The Governments of Europe Part 24

III. ALSACE-LORRAINE (p. 282)

*304. Original Problem of Organization.*--By the terms of the Peace of Frankfort, May 10, 1871, France ceded to Germany the province of Alsace and a portion of that of Lorraine--an aggregate of 5,605 square miles of hotly disputed territory whose population, while in considerable measure German, was none the less predominantly French.

The position a.s.signed the newly acquired territory within the Empire was anomalous. It was determined by two princ.i.p.al considerations: first, the fact that the districts comprised conquered territory inhabited by a discontented people and liable both to domestic disorder and foreign invasion; and, second, the further fact that the newly established Empire consisted of a federation of semi-autonomous states, into which subordinate territory acquired by war could not easily be made to fit. The annexed lands might conceivably have been erected, in 1871, into the twenty-sixth state of the Empire; but in no quarter was this policy so much as suggested. They might have been incorporated with one of the existing states, or divided among two or more of them; but this would have involved friction at a time when the stability of the new regime was not yet a.s.sured. The only course that to the statesmen and jurists of the day appeared feasible was to hold the new territories as the joint property of the states, under the sovereign control of the Imperial Government; and the arrangement hit upon in the execution of this policy was perpetuated, with modification only of administrative machinery, from 1871 until almost the present day.

*305. The Imperial Basis of Government.*--Prior to the enactment of the controverted Alsace-Lorraine Const.i.tution Bill of 1911 Alsace-Lorraine was not a member of the German federation, but was, on the contrary, a mere dependency--a Reichsland, or Imperial territory. Beginning with a virtual dictatorship on the part of the Emperor, established under act of June 9, 1871, the governmental arrangements within the territory pa.s.sed through a number of stages of elaboration. In the main, the organs of government employed until 1911, and a large proportion of those still in operation, were created, or perpetuated, by the const.i.tutional statute of July 4, 1879. By this instrument the sovereignty of the territories was vested specifically in the Empire; the exercise of that sovereignty was vested in the Kaiser, acting alone or in conjunction with the Bundesrath. The Kaiser was represented personally at Stra.s.sburg, as he still is, by a Statthalter, or governor-general, whose powers were such as the Emperor might from time to time intrust to him. At Stra.s.sburg (p. 283) also was a ministry, with a secretary of state at the head, and with under-secretaries, appointed by the Kaiser, in charge of four departments; likewise a council of state, which was a purely advisory body made up of the secretary and under-secretaries, certain judicial officials, and from eight to twelve members specially appointed by the Kaiser for a term of three years.

*306. The Landesausschuss.*--Such privileges of self-government as were possessed by the inhabitants of the territory arose from the peculiar and complicated arrangements which were devised for legislation. In 1874 an Imperial decree called into being a Landesausschuss, or Territorial Committee. This body consisted originally of thirty members--ten elected in each of the three districts of Upper Alsace, Lower Alsace, and Lorraine. Its function at the outset was merely to give expert advice on subjects pertaining to local legislation and taxation. By law of 1877, however, it was intrusted with power to initiate legislation in matters pertaining solely to the territory.

Measures of any sort designed for Alsace-Lorraine exclusively were enabled to be carried through by enactment in the Territorial Committee, provided they received the a.s.sent of the Bundesrath and were duly promulgated by the Emperor. The Committee was enlarged until it consisted of fifty-eight members, thirty-four of whom were elected by the a.s.semblies of the three districts from their own membership, four others being chosen by the communal councils of Stra.s.sburg, Metz, Kolmar, and Mulhausen, and twenty elected by indirect suffrage from the twenty-three circles into which the territories were divided.

