The Empire was, therefore, nothing but an adventure out of
accord with modern highly developed civilisation, and one
which not only exhausted the resources of France, but checked
for eighteen years the education of the people in matters of
government and in habits of self-reliance. This defect the
Emperor recognised and strove to remedy by increasing the
powers of self-government in the departments and communes,
and by admitting the people to a share in the government and
the initiation of laws. But such reforms, carried to their
logical conclusion, in the end would have destroyed the Empire
itself, not because an imperial form of government is incon-
sistent with popular privileges, but because the power of
Napoleon III. depended on the maintenance of his absolute
supremacy. Had this been broken down, the forces of revo-
lution, which were only waiting for an opportunity to re-estab-
lish the republic, would certainly have overthrown him, and
destroyed his Empire.

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