Very soon
afterward the Archduke of Tuscany revoked the Constituent Assembly which
he had granted, and followed the saintly example of the Holy Father, so
that Tuscany and Rome were alike left sheep without a shepherd.
In the Roman States an appeal was made to universal suffrage, and the
people sent up deputies, known chiefly for their honesty and bravery, to
decide on the form of government, to assist Piedmont in her second war
against Austria. When the Constituent Assembly met to decide on the form
of government, Mamiani warned them that only two rulers were possible in
Rome--the Pope or Cola di Rienzi; the Papacy or the Republic.
Garibaldi, who had organized his legion at Rieti, was elected member of
the Constituent Assembly, and on February 7th put in his appearance and
in language more soldierlike than parliamentary urged the immediate
proclamation of the republic. But the debate was carried on with all due
respect for the "rights of the minority."
Finally, on February 9th, of the one hundred fifty-four Deputies
present, all but five voted for the downfall of the temporal power of
the Pope, all but eleven for the proclamation of the republic.
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