supply
his place.—The National Aflembly has, inconfe
qnence, decreed, That the Seal of State, and the
signature of the Minister of JutHce, (ball be ad
ded to all its decrees, to give them the character
of laws. As no order of the King would have
been executed, without being countersigned by
the responsible Mim'lter, nothing was neceflary
but a simple delegation by the Aflembly ro au
thorise him to sign the orders, and those only
i(l'ned by them. In this circumstance they have
been directed by the conlHtntional law relative
to a Regency, which authorises them to perform
the functions of the Executive Power until the
nomination of a Regent
" By thcfc mcnfiircs your Representatives
have infurecl order in the interior part of the
kingdom, and to repulse any attack from with
out. they add to the army a reinforcement of
three hundred thousand National Guards.
" The citizens then have, on all fides, the
means of security. Let them not be overcome
MARIE ANTONIETTE,
Tronchet, Duport. Dandrb."