carroll quigley-public administration of the napoleonic kingdom of italy 1938

8/10/2019 Carroll Quigley-Public Administration of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy 1938

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The Public Administration

ofthe NapoleonicKingdom of Italy

Carroll Quigley

Doctoral Dissertation Harvard University, 1938 Revised for Publication, ca.1971


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"My doctoral dissertation The Public Administration of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy(Harvard, 1938)

was never published because over-specialized experts who read the version revised for publication

persisted in rejecting the aspects of the book in which they were not specialists. The only man who read it

and had the slightest idea what it was all about was Gaetano Salvemini (1873-1957), the great historian from

the University of Florence, who was a refugee in this country at the time. The book's message could be

understood only by an historian who knew the history of Italy, France, and Austria, and was equally familiar

with events before the French Revolution and afterwards. But these national and chronological boundaries

are exactly the ones that recent historians hesitate to cross, for the French were reluctant to admit that the

late revolutionary and Napoleonic reforms in French government had been anticipated in Italy, while many

Italian historians knew nothing about French government before 1789 and wanted to concentrate only on the

Risorgimento after 1814. No one was much interested in my discovery that the French state as it developed

under Napoleon was based largely on Italian precedents. For example, while the French state before 1789

had no budgets or accounts, Napoleon's budgets in both France and Italy were strikingly similar to the

budgets of the Duchy of Milan in the sixteenth century. Similarly, the unified educational system established

by Napoleon in France in 1808 was anticipated in the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) in the 1720's. Such

discoveries form part of the history of the growth of the European state, but are not of much interest to the

narrow and overspecialized controversies of the last half century. So instead of writing the history of public

authority, I got into what was, I suppose, my much stronger activity: the creation of the necessary conceptual

paradigms, structures, and frameworks for understanding historical processes."

- Carroll Quigley, The 1st Oscar Iden Lecture, October 13, 1976


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A bust of Napoleon I as King of Italy,

wearing the Iron Crown of Lombardy,(Museo del Risorgimento, Milan Italy)

On May 26, 1805, in the cathedral of Milan, in the presence of Giovanni Battista Cardinal Caprara(1733-1810), since May of 1802 the Archbishop of Milan, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself

King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy,exclaiming Dieu me la donne, gare qui la touche[God gives it to me, beware whoever touches it].

At its maximum extension, the Kingdom of Italy consisted of 24 departments.

Carroll Quigleywas graduated

from Boston Latin School in 1929,

and received his A.B. (1933), A.M. (1934)

and Ph.D. (1938) in history

from Harvard University.


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The flag of the (Napoleonic) Kingdom of Italy 1805-14

In 1805, soon after Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor of the French, the Italian Republic(which had had the same areas as the previous Cisalpine Republic primarily Lombardy and the Romagna)

was transformed into the Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia), with Napoleon as King and his nephew

Eugne de Beauharnais as Viceroy.

Two coins of the (Napoleonic) Kingdom of Italy 1805-14

The coat of arms of the (Napoleonic) Kingdom of Italy 1805-14

A Roman eagle as a supporter, wielding a thunderbolt, on its breast the heraldic shield of the kingdom surrounded

by the Lgion d'honneur, and, above, an escutcheon of the Iron Crown of Lombardy(with pinnacles). The heraldic

shield has a silver pale charged with the blue Milanic serpent (spitting out - as originally meant - the first human).

Both sides of the pale are divided horizontally: the upper right quarter shows the papal parasol with the keys of Saint

Peter; the upper left shows the Venetian lion, but without bible and with a Phrygian cap on its head; the lower right

quarter shows the white eagle of the house of Este (for Modena) and the lower left shows the arms of Piedmont, but

(under to the right) charged with a silver tower (for Rovigo and Feltre). Above the eagle rises the Napoleonic star.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9gion_d%27honneurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Crown_of_Lombardyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Crown_of_Lombardyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9gion_d%27honneurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9gion_d%27honneur


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The Public Administration

of

The Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy

Carroll Quigley

Doctoral Dissertation

Harvard University, 1938Revised for Publication, ca.1971


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE: Introduction pp. 1-3

CHAPTER TWO: The Organs of Government pp. 4-54

0. Outline pp. 4-5

1. The Constitution and the Constitutional Statutes pp. 5-6

2. The King, Viceroy, and Regalia pp. 7-10

3. The Royal Household and the Grand Officers of the Crown pp. 10-17

4. The Electoral Colleges pp. 17-20

5. The Censura pp. 20-21

6. The Legislative Body pp. 21-24

7. The Council of State pp. 25-30

8. The Senate pp. 31-39

9. The Ministers and Secretaries of State pp. 39-43

10. Legislation and Execution pp. 43-46

11. Titles of Nobility pp. 46-50

12. Conclusion pp. 50-54

CHAPTER THREE: Finance pp. 55-114

0. Outline pp. 55-57

1. The Ministries of Finance and Treasury pp. 57-64

2. The Collectors pp. 64-67

3. The Direct Taxes pp. 67-73

4. The Indirect Taxes pp. 73-85

5. The Domain and Consolidated Taxes pp. 85-94

6. The Public Debt and theMonte Napoleone pp. 95-103

7. Financial History pp. 103-113



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CHAPTER FOUR: Justice pp. 115-147

0. Outline p. 115

1. The Ministry of Justice pp. 116-120

2. The Judicial System pp. 121-136

3. Substantive Law and Procedure pp. 136-143

4. Crime and Punishment pp. 143-147

CHAPTER FIVE: Army and Navy pp. 148-193

0. Outline p. 148

1. The Ministry of War pp. 149-154

2. The Army pp. 154-159

3. Artillery pp. 160-161

4. Engineers pp. 161-163

5. Fortifications pp. 163-164

6. Supply pp. 165-167

7. Transportation pp. 167-168

8. Armaments pp. 168-170

9. Military Schools pp. 170-172

10. The Medical Service pp. 172-174

11. Conscription and Military Police pp. 174-179

12. The Gendarmerie pp. 179-180

13. The Navy pp. 180-192

14. Finance pp. 192-193


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CHAPTER SIX: Religion pp. 194-276a

0. Outline p. 194

1. The Ministry of Religion pp. 195-200

2. The Political Relationship of Church and Sate pp. 200-212

3. The Legal and Administrative Relationship of Church and State pp. 212- 273

a. General Regulations pp. 212-227

b. Church Corporations and Groups-- Episcopacy, Chapters, Seminaries,

Parishes, Monasteries pp. 227-252

c. The Clergy as Individuals-- Appointments, Restrictions, Salaries pp. 252-258

d. Ecclesiastical Justice and Church Discipline pp. 258-260

e. Vacant Benefices pp. 260-262

f. Finance and Pensions pp. 262-273

4. Conclusion pp. 273-276a

CHAPTER SEVEN: Internal Administration pp. 277-427

0. Outline p. 277

1. The Ministry of the Interior pp. 278-283

2. Education pp. 283-320

a. The Direction-General pp. 283-291

b. Activity pp. 291-318

c. Results pp. 318-320

3. Waters and Highways pp. 320-345

a. Administration pp. 320-324

b. Ordinary Works pp. 324-341

c. Extraordinary Works p. 342

d. Finances pp. 342-345


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4. Public Health pp. 345-363

a. Vaccination pp. 345-349

b. Marine Sanitation pp. 349-354

c. Continental Sanitation and Medical Police pp. 355-362

d. Finances pp. 362-363

5. Charity pp. 364-384

6. Police, Public Spirit, and Civil Liberty pp. 385-421

a. Police pp. 385-398

b. Public Spirit pp. 398-408

c. Civil Liberties pp. 409-421

7. Jails and Prisons pp. 421-426


CHAPTER EIGHT: Local Government pp. 428-456

0. Outline p. 428

1. General Considerations pp. 429-432

2. Departments and Districts pp. 432-440

3. Communes pp. 440-456

CHAPTER NINE: Ministry of Foreign Affairs pp. 457-468

0. Outline p. 457

1. The Ministry pp. 458-460

2. Agents Abroad pp. 460-462

3. Finances pp. 462-463

4. Activities pp. 463-466

5. The Order of the Crown of Iron pp. 466-468

CHAPTER TEN: Conclusion pp. 469-475


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L

Chapter I

Introduction

The B a t t l e o f Ma re ng o r e s t o r e d F r e n c h p o w e r i n n o r t h e r n I t a l y ,

b u t a l m o s t t wo y e a r s p a s se d b e f o r e a n y p e r m a n e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n v7as

g i v e n t o t h e t e r r i t o r y w h ic h h ad fo rm e d t h e f i r s t C i s a l p i n e R e p u b l i c .

T h i s o r g a n i z a t i o n was f i n a l l y c r e a t e d a t t h e Co n g r e s s o f L yo ns i n

Ja n u a r y 1 80 2 a nd l a s t e d f o r m ore t h a n t h r e e y e a r s . E a r l y i n 1 8 0 5 i t

b ec am e e v i d e n t t h a t i t was n o t f i t t i n g t h a t a n E m p er or o f P r a n c e sh o u

b e P r e s i d e n t o f I t a l y , so t h e Re p u b l i c wa s c h a n g e d i n t o a K in gd om . T h

K ingdom c o n t i n u e d , f o r a l m o s t n i n e y e a r s , t o p l a y a n e v e n t f u l p a r t i n

t h e c om m un ity o f n a t i o n s . I t s l i f e cam e t o a b i t t e r e nd on A p r i l 2 0 ,

1814 when a r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l s t r e e t - r i o t i n M i a n r e s u l t e d i n t h e f a l

o f th e governm ent . These n i ne y ea r s o f l i f e found th e Kingdom un d er

g o i n g a l m o s t c o n s t a n t w a r f a r e and e c on o m ic c r i s i s . The w a r f a r e r e m a i

a t a d i s t a n c e e x c e p t i n 1 8 0 5 , 1 8 0 9 , a nd 1 8 1 3 - 1 4 b u t t h e e c on o m ic d i f f

c u l t i e s . f r o m s m a l l b e g i n n i n g s i n 1 80 5 ,b ec am e i n c r e a s i n g l y e m b r a ci n g

a nd a c u t e . N o n e t h e l e s s , fro m some p o i n t s o f v i e w , t h e K ingdom f l o u r i s h

I t s a r e a g re w fro m 4 , 5 8 6 , 0 0 0 sq u a r e k i l o m e t e r s i n 18 05 t o 8 , 4 0 4 , 0 0 0 i

1.

