426 



CONSUL CONSUMPTION. 



foreign ambassadors. In times of emergency, the 

 i-onsular power was still further increased by the well 

 known decree, viderent, vel darent operam, ne ijuid 

 ili'trimenti respubltca caperet, by which they received 

 unlimited power, and could even sentence to death 

 without trial, levy troops, and make war without the 

 resolve of the people first obtained. If a sudden riot 

 took place, the consuls called the citizens to arms by 

 the words gui rempublicam saivam esse velif, me se 

 oiintur equivalent to the reading of the riot act 

 with us. At the beginning of their term of office, the 

 consuls divided the provinces among them by agree- 

 ment or lot. Province, at first, signified a certain 

 business committed to the consul, as the command of 

 an army. By and by, it came to denote conquered 

 countries. To these consuls were sent by the sen- 

 ate as governors, after laying down their office. They 

 were then called proconsules. A citizen who had been 

 consul was called consuluris, and had a higher rank 

 than other senators. Pompey enacted a law that a 

 consul should not be sent to a province until five 

 years after he had laid down his office, and Caesar de- 

 creed that he should remain there only for two years. 

 Under the emperors, the consular dignity sunk to a 

 mere shadow, until Caligula wished to make his horse 

 consul. Many consuls, at this period, were appoint- 

 ed in one year, until Constantino again appointed two 

 annually, after the office had been abolished by Jus- 

 tinian. The pomp of the consuls, under the empe- 

 rors, was still greater than during the republic. Con- 

 sul honor arius was a titular officer, with the rank, 

 but without the power, of a consul. This dignity was 

 first conferred under Caesar. 



II. In France, the directorial government (third 

 constitution) was abolished by the revolution of the 

 18th Brumaire, of the year eight of the republic 

 (Nov. 9, 1799), and a provisional consular government, 

 consisting of Bonaparte, Sieyes, and Roger Ducos, es- 

 tablisheu the fourth constitution, which was proclaim- 

 ed Dec. 15, by which France was declared a republic 

 under a government of consuls. Three elective con- 

 suls (Bonaparte, Cambaceres, Lebrun, each with 

 500,000 francs annually) had almost uncontrolled 

 executive authority, while the legislative power was 

 in the hands of the tribunate and the legislative assem- 

 bly : a conservative senate was also elected. But as 

 early as Aug. 2, 1802, Bonaparte was proclaimed 

 first consul for life, and thus the constitution of 

 France became again monarchical. He had the power 

 of naming his successor, proposing the two other con- 

 suls, appointing the senators, counsellors of state, and 

 the presidents of the council of the people, while he 

 could assemble, and determine the length of their 

 sessions at his pleasure ; he could al-o assemble and 

 dissolve the legislative body at his will. The courts 

 of justice, civil and criminal, were subjected to his 

 control ; the right of pardoning was put into his hands, 

 and the number of the members of the tribunate was 

 limited to half of what it had been. He was to man- 

 age the revenues and the expenditure of the state, 

 provide for the safety of the people at home, and for 

 the defence of the country abroad, exercise supreme 

 command over the forces, maintain political connex- 

 ions with foreign countries, confirm all treaties, and, 

 in critical times, might even suspend the constitution. 

 Thus the first consul united royal dignity with royal 

 authority, and, that he might the better retain both, 

 the civil list was increased to 6,000,000 francs ; and, 

 Aug. 15, 1802, the birth-day of the first consul, a 

 consular court was instituted at St Cloud, and all the 

 former court discipline re-established. Nothing now 

 remained for the complete restoration of monarchy, 

 but to make Bonaparte's dignity hereditary in his 

 family by law, as it was already, in point of fact, by 

 his power' of naming his successor. The first consuls 



were also the last ; the one became emperor, the others 

 princes. On the first coins struck after Napoleon's 

 elevation as emperor, he called himself empcreur tie 

 la rcpublique Francaise. 



III. Since the time of the crusades, officers called 

 consuls Iiave existed in different slates, for the pur- 

 pose of giving decisions, alibi-cling protection, or veri- 

 fying facts and occurrences , relating to maritime and 

 commercial aflairs. The Italian states, in particular 

 took advantage of the crusades to procure permission 

 from the Asiatic princes to send such persons a- pro- 

 tectors of mercliants from their own country into the 

 domains of these princes, and their example was fol- 

 lowed by other European nations, for the protection of 

 their commerce in the Levant, and in Africa; and, 

 since the 15th and 16th centuries, the same officers 

 Iiave also been established in European countries, to 

 facilitate the intercourse of the respective nations, so 

 that the commercial consuls, both in Europe and 

 other parts of the world, are now very numerous. 

 The right of nominating consuls is in the hands of the 

 supreme power, which, however, can send them only 

 where treaties or ancient customs authorize their ap- 

 pointment. The duty of this officer is to afford pro- 

 tection and assistance to navigators or mercliants of 

 his nation, and to watch over the fulfilment of com- 

 mercial treaties. In point of authority, however, 

 the consuls in the Levant and Africa are different 

 from those in Europe and America, because the 

 former Iiave also civil jurisdiction over their coun- 

 trymen. They are invested with much more of a 

 diplomatic character than the latter. Consuls are 

 regarded by some as ministers : others, however, will 

 not acknowledge them as such. They certainly do 

 not stand on the same footing with even the lowest 

 degree of acknowledged diplomatic persons, because 

 they have no letters of credence, but merely patents 

 of appointment, which must be confirmed by the go- 

 vernment to which they are sent. They therefore 

 do not enjoy the privileges of ministers ; for instance, 

 exemption from the jurisdiction of the courts of the 

 foreign country ; and from taxes, the right of having 

 divine service performed in their residences, &c. 

 Generally, they are subject to the civil authorities of 

 the place where they reside. 



Consul-general is a consul appointed for several 

 places, or over several consuls. Sometimes vice- 

 consuls are given to consuls. Consulships almost 

 always exempt from military service, for which rea- 

 son the consulship is often sought for. Generally, 

 consuls are mercliants, without remuneration, except 

 that arising from fees, which amount to considerable 

 sums. Very often consuls are not citizens of the 

 countries for which they act. 



CONSULTA (Ital.) was a branch of the adminis- 

 tration in the Italian republic, and the kingdom of 

 Italy which succeeded. It corresponded to a coun- 

 cil of state. It consisted of eight persons, and had 

 chiefly the direction of foreign affairs and diplo- 

 macy. 



CONSUMPTION, in political economy, is the 

 use and wearing out of the products of industry, o 

 of all tilings having an exchangeable value. This 

 destruction, by putting things to the uses for which 

 they are designed, is very different in different 

 things ; nor are the wants of society limited to the 

 use of things having an exchangeable value. The 

 air and the water are as necessary, in the economy 

 of life, as the earth and its products ; and yet neither 

 the air nor water, ordinarily, bears a price. The 

 latter, however, is sometimes a subject of commerce, 

 especially in large cities; in the city of Madrid, for 

 example. The earth, on the other hand, is a subject 

 of monopoly in all countries where any progress hag 

 been made in civilization. But, unlike its products, 



