Page:A General Sketch of Political History from the Earlist Times.djvu/368

 356 THE EUROPEAN CONVULSION Republic, and a new * Helvetic Republic ' in Switzerland, and replacing the monarchy at Naples by a ' Parthenopean ' Republic. Hence, by the beginning of 1799, a new coalition was formed against France, its chief members being Great Britain, Russia, and Austria. War was declared, and the French generals met with a series of reverses, especially at the hands of the Russian Suvarov or Suwarrow in the north Second of Italy ; the Bourbon monarchy was restored at Coalition. Naples under the protection of Nelson's fleet. The ship which carried Bonaparte evaded hostile squadrons and landed him in October. Although in the meantime Austria and Russia had quarrelled and Suvarov had thrown up his command, the military situation was still critical, and the political situation at Paris was still more so. The returned general hastened to Paris, acclaimed as the conqueror of Egypt. The Directory had lost public confidence and was hopelessly out of touch with the Assemblies. The Return of constitution did not permit any one so young as Bonaparte. Bonaparte — now only thirty — to join the Directory; but he found a useful ally in one of its members, the Abbe Sieves, the archbuilder of constitutions. Sieves had a new constitution quite ready, exquisitely symmetrical, with the governmental powers so admirably distributed that every one was a check on every one else, and there was no real power anywhere at all. It only remained necessary to create one official with power to override every one else, in place of the figure-head provided by the Sieyes constitution. This was done. A coup d'etat was carried out, the Assemblies being forced to submission by the advance of the soldiery who arte were behind the great soldier. Napoleon Bonaparte First Consul, was proclaimed * First Consul,' with, for form's Nov. 1799. sake, a pair of colleagues, also called consuls, whose functions were merely formal. The First Consul was nominally appointed only for ten years ; but the appointment of all executive officers, including all ministers, was in his hands, and also that of the ' Council of State,' a body created by the new constitution, who alone had power to introduce