thought it their duty to yield to the general sense of commiseration, openly testified in behalf of the cap. tive princess. In order, however, not to be stigmatized as forgetful of the interests of the republic, they made her enlargement instrumental in procuring that of those members of the convention whom Dumourier had, at the time of his defection, deliver. ed into the hands of the Austrians, and of the two ambassadors to the Ottoman court, who had been seiz. ed on neutral ground by order of the imperial court. A negotiation for these purposes was opened with the Austrian ministry in the month of July, and towards the close of December, she was delivered from her imprisonment in the Temple, and conducted to Pasie, in Switzerland, where she was exchanged, pursuant to the agreement with the court of Vienna, for the persons above-mentioned.

But, while the rulers of France were thus endeavouring to wipe off the stain of inhumanity from their character, they were particularly anxious not to incur the suspicion of sympathising with the royal cause, or its friends. They passed at this time, a variety of decrees tending to restrict the entrance into France, and the residence there, of foreign. ers, whose attachment to the exist. ing government was not clearly as. certained, and to dismiss all those who might be suspected of secretly adhering to the enemies of the republic. These decrees were extremely severe, and effectually ob. viated all, dangers that might have arisen, by permitting all foreigners indiscriminately to reside in France, at a time when so many conspiracies and machinations were continually forming against the established go. vecoment.

The dangers to which it was perpetually exposed, originated, evidently, from the want of a firm and stable government, settled on a permanent constitution. The revolutionary movements were yet so strong and rapid, that, unless they were stopped, it was feared they would at last overturn the constitution itself. The nation was full of parties, each obstinate in favour of that form of government to which it inclined. The convention was full of individuals of abilities, ambition, and courage, who, therefore, might well be presumed to aim at the possession of power. The radical defect, in the present administration of affairs, was the fluctuation of authority from one party to another, and the total want of a regular form of government, acknowledged by all parties, and organized on prin. ciples assented to by the nation at large. A constitution, framed con. formably to these ideas, was visibly the only remedy for the contusions that had so long, and still continued to agitate France. It was the earnest desire of all parties, which appeared cordially willing to lay aside their animosities, and to unite in a cordial reception of such a constitu tion as should be acceptable to the majority.

Impressed with the strongest con. viction of the immediate necessity of such a measure, the convention, as already observed, had, towards the close of April, nominated eleven members, for the execution of this great business. They had now completed it; and, on the twenty third of June, laid it formally be. fore the convention. Faithful to the original ideas on which the primary revolution was founded, the framers of the new constitution prefaced it by a solemn declaration of the

1

rights of man, nearly similar to that which preceded the first. By this constitution, every man was declared to be a French citizen, who was born, and resided in France, was twenty-one years of age, and inscrib. ed his name in the civic register, lived one year on the territory of the republic, and paid a direct contribution. Foreigners were natu. ralised by residing seven years in France, or by marrying a French woman. The rights of a citizen were forfeited by naturalization in a foreign country, or by committing any infamous crime.

Primary assemblies were to meet yearly in every canten, on the twen. ty-first of March, in their own right. They were to chuse the members of the electoral assembly, to elect the justice of peace and his assessors, with the president of the municipal administration of the can. ton, and appoint the municipal offi.

cers.

Every primary assembly was to nominate one elector for two hun dred citizens. Electors to be twen. ty-five years of age, and possessed of a certain proportion of property. These were to elect the members of the legislature, the members of the tribunal of annulment, the high jurors, the administrators of the depart. ment, the president, public accuser, and register of the criminal tribu. nals, and the judges of the civic tribunals.

The legislature was composed of two councils, or chambers, one of ancients, and one of juniors. The first consisted of two hundred and fifty members; the second of five hundred. One-third of the members of each council was renewed every year; by which regulation every member was to sit three years,

The

ae

They might be re-elected immedi. ately once, but never again, till af. ter an interval of two years. Each department was represented in pro. portion to its population. council of five hundred had the ex. clusive right of proposing the laws, and the council of ancients the right of accepting or rejecting them. The resolutions of the council of five hundred, when adopted by that of the ancients, became laws. When rejected, they could not again be presented to them for ac. ceptance till two years after. Part of a plan rejected might, however, be presented.

Primary schools were established in every canton, to teach reading and writing, arithmetic, and the elements of morality. Schools of a superior kind were also established, one, at least, for every two depart. ments. A national institution was also appointed for the improve. ment of arts and sciences. Exclu. sively of these institutions, citizens had a right to form particular establishments of education and instruction, and societies for the promotion of arts and sciences.

A perfect equality was to subsist between all the citizens of the re. public, in all the ordinary occur. rences of society. The only superi. ority permitted, was that of public functionaries and that only in the ac. tual exercise of their official duties. No religious vows or engagements, inconsistent with the natural rights of man, were sanctioned by the laws; individuals were at liberty to speak, write, print, and publish their thoughts, subject to no other controul than that of responsibility. Freedom of religious opinion and worship was established, and no one compelled to profess or maintain any particular

:

particular persuasion. The law did not authorize privileged companies or corporations, or any species of limitation to the freedom of commerce, and the exercise of industry and arts of every kind. Citizens had the right to assemble peaceably, and without arms; but no assembly could assume a popular denomina. tion, or professing to debate about political subjects, can correspond with another, or associate with it in such investigations.