*307. Legislative Processes.*--Several conditions, however, operated to impose upon what might appear a fairly liberal system some very serious limitations. In the first place, there was no possibility of legislation which was wholly within the control of the inhabitants of the territory. The laws applicable solely to Prussia are made exclusively in Prussia, by Prussian authorities, and in like manner those of every other one of the confederated states. But those of Alsace-Lorraine, while they might be enacted in a provincial legislative chamber, acquired no validity until they should have been approved by the Empire through its agents, the Bundesrath and the Kaiser. In the second place, the method of legislation which has been mentioned did not occupy the field alone. With insignificant exceptions, any measure which might be enacted in the fashion described might be enacted in either of two other ways, in neither of which did the inhabitants of the territory have any appreciable influence. A measure might take the form of a simple decree of (p. 284) the Kaiser with the consent of the Bundesrath and Reichstag; or, in the case of an ordinance having the provisory force of law, it might be promulgated by the Kaiser with the consent of the Bundesrath alone.

The fact that in practice the Territorial Committee ordinarily did partic.i.p.ate in the legislative process was largely offset by the exceeding c.u.mbersomeness and indirectness of the system. The normal procedure in the making of a law for the territory involved at least eight steps; (1) the _projet_ was drawn up by the Statthalter; (2) it was approved by the Council of State at Stra.s.sburg; (3) it was transmitted, through the Imperial Chancellor, to the Kaiser; (4) if he approved, it was sent to Stra.s.sburg to receive the Statthalter's countersignature; (5) it was laid before the Bundesrath, the members of which, being but delegates, ascertained from their respective sovereigns how they should vote; (6) if all had gone well, the Territorial Committee, at Stra.s.sburg, pa.s.sed the measure through the usual three readings; (7) it was returned to the Bundesrath again to be approved; and (8) it was promulgated by the Emperor--provided he did not see fit to veto and withhold it, as he had an entire right to do. Even if such roundabout law-making were to be considered in itself satisfactory there remained the disquieting condition that the Territorial Committee rested on no basis more substantial than a body of Imperial decrees capable at any time of being altered, or even revoked. Not merely was it altogether lacking in the independence of action enjoyed by the diets of the federated states; its very existence was precarious.

*308. The Movement for Autonomy.*--Throughout a prolonged period there was in the territory insistent demand for the grant of a more independent status, to involve the eventual placing of Alsace-Lorraine on a footing of const.i.tutional equality with Saxony, Bavaria, and the other confederated states. Within very few years after the annexation there sprang up, within the Territorial Committee first of all, a group of "autonomists," led by the secretary of state Baron Zorn von Bulach, who insisted in season and out upon statehood for the conquered territory, and within a decade the campaign gained momentum until it enlisted the support of men of all political faiths and became the princ.i.p.al rallying issue of Alsatian sentiment and enthusiasm. Until within recent years the tension of the international situation was alone sufficient to restrain the Imperial Government from according the demand favorable consideration. With the pa.s.sing of time the danger of international conflict in which Alsace-Lorraine should be involved was, however, perceptibly diminished, and the way was to this extent cleared for a readjustment of the territory's anomalous status on the merits of the purely administrative and const.i.tutional questions involved.

The programme of the autonomists, as it finally a.s.sumed shape, (p. 285) embraced four fundamental points: (1) the elevation of Alsace-Lorraine to membership in the German Empire, with all the rights and immunities commonly possessed by existing members; (2) the vesting of the executive authority in an independent head of the state, whether a king of a newly established line, a regent appointed for life, or even a president of a republic; (3) the establishment within the state of a full-fledged legislative body, with powers equivalent to those exercised by the Landtags of the existing states; and (4) the elimination of Kaiser, Bundesrath, and Reichstag from all legislation which concerns Alsace-Lorraine exclusively. Taking their stand on the situation as it was, and accepting the union with Germany with such grace as they could muster and a.s.suming that it is to be permanent, the exponents of autonomy proposed to make the best of a state of things not of their choosing.

