844 
FRANCE. 
council having firft decreed the abolition of the executive 
diredtory, the powers of the ftate were vetted in Bona¬ 
parte, Syeyes, and Roger Ducos, under the title of con- 
ftils. A conftitution afterwards gave to Bonaparte the 
title of firjl conful ; and the whole and abfolute govern¬ 
ment of the ftate was vetted in him, although a fource of 
deliberation was preferved by theeftablithment of a confer¬ 
vative fenate and a tribunate. Mott of the members of 
the council of five hundred now returned to Paris, and, on 
the evening of the fame day, confirmed all the decrees of 
the council of ancients. The new government entered 
upon its functions at Paris on the 17th of November, when 
the confuls decreed the tranfportation of a number of the 
leading Jacobins to Guiana, and ordered many others to 
be imprifoned; but thefe decrees were fpeedily recalled, 
and affairs went on as fmoothly as if nothing unufual had 
occurred. 
The CONSULATE. 
In the middle of December 1799, the confuls, with 
their legiflative committees, produced to the public their 
plan of a new conftitution, which they prefented to the 
primary affemblies, and which was faid to have been ac¬ 
cepted by them without oppofition, like all the former 
conftitutions. It was a very fingular f'pecies of abfolute 
government, neither admitting of reprefentatives, nor in¬ 
deed of any other form of political freedom. Eighty 
men, who were to eledt their own fucceffors, were to pof- 
fefs, under the appellation of a confervative fenate, the 
power of nominating the whole leg'rflators and executive 
rulers of the ftate ; but could not themfelves hold any 
office in either of .thefe departments. The fovereignty 
was concentrated in an individual, who, under the title of 
chief corful , was to hold hiS power for ten years, and 
might then be re-eledted. The whole executive autho¬ 
rity was entrufted to him, with the exclufive privilege of 
propofing new laws. The two other confuls joined at his 
deliberations, but could not controul his will. The legifla- 
tive power was entrufted to two affemblies ; the one, con¬ 
fiding of one hundred members, called a tribunate ; and 
the other, of a fenate, of three hundred members. When 
a law was propofed by the chief conful, the tribunate 
might debate about it, but had no vote in its enactment. 
The fenate might vote for or againft its enactment, but 
had no power of debate. Neither the confuls, nor the 
members of the legiflative bodies, nor of the confervative 
fenate, were refponfible for their condudt. The minif- 
ters of ftate, however, who were appointed by the chief 
conful, were to be refponfible for the meafures they 
adopted. 
The people in the primary affemblies eledted one-tenth 
of their number as candidates for inferior offices ; perfons 
thus chofen eledted one-tenth of themfelves as candidates 
for higher offices ; and thefe again elected a tenth of 
themfelves for all the higheft offices of the ftate. Out 
of this laft tenth the confervative fenate were to nomi¬ 
nate the confuls, legifiators, and members of their own 
body. But this laft regulation was to have no eftedt till 
the ninth year of the republic. In the mean time, the 
fame committees that framed the conftitution, appointed 
alfo the whole perfons who were to exercife the govern¬ 
ment. Bonaparte was appointee! chief conful, and Cam- 
baceres and Lebrun fecond and third confuls, in the ftead 
of Syeyes and Ducos firft nominated ; for Syeyes, with 
his ufual caution, avoided taking any adtive thare in the 
management of public affairs, and was appointed, or ap¬ 
pointed hintfelf, a member of his own confervative fe¬ 
nate ; the whole being regarded as produced by him. As 
a gratuity for his fervices, the chief conful and his legifia¬ 
tors prefented to him an eftate belonging to the nation 
called Crojhe, in the department of Seine and Oife. 
