STATE PAPERS. 



691 



■poleon pronouncing the immutable 

 oath which secures the integrity of 

 the empire, the stability of pro- 

 perty, the perpetuity of iustitu- 

 tions, the respect for the laws and 

 the happiness of the nation. — The 

 oath of Napoleon will be for ever 

 the terror of the enemies and the 

 buckler of the Freuch. If our fron- 

 tiers are attacked, it will be re- 

 peated at the head of our armies, 

 and our frontiiers will no longer 

 dread a foreign invasion. — It will be 

 present to the memory of the dele- 

 gates of authority, it will remind 

 them of the end of their labours and 

 the rule of their duties ; and though 

 it may not guarantee their adminis- 

 tration from some errors, it will 

 insure the prompt reparation of them. 



A projept of a criminal code, 



finished for these two years past, 

 lias been submitted to the censure 

 of the tribunals, and is now under- 

 going a hnal discussion jn the coun- 

 cil of state. The code of procedure 

 and the code of commerce are still 

 in the same state the labours of last 

 3'ear left them in. More urgent 

 cares have called on the empe'ror, 

 and it is one of his maxims to pro- 

 pose to the deliberations of the le- 

 gislators, those projects of laws 

 alone which have been ripened by 

 long and wise discussions. — —The 

 schools of legislation are about to 

 open ; inspectors are nominated 

 who will enlighten |)ublic teaching, 

 and prevent its degenerating into 

 vain and sterile proofs; thelyceums, 

 the secondary schools, are filiinsi with 

 youth eager for iustrnclion. — Fon- 

 tainbicau has already sent forth mi- 

 litary men, wlio are remarked in 

 our armies for their soldierly ap- 

 pearance, their knowledge, and their 

 respect for discipline. — The poly- 

 technic school peoples, with uBeful 



hands, our arsenals, our ports and 



our workshops. At Compiegne, 



the school of arts and trades ob- 

 tains every day new successes. That 

 which is to be formed upon the bor- 

 ders of la Vendee, is expected there 

 with impatience, and will shortly be in 

 complete activity. — Prizes have beea 

 decreed to sciences, to letters and 

 to arts, and in a period of ten years, 

 assigned to labours that his majesty 

 wishes to recompence, he has a 

 right to expect that French genius 

 will bring forth new master-pieces. 

 — In the department of bridges and 

 highways, the works be:jun have 

 been carried on wiih constancy, 

 others are in contemplation, and 

 every year prepares ibrthe following 

 years, new schemes for the prospe- 

 rity of the state. But the intem- 

 perance of the seasons had deceived 

 the foresight and the zeal of admi- 

 nistratioa ; rains and torrents have 

 injured the roads more rapidly thaa 

 we have been able to repair them, 

 some labours hive been destroyed, 

 others have been for a moment sus- 

 pended, great calamities have af- 

 flicted some departments, particu- 

 larly that oftherlhine and Moselle. 

 A judicious prefect, interpreter of 

 the intentions of the emperor, has 

 presented the first succour to those 

 unhappy men who have been the 

 victims of it. His majesty has re- 

 animated their courage by his pre- 

 sence, and has consoled them by 

 his benefits. — The scourge of con- 

 tagion has afflicted some neigh- 

 bouring countries, the vigilance of 

 ac!n)inistr<ition has preserved our 

 territory from it ; it is rapidly dimi- 

 nishing in those places where it ex. 

 ercised its ravages. In maintaining 

 the measures which are still dictated 

 l>y prudence and regard for the 

 public health, the introduction of 

 y y 1 the 



