第1031章

For each vacancy in the council-general of the department， they are to present two names； certainly， almost without any help， and with only a discrete hint， they will guess the suitable names. For they are smarter， more open-minded， than the backward and rural members of a cantonal assembly； they are better informed and better "posted，" they have visited the prefect and know his opinion， the opinion of the government， and they vote accordingly. It is certain that one-half， at least， of the candidates whom they present on the list are good， and that suffices， since twice the required number of candidates have to be nominated. And yet， in Napoleon's eye， this is not sufficient. For the nomination of general councilors，[23] as well as that of municipal councilors， he suppresses preliminary candidature， the last remnant of popular representation or delegation. According to his theory， he is himself the sole representative and delegate of the people， invested with full powers， not alone in the State， but again in the department and commune， the prime and the universal motor of the entire machine， not merely at the center， but again at the extremities， dispenser of all public employments， not merely to suggest the candidate for these and make him titular， but again to create directly and at once， both titular and candidate.

VII. Municipal and general councillors under the Empire.

Quality of municipal and general councilors under the Consulate and the Empire. - Object of their meetings. - Limits of their power. -Their real role. - Role of the prefect and of the government.

Observe the selections which he imposes on himself beforehand； these selections are those to which he has tied down the electoral bodies.

Being the substitute of these bodies， he takes， as they do， general councilors from those in the department who pay the most taxes， and municipal councilors from those most taxed in the canton. One the other hand， by virtue of the municipal law， it is from the municipal councilors that he chooses the mayor. Thus the local auxiliaries and agents he employs are all notables of the place， the leading landowners and largest manufacturers and merchants. He systematically enrolls the distributors of labor on his side， all who， through their wealth and residence， through their enterprises and expenditure on the spot， exercise local influence and authority. In order not to omit any of these， and be able to introduce into the general council this or that rich veteran of the old régime， or this or that parvenu of the new régime who is not rich， he has reserved to himself the right of adding twenty eligible members to the list， "ten of which must be taken from among citizens belonging to the Legion of Honor， or having rendered important services， and ten taken from among the thirty in the department who pay the most taxes." In this way none of the notables escape him； he recuits them as he pleases and according to his needs， now among men of the revolution who he does not want to see discredited or isolated，[24] now among men of the old monarchy whom he wants to rally to himself by favor or by force. Such is the Baron de Vitrolles，[25] who， without asking for the place， becomes mayor of Versailles and councilor-general in Basses-Alps， and then， a little later， at his peril， inspector of the imperial sheepfolds. Such is the Count de Villèle， who， on returning to his estate of Morville， after an absence of fourteen years， suddenly， "before having determined where he would live， either in town or in the country，" finds himself mayor of Morville. To make room for him， his predecessor is removed and the latter， "who， since the commencement of the Revolution， has performed the functions of mayor，" is let down to the post of assistant. Shortly after this the government appoints M. de Villèle president of the cantonal assembly. Naturally the assembly， advised underhandedly， presents him as a candidate for the general council of Haute-Garonne， and the government places him in that office. -"All the notable land-owners of the department formed part of this council， and the Restoration still found us there seven years afterwards. General orders evidently existed， enjoining the prefects to give preference in their choice to the most important land-owners in the country."Likewise， Napoleon everywhere selects the mayors from the rich and well-to-do class"； in the large towns he appoints only "people with carriages."[26] Many of them in the country and several in the towns are legitimists[27]， at least at heart， and Napoleon knows it； but， as he says； "these folks do not want the earthquake"； they are too much interested， and too personally， in the maintenance of order.[28]

Moreover， to represent his government， he needs decorative people； and it is only these who can be so gratis， be themselves， look well， at their own expense， and on the spot. Besides， they are the most informed， the best able to supervise accounts， to examine article by article the budgets of the department and commune， to comprehend the necessity of a road and the utility of a canal， to offer pertinent observations， to proclaim wise decisions， to obey orders as discreet and useful collaborators. All this they will not refuse to do if they are sensible people. In every form of government， it is better to be with the governors than with the governed， and in this case， when the broom is wielded from above and applied so vigorously and with such meticulousness to everybody and everything， it is well to be as near the handle as possible.