For organizational history see F. Lemmi: Storia politica d

1

Italia:

eta

napoleonica (revised,1936);or M. Robert j Mllano capitals

Napoleonica. La formazione dl uno statb moderno (3 vol.,19M-6-195 7)

I, 1-166.


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1 8 1 4 - a n d t h e n u m b e r o f d e p a r tm e n t s i n t h e s a m e n in e y e a r s i n c r e a s e d

from f o u r t e e n t o t w e n t y - f o u r . O r i g i n a l l y i n 1 8 02 t h e R e p u b l i c h a d

tw e lv e d e p a r tm e n t s : A dd a, A l to Po , B a s s o Po , C r o s t o l o , La r i o , M e l l a ,

M in c io , O lo n a , Pa n a r o , R e n o , R u b i c o n e , an d S e r i o . D u r in g t h e e x i s t e n

o f t h e R e p u b l i c

y

t h e d i s t r i c t o f Ad ig e w as f or m ed i n t o a d e p a r t m e n t , a

the t e r r i to ry a round Novara , t aken f rom Piedmont in 1800 , was fo rmed

tk a to f

i n to A g og n a. Wi th t h e a n n e x a t i o n o f V e n e t i a i n 1 80 6 s e v e n new d e p a r t

m e nt s w ere a d de d : A d r i a t i c o , B a c c h i g l i o n e , B r e n t a , I s t r a , P a s s e r i a n o

P i a v e , an d T a g l i a m e n t o . Two y e a r s l a t e r t h e d i s t r i c t s e i z e d f ro m t h e

Pope was d i v i de d i n t o the th r ee de pa r tm en ts o f M e tau ro , Musone , and

trths-ferred. Xt u>aj

added to

T r o n to . I n 1 81 0 I s t r l a w as ton* L

A

to the French Empi re .

1'IMI

\W

rOffiMiT. y t

to -forn.

D a l m a t i a fcafce t h e I l l y r i a n P r o v i n c e s , b u t s i n c e s o u t h e r n T y r o l was a n

nexed a s the depa r tmen t o f Al to Ad ige , the number o f depa r tmen ts r e

m a in ed a t t w e n t y - f o u r .

N a t u r a l ly su ch an in c r ea se in th e a re a o f th e Kingdom was accom

p a n i e d b y a g r ow t h i n p o p u l a t i o n . T h i s h a d n um b er ed 3 , 8 1 0 , 0 2 2 i n d i v i d

u a l s i n 1 80 5 and w as a b o u t 6 , 7 0 3 , 0 0 0 n i n e y e a r s l a t e r . Of t h i s t o t a l

about 52 were m ale , and on ly

9%

l i v e d i n c i t i e s of o v er 1 0 , 0 0 0 p o p u l

t i o n . T h i s g r e a t i n c r e a s e i n t h e n um be r o f i n h a b i t a n t s was n o t ^ 2 s e t t

^ n a iy fluu U / ^5 t e r r i t o r i a l u p -rrr? in - t h a - u ou n U s ^ f o r t h e b i r

a lw a y s e x c ee d e d t h e d e a t h r a t e , a l t h o u g h b o t h d e c r e a s e d d u r i n g t h e n i n

y e a r s o f t h e r e g im e . The b i r t h r a t e , w h ic h w as 4 3 . 8 p e r t h o u s a n d i n

1 8 0 5 , was 39 in 1810 , and the de a th r a t e i n t he same pe r i od f e l l f rom

3 4 . 5 t o 3 3 .

I t was n o t a s im p le t a s k t o o r g a n i z e a g o v e r n m e n t f o r a c o u n t r y


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-ftCQUCn tly

whose boundaries werernuJVH'ihly shifting arid whose everyday life

was being disturbed by (constant warfare and economic crisis. Yet

this was done by Napoleon and his aides and done quite successfully.

In most cases the inspiration for these actions came from Italian,

usually Lombard; precedents, but in the higher brackets of the ad

ministrative system the levels embracing what we have termed "the

organs of government" the models upon which the administration was

or e v e bvCt **>a.re.

ba se d we re n o t I t a l i a n , E^a Fr e n c h . safe^mH.inmHJ -HWJmas^a , N a p o le o n

A

It is to these organs of government that we must now turn our attenti


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Chapter II

The Organs of Government

1. The Constitution and the Constitutional Statutes

2. The King, Viceroy, and Regalia

3. The Royal Household and the Grand Officers of the Crown

4. The Electoral Colleges

5. The Censura

6. The Legislative Body

7.

The Council of State

8. The Senate

9. The Ministers and Secretaries of State

10

#

Legislation and Execution

11. Titles of Nobility

12. Conclusion


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5

Chapter II

1

The Organs of Government

The legal structure under which the Kingdom of Italy was

governed was created by the Constitution of Lyons and nine Con

stitutional Statues. Issued at different dates these modified

one another and were interpreted by decrees.

The Constitution of Lyons,although it omitted all the dec

larations of the rights of man and citizen to be found in the

Cisalpine Constitution, nominally recognized the sovereignty of

the people. This sovereignty was exercised through three Electoral

Colleges each of which represented one of the three chief social

The manuscript materials are chiefly in Milan. The minutes of the

governing bodies such as the Council of State are in the section "Govern

This does not include the records of the Senate, which have disappeared.

In the "Melzi" section are various documents on the Council of Auditors.

For the Secretary of State there are the "Aldini" papers, and for the

Royal Household carton

0

2

1130

at Paris and Boxes26,27* and at Prin

ceton.

The Constitution and Constitutional Statutes are printed in

Raccolta di Costituzionl italiane, vol. II (Turin, 1852) or in Dufau

Duvergier, Gaudet: Collection des chartes, vol. IV

(1823).

See also

G

^IWotJ

Dlctionnaire des constitutions de1 Empirefrancais et du

royaume d'ltalie, (3 vol.1806). Of secondary accounts, Pingaud:

Bonaparte, president de la ReVablique itallenne (2 Vol. 1911+) is good

up to 1805. On the Kingdom there is now M. Robert : Milano capitale

napoleonica, I, 167-322 or M. Roberti:"Il diritto pubblicp Itali ano nel

ftejgiodp napoleonico, 1796-1814", Rassegna atorica

delrtisorglmerito,

y ^ 1936, XXIix,'f?31 -J*8. A series of seventeen articles by Pingaud on

^ the Kingdom are alraos^, worthless. These include "Le premier royaume

d'ltalie", Revue des Etudes Napole'onniennes, 1923, XX, 19 .-216 and XXI,

314--50,

100-TloT " " '


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c la sse s landed p ro pr i e to r s , p ro fe s s io na l men, and me rchan t s . The

Colleges had a jo in t committee c al le d the Censura, but a l l four

bod ie s were so hedged abou t w i th o the r i n s t i t u t i o n s th a t th e i r

so v e r e i g n ty a v a i l e d them v e ry l i t t l e

These othe r in s t i tu t i o n s t aken tog e th e r were ca l l e d the gove rn

ment. They inc luded a Pr es id en t , a Vice P re s i de nt , a Consul te d 'E ta t

( Co nsu lt a d i S t a t o ) a Cp n sel l l ^ g i s l a t i f ( Co n s i g l i o l e g i s l a t i v o ) , a

Corps l e g i s l a t i f (Corpo l e g i s l a t i v o ) ? an d t he m i n i s t e r s . Such a

p l e t h o r a of i n s t i t u t i o n s d i d n ot p e r m i t t h e i r a c t i v i t y t o be d iv i d e d

upon any l o g i c a l l i n e s . I n s t e a d , sp e c i f i e d f u n c t i o n s w ere a l l o t t e d

to each* The ex er ci se of the se fun ct i on s by one was so c ircu m scri bed

by the o the rs tha t a l l e s se n t i a l power re s t ed wi th the P re s i de n t .

Th is Co ns t i tu t ion was mod i fi ed by the n ine Co ns t i tu t io na l S ta tu t

The f i r s t of March 17 , 1805 changed th e Re pu bl ic in t o a Kingdom. The

second on March 27 , 1805 cr ea te d the Grand O ff ic er s of th e Crown, pr o

vided for a regency, and es ta b l i sh ed the oath of a l l e g ia n c e . The th i

i ssu ed June 5 , 1805,com ple te ly overhauled the C on st i t u t io n of Lyons

and e s t ab l i s he d a Conse ll d ' E ta t (C ons ig l io d i S ta t o ) . I t a l s o found

the Order of the Crown of Ir o n . The fo u rt h s ta tu te of Febr uary 16,1806

adopted Eugene as th e Em peror's s on . The f i f t h and s ix th of December

20,

1807 and March 2 1 , 1808 formed and or ga ni ze d th e Sena to Consul en t

from p ar t of the Council of S t a t e . The se ve nt h s t a t u t e , date d Octobe

14 ,

1 80 8, r e - e s t a b l i sh e d an d r e g u l a t e d t i t l e s o f n o b i l i t y . The e i g h t

and n in th on March 15 , 1810 fix ed th e d o t a ti o n of t he Crown and the

appanages of roya l pr inces .

2 In s t r i c t law the Corpo l g i s l a t i v o was not p a r t of the Governo .

Mllano ca pi ta le napoleo nica , I , 289-31 7. Texts of the s ta tu te s

a r e i n t h e S o l l e t t i n o d e l l e l e g g i u n de r t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e d a t e s .


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The King, the Viceroy, and the Regalia

The King had all executive power, and all legislation orig

inated with him. He did not have the right to levy taxes. He

had control of all foreign affairs and named all principal officials,

both civil and military. By the third constitutional statute he

was given as property the royal palaces at Milan, Monza, Mantua, and

Modena, as well as the forest of Tessin and the Villa Bonaparte in

the capital. The same statute gave him ten million lire in national

property by which palaces subsequently were acquired at Brescia,

Bologna, Stra, and Venice. He was also granted a civillist of six

million a year from the public treasury, and an additional two million

in property to be used to support the Royal Guard. In this last force

was created a special Guard of Honor to which could belong only the

members of the Electoral Colleges or their close relatives.

The eighth constitutional statute regulated the royal domain.

This was inalienable, could not be mortgaged, and was administered

by an Intendant-general who was the legal representative of the King

in regard to actions on his property. There could also be an Inten-

dant-general of the Extraordinary DomainLwhich would be

UJ:,U-

seized

inwarl. Finally there would be formed from income in excess of five

million from the royal property a private domain which could be

alienated and to which the King became heir at the age of twenty-five.

The accounts of the Treasury of the domain were reviewed each year by

3

a committee of the Consiglio di Stato.

