but 't is not reasonable that more than two thousand Families should perish for the sake of a few The Council is full of instances of the like kind and your People have reason to expect you should favour the oppressed The Books that are brought from Paris are so very dear that poor People are not able to come up to their Price A poor Parson whose living is worth but a hundred Crowns a year hath as much need of Instruction as he who hath two thousand and if it be expected that he should Preach and do his Duty he must not be trod under foot The only thing that can be objected against so good and just a Regulation is that Your Majesty may have reason to lessen the number of Booksellers for Libels are now so frequent and common that Bookselling may be thought a Trade more pernicious than profitable to the Government When there are fewer Book-sellers the Authors of these Libells may be discover'd It may also be necessary to bring all that sell Books to so low a condition as to force them to follow some other Imployments for indeed there is no need of so great a number Learning and Letters will flourish without it But whatever Your Majesty's intention be you may do as is done in Spain where Books are Sold at a Price certain and he that Prints them is not permitted to put such a rate upon them as they that have need of them think unreasonable CHAP. XVI Of Husbandmen and Tillage TIllage and Husbandry being the great Wealth of the Kingdom your Majesty is not only concern'd to contribute all you can to the maintaining of it in its present condition but if possible to put it into a better In many Places of the Kingdom a great deal of Land lyes Untill'd because the People are very poor and have not Beasts or Cattle to Manure it nor any other means to improve it To relieve and help your People in a business so necessary Your Majesty would do well to lessen the Taxes a Burden under which they are ready to sink and lend them Money to buy Cows and Sheep Five or six Millions dispers'd among the Provinces would make them all flourish and Your Majesty would be the first that would reap the benefit of it for as soon as your People are in a better condition they will be the better able to aid and assist you One of the greatest causes of the Sterility of the Earth is the Poverty of those that should cultivate it for we see one and the same Soil produce more or less as it is well or ill Plow'd and Dress'd Therefore it will not be enough for Your Majesty to give Husbandmen Money to buy Cattle if they still want Horses I call such poor Jades as are hardly able to draw a Plow want of Horses For when the Earth is but scratch'd up and not Plow'd deep enough what Crop can it produce your Majesty must therefore give 'em Money to buy better and stronger Horses and the rather because you your self will find the benefit of it Let them have Mares of a good size and they will bring Colts that will serve to mount your Cavalry and then there will be no more need of going into Switzerland or Germany to buy Horses of Stature for that purpose They likewise that keep Stallions must take more care of them than they have done hitherto 'T is therefore my opinion that they should be put into the hands of Gentlemen who know best how to order them and 't is more their business than theirs who now keep them But the Summ which Your Majesty hath hitherto been pleas'd to lay out for this purpose is not sufficient for it Fourscore and four Stallions in the whole Kingdom are but enough for two or three Provinces and there are others which are very proper to keep Races to breed by FINIS Appanage signifies the Portion given to the King of Franc's younger Children * Finances signifie all Taxes and Dutys whatever paid to the King to make up his Revenue * Farmers of the King's Revenue * The Town-House like the Guild-Hall of London * Sixteen Millions of Livres computed At 12 Livres to the Pound Sterling amounts to One Million Three Hundred Thirty Three Thousand Three Hundred Thirty Three Pounds Six Shillings and Eight Pence * A Term in the Church of Rome for the Sacrament which is given to People at the point of death * Judges or Officers of Justice sent by the King into the Provinces * A gentle word for Persecuted but 't is the Author's and must be faithfully render'd He makes some amends for it at the end of the Paragraph * A kind of Hospital in Paris where the Blind are allow'd to beg at their Church-doors and at the corners of Streets * There being a Duty laid on Wine resembling our Excise what is made and consum'd like Beer and Ale brew'd in Private Families is exempt from all Duty But by this Tax there is only an allowance of so much Wine to every Family proportionable to their Number and if they exceed that Allowance the Officer returns Trop bu and they pay Excise for the Overplus †A Tax much like our Toll which is taken at the Gates of Paris and of other Cities for all sorts of Provision and Merchandize that enters therein * The King's Officers who makes the Assessments of all Taxes and Aids within their several Provinces and judge and regulate aâ—l Differences relating thereto * The Lawyers * La Noblesse properly signifies the Ancient Gentry who all call themselves Noble in France * A Monastery for Women of Quality out of which they may Marry or go again into the World * A Word of Ignominy and Reproach in France * Is the Sixtieth part of the Price of any Office in the Law or the Finances which is annually paid to the King by all Officers that they may have leave to sell or to dispose of their Places during that Year and when an Officer dies without paying la Paulette his Heirs lose the Benefit of his place It takes its Name from Charles Paulet who invented it about the Year 1600 and was authoriz'd by an Arrest of the Privy Council the 12th of Dec. 1604.
