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ARTICLE III.-THE STATES GENERAL OF FRANCE.*

I. THE ORIGIN OF THE STATES GENERAL.

THE States General of France, like the Diet of Germany and the English Parliament, first took shape in the political and social conditions accompanying the decline of Feudalism. They survived only three centuries; during that period even they did not remain a fixed and definitely constituted factor of the government. Yet they had a mission, a history full of significance; they exerted an influence that even to-day has not wholly ceased to be felt. The iron hand of absolutism seemed to crush out for centuries among the French all disposition toward popular rule; but the Revolution of 1789 with its violence and horrors was only the penalty France had to suffer for allowing the States General to decline. It is a striking illustration of the persistency of force in natural tendencies that to-day France is a representative democracy.

The great "law of perfectibility" applies to human institutions as well as to human lives. All fall short of the ideal ; yet some seem to have fulfilled the purpose of their existence much better than others. Failures, however, are often more instructive than successes; they reveal with greater clearness causes, dangers, possible remedies. No portion of political history is more suggestive, or presents more sharply the difficulties which popular government has to meet, than the record of the attempts of the French to establish a representative institution.

The States General first assembled in 1302. But that first meeting marked the climax of centuries of progress; in the

*It is proposed in a series of articles to treat briefly the Origin, Organization, Powers and Functions, and Causes of Decline, of the States General of France. For a preliminary discussion see the July New Englander, Art. III., "The Genesis of Modern Free Institutions." I regret that lack of space precludes the insertion of references to authorities, as well as the text of the laws and ordinances upon which many of the statements are based.

mind of a people great ideas mature but slowly. Dim foreshadowings of representative government may be traced in the very beginnings of French history. All the various elements that blended together to make up the French nationality contributed each a part to the structure of French liberties. The Kelt, the Roman, and the Teuton, each had something to do with fixing in the mind of the people the principle of representation, which, when well-nigh obliterated amid the strife and anarchy of temporal powers, was retained and handed down to a brighter day in the organization of the Church.

Long before the birth of Christ the Keltic peoples of Gaul had reached the highest point of their independent development. They had made some progress in the arts; and in the rudiments of civilization far surpassed their Teutonic neighbors. The soil was cultivated under a tenure much like that of Feudalism. Each man of wealth was surrounded by a band of retainers who, under an honorable and easy clientship, tilled the fields and conducted his business or served as his force in war. Politically Gaul was pervaded by a spirit of independence and love of freedom. The country was divided up among many tribes or peoples, each of which jealously defended its territory and guarded its autonomy. The tribal organization was essentially democratic, the underlying principle everywhere being that of election. Each year a civil chief and a military leader were chosen by the people. In the Gallic character however there was a spirit of restless impulse and fickleness that twenty centuries has not obliterated, that appears among the French of to-day; changes in government were hence very frequent. Sometimes a man becoming more influential than the rest usurped the supreme power; occasionally a circle of aristocrats for a time held sway; but sooner or later the people asserted their rights and regained their authority. War was the usual occupation of great landholders, who, supported by their clients, were continually engaging in private battles. To so great an extent was individuality made prominent that at times there was almost complete anarchy. More than once foreign powers gained a foot-hold in Gaul by being called in to settle intestine difficulties.

But behind all the strifes of both tribes and parties there

was an influence that tended to bring about the unity and harmony of all Gaul. The Druids formed a mysterious and powerful hierarchy from whose mandates there was no appeal. Above the individual, above the State, as endowed with authority from the unseen world, they terrified into submission the fierce spirit of a people that owned no other control. With austere countenance and strange dress, with an imposing ritual of service, always attractive to the Gaul (as to his French descendant), and with the horrible rites of human sacrifice they held the worshiper in awe. They alone had knowledge; from generation to generation they handed down a body of science both physical, moral, and political. To them therefore was entrusted the administration of justice. Whoso obeyed not their decrees was ever after treated as an outcast. In each state the Druids formed the supreme tribunal; but further than this there was a religious and judicial unity of all Gaul. Once each year the Druids from every part assembled at a point in the country of the Carnutes, probably in the vicinity of modern Dreux. Hither from all quarters were brought disputes and dissensions, and with the assembly of priests the ultimate decision rested. Differences between states, as well as between great men or parties of the same state were thus settled. At the head of all the Druids was one who possessed well-nigh supreme authority over them. At his death the members of the order most eminent in wisdom and dignity. succeeded; but if no one stood forth prominently above the others, the office was filled by election.

