as a prince of the imperial family by the ancient
statutes. Consequently he might be considered, as not
making a part of the chamber of peers by right.]
[Footnote 28: This opinion did not prevent the Emperor
from doing justice to the courage and patriotism, which
M. Lanjuinais had displayed on some trying occasions.]
The sitting of the day following gave Napoleon another subject of
dissatisfaction. The assembly had expressed its wish the day before,
to be acquainted with the list of the members of the Chamber of Peers.
The Emperor, from the motive I have mentioned, made answer, that this
list would not be fixed, till after the opening of the session. This
answer excited violent murmurs: one member proposed, to declare, that
the chamber would not proceed to constitute itself definitively, till
it was furnished with the list, which it had required. Thus from its
entrance on its career, and even before it was installed, the chamber
announced its design, of establishing itself in a state of
insurrection against the head of the government.
The third sitting witnessed an opprobrium, hitherto unheard of in our
national assemblies. The same member, M. Dupin[29], advanced, that
the oath to be taken to the sovereign by the nation, in order to be
valid and legitimate, should not be administered by virtue of a
decree, that emanated from the will of the prince alone, but by virtue
of a law, which is the will of the nation constitutionally expressed.
In consequence he proposed, to resolve, that no oath could be required
of it, but in execution of a law; and that this oath should no way
prejudice its right, subsequently to improve the constitution.
[Footnote 29: A celebrated counsel, who defended Marshal
Ney, and the three generous liberators of M.
Delavalette, Wilson, Bruce, and Hutchinson.]
This proposal, seconded by M. Roi[30], tended to declare null in law
and fact the oath, which the nation and army, represented by their
electors and deputies, had just taken to the Emperor and the
constitution in the solemnity of the _Champ de Mai_: and as it was
this oath, that hitherto formed the only tie binding the nation to the
Emperor, and Napoleon to the nation, it followed that the annulling it
deprived the Emperor of that character of sovereignty and legitimacy,
with which he had been invested, and rendered his rights a subject of
deliberation.
[Footnote 30: Since minister of finance to the king.]
The motion of M. Dupin was rejected unanimously: but the chamber, in
complaisantly permitting a man, to dare within its walls, to call in
question the legitimacy of the Emperor and his authority, and
endeavour to render him foreign to the nation, was guilty of an act of
weakness and indifference, that deeply grieved Napoleon. "I perceive
with sorrow," he said, "that the deputies are not disposed, to act in
union with me; and that they let no opportunity escape of seeking a
quarrel. Of what have they to complain? What have I done to them? I
have given them liberty with an unsparing hand; I have given them
perhaps too much; for kings in the present day have more need than
nations of guarantees. I will act with them as long as I can: but if
they think to make of me a King Log, or a second Louis XVI., they are
mistaken; I am not a man to receive the law from counsellors[31], or
to allow my head to be cut off by factionaries."
[Footnote 31: MM. Dupin and Roi, who appeared to him the
heads of the party of insurgents.]
The hostile disposition of the representatives would have given him no
uneasiness at any other time: the constitution conferred on him the
right of dissolving the chamber, and he would have availed himself of
it: but on the eve of a war, and in the critical situation in which he
was placed, he could not have recourse to such an expedient, without
endangering the fate of France. He resolved, therefore, to conceal his
vexation and ill humour, and permit what he could not prevent.
On the 7th of June he repaired to the legislative body, to open the
chambers; and, after having received the oaths of the peers and
deputies, delivered the following speech:
"Gentlemen of the chamber of peers, and gentlemen of the chamber of
representatives:
"Circumstances, and the confidence of the people, have invested me
these three months with unlimited power. To-day the most urgent desire
of my heart is accomplished: I come to commence the constitutional
monarchy.
"Men are too feeble, to ensure the future: institutions alone fix the
fate of nations. Monarchy is necessary in France, to guaranty the
liberty, the independence, and the rights of the people.