3 There are notes on these accounts in Aldini


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The second title of the third statute empowered the King to

appoint a Viceroy to reside in Italy and act as his representative.

A decree of June 7, 1805 named Eugene.to this position. By the

same document he was empowered to preside over the Council of State

or name a substitute, to correspond through the Portfolio of Foreign

Affairs with the Italian diplomatic agents in Italy and Switzerland,

and to send all documents requiring the royal signature to the Sec

retary of State who stayed with Napoleon. Later the ninth Constitu

tional Statute

-

gave Eugene an income of one million a year and the

Villa Bonaparte.

This decree of June 1805 did not give the Viceroy the entire

powers of the King. To the latter r- re reserved the convocation,

adjournment, and dissolution of the Legislative Body, the convocation

of the Electoral Colleges, all decrees ordering public works, control

of the annual and bi-monthly credit

epsaaes

to the Ministers, and

the nomination of all public officials down to the rank of Podesta

of a first-class town.

The relationship between these two officials, King and Viceroy,

was not a simple one. As Talleyrand pointed out in a letter to

Napoleon on June 5, 1805, itwasnot a matter of public law but a

private relationship, in which the personal responsibility of the

Viceroy was the sole guarantee which he gave in the exercise of

5

his authority. At the beginning, Napoleon tried to tie Eugene down,

4 Decree in AFivl709A.

5 Letter in AFivl709A. The available biographies of Eugene are of no

value for our subject. They are Prince Adalbert of Bavaria: Eup,en

Beauharnais, der Stietfsohn Napoleons (Berlin,

19i+0;

French trans-

lation, Paris, 1914-3) and V.M. Montagu: Eugene de Beauharnais

(London,1913).


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a * = ^ g ^ - b e c a u s e h e w a n t e d n o th i n g d o ne w i th o u t h i s k n ow led ge b u t

a l s o b e c a u s e h e f e a r e d E u g e n e ' s y o u t h . H i s l e t t e r s a r e f u l l o f

o r de rs t o do no th in g exce p t by h i s command. On Ju ly 31 , 1805 Duroc

w r o t e t o Eug en e t h a t i n no c a s e a n d u n d e r no p r e t e x t , u r g e n c y , o r

exc ess of ze a l co u ld any powers o f the King be used by an o t h e r .

Eug en e w as w a r ne d t h a t i f a M in i s t e r s a id t o h im , "Th a t i s u r g e n t ;

the Kingdom i s l o s t ; Mi lan i s g o in g to bu rn ; Wha t i s to be done? "

h e m u st r e p ly , " I h a v e n o r i g h t t o d o a n y t h i n g . I m u st a w a i t t h e

K i n g ' s o r d e r s . " E ven w hen h e w as e x e r c i s i n g h i s l e g a l p o w e r s , i f

h e a s k e d N a p o l e o n ' s a d v i c e , he w as t o d o n o th in g u n t i l t h a t a d v i c e

came , no m a t te re d wha t hap pen ed . As Duroc pu t i t , " I f , fo r e xam ple ,

and t o s p e a k of a s m a l l m a t t e r , y ou a s k H i s M a j e s ty ' s o r d e r s o r h i s

adv ice to change th e c e i l i n g o f your bed room, you mus t aw a i t them.

And i f M ilan i s on f i r e and you as k him how t o pu t i t o u t, you mu st

6

l e t M i la n b u r n a nd a w a i t o r d e r s . "

I n f a c t

5

n o s u c h r e s t r i c t i o n s a s t h e s e w e re p u t u po n E u g e n e. As

the years went by^he became more and more independent and not only

i s s u e d d e c r e e s on m any s u b j e c t s w i t h o u t c o n s u l t i n g t h e E m p e ro r, b u t

a l s o s o m e t im e s r e f u s e d t o p u b l i s h o r e n f o r c e d e c r e e s w h ic h t h e Em p e r o

h a d i s s u e d . T h i s , f o r e x a m p le , h a p p e n e d i n r e g a r d t o t h e d e c r e e o f

7

1807 o rgan iz ing the navy .

6 D u c a s s e : M em oires e t c o r r e s p o n d e n c e p o l i t i q u e e t m i l i t a i r e d u

pr in ee Eug t'ne Be au ha rna i s (10 v o l . 1858"-60) , I ,

228."'

7 Eugene to N apoleon, June 19 , 1807 i n A Piv l71 0B . See Cha pte r V be lo w .


41/558


42/558

He sup erv ise d the ad mi ni st ra ti on of the chapel s of the ro ya l pa la ce s

and any se rv ic es i n them. He al so rec ei ve d th e oa ths of a ll eg ia n ce

of Bishops., He u su al ly spen t between 65,000a nd 75,000 l i r e a yea r

10

in the exe rc ise of these d u t i e s ,

The Grand Master of the Household or Grand Majordomo JBB Jihe

athnlnJ ^

I

mfiil^

A

of the R

c

ya l Pa lace^ regu l a t ing a l l i t s p rov is ion s and

fu rn is hi ng s, i t s hea t and l i g h t i n g . The po st was he ld by Giuseppe

Fe nar o l i , sS^^ ex te nd i tu re s TBEBffiS .from 765,389 l i r e i n 1807 t o

11

A

1 005 602in 1809

The Grand Chamberlain

was in

charge

of the

ordinary

and

personal

activities

of the

Kingjaudiences, entertainments,

and

clothing,

his

health, library,

and

private office.

The

post

was

filled

by

Antonio

Litta

who

spent from

as

little

as

309,911 lire

in 1811 to as

much

as

12

674,394 lire

in 1806

The Grand Equerry

was in

charge

of the

stables,

the

pages,

and

all provisions

for

hunting

or

travelling. A^ong other items

he had

entrusted

to him a

school with eleven teachers for the

A

pages

and

about

13

fifty carriages.

The

Grand Equerry,

who was

Carlo Caprara, nephew

10

On

Codronchi (1748-1826)

see the

article

of

Pasolini

in

Dizionario

del Risorglmento,vol,II,(1933)

and

Casini: Codronchi alia Consulta

di Lione

in II

Risorglmento Italiano (1895)

I

721-39.

11

On

Penaroli (1759-1825)

see

Pingaud:

Les

h o m e s d'etat,126-27,

12

On

Litta (1744-1836)

see the

article

of

Michel

in

Dizionario

del

Risorgimento,

III

Unfortunately, this Grand Officer,who came into

closest contact with Eugene.was personally detested

by him.

13 021130

and Box 27.


43/558

1.2

of the Arc hb ish op , s pe n t sums va ry in g f rom 67 0 ,4 09 in 1812 to

14

7 8 4 , 1 9 8 i n 1 8 0 9 .

The I n t e n d a n t - g e n e r a l o f t h e Crown h a d m o s t e x t e n s i v e d u t i e s .

He c o l l e c t e d t h e c i v i l l i s t a n d t h e r e v e n u e s o f t h e p r i v a t e d o m a i n,

c o n t r o l l e d a nd o r d e re d a l l pa y m en ts f o r t h e r o y a l s e r v i c e , s u p e r

v i s e d a l l b u i l d i n g s a nd t h e i r c o n t e n t s , a l l p a r k s , and g a r d e n s , a nd

fm*nn-gi. th e bu dg e t s o f the Hous eho ld . Th is p o s t was h e ld by C o s t a b i l i -

15

C o n t a i n i , who t o o k i t o n l y u n d e r d u r e s s . W i t h i n s i x m o n th s E u ge ne

h a d t o t a k e from t h e I n t e n d a n t - g e n e r a l c o n t r o l o f t h e a c c o u n t s , c h i e f l y

16

b e c a u s e o f C a p r a r a ' s f i n a n c i a l m i s m an a g em e n t. The b u d g e t s a n d a c c o u n

17

w e re t h e n g i v e n t o H e n n i n , w h o, a t a s a l a r y o f 9 , 3 0 0 l i r e , b ec am e

T r e a s u r e r of t h e Grown s u b o r d i n a t e t o t h e I n t e n d a n t . Among t h e l a t t e r '

o t h e r a s s i s t a n t s w ere A p p i a n i , R o ya l P a i n t e r ; M o n t i , R o ya l H i s t o r i o

g r a p h e r ; a nd E u g e n e ' s e l e v e n a i d e s - d e - c a m p , w ho w e r e r e g a r d e d a s

14 Ca r lo Capra ra (1755-18 17) was no t a good m ana ger , even o f h i s

p e r s o n a l f o r t u n e , a nd h e w as u s u a l l y i n f i n a n c i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s . I n

1 8 0 6 , t o a s s i s t h i m , N a p o le o n o f f e r e d t o b \iy h i s p a l a c e f o r m o re

t h a n i t s r e a l v a l u e . A f t e r i t s v a l u e h a d b e e n f i x e d a t 7 1 4 ,7 4 1 l i r e

the Emperor gave 814 ,00 0 fo r i t . A t the end of 1807 the Grand Eq ue r ry

wro te t o the Emperor as k i ng fo r more money , fo r , he po in te d ou t , h i s

p r o f i t w as l e s s t h an 1 0 0 , 00 0 l i r e . S ee l e t t e r s i n A P iv l7 1 0B .

1 5 M a r e s jc a lc h i t o N a p o le o n , A p r i l 1 8 0 5 , i n A P i v l 7 0 9 A . On C o s t a b i l l -

C o n t a i n i ( 1 75 6 -1 8 4 1) s e e P e t r u c c i : E l o g i o a to rf co d e l C o s t a b i l i - C o n t a l n l

(Novi , 1841) .

16 Eugene t o Napo leon , March 17 , 180 6 , i n A Pi v l 68 4 .

17 O r i g i n a l l y 1 2 ,0 0 0 l i r e .


44/558

18

m em bers o f t h e H o u se h o ld a n d r e c e i v e d 6 , 0 0 0 l i r e e a c h . The e x p e n se s

o f t he I n t e n d a n t - g e n e r a l v a r i e d g r e a t l y . They a m ou nte d t o 3 , 3 1 9 , 9 1 6

i n 1 8 0 6 , f e l l t o 2 , 9 2 5 , 2 1 8 i n 1 8 0 7 , r o se a g a i n i n 1 80 8 a n d r e a c h e d

5 , 5 5 7 , 0 2 6 i n 1 8 0 9 . T hey f e l l a g a i n i n 1 8 1 0 t o 2 , 1 0 2 , 5 9 6 an d t o

1,967,586

in 18 11 . Much o f the v a r i e ty was due to exp ens es o f t r a v e l

19

an d c e l e b r a t i o n s .