*309. The Government Bill of 1910.*--Under pressure of persistent public demand, the Imperial Government prepared an elaborate measure upon the subject, which, after having been approved by the Bundesrath, was submitted to the Reichstag, December 17, 1910. Although Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg had declared unreservedly for reform, the Government's proposals fell far short of the demands of the autonomist leaders. The cardinal features of the Imperial programme, were, in brief: (1) Alsace-Lorraine should remain a dependency of the Empire; (2) sovereign authority therein should continue to be exercised by the Kaiser, as the representative of the states, through his accustomed agent, the Statthalter at Stra.s.sburg; (3) the legislative functions of the Bundesrath and Reichstag in matters pertaining exclusively to Alsace-Lorraine should be terminated; and (4) such legislation should thereafter be enacted by a bicameral diet at Stra.s.sburg. The members of the upper chamber of this diet, not to exceed thirty-six, were in part to sit by _ex-officio_ right, but some were to be named by chambers of commerce and other professional and business organizations, and a maximum of one-half might be appointed by the Emperor, on nomination of the Bundesrath. The sixty members of the lower house were to be chosen by manhood suffrage, but electors over thirty-five years of age were to have two votes, and those over forty-five three.

*310. The Bill Amended and Adopted, 1911.*--By those whose object was the procuring of statehood for Alsace-Lorraine, this plan was p.r.o.nounced inadmissible. It did not alter the legal status of the territory; neither, it was alleged, did it give promise of increased local independence in law-making or administration. Conservatives, on the other hand, objected to the provision which was made for manhood suffrage. After being debated in the Reichstag the measure was (p. 286) referred to a special committee, by which amendments were reported to the effect that the territory should be created a state of the Empire and the Statthalter should be appointed for life. The second of these amendments the Government refused positively to accept, but it was agreed finally that the territory should be recognized as substantially a state of the Empire, and, as such, should be allowed three votes in the Bundesrath. Since 1879 the Statthalter had been authorized to send to the Bundesrath four "commissioners" who might speak when the subject under consideration touched the affairs of Alsace-Lorraine, but might not vote. Since under the new arrangement the three members representing Alsace-Lorraine were to be appointed and instructed by the Statthalter, who is himself practically the delegate of the king of Prussia, the Bundesrath insisted upon and obtained the special stipulation (1) that the votes of Alsace-Lorraine should not be counted in favor of the Prussian view of any question except when Prussia should be able to procure a majority without such votes and (2) that they should not be counted for or against any proposal to amend the Imperial const.i.tution. The revised bill was pa.s.sed in the Reichstag, May 26, 1911, and in accordance with a decree of August 26 the new const.i.tution was put in operation September 1.

*311. The Governmental System To-day.*--Supreme executive authority is lodged, as before, in the Emperor. It is exercised, in the main, by the Statthalter, who is appointed by, and holds office at the pleasure of, the Emperor. In the Statthalter are vested all the rights and privileges in Alsace-Lorraine that hitherto have been held and exercised by the Imperial Chancellor. He appoints and instructs the plenipotentiaries in the Bundesrath, and Imperial orders and decrees have legal effect only when signed by him. All laws require the a.s.sent of the Emperor and the two chambers of the diet, and the budget of the year must be laid first before the lower chamber and must be accepted or rejected in its entirety by the upper one. The Emperor has the right to summon, to adjourn, and to dissolve the chambers simultaneously. Members of the popular branch are elected by direct and secret ballot and majority vote by all male German citizens twenty-five years of age who have resided in Alsace-Lorraine at least three years; except that a residence of one year qualifies teachers and occupants of official posts. The plural voting proposal contained in the Government bill of 1910 was abandoned. The first chamber elected under the new system--that chosen in October, 1911--contained twenty-five Centre members, eleven Socialists, ten members of the National Alsace-Lorraine group,[418] eight Liberal Democrats, and (p. 287) six Independents. The independent att.i.tude promptly a.s.sumed by the body elicited from the Emperor, in May, 1912, a threat that the new const.i.tution might be abrogated and Alsace-Lorraine incorporated with Prussia. The incident provoked a storm of criticism, and, outside the rabid Pan-German press, the Imperial p.r.o.nouncement was commented upon everywhere adversely.[419]

[Footnote 418: The party which had contended most vigorously for Alsatian autonomy.]

