508 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



myself grateful in consenting to 

 the dissolution of a marriage, 

 which heretofore was an obstacle 

 to the welfare of France ; which 

 deprived it of the happiness of 

 being one day governed by the 

 descendants of a great man, evi- 

 dently raised up by Providence, to 

 efface the evils of a terrible revolu- 

 tion, and to re-establish the altar, 

 the throne, and social order. But 

 the dissolution of my marriage 

 will in no degree change the sen- 

 timents of my heart. The emperor 

 will ever have in me his best friend. 

 Iknow how much this act, demand- 

 ed by policy and by interests so 

 great, has chilled his heart; but 

 both of us exult in the sacrifice 

 which we make for the good of 

 the country.'' 



After which their imperial ma- 

 jesties having demanded an act of 

 their respective declarations, as 

 well as of the mutual consent con- 

 tained in them, and which their 

 majesties gave to the dissolution 

 of their marriage, as also of the 

 power which their majesties con- 

 ferred on us, to follow up, as need 

 shall require, the effect of their 

 will — We, prince arch-chancellot 

 of the empire, in obedience to the 

 orders and requisitions of their 

 majesties, have given the aforesaid 

 acts, and have in consequence ex- 

 ecuted the present proces verbal, 

 to serve and avail according to law; 

 to which proces verbal their majes- 

 ties have affixed their signatures, 

 andwhich, after having been signed 

 by the kings, queens, princes, and 

 princesses, present, hasbeen signed 

 by us, and countersigned by the se- 

 cretary of state of the imperial fami- 

 ly, who wrote it with his own hand. 

 Done at the palace of the Thuil- 

 scrics, the day, hour, and the year 

 aforesaid. (Signed, &c.) 



Having seen the projet of the 

 senatus consultum, drawn up in 

 the form prescribed by the fifty- 

 seventh article of the act of the 

 constitution, of the 4th of August, 

 1802 — After having heard the 

 motives of the said projet, the 

 orators of the council of state, 

 and the report of the special com- 

 mittee appointed on the sitting 

 of this day — the adoption having 

 been discussed by the number 

 of members prescribed by the 

 fifty-sixth article of the act of 

 the constitution, of the 4th of 

 August 1802, the senate decrees 

 that : — 



I. The marriage contracted be- 

 tween the emperor Napoleon and 

 the empressJosephine, is dissolved. 



II. The empressJosephine shall 

 preserve the title and rank of 

 empress queen crowned. 



III. Her dowry is fixed at an 

 annual income of two millions of 

 francs, on the revenue of the state. 



IV. All the assignments which 

 may be made by the emperor, in 

 favour of the empress Josephine, 

 on the funds of the civil list, shall 

 be obligatory on his successors. 



V. The present senatus consul- 

 tum shall be transmitted by a mes- 

 sage to his imperial and royal ma- 

 jesty. 



IV. Expose of the state of France. 



Report of the Minister for Foreign 

 Affairs to his Majesty the Empe- 

 ror and King. 



Sir, — Your majesty has exalted 

 France to the highest point ofgreat- 

 ness. The victories obtained over 

 five successive coalitions, all pro- 

 moted by England, have produced 

 these consequences; and it may be 

 said, that we are indebted to Eng- 