totally defeated that they have never since been able to recover their loss But without robbing that Prince of any part of his Glory we may say That this success was owing to none but God for had he not taken your Majesty into his Protection the Enemy might have advanced to the head of a narrow Way through which the General must have past in their presence They might also have fallen upon him when by the inconvenience of the Ways he was oblig'd to divide his Army But beside all these Difficulties there was an apparent danger in giving Battel for had it been lost the Enemy might have march'd to the very Gates of Paris But 't is sometimes God's Will that neither Party shall think of doing that which they should do and then he leads those step by step whom he hath resolv'd to protect The happy success of this Battel of Rocroy was follow'd with a Joy that was the more sincere because your Subjects had a tender Love for your Majesty and the Queen your Mother The Persecution she had suffer'd as well as Mary de Medicis during Cardinal Richelieu's Ministry procur'd your Mother a great deal of pity and as Pity is usually accompany'd with Esteem the more unhappy she had been the more People resolv'd to follow her Fortune However it ought to be observ'd it was otherwise with Mary de Medicis for all People saw her departure out of the Kingdom with dry eyes no body was concern'd but her own particular Servants and Domesticks Upon which may be made this very good Reflection That Princes soon lose the Love of their best Subjects by their ill Government She had shewn too much Favour to Mareschal d'Ancre and his Wife both of her own Country to be pity'd by the People And as in France as well as in other Places they do not love to obey Strangers the Grandees murmur'd at it and left the Court because the Queen little regarged their Complaints The King your Father also grew jealous of their Power which caus'd the Assassination of the Mareschal and the tragical end of his Wife However it was very ill digested and God be thanked we have not seen your Majesty's Reign stain'd with any thing like it A King never doth well to dip his Hands in the Blood of his Subjects When they deserve Punishment they ought to be legally prosecuted in a Court of Justice which perhaps sometimes cannot be safely done when a Subject becomes so great that his Master hath just cause to be afraid of him Wallestein was such a one and therefore the Emperour Ferdinand III. was excusable for commanding he should be kill'd Henry III. had the same reason to rid himself of the Duke of Guise when he was upon the point of usurping his Kingdom and shutting him up in a Monastery But except in such cases a Criminal is to be put into the hands of Justice not only for the Prince's own sake but because it is necessary the People should know that the Person is guilty Henry IV. took this course with Mareschal Biron for tho' he fear'd that if Biron perceiv'd his Designs were discover'd he might raise Troubles in the Kingdom yet that did not hinder the King from having a greater regard to what he ought to do for his own sake than for what might thappen The Queen your Mother SIR had done well had she taken example by that which befel Mary de Medicis she had not then brought the State as she did within so near being lost by the choice she made of Cardinal Mazarin to succeed Cardinal Richelieu His being a Stranger made all your Subjects forget the Obedience that was due to their Soveraign It was to no purpose to tell them He had already done great Services to the Crown and was still able to do greater because he understood foreign Affairs better than any other Person which indeed is absolutely necessary for a Publick Minister But they fancy'd these Reasons not so good as their own nor could they be beaten out of their Opinion That he being born a Subject of the King of Spain was never to be trusted And accusing the Queen-Mother of being more a Spaniard than a French-Woman they seem'd to repent the Pity they had had for her which appear'd in their confessing Cardinal Richelieu had reason to persecute her tho' all the Sufferings she had endur'd had no other foundation than a pretended private Intelligence she kept with the King of Spain her Brother But so People might satisfie their Passion they car'd not at what Price they did it I have reason to call all that Passion which was done a little after the Death of the King your Father since it is certain that your Subjects do not alway call Reason to their Aid If they had they would have seen that the Queen your Mother was not so much to be blam'd as they thought seeing she had preferr'd before others a Man that was able to keep up the Reputation the Crown had gotten in foreign Countries and knew what course was to be taken to meet there with success 'T is that which all the World doth not know tho' it be a thing of very great Consequence My Brother whom your Majesty Honour'd with making him Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs took the liberty many times to represent it to your Majesty but the Marquess Louvoy who hath Maxims very contrary to those Great Men's who have preceeded him in the Administration of the Kingdom destroy'd in a moment all that he strove to do But I know not whether the Marquess will always have Reason on his side because he makes use of the Strength only of your own Subjects which Cardinal Richelieu who knows as much as he did not do when he carried the War into Germany made Catalonia and Portugal revolt and led the way to the low'ring of the House of Austria Indeed tho' your Kingdom be very powerful and your Majesty hath a third part at least increas'd its Strength by your Conquests yet 't is contrary to good Sense to exhaust all its Forces Your Majesty will be better able to maintain the War by arming other Princes in your Favour But to do that you must treat them like Soveraigns as they are and not pretend as Monsieur Louvoy doth because they are your Majesty's Inferiours they ought to look upon themselves as Slaves Your Majesty perhaps knows not what Answer he made to the Elector Palatine's Envoy who complaining at the beginning of the Holland War That his Master was no better treated than those who were actually in Arms against you the Marquess told him That it did not become such a petty Prince as his Master to make so great a Noise about so small a Matter That your Majesty was not bound to give an account to any Man of your Actions And That the Elector's standing so much on his Points was the way to lose the Honour of your Friendship Such great Words SIR may