[Footnote 419: On the organization of Alsace-Lorraine prior to 1911 see Howard, The German Empire, Chap. 10; Laband, Das Staatsrecht des deutschen Reiches, ---- 67-69; P. Gerber, La condition de l'Alsace-Lorraine dans l'Empire allemand (Lille, 1906), and L'Administration en Alsace-Lorraine, in _Revue du Droit Public_, Oct.-Dec, 1909. On the problem of reform and the legislation of 1911 see R. Henry, La question d'Alsace-Lorraine, in _Questions Diplomatiques et Coloniales_, Feb. 1 and March 16, 1904; P. Braun, Alsace-Lorraine--La reforme de la const.i.tution, ibid., Nov. 16, 1905, and Jan. 1, 1906; Alsace-Lorraine en 1908, ibid., March 1, 1909; Alsace-Lorraine--les preludes d'une lutte nationale, ibid., April 16, 1910; La const.i.tution d'Alsace-Lorraine, ibid., March 16, 1911; A.

Wetterle, L'Autonomie de Alsace-Lorraine, in _Le Correspondant_, Aug. 25, 1910, La nouvelle loi const.i.tutionnelle de l'Alsace-Lorraine, ibid., June 10, 1911, and Les elections en Alsace-Lorraine, ibid., Nov. 25, 1911; Eccard, L'Autonomie de l'Alsace-Lorraine, in _Revue Politique et Parlementaire_, Nov. 10, 1910: G. Bruck, Die Reform der Verfa.s.sung von Elsa.s.s Lothringen, in _Annalen des deutschen Reichs_, 1911, I; and P. Heitz, La loi const.i.tutionnelle de l'Alsace-Lorraine du 31 mai, 1911, in _Revue du Droit Public_, July-Sept., 1911, containing French translations of the doc.u.ments. See also _Annual Register_ for 1911, 328-332.]

PART III.--FRANCE (p. 289)

CHAPTER XV

CONSt.i.tUTIONS SINCE 1789

I. A CENTURY OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY

Among European states of the first order there is but a single republic. In Great Britain the conspicuous success with which monarchy has been tempered with democracy has left the partisans of the republican style of government slender ground upon which to stand.

Russia has as yet but partially emerged from a political status in which monarchy is both natural and inevitable. Germany and Italy, in days comparatively recent, achieved nationality through processes absolutely conditioned upon monarchical leadership. And it is all but inconceivable that the heterogeneous nationalities of Austria-Hungary should thus long have been held together by any force less tangible and commanding than the personality of a common sovereign. Although in some of these instances the functions ordinarily a.s.sociated with monarchy are more nominal than actual, the fact remains that in no one of the greater European states, save France, has it as yet been found expedient, or possible, to dispense with royalty as an agency of public authority.

*312. The Multiplicity of Const.i.tutions.*--The chain of circ.u.mstances by which the people of France have been brought to their present republican form of government const.i.tutes one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of modern Europe. After centuries of governmental centralization, under conditions which enabled monarchy to do its best, and its worst, there came the gigantic disruption of 1789, inaugurating a series of const.i.tutional changes by which was imparted to the political history of the French nation in the nineteenth century a more unsettled character than that exhibited by the public economy of any other European state. France to-day is governed under her eleventh const.i.tution since the fall of the Bastille. All but one of the eleven have been actually in operation, during a longer or a shorter period. But, prior to the fundamental law at present in effect, no one of these instruments attained its twentieth year. Once having cut loose from her ancient moorings, the nation became through many decades the plaything of every current (p. 290) that swept the political sea. It is only within our own generation that she appears definitely to have righted herself for a prolonged and steady voyage. The const.i.tutional system of the Third Republic is a product, not of orderly evolution, but of disruption, experimentation, compromise. It represents a precarious balance which has been struck between those forces of radicalism and conservatism, of progress and reaction, for whose eternal conflict France pre-eminently has furnished a theatre since 1789. Its connection with the remoter past is very much less direct and fundamental than is that of the governmental system of England, Russia, Austria-Hungary, or the Scandinavian states. At certain points, however, as will appear, this connection is vital. And the relation of the const.i.tution of 1871-1875 to the several instruments by which it was more immediately preceded is essential to be observed, because this body of fundamental law comprises but the latest in a series of devices through which France since 1789 has sought orderliness and stability in public affairs.