"Our constitution is made up of scattered parts: one of our most
important occupations will be, to unite them within one frame, and
arrange them in one simple design. This labour will transmit the fame
of the present period to future generations.
"I am ambitious of seeing France enjoy all the liberty possible: I say
possible, because anarchy always leads to an absolute government.
"A formidable coalition of kings aims at our independence: their
armies are arriving on our frontiers.
"The frigate _la Melpomène_ has been attacked and taken in the
Mediterranean, after a bloody engagement, by an English seventy-four.
Blood has been shed during peace[32].
[Footnote 32: She was attacked and taken near the island
of Ischia, on the 30th of April.]
"Our enemies reckon upon our intestine divisions. They are exciting
and fomenting civil war. Meetings have taken place; and a
communication is kept up with Ghent, as in 1792 it was with Coblentz.
Legislative measures are indispensable: to your patriotism, your
intelligence, and your attachment to my person, I confide myself
without reserve.
"The liberty of the press is inherent in our present constitution: no
change can be made in this, without altering our whole political
system: but we want repressive laws, particularly in the present
state of the nation. I recommend this important subject to your
consideration.
"The ministers will make known to you the state of our affairs.
"The finances would be in a satisfactory condition, were it not for
the increased expense, which the present circumstances have required.
"Still we might answer the whole, if the sums to be received, included
in the budget, could all be realised in the course of the year; and my
minister of finance will turn your attention to the means of attaining
this result.
"It is possible, that the first duty of a prince may soon call me, to
fight for our country at the head of the children of the nation. The
army and I will do our duty.
"Do you, peers and representatives, set the nation an example of
confidence, energy, and patriotism: and, like the senate of the great
people of antiquity, resolve rather to die, than to survive the
dishonour and degradation of France. The sacred cause of our country
will be triumphant!"
This speech, full of moderation and reason, made a profound
impression on the assembly. Shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" much
more numerous than had burst out at his arrival, were heard, and
continued long after his departure.
The next day, the chamber of representatives was employed in drawing
up its address.
An indiscreet admirer of Napoleon, after having observed, that
flattery had decreed the surname of Desired to a prince, whom the
nation had neither called nor expected, moved, that the title of
Saviour should be decreed to Napoleon, who had come to save France
from regal slavery. This ridiculous motion, smothered by ironical
laughter, gave rise to a multitude of sarcasms and offensive
reflections, which were reported to Napoleon, and which, without
personally wounding him, for he had too high a sense of his glory, to
think it affected by such clamours, injured him in the opinion of
France.
Napoleon, like all great men, loved praise: public censure, when he
thought it unjust, made no impression on him. This indifference did
not arise from the pride of the diadem; it was the result of the
contempt he felt for the judgment of men in general. "He was
accustomed to look for the reward of the pains and labours of life
only in the opinion of posterity."
The assembly rejected the adulatory proposal of M. *****; and in this
it did right. But it did wrong, not to express its decision so as to
soften what there was in it of harsh, unjust, and disagreeable to the
Emperor, who had not provoked it.
This rudeness did not surprise him: experience had already convinced
him, that the chamber would let no opportunity of vexing him escape
it.
This chamber, notwithstanding, was composed entirely of partisans of
the 20th of March: but all the deputies were not partisans of
Napoleon, if they were of the revolution; some in consequence of
personal enmity, others from remembrance of his despotism, and fear of
its return.
The enemies of Napoleon, disguising their hatred under the cloak of a
love of liberty, had insinuated themselves into the minds of the
patriots; and, with the additional act in their hands, had drawn them
into their ranks, under the apparent pretence of combating and
bridling the incurable tyranny of the Emperor.
On the other hand, the friends of Napoleon, while they refused to join
in this coalition, did not attempt to break it; because they inwardly
dreaded the encroachments of the imperial power, and were not sorry to
leave to others the task of opposing it.
