Mirabeau an Ojyponent of Absolutism 19 



cient ministers into whose hands it fell. The monarch seem- 

 ingly believed that by his "good pleasure" he could create a 

 Turgot or Colbert out of the intriguing courtiers that surrounded 

 him.' The control of the government was in their hands not 

 his^ and working through such a medium even so well meaning 

 a prince as Louis XYI could accomplish nothing. 



The finances of the kingdom were in a most deplorable con- 

 dition. Although vast sums were collected from the people 

 but a small part of them ever reached the royal treasury, and 

 as the administration was entirely irresponsible, nobody knew 

 how much came in or how much went out, nor for what pur- 

 poses the royal revenues were expended. 



As bad as was the state of the finances, the administration 

 of justice was even worse. It was with the abuses in this de- 

 partment of government that Mirabeau dealt in all his early 

 works. "^ With tl.e other departments he was concerned only so 

 far as their maladministration influenced the administration of 

 justice.^ Unquestionably one of the most crying abuses was 

 found in the use of the lettre de cachet of which Mirabeau had 

 been so many times a victim.^ It was an arbitrary order to 

 arrest some person and to confine him in a certain place for an 

 indefinite length of time. The order was often issued in blank 

 form and signed by the minister to be filled out by the party 



1 "II crut qu'avec sa pleine puissance, son autorite royale and son bon 

 plaisir, il feroit d'un homme de robe un ministre de la guerre." Essai sur 

 le despotisme, p. 147. 



2 "Vous direz toiijours: nous voulons: et vous ferez toujours ce que 

 voudront les autres.'' Des lettres de cachet, p. 180. 



3 "Mirabeau a passe la premiere partie de sa vie h reclamer pour ses 

 compatriotes la liberte civile." Decrue, Revue historique, XXIII, p. 309. 



* "Mais je n'ai point annonce une traite sur la liberte politique et 

 civile. Je reclame seulement le libre et inviolable exercice des loix etablies 

 dans notre constitution." Des lettres de cachet, p. 209. ^ 



'^ " J'ai et^ frappe successivement depuis cinq ans de sept lettres de 

 cachet." Lettres originales de Mirabeau, vol. Ill, p. 183. 



63 