Some of these devices were shaped under the preponderating influence of radical democracy, some under that of monarchical reaction; but all are of interest and importance. For the purpose in hand it will be sufficient to review briefly the princ.i.p.al aspects of the several const.i.tutional systems whose devising or operation has contributed with some directness to the political inst.i.tutions and experience of the France of to-day.

II. THE REVOLUTIONARY AND NAPOLEONIC ERA

*313. The Const.i.tution of 1791.*--During the decade which elapsed between the outbreak of the Revolution and the establishment of the Consulate there were in actual operation in France two successive const.i.tutions: that of September 3, 1791, which was in effect subverted by the uprising of August 10, 1792, and that of 5 Fructidor of the Year III. (August 22, 1795), terminated by the _coup d'etat_ of 18 Brumaire of the Year VIII. (November 9, 1799). The instrument of 1791, essentially a compilation of measures voted during the years 1789-1791, was prepared by a committee appointed by the National a.s.sembly, September 15, 1789.[420] It was shaped, in the main, by men who were desirous of preserving the form while destroying the substance of monarchy. At the head of the state was allowed to remain the king, shorn, however, of many of his accustomed prerogatives and obliged to exercise under stringent restraint the few that were left him. "King of the French," he henceforth was to be, "by the grace of G.o.d and the will of the nation." The legislative body (_Corps (p. 291) legislatif_) was made to consist of a single chamber whose 745 members, chosen for a two-year term according to a system of indirect suffrage, were distributed among the eighty-three newly created departments upon the three-fold basis of extent, population, and contribution of direct taxes.[421] Only male citizens who had attained the age of twenty-five, and whose annual payment of direct taxes was the equivalent of three days' labor, were ent.i.tled to partic.i.p.ate in the choice of the electors, by whom, in turn, were chosen the deputies. The powers of the legislative body were ample. In respect to measures generally, the king possessed only a suspensive veto; that is to say, any measure pa.s.sed by three successive legislatures acquired, without the royal sanction, the force of law. Fiscal measures might not be vetoed at all. The king was given no power to prorogue or to dissolve the legislative chamber, and without the a.s.sent of that body no proclamation of war, and no treaty, was valid. To it the ministers in charge of the six executive departments were made absolutely responsible. In conformity with prevailing ideas of the sovereignty of the people and the separation of powers, provision was made that all judges should be elected popularly, as also all local administrative authorities.[422]

[Footnote 420: A const.i.tutional committee of five had been appointed the previous July 14; but, its recommendation proving unacceptable to the a.s.sembly, it had resigned, September 11.]

[Footnote 421: Of the whole number of deputies, 247 were apportioned according to departmental areas and 249 according each to population and tax quotas.]

[Footnote 422: The texts of all French const.i.tutions and fundamental laws since 1789 are printed in several collections, of which the best is L. Duguit et H. Monnier, Les const.i.tutions et les princ.i.p.ales lois politiques de la France depuis 1789 (Paris, 1898). Other serviceable collections are F. Helie, Les const.i.tutions de la France (Paris, 1880) and E. Pierre, Organisation des pouvoirs publics; recueil des lois const.i.tutionnelles et organiques (Paris, 1902). For English versions see F. M. Anderson, The Const.i.tutions and other Select Doc.u.ments ill.u.s.trative of the History of France, 1789-1907 (2d ed., Minneapolis, 1908). The various const.i.tutions are excellently summarized in M.

Block, Dictionnaire general de la politique, 2 vols. (Paris, 1884), I., 494-518. For the text of the const.i.tution of 1791 see Duguit et Monnier, 1-35; Helie, 268-294; Anderson, 58-95. For summary, Block, I., 494-497. Dupriez, Les Ministres, II., 253-269; Cambridge Modern History, VIII., Chap. 7.]

*314. The Const.i.tution of the Year I. (1793).*--The const.i.tution of 1791 was in operation rather less than a twelvemonth. The _Corps legislatif_ elected under it, after precipitating war with Austria, gave way before the rising demand for the abolition of monarchy, called into being a const.i.tuent convention of 782 members, and voted its own dissolution.[423] September 21, 1792, the Convention met and decreed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic.[424] Mindful for the time of the purpose of its (p. 292) creation, the new a.s.sembly appointed, October 11, a committee of nine to which was intrusted the task of drafting a republican const.i.tution.

