diers alone, near 1,400,000 francs. With respect to public works, it was said that great enterprizes had been undertaken, some from motives of utility, many from ostentation, or for purposes unconnected with the advantage of the country. Thus, while magnificent roads were opened on the frontiers, those of the interior were neglected. The canals were in a better state, but their works were far from completion, and would require much additional expense. The improvements at Paris had been particularly attended to, as a means of parading magnificence and obtaining popularity. Some of them were really useful, and those for mere embellishment should not be abandoned, though their expense had been estimated at 53,500,000 francs, of which more than 24,000,000 had already been laid out upon them.

Under the head of War Ministry, the statements deserve peculiar notice, as calculated to impress upon every thinking mind a conviction, that among all the financial evils pressing upon governments, those arising from war are beyond comparison the greatest. "Hence (says the report) originated the disorder which extended to all the other branches; and the disasters of the three last campaigns have plunged this department, already so complicated, into a complete chaos." On the 1st of May last, the land forces of France amounted to more than 520,000 men of all descriptions, besides which there were about 122,600 enjoying half pay. The prisoners returning from different countries, and the staff of the army, added near 161,900 to the number. The whole of the war

expenses for 1814, in their dif ferent branches, are estimated at 740 millions of francs, and the arrears due, at 261 millions. The head of Ministry of Marine exposes the folly and mischief,of the plans of the late government in the naval department, particularly the projected invasion of England and the scheme of making the Scbeld a grand naval depôt. It observes, that latterly seamen had been regarded as only eventual recruits for the land army, that all the arsenals are completely dilapidated, and the immense naval stores collected by Lewis XVI, are squandered away, and that the debt of the navy exceeds 61 millions. The article of Finances, after stating the manner in which the late government contrived to conceal its deficits, and the vast anticipations made by it, and misapplication of funds from their appropriate uses, gives the aggregate sum of 4,645,469,000 francs, as the increase of the public debts in the course of 13 years. To all this load of mischief, the report adds the moral evils that have accrued to France, during this period of corruption and misgovernment, the annihilation of public spirit, the suppression of noble and generous sentiments, and the conversion of religion and systems of education into mere tools of power. It concludes, however, with fostering hopes of the recovery of the nation from this state of difficulty and depravation, provided it will zealously concur in the efforts of the king and the two chambers, and not by a restless turbulence destroy the blessings of which peace affords it the prospect.

Such were the general contents

of

of this paper, interesting not only to France, but to all Europe. How far they operated upon the minds of the majority of the nation, we have no present means to determine. Their importance in the opinion of the chamber of deputies was testified by a vote ordering, that the Report with its accompanying documents should be printed, and six copies given to each member. The same exposé being laid before the chamber of peers on the 12th, was deliberated upon, and a committee was appointed for drawing up an address to the king on its contents.

While attempts were thus making to open the eyes of the nation to the errors and vices of the late government, the expedience of preserving some of its popular institutions, was manifested in a royal ordinance confirming the establishment of the Legion of Honour. In the preamble, this institution is praised as rewarding in a way analogous to the manners of France, every kind of service rendered to the country, and as furnishing the sovereign authority with the power of exerting the noblest influence on the national character. By the articles of this ordinance, the reigning sovereign is declared chief and grand master of the order, and the privileges of its members are preserved, excepting the right of making a part of the electoral colleges. The pensions assigned to each rank in the legion are maintained; but it is declared, that in future, till otherwise ordered, nominations and promotions give no right to any pension. The decorations of the order are to bear the head of Henry IV. with

the motto, "Honour and our Country;" and the oath to be taken is, "I swear to be faithful to the King, to Honour, and to the Country."

