lay before you the following facts, that a better administration
of your finances may be adopted. In the first place, you have too
many treasurers, who have increased since the time before mentioned,
from the additional business in the office; and several have forced
themselves into it, who before the expiration of the year have been
removed to make way for others of more popularity in the country. God
knows, they would not be so eager to be admitted into this office, were
it not for the plundering daily going on there; and if a treasurer do
not yearly gain from four to five thousand francs, he thinks he is
badly off. Where formerly there were but two treasurers, there are now
five or six from the great increase of business, and at times there are
six or seven. Thus, it is clear as the day, that you lose every year
from sixteen to twenty thousand francs, from the bad conduct of your
treasurers. When they are admitted to their office, they pay not any
attention to the discharge of the necessary disbursements, nor to the
oaths they took on admission, but solely to the enormous grants that
have been surreptitiously obtained, which are paid from their general
receipt.
'In regard to the other offices where the net receipt is paid, it
passes through so many hands that immense fortunes are made from the
exorbitant fees claimed by the treasurers: these are Andrieu Guiffart,
Burel Dampmartin, Regnier de Bouligney, Jean Guerin, and the director
Nicolle Bonet, who was clerk to his predecessor in office, Jean Chayf,
and the clerk master Guy Bouchier, who are all of them useless and
guilty of mismanagement, except Jean Guerin, who has but lately come
into the office, and has not as yet misbehaved himself.
'Andrieu Guiffart is particularly culpable for having wasted all the
patrimony he had received from his father. He was appointed, through
the influence of the provost of Paris, (who is his cousin by the
mother's side) to one of the treasurerships, where he has amassed such
sums of money that he wears nothing but sapphires, rubies, and other
precious diamonds, with the most costly dresses, and rides the best of
horses. He lives in the utmost state with his side-boards covered with
plate of every description for ornament and use.
'Item, formerly it was not necessary to have a treasurer for the
criminal prosecutions, but only an occasional counsellor; but now there
are four counsellors, who receive very large sums to your prejudice.
'In regard to the administration of those taxes called Aides, there
are officers appointed for that purpose called Generals, through whose
hands pass all that is ordered for the carrying on the wars, amounting,
one year with another, to twelve thousand francs. The aforesaid
treasurers, by the connivance of these generals, manage the finances
very badly; for they commonly obtain their places through the influence
of friends, to whom the generals make great gifts, to your loss. The
salaries of these generals amount to from two to four thousand francs
yearly each; and if a general remain in office for two years, he will
acquire from nine to ten thousand francs, or some such great sum, by
private gifts, and which are sometimes levied on the properties of
great lords without their knowledge: particulars of such conduct, and
false certificates, were discovered during the late inquiries for the
reformation of abuses.
'There is also another office, wrongfully called the Treasury of
Savings, under the government of Anthony des Essars, for which the
sum of about one hundred and twenty thousand francs is taken from the
taxes. In former times, this chest for savings was kept under two
locks, of which you had one key, to take from it any sum that should
be wanting for yourself or your kingdom. Those, however, who now have
the management of it have so acted that there is not one penny in
the chest, nor is it known who in the world has been bettered by it,
excepting the administrators, with the consent of those they found
in the office, by drawing out false statements of expenses, to your
prejudice.
'Item, this aforesaid Anthony has the keeping of your wardrobe and
jewels, and is so negligent that whatever may be wanting for your
dress is bought from day to day, of which he alone is culpable.
'Item, after this comes another office, called the Cofferers, held by
Maurice de Rully, who, in general, receives daily ten golden crowns,
which he ought to deliver into your hands to spend according to your
pleasure; but the coffers are empty, for he has dissipated their
contents,--and under shadow of this office, immense sums have been
wasted, as shall be spoken of in proper time and place.
'The manner in which you, the queen and the duke of Acquitaine, are
pillaged, is easily shown; for when you have need of a speedy sum of
money for the war, or for any other urgent necessity, application
must be made to certain money-lenders, who, for usury, make a traffic
of money, and supply your wants on having your plate and jewels in
pawn, and at an exorbitant loss in the interest paid for these loans,
insomuch that what may be worth ten thousand francs costs you fifteen
or sixteen; and thus your losses are annually very great from these
usurious practices and pretended exchanges. You may readily suppose
that your officers must be accomplices in this traffic, and that this
alone will occasion such an empty treasury. Your inferior servants are
much distressed and ill treated; and in this manner are not only your
own affairs but those of the princes of your blood managed, without any
exception.
'Item, it is proper that you should be made acquainted with the tricks
and deceit of those officers called Generals, in the receipt of your
finances. When any receiver shall have lent you a sum amounting to five
or six thousand crowns over and above his receipt, he is dismissed from
his office, to prevent him from reimbursing himself, and another put in
his place, who will receive the whole of the taxes in that department.
