In the mean time, the Deputies had met, and commenced their deliberations on the existing state of affairs. M. de la Fayette, the acknowledged Leader of the Liberal Party, having received intelligence of the subject of discussion in the Council, and aware that not a moment was to be lost in averting the blow with which their liberties were menaced, ascended the tribune, and thus addressed the Chamber, amidst the most profound silence, and breathless suspense:—
"Representatives! For the first time during many years you hear a voice, which the old Friends of Liberty will yet recognise. I rise to address you concerning the dangers to which the country is exposed. The sinister reports, which have been circulated during the last two days, are unhappily confirmed. This is the moment to rally round the National Colours—the Tricoloured Standard of 1789—the Standard of Liberty, Equality, and Public Order. It is you alone who can now protect the country from foreign attacks and internal dissensions. It is you alone who can secure the independence and the honour of France. Permit a veteran in the sacred cause of liberty, in all times a stranger to the spirit of faction, to submit to you some resolutions which appear to him to be demanded by a sense of the public danger, and by the love of our country. They are such as, I feel persuaded, you will see the necessity of adopting:—
"I. The Chamber of Deputies declares that the independence of the Nation is menaced.
"II. The Chamber declares its sittings permanent. Any attempt to dissolve it, shall be considered high treason. Whosoever shall render himself culpable of such an attempt shall be considered a traitor to his country, and immediately treated as such.
"III. The Army of the Line, and the National Guards, who have fought, and still fight, for the liberty, the independence, and the territory of France, have merited well of the country.
"IV. The Minister of the Interior is invited to assemble the principal Officers of the Parisian National Guard, in order to consult on the means of providing it with arms, and of completing this Corps of Citizens; whose tried patriotism and zeal offer a sure guarantee for the liberty, prosperity, and tranquillity of the capital, and for the inviolability of the national Representatives.
"V. The Ministers of War, of Foreign Affairs, of Police, and of the Interior are invited to repair immediately to the sittings of the Chamber."
No one ventured to oppose these bold Resolutions; and, after a brief discussion, in which their instant adoption was urged in the strongest manner, they were carried by acclamation, with the exception of the Fourth, which was suspended on account of the invidious distinction which it appeared to convey between the troops of the Line and the National Guards.
They were then transmitted to the Chamber of Peers; where, after a short discussion, they were adopted without amendment.
The Message from the Chambers, conveying these resolutions, reached the Council in the midst of its deliberations. Napoleon was staggered by an act which he looked upon as an usurpation of the Sovereign Authority. To him, who had so long exercised an almost unlimited control in the State, who had led mighty Armies to victory, and who had subjected powerful nations to his despotic sway, this sudden and energetic voice of the people, conveyed through the medium of their Representatives, aroused him to a full sense of the wonderful change which had been effected in the public mind, and in his own individual position, through the intervention of a Constitution. He was alike indignant at what he conceived to be a daring presumption, and mortified at his own miscalculation in having convoked the Chambers. J'avais bien pensé, he remarked, que j'aurais dû congédier ces gens-là avant mon départ.
After some reflection, he determined, if possible, to temporize with the Chambers. He sent Regnault de Saint Jean d'Angely to the Chamber of Deputies, in his capacity of Member, to soothe the irritation that prevailed, to relate that the Army had been upon the point of gaining a great victory, when disaffected individuals created a panic; that the troops had since rallied; and that the Emperor had hastened to Paris to concert, with the Ministers and the Chambers, such measures for the public safety as circumstances seemed to require. Carnot was directed to make a similar communication to the Chamber of Peers. Regnault vainly endeavoured to fulfil his mission: the Deputies had lost all patience, and insisted upon the Ministers presenting themselves at the bar of the House. The latter at length obeyed the summons; Napoleon having consented, though with great reluctance, to their compliance with the mandate. He required them, however, to be accompanied by his brother Lucien, as an Extraordinary Commissioner, appointed to reply to the Interrogatories of the Chamber.
At six o'clock in the evening, Lucien Buonaparte and the Ministers made their appearance in the Chamber of Deputies. Lucien announced that he had been sent there by Napoleon as a Commissioner Extraordinary, to concert with the Assembly measures of safety. He then placed in the hands of the President the Message of which he was the bearer from his brother. It contained a succinct recital of the disasters experienced at Mont St Jean: and recommended the Representatives to unite with the Head of the State in preserving the country from the fate of Poland, and from the reimposition of the yoke which it had thrown off. It stated, also, that it was desirable that the two Chambers should appoint a Commission of five Members, to concert with the Ministers the measures to be adopted for the public safety, and the means of treating for peace with the Allied Powers.
This Message was far from being favourably received. A stormy discussion ensued, in the course of which it was soon made manifest that the Deputies required a more explicit declaration of Napoleon's opinions and designs: one, in fact, more in accordance with the views which the majority of them evidently entertained, and was apparently determined to enforce. One of their number significantly remarked, as he addressed himself to the Ministers, "You know as well as we do, that it is against Napoleon alone that Europe has declared War. From this moment, separate the cause of Napoleon from that of the Nation. In my opinion, there exists but one individual who stands in the way between us and peace. Let him pronounce the word and the country will be saved!" Several of the Members spoke in a similar strain, and the debate was kept up with great animation, until at length it was agreed, that in conformity with the terms of the Imperial Message, a Commission of five Members should be appointed, consisting of the President and Vice Presidents of the Chamber, to collect, in concert with the Cabinet and with a Committee from the House of Peers, the fullest information upon the state of France, and to propose suitable measures of safety.