it sat in the hall of _Manege_, and finally from the 10th of May 1793 in
that of the _Spectacles_ (or _Machines_), an immense hall in which the
deputies were but loosely scattered. This last hall had tribunes for the
public, which often influenced the debate by interruptions or applause.
The full number of deputies was 749, not counting 33 from the colonies,
of whom only a section arrived in Paris. Besides these, however, the
departments annexed from 1792 to 1795 were allowed to send deputations.
Many of the original deputies died or were exiled during the Convention,
but not all their places were filled by _suppleants_. Some of those
proscribed during the Terror returned after the 9th of Thermidor.
Finally, many members were sent away either to the departments or to the
armies, on missions which lasted sometimes for a considerable length of
time. For all these reasons it is difficult to find out the number of
deputies present at any given date, for votes by roll-call were rare. In
the Terror the number of those voting averaged only 250. The members of
the Convention were drawn from all classes of society, but the most
numerous were lawyers. Seventy-five members had sat in the Constituent
Assembly, 183 in the Legislative.

According to its own ruling, the Convention elected its president every
fortnight. He was eligible for re-election after the lapse of a
fortnight. Ordinarily the sessions were held in the morning, but evening
sessions were also frequent, often extending late into the night.
Sometimes in exceptional circumstances the Convention declared itself in
permanent session and sat for several days without interruption. For
both legislative and administrative purposes the Convention used
committees, with powers more or less widely extended and regulated by
successive laws. The most famous of these committees are those of Public
Safety, of General Security, of Education (_Comite de salut public_,
_Comite de surete generale_, _Comite de l'instruction_).

The work of the Convention was immense in all branches of public
affairs. To appreciate it without prejudice, one should recall that this
assembly saved France from a civil war and invasion, that it founded the
system of public education (_Museum_, _Ecole Polytechnique_, _Ecole
Normale Superieure_, _Ecole des Langues orientales_, _Conservatoire_),
created institutions of capital importance, like that of the _Grand
Livre de la Dette publique_, and definitely esta