When, therefore, there shall be little or nothing to receive, he that
was dismissed will be replaced in his office, provided he has made
sufficient presents to his superior officers. By this means, the
aforesaid receiver can neither be paid nor pay what he owes; and thus
they ride one on another, to the ruin of your finances,--and you drink
your wine sour.
'Item, when there is an ambassador to be sent, or even a simple canon
to be dispatched to a foreign country, money for their expenses must be
borrowed from usurers; and it frequently happens that the aforesaid
ambassador cannot depart for want of money, which renders the embassy
useless, and the kingdom suffers greatly from it.
'Item, it is also necessary that you should know what is become of all
the money that for these last two years has been raised, as well from
the domains of the crown as from the very numerous and heavy taxes and
impositions of all sorts, of which the provost of Paris has, as is
notorious, taken on himself the management, and styled himself Director
and General Superintendant of the Finances.
'Item, it should likewise be remembered, that other great officers,
as well as the provost, have held many offices of importance, which
they have sold, and pocketed the amount, to your great disadvantage
and contrary to your royal edicts, and also to the prejudice of the
kingdom,--for, by this system, ignorant and improper persons are put
into the said offices.
'Item, the provost of Paris, who had held for some time the office of
grand master of waters and forests, has now resigned it to the lord de
Jury, for which six thousand francs have been levied. But beside the
provostship of Paris, he holds the government of the town of Cherbourg
and its dependancies, which brings him an annual rent of six thousand
francs, with the government of Nemours, amounting to two thousand
more. Your income is also ruined by another mode, namely, by the
immense number of receivers, treasurers, clerks, comptrollers and other
officers, who swallow enormous sums by way of fees, over and above
the regular fees of office, of which the provost and his dependants
have the greater share, and which they regard as their own personal
property, to your great loss, and to the delay of payments to many of
your faithful servants, knights, and counsellors of state. It is daily
witnessed, that when a young man has been appointed to any of the above
offices, however poor his situation may have been before, or how little
versed he may be in the management of public affairs, he soon becomes
rich, keeps a grand establishment, and purchases large estates and
manors, all at your expense.
'There are great frauds committed by your treasurers of the war
department, who are accustomed to take from your knights and esquires
blank receipts sealed by them, of which they make a very bad use,
as they know to their cost: but they can more fully inform you on
this head than we can. It is melancholy to hear their complaints of
the delays in the payment of their salaries, which are always much
curtailed, at least to the greater part of them. It is consequently now
become a rule among your men at arms, when their salary is in arrear,
to pay themselves from the countries they are quartered in, saying,
that, since they cannot obtain their pay, they must live by their
service.
'Item, whenever these directors or superintendants of your finances are
called upon, they make answer, that they are ready to produce their
accounts, as if that were sufficient, and even go so far as to desire
commissioners may be appointed to inspect and examine them; but, under
correction, this answer is futile,--and if the real culprits are to be
discovered, let their original state, and what substance they possessed
before they entered into office, be inquired into,--what the amount
of their salaries and fees, how much their reasonable expenditure,
and then what is their present income, what estates they possess, and
what buildings they have erected. It is notorious, that the superior
officers are rich and magnificent, but that they were indigent before
their appointments to office, and that some of them have purchased
houses of great value, namely, master Jean Chastegnier, Guillaume
Luce, and Nicaise Bouses. To say the truth, every loyal subject must
be astonished and grieved at heart when he witnesses such management,
that you, their lawful prince and sovereign, should be thus robbed, and
that all your finances should be lodged in such beggarly purses, by the
aforesaid, whose purses are swollen out, and by those who have preceded
them, without any regard to your own wants, or to those of the state.
'Item, since mention has been made of the grand state in which many
live, it seems to your daughter, that such a style of living is too
generally adopted throughout your kingdom; and she fears, from the
evils that daily result from it, lest God may be angered against his
people.
'Item, in regard to the great councils, they are not held in the
manner they ought to be; for generally almost every one is admitted,
whereas none but wise and discreet men, such as knights and clerks,
should be suffered to enter, to a competent number receiving pay and
salaries from you, and from none other,--and these should always
have an attentive eye to your personal profit and honour, and to
the strengthening of your crown and kingdom. It frequently happens,
from the numbers admitted, that business of every sort is neglected
or delayed, and that when any good resolution has been made, as now
and then will be the case, it remains unexecuted, However nearly it
may affect your interests.--Foreign ambassadors should have their
negotiations terminated, and our own should be dispatched; and whenever
any thing conclusive has, by mature deliberation, been settled, it
ought not to be broken off by a few persons afterward, as has often
happened.
'Item, it is very distressing to hear such loud complaints of the
debility of your government in protracting business. We even see the
lord de Mouberon, the viscount de Murat, and those of la Rochelle,
complaining of the delays of your council, although they are employed
for the service of your kingdom, and declaring, that if more energy is
not exerted, they must necessarily make peace with your enemies,--and
thus you may lose many of your faithful vassals.
