Previous to 1789, the term _Republic_ is used by French publicists or agitators, but it is either in a sense so qualified as to be consistent with the monarchy, or as a form of government unsuited to France with its actual traditions and conditions.[93] The very nearly unanimous feeling and judgment in 1789 was that the monarchy was the best form of government for France, and that the chief need was to regenerate it. We have said that one hundred and ninety-four _cahiers_ specifically asked for the retention of the monarchy; the silence of the others upon this question must not be construed to mean that their authors were indifferent or opposed to the monarchy, but rather that they believed it unnecessary to ask for what they already had, and against which there was no strong movement. As Paris may rightly be considered the source of the anti-monarchical agitation, the attitude of the third estate in this city at the opening of the Revolution may justly be taken to represent the feeling of the radical element toward the monarchy. In their _cahier_ they said: “In the French monarchy, the legislative power belongs to the nation conjointly with the king; to the king alone belongs the executive power.”[94] The _sub-cahiers_ from the districts of the city expressed the same idea.[95] In truth, in not a single _cahier_ examined do we find a hint of any opposition to the monarchy. Hence, it is to be inferred that, if any individuals had Republican inclinations, these inclinations were not shared by any appreciable part of the nation. A few men of the reform party, Lauragnais, Lally-Tollendal, and Montlosier, ventured to say that the French monarchy had originally been elective and that the elective monarchy would consequently be not an innovation, but a restoration of their early system;[96] but the adherence of these men to the monarchy in the early days of the _Constituent Assembly_ is conclusive that by the elective monarchy they did not mean the Republic of 1792. The Constituent Assembly, having been formed out of the States General, had to formulate a constitution for the regeneration of France, and was obliged, therefore, to specify the divisions of government, designate the organs and the functions of each division, prescribe their powers, limitations, sources and transmission; hence the debates and decrees of this national body may be taken as indicative of the public sentiment toward the monarch. Here may be traced the changes worked in the public mind, the censure or the eulogy of persons and institutions. As this national assembly itself became transformed by the withdrawal of the more conservative elements, it reflected rather faithfully the change that was taking place in the minds of the radical classes of France.