so much concern--was declared to be
the fundamental law of the State.

The fifth constitution of revolutionary France may be thus described.
It began by altering the methods of election. In place of Sieyes'
lists of notabilities, Bonaparte proposed a simpler plan. The
adult citizens of each canton were thenceforth to meet, for
electoral purposes, in primary assemblies, to name two candidates
for the office of _juge de paix_ (i.e., magistrate) and town
councillor, and to choose the members of the "electoral colleges"
for the _arrondissement_ and for the Department. In the latter case
only the 600 most wealthy men of the Department were eligible. An
official or aristocratic tinge was to be imparted to these electoral
colleges by the infusion of members selected by the First Consul from
the members of the Legion of Honour. Fixity of opinion was also
assured by members holding office for life; and, as they were elected
in the midst of the enthusiasm aroused by the Peace of Amiens, they
were decidedly Bonapartist.

The electoral colleges had the following powers: they nominated two
candidates for each place vacant in the merely consultative councils
of their respective areas, and had the equally barren honour of
presenting two candidates for the Tribunate--the final act of
_selection_ being decided by the executive, that is, by the First
Consul. Corresponding privileges were accorded to the electoral
colleges of the Department, save that these plutocratic bodies had the
right of presenting candidates for admission to the Senate. The lists
of candidates for the _Corps_ _Legislatif_ were to be formed by the
joint action of the electoral colleges, namely, those of the
Departments and those of the _arrondissements_. But as the resulting
councils and parliamentary bodies had only the shadow of power, the
whole apparatus was but an imposing machine for winnowing the air and
threshing chaff.

The First Consul secured few additional rights or attributes, except
the exercise of the royal prerogative of granting pardon. But, in
truth, his own powers were already so large that they were scarcely
susceptible of extension. The three Consuls held office for life, and
were _ex officio_ members of the Senate. The second and third Consuls
were nominated by the Senate on the presentation of the First Consul:
the Senate might reject two names proposed by him for either office,
but they must accept his third nominee. The First Consul might