'In regard to the administration of justice in the realm, your court of
parliament, which is the most eminent, is not governed as it is wont
to have been. Formerly it was composed of excellent lawyers, as well
secular as ecclesiastical, of a mature age and learned in the laws; and
from its great fame for learning and justice, without partiality to any
one, was resorted to, not only by Christians of all nations, but even
by Saracens, who have applied to it for judgment.
'For some short time past, through favour of friends, relations, or
other means, many young men have been admitted who are ignorant of
the laws and unworthy of such honour, by which the authority and fair
reputation of this court is greatly lessened. There are also other
inconveniences attending these indiscriminate admissions: for instance,
there are in this court many sons, brothers, nephews and relations
sitting together, and many others who are lineally connected, as
is the case with the family of the first president,--and from this
circumstance great injustice may ensue in the decisions of the court.
'Item, there are now before the parliament several causes between poor
persons, that are, as it were, dead; for the members do not use such
expedition in deciding upon them as they in reason should.
'Item, respecting the chamber of accounts, nothing is done, for all
causes are there buried; for although some new members have been
lately admitted, no progress seems to be made. Among the new ones is
Alexander Boursier, who has several times been receiver-general of
taxes, and whose accounts are said not yet to have been closed. You
may, consequently, be a great loser in this business; for he who ought
to be narrowly examined himself, is appointed to examine and reduce the
accounts of others.
'Item, the better to effectuate his own business, this Alexander has
so well practised that he has got Jean Vautier, who was his clerk,
appointed to succeed him in the office of receiver-general; and
notwithstanding the royal ordinances, and the oaths which receivers,
and other officers in the receipt of taxes, take on entering their
offices, to make the proper payments in regard to alms, they avoid, as
it is said, by dissimulation and fraud, these distributions of alms,
and frequently infringe the aforesaid ordinances.
'Item, respecting the administering of justice on those guilty of
crimes against the revenue laws, it appears to us that the great
multiplicity of officers is useless in this general dissipation of the
substance of the kingdom, as well as the numbers of inferior officers,
who, from their salaries and the presents they receive, devour the
wealth of the country; for the greater part of these aforesaid officers
are intruded on this court by the influence of friends.
'We must also notice the many presidents of the criminal court.
During the reign of king Charles, there was but one, or two at the
utmost,--whereas at present there are seven, who receive each annually
one hundred livres, not including the notaries. Were we to enter
into any detail respecting the masters of requests of the king's
household, God knows how far it would lead us. In former times,
ancient men, experienced in the laws and customs of the realm, were
appointed to such places, who replied to all the petitions presented
to them, and signed such as they judged expedient, so that the matter
was speedily decided in chancery; but now raw and inexperienced
youths are appointed, who expedite nothing but by orders from the
chancellor,--and this occasions supernumerary officers to be named, to
supply their defects, whose pay is very great, and of course to your
loss.
'Item, in respect to your chancery, it is well known, that your
chancellor of France undergoes great labour, and is very deserving
of a large salary, but without prejudice to your realm. Although his
salary should not amount to more than two thousand livres parisis, he
has nevertheless, for these last twenty years, taken, besides these two
thousand livres and the gift of two thousand livres for the profits
of the great seal, fines on remissions and registerings, of twenty
sols parisis, which in the course of a year amount to a very large
sum of money. He has also received other two thousand francs from the
taxes levied for the support of the war. Item, he receives annually
for his robes two hundred francs; and also from the treasury, for the
use of his chancery, five or six hundred livres parisis. He receives
likewise, in addition to the above gifts, to a very large amount, on
the different taxes and impositions. He has likewise signed and sealed
with too great facility letters patent for large sums, without making
any opposition: the particulars of them may be found in the accounts
of Michel de Sabulon and Alexander Boursier, and in the accounts of
several others, who have not failed to make advantage of them. To speak
more plainly in regard to this article, there will be found in the
above accounts grants, to the amount of six thousand francs, to private
persons, sealed by the chancellor, although he well knew that this
money was appropriated for carrying on the war.--These grants bring
considerable emolument to the chancery, whose finances are managed by
master Henry Machalie and master Buder, comptroller of the seal of
chancery. They charge double fees on the king's dues, namely, those of
notary and secretary, and receive exorbitant salaries and presents; and
in such wise is your chancery governed that no great profit comes to
you, although the emoluments of it are immense. In regard to the fees
of notaries, as they connect themselves with whomever they please, we
shall enter more fully into their detail when occasion offers.
