his valour. The elections were all confirmed except that of Barrere; and Pichegru was appointed prefident; Simeon, Vaublanc, Henri Lariviere and Parifot, fecretaries. In the council of ancients no exception was taken against any of the elections, and Barbe Marbois was chofen prefident.

The day before the new councils affembled, the directory decided by lot the change of one of their own body; and Le Tourneur drew the lot which difrobed him of the directorial purple. On the 22d, the council of five hundred proceeded to form the lifts for the election of a new director; Barthelemi, the fuccessful negotiator at Bafle, a man of amiable manners, and of refpectable talents, had by far the greateft number of fuffrages, and being at the head of the lift returned to the council of ancients, he was the object of their choice.

tory; for, by a former refolution, the executive power had been authorised to fend out commiffioners of its own choice. A more obnoxious measure was, however, in contemplation; and the ufual fource of difagreement between the people and their rulers, the expenditure of the public money, was foon to fet at variance the councils and directory of France.

On the 7th of May, fome days previous to the admiffion of the new third, Camus, in the name of the committee of public expendi ture, had made a report, in which he pointed out fome inftances of unwarrantable profufion in the home department, which the committee were of opinion ought to be reduced from feventeen to lefs than feven millions. He stated, that an unneceffary number of architects and infpectors were kept in pay at Versailles, St. Cloud, &c.; that the manufactory of arms at Verfailles, and of porcelain at Seve, were unneceffary expences; and that the editor of a new fpaper had charged one hundred and twenty thoufand livres for printing and diftributing his paper, exclufive of poftage. Upon this report, fome refolutions were paffed, abolishing all these fources of expence, and limiting ftrictly the executive government in this refpect.

The first important bufinefs which occupied the council of five hundred after the installation of the new third, was that of the colonies; in the debate on this subject, on the 4th of June, general Jourdan took a part, and his firft fpeech was applauded. It was propofed to recall Santhonax from St. Domingo; but Jourdan apprehended that fudden recall, without carrying along with it an adequate fupport, might force that commiffioner of the convention into rebellion, and he might be induced to deliver up the island to the English. He pro pofed therefore that a general officer, fupported by an adequate force, fhould carry out the letters of rements of expence among the civil call to the commiffioners; and this and military agents, who, he faid, propofition, after the deliberation formed an army within an army, of fome weeks, was finally adopted. and a republic within a republic. This was the first blow which He alfo called the attention of the was aimed by the new council council (of five hundred) to the against the authority of the direc- fale of the national property in 1797. $ Belgium,

The new third had scarcely taken full poffeffion of their feats, before these attacks on the agents of the directory were renewed in other forms. On the 7th of June, Buonaventure propofed feveral retrench

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Belgium, which he termed a fcan-
dalous dilapidation; another mem-
ber of the name of Berger men-
tioned, at the fame time, feveral
other neceffary reforms, and moved
to have the council divided into com-
mittees for effecting that purpose.
A more formal and authoritative
effort was made on the 14th, when
Gilbert Defmolieres afcended the
tribune, to make a report in the
name of the committee of finances.
Forefight, order, and economy, he
faid, were the bafes on which a
good fyftem of finance ought to
reft. Of these the first had been
particularly neglected by the go-
vernment, which had never fore-
feen its wants, but waited till it
felt their preffure. At that inftant
the arrears of minifters amounted
to a dreadful mafs-upon a loose
calculation, to no less than fix hun
dred millions. Thus did the anti-
cipations exceed the ordinary reve-
nue by more than thirty-two mil-
lions. It was neceffary to put an end
to this difaftrous evil, and to pre-
vent the other minifters from mak-
ing contracts like thofe of Tru-
guet, minister of the marine, who
had purchafed flour at twenty-nine
livres ten fous the quintal, though
the fame coft at Nantz only thir-
teen livres ten fous at moft, and
fail-cloth at twenty-two fous the
ell, though a larger measure was
fold for but thirteen fous.