Thus the whole assembly, though instigated by different motives,
joined to set themselves in a state of hostile opposition to the head
of the government; without perceiving, that this inconsiderate,
unjust, and ill-timed opposition, would occasion anxiety, mistrust,
and irresolution, in the minds of all; and destroy that national
harmony, that union of interests, wills, and sentiments, the only
source of strength to Napoleon, of safety to France.
Be this as it may, the chamber of deputies, after having spent two
days in discussing the substance and style of its address, was
admitted, as well as the chamber of peers, to appear at the foot of
the throne.
The chamber of peers spoke first, and said:
"Sire; your readiness to subject to constitutional forms and rules
that absolute power, which circumstances, and the confidence of the
people, had imposed on you; the past guarantee given to the rights of
the nation; the devotion, that leads you into the midst of the perils,
which the army is about to brave; penetrate every heart with profound
gratitude. The peers of France are come to offer to your Majesty the
homage of this sentiment.
"You have manifested, Sire, principles, that are those of the nation:
they must necessarily be ours. Yes, all power proceeds from the
people, is instituted far the people; a constitutional monarchy is
necessary for the French nation, as a guarantee of its liberty, and of
its independence.
"Sire, while you shall be on the frontiers, at the head of the
children of the country, the chamber of peers will concur with zeal in
all the legislative measures, that circumstances may require, to
compel foreigners to acknowledge the independence of the nation, and
render the principles sanctioned by the will of the people triumphant
at home.
"The interest of France is inseparable from yours. If fortune should
deceive your efforts, disasters, Sire, will not weaken our
perseverance, and would redouble our attachment to you.
"If success should correspond to the justice of our cause, and the
hopes; we are accustomed to conceive from your genius and the valour
of our armies, France desires no other fruit from it than peace. Our
institutions are a pledge to Europe, that the French government can
never be hurried on by the seductions of victory."
The Emperor answered:
"The contest in which we are engaged is serious. The ardour of
prosperity is not the danger that threatens us at present. Foreigners
are desirous of making us pass under the _Caudine forks_!
"The justice of our cause, the public spirit of the nation, and the
courage of the army, are potent grounds, to hope for success; but, if
we should experience disasters, then in particular I should wish, to
see all the energy of this great people displayed; then I should find
in the chamber of peers proofs of attachment to their country, and to
myself.
"It is in times of difficulty, that great nations, like great men,
display all the energy of their character, and become an object of
admiration to posterity[33].
[Footnote 33: This is a remarkable sentence; as it
expresses a sound principle: events have shown, how
little the French deserve the name of a _great nation_.
_Tr._]
"Mr. President and gentlemen deputies of the chamber of peers, I thank
you for the sentiments which you have expressed to me in the name of
the chamber."
Count Lanjuinais, at the head of the deputation of the chamber of
representatives, then delivered the following speech:
"Sire, the chamber of representatives received with profound emotion
the words pronounced from the throne at the solemn sitting, when your
Majesty, laying down the extraordinary power you were exercising,
proclaimed the commencement of a constitutional monarchy.
"The principal bases of this monarchy, the guardian of the liberty,
equality, and happiness of the people, have been acknowledged by your
Majesty, who, voluntarily meeting every scruple, as well as every
wish, has declared, that the care of collecting together our scattered
constitutions, and arranging them in one whole, was among the most
important occupations reserved for the legislature. Faithful to its
mission, the chamber of representatives will fulfil the task that is
devolved to it, in this noble work: it demands, that, to satisfy the
will of the public, as well as the wishes of your Majesty, the
deliberations of the nation shall rectify, as soon as possible, what
the urgency of our situation may have produced defective, or left
imperfect, in the whole of our constitutions.
"But at the same time, Sire, the chamber of representatives will not
show itself less eager, to proclaim its sentiments and its principles
with regard to the terrible conflict, that threatens to ensanguine the
fields of Europe. After a series of disastrous events, invaded France
appeared listened to for a moment on the establishment of its
constitution, only to see itself almost immediately subjected to a
royal charter, emanating from absolute power, to a system of
reformation, in its nature always revocable....