In Caesar's time the Gauls were degenerating. The growth of towns and the rapid increase of wealth had introduced marked divisions of classes, while the decline of society was hastened by corrupting contact with the Greeks. Honorable clientship had sunk to slavery. Only two ranks, the Druids and the Knights, possessed any authority or dignity. Of the common people "the greater part," says Caesar, "being overwhelmed by debt or by the weight of taxation or by the oppression of the powerful, place themselves in subjection to the nobles. These have over them the same rights as masters over slaves." The country was in a state of ceaseless ferment. Some states were struggling for the supremacy of all Gaul,

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and to these most of the others were forced to pay tribute. The authority of the Druids both as administrators of justice and as arbiters in disputes had declined; their strongest influence was no longer in Gaul but in Britain. In each state there were factions, and usurpations of power were frequent. Yet the public offices were filled by election, and no tyranny was long endured. A council, or senate, formed an essential part of the machinery of government; its nature however cannot be definitely determined. It appears to have been a body of considerable authority, and to it were restricted all discussions on matters of state. Some have maintained that the Gauls had a national or federal council, at which deputies from the different states met and took measures for the general good. The evidence for the existence of such an organization is, however, not conclusive. There were frequent leagues and coalitions, but nothing like a regular assembly with representation from each state. Nevertheless the Gauls seem to have united to oppose the progress of Caesar, and through their delegates the states were bound to furnish for the war fixed supplies of men and money. Here indeed we see a trace of the federative principle, but there was yet no political unity. The Gauls formed the substratum of the French nation; and the principles of election and federation, which were common to both their political and their religious organization, were too firmly fixed in the national character ever to be wholly effaced. Though doomed twice to become a subject race, and even to have their language replaced by another, the Kelts, in political as well as social elements, have transmitted to the French much more than is commonly supposed.

In the organization and administration of Gaul under the Romans also the operation of elective and federative principles may be traced. Three years of merciless warfare left Gaul prostrate at Caesar's feet. But for a conqueror she had a man of great constructive, as well as destructive, powers. The Roman policy was to treat with kindness a fallen foe-not indeed from any feeling of humanity, but for purely selfish ends. Caesar, therefore, so far from destroying the old federations, maintained them and turned them to his own account. He appointed assemblies, at which delegates from the states

loyal to Rome were expected to be present. He himself presided, and advised-crafty ruler that he was-with the representatives of the states regarding the common weal. Here public measures were presented, taxes were levied, and the wishes of the people in some degree, we may suppose, were made known. On one occasion the Senones being absent he at once marched against them on the ground of rebellion. He frequently chose some city easy of access for the holding of a court, or judicial assembly, at which all who had complaints to make or disputes to settle could receive justice.

Thus the ancient institutions of Gaul were preserved as far as was consistent with Roman dominion. No sooner, indeed, was the country thoroughly subjugated than Caesar began to make use of its resources for the carrying out of his own designs. A legion of hardy Gauls, drilled in the Roman fashion, aided him in the civil war. Citizenship was bestowed on many, and some of his trans-Alpine friends were even admitted to the Roman Senate. In many ways the Gauls were the recipients of special favors. During the reign of Augustus the country was placed under a more regular administration. The Latin language and the Roman law became definitely established through numerous schools and the courts. From this time the Romanizing of Gaul went on rapidly. The municipal system replaced the old tribal organization, while the confederations of states gave way to provincial assemblies. These now became largely religious in design, providing for the maintenance of a common sanctuary, but at the same time treating political matters that concerned the province. Strabo gives an account of a temple to Caesar Augustus at Lugdunum to the building and support of which sixty tribes (peoples) contributed.

With increasing absolutism at Rome the provincial governors grew more and more tyrannical, the burdens of taxation heavier, and it was evident that the strength of the empire was gradually wasting away. At length, in the latter part of the fourth century, an effort was made by the Roman government to revive the energies of its subjects by restoring to them at least the semblance of former liberties and by giving them incentives to united action. In the year 380 a decree

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