February 15, 1793, the committee reported, and June 24 the Convention adopted an ultra-republican frame of government, the princ.i.p.al features of which were an executive council consisting of twenty-four members chosen by the legislative body from candidates named by the secondary electors of the departments; a unicameral _Corps legislatif_ chosen indirectly by manhood suffrage for one year, with power to enact "decrees," but only to propose "laws"; and an arrangement whereby projected laws were to be communicated to primary a.s.semblies of citizens to be voted upon after the principle of the referendum.[425]

[Footnote 423: The members of the Convention were elected by manhood suffrage, one of the last acts of the Legislative Body having been the repeal of the tax qualification required by the const.i.tution of 1791.]

[Footnote 424: September 22 was reckoned the first day of the Year I. of French liberty, and the fundamental law of June 24, 1793, was known as the const.i.tution of the Year I. For an illuminating sketch of the rise of the republic see H. A. L.

Fisher, The Republican Tradition in Europe (New York, 1911), Chap. 4.]

[Footnote 425: Text in Duguit et Monnier, Les Const.i.tutions, 66-78; Helie, Les Const.i.tutions, 376-384; Anderson, Const.i.tutions, 171-184. Summary in Block, Dictionnaire General, 497-498.]

*315. The Const.i.tution of the Year III. (1795).*--By reason of the intensity of party strife within the Convention, and the critical condition of affairs generally, the const.i.tution of 1793, although duly ratified by the people, was never put in operation. On the basis of a decree of December 4, 1793, the Convention maintained through upwards of two years a revolutionary provisional government, and when, finally, in October, 1795, the body pa.s.sed out of existence, it left behind it in the Const.i.tution of the Year III. an instrument of government essentially different from the proposed instrument of 1793.

The Const.i.tution of the Year III. was framed under a hurried order of the Convention by a committee of eleven. The Convention adopted the committee's plan with but few modifications, and when the project was submitted to a popular vote it was approved by the overwhelming majority of 1,057,390 to 49,997. September 23, 1795, the new frame of government was solemnly promulgated.

The instrument of 1795, like that of 1791, was introduced by a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, in which were stated succinctly the fundamental principles of the Revolution.

Legislative power was henceforth to be vested in two chambers conjointly--a Council of Five Hundred and a Council of Elders--the members of which should be chosen by the same electors, but under differing conditions of eligibility. The term of members of both chambers was fixed at three years, and one-third of the membership was renewable annually. The franchise was broader than under the (p. 293) const.i.tution of 1791, being extended now to all citizens over twenty-one years of age who were able to read and write and who followed a trade or were liable to direct taxation; but the earlier system of indirect election by means of electoral colleges was retained. Upon the lower chamber alone was conferred the right of initiating legislation. The Elders, whose number was fixed at 250, might approve or reject, but were not permitted to amend, any measure submitted to them. Executive power was vested in a Directory consisting of five members chosen for a term of five years, one member retiring annually. Directors were selected by the Council of Elders from a double quota of nominees offered by the Council of Five Hundred. Aside from its creation of a plural, republican executive, the most notable feature of the const.i.tution was its provision for the establishment of a bicameral legislative system, until now generally opposed by French reformers.[426]

[Footnote 426: For the text of the const.i.tution of 1795 see Duguit et Monnier, Les Const.i.tutions, 78-118; Helie, Les Const.i.tutions, 436-466; Anderson, Const.i.tutions, 212-254. Summary in Block, Dictionnaire General, 498-500. Cambridge Modern History, VIII., Chap. 13; G. Dodu, Le parlementarisme et les parlementaires sous la Revolution, 1789-1799; origines du regime representatif en France (Paris, 1911); Fisher, Republican Tradition in Europe, Chap. 5.]

*316. The Const.i.tution of the Year VIII. (1799): Electoral System.*--The const.i.tution of the Year III. continued in operation from October, 1795, to Napoleon's _coup d'etat_ of 18 Brumaire of the Year VIII.

