In the latter case only the 600 most wealthy men of the Department were eligible.

An official or aristocratic tinge was to be imparted to these electoral colleges by the infusion of members selected by the First Consul from the members of the Legion of Honour.

Fixity of opinion was also assured by members holding office for life; and, as they were elected in the midst of the enthusiasm aroused by the Peace of Amiens, they were decidedly Bonapartist.
The electoral colleges had the following powers: they nominated two candidates for each place vacant in the merely consultative councils of their respective areas, and had the equally barren honour of presenting two candidates for the Tribunate--the final act of _selection_ being decided by the executive, that is, by the First Consul.

Corresponding privileges were accorded to the electoral colleges of the Department, save that these plutocratic bodies had the right of presenting candidates for admission to the Senate.

The lists of candidates for the _Corps_ _Legislatif_ were to be formed by the joint action of the electoral colleges, namely, those of the Departments and those of the _arrondissements_.