Europe and Napoleo?i 493 In the midst of this pomp, and under the eye of the Eternal, Napoleon pronounced the inviolable oath which assures the integrity of the empire, the security of property, the perpetuity of institutions, the respect for law, and the happiness of the nation. The oath of Napoleon shall be forever the terror of the enemies of France. If our borders are attacked, it will be repeated at the head of our armies, and our frontiers shall never more fear foreign invasion. The principles safeguarded by the coronation oath are The new those of our legislation. Hereafter there will be fewer laws codes - to submit to the Legislative Body. The civil code has fulfilled the expectations of the public ; all citizens are acquainted with it ; it serves as their guide in their various transactions, and is everywhere lauded as a benefaction. A draft of a criminal code has been completed for two years and has been subjected to the criticism of the courts ; at this moment it is being discussed for the last time by the council of state. The code of procedure and the commercial code are still where they were a year ago, for pressing cares have diverted the emperor's attention elsewhere. New schools are being opened, and inspectors have been New schools appointed to see that the instruction does not degenerate into vain and sterile examinations. The lycies and the secondary schools are tilling with youth eager for instruc- tion. The polytechnic school is peopling our arsenals, ports, and factories with useful citizens. Prizes have been established in various branches of science, letters, and arts, and in the period of ten years fixed by his Majesty for the award of these prizes there can be no doubt that French genius will produce works of distinction. The emperor's decrees have reestablished commerce on Manu- the left bank of the Rhine. Our manufacturers are improv- factures - ing, although the mercenaries subsidized by the British government vaunt, in their empty declamations, her foreign trade and her precarious resources scattered about the seas and in the Indies, while they describe our shops as deserted and our artisans as dying of hunger. In spite of this, our