he let himself down by it and got away upon a Horse purposely brought thither Some thought his Design was to go to Paris there to foment new Disorders but his Horse falling on the Pavement of Nantes which is very bad he fled to Machcoul a Castle which belong'd to the Duke of Rets his Brother Mareschal Meilleray prepar'd to go thither and besiege it which made the Cardinal go thence to Bellisle The Mareschal would likewise have follow'd him if your Majesty would have given him leave but one Reason of State why you would not permit him was because you fear'd that the Mareschal who was very powerful in that Province would not keep it for you and that after your Endeavours to put things into good Order you your self might be the occasion of new Disorders But seeing it had been a kind of braving your Majesty to have stay'd in your Kingdom after he had been so unhappy to incur your Indignation he went into Spain and from thence to Rome from whence your Majesty would not suffer him to return till he had given you the Satisfaction you expected Indeed it concerns the Majesty of a great King not to suffer a Subject to beard him but to reduce him to his Duty otherwise it would be an Example to others of dangerous consequence Your Majesty knowing that the Spaniards had not well recover'd their Rout at Arras hasten'd to take the Field where after having taken Landrecis Condé and St. Guillain the Arch-Duke was so allarm'd that he thought every Moment you would attack him in Bruxells the fear of it made him employ ten thousand Peasants to make a kind of Fortification about it and 't is for your Majesty's Reputation Posterity should know it because it cannot but take notice that after the Arch-Duke had made you tremble in your Capital City of Paris you should do the like by him in so short a time and that you must be a great King to do such Miracles But what I can say is That you forget nothing which is for the publick good of your Kingdom and that then you knew as well how to Treat as to make War It plainly appear'd in the Treaty you made with Prince Francis whose Design you discover'd by his letting the Lord Inchequin who manag'd all his Affairs fall into your Hands at the Rout of Arras For instead of thinking he was taken Prisoner by chance you concluded it to be a premeditated Contrivance which made you stand so stiff upon the Propositions that Lord then made Who still pretended all that he said was from himself without having any Order from the Prince his Master But even from his Feign'd Story your Majesty rightly judg'd necessity oblig'd him to treat with you which shew'd you a prudent and well advis'd Prince seeing to conclude only from appearances is the way to be deceiv'd in all a Man doth It were to be wish'd your Majesty had been able to be present in all your Armies as well as in that of Flanders you then had seen with your own Eyes in what manner things went you might then have weigh'd all Enterprizes before you gave your consent to their being put in execution but seeing your knowledge of Places and your Enemies Forces were but imperfect you met with a check in Italy of which only Cardinal Mazarin's easiness can be accus'd He was so fast tyed to his own Country notwithstanding all the Wealth and Honours he had heap'd in France which ought to have made him forget it that he endeavour'd to get a Husband there for the Sister of the Princess of Conti and the Dutchess of Mercoeur but of all those that presented themselves he lik'd none so well as the Duke of Modena This Allyance the Cardinal represented so considerable to your Majesty as if he had no other end than drawing in this Prince to espouse your Interest so that he prevail'd with you to give the Duke the command of your Army in that Country jointly with Prince Thomas and these two Generals being joyn'd broke the Marquess of Caracene's Measures who design'd to surprize Regio which so rais'd their Courage that they thought themselves in a condition to besiege Pavie But they were forc'd to quit the Siege which had very much lessen'd your Majesty's Glory if that which happen'd elsewhere had not repair'd your Reputation for beside that which you did in Flanders your Army in Catalonia did not only preserve its Conquests but enlarg'd 'em For it seis'd upon Cap-daquiers and being enter'd into the Campourda put all under Contribution home to Gironne The Fault whereof your Minister was guilty in Italy was not the only one of which his Ministry may be accus'd he was very fond of a Maxime which no body but himself approv'd and which your Majesty suffer'd because you had so much confidence in him he employ'd in all your Affairs two Persons instead of one which was always the Ground of perpetual jealousie between 'em and which must necessarily produce very ill Effects For two Men with equal Power and Authority look upon one another as two Enemies tho' they seem not to do it and they will never let slip an Opportunity of doing one another an ill turn they are never better pleas'd than when one of them doth a Fault and they commonly suborn People to procure each other's Ruine To redress this is very difficult but 't is absolutely necessary for the good of your Kingdom Your Majesty is far from liking this Maxim you know that the most perfect Government is that which comes nearest to GOD's and therefore you give absolute Power to those that act under your Orders 'T is enough that they render you an Account of what they do but you do not put Persons in equal Ballance one with another if you did you should be sure to be but ill served for if they that have Commission to do a thing do it not with all the Authority of their Master they are always ill obey'd Beside if two Persons have Power to command the same thing one usually crosseth what the other undertakes their differing in Opinion produceth this Effect as well as the Jealousie which is between 'em so that we ought to conclude a State is ill govern'd where there are so many Masters We likewise see that Monarchical Government is counted the most perfect and that the best Policy'd Republicks are those where there is the least Confusion Whatever was the matter this Disorder reign'd in your Revenue and in your Armies you know that in Italy there were two Generals in Flanders likewise Cardinal Mazarin was pleas'd this Year to joyn two Men together whose Humours and Inclinations were quite contrary to one another's I mean Viscount Turenne and Mareschal de la Ferté who could never agree and who also had lately quarrel'd The Mareschal took out of the Viscounts Hands a Prisoner under pretence of exchanging him for one of his Men taken by the Enemy but in truth it
Affairs ought to have taken care the Vessel had been good but it having been visited by experienc'd Shipwrights before it was put to Sea your Majesty who doth Right to all the World was not at all displeas'd with me The Fault was that the Ship had not for a long time been in Service which doth Vessels more harm than if they were continually at Sea This ill News because it came after that which is better did not make that impression which otherwise it might have done upon your Majesty's Mind You were pleas'd with the good News you receiv'd out of Hungary where your Arms had acquir'd you no little Glory and where without them the Emperour who had already receiv'd a Check had been totally defeated For when the right Wing of his Army had been beaten by the Turks which gave them hopes of an entire Victory your Troops which were in the Left charg'd so bravely that they trod down all that oppos'd 'em and having by their making a Stand renew'd the Fight they beat the Turks shewing so much resolution and Courage that the Emperour instead of returning them Thanks grew Jealous of 'em and instead of resolving to improve the Victory which had caus'd a great Consternation among the Turks he made a precipitate Peace as if he had been afraid your Trops would have taken his Crown from him These two particular Events of good and bad Fortune hinder'd your Majesty from mounting to that high pitch of Glory where you now are The excellent Order which you setled ev'ry where throughout your Kingdom which was still sensible of the Abuses which in Cardinal Mazarin's Time