The Ch a n c e l l o r - G u a r d i a n o f S e a l s h a d n o d u t i e s by l a w . The p o

s i t i o n , a d m i t t e d l y a s i n e c u r e , w as c r e a t e d t o r e w a r d M e lz i i n 1 8 0 5 .

H i s r e l u c t a n c e t o a c c e p t , a ny p o s i t i o n w as s o g r e a t t h a t h e w as p e r -

20

s u ad e d t o a c c e p t e v e n t h i s w i t h d i f f i c u l t y . H o w ev er , a s t im e p a s s e d

i t b ecam e n e c e s s a r y t o u t i l i z e M e l z i ' s e x p e r i e n c e w h e n ev e r h e c o u l d b e

p e r s ua d e d t o a ba nd on h i s h e a l t h t r e a t m e n t s a t t h e w a t e r i n g p l a c e s . T h i

w as e s p e c i a l l y t r u e d u r i n g t i m e s o f s t r e s s w hen E u ge ne w a s f a r f ro m t h

c a p i t a l ,

WMT

M

iixj*jL Tr+*n*A

-BnrHno- t he se p e r i o d s

A

i n r e l a t i o n t o E u g e n

18 From a m i l l ta r y- p o i n t of v iew the d i g n i t y of th e monarchy was se rv e

b y tw o se p a r a t e g r o u p s t h e H o no r G u a r d s

a

and the H^^ .1 Guard . The fo rm

w ere n o n - m i l i t a r y i n a p r o f e s s i o n a l s e n s e . u s u a l l y * ' o r g a n i z e d i n a to wn

t o c e l e b r a t e t h e a r r i v a l o f some g r e a t p e r s o n a g e b y a c t i n g a s an e s c o r

N a p o l e o n' s v i s i t of 1 80 5 f i r s t c a l l e d f o r t h s u c h b o d i e s i n I t a l y . S ee

B u cq uo y: L es g a r d e s d ' h o n n e u r du p r e m i e r e m p i r e ( P a r i s , 1 8 0 8 ) , e s p e c i a

p p . 9 0 - 9 3 . The R o ya l G ua rd was a p r o f e s s i o n a l m i l i t a r y u n i t s e r v i n g i n

c l o s e c o n t a c t w i t h t h e K in g a nd a c t i n g a s a k i n d o f m i l i t a r y t r a i n i n g

sc h o o l f o r c om m i ss io n e d o f f i c e r s . C r e a t e d b y a d e c r e e o f Ju n e 2 6 , 1 8 05

(cop ied in P rance on

April

5 , 1 8 1 3 ) , t h i s b od y w as a l m o s t e n t i r e l y d e s

t r o y e d i n Ru ss i a a n d ^ r e d u c e d fro m se v e r a l t h o u sa n d t o a s i n g l e co mp an y

of 150 men a f t e r Ja nu ary 11 , 18 13 . See de cr ee J une 29 , 1805 ; Bucquoy ,

p . 1 2 5 - 3 0 ; A lm a na cc o Re a l e ( 1 81 1 ) p . 6 0 - 6 4 ; A d a m i: L a G u a r d a d e l P r e s i d

d e l l a R e p u b b l lc a I t a l i a n a an d La G u a r d ia R e al e I t a l i a n a a i t em p i N a oo -

l e o n i c i , ( b o t h M i l a n , 1 9 3 0 7 .

1 9 V a r i o u s r e p o r t s i n 0

2

1 1 3 0 .

20 M elzi to Napoleon , June 180 5, in AP ivl709A .

x\

Melz i (1753-18 16) see

Me l zi d 'E r i l r ^M e m o r i e - d o c u m e n t i (2 v o l , 1 8 6 5 ) a n d " F r a n c o i s M e l z i , d u e

d e L o d i " i n E t u d e s I t a i i e n n e s ( 19 2 2) IV , 1 8 - 3 1 , a l s o I n P i n g a u d : L e s

hommes d 'E ta t de l a r epub lJLque_ 1 t a l i e n n e (1914 ) 3 -3 7 . The E p l s t o l a r i o o

Me l z i w as b e i n g " e d i t e d f o r p u b l i c a t i o n b y R i n a l d o Cad de o w hen h e d i e d

1 95 6; i t i s s t i l l i n p r o g r e s s . F a i r j u d g m e nt s on M e l z i a r e i n G . L o c a t

" F ra n c es c o M e l z i , p r e c u r s o re . d e l l ' u n i t a . i t a l i a n a " , A r c h l v io S t o r i c o

L om bard o, 1 9 ^ 1 , n . s . V I , 1 ^ 3 - 1 ^ ; M. R o b e r t : " F r a n c e s c o M e lz i d ' E r i l "

H i v i s t a s t o r i c a d e l D i r i t t o I t a l i a n o

191+1,

XIV, 3U5-I+33; or M. Rober t i

Mi la n o c a p i t a l e N a p o l e o n i c a I , p a s s i m .


45/558

a p o s i t i o n a n a l o g o u s t o t h a t w hi ch E ug en e h ad i n r e l a t i o n t o

N a p o l e o n : a s p r e s i d e n t o f t h e Co u n c i l o f S t a t e h e a c t e d a s h e a d

o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t . T h i s f i r s t o c c u r r e d d u r i n g t h e 7/ar o f 1 8 0 9 .

On May 8 , 1812 by te le g ra p h the Em peror o rd er ed M elzi t o make

21

d a i l y r e p o r t s on the Kingdom. At th e end o f Ja nu ar y 1813 Napoleon

h ad A l d i n i o r d e r t h e M i n i s t e r s o f I t a l y t o d e a l w i t h h im t h r o u g h

M e lz i w i t h o u t b o t h e r i n g w i t h E u g e n e . M e l z i , h o w e v e r , r e f u s e d t o do

t h i s . A t t h e e n d o f 1 8 13 h e t r i e d t o r e s i g n f ro m t h e p r e s i d e n c y

22

of t he c o u n c i l , b u t t h e V i c e ro y r e f u s e d h i s r e s i g n a t i o n .

On A p r i l 1 2 , 1 80 9 t h e r e w a s a t t a c h e d t o t h e G u a r d i a n o f S e a l s

a s u b o r d i n a t e o f f i c e r , S e a l e r o f L e t t e r s P a t e n t . T h is w as r e a l l y a

r e g i s t r y o f t i t l e s . The " r eg

is ;

t r y f e e v a r i e d fro m 60 0 l i r e f o r e n -

23

r o l l i n g th e t i t l e o f d uk e t o 6 0 f o r a s i m p l e ^ k n i g h t

The Roya l Househo ld had two de pe nd en t h ou se ho ld s , which were

se p a r a t e l y a d m i n i s t e r e d . The H o u se h o l d of t h e Q u ee n w as c r e a t e d i n

1 8 0 5 ,

and t h a t o f t h e P r i n c e s w as e s t a b l i s h e d tw o y e a r s l a t e r . E a ch

of th es e had i t s awn Majordomo and s e p a r a te a c c o u n t s . The c os t o f

t h e Q u e e n ' s H o u s eh o ld d e c r e a s e d q u i t e c o n s i s t e n t l y fr om a p r i m a r y e x

p e n se of 5 3 6 , 9 2 9 l i r e i n 1 80 6 t o 3 1 9 , 6 1 9 i n 1 8 1 2 . The o t h e r v a r i e d

24

from a maximum of 124,337 in 1808 to a minimum of 40,953 in 1810.

21 These a r e in A Piv l71 2 .

S


46/558

5

F o r t h e c o o r d i n a t i o n o f t h e a c t i v i t y of t h e H o u s eh o ld t h e r e

w as c r e a t e d a C o u n c i l of A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h e R o y a l H o u s e h o l d .

T h i s h a d e x i s t e d i n f o r m a l l y a l m o s t fr om t h e b e g i n n i n g b u t w a s r e g u

l a t e d o n ly on A u g u s t 1 8 , 1 8 1 0 . I t m e t u n d e r t h e V i c e r o y ' s p r e s i

d e n cy on t h e f i r s t M onday o f e a c h m o n t h . The I n t e n d a n t - g e n e r a l

a nd t h e T r e a s u r e r o f t h e C row n w e r e a l w a y s p r e s e n t , b u t t h e o t h e r

G r a nd O f f i c e r s a n d o f f i c i a l s o f t h e H o u s e h o l d c a m e o n l y w h en s u m m on e d.

I n p r a c t i c e t h e G r an d O f f i c e r s w e r e a l m o s t a l w a y s p r e s e n t a nd w e r e

a s s i s t e d by s e v e r a l o f t h e m i n o r o f f i c i a l s . T he T r e a s u r e r a c t e d a s

S e c r e t a r y t o t h e g r o u p w h i c h a p p r o v e d a l l s a l e , e x c h a n g e , o r p u r c h a s e

. 2 5

of p r o p e r t y , a l l c o n s t r u c t i o n , an d c o n t r a c t s .

The T r e a s u r y o f t h e Crow n w as e n t r u s t e d t o H e n n i n a t t h e b e g i n n i n

o f 1 8 0 6 . I n 1 81 9 t h i s m an w as s t i l l a c t i v e l y c o r r e s p o n d i n g w i t h E u g en

26

a b o u t t h e s e a f f a i r s . He h a d a s c a s h i e r , a c e r t a i n G r a s s .

T he r e v e n u e of t h e Crow n c o n s i s t e d o f t h e s i x m i l l i o n s o f t h e

c i v i l l i s t w h ic h w e re r e c e i v e d from t h e T r e a s u r y of I t a l y . I n a d d i t i o

i t h ad 2 1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 l i r e w o r t h o f p r o p e r t y w h i c h w a s s u p p o s e d t o y i e l d

2 7

a b o u t

1,050,000

l i r e a y e a r a t

5 .

N i n e - t e n t h s o f t h i s p r i v a t e .

d om a in w as a r o u n d P a d u a , w h i l e t h e r e s t w a s n e a r R e g g i o . F i n a l l y

E u g en e h a d a n i n c om e o f a m i l l i o n f ro m p r o p e r t y g i v e n h i m b y t h e

n i n t h C o n s t i t u t i o n a l S t a t u t e . M ost o f t h i s w a s i n R om ag na , w i t h t h e

2 8

r e s t i n L o m b a r d y .

2 5 T h er e~ ~ ar e s e v e r a l d o c u m e n t s o n t h i s C o u n c i l i n B ox 4 4 .

26 A v e r y l a r g e p a r t o f t h e B e a u h a r n a i s A r c h i v e s c o n s i s t s o f r e p o r t s

b y H e n n i n .

