frog & fog (VII)
"Have you heard that Hamilton once proposed a lifetime presidency?" Mr. Martin said.
"I have now." Georgiana smiled as she looked at the garden scenery. "How many people want Leon to rule for life?"
"I heard the First Consul and Mr. George Washington are friends." Mr. Martin continued, "At present, American trade still cannot break away from Britain. They cannot openly fall out with the British, but I heard that Mr. Monroe mentioned whiskey to you."
"If you mean the Whiskey Rebellion, I know."
"Public debt is a disaster. France's debts brought about the French Revolution, and the consequences of financial hardship are terrifying. Thomas Jefferson had originally thought the Revolution would end without bloodshed." Mr. Martin sighed. "Ten million francs out of the thirty million donated by society to the families of war casualties was diverted. I hope you will not bear the same infamy as Marie Antoinette."
Georgiana gave a cold laugh. "Funds allocated to poorhouses are often not truly spent on the poor. How long can Paris's charitable societies hold out?"
"Marmont seems to be planning to join forces with Sieyès. They once proposed exchanging the old nobility's estates for industrial goods."
"How long ago?"
"Before the Coup of 18 Brumaire. The old nobility supported the First Consul because they believed he would protect their persons and property. If he causes them to lose faith, they will still harbor hopes for the Bourbon royal family. There is also the issue of the agricultural treasury."
"Corruption has appeared this early?" Georgiana asked.
"Not yet. The famine has not fully passed, and many people still remember what the French Revolution was like." Mr. Martin lowered his head. "But we truly need supervisory institutions. When saints make mistakes, they are even less forgivable than sinners. People