FRANCE. 
and to receive no company there, except his own family; 
at the fame time the abbe Sabatiere, and M. Freteau, 
who had diftinguilhed themfelves in the debate, were 
feized under the authority of letters de cachet, and con¬ 
veyed, the firft to the cattle of Mont St. Michel in Nor¬ 
mandy, the laft to a prifon in Picardy. 
The parliament were not flow in proclaiming their feel¬ 
ings at this aft of oppreflion ; on the following day they 
waited on the king, and expreffed their aftonilhment and 
concern that a prince of the blood royal had been exiled, 
and two of their members imprifoned, for having declared 
in his prefence what their duty and confciences diftated. 
The anfwer of the king was referved and forbidding; 
“When I put away from my prefence a prince of my blood, 
my parliament ought to believe that I have ftrong reafons 
for doing it; I have punifhed two magiftrates, with whofe 
oonduft I ought to be diffatisfied.” This (lately repulfe 
did not difcourage a molt fpirited anfwer : “ If exile (faid 
they) is the recompence of fidelity to the princes of your 
blood ; if outrage and captivity threaten the ingenuoufnefs 
of the firft magiftrates of the kingdom; we may alk our- 
felves with terror and grief, what will become of the laws, 
of the public liberty, of the honour, and of the manners, 
of the nation ?” 
Yet the parliament, convinced of the emergency, con- 
fented to regifter the loan for 450,000,000 of livres, 
which had been the fource of this unfortunate difference ; 
it is probable this conceffion concurred to aft upon the 
mind of the king, naturally humane; and the fentence 
of the two magiftrates was in confequence changed from 
imprifonment to exile ; Freteau being fent to one of his 
country feats, and Sabatiere to a convent of Benediftines. 
The parliament, was however, unwilling to give up the 
points againft which they had originally remonftrated ; 
and in a petition conceived with freedom, and couched in 
the mod animated language, they boldly reprobated the 
late afts of arbitrary violence: “We do not come,” they 
declare, “fo much to claim your compaffion, as the pro¬ 
tection of the laws. It is not to your humanity alone 
that we addrefs ourfelves; it is not a favour which your 
parliament folicits : it comes, fire, to demand juf ice. That 
juftice which is fubjeft to regulations, independant of the 
will of man; even kings themfelves are fubfervient to 
them ; that glorious prince Henry the Fourth acknow¬ 
ledged that he had two fovereigns, God, and the laws. 
One of thefe regulations is to condemn no one without a 
hearing; it is a duty in all times, and in alt places; it is 
the duty of all men; and-your majefty will allow us to 
reprefent to you, that it is as obligatory on you, as on your 
fubjefts. It is therefore in the name of thofe laws which 
prel'erve empires; in the name of that liberty for which 
we are the refpeftful interpreters and the lawful media¬ 
tors ; in the name of your authority, of which we are the 
firft and moft confidential minifters, that we dare to de¬ 
mand the trial or the liberty of the duke of Orleans, and 
of the two exiled magiftrates who are imprifoned by a hid¬ 
den order, as contrary to the fentiments as the interefts of 
your majefty.” 
Louis, as often as he was left to purfue his own inclina¬ 
tions, uniformly adopted nreafures of reconciliation. In 
the beginning of the year 1788, he recalled the duke of 
Orleans to court, and permitted the return of the abbe Sa¬ 
batiere and M. Freteau. But unanimity and reconcilia¬ 
tion prevailed not long at court, and it was afferted that 
from fome bale fuggeftions of the queen, Louis was again 
prevailed on to recur to leVerity. Monfieur de Lantoig- 
non, on the difmitfal of Miromefnil, had, on the recom¬ 
mendation of the ex-minifter Calonne, been entrufted with 
the feals, and he dill continued to hold them under the 
adminiftration of the archbilhop of Thouloufe. The 
chancellor was fummoned by M. de Brienne to the ardu¬ 
ous talk of compofing a new court of jurifprudence ; the 
Cour Pleuiere was to be the refult of their joint counfels ; 
each meafure for the eftablilhment of that court was taken 
with thegreateft fecrecy; a prefs waserefted at Verfaiiles; 
Vol. VII. No. 466. 