The opening of the French budget in the Chamber of Deputies on July 22d, was attended with such an effervescence of public curiosity, that it was found impossible to prevent the occupying of the four upper benches assigned to the Deputies, by a crowd of ladies, foreigners, and persons of distinction; and this disorder was tolerated, though it is obvious that such a laxity must be fatal to the true dignity and consequence of a popular assembly: but such is the national character! The Baron Louis, minister of finance, was the person who, accompanied by the Abbé Montesquiou, minister of the interior, and M. Ferrand, minister of state, harangued the assembly on this momentous occasion. It is not our business to enter into the particulars of a French budget, and we shall limit our statement to a few of the most important results of the calculations. The first point to which the attention of the assembly was directed was the expenditure of the year 1814. It was laid at the sum of 827,415,000 francs, and the amount of the probable means for meeting it being only 520 millions, the deficit incurred would exceed 307 millions. The expenditure of 1815 was calculated at 618 millions, which was to he provided for by ways and means stated. Among these it is observable, as a proof of the ruin incurred by the foreign commerce of France, that nothing is assigned for the Customs, which, says the minister, "are

less

less a final resource, than a means of favouring our own industry." The necessity under which he found himself of apologizing for the continuance of the consolidated duties is also worthy of notice. "The King, (said he) in his retirement, long lamented the vexations to which the people were subjected by the collections of the droits reunies; and his first care was, to announce their abolition by the mouth of the prince of his family who preceded him. But the state in which his Majesty found the treasury; the immense existing arrears; and the number of brave men to be paid; rendered it an imperative duty with him to preserve for the state resources proportioned to its wants." The minister then went into the consideration of the debts of the state, the accumulation of which now amounted to more than thirteen hundred millions of francs; but the arrears actually demandable, and for the payment of which it was absolutely necessary to provide, amounted only to 759 millions. For the liquidation of this sum it was proposed that bonds of the royal treasury should be issued, payable at the end of three years, and bearing a yearly interest of 8 per cent., the holders of which should have the power of converting them into inscriptions in the great book of the 5 per cent. consols, with a bonus. To meet these obligations, a quantity of forest lands was to be sold, and the produce to be employed as a sinking fund in buying them up. The minister in mentioning this resource, said, "The good effects of a well-combined plan of a sinking fund, prosecuted with persever

ance, may be seen on a comparison of the vigour of the credit of England, and the weakness of our own. The credit of England has remained invaluable amidst all shocks, in spite of the increase of her debt. That of France has languished, notwithstanding the diminution of her's. It is the fidelity with which they fulfil their engagements that has that has produced among our neighbours a phenomenon so different from that which we exhibit. This principle gave birth in England to the idea of placing by the side of a heavy debt a counterpoise which lightens it, and continually tends to restore the equilibrium. We regret that we are not yet able to introduce into the administration of our finances a similar germ of prosperity, and to propose to you to set apart a portion of our ordinary revenues for the redemption of the constituted debt." Such, in its main points, was the French budget; concerning which the reflection that will probably first arise in the mind of the English reader, is the smallness of the sum of debt incurred, after all its wars and disasters, by that powerful kingdom, compared with that of Great Britain; and the prospect that with peace and good management, France may be set entirely free, while this country is still labouring under a burden the discharge of which, under the most favourable circumstances, cannot be effected within a period of time that the mind startles to contemplate-and is war still a favourite of the nation?

The budget was presented to the Chamber of Peers on Sept. 8, by the Prince of Benevento, in a speech stating the principal arti

cles

cles of which it consisted, and explaining the new financial system, as had been done by the minister of finance in the Chamber of Deputies. For the purpose of proving the comparative lightness of the burden to be borne by the French people, he made the following calculation:-According to the last census, the population of France was 28 millions. Dividing equally the annual amount of the taxes, taken at 600 millions, the quota paid by each individual would be somewhat less than 22 francs. In England, the produce of the taxes (not including Ireland) has of late years risen to 60 millions sterling, which sum, divided among twelve millions of inhabitants, gives 51. or 120 francs for each individual. The Prince then dwelt very forcibly on the necessity of a strict adherence to engagements, in order to re-establish the credit of the country; and alluded to the advantage in this respect afforded by the new constitution, in terms which, from the first minister of state, may be regarded as a pledge of the sincerity of the crown in accepting it." It must be acknowledged (said he) that the government in France has derived very little power from fidelity to its engagements; and in this respect we must less accuse men than the nature of things: for the theory of a regular and steady credit cannot be established but under a representative and constitutional government, such as that which the munificence of the King has enabled us to enjoy for the first time."