had crept into it are an evident Proof that you were a great King You reform'd the Order of St. Michel which before that of the St. Esprit was the Reward wherewith Kings your Predecessors honour'd the greatest Men in their Kingdom but was so little estem'd after the Institution of the other that all Sorts of People were indifferently receiv'd into it and at last became like the Order of the Star which in time was so despis'd that one of your Predecessors to make it more Vile and Despicable bestow'd it upon the Archers of the City Watch. Your Majesty prudently resolv'd to reform this Abuse especially because the Order of St. Michel is joyn'd to that of the St. Esprit and that the Knights of this last Order could not be receiv'd into it unless they had been before of the first However I must say that your Majesty did not so throughly purge it of the mean Persons that were in it but that some still remain For it is the inevitable Misfortune of all Princes that when they rely wholly upon others it would be a wonder if Favour or Faction should not prevail against Justice Therefore if Princes would have things done according to their own directions they ought to overlook those they depute to see their Pleasure perform'd For if they trust wholly to their Fidelity 't is the way to have their work but half done Your Majesty for the good of your Kingdom Incorporated likewise a Company for the Trade of the Indies and indeed a Kingdom cannot flourish so long as that Trade is driven by Strangers It should be taken out of the hands of the English and Dutch who were suffer'd by your Predecessors to be the sole Masters of that Commerce This Establishment very much displeas'd those two Nations who were so jealous of one another that after some coldness they were ready to quarrel 'T is Interest that sets all People together by the Ears After some flashes of Lightning followed Thunder and after a Breach the English and Dutch came to an open War Your Majesty offer'd to both your Mediation that things might go no further but the English who pretend to the dominion of the Sea and to impose Conditions upon all others stood so stiff upon their Points that your Majesty thought your self oblig'd to take the part of your Ancient Friends against the Old Enemies of your Crown Your Majesty put out a Fleet at Sea in favour of the Hollanders and equipp'd another at the same time against the Algerines The Duke of Beaufort who commanded it having receiv'd your Orders fought the Algerines with such success that he beat them twice in three Months he took several of their Ships among which was the Admiral This Advantage wrought a good Effect among those Barbarous People who endeavour'd to lessen your Reputation by what had happen'd at Gigeri But that which increas'd their Terrour was your setting out new Ships on the Ocean and in the Mediterranean which made all Europe think that in a little time you would be in a Condition not only to dispute the Empire of the Sea with the English but with any other Nation whatever Beside these Ships which considerably increas'd your Fleet you had Magazines full of Stores Materials and Workmen you wanted no Seamen or Pilots so that it was thought you intended to dispute that Dominion which belongs only to him that is strongest I do not pretend to magnifie my self by what I have said tho' I have done the best I could in it To speak the truth I must confess this Design was not mine I did but finish what Cardinal Richelieu first began I know it was he that put the King your Father upon augmenting his Power at Sea or I should rather say to make himself known there For before him all his Predecessors even Henry the 4 th himself had not one single Ship But this Project was but lamely carried on under the ministry of that great Man so that it may be truly said the Glory of it was reserv'd for your Majesty About this time your Majesty did two things very much for the good of your self and People and which the deceased King your Father attempted in vain You reduc'd Persons of Quality and those of the Long Robe to perfect Obedience You did the one under the pretence of Justice the other by your absolute Power Many Gentlemen by the licentiousness of the times had usurp'd so much Authority that they were in their Provinces like so many petty Tyrants and made all tremble under ' em The Judges in those Provinces who were bound by the Duty of their Places to oppose such Innovations did not dare to do it in a time when they fear'd to be run down Beside they were unwilling to concern themselves for People commonly prefer their private Interest before the publick good They were afraid to contest with those petty Kings of the Country so that they stirr'd no more than as if all that past had been indifferent to ' em But your Majesty who thought your self oblig'd not to suffer such Abuses because none but you could pretend to Supremacy being bound to protect your Subjects and secure them from Violence your Majesty I say not being any longer able to suffer what was derogatory to your Authority and so contrary to the Peace of
not to wear such or such things will rather pay their Money than as is usually said not go like other folks and yet no body can complain against such a Tax because it will be voluntary no person being bound to pay it but he that will CHAP. XV. Of Tradesmen and Commerce THERE is nothing so necessary to make a Kingdom flourish as Trade and for a Demonstrative proof of it we need but observe the difference between a Town situated upon a good River and an Inland Town The one is rich and plentiful the other poor and miserable But Towns near the Sea-side have yet an advantage which others have not because they abound more in all things than those upon Rivers or in any other places so that whoever hath a mind to follow any imployment may if he please live very comfortably Now if so many advantages attend Trade which no body can deny it should be an incitement to Your Majesty to promote and protect it Many have formerly and still blame me for perswading Your Majesty to encourage and countenance Manufactures exclaiming against me that nothing we can do will be comparable to that we have from foreign parts But they are much mistaken for tho' I confess we did not in our first attempts bring things to that perfection we desir'd yet it must be granted that in what we have done since we have excell'd all others I will instance only in the Glasses made at Paris We never had from Venice any so great as are now made in the Fauxbourg St. Antoine The Venetian Embassador himself was surpriz'd and till he saw it with his own eyes would never believe any could be made so large and tho' he wrote to Venice what Glasses he had seen here yet they were so incredulous that they thought it impossible 'T is true our Glass doth not look so clear and lively as that which comes from thence but it may be easily refin'd And the difference between theirs and ours is not so great that we should send thither three Millions every year to buy Looking Glasses and Coach-Glasses What can be objected against our Tapistry made at Beauvais and at the Gobelins I would fain know whether Your Majesty be willing I know not how much Money should go into Flanders to bring Hangings from thence If Your Majesty had not so long suffer'd it you might e're this have been Master of those rich Provinces For 't is certain that they have maintain'd