Page "Batavian Republic" Paragraph 15

Though the resulting Constitution has sometimes been depicted as a pre-digested French project, it was actually a result of the constitutional commission's discussions between October, 1797 and January, 1798.

Except for the purge of the electoral rolls of " crypto-Orangists " and other reactionaries, it might therefore have been acceptable for the moderates, obviating the need for the January coup.

In any case, the " suggestions " of Delacroix were politely rejected and the constitutional commission insisted on the following three essential points: universal manhood suffrage, without fiscal qualifications ; the right of revision of the constitution at quinquennial intervals by the voters ; and finally the rejection of the principle of a bicameral legislature, in which each House would have a separate electoral base.