FRA 
fociation to be formed In my kingdom, which might grow 
into a confederacy of refinance.” The deputies from 
the parliament of Rouen reminded the fovereign of his 
coronation oath, and infinuated a compadt between the 
king- and the people. The anfwer of Louis was conveyed 
in the flrongeft terms: “The oath that I have made is 
not to the nation, as you take upon you to fay, but to 
God alone.” This ■ diftindtion proclaimed his determi¬ 
nation to fuffer no earthly oppofition to his will ; the par¬ 
liaments were for a moment awed by the imperious voice 
of the monarch ; and a tranfient and deceitful calm fuc- 
ceeded the murmurs of difeontent. 
The province of Brittany had long groaned beneath 
the iron rule of the duke d’Aiguillon, and for four years 
he had perfecuted with unremitting vengeance M. de 
Chalotais, the attorney-general ter the parliament. That 
unfortunate gentleman, whole genius, learning, and in¬ 
tegrity, merited a better fate, had oppofed, with the in¬ 
dignation of a virtuous magiffrate, the oppreflive .mea- 
fures of the duke, who drove the unhappy objedt of his 
enmity into exile , purfued him from one prifon to ano¬ 
ther ; and at length, by the fubornation of fa He wit- 
nelfes and the profligacy of dependent judges, procured 
againft him a fentence which involved his life ; and which 
his perfecutor haflened privately to carry into execution. 
But the parliament of Brittany had received intelligence 
of the dark defigns of their governor ; the humanity of 
the duke of Choifeul was interefied by their reprefenta- 
tions ; and an order in favour of M. de Chalotais arrived 
time enough to flop the hand of the executioner, which 
was already armed againfl his life. The refeue of that 
gentleman laid open a fcene of the blacked iniquity ; and 
tlie parliament of Brittany, poffefled of new proofs, com¬ 
menced a procefs againd the duke d’Aiguillon, whofe 
trial was condudted in the prefence of the king, the 
princes of the blood, the peers and the parliament of 
Paris. Before thefe judges the written proceedings car¬ 
ried on againd M. de Chalotais were produced, and dif- 
clofed fuch a complicated fydem of guilt and cruelty, as 
exceeded whatever could have been furmifed. 
But at the moment that the nation awaited thedecifion 
of this important caufe, Louis thought proper, by a vio¬ 
lent exertion of power, to put a total dop to the whole 
courfe of judice, and to all farther inquiries into the con¬ 
duct of the duke. At the fame time, confcious of their 
fentiments, he forbade the princes of the blood from at¬ 
tending the parliament. A procedure fo inconfident with 
the rights of the peerage w'as openly reprobated by the 
prince of Conti ; and the partiality which the king evi¬ 
dently difplayed towards the duke of d’Aiguillon, could 
not reprefs the determined refolution of the parliaments 
againd him. That of Paris prohibited him from exer- 
cifing the fundtions of his peerage till his character was 
cleared by an open trial ; and, though the king annulled 
their arret, by his abfolute authority, they maintained 
their refolution with incredible firmnefs, and their re- 
mondranccs were feconded by tire reprefentations of the 
princes and peers, who complained that their honour vyas 
facrificed, and the rights of the peerage annihilated. 
The other parliaments were not behind in vigour or refo- 
lution to that of Paris; but the general detellation that 
purfued the duke d’Aiguillon feemed only to increafe the 
attachment of his royal mader; and Louis, after having 
feverely reprimanded the parliament of Paris for their te¬ 
merity, ordered two of their members to be arretted, and 
fent to tlie cadle of Vincennes ; yet the red, inflead of 
being intimidated by this feverity, dill difplayed an ado- 
hifhing magnanimity, and perfevered in repeated deputa¬ 
tions and remondrances. 
