reme
courses.

One of the first cares of the Assembly was the appointment of the
Commission of twenty-one members to draw up a draft Constitution. The
(so-styled) Regulation, representing the views of the moderate majority,
was presented to the Assembly on November 10. The Republic was
henceforth to be a unified state governed by the Sovereign People; but
the old provinces, though now named departments, were to retain large
administrative rights and their separate financial quotas. The draft met
fierce opposition from the unitarians, but after much discussion and
many amendments it was at length accepted by the majority. It had,
however, before becoming law, to be submitted to the people; and the
network of Jacobin clubs throughout the country, under the leadership of
the central club at Amsterdam, carried on a widespread and secret
revolutionary propaganda against the Regulation. They tried to enlist
the open co-operation of the French ambassador, Noel, but he, acting
under the instruction of the cautious Talleyrand, was not disposed to
commit himself.

The unitarian campaign was so successful that the Regulation, on being
submitted to the Fundamental Assemblies, was rejected by 136,716 votes
to 27,955. In these circumstances, as had been previously arranged by
the Provisional Government, it was necessary to summon another National
Assembly to draw up another draft Constitution. It met on September 1,
1797. The moderates, though they lost some seats, were still in a
majority; and the new Commission of Twenty-One had, as before,
federalistic leanings. The Unitarians, therefore, without awaiting their
proposals, under the leadership of the stalwart revolutionary, Vreede,
determined to take strong action. The _coup d'etat_ they planned was
helped forward by two events. The first was the revolution in Paris of
September 4, 1797, which led to the replacing of ambassador Noel by the
pronounced Jacobin, Charles Delacroix. The other event was the disaster
which befell the Dutch fleet at Camperdown, the blame for which was laid
upon the Provisional Government.

Vreede and his confederates being assured by Delacroix of the supportof
the new French Directory, and of the co-operation of the French General
Joubert and of Daendels, the commander of the Batavian army, chose for
the execution of their plan the week in which Midderigh, one of the
confederates, took his turn as president of the Assembly. Midderigh, by
virtue of his