The Works of John Moore M D Author:John Moore Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Perhaps all those causes together would not have produced the revolution, without the calling together of the states-general: and notwithstanding the greatness o... more »f the deficit, it is the opinion of some, that this measure might have been eluded. However that may be, the disorder in the French finances was so great, some time before the year 1789, that the imposition of very considerable additional taxes was thought the only effectual remedy ; but as the people thought themselves already overloaded, and were in a state of mutinous discontent the application of this remedy required prudence and delicacy. CHAPTER III. The Notables—M. de Calonne—The Clergy—The Archbishop of Toulouse Minister—Abbe Verrnon—A Bed of Justice— Parliament of Paris refuse to register the King's Edicts—Parliament banished—Duke of Orleans—Trvo Counsellors of the Parliament sent to Prison. It had been long the usage for the parliament of France to register every new imposition. The tax was indeed not considered legal by the people till the registration had taken place; and it sometimes happened, that, instead of obeying the edict, the parliament made a remonstrance, pointing out the hardship or impropriety of the tax, and praying the king to reconsider or withdraw it. So much the kings of France themselves admitted that the parliament had a right to do ; but having made the remonstrance, it was insisted that the parliamentary function was completed, and it remained with the king to give what weight to it he pleased. If he still insisted on the tax, it was then the duty of the parliament to register without farther resistance, on a letter from the king, called Letlre de Jussion, being addressed to them. The friends of prerogative asserted, that this registration of taxes was a mere matter of form, ...« less