'Item, there are several offices in the kingdom which are incompatible,
and yet are held by the same persons, who serve them by proxy, and thus
in different ways pillage your subjects of their money. The debasement
of your coin must not be forgotten,--and its weight and value have been
lately so much diminished that a crown is now of less worth than two
sols were formerly. The penny and twopenny pieces are scarcely worth as
many farthings, which is very prejudicial to your people; and thus the
good money is carried off,--for the Lombards in their exchanges collect
all the good, and make payment in the new coin.
'You ought to know by whose advice this debasement of the value of
your coin has been made, for it is commonly said to have been thus
lowered in value by the provost of Paris, the provost of the merchants,
and Michel Lallier, who have taken upon themselves the management of
your mint; and although they may have allowed you some profit on this
diminution of the coin, the loss that you and the queen will ultimately
suffer is incomparably greater, as you may learn from those who are
competent to give you information.
'Although your daughter and others of your subjects have now briefly
laid before you the guilt of the aforesaid, this is not enough, nor
will several days suffice, to enter into a full detail of all the
wickedness and disgraceful conduct of your ministers and their
adherents. Very many others, beside those we have named, are equally
guilty, but we now pass them over, in the expectation of more amply
speaking of them hereafter, for the welfare of yourself and of your
kingdom.
'In regard to the aid, advice and support, most sovereign lord, which
you demand from your aforesaid daughter, and other loyal subjects,
whom you have summoned for the purpose, they pray to God that he would
be pleased, out of his grace, to comfort and advise you, for we are
willing to expose our lives and fortunes in your service and support:
indeed, we are bounden so to do by the solemn resolutions entered into
at our last congregation, feeling ourselves greatly obliged to your
royal majesty for the innumerable acts of kindness shown to us.
'The first advice we shall give regards your finances, that they
may be put under a better administration as speedily as may be. We
therefore recommend it as expedient for you to shut the hands of all
your treasurers, directors and receivers, without any exception, and to
dismiss them from their offices, taking, at the same time, possession
of all their fortunes, moveable and immoveable, and having their
persons secured, until they shall have rendered you a just account of
their administration.
'Item, we think it necessary that you should annul all assignments
of grants and extraordinary pensions. We advise, that you instantly
command, under pain of death and confiscation of goods, all receivers,
treasurers, and other officers in the country, as well of your domain
as of other taxes, to bring you the whole sums they may have in their
hands, and that they make no payment whatever, by way of assignation,
to any one, however great his rank, excepting to such as yourself shall
then order; that, at the same time, they bring you their books, and all
papers concerning their receipt, and that, on their arrival, they have
no communication whatever with the aforesaid directors, under pain of
the above punishments.
'Item, in order the more effectually to establish order in your
finances, seeing the great waste and misapplication of the large sums
that have been raised for your personal defence, and in support of the
war, you will order the whole of the receipt of taxes to be produced
before you, as is your right, that henceforth they may be applied
according to the true intent of raising them, and as the urgency
of events may require. When the great need of such an ordinance is
considered, no one ought to be dissatisfied; and on this subject have
the goodness to keep in remembrance the prudent conduct of your father
king Charles, whose soul may God receive! who nobly employed his taxes
in driving the English out of his kingdom, and by this means made
himself master of fortresses that were not before under his subjection:
his officers and army were, at the same time, well paid; and there
remained to him an overplus, which served him to purchase many precious
jewels.
'Item, should these means not be sufficient for your immediate wants,
it seems to us that as you have treasuries in different parts, you may
justly take from them, for they are alike your own. There are also a
number of very rich persons, to the number of sixteen hundred, who
can at any time be named to you: these ought to assist in the support
of the poor,--for one third of them do not pay, one with another, one
hundred francs, which certainly cannot oppress them; but repayments
may be made them when the treasury shall be better filled, according to
the most advised plan.
'Item, we recommend that you nominate for receivers of your finances,
as well from your demesne, as from the taxes, prudent persons, fearing
God, without avarice, and who were never employed in any such offices,
with reasonable salaries, but without any extraordinary presents, by
whom your finances will be distributed according to the wants of the
state, and the overplus paid into your private treasury. When such are
appointed, all deputy-receivers, and tax-collectors, should be ordered
to produce their papers and books to them.
'Item, we recommend that all the schedules of the common expenses of
yourself, the queen and the duke of Acquitaine, be carefully examined,
so that the annual amount may be exactly known, which we believe does
not exceed two hundred thousand francs; for the treasurers do not
receive more than that sum from the demesne or taxes.
'Item, in regard to the court of parliament, it is necessary that
all inefficient members be dismissed, and replaced by others better
informed, who shall adhere to ancient usages. The presidents of
finances, of the civil and criminal courts, with the greffiers,
treasurers and clerks, must be handsomely provided for, but reduced to
a competent number.
'Item, the chamber of accounts must undergo similar regulations; and
the members of it should consist of men of a prudent age, who may
inform you of any mismanagement in the finance-department.