27 Box 27, 26.

28 Report of June 1814, in Box 44.


47/558

The

A

bu dg et, of th e Crown ynr& d ra w n u p b y th e I n t e n d a n t - g e n e r a l

from th e e s t i m a t e s s u b m i t t e d b y t h e o t h e r O f f i c e r s a n d o f f i c i a l s . I t

w as t h e n s e n t t o N a p o le o n b y A l d i n i t o b e a p p r o v e d . T he E m p er or u s u a

c h an g e d i t som e wh at a n d r e t u r n e d i t . A l l d i f f e r e n c e s w e re i r o n e d o ut

b y c o r r e s p o n d e n c e . U s u a l l y s u ch d i f f i c u l t i e s w e re s e t t l e d a s M i la n

w ish ed . As an exam ple , the bud ge t fo r 1809 was su bm i t t e d to th e Em

p e r o r i n Novem ber 1 80 8 c a l l i n g f o r a n e x p e n d i t u r e o f s i x m i l l i o n .

N a p o le o n c u t t h i s t o 5 , 7 4 3 , 2 2 5 a n d s e n t i t b a c k . E u ge ne d e n i e d t h e

p o s s i b i l i t y of a ny r e d u c t i o n b e lo w t h e o r i g i n a l f i g u r e , s o t h e Em p ero r

d e c r e e d t h e o r i g i n a l b u d g e t . T he se b u d g e t s w e re a f t e r w a r d s r e a d j u s t e d

a nd f i n a l l y a d e f i n i t i v e b u d g e t w as d ra w n u p . The T r e a s u r e r h e d t o

h av e i nc o m es a nd e x p e n d i t u r e s b a l a n c e d a s i n t h i s f i n a l b u d g e t . The

d e f i n i t i v e b u d g e t o f 1 8 0 9 , fo r e x a m p l e , w a s d e c r e e d on O c t o b e r

1 4 , 1 8 1 1

The fo rm in which Hennin had to submi t these accoun t s was es t ab

l i s h e d by a de cre e o f Fe bru ary 19 , 18 10 . The fo l lo w in g December Henni

w e nt t o P a r i s an d c o n f e r r e d w i t h Co un t E s t e r e , T r e a s u r e r o f t h e I m p e r i

Crown, on the m ethod to use in Cnmtims; h i s a c c o u n t s . A de cr ee of Jun e

2 9 , 1 8 1 1 f i x e d f i v e y e a r s a s t h e p e r i o d d u r i n g w h i c h a n a c c o u n t c o u l d

r e m a in o p e n . A t t h e e x p i r a t i o n of t h a t t i m e th e T r e a s u r e r p r e s e n t e d

h i s f i n a l a c c o u n t t o t h e Co u n c i l o f t h e H o u se h o l d w h er e i t w as c h e e k e d

by ' f ive members named by the Vi ce ro y . The c h ie f o f each s e r v ic e had

t o v e r i f y e a ch w a r r a n t f o r h i s s e r v i c e . T h os e n o t i n o r d e r r e s t e d a t

t h e T r e a s u r e r ' s a c c ou n t u n t i l v e r i f i e d . When a n a c c o u n t w as f i n a l l y

Snppott/kq


48/558

t h e a r c h i v e s an d b u r n e d f i v e y e a r s l a t e r . The K ing dom d i d n o t h a v e

to

a s u f f i c i e n t l y l o n g l i f e t rr e v e r h a v e o c c a s i o n t o m ake u s e o f t h i s

30

l a s t p r o v i s i o n .

E l e c t o r a l C o l l e g e s

The E l e c t o r a l C o l l eg e s w ere c r e a t e d by t i t l e I I of th e C o n s t i t u

t i o n of L y on s, w hic h d e c l a r e d t h a t t h r e e c o l l e g e s of p o s s i d e n t i s d o t t l

and commerciant i were the x

1

"

4

'" ' ' '

ivi

i o rg a ns of n a t i o n a l s o v e r e i g n t y .

T he se c o l l e g e s we re t o m e et a t l e a s t o n ce i n t h r e e y e a r s on t h e i n v i t a

t i o n of t h e g o ve rn m e nt t o r e f i l l t h e i r own r a n k s b y c o o p t a t i o n a nd

name t o t h e v a c a n c i e s i n t h e C o n s u l t a d i S t a t o , t h e C o rp o L e g i s l a t l v o ,

t h e T r i b u n a l s o f Re v i s i o n a nd C a s sa t i o n , a n d t h e c o m m i ss io n s of a c c o u

T h i s w as t o be d on e b y s e c r e t v o t e w i t h o u t d e b a t e i n s e s s i o n s o f n o t

50 See documents in 0^1130 and Box 4 4 . The exp en se s of th e R oyal House

h o l d f o r e a c h y e a r c a n b e s e e n fro m t h e f o l l o w i n g t a b l e :

1805

1806

1807

1808

6 , 0 0 8 , 5 7 5

6 , 8 2 3 , 8 1 9

5 , 5 9 3 , 8 0 1

5 , 9 1 8 , 4 2 1

1809

1810

1811

1812

1813

8 441 592

6 645 861

5 292 093

5 473 660

5 616 495

The first seven items in this table are accounts definitively accepted

The high expense in 1809 was met by a surplus of 2 392 908 left from t

three preceding years. Prom the next three years there was a surplus

3 445 249 on February 22 1814. The curious treatment given these sur

pluses in 1814 makes it evident that Eugene expected Milan to be captu

On January 26 he ordered that half of all the free funds be turned int

gold. On February 11 he ordered all money in the Treasury of the Crow

including bonds of the Monte Napoleons to be sent to Paris. On Februa

23 he ordered a million to be transferred from the public treasury to

the Treasury of the Crown on account of the debt owed by the former to

the latter. On April 14 he ordered that the Queen be paid her allowan

for the last eight months of 1814.


49/558

oaaer f i f t e e n d a y s . A t t h e se s e s s i o n s , w i t h a q uo ru m o f a t l e a s t

o n e - t h i r d of t h e i r m e mb ers , t h e s e C o l l e g e s r e c e i v e d l i s t s of va

c a n c i e s f r o m t h e g o v e r n m e n t a n d c l a i m s t o t h e se p o s i t i o n s f r o m

a ny on e who c o n s i d e r e d h i m se l f e l i g i b l e . T hey a l s o p r o n o u n c e d on

r e f o r m s o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n p r o p o se d t o th e m b y t h e Co n su l t a d i

S t a t o . The m em bers w ere a t l e a s t t h i r t y y e a r s o l d , w e re e l e c t e d

f o r l i f e , a n d c o u l d b e r em o ve d o n l y f o r l e g a l b a n k r u p t c y , a b se n c e

from t h r e e s e s s i o n s , s e r v i c e w i t h a f o r e i g n s t a t e w i t h o u t p e r m i s s i o n ,

a b s e nc e fro m t h e n a t i o n f o r s i x m o nth s a f t e r b e i n g r e c a l l e d , o r l e s s

o f c i t i z e n s h i p .

The C o l l e ge o f P o s s i d e n t i c o n s i s t e d of 3 00 l a n d e d p r o p r i e t o r s

e a c h w i t h a r e v e n u e of a t l e a s t 6 , 0 0 0 l i r e . E a c h d e p a r t m e n t w as r e p r e

se n t e d by m em be rs a t t h e r a t e o f o n e p e r 3 0 , 0 0 0 p o p u l a t i o n . T he C o l l e g

which s a t a t M i lan , chose n i ne o f i t s number to t h e Ce nsu ra .

The Co l l ege o f D o t t i and th a t o f Com merc ian t i had two hund red

caclt-

m e m be rs^ The f or m e r s a t a t Bo l o g n a , a n d t h e l a t t e r a t B r e sc i a . E a ch

se n t s i x members to the C ens ura . The Coi rm erc ian t i l i k e th e P o ss id e n t i

r e p l e n i s h e d : t h e i r own n um b e rs b y c o o p t a t i o n . T he v a c a n c i e s i n t h e

C o l l e g e o f D o t t i w ere f i l l e d b y t h e C e n su r a fr om a t r i p l e l i s t p r e

se n t e d b y t h e C o l l e g e .

A l aw of Oc tober 26 , 1803 added some d e t a i l s on the ac t i o n s o f

t h e C o l l e g e s . On f i r s t a s se m b l i n g t h e o l d e s t m em be r b ec am e t e m p o r a r y

p r e s i d e n t an d t h e tw o y o u n g e s t t e m p o r a r y s e c r e t a r i e s . The a s s e m b l y

t h e n p i c k e d p e rm a n e nt o f f i c e r s a nd r e c e i v e d a l i s t o f t h e v a c a n c i e s

31

t o b e f i l l e d from a L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l l o r .

5 1 R alscoT ta d e l l e l e g g i , d e q r e _ t i, c i r c o l a r i d e l m i n i s t r o d e l l '

l n t e r n o , v o l . T ~ ( l 8 0 8 T , ~ " 4 4 - 5 6 . "


50/558

T h ese r e g u la t i o n s we re c h a n g ed some wha t b y t i t l e I I I o f t h e

t h i r d C o n s t i t u t i o n a l S t a t u t e , The C o l l e g e s a s s em b l e d on a r o y a l

summons un der o f f i c e r s named by th e K ing to pi c k members of th e

L e g i s l a t i v e Bo d y. The members of a l l t h r e e C o l l e g e s in e a c h d e

p a r t m e n t fo rm e d a d e p a r t m e n t a l e l e c t o r a l c o l l e g e w h ic h a s s e m b l e d

o nc e a y e a r i n t he c a p i t a l o f t h e d e p a r t m e n t . T h i s g r o u p , w i th th e

p r o p r i e t o r s s e a t e d o n t h e r i g h t , t h e m e r c h a n t s o n t h e l e f t , a n d t h e

p r o f e s s i o n a l gr o u p i n t h e c e n t e r , dre w u p a t r i p l e l i s t f o r v a c a n c i e

in th e d e p a r tm e n t Ge n e ra l C o u n c i l s a nd among th e ju s t i c e s o f t h e p e a

A d e c re e o f Dec embe r 5 , 1 80 7 e x te n d e d th e sy s t e m o f E le c to ra l

C o l l e g e s to V e n e t i a . I t s e t 3 20 a s t h e t o t a l me mb e r sh ip of t h e new

t e r r i t o r y and o r d e r e d t h a t t h i s b e s h a r e d s o t h a t t h r e e - s e v e n t h s w e r

p r o p r i e t o r s a nd t w o - s e v e n t h s we re f o r t h e o t h e r t wo C o l l e g e s . T h i s

32

a d de d 1 38 to th e f i r s t C o l l e g e a nd 9 1 to e a c h o f t h e o th e r s .

