THE MISSION TO ROME. 103 



legislative section was ready to hear the case, and lie 

 requested me to present my defence. 



M. Boulay de la Meurthe, Yice-President of the 

 Kepublic, after having made a semi-official effort to 

 induce me to abandon the cause and failed, announced 

 to me on the 28th that the legislative section would 

 assemble on the 30th to hear my verbal explanations. 



The sitting opened at midday. When President 

 Vivien had explained the object of it, I asked him 

 before entering upon the case to inform me if the 

 Ministry had explained the motives which had in- 

 duced it to submit the examination of my mission 

 to the Council of State, and if the latter had set forth 

 any special accusation of which I could be asked to 

 clear myself, I said that I had thought that Art. 99 

 of the Constitution, adopted by virtue of the prin- 

 ciple of the responsibility of Government servants, 

 could only apply to my case if there existed some 

 definite fact which involved my responsibility, and 

 which was outside the competency of my natural 

 judge, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In that case, 

 I could admit the competency of the Council of State, 

 and though its forms of jurisdiction were not well 

 defined, I should submit myself to its judgment in 

 all confidence, in order to publicly crush all the 

 calumnies spread about to my disadvantage, and to 

 establish that the motives of my conduct were above 

 all reproach. The answer made me was that the 

 Council of State had not been called upon to give its 



