660 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1S04. 



and to the dignity of the supreme 

 chief of the French nation, tlian the 

 litle of emperor. 



The Tribunate, exercising the 

 right given them by the 29th article 

 of the constitution, have come to 

 the following vote : — That Napo- 

 leon Buonaparte, the first consul, be 

 proclaimed emperor of the French, 

 and in that capacity invested with 

 the government of the French re- 

 public ; — That the title of emperor 

 and the imperial power be made 

 hereditary in Jiis family in the male 

 line, according to the order of primOr 

 geniture ; — That in introducing in- 

 to the organization of the constituted 

 authorities, the modifications ren- 

 dered necessary by the establishment 

 of hereditary power, the equality, 

 the liberty, and the rights of the 

 people shall be preserved in all their 

 integrity. — This vote shall be pre- 

 sented to the senate by six orators, 

 who shall explain the views of the 

 tribunate. 



Message Jrom the First Consul to 

 tin; Coiiscrvatii-e Sci-iatc, dated 

 St. Cloudy Jpril liy, 1804, in 

 Ansuer to their Proposition of 

 making him Emperor. 



Senators, 



Your address of the 6th last Ger- 

 minal has never ceased to be present 

 to my thoughts. It has been the ob- 

 ject of my most constant meditation. 

 You have judged the hereditary 

 power of the supreme magistracy 

 iiecessary, in order to shelter the 

 French people completely from the 

 plots of our enemies, and from the 

 agitations which arise from rival 

 ambitions. It even appears to yoii, 

 that many of our institutions ought 

 t« be improved; in order to secure 



for ever the triumph of equality 

 and public liberty, and present to 

 the nation and to the government 

 the double guarantee they are in 

 want of. — We have been constantly 

 guided by this grand truth, that the 

 sovereignty resides in the French 

 people, in the sense that every thing, 

 without exception, ought to be done 

 for its interest, its happiness, and 

 its glory. It is in order to attain 

 this end, that the supreme magis- 

 tracy, the senate, the council of 

 state, the legislative body, the elec- 

 toral body, the electoral colleges, 

 and the difl'erent branches of the 

 administration, are and ought to be 

 instituted. — In proportion as I fix 

 my attention upon these great ob- 

 jects, I am still more convinced of 

 the verity of thof>e sentiments which 

 I have expressed to you, and I feel 

 more and more that in a circumstance , 

 as new as it is important, the councils 

 of your w isdom and experience were 

 necessary to enable me to fix my 

 ideas. — i request you then to make 

 known to me the whole of your 

 thoughts. — The French people can ' 

 add nothing to the honour and glo- 

 ry with which it has surrounded me, 

 but the most sacred duty for me, as 

 it is the dearest to my heart, is to 

 secure to its latest posterity those 

 advantages which it has acquired by 

 a revolution that has cost it so 

 much, particularly by the sacridce 

 of those millions of brave citizens 

 >vho have died in defence of their 

 rights. — I desire that I might de- 

 clare to you, on the 14th of July, 

 in the present } car. Fifteen years 

 have passed, since, by a spontaneous 

 movement, you ran to arms, you ac- 

 quired liberty, equality, and glory. 

 These first blessings of nations are 

 now secured to you for ever, are 

 sheltered from every tempest, they 



