THE BEE AND THE BUTTERFLY. By Mrs ROBINSON. "With various gaudy colours spread, PON a garden's perfum'd bed Beneath the shelter of a Rofe A Bee, impatient to devour "Thou empty thing, whofe merit lies Nature unveils the blufhing fpring? Hence, from thy lurking place, and know 'Tis not for thee her beauties glow." The Butterfly, with decent pride, In gentle accents, thus reply'd: "Tis true, I flutter life away In paftime, innocent and gay; The Sun that decks the blufhing fpring Gives luftre to my painted wing; "Tis Nature bids each colour vie, With rainbow tints of varying die; I boaft no skill, no fubtle pow'r, To fteal the balm from ev'ry flow'r; The Rofe that only thelter'd me Has pour'd a load of fweets on thee, Of merit we have both our fhare, Heav'n gave thee Art, and made me fair And tho' thy cunning can defpife. The humble worth of harmless flies; Remember, envious, bufy thing, Enjoy thy garden, while I rove, Thy honey'd form conceals a fling; And far remov'd from care and thee, The funny hill, the woodbine grove, Embrace my humble destiny; While in fome lone fequefter'd bow'r I'll live content beyond thy pow'r; For where Ill-nature holds her reign Tafte, Worth, and Beauty, plead in vain, E'en Genius muft to Pride fubmit, When Envy wings the fhaft of wit," น THE Monthly Register FOR AUGUST 1791. FRANCE. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. PARIS, Auguf 5- M. THE FRENCH CONSTITUTION. The Report was read and applauded, and on the motion of M lá Fayette, the Committee of Conffitution was ordered to prepare a plan for prefenting the Confitutional Act to the most independent examination and free acceptation by the king. HEAD I. in the kingdom;-who having been borg in a foreign country, of a French father, have returned to fettle in France, and have taken the Civic Oath;--in fine, who having been born in a foreign coun try, being defcended in whatever de man, who have left their country from to relide in religious motives, come France, and take the Civic Oath.. III. Those who being born out of the kingdom, of foreign parents, refide in France, become French citizens after five years of continued refidence in the kingdom; if, befides, they have acquired real property, or married a French woman, or formed a commercial ellablifhment, and if they have taken the Civic Oati. IV. The Legislative Power may, from FUNDAMENTAL DISPOSITIONS, GUA- important confiderations, naturalize a fo RANTEED BY THE CONSTITUTION. The Conflitution guarantees, as natural and civil rights, 1. That all citizens are admiffible to places and employments without any diftinction, but that of ability and vir tue. II. That all contributions fhall be divided equally among all the citizens, in proportion to their means. III. That the fame crimes fhall be fubject to the fame punifhments, without any diftinction of perfons. HEAD II. OF THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM, AND THE STATE OF CITIZENS. I. France is divided into eighty-three Departments, each Department into Diftricts, and each District into Cantons. II. Thofe are French citizens who are born in France, of a French father;who having been born in France of a foreign father, have fixed their refidence X VOL. XIV. No. 80. reigner, upon no other condition than that of refiding in France, and taking the Civic Oath. V. The Civic Oath is: "I fwear to "be faithful to the Nation, the Law, " and the King; and to maintain, with all my power, the Conflitution des "creed by the Conflituent National Affembly during the years 1789, 1796, 6 and 1791. 66 " VI. The right of French citizenship is loft; It, By naturalization in a foreign A The French Conftitution. 162 The Legislative Power may fix the VIII. The citizens who compote tash community have the right of chufing, according to the forms preferibed by the law, thofe among them who, under the name of municipal officers, are charged with the management of the particular affairs of the community. To the municipal officers may be delegated certain functions relative to the general intereft of the ftate. IX. The rules which the municipal offers fhall be bound to follow in the exercife, bth of the municipal functions, and of thofe which fhall be delegated to them for the general intereft, fhall be fixed by the laws. HEAD III. OF THE PUBLIC POWERS. I. The fovereignty is one, indivifible, and appertains to the nation: no fection of the people can atrogate the exercife of it. II. The nation, from which alone flow all the powers, cannot exercite them but by delegation. The French Conftitution is reprefen tative: the Representatives are the Legiflative Body and the King. III The Legiflative Power is delegated to a National Affembly, compofed of temporary reprefentatives, freely