CHAPTER XXVII.
That evening a cabinet council was held at Marly. There were present M. Necker, Minister of Finance; M. de Barentin, Keeper of the Seals; M. de Puységur, Minister of War; MM. De Montmorin, De Saint-Priest, De la Luzerne, and De Villedeuil.
It was obvious to everyone that affairs had reached a critical point, and that the decision of the king must now turn the scale.
The Minister Necker, seeing that the royal intervention was necessary, had formed a project of sufficient boldness to arrest the development of that Revolution which some began to fear was on the eve of breaking out. He proposed that the king should, in a royal session, order the reunion of the three houses for the purpose of discussing measures of common interest; but privileges, rights attached to fiefs, &c., were to be discussed separately. However, the king was to promise the abolition of all feudal privileges, such as the corvée, mortmain, &c., equal admission of all Frenchmen to civil and military offices by merit, and not by private patronage; also equality of taxation; he was to assure to the States-General a share in the legislation, especially in the measures calculated to touch individual liberty, the liberty of the press, the reform of civil and criminal codes, and in the levying of taxes.
If Necker's project had been accepted frankly, there is no reason to doubt that the establishment of a constitutional monarchy upon the English model would have been the extreme result of the convocation of the States-General; but it was not accepted.
In the cabinet council of the 19th, there was apparent a general disposition to accept the proposal of the Minister of Finance, with slight modifications. The king appeared to be liberally inclined. Necker urged the importance of coming to an immediate decision, as time was of value. A majority of the ministers strongly favoured the scheme, and Necker hoped to see it approved and adopted that night; but at the last moment, whilst the portfolios were being closed, one of the royal servants entered and whispered to the king, who rose instantly, commanding his ministers to remain in their places.
M. de Montmorin, who was sitting by the side of Necker, said to him, 'We have effected nothing; the queen alone could have ventured to interrupt a Council of State; she has been circumvented by the princes.'
When the king returned, after a delay of some minutes, it was to suspend the council, leaving everything undecided, and postpone a final settlement till the morrow.