D e t a i l s w ere a dd ed i n r e g a r d t o d e p a r t m e n t a l e l e c t o r a l c o l l e g e s

by de cr ee s o f June 12 , 1806 and March 1 6 , 1 80 7 . These r e g u l a t e d

e v e r y a c t i o n of th e m e m be rs . I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e d u t y of p r e s e n t i n g

f o r j u s t i c e s of t h e p e a c e a nd t h e G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , t h e m e r c h a n t s e c

t i o n was a l lo w e d t o p r e s e n t a t r i p l e l i s t of c a n d i d a t e s f o r t h e t r i

bunals of commerce.

As c an b e s e e n , t h e E l e c t o r a l C o l l e g e s h ad n o d u t i e s o f s u f f i c i e n

e x t e n t o r i m p o r ta n c e t o j u s t i f y t h e b e l i e f t h a t t h e y w ere t h e ^ J U l-u

pi new o f so v e r e i g n ty " A l l t h e i r d u t i e s we re t a k e n away a t t h e

3 2 A l d i n i

-

6 2 . In a s imi l a r f a sh io n th e Uh re e De p a r tme n t s we re g iv e n

57 P o s s id e n t i , and 38 D ot t i and Com merc ian t l by a de cre e o f Au gus t 8

1808.


51/558

9

fou nd a t io n o f the Kingdom ex ce p t th e r i g h t to name ca nd id a t es to

t h e L e g i s l a t i v e B o dy . A f t e r t h i s o r g a n w as e x t i n g u i s h e d , t h e y h a d

n o t h i n g t o d o e x c e p t r e f i l l t h e i r own v a c a n c i e s a n d t h a t r i g h t was

d e n i e d t o t h e D o t t i . W i th s u c h f u n c t i o n s , i t w as i m p o s s i b l e t o e x

pe c t th a t men would t r a v e l many m i le s to a t t e n d . The m ee t in g of

December 1807 was a f i a s c o . Napoleon , in I t a l y a t the t i m e , even

f o r g o t t o nam e t h e p r e s i d e n t s of th e m e e t i n g s i n t i m e f o r t h e f i r s t

s e s s i o n . I n 1 808 t h e s i x t h C o n s t i t u t i o n a l S t a t u t e gav e t he E l e c t o r a l

Co l l ege s a minor du ty t o nom ina te four members to th e S e n a t e . Th i s

was ex er c i se d in 1808 and 1809 , bu t th e C ol l eg es ne ver met ag a in

t h e r e a f t e r .

Even b e f o re t h e t h i r d C o n s t i t u t i o n a l S t a t u t e h a d s t r i p p e d th em

o f a l m o s t a l l t h e i r p o w e r s , t h e m em bers of t h e C o l l e g e s sho we d l i t t l e

e n t h u s i a s m f o r t h e i r t a s k s . I n May 1 80 5 t h e M e r c h a n t s h a d f i v e s e s s i o

t h e o t h e r s f o u r . A t t h e f i r s t s e s s i o n o f e a ch t h e P r o p r i e t o r s h a d

1 5 3 p r e s e n t , t h e P r o f e s s i o n a l Men 1 3 6 , a n d t h e M e r c h a n t s 9 8 . A t t h e

l a s t m e e t i n g s o f e a c h t h e m em bers p r e s e n t w e re r e s p e c t i v e l y 1 4 9 , 1 1 8 ,

a nd 8 3 . T h a t i s , t h e t o t a l m em fo ersh ip w as 7 0 0 ; t h e t o t a l a t t e n d a n c e

3 5 0 .

T he se f i g u r e s g i v e t h e w h o le s t o r y o f t h e se m e e t i n g s , a s n o t h i n g

of p*$[ imp or tan ce was s a id o r do ne .

Censura

* 3

The Censura fm ^g : the v-gfte f a t e f- the C o l l e g e s . As o r i g i n a l l y

c o n s t i tu t e d i n 1802 , i t had tw en ty-o ne members who were to mee t a t

Cremona f iv e days a f t e r th e s e s s i o n s o f the C o l l e g e s . Wi th a quorum

o f s e v e n t e e n m e mb ers , i t f i l l e d t h e e x i s t i n g v a c a n c i e s i n t h e g o v er nm e

3 3 Mi n u t e s of m e e t i n g s a r e i n A l d i n i 6 2 . R o b e r t , w i t h h i s u s u a l e m p h a

on l e g a l f or m s r a t h e r t h a n on t h e f a c t s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , f a i l s t o s e e t h e

i n s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e s e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a s s e m b l i e s . Of t h e r o y a l p e r i o d h e

sa y s ( I , 3H4.) " Co n t i n u a v a n o i n f a t t i a f u n z i o n a r e a n c o r a i Co l l e g e d e l p e r i o d

r e p u b b l i c a n o . . . . "


52/558

a nd t h e C o l l e g e of D o t t i f ro m t h e l i s t s o f n o m i n a t i o n s p r e s e n t e d

b y t h e C o l l e g e s . I n s p i t e o f t he C o n s t i t u t i o n , t h e C e n su ra u s u a l l y

m et i n t h e A r c h b i s h o p ' s h o u s e i n M i l a n ^ a s i t w a s f o o l i s h t o e x p e c t

t h a t t h e m em b ers w o u l d g o t o Cre mo na a f t e r a t t e n d i n g t h e s e s s i o n s

o f t h e i r own C o l l e g e i n B o l o g n a , B r e s c i a , p r M i l a n . T h i s , h o w e v e r ,

w as o n l y one o f s e v e r a l i l l e g a l i t i e s w h i ch b o t h e r e d n o o n e . The

v a c a n c i e s o f t h e C o m m e r c ia n t i w e re f i l l e d i n 1 8 0 7 f ro m a l i s t w h i c h

t h a t b o d y h a d d r a w n u p w h en i t l a c k e d a q u o r u m . M o r e o v e r , i n a l l

f o u r b o d i e s t h e a s s e m b l y v o t e d on o n e d a y a n d g a v e t h e u n c o u n t e d

v o t e s t o a c o m m i t t e e o f a f e w m e m be rs t o b e c o u n t e d o v e r n i g h t

34

w i t h o u t a ny p o s s i b l e m e th o d o f c h e c k i n g o n t h e c o u n t .

L e g i s l a t i v e B o d y

The f a t e o f t h e C o rp o L e g i 3 l a t i v o w as q u i c k e r a nd m ore c e r t a i n

t h a n t h a t o f t h e E l e c t o r a l C o l l e g e s . As c o n s t i t u t e d i n 1 80 2 t h e

L e g i s l a t i v e Body h a d 7 5 m em be rs a t l e a s t t h i r t y - y e a r s o l d , w i t h t h e

n um b er fro m e a c h d e p a r t m e n t p r o p o r t i o n a l t o i t s p o p u l a t i o n , a n d a t

ofth m

l e a s t h a l f m em bers o f t h e E l e c t o r a l C o l l e g e s . T w e n t y - f i v e m em b ers

w e r e r e n e v / e d e v e r y t w o y e a r s . 3rfc

A

was c o n v o k e d a n d d i s p e r s e d b y t h e

g o v e r n m e n t a n d c o u l d n o t r e m a i n i n s e s s i o n m o r e t h a n tw o m o n t h s i n

t h e y e a r . A H th e M i n i s t e r s a n d m em be rs o f o t h e r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l

b o d i e s h a d t h e r i g h t t o "M

v

ban -4*a i t s s e s s i o n s .

The L e g i s l a t i v e B ody p i c k e d f ro m i t s m e m be rs f i f t e e n i n d i v i d u a l s

w ho f o rm e d a C ham be r o f O r a t o r s . A l l p r o j e c t s o f l av / f r o m t h e g o v e r n

m e nt w e re s u b m i t t e d t o t h i s C h a m b er , w h i c h e x a m i n e d t he m a n d s e c r e t l y

3 4 V a r i o u s d o c u m e n t s i n A l d i n i 6 2 .


53/558

c o n f e r r e d w i t h c o u n c i l l o r s o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t . The O r a t o r s t h e n

LC4>'stative

re co mm en ded t o t h e B ody t h a t th e p r o j e c t b e a c c e p t e d o r r e j e c t e d .

Th i s w as d i s c u s s e d b y tw o O r a to r s a n d tw o c o u n c i l l o r s o f th e g o v e r n

men t . No one e l s e was a l low ed to spea k , b u t the body the n vo t ed

Legislative

s e c r e t l y on t h e b i l l . The O r a to r s h a d n o v o t e . I f t h e B ody a c c e p t e d

th e l a v/ , i t was p r o m u lg a t e d b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t , a n d w as u n c o n s t i t u

t i o n a l u n t i l t h a t p r o m u l g a t i o n .

T hese c o m p l et e ly i l l i b e r a l p r o v i s i o n s w er e r e l a x e d a l i t t l e b y

t he t h i r d C o n s t i t u t i o n a l S t a t u t e . T h i s a b o l i s h e d t h e Cham ber of

- legislative

( z r a to r s a nd a l l o w e d t n e Body t o c h o s e a c o m m i t t e e w i t h in i t s e l f t o

which p ro je c t s o f l av / were s e n t . W i th in i t s compe tence were ( l )

b u d g e ts and a c c o u n t s , ( 2) m i l i t a r y c o n s c r i p t i o n , ( 3 ) a l i e n a t i o n of

n a t i o n a l p r o p e r t y , ( 4 ) t h e m o n e t ar y s y s t e m , ( 5 ) t a x a t i o n , a nd ( 6)

c h a n ge s i n c o m m e r c i a l , c i v i l , o r c r im in a l l a w s . The B ody h a d a

P re s i de n t and two Q ue s to r i who were named fo r tw o- ye a r t e r m s by t h e

fr -ov tde

King . I t was g ive n 700 ,000 a ye a r fo r a l l ex p en se s . Th is fund fes.

eniLiiiviialBrtjd b,ytheLlu*du o f f i c e r s i n o o n fo rm a tl u u Lu a ru lw nM ch

was drawn up ev ery two ye ar s i n a s e c r e t oomm it too *?e s a l a r y o f

0

o O

\i*4>

f*~ /o,ooo //r -e, -for ^.^.cC^

A

t h e P r e s i d e n t T-HH P "lj i".inft 11 r p and

A

fthfrh nf -ttm Q u e s to r . i 111,(Hlttj The

King was empowered to d isso lve thevBody, in which case a new one was

A

35

t o b e c h os e n b y t h e E l e c t o r a l C o l l e g e s w i t h i n s i x m o n t h s .

