3+0 Novcllks of Foreign Literature. 



towns have Bouiises, ov Exchanges, 

 twenty-one have Chambers of Com- 

 merce; there are also a number of 

 insurance-offices, and 214 tribunals of 

 commerce. In 1819 France had resi- 

 dent consuls and agents in ninety 

 commercial cities or towns, in and out 

 of Europe. 



The arts of design in France form 

 new and curious sources of ingenuity, 

 and a due proportionable encourage- 

 ment is given to printing and en- 

 graving. In 1813, there were in Paris 

 377 booksellers' shops, and seventy- 

 seven printing-oRices ; and, throughout 

 the kingdom, 953 booksellers' shops, 

 and 720 printing-offices. 



Since 1814, France, in its constitu- 

 tion and political circumstances, has 

 become an hereditary and limited mo- 

 narchy. DiflTerently modified, the 

 fundamental laws of the state have a 

 common source in the Salique Law, 

 the Constitution of Dec. 16th, 1799, 

 the Charter of April 6th, 1814. the 

 Royal Declarations of June 4, 1814, 

 findofSept. 6, 1816. 



Thp legislative power is divided be- 

 tween tlic king, the peers, and the re- 

 presentatives of the nation. The two 

 latter sit in two chambers, which are 

 convoked every year. The deputies 

 of the departments arc elected by the 

 Electoral colleges. The king initiates 

 all laws, but the chambers may pro- 

 sent to him the projects of new laws. 

 The sovereign may prorogue or dis- 

 solve the Chamber of Deputies, but 

 must convoke a fresh one within three 

 months. All the deliberations of the 

 Chamber of Peers are secret. Be- 

 sides a considerable portion of the 

 legislative power, this clianiber judges 

 in cases of high trea.son, and its func- 

 tions are to watch over the well-being 

 of the state, considered in a general 

 view. Hitherto, the Chamber of 

 Deputies has consisted of 256 mem- 

 bers. Each department has a number 

 of deputies, after the rate uf its popula- 

 tion. They are chosen for five years, 

 so that the chamber is renewed by a 

 fifth part every year. No deputy can 

 be admitted into the chamber tnidcr 

 forty years of age, and unless his 

 direct contribution amounts to 1000 

 francs. One half, at least, of the de- 

 puties, are chosen among such eligible 

 persons as have their political domicile 

 in the department. The king appoints 

 the president of this chamber out of a 

 |ist of five members presented to him 



[May 1, 



by the chambor. The sittings are 

 public, but any five of the members 

 may demand and resolve it into a 

 secret committee. All petitions pre- 

 sented to the two chambers must be in 

 writing. No one is allowed to present 

 one personally at the bar. The differ- 

 ent parties that compose the chamber 

 take their stations as in the revolution- 

 ary times. On the right, the ultras, or 

 ultra-royalists, such as would advance 

 the royal power beyond its due limits; 

 on the left, the liberals, and the minis- 

 terialists in the centre. 



The administration is simple. Next 

 to the monarch is the Council of State, 

 managing that part of the legislation 

 wliich is delegated to the king. Then 

 the Court of Cassation, which pro- 

 nounces on arrets and judgments, by 

 appeal from inferior courts and tribu- 

 nals. Then the Court of Accounts, to 

 see that all present their accounts at 

 the times fixed by the law. 



The ministerial departments or 

 boards are, 1. The Chancelry of 

 France and the Ministry of Justice. 

 2. That of Foreign Affairs. 3. That 

 of the Interior. 4. That of the Royal 

 Household. 5. The War Department. 

 6. Of tlie Marine and Colonies. 7. 

 Of Finances. 8. Of General Police. 



As the kingdom is divided into 

 departments, so the departments are 

 divided into districts, the districts into 

 cantons, and these last into communes. 

 Each department has a prefect ; each 

 district, or arrondissement, a sub-pre- 

 fect ; and each municipality a mayor. 



The superior Catholic clergy con- 

 sist of nine archbishops and fifty 

 bishops. Next to them are the grand 

 vicars, then the deans, the canons, the 

 priests, curates, and vicars, chaplains, 

 deacons, and sub-deacons. The mo- 

 nastic orders have been done away. 



The administration of justice is in 

 conformity with the Codes established 

 since the revolution ; the Civil Code of 

 1802, revised in 1807 ; the Commercial 

 Code of 1808 ; the Code of Procedure 

 of 1807 ; the Code of Criminal Instruc- 

 tion, 1808; and the Criminal Code of 

 1810. With respect to the institution 

 of juries, and publicity in the hearing 

 of causes, much is wanting to render 

 French jurisprudence vshat it ought 

 to be. 



In the repartition of disbursements 

 and receipts, the following appears, as 

 it was sanctioned by the king for 

 1819. 



Disbuvso 



