CHAP. XLII. became developed during the progress of the cent until it broke out in an extravagance and fanaticism its own. All this had been worn out and evapora during the terrible experience of the Convention. epicureanism or disbelief in all things, which follow was no longer the young elastic sentiment of commencement of the century. It was old, effete, capable of inspiring little more than a few books drivelling philosophy. As the Convention had destro all schools and all studies, and as Napoleon himself, w he reached power, could but establish priests as und cated as the age throughout the land, its sons contin to hold the revolutionary faith; but it was a negative dead faith, not a living one-that utter distrust of thi and men which still continues the character of principal portion of the population. Nothing ind could have vivified the epoch, or reawakened the thusiasm of such a people, save military glory. T Napoleon gave, and by it he came to supersede all of idols and all other influence. His history in fact beg where that of the revolution ends, and the image of Five Directors forms but the frontispiece to his roma story. It has been before remarked that hope was the cha teristic of the National Assembly, and fear that of Convention. Its fears indeed often produced the cour of despair. The consciousness that they had m enemies of all the world, and that any change of 1 in the legislature or the government must necessa bring punishment upon themselves, impelled then prolong their power, by the decree which rendere compulsory that the old Conventionalists should f two-thirds, thus constituting the majority of the assemblies, and consequently should have the powe choosing the members of the coming government. was indeed put to the vote in the primary assemb But the provinces refrained from voting, believing XLII. they could not reverse the decisions of Paris. And CHAP. these were enforced against the express will of its own citizens, who hated the very name of the Convention, by the cannon of Bonaparte. On the 27th of October, 1795, the members of the new legislature met. Instead of 500 members, the two-thirds, to be chosen from the members of the convention, the elections had returned but 379. As the deputies for the colonies were to retain their seats, 104 new members were left to be chosen by their colleagues. These were of course the dregs of the Convention, which the country refused to name, and of these, "the least bad," according to the expression of Thibaudeau, were selected. The number of 750 being thus completed, the one-third, consisting of the elder and of the married, were set apart to form the Council of the Ancients, and allowed to occupy the hall of the assembly in the Tuileries. The remaining 500 adjourned to the old Manège, or place of sitting, where the present Rue de Rivoli is situated.* A more important act than even the completion of the assemblies was the choice of the Five Directors who were to form the new government. By the constitution the choice lay with the Council of the Ancients, out of a list presented by the Cinq Cents. These agreed to place at the top of the list the five of their own selection, and name after them the most obscure and incapable members of the Convention, such as the ancients could not approve. All, they resolved, should be regicides, and yet not members of the old terrorist committees. The men they fixed upon were La Reveillere Lepaux, Barras, Rewbell, Sièyes, and Letourneur. La Reveillere, deformed, studious, and retiring, was the philosopher of the party; he was one of the seventy-three expelled from the Convention for XLII. CHAP. objecting to the unjust condemnation of the Giron He had most votes. Barras and Rewbell were Ther dorians, friends of Tallien. Barras was noble; had serv as an officer, and subsequently, as a terrorist pro-cons He and Rewbell had soon all the jobbers and contracto the corrupt of society, attracted to them. The fem portion especially flocked round Barras. Letourne was chosen as a military man, and at the same tim harmless one. Sièyes was the only member elected his brains. But he at once declined to form a gover ment with men in whom he had no confidence.* became thus necessary to choose another Director. T newly elected third of the assemblies, all moderate a anti-conventionalists, were for nominating Cambacér He was a moderate man and an able jurisconsult, w as member of the Convention had laid the foundation the future code. To defeat Cambacérès, Carnot, w had been elected by fourteen departments, was put f ward and was named the fifth Director, although by very large majority of the Ancients. The Luxemburg, by turns throughout the revolut a prison and a palace, had been designed as the r dence of the Directors. They found with difficult chair and table, to write the proclamation announc their assumption of power. There was not a livre the treasury. And their first act was to demand of councils the permission to issue 3,000,000l. of assign or about 120,000,000l. sterling, which, exchanged coin, would produce 1,000,000l. Having obtained t the Directory, or its finance minister, Faypoult, di up an elaborate financial report. From eighteen twenty milliards of assignats had been issued since commencement of the revolution. The governm proposed completing the sum of thirty milliards, * According to Carnot, he and Rewbell were declared enemies, and Rewbell a passionate man, with whom Sièyes would have had nal war. then prohibiting further issues. They estimated that there were upwards of seven milliards' worth of confiscated property to be disposed of, which, as the assignat had fallen to one hundred and fiftieth part of its value, might be made to satisfy the holders of paper. Such a proposal terrified the Council of Ancients, with whom lay the final voting of all laws. The bankruptcy which it declared displeased the revolutionists, and even they were alarmed at the prospect of destroying the assignat and its fabric without any other money forthcoming. The scheme was accordingly rejected, and the Directory obliged to substitute for it the right revolutionary levy of a forced loan of 600,000,000 on the rich. It was to be progressive. Assignats were to be taken at onehundredth part of their nominal value, and the issue was allowed to the amount of forty, not thirty, milliards. A new kind of assignat was subsequently invented, with a peculiar portion of land or houses mortgaged and inserted in it. The scheme had no success. So that in July, 1796, the Directory found itself obliged to decree that all taxes should be paid in coin, or in assignats, only at the current value. The ordinary expenses were at the same time estimated at 450,000,000 of livres, the war expenses 550,000,000 in addition.* The budget of 1797 was fixed at 450 millions ordinary, 650 extraordinary expenses. It was proposed to meet these with 250 millions of land tax. 50 do. of personal tax. 150 do. of customs and other taxes. Thus, leaving the extraordinary or war expenses to be met by extraordinary means, such as the sale of national property or loans. It will be remarked, that in this account of revenue and expenditure there is no mention of the public debt, that debt which Cambon re ceived such praise for consolidating. CHAP. XLII. CHAP. XLII. The finances, however entangled and exhausted, did not form the chief difficulty of the new government. It was like so many of the ignorant attempts of the revolution to frame a constitution, in which the executive, isolated from all other powers, and antagonistic to them, was still expected to rule by their support. The Directors, however objectionable and obscure, entered upon office with a laudable desire to avoid and keep down the extravagance of contending parties. On one side were the Moderates, comprising the new third of the assemblies, with some few Royalists amongst them, but the greater numbers merely bent upon closing the revolution, and weaning the government from arbitrary ways. On the other was the disappointed herd of Anarchists, crushed since Thermidor, but partly resuscitated by the aid which they were called to give, and did give, in the struggle against the sections. Of these parties the Directors thought the Moderates the most formidable. Their opening proclamation announced their peculiar mission and care to be for the extinction of royalism. That they fell short of the cannibalism of the terrorists they showed by releasing from the Temple the daughter of Louis the Sixteenth, and handing her over to the Austrians upon the Rhine, in exchange for the French deputies in their hands, Camus, Drouet, and Beurnonville, together with Maret and Semonville, seized during a diplomatic journey through north Italy. Yet lest this should be considered a weakness, Barras and his colleagues proposed a fête to celebrate the 21st of January, the anniversary of the late king's execution. This was intended as a mortification to the supposed Royalists of the Cinq Cents. The chief strength and security of the Directory lay duce more in the market than 17 frs., was the end of republican credit and finance.-Calmon, Finances de l'Empire. |