(November 9, 1799). In the course of a month and a half following the event mentioned there was drawn up a new fundamental law, prepared in the first instance largely by Napoleon and Sieyes, put into final shape by two commissions composed each of twenty-five members of the old Councils, and subsequently ratified by popular vote.[427] Amended from time to time by important organic enactments, the Const.i.tution of the Year VIII. (December 13, 1799) comprised the fundamental law under which Napoleon ruled France until his abdication in 1814.

[Footnote 427: In favor of the new const.i.tution there were cast 3,011,007 votes; against it, 1,562.]

The new instrument, in ninety-five articles, was much briefer than the one which it replaced,[428] but the scheme of government for which it made provision was distinctly more complicated than that previously in operation. In the main, the Napoleonic const.i.tution dealt with three subjects: the electoral system, the a.s.semblies, and the executive.

Nominally there was established a system of thoroughgoing manhood (p. 294) suffrage. But the conditions under which electoral powers were to be exercised rendered the plan very much less democratic than on the surface it appeared to be. The scheme was one devised by Sieyes under the designation of "lists of notables." In each communal district citizens twenty-one years of age and inscribed on the civil register were authorized to choose one-tenth of their number to comprise a "communal list." Those named on the communal list were to choose in their department a tenth of their number, who formed a "departmental list." And, similarly, those whose names appeared on the departmental list were to choose a tenth of their number, who formed a "national list." From these three lists in order were to be chosen, largely by the Senate, the public officials of the districts, the departments, and the nation. No electoral scheme has ever been devised which, while grounded upon the principle of manhood suffrage, more effectually withdraws from the people the actual choice of public officials, local as well as national.[429]

[Footnote 428: The const.i.tution of the Year III., containing 377 articles, is one of the lengthiest doc.u.ments of the sort on record.]

[Footnote 429: Under this system the primary electors numbered about 5,000,000; the district notables, 500,000; the departmental notables, 50,000; and the national list, 5,000.]

*317. Const.i.tution of the Year VIII: Organs of Government.*--Of national governmental bodies there were four. One was the Tribunate, consisting of 100 members, one-fifth of whom were renewable every year. The function of the Tribunate was to discuss, but not necessarily to vote upon, legislative measures. A second was the _Corps legislatif_, or Legislative Body, of 300 members, one-fifth being renewed annually. To this a.s.sembly was committed the power to vote upon, but not to debate, legislative measures. A third was the Senate, consisting at the outset of sixty life members, to be increased through a period of ten years to eighty. The Senate was authorized to pa.s.s upon the const.i.tutionality of laws and to choose the Tribunes, the Legislators, and the Consuls from the national list. Its own ranks were to be recruited by co-optation from triple lists of candidates presented by the Tribunate, the Legislative Body, and the First Consul. Finally, there was the Council of State, whose organization was left purposely indefinite. Its members were appointed by the First Consul, and their business consisted princ.i.p.ally in the preparation and advocacy of legislative and administrative measures.

If under this scheme the legislative organs were weak, the executive authority was notably strong. Powers of an executive character were vested in three consuls, appointed by the Senate for ten years and indefinitely eligible. Upon the First Consul was conferred power to promulgate the laws, to appoint all civil and military officials, and to do many other things of vital importance. Upon the second and (p. 295) third consuls was bestowed simply a "consultative voice." Provision was made for a ministry, and under the letter of the const.i.tution no act of the government was binding unless performed on the warrant of a minister. But in point of fact the principle of irresponsibility permeated the Napoleonic regime from the First Consul himself to the lowliest functionary. The conferring upon Napoleon, in 1802, of the consulship for life, and the conversion of the Consulate, in 1804, into the Empire, but concentrated yet more fully in the hands of a single man the whole body of governmental authority in France.[430]

[Footnote 430: The text of the const.i.tution of the Year VIII. is in Duguit et Monnier, Les Const.i.tutions, 118-129; Helie, Les Const.i.tutions, 577-585; and Anderson, Const.i.tutions, 270-281.

Summary in Block, Dictionnaire General, I., 500-505. Cambridge Modern History, IX., Chap. 1.]