eril
of tampering with well-established boundaries, and of carving out a
large number of artificial districts, which speedily become the
_corpus vile_ of other experimenters. Indeed, so little was there of
effective self-government that France seems to have sighed with relief
when order was imposed by Bonaparte in the person of a Prefect. This
important official, a miniature First Consul, was to administer the
affairs of the Department, while sub-prefects were similarly placed
over the new _arrondissements_, and mayors over the communes. The
mayors were appointed by the First Consul in communes of more than
5,000 souls: by the prefects in the smaller communes: all were alike
responsible to the central power.

The rebound from the former electoral system, which placed all local
authority ultimately in the hands of the voters, was emphasized by
Article 75 of the constitution, which virtually raised officials
beyond reach of prosecution. It ran thus: "The agents of the
Government, other than the Ministers, cannot be prosecuted for facts
relating to their duties except by a decision of the Council of State:
in that case the prosecution takes place before the ordinary
tribunals." Now, as this decision rested with a body composed almost
entirely of the higher officials, it will be seen that the chance of
a public prosecution of an official became extremely small. France was
therefore in the first months of 1800 handed over to a hierarchy of
officials closely bound together by interest and _esprit de corps_;
and local administration, after ten years of democratic experiments,
practically reverted to what it had been under the old monarchy. In
fact, the powers of the Prefects were, on the whole, much greater than
those of the royal Intendants: for while the latter were hampered by
the provincial _Parlements_, the nominees of the First Consul had to
deal with councils that retained scarce the shadow of power. The real
authority in local matters rested with the Prefects. The old elective
bodies survived, it is true, but their functions were now mainly
advisory; and, lest their advice should be too copious, the sessions
of the first two bodies were limited to a fortnight a year. Except for
a share in the assessment of taxation, their existence was merely a
screen to hide the reality of the new central despotism.[150]
Beneficent it may have been; and the choice of Prefects was certainly
a proof of Bonaparte's discernment of real m