HEAD V. LEGISLATIVE POWER. General Difpofitions. 44. The legislative body is compofed of a council of elders and a council of five hundred. 45. The legislative body cannot, in any cafe, delegate to one or more of its members, or to any one whomfoever, any of the functions attributed to it by the present conftitution. 46. It cannot exercise, by itself or by delegates, the executive power or the judicial authority. 47. There is an incompatibility between the quality of member of the legislative body, and the exercife of any other public function, except that of archivist of the Republic. 48. The law determines the mode of the definitive or temporary replacing public functionaries who are elected members of the legiflative body. 49. Each department concurs, in proportion to its population only, in the nomination of members of the council of elders, and of members of the council of five hundred. 50. Every ten years the legislative body, according to statements of population fent to it, determines the number of members of either council which each department ought to furnish. 51. No change can be made in this diftribution during that interval. 52. The members of the legislative body are not reprefentatives of the department which nominates them, but of the whole nation; and no injunction can be laid on them. 53. Both councils are renewed annually by thirds. 54. The members going out after three years may be immediately elected for the three years following, after which there must be an interval of two years to render them eligible again. 55. No man, in any cafe, can be a member of the legislative body during more than fix years following. 56. If, by extraordinary circumstances, one of the two councils find itfelf reduced to lefs than two thirds of its members, it gives notice to the executive directory, which is bound to convoke, without delay, the primary affemblies of the departments which have members of the legislative body to replace in confequence of circumftances; the primary affemblies immediately nominate electors, who proceed to the neceffary replacings. 57. The members newly elected for either council meet on the ift Prairial (May 20) of each year, in the commune pointed out by the legislative body preceding, or in the commune where it held its laft fittings, if another be not pointed out. 58. The two councils refide always in the fame commune. 59. The 59. The legislative body is permanent; it may nevertheless adjourn itself for ftated terms. 60. In no cafe can the fame councils meet in the fame hall. 61. The functions of prefident and of fecretaries cannot exceed the duration of one month, either in the council of elders, or in that of five hundred. 62. The two councils have refpectively the right of police, in the place of their fittings, and its external circuit, fuch as they determine it. 63. They have respectively the right of police over their members; but they cannot pronounce a fentence more fevere than cenfure, arrest for eight days, and imprisonment for three. 64. The fittings of both councils are public: the perfons who attend cannot exceed the number of the half of the respective members of each council. The minutes of their fittings are printed. 65. Every vote is taken by fitting down and rifing up in cafe of doubt, their names are called over; but the individual votes are then fecret. 66. On the demand of one hundred of its members, either council may form itself into a general and fecret committee; but only to difcufs, and not to vote. 67. Neither council can create, in its own body, a permanent committee. Only each council has the power, when a matter appears to it fufceptible of a preparatory examination, to nominate, from among its members, a fpecial commiffion, which confines itself folely to the object of its formation. This commiffion is diffolved as foon as the council has decided upon the object with which it was charged. 68. The members of the legislative body receive an annual indemnity it is, in both councils, fixed at the value of three thoufand myriagrammes of wheat (fix hundred and thirteen quintals, thirty-two pounds.) 69. The executive directory cannot caufe to pass, or stop, any body of troops within the distance of fix myriameters (twelve mean leagues) of the commune where the legislative body holds its fittings, unless upon its requifition, or with its authority. 70. There is about the legislative body a guard of citizens, taken from the fedentary national guard of all the departments, and chofen by their brothers in arms. This guard cannot be lefs than one thousand five hundred men in activity of fervice. 71. The legislative body determines the mode and duration of this fervice. 72. The legislative body attends no public ceremony, and fends thither no deputation. VOL. III.-PART ii. Council Council of Five Hundred. 73. The council of five hundred is invariably fixed at this number. 74. To be elected a member of the council of five hundred, a man must be thirty years of age complete, and have been domiciliated upon the territory of the Republic during the ten years which immediately preceded the election. The condition of being thirty years of age fhall not be requirable before the feventh year of the Republic; till that period, the age of twenty-five years complete fhall be fufficient. 75. The council of five hundred cannot deliberate, if its fitting be not compofed of two hundred members at least. 76. The propofing of laws appertains exclusively to the council of five hundred. 77. No propofition can be debated or refolved upon in the council of five hundred without obferving the following forms: -The propofition is read three times; the interval between two of thefe readings cannot be lefs than ten days. The difcution is opened after each reading; and, nevertheless, after the first or the fecond reading, the council of five hundred may declare that there is ground for adjournment, or, that there is not ground for deliberating. Every propofition must be printed and diftributed two days before the fecond reading. After the third reading, the council of five hundred decides whether or not there be ground for adjournment. 