[The Origins of Contemporary France Volume 5 (of 6) by Hippolyte A. Taine]@TWC D-Link bookThe Origins of Contemporary France Volume 5 (of 6) CHAPTER I 11/27
"If he conforms strictly to the functions which you assign to him he will be the mere ghost, the fleshless phantom of a roi faineant.
Do you know any man vile enough to take part in such contrivances? How can you imagine any man of talent or at all honorable contentedly playing the part of a hog fattening himself on a few millions ?"--And all the more because if he wants to abandon his part the door stands open.
"Were I the grand-elector I would say to the war-consul and to the peace-consul on appointing them, If you put in a minister or sign a bill I don't like I'll put you out." Thus does the grand-elector become an active, absolute monarch. "But," you may say, "the senate in its turn will absorb the grand-elector."-- "The remedy is worse than the disease; nobody, according to this plan, has any guarantees," and each, therefore, will try to secure them to himself, the grand-elector against the senate, the consuls against the grand-elector, and the senate against the grand-elector and consuls combined, each uneasy, alarmed, threatened, threatening, and usurping to protect himself; these are the wheels which work the wrong way, in a machine constantly getting out of order, stopping, and finally breaking down entirely. Thereupon, and as Bonaparte, moreover, was already master, all the executive powers were reduced to one, and this power was vested in him.[2110] In reality, "to humor republican opinion"[2111] they gave him two associates with the same title as his own; but they were appointed only for show, simply as consulting, inferior, and docile registrars, with no rights save that of signing their names after his and putting their signatures to the proces verbal declaring his orders; he alone commanded, "he alone had the say, he alone appointed to all offices," so that they were already subjects as he alone was already the sovereign. VI.
Irreconcilable divisions. Difficulty of organizing a legislative power .-- Fraudulent and violent elections for ten years .-- Spirit and diffusion of hatred against the men and dogmas of the Revolution. -- Probable composition of a freely elected Assembly .-- Its two irreconcilable divisions .-- Sentiments of the army. -- Proximity and probable meaning of a new coup d'Etat. It remained to frame a legislative power as a counterpoise to this executive power, so concentrated and so strong .-- In organized and tolerably sound communities this point is reached through an elective parliament which represents the public will; it represents this because it is a copy, a faithful reduction of that will on a small scale; it is so organized as to present a loyal and proportionate expression of diverse controlling opinions.
In this case, the electoral selection has worked well; one superior right, that of election, has been respected, or, in other words, the passions excited have not proved too strong, which is owing to the most important interests not having proved too divergent .-- Unfortunately, in France, rent asunder and discordant, all the most important interests were in sharp antagonism; the passions brought into play, consequently, were furious; no right was respected, and least of all that of election; hence the electoral test worked badly, and no elected parliament was or could be a veritable expression of the public will.
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