116] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



ble to convoke anew the electoral 

 colleges, in order to ])roceed to 

 the election of a chamber of de- 

 puties." Then followed a set of 

 articles for the regulation of the 

 impending general election of de- 

 puties, the first of which was, 

 " None of the articles of the 

 Constitutional Charter shall be 

 revised." The number of depu- 

 ties now to be returned for the 

 86 departments of the kingdom 

 was 258. 



This sudden and unexpected 

 change is said to have been urged 

 upon the King, principally by the 

 four cabinet ministers, the Duke 

 of Richelieu, Corvetto, Laine, 

 and De Cazes, and at length car- 

 ried against the opposition of the 

 other ministers. The princes and 

 princesses of the blood were not 

 apprised of the intention, till the 

 publication of the INIoniteur con- 

 taining the royal ordinance ; and 

 their principles being highly mo- 

 narchical, they were thrown into 

 great consternation at the intel- 

 ligence. The courtiers in general 

 participated in the atHiction ; but 

 the Hist effect on the public was 

 a rise in the stocks. The dis- 

 solved deputies hastened down to 

 the places where their interest 

 lay, and the usual bustle of a ge- 

 neral election began to jjcrvade 

 the country. 



The influence of the ministe- 

 rial majoi-ity was dis[)layed in a 

 signal manner, by the treatment 

 of Viscount Chateaubriand, a dis- 

 tinguished character in the i-oyal- 

 ist party. He had jjublished a 

 work against the dissolution of 

 the Chamber of Deputies, and 

 the changes adopted for its reno- 

 vation, the imnouncement of 

 which excited an extraordinary 



curiosity in the public. A very 

 few copies had been sold, when 

 the police took possession of the 

 whole impression ; and on Sep- 

 tember 21st, a royal ordinance 

 w;is issued, directed against the 

 author. It was in the following 

 terms: " Viscount Chateaubriand 

 having, in a printed work, raised 

 doubts respecting our personal 

 will, manifested by our ordinance 

 of the 5th of the present month, 

 we iiave ordered and do order 

 what follows: — Viscount Cha- 

 teaubriand shall, from this day 

 forth, cease to be reckoned among 

 the number of our ministers of 

 state." 



The measures, taken for secur- 

 ing the elections to the new cham- 

 ber as much as possible in favoiu- 

 of the ministry, are worthy of 

 observation. The secretary of 

 state for the inteiior informs the 

 prefects of the departments, that 

 whatever vacancies may have hap- 

 j)ened in the electoral colleges 

 since 1815, the ordinance of the 

 5th does not authorise their being 

 filled up ; and that if the j)resi- 

 dent of the dej)artmontal college 

 be not arrived by the 4th of Oc- 

 tober, the King confers upon 

 them the power of choosing who 

 shall preside among the members 

 of the college. He further inti- 

 mates, that the electoral colleges, 

 according to the existing regula- 

 tions, are precluded from any 

 business, except that for which 

 they are convoked, and are there- 

 fore prohibited from drawing up 

 addresses, and appointing parti- 

 cular deputations. 



The following circular was ad- 

 dressed by the minister of the 

 interior, to the several presidents 

 of the electoral colleges of de- 

 partments. 