ly r m 
/ £>< 
printers were employed night and day ; and the avenues 
were ftriftly guarded from the approach of curiofity by 
a triple row of bayonets. Thefe appearances of myftery 
ferved to excite frelh alarms; and the parliament of 
Paris conceived themfelves too deeply interefted in the 
event to be deterred by any obftacles. M. d’Efpremenil, 
a member of that affembly, poffeffed himfftf of the im¬ 
portant fecret; he divulged it to his affbciates ; and ani¬ 
mated them to oppofe with their combined ftrength a 
projeft which appeared to aim at their final extinftion. 
The court of Verfaiiles, offended with the officioiifnefs 
of monfieur d’Efpremenil, was enflamed by the boldnefs 
with which he harangued againft its defigns ; the king 
was perfuaded that examples of punifhinent were become 
neceffary to the fupport of his power, and d’Efpremenil. 
and Monfambert, whofe pointed language had preffed 
moft clofely on the royal authority, were doomed to ex¬ 
perience its immediate refentment. A body of armed 
troops, provided with axes to force the doors in cafe of 
refiftance, furrounded the hotel in which the parliament 
was convened ; colonel d’Agouft, who commanded them, 
entered the affembly and fecured the perfons of the ob- 
noxious members,who were conducted to different prifons. 
This inftance of defpotifm was followed by a remonllrance 
of the parliament, which exceeded in boldnefs all the for¬ 
mer reprefentations of that affembly. They declared 
they were now more ftrongly confirmed, by every pro¬ 
ceeding, of the entire innovation which was aimed at in 
the conftitution : “But, fire, (faid they,) the French 
nation will never adopt the defpotic meafures to which 
you are advifed ; the effefts of which alarm the moft 
faithful of your magiftrates; we (hall not repeat all the 
unfortunate circumftances which afflict: us ; we lhall only 
reprefent to you, with refpeftful firninefs, that the fun- 
damental laws of the kingdom muf. not be trampled upon ; 
and that your authority can only be ejleemedfo long as it is tem¬ 
pered with jvjlice.” 
Language, fo bold and decifive, and which afferted the 
controlling power of the laws above the regal authority, 
could not fail of ferioully alarming the royal bofont. 
To diminilh the influence of parliament, it was determined 
again to convene the notables ; and about the beginning 
of May, Louis appeared in that affembly ; and after com. 
plaining of the exceffes in which the parliament of Paris 
had indulged themfelves, and which had drawn down 
his indignation on a few of the members, he declared his 
refolution, inftead of annihilating them as a body, to bring 
them back to their duty and obedience by a falutary re¬ 
form. M. de Lantoignon, as keeper of the feals, explain¬ 
ed his majelty’s pleafure to efiablilh a cour p/eniere, or fu- 
preme affembly, to be compofed of princes of the blood, 
peers of the realm, great officers of the crown, the clergy, 
marefchals of France, governors of provinces, knights of 
different orders, a deputation of one member from every 
parliament, and two members from the chambers of coun¬ 
cils, and to be fummoned as often as the public emergency 
fhould render it requifite. 
If the affembly of the notables liftened in filent defer¬ 
ence to the projeft of their fovereign, the parliament of 
Paris received it with every fymptom of rooted averllon ; 
they ftrongly protested againft the eftablifinment of any 
other tribunal, and declared their final refolution not to 
affift at any deliberations in the fupreme affembly which 
his majefty prepared to inftitute. A more unexpefted 
mortification occurred to the king in the oppofition of 
feveral peers of the realm; thefe expreffed their regret 
at beholding the fundamental principles of the kingdom 
violated ; and, while they were lavilh in their proftflions 
of attachment to the perfon of their fovereign, concluded 
with apologizing for not entering on thofe functions af- 
figned them in the plenary court, as inconfiftent with the 
true interefts of his majefty, which were inieparable from 
thofe of the nation. The new chancellor was llartled by 
thefe appearances of general difcontent; and his advice 
to his fovereign, was to recal once more monfieur Necker 
9 G to 