their War with French Money for by that very Manufacture in three several places they have drawn out of France many Millions and if Your Majesty would forbid the bringing likewise of Hair and Lace from thence they would soon fall into great Poverty Your Majesty should therefore lay so great an Imposition upon these Commodities that no body would care to import them What need have we of Tapistry of Hair or Flanders Lace Your Kingdom is great enough and full enough of Ingenious Men to furnish all these things The Importation of them must be discountenanced by Your Majesty's being the first that leaves using of them for people will certainly follow your example since in imitating you they never consider whethey do well or ill The Case is the same as to our Cloth and other Manufactures We must do all we can to stop the current of our Monies going out of the Kingdom If any complain that our first attempts do not succeed yet we must not give over no Prentice does immediately become a Master but by constant forging becomes a Smith All beginnings are difficult and nothing but time makes things perfect Water in the Spring is not so clear as it is in the Stream and 't is patience that brings Men to the End they aim at I know that they who are not of my Opinion make this Objection against it If we resolve not to have any Commerce with Foreigners they will not Trade with us so that 't is best to let things stand on the same foot they now are and have always stood but they that talk at this rate ought to know that our Neighbours have need of us but we no need of them France hath generally all things necessary within it self very few excepted but it is not so with other Countries that confine upon us they have neither Wine Salt Corn Hemp or Brandy and therefore must have it of us and we should make but an ill use of that which God hath given us if we let others have it for that whereof we have no need If Strangers must have our Money let it be only for that which cannot be had in our own Kingdom as Spices which are to be fetched from the Indies or bought of the Hollanders for any thing else we may be without it and let not Luxury tempt us to do any thing prejudicial to our Native Country They are so rigorous in many great Cities of your Kingdom that they will not receive Tradesmen among them which is an abuse Your Majesty ought not to suffer for it keeps many from applying themselves to Trade who perhaps would thrive better than those that are in it What necessity is there of serving an Apprentioeship to a Master It may perhaps be necessary for Handicrafts-men and Artificers because no body should venture upon a Trade which they do not understand but for others why must they lose their time or why must they be hinder'd from following a Trade they have learn'd in Foreign Countries or because they cannot shew a Certificate that they serv'd an Apprenticeship Is it just or reasonable that Your Majesty's Name should be made use of to keep industrious persons from getting their Living you are the Common Father of your People and ought to take them all into your protection If you would publish an Edict to abrogate all By-laws in Corporations against People's setting up Trades there without their leave it would do no harm Your Majesty would find your account in obliging People to take Letters of Licence from you for which they should pay a small Summ. The number of those that would come for Licenses would be so great that tho' they had 'em for little yet Your Majesty would find it very considerable Beside they would think themselves oblig'd to you because what they gave you would be less than it costs them in Corporations to get leave to keep a Shop Particular care should be taken by Your Majesty to regulate the Trade of Stationers It is in Country-Towns so subject to the Inquisition of the Paris Booksellers who by vertue of Priviledges obtain'd from the Chancery keep all other Booksellers throughout the Kingdom in such dependence that they must either starve or run the hazard of being undone If Your Majesty will take compassion of 'em you must confine the Priviledges of the Paris Book-sellers to the City of Paris and permit all others to sell without Controll Paris alone is more worth than all the rest of the Kingdom
THE Political Testament OF M. Jean Baptist Colbert Minister and Secretary of State THE Political Testament OF M. Jean Baptist Colbert Minister and Secretary of State Wherein is contain'd All that hath pass'd under the Reign of LEWIS the XIV unto the Year 1684. With Remarks upon the Government of the Kingdom of France Translated out of French LONDON Printed for R. Bentley at the Post-House in Russel-Street in Covent-Garden M DC XCV TO THE Right Honourable SIDNEY Lord Godolphin Baron of Rialton One of the Lords Justices for the Administration of Affairs in the absence of the King first Commissioner of the Treasury and one of his Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council My Lord ALL who have the happiness to be acquainted with Your Lordship know how litttle You love or want a Dedication and I should not have presum'd to fix Your Name to this were there not a kind of necessity for it but when I reflect on the Character of my Author so like and in so many circumstances agreeing with Your Lordships where can I draw so exact a Parallel where could I make choice of so fit a Patron For whether I consider the late Famous Monsieur Colbert either in his publick or private Capacity in justice to his Memory I must compare him to Your Lordship being otherwaies unable to describe him as he deserves and in this I am sure I have outdone the Original tho' I fall much short of it in the Translation The Reader may observe he was Comptroller general of the Finances in France the most like to a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in England a Station Your Lordship hath long maintain'd with so great Honour Justice Integrity and Prudence that You never deservedly made an Enemy nor undeservedly preferr'd a Friend I may well say long considering the different prevailing Parties in our Nation but You have still preserv'd Your Interest by the same Merit You acquir'd it what ever Changes have happen'd You have never deviated from Your own just Principles and none hath better demonstrated that Infallible Maxim an Honest Man is the best Politician But tho' Honesty is the best and ought to be the chief Ingredient in a Statesman there are other extraordinary Qualifications Stars of a lesser Magnitude which shine bright in Your Lordship a sound and steady Judgment a clear and ready Wit a quick Apprehension a perfect Knowledge of Languages Foreign Courts and Customs an absolute Command of the Passions an easie and affable Behaviour and a true Application to Business without its tedious forms and incumbrances 'T is these Exemplary Vertues that justly recommend Your Lordship to all Good Men and all Good Men to Your Lordship It is very difficult to quit so fruitful a Subject but I am to remember to whom I am speaking and tho' I cannot say enough to my Reader I must not say too much to Your Lordship I will therefore trouble You no longer hoping the Honesty and Usefulness of the Subject will atone for the Imperfections of the Translation and the importunity of MY LORD Your Lordships Most Faithful and Obedient Servant William Granvill THE EPISTLE TO THE KING SIR GOD hath so visibly appear'd in