The r e l a t i o n s h i p o f t h e g o v e r nm e n t w i t h t h e L e g i s l a t i v e Body w as

f ix e d b y a d e c r e e o f J un e 1 6 , 1 8 0 5 . A C o u n c i l l o r o f S t a t e w e n t t o

th e Body a nd e x p l a in e d t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s r e a s o n s f o r w a n t i n g a l a w ,

se t a day on v /h ich th e Body mus t d i s c u ss i t , and l e f t two co p i e s o f i t

35 R e p o r t i n S tu d i 1 1 3 6 .


54/558

2

The Body then divid ed in to th re e commissions conc erned re sp ec -

t i v e ly with ju s t i c e , war, and f in an ce . The commission IT y

h

^^Tn^

,

T

v\ secret" u/liole ^hof-

ssE3=ey di sc us se d the p ro je c t

A

and then re po r te d to the

A

Sndy-. I f

the re po rt was fav ora ble , the Body voted on the b i l l without d is -

cu ssio n. If the re po rt was un fav ora ble , the O rato rs of the Con sigl ib

L eg isl at iv o were ca l le d in to defend i t . Then a vote was tak en . The

Commission of the Body cou ld con fer w ith the L e g i s la t iv e Council a t

any time in reg ar d to i t s r e p o r t . The vo te was by name, the members

walk ing to the Pre s id en t ' s t ab l e and d ropping ba l l s i n to d i f f e re n t ly

co lore d compartments of an urn t h e r e . The P re s id e n t, named by Napol

eon, c ould suspend the vo te a t any tim e. With such an arrangem ent

the government sho uld have been ab le t o g e t any law i t w ante d, "m

re

4 ^ - M M I

nielli ii E y p c r i e i t c e .Soon s.Uowe.ulH(s "~

issws se ri o us ly , on July 13 , 1805 ref us ed to pass the Law of Fin an ce ,

a

esp ec ia l ly ob jec ting to fe

A

new t ax on p r op er ty - t r an s f er s . Eugene

was going to dis so lve the BWy. bu t , a f t e r a conference with Prin a

and the C onseil d' E ta t ^decided th a t he needed th e budg et anyway. He

36 Pingaud: Bonapar te , pres ide nt de la repub11que i t a l i e n n e , , 13-20

248-56 ; Rober t ; : A j i / ano cap i ta te nago teon tea ,

f

r

f

n a - t *i -

37 A ldin i 62 . Minutes of Me etin gs .


55/558

3 8

w i t h d re w t h e o b j e c t i o n a b l e p a r t s a n d t h e b i l l p a s s e d on J u l y 1 7 .

3 9

T h e se a c t i o n s r o u s e d t h e w r a t h o f t h e E m p e r o r . On J u l y 26 h e h a d

t h e L e g i s l a t i v e B ody s u s p e n d e d . P o u r d a y s l a t e r E ug en e a n a l y s e d

t h e t r o u b l e t h u s : "The c a u se of t h e s e d i f f i c u l t i e s i s t h e a n i m o s i t y

w h i ch e v e r y o n e f e e l s t o w a r d t h e M i n i s t e r o f F i n a n c e . T he y s a y t h a t

s i n c e h e h a s b e e n m i n i s t e r , I t a l y h a s b e e n o v e r b u r d e n e d v/ it h t a x e s ,

a nd a t h o u s a n d o t h e r s i m i l a r s t u p i d t h i n g s . " I f P r i n a w as t h e c a u s e

o f t h i s a n i m o s i t y , h e w as t o s u f f e r c r u e l l y f o r . i t , b u t w h a t e v e r t h e

c a u s e , t h e L e g i s l a t i v e Body n e v e r m et a g a i n . N o t h i n g w as d e f i n i t e l y

a o l d afro ut fea..a u n t i l t h e S e n a t e w as c r e a t e d t o r e p l a c e i t . I t w a s

a.f pro p r r a t i o n ,

m e re ly no t summoned to m e e t , a n d no pi-run* siixAL

A

was made fo r i t i n th e

a n n u a l b u d g e t s .

3 8 E u ge n e t o N a p o l e o n , J u l y 1 7 a n d 2 1 , 1 8 0 5 i n D u c a s s e , I , 2 0 1 - 4 .

3 9 On J u l y 16 h e w r o t e t o E u g e n e : " V ou s n e d i s s i m u l e r e z p a s a u p r e s i d

q u ' l i s d o i v e n t b i e n s a v o i r q ue j e p o u v a i s a v e c ma s e u l e s i g n a t u r e t

c e t t e l o i a v a n t 1 ' e t a b l i s s e m e n t de l ' o r d r e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l . " On J u l

2 5 he s e n t tw o l e t t e r s t o t h e V i c e r o y s a y i n g , "C e c o r p s l e g i s l a t i f s a

b i e n q ue v o us n ' a v i e z p a s l e d r o i t de p r o p o s e r u n e l o i ; c e l l e - l a e t a n

s i g n ed d e mo i

S B H I ,

m oi s e u l a v a l s l e d r o i t d e f a i r e c e q ue a u r a i a

v o u l u . " A g a i n , " La p r e s e n t a t i o n de l a l o i e s t d a n s l e s a t t r i b u t i o n s

que j e me s u i s r e s e r v e e s . " F i n a l l y , " S i l a l o i s u r l ' e n r e g i s t r e m e n t

n e p a s s e p a s , j e l a p r e n d r a i de ma p r o p r e a u t o r i t e . . . e t t a n t q u e j e

s e r a i r o i , l e c o r p s l e g i s l a t i f n e s e r a p o i n t r e u n i . " S ee C o r r e s p o n d a

d e

N a p o l e o n , X I , 1 9 - 2 0 , 3 5 - 3 7 .


56/558

C o u n c i l o f S t a t e

D u r in g t h e R e p u b l i c t h e r e e x i s t e d tw o o t h e r g o v e r n m e n ta l

b o d i e s t h e C o n s u l t a d i S t a t o a n d t h e C o n s i g l i o L e g i s l a t i v o .

T he se w e re c o m p l e t e l y s e p a r a t e , a nd t h e i r m em bers w ere d i s t i n

g u i s h e d b y b e i n g c a l l e d C o u n c i l l o r s o f S t a t e a n d L e g i s l a t i v e

C o u n c i l l o r s . T h er e w er e e i g h t o f t h e f o r m e r , a l l o ve r f o r t y y e a r s

o l d , and r e c e i v i n g 3 0 ,0 0 0 l i r e a y e a r

A

f o r t h e i r s e r v i c e s . T hey

w e re em po wered t o e x am in e t r e a t i e s , p r o v id e f o r t h e s a f e ty o f t h e

R e p u b l i c , p r o p o s e r e f o rm s t o t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , s u s p e n d a n d n o m in a t e

j u d g e s , a nd a p p o i n t t h e P r e s i d e n t ' s s u c c e s s o r e v e r y te n y e a r s .

T h e L e g i s l a t i v e ' C

0

u n c i l h ad t e n m e m b er s, e a c h o v e r t h i r t y y e a r s

OH

o l d , a nd r e c d v i n g 2 0 , 00 0 l i r e a y e a r . I t d e l i b e r a t e d o r o i e c t s o f

A

l aw o r a ny o t h e r m a t t e r s s u b m i t t e d by t h e P r e s i d e n t a nd was s p e c i a l l y

charged

A

lir.--_.-T-

H i

e l a w s an d d e f e n c e s o f th em f o r t h e Le g i s l a t i v e B o d y

By a de cr ee of May 9, 1805 th e members of th e s e two b o d ie s w ere

jo in ed to th e Grand O f f i ce r s o f the Crown and the M in is te r s to fo rm

subdiri de.

a new body ca l l e d the C on si g l io d i St a t o , , This was to jgwo i t s member

dlulilffl-. i n t o f i v e s e c t i o n s c o nc e rn e d w i t h j u s t i c e , i n t e r n a l a f f a i r s ,

f i n a n c e , w a r , a n d r e l i g i o n .

Th is a r range men t was m od i f ied the fo l lo w in g month by the t h i r d

C o n s t i t u t i o n a l S t a t u t e . T i t l e IV d i v i d e d t h e C o u n c i l of S t a t e i n t o

t h r ee s e c t i o n s t h e c o n s i g l i o d e l c o n s u l t o r i , t h e c o n s i g l i o l e g i s

l a t i v o , a nd t he c o n s i g l i o d e g l i u d i t o r l . The c o n s u l t o r l w ere e i g h t

i n number- in c lu d in g the Grand O ff ic er s of the Crown. They were p r e

s i de d over by one of th e i r number named by the King and d is c u ss e d

p ro bl em s on t h e m e an in g o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a t u t e s a nd t r e a t i e s

of peace or commerce . They co uld a l s o name a r e g e n t f rom among th e
http://ir.--_.-t/http://ir.--_.-t/


57/558

Grand Officers if that were ever necessary.

The Consiglio Legislative- had twelve members with the right

to discuss all projects of law, all suggested rules of public

administration, and interpretations of these. Its presiding officer

was also named by the Kingo

The Consiglio degli Udltori had fifteen members with the right

(1) to judge all conflicts of jurisdiction or public administration

not in the sphere of the ordinary courts, (2) to judge agents o'f

public administration, (3) to consider all appeals from the Prefec-

tural Councils, (4) to grant concessions of mines or public waterways,

(5) to permit pxiblic or semi-public corporations of charity or re

ligion to accept donations or legacies, (6) to grant pensions to all

public agents, civil or military.

The Council of State was not only complicated in its formation.

It was no less involved in its methods of action. Every six months

the King was to divide the councillors into two services, ordinary

and extraordinary. The members of the Consiglio legislativo and the

Cpnsiglio dei consuitor were divided into three sections: (1) legis

lation and religion, (2) internal affairs and finance, (3) war and

navy.

^ese

sections made a preliminary report on the matters in

their competence to their council.

All members of the three councils met as the Council of State

to consider questions submitted to them. For projects of decrees

the Council was considered as having a quorum when two-thirds of

the members were present. For other matters eighteen members formed

a quorum.