"Resuming now the exercise of its rights; rallying round the hero,
whom its confidence invests anew with the government of the state;
France is astonished and grieved, to see sovereigns in arms demand of
it the reason of an internal change, which is the result of the
national will, and affects neither its existing connexions with other
governments, nor their security. France cannot admit the distinctions,
under which the coalized powers endeavour to cloak their aggression.
To attack the monarch of its choice is to attack the independence of
the nation. It is entirely in arms, to defend this independence; and
to repel every family, and every prince, that they may dare wish to
impose on it. No ambitious project enters into the thoughts of the
French people: even the will of a victorious prince would be
impotent, to carry the nation beyond the limits of its own defence.
But to protect its territory, to maintain its liberty, its honour, its
dignity, it is ready to make any sacrifice. Why are we not allowed,
Sire, still to hope, that these preparations for war, caused perhaps
by the irritations of pride, and by illusions that every day must
weaken, will vanish before the want of a peace necessary to all the
nations of Europe; and which would restore to your Majesty your
consort, to the French the heir to the throne? But already blood has
been shed: the signal of battles, prepared against the independence
and liberty of the French, has been given in the name of a people, who
carry to the highest point their zeal for independence and liberty. No
doubt among the communications, which your Majesty has promised us,
the chambers will find proofs of the efforts you have made, to
maintain the peace of the world. If all these efforts must remain
useless, may the calamities of the war fall on those, by whom it has
been provoked!
"The chamber of deputies waits only for the documents, that have been
announced to it, to concur with all its power in the measures, that
the success of a war so legitimate may demand. It is eager, to be
acquainted with the wants and resources of the state, in order to
enunciate its wishes: and while your Majesty, opposing to the most
unjust aggression the valour of our national armies, and the force of
your genius, seeks in victory only the means of arriving at a durable
peace, the chamber of representatives is persuaded, that it shall be
proceeding toward the same end, by labouring unremittingly at the
compact, the perfecting of which must cement still more closely the
union between the people and the throne; and strengthen in the eyes of
Europe the pledge of our engagements, by the improvement of our
institutions."
The Emperor answered:
"I find with satisfaction my own sentiments, in those you express to
me. Under our present weighty circumstances, my thoughts are absorbed
by the imminent war, to the success of which are attached the honour
and independence of France.
"I shall set out this night, to place myself at the head of my armies:
the movements of the different corps of the enemy render my presence
there indispensable. During my absence, I shall see with pleasure,
that a committee named by each chamber is meditating on our
constitution.
"The constitution is our rallying point: it should be our pole-star in
this season of tempests. Every public discussion, that would tend,
directly or indirectly, to diminish the confidence we ought to have in
its arrangements, would be a misfortune to the state: we should find
ourselves in the midst of shoals, without a compass, and without a
chart. The crisis in which we are engaged is violent. Let us not
imitate the example of the Lower Empire, which, pressed on all sides
by the barbarians, rendered itself the laughing-stock of posterity, by
engaging in abstract discussions, at the moment when the battering ram
was bursting open the gates of the city.
"Independently of the legislative measures, which internal
circumstances require, you will deem it useful perhaps, to occupy
yourselves on regulating laws, calculated to render the constitution
active. These may be subjects of your public labours without any
inconvenience.
"Mr. President, and gentlemen deputies of the chamber of
representatives, the sentiments expressed in your address sufficiently
demonstrate the attachment of the chamber to my person, and all the
patriotism, with which it is animated. In all events my course will
ever be straight and firm. Assist me to save our country. The first
representative of the people, I have contracted the obligation, which
I renew, of employing, in times of greater tranquillity, all the
prerogatives of the crown, and the little experience I have acquired,
to second you in the improvement of our institutions."