After going through a long and
Elaborate detail of the revenue and
expenditure for the fixth year, Gil-
bert computed the amount of the
former at 479,593,579, and of the
Latter at 490,377,526 livres, by
which it appeared, that there would
be a deficiency of about twelve
millions. He then adverted to the
expences of the clerks of the direc-
tory, who, he faid, lived like kings;
to the fums fquandered without ef-

fect for public education; to the
debt of Belgium; and to that of
the emigrants, which he estimated
at nine hundred millions of livres.
After a report of two hours and a
half, he moved the adoption of
three feveral projects, which were
ordered to be printed feparately.

Bailleul having combated fome of
his arguments, Gilbert rofe again,
and in the course of his reply ad-
verted to a demand of one hundred
millions of livres made by the di-
rectory under the pretence of mak-
ing peace. This fum had been
granted them by the weakness of
the committee. The directors, faid
he, having, in an animated cónfer-
ence, feemed to fear the return of
the brave defenders of the country,
I answered, "You who know fo
well how to obtain fupplies for the
profecution of the war, demand
fome for the consolidation of peace."
The directory prefumes to criticise
your opinions. It has been pro-
pofed, that my report fhould be
fent to the directory. I do not
wonder at that motion, fince one
of the directors demanded, in my
prefence, that I fhould be obliged
to lay the fpeech I delivered on
their table. (The council at the
mention of this manifefted the
most marked disapprobation.) It is
high time that the directory should
be taught not to alarm the public
by indecent meffages, but to confine
itself to its functions, to wait your
orders, and to leave your difcutions
free.

The fword was now drawn, and, on the 18th, the committee threw away the fcabbard, when the fame reporter rofe to propofe a plan of finance, the direct object of which was to take the whole power of the purfe out of the hands of the direc tory, The council, at leaft the majority of it, agreed with the committee,

Committee, and almost as soon as the propofal was produced, it was decreed as follows:

The council of five hundred confidering that, though the fervice of the national treafury may require negotiations to fatisfy urgent expences, it is yet indifpenfable and preffing to reftrain them on account of the ceffation of the circulation of paper money.

They declare that there is urgency, and make the following refolution:

moft tumultuous debate, or rather conteft, enfued, in which the authority of the prefident (Pichegru) was fcarcely fufficient to restore order, or reftrain the parties from blows; at length the motion of Le Clerc was virtually negatived by paffing to the order of the day.

In fome of the following fittings, the proceedings of the directory were feverely canvaffed. Paftoret, on the 20th of June, inculpated greatly their treatment of the United States of America, and propofed a plan of a decree for appointing a committee to inquire into the unconftitutional refolutions of the exeexecutive power on that subject, which was adopted. On the following day a committee was alfo formed on the motion of Imbert Columes, for inquiring upon what grounds the directory had prefumed, contrary to the principles of liberty, to violate the facredness of private correfpondence, by the opening and examining of private letters-and a refolution was (to the honour of the council) paffed, declaring fuch a violation utterly unlawful.

Art. I. The law of the 3d Brumaire, fourth year, which authorifes the national treasury to negotiate under the approbation of the cutive directory, is abrogated. Art. II. The article II. of the law of 22d Vendemiare, fifth year, which authorifes the minifter of the finance to regulate the order of the payment of the drafts of all the miaifters, on account of urgency, is equally abrogated.

Art. III. The commiffioners of the treasury are nevertheless authorifed to make the negotiations which the fervice of the treafury may require, but under their perfonal refponfibility.

On the following day the directory collected their friends in the council, and Le Clerc proposed the repeal of the decree concerning the finances. He contended that it was paffed in a thin houfe, and without divifion. He faid a fcandalous contention had existed for fome time between the directory and the committee of finance, and that the refolution in question annihilated every hope of peace. "Will not foreign powers (he added) depend on a diffolution of the republic, when they fee the power of the purfe taken from the executive government, and put into the hands of men who have prevaricated " A

Not only the conduct of the directory, but of Buonaparte himself, was ftrictly fcrutinized; and, on the 23d of June, Dumoulard propofed a committee to examine the external relations of the republic, and to demand information from the directory concerning the events that followed Buonaparte's manifefto against the government of Venice. He complained of the French general's interference with that government, and of the disturbance which was given by the fanction of the directory to the Genoefe and Helvetic republics.

The oppofition party in the councils at this period is generally confidered as confifting of three diftinct descriptions of men. The

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first