"CONSTITUTIONALISM" 43yet in their projects there was never so much emphasis on order and
clarity. The reason for this stress on mechanical harmony is to be
sought in the intellectual habits of the Emperor and his entourage.
True to the esprit de systeme and the belief in mechanical laws of
nature, no institutional structure appeared good to them unless it
was composed of discreet, separate elements which functioned
according to laws based on the dictates of logic and natural reason.
Everything not essential to such a simple and orderly structure had
to be eliminated, for it stifled the efficient working of the machine of
government. In this respect Alexander and his friends were not so
much the disciples of Montesquieu and Blackstone (as in a sense
Catherine II had been) but of Bentham and the authors of the several
French constitutions. In a sense too, this approach facilitated the
development of an enlightened absolutism helped by a responsible and
well controlled bureaucracy. In a word, the Unofficial Committee was
the spiritual continuator of Joseph II, Frederick II and the First Consul.
In regard to the Emperor himself, an additional personality trait
contributed to his insistance on orderliness, clarity and a well defined
mechanical hierarchy of government institutions. Alexander I, as well
as his younger brothers, had inherited his grandfather's and father's
worship of the external trappings of army life, Czartoryski's
"paradomania". Whatever the sincerity of Alexander's filial feelings,
in one respect he was a convinced and admiring son of his father:
the minutiae of army administration, daily drill, military ceremonial
and parades, uniforms absorbed Alexander's interest as much as they
had ,Paul's. Throughout his adult life Emperor Alexander preferred to
devote his time to military details, even to the neglect of his other
duties. He could spend hours on end drilling the regiments of the
guard in preparation for a parade; in St. Petersburg he never missed
the daily ceremony of changing of the guard at the palace; often did
a courier or minister wait with an urgent message or report until the
Emperor had finished studying the details of a new uniform. Admittedly
not all of this concern was vain and useless, Alexander did a great
deal to modernize the army and make it into a more efficient fighting
force. His mania for military regulations and detailed prescriptions
found its most complete expression in the notorious Military Colonies
which he established in the 1820's under the supervision of Count
Arakcheev. No doubt, this predilection for detailed regimentation, order,
and hierarchical organization also influenced his approach to the
problems of government. Infatuated with the perfect discipline,
mechanical simplicity, orderly hierarchy of military organization, he