Having thus fecured to bimfelf the abfolute govern¬ 
ment, the firft conful aflitmed a popular air of magnani¬ 
mity, by feeming defirous to conciliate the regard of men 
of all parties. He repealed two odious laws of the direc¬ 
tory, one for a forced loan, the other for confidering the* 
families of fufpedted perfons as hoftages. The perfons 
fentenced to deportation were permitted to revifit their 
country ; feveral claffes of emigrants were erafed from 
a lift which the directory had fwelled to a rnoft fhameful 
degree of enormity ; and the oath of hatred to royalty was 
abolifired. Left, however, the purchafers of national do- 
mains fliould conceive alarms, they were pacified by a 
proclamation, and their rights were exprefsly referved in 
the conftitution ; and the abolition of the oath was de¬ 
clared to originate, not in prediledtion for the monarchical 
fyftem, but in a defire to deftroy a principal engine of 
Jacobinical confederacy, and to avoid giving offence to 
foreign governments, which every commonwealth ought 
to refpedt. 
A general change took place in the miniftry, Robert 
Lindet, the minifter of finance, was removed, and his 
place bellowed on Gaudin. Dubois Crance, a ferocious 
Jacobin, whom the influence of that fadtion had raifed 
to the office of minifter of war, was difplaced, and Ber- 
thier appointed in his ftead. Cambaceres was, fora Ihort 
time, minifter of juftice ; but on his elevation to the rank 
of conful, he was fucceeded by Abrial. Qnjnette beino- 
deprived of the fituation of minifter for the home depart^ 
ment-, it was firft given to Pierre Simon Laplace, and 
afterwards to Lucien Bonaparte. Talleyrand Perigord 
formerly bilhop of Autun, was minifter for foreign af¬ 
fairs ; and Forfayt fucceeded Bourdon in the adminiftra- 
tion of the marine. Fouche, in reward for his adlive co¬ 
operation in the late revolution, was permitted to retain 
his office of minifter of the police. In general the mea¬ 
fures of the new government were popular, and exhibit¬ 
ed hopes of returning regularity, and the abolition of 
many odious diftindtions, which had rendered one portion 
of the nation oppreffors of the other. 
A great impediment to the new profpedts of Bonaparte, 
was the continuance of the war, which not only required 
great exertionsand facrifices, but formed a pretext formany 
oppreffive and vexatiousexadlions, and continually endan¬ 
gered the fafety of the ruling powers. To reftore peace 
was at once the moll popular and molt beneficial objedt 
the new government could achieve; and although the 
circumftances of the times could not afford a reafonable 
profpedt of immediate fucc'efs in fuch a negociation, it 
was however neceffary, in compliance with the impatience 
of the people, to commence a correfpondence on the fub- 
jedt with the allied powers. Meflengers were accordingly 
fent to Vienna and London: the tenor of the difpatch to 
the imperial cabinet was never difclofed, but the cor¬ 
refpondence with the Britifh miniftry was immediately 
made public. Deferting the accuftomed forms of diplo¬ 
matic proceeding, the firft conful, on the 26th of Decem¬ 
ber, wrote a letter to the king of Great Britain, which was 
inclofed in one from Talleyrand to lord Grenville. The 
following is a corredt tranflation of the letter : 
Paris, 5 Nivofe, an 8. 
“ Called by the wifliesof the nation to occupy the firft 
magiftracy of the republic, I deem it proper on entering 
upon my office, to communicate the intelligence diredlly 
to your majefty. Shall the war, which has already ra¬ 
vaged the four quarters of the globe during eight years, 
be eternal ? and can no means be taken to extinguifh it ? 
Why (hould the two moft enlightened nations in Europe, 
whofe power and independence are fufficiently afeertain- 
ed, facrifice to vain ideas of grandeur the advantages re- 
fulting from commerce, internal profperity, and the hap- 
pinefs of families? Why do they not confider peace as 
conftituting the firft want, as well as the firft glory, of a 
people ? 
“ Thefe fentiments cannot be ftrangers to the heart of 
a king who governs a free people, with the foie view of 
rendering them happy. I11 this overture your majefty 
will only perceive my fincere delire to contribute effica- 
ciotifly, for the fecond time, to a general pacification, by 
a prompt and confidential communication, difengaged 
from 
