xx Inaugural Address. 
The first attempt, by the King’s Courts, to reduce the ex- 
orbitant pretensions of the Clergy, was the appeal ** de Deni 
de Justice,”*(1) which was similar to the appeal ** de Défaut 
de Droit.” 'This was daily extended, by construction, toa 
great variety of cases, and was followed by the ‘** Appel 
comme d’abus,” which, in the nature of a prohibition, sus+ 
pended all proceedings, and was allowed, atany stage of a 
cause,(2) to all who complained, that the Judge of the Spi- 
ritual Court had exceeded his authority by any proceedings» 
contrary to the Canons of the Church, recognized in France, 
or to the Law of the Land in any respect.(3) This remedy 
was in practice long before the year 1539, butin that year it 
was formally declared to be the Law of France, by an Ordi- 
nance of Francis the First ‘* pour la réformation et abrévia- 
‘« tion des Procés.”(4) By this Ordinance the Ecclesiastical 
Judges were also forbid to cite before them any of the 
King’s lay subjects, in any matter whatever, except those 
which were strictly Spiritual, and the King’s lay subjects 
were forbid to institute any suit, ofa temporal nature, before 
any Court of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.(5) 
Thus the Crown of France, by persevering in one great 
plan, with indefatigable exertion, and continued prudence, 
suspending its attempts when the conduct of the Clergy, or 
any formidable conspiracy of the greater Seigneurs, required 
it; and resuming them when they were feeble or remiss, be- 
came once more the Fountain of Justice. That part of its 
original Jurisdiction, over causes and persons, which the 
Clergy and the Seigneurs had usurped, was regained, and the 
entire proceedings of the Seigneurial and Ecclesiastical Judges, 
in all causes, civil and criminal, spiritual and temporal, which 
ae were 
(1) Dict. de Jurisprudence, vol. Ist. p. 292. 
(2) L.C. Dénizart’s Preliminary Discourse to vol. 1st. p. 73. 
(3] Fleury’s Institut. du Droit Canon. vol. 2d. p. 12. 
{4] Dictionnaire de Jurisprudence, vol. Ist. p. 297, Traité de l’Abus, 
vol. Ist. cap. 2. p. 11.ed. of 1778. 
[5] Ordonnances de Neron, yol- 1st. p. 162. Loyseau des Seigneurics, 
3p. 15, sec. 75, 76 & 77. 
