The Huguenot Bartholomew Dupuy and his descendants

PERSECUTION OF REFORMERS. 33
the two reasons: *'lst. The justice of the introd .
thing, arising out of man's relation to man,
and to God. 2d. The large and increasing
number of the Huguenots, who as loyal citizens
had equal rights with the Catholics." The
result was the Edict of Romorantin, May, Edict of
1560, in which the King gave to Parliament ^^fn'
the right of deciding in matters of faith, leaving
to the bishops the privileges of discovering
and pointing out heretics.
In August, 1560, the Queen Regent called
an Assembly of the principal persons of the^^sembiy
kingdom to meet at Fontainbleau. There were Fontainpresent
the royal family, with the Cardinals, ^i^au.
Bourbon and Lorraine, the Duke of Guise, the
Constable Montmorency, the Chancellor
L'Hopital, the Admiral Coligny, the Marshals,
Brissac and St. Andre, the Archbishop of
Vienne, the Bishops of Orleans and Valence,
and many others. Admiral Coligny assured
the Assembly that the principal discontents
arose from persecutions for difference in religion
and presented a petition from Normandy
praying for redress. The King objected to the
petition because it bore no signatures of
names. But Coligny replied: ''True; but if
you will permit us to meet for the purpose, I
will in one day obtain 50,000 in Normandy
alone." The resolution was finally carried in
the Assembly by three votes, that citizens of
France shall conform to the Romish Church
or quit the kingdom, with leave to sell their
estates. It was shown, however, by the Chancellor
and the Huguenots, the unreasonableness
of enforcing a resolution carried by only
three votes; and the Assembly finally agreed
to lay all the matters before an Assembly of
the States to meet December 13, at Meaux, and