e rather than violate their oath[48].

The wisdom and prudence of the subsequent alterations, few will be
disposed to question: the system, in its present state, appears to me
admirably qualified to attain the object in view; and such seems the
general character of the French _Constitutional Charter_, which unites
two excellent qualities, great clearness and great brevity. The whole is
comprised in seventy-four short articles; and, that no Frenchman may
plead ignorance of his rights or his duties, it is usually found
prefixed to the almanacks. Some persons might, indeed, be inclined to
deem this station as ominous; for, since the revolution began, the frame
of the French government has sustained so many alterations, that,
considering that several of their constitutions never outlived the
current quarter, they may be fairly said to have had a new constitution
in each year. How far the Bourbon charter will answer the purpose of
serving as the basis of a code of laws for the government of an
extensive kingdom, time only can determine. At present, it has the
charm of novelty to recommend it; and there are few among us with whom
novelty is not a strong attraction. Our friends on this side of the
water are greatly belied, if it be not so with them.

The finances of the French municipalities are administered with a degree
of fairness and attention, which might put many a body corporate, in a
certain island, to the blush. Little is known in England respecting the
administration of the French towns: the following particulars relating
to the revenue and expences of Rouen, may, therefore, in some measure,
serve as a scale, by which you may give a guess at the balance-sheet of
cities of greater or lesser magnitude.--The budget amounted for the last
year to one million two hundred thousand francs. The proposed items of
expenditure must be particularized, and submitted to the Prefect and the
Minister of the Interior, before they can be paid. In this sum is
comprised the charge for the hospitals, which contain above three
thousand persons, including foundlings, and for all the other public
institutions, the number and excellence of which has long been the pride
of Rouen. You must consider too, that every thing of this kind is, in
France, national: individuals do nothing, neither is it expected of
them; and herein consists one of the most essential differences between
France and England. To meet this great expenditure, the city is prov