39b

1

T ^ Secretary was Giuseppe Compagnoni (1751-I--1833) whose memoirs ha

been published; see G. Compagnoni: Memorie autobiografiche (Milan,192*^


58/558

The C o u n c i l o f S t a t e h a d a S e c r e t a r i a t e - g e n e r a l w h i c h k e p t a

r e c o r d o f a l l c o n t e n t i o n b e tw e e n t h e p u b l i c d o m ai n a nd i n d i v i d u a l s ,

a nd a l l a p p e a l s fr om t h e d e c i s i o n s of t h e C o u n c i l s of P r e f e c t u r e s a s

h e a r d by t h e A u d i t o r s . A f t e r i t s o r i g i n a l f o r m a t i o n , a n i n d i v i d u a l

c o u l d b e n am ed t o t h e L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l o n l y i f a l r e a d y a n A u d i t o r

a nd t o t h e C o n s u l t a t i v e C

n

u n c i l o n l y i f h e h a d b e e n a L e g i s l a t i v e

C o u n c i l l o r . The C o n s u l t e r s w e re n am ed f o r l i f e a n d c o u l d l o s e t h e i r

f u n c t i o n s b u t n o t t h e i r t i t l e or s a l a r y . M i n i s t e r s w ere e x - o f f i c i o

m em b ers o f t h e C o u n c i l o f S t a t e a n d c o u l d s i t w i t h w h i c h e v e r b o d y

w as c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e i r d u t i e s . The m e m b er s w e r e u s e d a s p u b l i c

40

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s a nd f o r m i s s i o n s a t hom e a n d a b r o a d . T he s a l a r y w as

2 5 , 0 0 0 l i r e o f M i l a n f o r a C

0

n s u l t e r , 1 5 , 0 0 0 f o r a L e g i s l a t i v e C ou n-

a.i t\u.s.l

c i l l o r , an d 6 , 0 00 f o r an A u d i t o r . The t o t a l e x p e n s e o f t h i s i n s t i t u -

4 1

t i o n w as 6 3 1 , 8 0 0 l i r e o f M i l a n o r 4 8 4 , 9 1 8 l i r e o f I t a l y .

By;a de c r e e o f D e c e mbe r 19 , 1807 c ha ng e s w e r e made i n t he C ou nc i l

o f S t a t e t o p r o v i d e f o r t h e i n c r e a s e i n t e r r i t o r y c a u s e d by t h e a n n e x

a t i o n o f V e n e t i a . The n um be r o f L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l l o r s w as i n c r e a s e d

t o e i g h t e e n a n d t h e n u m b er o f A u d i t o r s t o t w e n t y . T h e r e w as a l s o

a t t a c h e d t o th e C o u n c il o f S t a t e t w e lv e A s s i s t e n t i w i t h t h e a t t r i b u t i o

h e l d b y t h o s e i n P r a n c e a s i n t h e d e c r e e o f 1 9 G e r m i n a l a n X I . T h e s e

r e c e i v e d 1 , 0 0 0 l i r e a y e a r fro m t h e T r e a s u r y a n d h a d t o r e c e i v e a n

42

a d d i t i o n a l 8 000 fro m t h e i r f a m i l i e s . T h es e A s s i s t a n t s w e re a i d e s

t o t h e C

0

u n c i l l o r s an d s e r v e d a n o . p p r o n t l o o o M p i n p u b l i c a d m i n i s t r a t i

4~0 A l i s t ' o f m e m b er s o f t h e C o u n c i l o f S t a t e i s i n A l d i n i 6 2 , o r i n

t h e A lm an ac co R e a l e , o r i n Z a n o l i : S u l l a M i l i z l a C l s a l p i n o - I t a l i a n a

( 2 v o l . , 18 4 5 ) I , 2 4 0 .

4 1 D i B r e m e ' s r e p o r t t o A l d i n i o f F e b r u a r y 8 , 1 8 0 8 i n A l d i n i 6 2 .

4 2 A P i v l 7 1 0 B . C o m p a r e C . D u r a n d : Le C o n s e i l d ' S t a t n a p o l e o n i e n

( P a r i s , 191+9)


59/558

in th i s way. A subsequent decre e of Ju ly 1 1813 re gu la te d th es e

po st s and provi ded th a t the A s s i s ta n t s must be do ct or s in law or

sc ien ce from one of the th re e u n i v e r s i t i e s of th e Kingdom have

fu fi l l ed th ei r mil i t ar y ser vi ce and have an income of 8 000 each.

Tfomy uifMVH - J l T r i u m l I n Vim

j

ir*\- M l-T I >I M l 11> I

-

^ l m M I

n

f f l ft Pi tin ' m h i l l l

N n j ' i ' 1 -

o rt ;n .. 'p i ' ij ^i au a u u l y . j f

U JJ UU IM HJ |.II

iTrml I'.t.^i.l: fiiid.

c

i ^ l i l i l

u Vy uuu.

i / U L r ' j

S^333H .

The following

day

December

20 1807 the

fifth Constitutional

Statute

was

issued. This ordered that

the

Council

of

Consulters

cease

to be

part

of the

Council

of

State

and

take

the

name Senato

Consulente.

It

joined

to its

attributions

the

registration

of all

laws

and the

repression

of all

abuses.of civil liberty.

Its

members

were

to be

chosen

by the

King from

a

triple list submitted

by the

Electoral Colleges

in

such

a

fashion that there

be one at

least from

43

each department.

This decree

and the

subsequent sixth Constitutional Statute

which fixedthefunctionsof theSenate lefttheCouncilofStatein

a strange position.

On

November 22 ,

1808

Eugene wrote

to the

Emperor

and described

the

need

si

reorganizing

the

body.

He

fee-Cunull LuLioiiy-

3-g-fluuaultyi'n,i

la

i l ^ '

3

^

+->>pC-uunol

1 of

l a l l v e ;

*f

t h e

C o u n c i l

iwi-fcfc-tfchrfci

t h o o u p -

w l u n

uP \.)M

i , M p ' l a J . a t i v e B o d y

an d Llm

fjhf-th

a n d

s i x t h S t a t u - i

4 3 A P i v l 7 1 0 B .


60/558

p o i n t e d ou t t h a t t h e L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l , w i t h c o g n i z a n c e o n ly of

p r o j e c t s to r e g u l a t e p u b l i c a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , h a d l i t t l e t o d o . The

C o u n ci l of A ud it o r s.^ with a l l c o n f l i c t s o f j u r i s d i c t i o n , a p p e a l s

from P r e f e c t u r a l C o u n c i l s , c o n c e s s i o n s o f f r a n c h i s e s , a nd f r e e

a c q u i s i t i o n s by c o r p o r a t i o n s ^ h a d t o o m uch t o d o . N ot o n l y w as

t h i s l a c k o f ba l a nc e ba d , bu t no one c ou l d be c om e a L e g i s l a t i ve

C o u n c i l l o r w i t h o u t h a v i n g be en an' A u d i t o r . T h i s e f f e c t i v e l y c l o s e d

ujkose.

the Cou nc i l o f S t a te to P re fe c t s wlm ml i r i i

A

s a l a r i e s o f 15 , 000 t o

0B* t*idde 'A.~v iAV\vo\U


61/558

3

i t s o r i g i n a l t h r e e s e c t i o n s o n l y one h a d a n y i m p o r t a n t r e g u l a r

d u t i e s , a n d t h e s e w er e m uch m o re o f a r o u t i n e n a t u r e t h a n o ne

w o ul d e x p e c t i n a b o dy b e a r i n g t he t i t l e C o u n c i l o f . S t a t e . T he

bod**

e x i s t e n c e o f t h i s B5 d i d n o t i n a n y w ay p e r s u a d e t h e g o v e r n m e n t

vt

to yield to TBWi..tna^r

A

the power or the opportunity to make any im

portant decisions. Nevertheless, the Council of State was frequently

a place of sharp disputes. These, however, were usually caused by

the clash of personalities and not of principles or policies. This

body also had the bad effect of encouraging insubordination and lack

of discipline within the Ministries. This nrrrH liWt frrm the fact

that all the Directors-general as well as all the Ministers were

members of the Council. The former could always get their acts of

insubordination condoned by persuading the majority of the Council

to vote with them against their respective Ministers. Paradisi was

especially prone to do this and on at least two occasions^after disa

greements with di Breme^introduced the matter in the Council where

his view was approved. The same thing happened to di Breme when

Moscati insisted that the Minister had no right to review 5& cases

of students expelled from public schools for disciplinary reasons.

leJ

I t w a s t h e l o s s o f t h e s e t h r e e a r g u m e n t s w h i c h mrn'iiufrnnfld i Breme to

4

s u b m i t h i s r e s i g n a t i o n j w h i c h was a c c e p t e d o nl y e i g h t e e n m o n th s l a t e r .

4 5 S e e d i B r e m e : O b s e r v a t i o n s d u M. A r b o r i o G a t t i n a r e d e B r'em e s u r

q u e lq u es a r t l c l e s p eu e x a c t s de " L ' h i s t o i r e de 1 ' a d m i n i s t r a t i o n d u

royaum e d ' l t a l i e p e n d a n t l a d o m i n a t i o n d e s F r a n c a i s " a t t r i b u t e ~ a u n

n0111171? M. F r e d e r i c C o r a c c l n i e_t t r a d u i t e d e 1 ' i t a l i e n ( T u r i n , 1 8 2 3 T "

p . 2 3 f'f. Some of t h e r e c o r d s o f t h e C o n s i g l i o d i S t a t o a r e i n A l d i n i

4 7 - 4 8 .

M i n u t e s o f t h e f i r s t m e e t i n g s o f t h e C o u n c i l w i t h N a p o le o n

p r e s i d i n g a s K i n g ( M a y - Ju n e 1 8 0 5 ) a r e i n A F i v l 7 0 9 A . T h e s e h a v e b e e n

p u b l i s h e d b y R a va :'* N ap ol e o ne I n e l C o n s i g l i o d i S t a t o d e l R e gn o I t a l i c

I I C o n s i g l i o d i S t a t o . S t u d l i n o n o r e d e l c e n t e n a r i o (2 v o l . , R om e,

1 9 3 2 ) , I .


62/558

3

Senate

We have seen how the Senate was formed from the Council of

Consulters by the fifth Constitutional Statute of December 1807,

It was organized by a sixth Statute on March 21, 1808. This

pro

vided that the Senate should consist of the Princes of the Royal

Blood, the Grand Officers of the Crown, the Archbishops of the

Kingdom, and eight citizens for each million inhabitants. These

latter were chosen bythe.King with at least two from each department

One of these was taken f

carroll quigley-public administration of the napoleonic kingdom of italy 1938

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