78. No propofition, which, being submitted to difcuffion, has been definitively rejected after the third reading, can be re-produced till after the revolution of a year. 79. The propofitions adopted by the council of five hundred are called refolutions. 80. The preamble of every refolution fets forth, 1. the dates: of the fittings in which the three readings of the propofition took place; 2. the act by which it was declared, after the third reading, that there was not ground for adjournment. 81. Propofitions recognised as urgent by a previous declaration of the council of five hundred, are exempted from the forms prefcribed by article 77. This declaration fets forth the motives of urgency, and mention is made of it in the preamble to the refolution. Council of Elders. 82. The council of elders is composed of two hundred and fifty members. 83. No man can be elected a member of the council of elders, if he be not forty years of age complete; if he be not married, or a widower, and if he has not been domiciliated on the territory of of the Republic during the fifteen years which immediately pre ceded the election. 84. The condition of domiciliation required by this article, and that prescribed by article 74, do not concern the citizens who are gone out of the territory of the Republic with million from go vernment. 85. The council of elders cannot deliberate, if the fitting be not compofed of one hundred and twenty-fix members at leaft. 86. It appertains, exclufively, to the council of elders to approve or reject the refolutions of the council of five hundred. 87. As foon as a refolution of the council of five hundred comes to the council of elders, the prefident reads the preamble. 88. The council of elders refufes to approve the refolutions of the council of five hundred, which have not been come to accor ding to the forms prefcribed by the conftitution. 89. If the propofition has been declared urgent by the council of five hundred, the council of elders deliberates upon approving or rejecting the act of urgency. 90. If the council of elders reject the act of urgency, it does not deliberate upon the principle of the refolution. 91. If the refolution be not preceded by an act of urgency, it is read three times: the interval between two of these readings cannot be less than five days. The difcuffion is opened after each reading. Every refolution is printed and diftributed, two days at leaft before the fecond reading. 92. The refolutions of the council of five hundred, adopted by the council of elders, are called laws. 93. The preamble to laws fets forth the dates of the fittings of the council of elders, in which the three readings took place. 94. The decree by which the council of elders recognises the urgency of a law is mentioned, with the reafons affigned for it, in the preamble to that law. 95. The propofition of a law made by the council of five hun dred is understood of all the articles of one plan; the council of elders must reject them all, or approve the whole. 96. The approbation of the council of elders is expressed on each propofition of law by this formula, figned by the prefident and fecretaries: the council of elders approves. 97. The refufal to adopt on account of omiffion of the forms pointed out in article 77 of this head, is expreffed by this for mula, figned by the prefident and fecretaries: the conflitution annuls. 98. The refufal to approve the principle of a law propofed is expreffed by this formula, figned by the prefident and fecretaries: the council of elders cannot adopt. 99. In the cafe of the present article, the plan of the law rejected cannot be again prefented by the council of five hundred, till after the revolution of a year. C 2 100. The 100. The council of five hundred may, nevertheless, prefent, at any period whatever, a plan of a law which contains articles that made part of a plan which has been rejected. 101. The council of elders fends the laws it has adopted, within the day, both to the council of five hundred, and to the executive directory. 102. The council of elders may change the residence of the legislative body; it points out, in this cafe, a new place, and the period at which the two councils are bound to repair to it. decree of the council of elders upon this fubject is irrevocable. The 103. On and after the day of this decree, neither of thefe counAils can deliberate any more in the commune where they had till then refided. The members who would there continue their functions, will render themselves guilty of an offence against the furety of the Republic. 104. The members of the executive directory who shall retard, or refufe to feal, promulgate, and dispatch the decree of the translation of the legislative body, will be guilty of the fame crime. 105. If, within twenty days after that fixed by the council of elders, the majority of each of the two councils has not made known to the Republic its arrival at the new place pointed out, or its meeting in fome other place, the administrators of department, or, in their default, the civil tribunals of department, convoke the primary affemblies to nominate electors, who proceed immediately to the formation of a new legislative body, by the election of two hundred and fifty deputies for the council of elders, and of five hundred for the other council. 106. The adminiftrators of department who, in the cafe of the preceding article, fail to convoke the primary assemblies, render themfelves guilty of high treafon, and of an offence against the furety of the Republic. 107. All citizens who oppose any obftacle to the convocation of the primary and electoral affemblies, in the cafe of article 106, are declared guilty of the fame crime. 108. The members of the new legislative body assemble in the place to which the council of elders had transferred the fittings. If they cannot meet in that place, in whatever place the majority is, there is the legislative body. 109. Except in the cafe of article 102, no propofition of law can originate in the council of elders. Of the Guarantee of the Members of the Legislative Body. 110. The citizens who are, or who have been, members of the legislative body, cannot be examined, accufed, or tried at any time, for what they have faid or written in the exercise of their functions. 111. The |