More independent， more despotic and less provisional than any Committee of Public Safety， the Directory has arrogated to itself the legal right of placing a commune in a state of siege， of introducing troops within the constitutional circle[75] in such a way that it may， at its discretion， violate Paris and the Legislative Corps. In this body， mutilated by it and watched by its hireling assassins，[76] sit the passive mutes who feel themselves "morally proscribed and half-deported，"[77] who abandon debate， and vote with its stipendiaries and valets.[78] As a matter of fact， the two councils have， as formerly the Convention， become chambers "of registry" of legislative mechanism charged with the duty of countersigning its orders. - Its sway over the subordinate authorities is still more absolute. In forty-nine departments， specially designated by decree， all the administrators of departments， cantons and municipalities， all mayors， civil and criminal judges， all justices of the peace， all elected by popular suffrage， are dismissed en masse，[79] while the cleaning out in the rest of France is almost as sweeping. We can judge by one example： in the department of Doubs， which is not put down among those to be purged， five hundred and thirty administrators or municipal magistrates are dismissed in 1797， and， in addition， forty-nine others in 1798. The Directory puts its creatures in their places： suddenly， the departmental， cantonal， municipal and judicial system， which was American， becomes Napoleonic so that the local officials， instead of being delegates of the people， are government delegates. - Note， especially， the most threatening of all usurpations， the way in which this government takes justice into its hands and attributes to itself the right of life and death over persons： not only does it break up common criminal courts and reorganize them as it pleases， not only does it renew and select among the purest Jacobins judges of the court of appeals， but again， in each military division， it institutes a special and expeditious court without appeal， composed of docile officers， sub-officers and soldiers， which is to condemn and execute within twenty-four hours， under pretext of emigration or priesthood， every man who is obnoxious to the ruling factions. -- As to the twenty-five millions of subjects it has just acquired， there is no refuge： it is forbidden even to complain. Forty-two opposition or "suspect" journals are silenced at one stroke， their stock plundered， or their presses broken up ； three months after this， sixteen more take their turn， and， in a year， eleven others ； the proprietors， editors， publishers and contributors， among whom are La Harpe， Fontanes， Fièvé， Michaud and Lacretelle， a large body of honorable or prominent writers， the four or five hundred men who compose the staff of the profession， all condemned without trial to banishment，[80] or to imprisonment， are arrested， take flight， conceal themselves， or keep silent. The only voice now heard in France is the mega-phone of the government.
Naturally， the faculty of voting is as restricted as the faculty of writing， so that the victors of Fructidor， together with the right to speak， now also monopolize the right of electing. - Right away the government renewed the decree which the expiring Convention had rendered against allies or relations of émigrés. moreover， it excluded all relatives or supporters of the members of the primary assemblies， and forbade the primary assemblies to choose any of these for electors. Henceforth， all upright or even peaceful citizens consider themselves as warned and stay at home. Voting is the act of a ruler， and therefore a privilege of the new sovereigns， which is the view of it entertained by both sovereigns and subjects：[81] "a republican minority operating legally must prevail against a majority influenced by royalism."[82] They are to see the government on election days， launching forth "in each department its commission agents， and controlling votes by threats and all sorts of promises and seductions，[83] arresting the electors and presidents of the primary assemblies，" even pouncing on refractory Jacobins， invalidating the returns of a majority when not satisfactory to them， and rendering the choice of a minority valid， if it suited them， in short， constituting itself the chief elector of all local and central authorities. -Finally， all institutions， laws， public and private rights， are down， and the nation， body and soul， again becomes， as under Robespierre， the property of its rulers with this sole difference， that the kings of Terror， postponing their constitution， openly proclaim their omnipotence， whilst the others hypocritically rule under a constitution which they have themselves destroyed， and reign by virtue of a title which interdicts royalty to them.