Protecting your Majesty's Reign that I am verily persuaded your Majesty doth in no-wise attribute to your Own good Conduct those happy Events which have made your Kingdom so Glorious and humbled its Enemies GOD answer'd the Prayers of all your good Subjects and gave You to them in a time when there was little hope of their being heard since it was not till after Twenty three Years Barrenness he began by the Miracle of your Birth to declare He had chosen you from all Eternity to be one of the most perfect Works that have been for a long time upon Earth So certain a Truth and so generally acknowledg'd by all your Subjects ought also to be known to Strangers that they may be convinc'd the Mighty Hand of GOD acteth for you against your Enemies But seeing there is in almost all other Courts but a meer outward appearance of Piety while it shines so bright in yours they attribute all your Majesty's Prosperity only to your good Fortune without lifting up their Eyes to Him who is the Lord of Hosts and without whosâ— Aid 't is impossible for any one to expect Victory It were to be wish'd your Enemies had been sooner undeceiv'd and in good time convinc'd That it is GOD alone who protects you then there had not been so much Blood spilt in the War which you have so gloriously ended and the Lives of an infinite Number of Men might yet be spar'd who seem destin'd to perish in the same Quarrel For your Majesty by having given a Peace to Europe hath not quite extinguish'd the Jealousie of many Potentates wherewith they feel themselves disquieted When they see what great Things are done by you they do but watch for an Opportunity to be reveng'd and rather than they will yield to those Submissions which one of your Ministers requires from them 't is very likely they will hazard All to keep All. But SIR may I be so bold to ask Whether all that this Minister doth be any Service to your Majesty I fear you may think the little good Correspondence which hath hitherto been between us puts me upon this Questâ—on The deep Wounds which your Majesty knows better than I he hath endeavour'd to give me by his frequent Addresses to your Majesty to make you suspect my Fidelity may incline you to believe That my Resentments are still great enough to prompt me to do by him as he hath dealt with me But GOD forbid that I should be more concern'd for my own Interest than for your Majesty's having no other aim but to represent faithfully to your Majesty how things are A Great KING who hath in his Hands the Government of a large Kingdom doth not always know what his Ministers do especially when he gives them the same Authority which you do to the Marquess of Louvoy Publick Ministers Faults are usually imputed to their Master and if War happen to ensue How many People suffer for the Guilt of one particular Person It seems to me that Monsieur Louvoy was the cause that the War lasted so long 'T is true the end of it hath prov'd glorious to your Majesty but it cannot be said you owe it to his good Conduct 'T is evident that by him the Safety of your Realm was brought into danger out of which nothing but the Hand of GOD deliver'd you He is then answerable to all your People for the Blood he hath cost ' em Besides had your Majesty been less respected and admired he might have perhaps made you lose the Love of your Subjects for you who are their Father ought to be as sparing of their Blood as of your own Is it not likewise very strange that a Minister who never saw War but in Paint should pretend to know more of it than all yonr
Manufactures in your own Kingdom So that the French have now at home that which they were obliged with great Expence of their Money to seek for abroad and what is yet more this hath your Majesty done of your self without receiving the least light or advice from others You were Educated very tenderly amongst Women I cannot forbear saying so because it would rob your Majesty of that Glory which is your due when it is known that notwithstanding so ill an Education you are become that which we now see you are I have yet a great deal more to say of those many things your Majesty hath done which appear so great and surprising considering what I have just now said of your Education But I pass that by to keep my self to the Subject I have here proposed I must tell you with all the Respect I owe your Majesty that the only thing wherein you can be blamed is that you are too good to and put too much confidence in those on whom you rely in some of your Affairs It is not to shew my own Parts that I pretend to find fault with other Mens Actions Perhaps I am more subject to Faults than they but the Zeal I have for your Majesty's Service will not suffer me to be longer silent Be pleased therefore to let me give you the History in short of all that hath past in your Majesty's Reign and shew you wherein I think you have been ill serv'd Be also pleas'd to let me tell you by what means I Imagine you may yet make your Kingdom more Glorious I mâ—st humbly beseech your Majesty to pardon this Liberty and to believe I would never have presum'd to have said any thing on this Subject were it not that I cannot better testifie my Zeal to serve your Majesty That which more particularly obligeth me to tell you my Thoughts is That I find my self daily declining and that according to all appearance I have but a very little longer time to do you any Service Curts and Night-watchings shorten Men's Days and I have toil'd enough since your Majesty was pleas'd to trust me with the Management of your Revenue to think 't is now time to leave my Place to another How happy should I be if in dying I could persuade your Majesty to believe That I am what all Days of my Life I have been with most profound Respect SIR Your Majesty's most Humble Most Obedient Servant and Most Faithful Subject J. B. Colbert A TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS CONTAINED In this Volume CHAP. I. COntaining a brief Recital of what pass'd in the Reign of Lewis the Great from his first coming to the Crown 'till the Year 1649. in which the Paris War began CHAP. II. Containing that which pass'd after the War of Paris 'till the Peace of the Pyrenées CHAP. III. Containing that which pass'd after the Peace of the Pyrenées to the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle CHAP. IV. Containing that which pass'd after the Peace of the Pyrenées to the Holland War CHAP. V. Containing that which pass'd after the War of Holland till the Treaty of Nimeghen CHAP. VI. Containing that which pass'd after the Treaty at Nimeghen to the Year 1684. CHAP. VII Which endeavours to shew that all those very particular Favours which his Majesty receiv'd from GOD oblig'd his Majesty to render to GOD all that was due to him and that no Kingdom could prosper without the Fear of the LORD CHAP. VIII Of the Obedience which is due to the Pope CHAP. IX Of the Love which a Prince ought to have for his Subjects and where somewhat is also to be spoken of Taxes CHAP. X. Of all the Kingdom in general CHAP. XI Of the Clergy CHAP. XII Of the Nobility CHAP. XIII Of People belonging to the Courts of Justice CHAP. XIV Of Men of Business CHAP. XV. Of Merchants and of Trade CHAP. XVI Of Husbandmen and Tillage THE TESTAMENT OF M. John Baptist Colbert CONCERNING GOVERNMENT CHAP. I. Containing a brief Account of the Reign of Lewis the Great from his coming to the Crown 'till the Year 1649. in