Clues are numbered in alphabetical order of their solutions, which should be fitted into the grid jigsaw-wise. Although word lengths are not given, 45 and 46 share a piece of non-English orthography, which should assist in determining their locations in the grid. Theme clues are given with cryptic indication only. The remaining non-theme clues are normal.
The theme entries (or their possessors) had the duty to 15 the head of the 22 34 16. The initial seven (divided between the sacred and the profane) were established by a certain 14 (its title suggested within that clue). 3 then took the place of 29, which soon rejoined the group, but was metaphorically kicked to the back of the line of precedence. 20 was subsequently added. Then 29 expired (again), 11 and 43 subsequently vanished, and 25 was transferred to 32, so 2, 21-24, 36 7 and 45 were then installed. Finally, 36 7 was exchanged for 46, but then the whole 22 34 16 simply disappeared. Even so, 21-24 retained its new title, even though it had lost all meaning.
22 34 16 "None of the above" Voltaire (3 words)
11 Source of French water?
25 At home in the endless labyrinth
43 Judge or juror, but not executioner
5 The scarf scarfs only half at first
6 Franklin carries some cash to 7
29 Refined taste that comes in a can? On the contrary!
38 Sylvester's got some nerve!
3 Secret police chief expends energy to capture
the gardener, it's said
20 The Chinese are finished
32 No note played by this instrument ever reverberates
2 Famous resort, when bifurcated
21-24 She seeks the Spanish constitution (hyph.)
36 7 Some ratings articulated the end of 46
45 A point for the German to march double-time
with the little girl to his mountain failure is not
an option
46 Part of 45 is an unknown, second-rate primeval force
1 It keeps the head warm in infancy
4 Bits of publicity are left in those receptacles of
the flight from the city
8 How they draw upon their Canadian accounts?
9 Here are bits of Greek in gold in this capital city
10 She's Irish, both specifically and generally
12 Madly try and croon at something like an
electron tube
13 The French are taking a walk to these retreats
14 One of these (all glowing and charging, maybe)
set this puzzle in order!
15 Choose to discover those who will go to heaven
17 That fine feeling you get when you protect
your hearth
18 Hunter S. Thompson, nothing less, takes his
ginger sodas to the battle site in Texas
19 A British politician resides in Holland indefinitely
23 Hosts sometimes seat six in-between at the curve
26 The society girl returned to the Mafia and
was overwhelmed
27 Number that's almost across?
28 Countermanding the force of nothing upright?
30 The old emperor sits in the clipped rose garden
31 Reportedly, whether half of 32 is translated into
its native tongue!
33 They are, one hears, achievers that don't drip
or slobber!
35 Space is available even when one's glasses
are removed
37 The French quintet utterly plummeted
39 Polish diet sets the hook in the big truck when I leave
40 Airborne delivery service?
41 Precise works for one state in this synthetic
genre (hyph.)
42 Rhythm in which these early musicians
performed operatically, at first
44 A necessity for a way?
47 One pulled (literally) by this American
48 The prevailing mood is enthusiasm about
that proverbial appeal, say, laid back before one