Note 17 — HIS EXCELLENCY (continued 7)
Ernest Alfred Vizetelly translation
The functions of the Minister of State—an office which no longer exists, and which might therefore puzzle even the reader acquainted with French affairs—comprised the following matters:—The intercourse of the Crown with the Senate, the Corps Législatif, and the Council of State; the Sovereign's official correspondence with the various ministries; the duty of countersigning all decrees, appointing ministers, senators, and state councillors. The supervision of the Imperial opera-house, the Théâtre Français, the Odéon theatre, the Institute, the Salon, the public libraries, &c., was also within the attributions of the Ministry of State until June, 1863, when a decree instituted the Ministry of Fine Arts as an adjunct to that of the Imperial Household.—Ed.