which the War of Paris began DID not your Majesty know so much better than I do that what is most necessary to make a Kingdom flourish is a perfect Harmony and Agreement between all its Members I would presume to shew here what Care a Prince ought to take that there be no Discord or Division among 'em But since this depends upon a right Establishment of Subordination your Majesty is better able than any Man to order that as it ought to be who so well understand to act the Part of a King that 't is enough to distinguish by your Air and Mien that you was born to Command We see then what it is that gives Beginning to a Kingdom 's Prosperity and what it is continues it For if he that is the Soveraign doth not know or is not able to do what he ought he must then have a Minister under him And because the same Respect which People have for his Master is not usually paid to him thence arise those Canvasings and Contests that frequently turn to Rebellions and sometimes cause the total Ruin of a Kingdom The Reign of the King your deceased Father was full of such Accidents The Royal Family was so divided that the Mother was against the Son and the Son against the Mother the Brother likewise sought to destroy his Brother and his King The other Princes of the Blood stood not much better affected All which proceeded from his Majesty's giving so much Power to his Prime Minister that the Princes thought it was he that did all as they had great reason to believe otherwise the Queen-Mother had not been so abandon'd as to die at Cologne in such distress that she had not the one half of what she wanted to relieve her Necessities Your Majesty's Minority was expos'd to the same Inconveniencies because you were not then able to direct your Affairs The Queen your Mother when the King died found them embroil'd and in so great confusion that it was not possible for a Woman to reduce 'em into order Your Father when he died left no Prime Minister Cardinal Richelieu who with a great deal of Reputation discharg'd the Duties of that Place had left it vacant four or five Years A thousand People expected to succeed him in it and tho' all France did agree That among so many there was hardly one to be found worthy of the Ministry Yet so great a number of Competitors striving to obtain it occasion'd by your Father's limiting the Queen his Widow's Power who should have been Regent made the Spaniards think our Disorders might turn to their Advantage they then besieg'd Rocroy which they believ'd they should quickly carry and enter into the heart of the Kingdom But God confounded their Pride by the loss of a Battel given them by Louis de Bourbon Prince of Condé then call'd Duke of Anguien wherein they were so
have notice of it but the Prince of Condé who unluckily took a review of his Troops the Day after yours encamp'd before the Place and being on Horseback when the News was brought him he presently March'd and so well took his time that he pass'd through your Army without being known after which you were oblig'd to raise the Siege but resolving to repair this Affront by some considerable enterprize you besieg'd Montmedi The Enemy's Army full of Pride for that which had happen'd to you at Cambray flatter'd themselves they could give you the like Check before Montmedi The Prince of Condé who was their Hero was pray'd to undertake the care of it but Viscount Turenne who observ'd him having march'd Night and Day with a Party of the Troops which he commanded and Mareschal la Ferté whom you had charg'd with this Expedition being in a good Posture tho' his Lines were not yet finish'd The Prince of Condé durst not undertake the Attack so that you reduc'd this strong Place under your Obedience Viscount Turenne went and rejoyn'd his Army after the departure of the Prince of Condé who as great a Captain as he was could not hinder Turenne from taking St. Venant When the Prince of Condé saw that he with Don John of Austria went and besieg'd Ardres hoping that Viscount Turenne would either quit his Enterprize or let him finish his without giving him any Trouble The Prince thought he should sooner do his Work than Turenne because St. Venant was defended by a good Garrison and that there was scarce any body in Ardres But Viscount Turenne who knew that one of the best Qualities in a General was not to lose a Moment of time us'd such Diligence that he oblig'd the Enemy to Capitulate two days sooner than the Prince of Condé imagin'd and presently march'd against the Prince who having notice of it was half Mad for had he given the Prince but four Hours time more he had made himself Master of Ardres being just ready to spring a Mine which had done all that he could desire and then there was no appearance the Governour could have held out longer but he knowing he was so near being reliev'd refus'd to hearken to any Capitulation The Prince not being so strong as Turenne resolv'd to raise the Siege which was no little Honour to the Viscount whose Diligence had made the Prince fail both of relieving Montmedi and of taking Ardres Not to lose any time is so necessary a Quality in a General that without it no Man can ever hope to be a good Captain For in War some times All depends upon an Instant and he that knows not how to make use of it doth not deserve any great Esteem Turenne did not yet end his Campagne he likewise took La Motthe au Bois and many other Forts upon the Canal of Bourbourg after which he made himself Master of Mardik That which pass'd in Catalonia would not deserve to be told were it not convenient it should be known that the Reason why your Majesty made no more Conquests there was because you thought it enough to keep those you had already The Country which is divided from Rousillon and Cerdaigne by a Chain of Mountains of a prodigious Heighth and whose Avenues are so narrow that two Men can hardly pass in Front seems to be made for another Soveraign and it would be to force Nature to unite them under one Government so that your Majesty contenting your self with the Bounds which God seem'd to have set between your Kingdom and that of the King of Spain you resolv'd not to enter into his but only to let him see you had Troops sufficient to guard your own so that all which afterward pass'd was only some light Skirmishes which caus'd little alteration till a Peace was concluded The Prince of Conti who commanded in this Country the last Year seeing there was now little Honour to be gotten by him there pray'd your Majesty's leave to go and supply the Place of Prince Thomas who was dead You granted his Request but it had been much better for his Reputation to have stay'd in Rousillon than to go into Italy and be forc'd to raise the Siege of Alexandria de la Paille which he had joyntly undertaken with the Duke of Modena If your Majesty would know why you met with more ill turns of Fortune in that Country than in any other 't is easie to give your Majesty a Reason for it The Spaniards look upon the Milanez of very great Consequence to them the loss of which would certainly draw after it other Places they possess in that Country so that whenever they are attack'd they use all imaginable means to relieve them Beside the Princes of Italy do not ordinarily Pray for you when your Armies come amongst 'em They are very well pleas'd with your Protection but do not care for your Neighbourhood It is enough for your Majesty to have a Door open