The executive power was delegated to five persons, nominated by the legislature. They are styled, collectively, the directory. They were to be forty years of age, and have been members of the legislative body, or employed in a great office, and could not be appointed to the directory, till the expiration of a year after quitting their em. ployment. One of the directors was to go out yearly, and to be replaced by the election of another. No one could be re-elected to this office till after an interval of five years. The business of the di. rectory was to provide for the se. curity of the republic, at home and abroad; to dispose of the military and naval forces; to appoint generals and admirals; to superintend the execution of the laws; and to direct the coining of money. To elect the directory, the council of five hundred made out a list of ten persons for one to be elected; and out of these the council of ancients chuses one. The directory might invite the legislature to take subjects into consideration; but could not lay plans before it, those of peace and war excepted. No treaties framed by them were valid, until ratified by the legislature, VOL. XXXVII. :

without whose consent no war can be undertaken.

Such are the outlines of the French constitution, as it was presented to the convention, by those who were selected to frame one. It underwent the discussion not only of that body and of the nation, but of all Europe. As it was framed professedly in contradiction to the royal systems prevailing in this part of the world, its imperfections were the more readily perceived; and it was generally condemned as impracticable in so large a country, and so populous a nation, especially as founded on the destruction of a monarchy that had lasted fourteen centuries, and the prepossession for which was still very strong in the minds of a very considerable portion of the people. Those in particular who adhered to the ancient religious establishments, together with the noblesse and the clergy, forming an immense body, and with few exceptions, warmly attached to the old system in church and state, having suffered so much for their attachment to both, they were ready to suffer still more, and to persevere to the last in their efforts to restore them.

Those who coolly weighed the merits and defects of this constitu. tion, against those that had been already tried, readily gave it the preference. It united many requisites to give it strength and duration. In imitation of the British constitu. tion, it divided the legislative body into an upper and lower house, and thus prevented that tyrannical pre. cipitation with which the convention had so justly been reproached. This division of power rendered it also less liable to abuse; the one [H] branch

branch of the legislature operating as a counterpoise to the other. The principal defect, in the opinion of most, was the distribution of the executive power into five hands, instead of consigning it to one only. A single chief magistrate appeared preferable to five, in several respects. The unity of person was certainly a complete security against the dis. union of sentiments, where it must be attended with the most danger. Abilities and integrity would also be more perceptible and ascertainable in one than in several; and, by the same reason, the want of them would be more clearly discerned in him that was deficient. It would, at the same time, be less difficult to call one individual to account, than five, among whom the praise or censure of good or of evil councils, being equally shared, it might not be easy to discover who was the most or the least deserving of approbation or of blame. Each would be desirous to appropriate to him. self as much as he could of the ap. plause due to wise measures, and no less anxious to shift the odium of ill advice upon others. In this conflict it would be vain to expect that unanimity could long endure be. tween persons envious of each other, from the very nature of the station they were jointly placed in. They would split into parties, the more inimical and violent, from the great power with which they were in. vested; and, in order to retain it, might not scruple to act the most hostile part to their rivals, and treat them with merciless severity. For this reason,, numbers of the French themselves would have been pleased with one supreme magistate, to the duration of whole magistracy, two years, or even three might have

been allotted, instead of five; and who, enjoying the good will of his fellow citizens, might render them more services, if a person of capacity. during that space, than could proba. bly be done in a longer, by five persons of equal capacity to him, but obstructing each other through dif. ference of sentiments, and even of temper, and liable to all those little jealousies that will often infest the intercourse of the best and wisest of

men.

It has been suggested, on the other hand, that ambition was at the bot tom of this newsystem, and prompted thisdivision of almost supreme power into the hands of five individuals, that the framers of this constitution might be able to indulge the hope of sharing it some future day in their turn. That able and ambitious men should be governed by such motives is not surprising: but to fix an imputation of this nature on those persons who were entrusted with the framing of this new system of government, one ought to be furnished with better proofs than simple surmises. The majority of them were chosen on account of the moderation of their character and principles. Some were noted for their preference of a private to a public life, and none were suspected of intending to avail themselves of this opportunity of rising to power. It is more probable, therefore, that they sought to please the nation, than to gratify their personal ends. Had they lodged the chief magistracy in a single person, it is not likely that the French would at this time have consented to accept of such a magistrate. The majority of those who possessed and were able to ex. ert much influence, were decided republicans, not indeed of that violent lent party, which had been guilty of so many crimes, but of that which was equally inimical to the oppression of many, and to the go. vernment of one. Those were equally averse to the rigid republicanism of the terrorists and to the restoration of monarchy; both which they were determined to oppose. To such then the appointment of one person, to preside over the affairs of the nation, would have borne such an appearance of monarchy, that it would not have been safe to make the attempt. Their prejudices against royalty would not have permitted them to distinguish between a responsible magistrate and a pos. sessor of absolute power. It was necessary, therefore, to consult the disposition of the times, especially of the metropolis. This abounded with those who would have re.

volted at the idea of a supreme go. vernor, which would have recailed to their remembrance no less the tyranny of Roberspierre, than the authority exercised by the king, previously to the revolution. As they held both in abhorrence, the former probably more than the latter, the very image or resemblance was carefully to be avoided. It was a common saying among the populace, that if they must have a king, a Bourbon was at least as good as any other. While senti. ments of this kind prevailed among the greater number, and among the people of Paris more than any others, it was prudent, in those who were to plan the new constitution, to admit of nothing in it that might furnish a pretext to the jacobins, for accusing them of inclining to royalism.