chofen by the people, to be exercifed by this Affembly, with the fanction of the King, in manner afterwards determined. IV. The Government is monarchical; the executive power is delegated to the King, to be exercifed under his authority, by minifiers and other refponfible agents, in manner afterwards determined. V. The judicial power is delegated to judges, chofen for a time limited by the people. CHAPTER I. 1. The National Affembly, forming the Legislative Body, is permanent, and conlifts of one chamber only. II. It shall be formed by new elections every two years. Each period of two years fhall form one Legislature. III. The renewal of the Legislative Body fhall be matter of full right. IV. The Legislative Body fhall not be diffolved by the King. SECTION I. NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES.-BASIS the Legislative Body shall be seven hun lonies. tributed among the eighty-three Depart ments, according to the three II. The Reprefentatives fhall be dif tions of land, of population, and the contribution direct. propor III. Of the feven hundred and fortyfive Reprefentatives, two hundred and forty-feven are attached to the land. Of which fhall nominate only one. there each Department fhall, nominate three, except the Department of Paris, IV. Two hundred and forty-nine Reprefentatives are attributed to the popu pulation of the kingdom is divided into lation. The total mass of the active pothe Deputies as it contains parts of the two hundred and ninety-four parts, and each Department nominates as many of Population. bution direct. The fum-total of the diV. Two hundred and forty-nine Rerect contribution of the kingdom is likepresentatives are attached to the contrinine parts, and each Department nomiwife divided into two hundred and fortynates as many Deputies as it pays paris of the contribution. SECTION II. PRIMARY ASSEMBLJES NOMINATION ELECTORS. tional Affembly, the active citizens thell II. To be an active citizen, it is ne a Frenchman; To have attained twenty-five years To have refided in the city or cantoi value of three days labour, and to pro- Not Not to be in a menial capacity, namely, that of a fervant receiving wages; To be infcribed in the Municipality of the place of his refidence in the liit of the National Guards; To have taken the Civic Oath. III. Every fix years the Legislative Body fhall fix the minimum and the maximum of the value of a day's ahour, and the Adminiftrators of the Departments thall determine the rate for every diftrist. IV. None hall exercife the rights of an active citizen in more than one place, nor employ another as his fubiitute. V. thofe fhall be excluded from the rights of an active citizen who are in a ftate of accufàtion. Thofe who, after having been in a state of failure or bank ruptcy, fhall not produce a general difcharge from their creditors. VI. The primary Affemblies fhall name electors in the proportion of the number of active citizens refiding in the city or canton; There fhall be named one elector to the Affembly, or not, according as there fhall happen to be present a hundred active citizens; There shall be named two, when there fhall be prefent from one hundred and fity-one to two hundred and fifty, and fo on in this proportion. VII. No man can be named elector, if along with the conditions neceffary, in order to be an active citizen, he does not join that of paying a contribution direct of day's labour *. ment, and a number of Subftitutes equ 1 to the third of the Reprefentatives. II. The Reprefentatives and Subftitutes fhall he chosen by an abfolute majority of votes. III. All active citizens, whatever be their ftate, profeffion, or contribution, may be chofen as Reprefentatives of the nation. IV. Excepting nevertheless, the Minifters and other agents of the executive power, revokeable at pleasure, the Commiflioners of the National Treafury, the Collectors and Receivers of the dire Contributions, thofe who fuperintend the collection and management of the indirect Contributions, and those who, under whatever denomination, hold any emplov in the Royal Household. V. The exercife of the municipal, adminiftrative, and judiciary functions, thall be incompatible with the function of a Reprefentative of the nation during every period of the Legislature. VI. The Members of the Legifla ive Body may be re-elected to the next Legiflature, but not till after an interval of two years t. VII. The Reprefentatives named in the Departments fhall not be Reprefentatives of a particular Department, but of the whole nation; and their freedom of opinion cannot be controlled by any inftructions either of the primary Af femblies, or of the Electors. SECTION IV. SESSION AND REGULATION OF THE PRI MARY AND