280 



FRANCE. (BEFORE THE REVOLUTION.) 



the soil, and that the justices seigneuriales were 

 everywhere the first elements of the judicial system. 

 A strict control, on the part of the government, over 

 tin- officers of justice, might have improved the state 

 of things, but such a control did not exist ; they were 

 totally dependent upon the feudal proprietors. Nor 

 have we space to treat fully the division of the feudal 

 tribunals into the high, the middle, and the low, the 

 first of which had unlimited jurisdiction. Sometimes 

 there lay an appeal from the seigneur has justicier 

 to the seigneur haul justicier ; otherwise generally 

 to the royal bailliages et semchaussees. These were 

 not merely territorial courts of the royal domains ; 

 but, by the exemption of certain crimes, cos royaux, 

 from the jurisdiction of the feudal courts, their own 

 jurisdiction had been also extended over the estates 

 of the great vassals. The inferior courts of the royal 

 domains were generally called prevotes. The supe- 

 rior courts (bailliages et senechaussees) were under a 

 bailli, who was not necessarily a lawyer ; and, if not, 

 justice was administered in his name by a lieutenant 

 de robe. The superior courts of the large cities were 

 organized by Henry II., in 1551, under the name of 

 prcsidiaux. They consisted of a chief justice (presi- 

 dent) and at least six justices (conseilleurs). The 

 number was thus large for the purpose of raising 

 more money by the sale of the offices. The supreme 

 tribunals of justice were the parliaments, which were 

 created successively from the year 1302, in the diffe- 

 ent feudal principalities, as they became united with 

 the crown. The principal parliament, which was 

 also the first erected (1302), was the parliament of 

 Paris. (See Parlement.) Its jurisdiction extended 

 over more than half of France, including the pro- 

 vinces of the Isle of France, Picardy, Champagne, 

 Lyons, Berry, Bar, Perche, Poitou, Anjou, Tou- 

 raine, &c. Those who were subject to its jurisdiction 

 were often, therefore, under the necessity of under- 

 taking long journeys in order to obtain justice. 

 It had one first president, nine presidents of the 

 grand chambre, eight presidents of the four other 

 senates or chambers, and 116 active counsellors, who 

 transacted business in seven chambers. Besides 

 these, there was a legion of subalterns, procureurs 

 and avocats (attorneys and advocates) attached to it. 

 The nine presidents of the great chamber wore round 

 caps ; hence they were called presidentes a mortier. 

 The princes of the blood royal, and all peers of the 

 age of twenty-five years, had a seat and vote in the 

 parliament of Paris. This body claimed to make one 

 whole with all the other parliaments (that of Tou- 

 louse, established in 1444; Grenoble, 1453; Bour- 

 deaux, 1462; Dijon, 1476; Rouen, 1499; Aix, 

 1501; Rennes, 1553; Pau, 1620; Metz, 1632; Be^ 

 sangon, 1674; Douay, 1686; and Nancy, 1775), 

 which was merely divided into different classes ; but 

 this pretension was never acknowledged by the 

 crown. It is evident that such a mass of business 

 and such a number of counsellors (the other parlia- 

 ments were formed on the same scale) could not be 

 advantageous to the administration of justice ; and 

 though there were usually some distinguished and 

 honourable men among the counsellors, yet a great 

 number of ignorant and corrupt members was never 

 wanting. The court had always some in pay, and a 

 considerable amount of money was annually distri- 

 buted among them. All the parliaments were called 

 court souveraines, because no appeal lay from their 

 sentence. Some other judicial tribunals in the pro- 

 vinces also bore that name. By virtue of this 

 sovereignty, they enjoyed certain peculiar privileges. 

 The ministry had no official influence upon their pro- 

 ceedings, any more than on the appointment of the 

 members ; they had the direction of their own con- 

 duct, except that the crown officers, the avocat and 



procureur general, were obliged, alternately with the 

 president, to pronounce a semi-annual address re- 

 specting abuses, and to propose measures for reform- 

 ing them. In Paris, this was done on the Wednesday 

 after the long vacation ; hence the name mercuriale 

 was given to these addresses. The parliaments also 

 claimed the power to deviate from the letter of the 

 law, and to decide according to principles of equity, 

 against which the provinces often made remonstran- 

 ces ; hence the proverb, Dieu nous garde de I'equite 

 du parlement. They also claimed the privilege of' 

 not being obliged to particularize the crime in their 

 sentences, like the provincial courts, but merely 

 to impose a punishment pour les cas resultans du 

 proces. The independence of the parliaments, and 

 of the judicial office in general, was increased by 

 their having a perfect property in their places. 

 The venality and hereditary transmission of most 

 public offices (from which only the offices of minis- 

 ters, intendants, and others, which it was absolutely 

 impossible to expose to sale, were excepted), ori- 

 ginated in very early times, but were systematically 

 converted into a means of raising money by Louis 

 XII., and more particularly by Francis I. The 

 states, on every opportunity, remonstrated against this 

 abuse, and sometimes effected their object, as in the 

 reign of Henry III. ; but the difficulty of restoring 

 tlie sums which had been paid for the offices, and the 

 convenience of raising money by the creation and 

 sale of such places, preserved this abuse until the 

 revolution of 1789. For the judicial offices, includ- 

 ing the places of clerk, notary, and procureur (attor- 

 ney), the state was obliged to refund 450 millions, 

 which was merely the sum that had been paid to 

 government, and did not include what the actual 

 holders of the offices had paid to their predecessors. 

 Henry IV. made the sale of offices legal, and ex- 

 tended it, according to the plan of a certain Paulet, 

 still farther, by which, for the payment of a certain 

 tax (one tenth of the revenue of the office called 

 annuel, or paulette, from the inventor), the heirs 

 acquired the right to sell the office. As even those 

 persons who were removed from office for crimes, 

 still retained the right to sell the office, it may easily 

 be conceived that the independence of the officers 

 amounted to an absolute irresponsibility. As all 

 places were venal, there was no desire of promotion 

 to induce any one to distinguish himself, or to be 

 obedient to government. One of the immediate con- 

 sequences of this institution was the enormous increase 

 of offices. In most cases, two, three, or four officers 

 were appointed to the same office, who exercised its 

 duties alternately, every quarter or every six months. 

 Thus most of the treasuries had two or three receiv 

 ers each, of whom one managed it a year, and then 

 transferred it to one of his colleagues; the whole 

 financial system was thus thrown into endless con- 

 fusion. The esprit du corps, nourished by the 

 attempts of the superior courts to obtain political 

 influence, was favoured by the venality of offices, 

 though by no means advantageously for the nation. 

 The whole class of judges, advocates, &c., considered 

 itself as one body, notwithstanding the constant dis- 

 putes of the parliaments with one another and with 

 the other courts, and was ready to support its mem- 

 bers against the government and the nation, even in 

 cases of the most crying injustice. Hence it was so 

 difficult to obtain relief from their superiors against 

 the mistakes and the malice of judges ; and many 

 innocent persons were sacrificed to the caprice, the 

 pride, and the ambition of the higher and lower courts. 

 (See Labarre.) Voltaire and Linguet attacked this 

 appalling judicial despotism, which was carried to 

 its perfection under Louis XIV., by the ordonnance 

 criminelle of 1670, establishing the double torture, 