Two subjects of importance relative property and finance were introduced to the Chamber of De

puties at the sitting of July 27th. The first was in a report from the Committee of Petitions, reciting the substance of a petition delivered by a certain Dame Mathea, which stated, that she had acquired by purchasing emigrant property, which she was peaceably enjoying, when two publications ap peared, one entitled, "A Letter to Louis XVIII. on the Sale of National Property," by M. Falconet, advocate; the other entitled, "The Restitution of the Property of Emigrants considered," by M. Dard, advocate; the effects of which were, to excite doubts as to the validity of her purchase; and she therefore prayed the enactment of a law to clear up this uncertainty. The member who gave in this report (which was probably a contrivance) made a speech to sbow the dangers that would accrue from any attempt to infringe the laws which had sanctioned and con firmed the sale of confiscated property; and concluded with moving a resolution to the effect, that the Chamber having heard the report on the petition, and considered the various (recited) laws by which such sales had been confirmed, had decided that the complaints of the peti titioner were unfounded. This resolution passed unanimously, and the report was ordered to be printed.

The other matter was the motion of a member relative to the personal debts of the King. The mover, after a reference to the long-rooted attachment of Frenchmen to their kings, and the circumstances which had compelled the present Royal Family to take refuge in a foreign country, and to

contract

contract debts for their support, divided their creditors into two classes, public and private. In the first rank of these he named England. "Could you wish (said he) that she should have it in her power to boast of having maintained, for so many years, the family of your Kings, without an offer from France of the payment of her advances? In vain would proud England object that she had only followed the example of France by returning to the Bourbons what Louis XIV. had done for the Stuarts, whose posterity still fills the British throne. Let us do our duty; the English will do theirs." In the second rank he placed those generous men who had sacrificed their fortunes and those of their children to these august personages; and he was persuaded that sooner or later the French people would do justice to such virtuous magnanimity and misfortune. After dwelling for some time upon their case, he ended with moving, "that the King be humbly requested to communicate to the Chamber an account of the debts he contracted during his residence abroad, and to present a law for accelerating the payment of those debts, considered as the debts of the State!! This motion was warmly supported, and unanimously ordered to be taken into consideration by the Committees. A resolution was framed upon it, which was afterwards unanimously acceded to by the Chamber of Peers.

On Sept. 13, the minister, M. Ferrand, presented from the King to the Chamber of Deputies, the plan of an important law respecting emigrants, the object of which was, the restoration of all such emi

grant property as was not already appropriated to the public service, or sold to individuals, to its owners, or their representatives. In his introductory speech M. Ferrand observed that, the designation of emigrants, applied to a portion of his Majesty's subjects, was as false in principle, as it had been disastrous in its consequences. They were persons who, while thrown for a season into foreign lands, had lamented over that country which they hoped to revisit. Rigorous justice then demanded that those who for twenty years had submitted to so many sacrifices, should be restored to that share of their property which had not been disposed of. In the preamble of the law the King repeats the engagement he had contracted of maintaining the sales which had already been made of national property; after which, follow several articles relative to the retention or restitution of the property of emigrants, the claims to profits received, arrears, instalments of purchase money due, &c. This law being referred to a committee, its discussion produced long debates at several sittings of the Chamber, by which it appeared that great suspicions had been excited respecting the future security of the private purchases and public appropriations of emigrant property. An article apparently for the purpose of obviating such apprehensions being added by the Committee, the object of which was to render the present measure of relief final, with regard to the emigrants, it was put to the vote and rejected.

For the purpose of supplying the deficiencies in the clerical establishment of the Gallican church,