Page:Readings in European History Vol 2.djvu/576

 538 Readings in Europea?i History 458. Ex- tracts from the French Charter of 1814. Reasons which led Louis XVIII to grant a constitution. although somewhat modified in 1830 upon the accession of Louis Philippe, was maintained until 1848. Louis, by the grace of God king of France a?id Navarre, to all those to whom these presents come, salutation : Divine Providence, in recalling us to our estates after a long absence, has imposed grave responsibilities upon us. Peace was the first necessity of our subjects, and with this we have unceasingly occupied ourselves. That peace so es- sential to France and to the rest of Europe has been signed. A Constitutional Charter was demanded by the exist- ing condition of the kingdom ; we promised this and now publish it. We have taken into consideration the fact that, although the whole authority in France resides in the per- son of the king, our predecessors have not hesitated to modify the exercise of this in accordance with the differ- ences of the times. It was thus that the communes owed their enfranchisement to Louis the Fat, the confirmation and extension of their rights to St. Louis and Philip the Fair, and that the judicial system was established and de- veloped by the laws of Louis XI, Henry II, and Charles IX. It was in this way, finally, that Louis XIV regulated almost every portion of the public administration by various ordinances which have never been surpassed in wisdom. We, like the kings our predecessors, have had to con- sider the effects of the ever-increasing progress of knowl- edge, the new relations which this progress has introduced into society, the direction given to the public mind during half a century, and the serious troubles resulting therefrom. We have perceived that the wish of our subjects for a Con- stitutional Charter was the expression of a real need ; but in yielding to this wish we have taken every precaution that this charter should be worthy of us and of the people whom we are proud to rule. Able men taken from the highest official bodies of the state were added to the commission- ers of our council to elaborate this important work. While we recognize that the expectations of enlightened Europe ought to be gratified by a free monarchical constitution,