it was

 

HISTORY OF EUROP
l)

your Majefly of the ever memorable
words which the firll Prefident Har-
lay addrefied to Henry III. in r586-
Sire, faid the magillrate, we have
iwo forts of laws ; one fort are the
ordinances of our Kings, and thclie
may be altered according to difier-
ence of times and circumltances:
The other fort are the ordinances
of the kingdom, which are intric-
lable, and by which you afcend to
the throne, and to the crown, which
your predecefiors prefervcd. Among
thefe ptiblic laws, that is of the
moll (acre-d, and has been mofl reli-
gioufly kept by your predecelibrs,
which orders, that no law or ordi-
nancelhall be publilhed, but what
is verified in this company: they
thought a violation of this law, was
a violation of that by which they
were made Kings.”

The King’s anfwer to this remon-
firance not being (satisfactory, ano-

l ther meeting or" the Par-
rlu y 4" liament was held; wherein
propofed to draw up repre-
fentations to the King, to fhew the
evils that proceed from the ex-
illence of the Grand Council in any
form: and that the Hates of the
kingdom alfembled at Orleans and
at Blois had already requelled its
abolition. The refolution pafied in
this aflembly did not however an-
fwcr the end propofed in meeting;
and was only to apply to the King
to prefcribe fome limits to the ju-
rildicitiou of the Grand Council;
and to fecure his Parliaments, by
a clear and precife law, againlt the
regulations of the letters patent
which had been lately granted to
it. This refolution was carried,
after great debates, only by a ma-
jority of two voices, there being
fixty-fix for it, againft fixty-four,
who were for utterly abolilhing this

E. [47

Council. All the rznccs of the
Blood were prefent at Ellis Aiil-mbly,
except the Count d: Clcrmont, who
was ill. The debates Cfifltllillid
many hours; and the rirli iyliniilrzr,
the Duke dc Choilietil, vxas there
one of the firll, and continued to
the latl. A noble inilance of (iairit
and independence, that, in the c.1-
pital 0F an abfolute hlonarch, a Par-
liament compolied only of Advo-
cates, in no degree the rcprelentrt-
tives of the people, fliould aliord To
{mall a majority to the court, on a
queftion which feemed rather mo-
derate and healing, than fobvcrlive
of any right, and xvrhich was (up-
ported in perfon by a PO\\"€l‘l_‘tll body
of Princes, as well as by an over-
grown Minifi-er.

The Parliament ofTouloufe were
not To moderate as that of Paris,
but ifTued an arret, by which all
perfons under its juriliciiflion are
forbidden, under fever-e penalties, to
conform to anyjudgment pallE-d by

the Great Council; and all loiici- _

tors and ferjeatits are forbid, on.
pain ofimprilonrnent, to pa)’ any re-
gard to its acts. The aFiair {eems at
prcfent to tell in this fituaation, and
we do not hear of any thing farther
being done onyeirher lide.

The barinefs of the late hnrvefirs
had occnfioned proviliozis of all
forts to bear an imrnorhrate price:
and cr>rzi in particular was not only
very dear, but in general very bad,
and the bread coniequently cliiizgrec-
able and unwholefome. 'l‘hediilrell"es
of the people vxere cxceilE-re, and
their complaints and murmuring-s
became nniverfal. In fuch iituatinr/s,
all the world fancy thcznfclt-es in-
genious in finding out the caules of
public calamities; and if any no-
velties have been introduced, they
always come in for a great mire of
popular