The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-03-28

terrified when it saw the soldiers COM
ing in, and when they had marched up
to the front and faced about, presenting
arms, the deputies bolted out the doors
and windows, their red cloaks trailing
behind them This made Napoleon what
he had really been before, the dictator of
France. His first move was to set about
and frame a constitution. The result of
his first efforts was the famous Consul
lar constitution. 1t was in outline
somewhat as follows; Out of 100000 to
6000 900 voters list of from $4,000 to Co.
600 notables was chosen, and out eff
these another list of from 5000 to 5000
notables Out of these notables the Of
ficials to fill every office in the country
were chosen, and held office absolutely
at the will of the one man at the head of
the government. 1t is this same admin
istratiVe system of Bonaparte that has
really been in force in France ever
since They have changed the names.
They have had republics and empires
but the government has practically
been dominated by this policy first
formulated by Napoleon. That man
understood the French nature better
than any born Frenchman then or since.
In the first place he established equali-
ty. Every man was given an equal
chance. And then he gave large sala-
ries to the different officials, and that
made him popular He realized to an
extent that Europe never saw before
the idea Of monarchy-the one-man
power without limitation. The power of
the most powerful of the Bourbon kings
under the old regime-say Louis xiv
seems insignificant when compared
with the power which this wonderful
man conferred in himself He took up
the colossal task of reconstructing the
state in a most business-like manner
Every person who was to hold an office
was inquired about in the closest man
ner. The amount of work done by him
in this line was simply wonderful I
know of nothing to compare it to. He
brought about the embodiment of the
nation according to the old, antique and
medieval idea, that the individual was
nothing, but the state everything.
what Napoleon was in so as first
consul of France he had made himself
He had neither family, wealth nor
party behind him When he sent an en-
voy to the court of Berlin announcing
that he had attained the supreme power
in France, the old king there who was
the very embodiment of the idea of
said: He's the greatest man
l ever knew And that was the general
feeling everywhere, except in England.
"In ten days he proved to the world
that he was not the ruler of this or that
faction of party but of France. He
opened prison doors in Paris and let out
prisoners that had been detained as
hostages or on some pretext or other
since the days of the Revolution He
quailed the rebellion in the west and re-
called the exiles and emigres, among
whom was Lafayette He also pursued
the policy of gathering around him the
most brilliant men in the country.
But with the government war had
been bequeathed to him, both with Eng
land and with Austria. He wrote to
George III. personally proposing peace
Lord Grenville, the minister of foreign
affairs, replied to Tallyrand, Napoleon's
of foreign affairs, and his let
ter was about the stupidest piece of
work ever done by an Englishman, al
though Lord Grenville was a man of
brains. The letter said that the quick |
est and best way to bring about peace
between the two countries was to place |
the Bourbons back on the throne, dur
ing whose reign both countries had en-
ioyed the greatest peace and prosperity. |
Fallyrand replied that the English had |
better re-establish their republic or put |
the Stuarts back on the throne and al |
low the Brunswicks to retire.
There has been a great deal of dis |
,ussion in schools and in books over |
whether Napoleon was really sincere in |
MS offer of peace or not. / do not be- |
ieve that either nation wanted peace |
The struggle that was going on was re-
lily for the commercial supremacy of |
he sea. Napoleon wanted commerce, |
lavies and colonies. Wherever he tried
o get these he found England opposed |
o him.
HE had also offered peace to the Aus
lians, but his terms had not been ac-
'epted, and in 1900 he directed one of
he most brilliant of his many cam
)aigns'
Professor Wheeler then gave an ac-
CUNT of the battles fought against the
Austrians on the plains of Lombardy, |
II northern Italy, and told how volun-
GERS f1ocked to his standard. The cam
)aign ended with the peace of Marengo
N December 23.
Continuing, the speaker said: we
want to bear in mind the gradual evolu-
ion that took place in Napoleon. His
mbition had grown from one thing to
mother until it became almost bound
ess. Ambition at last got the upper
lands and ate like a cancer into that
plendid nature, obscuring his iudg-
nent and making 1t impossible for him
o distinguish between 1.-THE possible and
he fantastic"
He then told of the capture of Malta
rom the English which was led UP to
" Englands gross violations of the
light of search in vessels of other ma
ions He also spoke of the intimacy
Which had sprung up between Car
'aul of Russia and Bonaparte, and of
he assassination, Of the car on the 23d
f March, 1901. An attempt was also
lade on Napoleons life one day as he
,as driving to the opera house to hear
he performance of Haydn's oratorio
f the Creation. An Internal machine
xploded i'm the street near the carriage,
the windows, but leaving its
unframed, The plot Is said
} have originated with the Jacobins. |