The voice of Napoleon, naturally emphatic, gave prominence to the
masculine thoughts, that sparkled throughout both these speeches: and
when he arrived at this passage, "every public discussion, that would
tend to diminish the confidence," &c.; and at this, "let us not
imitate the Lower Empire;" he gave these salutary exhortations with a
penetrating look, that made the instigators of discord cast down their
eyes. The sound part of the representatives approved the Emperor's
answer: the rest considered it as a lecture offensive to the dignity
of the chamber. There are some men, who think they may be allowed to
push remonstrance to insult, yet cannot listen to the most prudent and
temperate advice, without being offended.
The Emperor set out, as he had announced, in the night of the 12th of
May.
The question of deciding, whether he ought to be the first, to give
the signal for hostilities, or not, had frequently recurred to his
reflections.
By attacking the enemy, he had the advantage of engaging before the
arrival of the Russians, and of carrying the war out of the French
territories. If he were victorious, he might raise up Belgium, and
detach from the coalition a part of the old confederation of the
Rhine, and perhaps Austria.
By waiting to be attacked, he retained it in his power to choose his
field of battle, to increase his means of resistance in an infinite
degree, and of carrying the strength and devotion of his army to the
highest pitch. An army of Frenchmen, fighting under the eyes of their
mothers, their wives, and their children, for the preservation of
their well-being, and in defence of the honour and independence of
their country, would have been invincible. It was the latter
alternative, to which Napoleon gave the preference: it agreed with the
hope he involuntarily cherished of coming to an agreement with the
foreign powers, and with his fear of gaining the ill-will of the
chamber, if he commenced the war without previously exhausting all
means of obtaining peace.
But Napoleon felt, that, to render a war national, all the citizens
must be united in heart and will with their chief: and convinced,
that the untoward disposition of the chamber would increase daily, and
introduce division and trouble into the state, he resolved to commence
the war; hoping, that fortune would favour his arms, and that victory
would reconcile him to the deputies, or furnish him with the means of
reducing them to order.
The Emperor entrusted the government during his absence to a council,
composed of the fourteen persons following:
Prince Joseph, president.
Prince Lucien.
_Ministers._
Prince Cambacérès.
The prince of Eckmuhl.
The duke of Vicenza.
The duke of Gaëta.
The duke of Decrès.
The duke of Otranto.
Count Mollien.
Count Carnot.
_Ministers of State_[34].
Count Défermon.
Count Regnaud de St. Jean d'Angeli.
Count Boulay de la Meurthe.
Count Merlin.
[Footnote 34: Ministers without any ostensible office,
for their conduct in which they would be responsible. We
have had members somewhat similar in our privy council.
_Tr._]
He said to them: "To-night I set off: do your duty: the French army
and I will do ours: I recommend to you union, zeal, and energy."
It appeared strange, in a representative monarchy, where
responsibility bore hard on ministers, to see ministers of state, who
were not responsible, associated in the government.
This was remarked to the Emperor, and he answered, that he had added
ministers of state to the council, that they might be the interpreters
of the government to the chamber of deputies; that he wished the
ministers at the head of particular offices, to appear in this chamber
as little as possible, as long as their constitutional education was
incomplete; that they were not familiarized to the tribune[35]; that
they might there disclose opinions or principles, without intending
it, that government could not avow; and that it would be inconvenient
and difficult, to contradict the words of a minister, while those of a
minister of state might be disavowed, without implicating the
government, or wounding its dignity.
[Footnote 35: The members of the French chambers do not
speak in their places, but from a pulpit erected for the
purpose. _Tr._]
Were these the only motives? I think not. He distrusted the perfidy of
the Duke of Otranto, and the indifference of more ministers than one;
and he was glad to find a reason, or a pretence, for introducing into
the council of regency the four ministers of state, whose devotion and
unshaken fidelity appeared to him an additional guarantee. When he
made known his intention of commencing the war, the Duke of Vicenza
solicited the favour of attending him to the army, "If I do not leave
you at Paris," answered Napoleon, "on whom can I depend?" How much is
expressed in these few words!
The day after his departure, the ministers of the interior and for
foreign affairs repaired to the chamber of peers. M. Carnot laid
before it a statement of the situation of the Emperor and the empire.