Pressure on the King. -- Pétion and Manual brought to the H？tel-de-ville. -- The Ministry obliged to resign. -- Jacobin agitation against the King. -- Pressure on the Assembly. - - Petition of the Paris Commune. -- Threats of the petitioners and of the galleries. --Session of August 8th. - Girondist strategy foiled in two ways.
With this in mind they begin by attacking the King， and try to make him yield through fear. -- They remove the suspension pronounced against Pétion and Manuel， and restore them both to their places in the H？tel-de-ville. They will from now on rule Paris without restriction or supervision； for the Directory of the department has resigned， and no superior authority exists to prevent them from calling upon or giving orders as they please to the armed forces； they are exempt from all subordination， as well as from all control.
Behold the King of France in good hands， in those of the men who， on the 20th of June， refused to nuzzle the popular brute， declaring that it had done well， that it had right on its side， and that it may begin again. According to them， the palace of the monarch belongs to the public； people may enter it as they would a coffee-house； in any event， as the municipality is occupied with other matters， it cannot be expected to keep people out. "Is there nothing else to guard in Paris but the Tuileries and the King？"[12] -- Another maneuver consists in rendering the King's instruments powerless. Honorable and inoffensive as the new ministers may be， they never appear in the Assembly without being hooted at in the tribunes. Isnard， pointing with his finger to the principal one， exclaims： "That is a traitor！"[13] Every popular outburst is imputed to them as a crime， while Guadet declares that， "as royal counselors， they are answerable for any disturbances" that the double veto might produce.[14] Not only does the faction declare them guilty of the violence provoked by itself， but， again， it demands their lives for the murders which it commits. "France must know，" says Vergniaud， "that hereafter ministers are to answer with their heads for any disorders of which religion is the pretext." -- "The blood just spilt at Bordeaux，" says Ducos， "may be laid at the door of the executive power. "[15] La Source proposes to "punish with death，" not alone the minister who is not prompt in ordering the execution of a decree， but， again， the clerks who do not fulfill the minister's instructions. Always death on every occasion， and for every one who is not of the sect. Under this constant terror， the ministers resign in a body， and the King is required at once to appoint others； meanwhile， to increase the danger of their position， the Assembly decrees that hereafter they shall "be answerable for each other." It is evident that they are aiming at the King over his minister's shoulders， while the Girondists leave nothing unturned to render government to him impossible. The King， again， signs this new decree； he declines to protest； to the persecution he is forced to undergo he opposes nothing but silence， sometimes a simple， frank， good-hearted expression，[16] some kindly， touching complaining， which seems like a suppressed moan.[17] But dogmatic obstinacy and impatient ambition are willfully deaf to the most sorrowful strains！