At length the king arrived fuddenly at Paris, and, hav¬ 
ing furrounded with his guards the parliament, entered 
tlie affembly, reproached the members in the fevered 
terms, difmiffed the two chambers of Inqueds and Re- 
qtieds, and ordered all proceedings againd tlie duke d’ Ai¬ 
guillon to be erafed from their regiders. But thefe mea- 
N C E. 7$3 
Aires fecured not the fubmifiion of the parliaments of 
France; and thofe aitemblies dill maintained a conduct 
equally firm and honourable. Tlie members long w-ith- 
dood the royal edidl, by which they were to acknowledge 
thcmfelves obliged in future to regider all tlie edicts of 
the king, even againd their own remondrances. The 
prefence of the monarch, indeed, compelled them to enter 
on their journals this degrading edict; but in their next 
affembly the parliament of Paris complained of it as an 
add of force, and appointed a deputation to the king to 
entreat him to withdraw it. Their language on this oc- 
caflon was bold, firm, and animated : “ Your edict, fire, 
is deftrudtive of all law; your parliament is charged to 
maintain the law : and, the law peri thing, they fhould 
peridi with it : thefe are, fire, the la ft words of your par¬ 
liament.” 
Louis, enraged at their pei feverance, now yielded to 
the mod violent councils, and prepared to fupport his 
authority by the mod arbitrary meafures: the members, 
in thedead of night, were awaked in their beds by parties 
of the guards, who prefented to each of them a lettre de 
cachet, which enjoined them to declare whether they 
would refume the adminiflxation of judice, which they 
had abandoned, or perfid in their refufal. Though in 
the moment of confufion a few were Airprifed into ac- 
quiefcence, yet they foon retrained : they were command¬ 
ed to attend at court, to receive their difmitfion ; and 
maintaining, even in tlie prefence of the five feign, the 
fame decent but inflexible firmnefs, the whole body of 
the parliament was banidied from the capital. 
The chief author of a conduct lo daring and odious, 
was the chancellor de Maupeou ; a man who had afce.nded 
to power by the practice of every fpecies of fraud and 
deceit, and who fhared with the duke d’Aiguillon the 
public hatred. At his fuggedions a temporary tribunal 
was erected, at which the lawyers of the crown were 
compelled to affid ; but this phantom of a parliament was 
foon extinguifhed. The king, at the lad bed of judice 
that he held, iffued three edidts ; tlie fird for the dilfoliu 
tion of tlie prefent parliament ; the fecond for the fup- 
predion of the court of aids ; and the third for the trans¬ 
formation of the grand council into a new parliament. 
The king clofed the affembly with thefe decisive words : 
“ You have heard my intentions; it is my will that they 
fhould be executed. I command you to begin your 
functions next Monday; my chancellor will indal you. 
I forbid all deliberations contrary to my will, and all re¬ 
prefentations in favour of the ancient parliament; for I 
will never change.” Soon after the king declared that 
the jnrifdidtion of the new parliament, which reached 
from Lyons to Arras, was too extenfive : he now divided 
it into fix different parts ; each court was to have a fimilar 
jurifdiction, and to be held at Arras, Lyons, Clermont, 
Blois, Poidtiers, and Paris; anew code of laws, which 
had been framed by the chancellor, was alfo prefented 
and approved; and meafures accordingly taken for car¬ 
rying them into execution. This order of things conti¬ 
nued till the death, of Louis XV. in 1774. 
Though it was the haplefs fate of Louis XVI. even-' 
tually to perifh through the violent meafures of the 
commonalty, yet he had no foorver afcend,ed the throne, 
and began to regulate the abufes cf the former govern¬ 
ment, than lie fupprelfed for ever the functions and powers 
of this new affembly, and, to tlie great joy of the nation, 
reftored, with all its ancient privileges, the old and only 
legal parliament. Even in the ftrft moments ot their re¬ 
turn, the members difplayed a fpirit iinfubdued by ad- 
verfity ; the article refpedting the right o'f remonflrance 
was openly avowed; and they already afpired to their 
former pretenfions ; but their rifing fpirit was mildly con- 
trouled by the decifiort of the monarch ; and the anfwer 
to one of th.eir reprefentations, “ that he mvjl be obeyed 
was conclufive. 
From this time forward, to the year 17S6, the parlia¬ 
ment purfued it s functions to tlie general iati*fa‘£tion both 
s of 
