Born, 1760; assassinated, 1793.
He was the great grandson of the celebrated Comte de Saint Fargeon,
Minister of Finance from 1726 to 1730; at the outbreak of the
Revolution he possessed an annual income of 600,000 francs (£24,000).
He was chosen as one of the ten Deputies to represent the nobility of
Paris in the States-General; of these only two, the Count de Mirepoix
and himself, joined the _Tiers État_, and from that time they
became the most democratic among the Deputies. Saint Fargeon said, “If
one has 600,000 francs a year one must either be at Coblentz or join
the Jacobins.”
In January 1790, as Member for Criminal Jurisprudence, he first
proposed the abolition of the death penalty, the galleys, and branding
or flogging, and in June the same year he succeeded in passing a decree
replacing hanging by decapitation. In the same month he proposed a
motion, which was adopted, abolishing all titles, and took the name of
le Pelletier instead of Fargeon.
At the trial of Louis XVI. he declared his intention of voting against
the death penalty; but when the time came he pronounced in favour of
immediate execution, saying:
If we decide the fate of Louis Capet in a way which is contrary
to the conscience and intimate feelings of the French people,
would it be against the prisoner in the Temple that the people
would have a right to execute their vengeance? No, for in his
case treason is unarmed and vanquished. It would be against her
unfaithful representatives that the nation would have a right to
rise, because in such a case they would find treason and power
united.
This speech persuaded a number of Deputies who were wavering to vote
for the death penalty, and thus decided a majority in its favour.
A former soldier of the King’s body guard swore to revenge the death
of Louis XVI. upon one of his judges. Le Pelletier, de Saint Fargeon,
like the Duke of Orleans and many other persons of high rank, voted
the death penalty in order to save his own life and fortune, and for
this very reason he excited the bitterest hatred among the Royalists.
On the evening of the King’s trial he went to dine at Feorier’s, the
restaurant in the Palais Royale, and was pointed out to the soldier in
question as he was sitting at table. The young man, wrapped in a cloak
under which he concealed a sword, came forward and said; “Is it thou,
infamous le Pelletier, who has just voted for the death of thy King?”
Le Pelletier answered: “Yes, but I am not infamous, I voted according
‘to my conscience.’” The soldier, whose name was Paris, replied: “Here
is thy recompense,” and drawing the sword, thrust Saint Fargeon through
the body; he fell mortally wounded and was carried to his _hôtel_,
where he expired. The Convention buried him in the Pantheon, and his
daughter, aged eight, was formally adopted by the Republic.
The soldier Paris escaped at the time, but when about to be arrested a
few days later, he blew out his brains.