ELECTORAL ASSEMBLIES. I. The functions of the primary and electoral Affemblies thall be limited merely to the right of chufing; as foon as the election is over, they fhail feparate, and fhall not meet again till they fhall have been fummoned. II. No active citizen can enter or vote in The Committees of Conftitution and of Revision are of opinion, that in order to proferve the purity of the National Reprefentation, which in our Conflitution is the first bafis of Liberty, it is of importance to fecure as much as poftible the independence and enlightened spirit of the Electoral Affemblies, and to fet no limits to the confidence repofed in them, and the freedom of choice to which they are entitled; confequently they propofe to the Affmbly to fupprefs the condition of a mark of filver Attached to the eligibility of the Members of the Legislative Body, and to augment the contribution required for Electors. It follows, however, that the Electoral Bodies being formed previous to the regulation, these alterations fhall have no influence in the choice of the next Legislature. The Committees of Conftitution and Revifion regard the limitation ftipulated this Article, as contrary to Liberty, and pernicious to the national intereft. in an Affembly, if he is armed or dreff ed in an uniform, unless he be in the fervice, in which cafe he may vote in uniform, but without arms. III. No armed force can be introduced in the Meeting, except at the exprefs defire of the Affembly, unlefs in the cafe of actual violence, when the order of the Prefident fhall be fufficient to call in the aid of the public force. IV. Every two years there fhall be drawn up in each diftrict lifts by cantons of the active citizens, and the lift of each canton fhall be published, and poked up two months before the meeting of the primary Affembly. The protefts which fhall be made either against the right of citizens named in the lift, or on the part of those who fhall affirm that they are unjully omitted, fhall be carried to the tribunals in order to be there decided upon. The lift fhall ferve to regulate the admiffion of citizens in the next primary Affembly, in every point that fhall have been ascertained by a fentence pronounced before the fitting of the Affembly. V. The Electoral Affemblies have the right of verifying the quality and powers of those who fall prefent themselves there, and their decifions fhall be provifionally executed, with a referve for the fentence of the Legislative Body at the time of the verification of the powers of Deputies. VI. In no cafe, and under no pretext, fhall the King, or any agents named by him, intertere in 'queftions relative to the regularity of the convocation, the fitting of the Affemblies, the form of elections, or the political rights of citi SECTION V. MEETING OF THE REPRESENTATIVES IN THE LEGISLATIVE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. I. The R prefentatives fhall convene on the first Monday of May, in order to fupply the place of the taft Legislature. II. They fhall form themfelves provifionally under the presidence of the eldest of their number, in order to verify the powers of the Reprefentatives prefent. III. As foon as thefe fhall be verified, to the number of three hundred and feventy-three members, they fhall conftitute themselves under the title of Legiflative National Affembly; they fhall name a Prefident, Vice-Prefident, and Secretaries, and enter upon the exercife of their functions. IV. During the whole of the month of May, if the number of the Reprefentatives prefent fal. fhort of three hundred and feventy-three, the Affembly fhall nor perform any legiflative act. They may iffue an arret, enjoining abfent Members to attend their functions within fifteen days at furtheft, under a penalty of 3000 livres if they do not produce an excufe which fhall be deemed lawful by the Legiflative Body. V. On the last day of May, whatever be the number of Members present, they fhall conftiute themfelves a Legislative National Affembly. VI. The Reprefentatives fhall pronounce in a body, in the name of the French people, the oath," to live free or die !" They fhail then individually take the oath to maintain, with all their power, the Conftitution of the kingdom, decreed by the Conftituting National Affembly, during the years 1789, 1790, and 1793, to propofe or affent to nothing in the courfe of the Leg flature which may at all tend to intringe it, and to be in every refpect faithful to the Nation, the Law, and the King. VII. The Reprefentatives of the Nation are inviolable. They cannot be examined, accufed, or judged at any time with refpect to what they may have faid, written, or performed in the exercife of their functions as Reprefenta tives. |