to help 'em in time of need and if you suffer no body especially Spain to meddle with 'em you shall still be in great Reputation among 'em All then which I think you ought to do in that Country is to continue the Allyance which you have with the Duke of Savoy with whom a good Correspondence is not only necessary for the keeping of Cazall but likewise of Pignerol That of other Princes is of no use to you but may prove prejudicial by making others believe you have great Designs upon their Liberty and therefore may put them upon entring into a Confederacy against you I know that at this time your Majesty is in so great Reputation that a League of the Princes of Italy against you would turn to their Confusion if it were not supported by the Forces of all Europe But your Majesty must take heed the Italian Princes do not serve for Trumpets to other Potentates who are Jealous enough of your Majesty and would readily joyn to interrupt your Prosperity Beside you must do all you can to avoid allarming the Swiss of whom you have more need than you Imagin for should they recall the Troops they lend you it would deprive you of a Strength you cannot spare To which I may add that in such a Revolution the Duke of Savoy may leave you and then by his Defection your Frontiers which are not fortify'd on that side will suffer very much I know very well that when a Prince resolves to make War he ought not only to think by what means he may succeed but also what is like to be the Sequel and End of it I consequently know that the Princes of Italy are too well advis'd to declare themselves against your Majesty from whom only they can hope for help when they are oppress'd and against whom they cannot arm any other Potentates but those of whom they ought to be extreamly jealous To which Branch soever of the House of Austria they address themselves they have reason to
to rob 'em of what they have It was about this time that your Majesty began to employ Marquess Louvoy to whom you had granted the Reversion of his Father's Place He was so rough-hewn and so little inclin'd to Business that Monsieur Tellier desir'd your Majesty not to trouble your self any more with one that was never like to come to Good He was so given to his Pleasures that his Father look'd upon him as a Son more like to spend the Estate he had gotten than to add any thing to it by his Industry But your Majesty having a very great Kindness for Monsieur Tellier's Family told him he must have a little Patience what was not done in One Day might be effected in Two and therefore you did not despair but some good might be done with his Son that Youth was to be indulg'd and reclaim'd by Kindness and not by Threats Your Majesty took Pains to frame and fashion him and as it must be confest notwithstanding what I have already said and shall say hereafter the Man hath many good Qualities so it ought to teach us that time is to be given to Men as to Fruits to ripen Whoever hastens things too fast rather spoils than brings 'em to Maturity There are some whose Parts advance so slowly that it would turn their Brains to endeavour to make 'em understand any thing before their time they must be brought to it by Degrees without using the least Violence Beside 't is not to be thought Men can be presently made fit for business especially Youth that cannot endure Pains and loves nothing but Pleasure Application to Business comes not till the Judgment be form'd and 't is then we insensibly habituate our selves to it and afterwards think it little or no trouble 'T is Business makes Men as the common saying is Forging makes a Smith Monsieur Louvoy did not at first much love taking Pains yet had the same Faults which those have that grow Proud of their Services he grew jealous of all those to whom your Majesty was pleas'd to shew any Kindness more particularly of me who had the Honour to discourse often with your Majesty as superintendant of your Finances and Buildings For your Majesty who is great in all Things did then build at Versailles and at the Louvre of which I was to give you an Account every Week and sometimes every Day because you often chang'd somewhat in your Design which I was to see done But because Monsieur Louvoy's Employment did not require his conferring with your Majesty so often in times of Peace as when you were engag'd in an actual War he did all he could by the Counsel of his Father to perswade your Majesty to begin a War he took an Opportunity to do it upon the King of Spain's Death which happen'd much about this time He told your Majesty that some Provinces in the Low-Countries were fallen to the Queen your Wife according to the Custom of those Places which made her Heir to her Brother Don Balthazar who had he liv'd was to have succeeded his Father before his Catholick Majesty now Dead This was the Gilded Pill the Marquess offer'd to your Majesty and knowing you would not swallow it unless he cover'd the Poison it contain'd with the Shadow and Colour of Justice He therefore did not speak of it as a dependence upon the Succession of the King your Father-in-Law which you had so solemnly renounc'd by the Pyronean Treaty but he disguis'd the Business under the Name of Don Balthazar making your Majesty believe it had no relation at all to your Renunciation Which was an Artifice very gross for Prince Balthazar had no Right to succeed his Father till his Father was Dead nor had the Queen your Wife any Right to succeed Prince Balthazar but what was meerly imaginary because he died before his Father That Law also with which Monsieur Louvoy kept such a stir in Favour of Daughters succeeding before the Children of a Second Bed signified nothing to the purpose For had Prince Balthazar surviv'd his Father you had so formally renounc'd all claim to that whereto the Queen your Wife could pretend any Right that you could have no Colour of Title to it unless you would declare your self a Perjur'd Person to all the World But this suppos'd Succession to Don Balthazar your Martial Humour and the desire of perpetuating your Name put you upon what was not so much to be blam'd because it seem'd necessary to be done for your Justification before you began a War You caus'd the Lawyers to consult what Title you had to the Succession which you claim'd in Right of your Queen The Person you sent to these Lawyers was Monsieur Louvoy who was too much concern'd to bring any Opinion against what he had maintain'd to your Majesty those Advocates therefore whom the Marquess had feed maintain'd by long but very weak Arguments that your Majesty's Renunciation was absolutely null and not at all binding because it was contrary to the constitutions of your Kingdom which are that the King may make void what he hath done and relieve himself against it as if it had been done in perfect Minority They chiefly insisted upon the pretended Prejudice they said you had done to the Dauphin your Son by the Renunciation and enlarg'd themselves upon this further Argument that neither Divine or Humane Laws did permit any Fathers to dispose according to their own Fancy of their Sons Inheritance concluding that this alone nullified all that you had done and consequently you had Reason to pursue your own and your Son 's Right by force of Arms. But there were many things to be objected against all this The first was That it would be dangerous to set the Crown upon such a Foot that there could be no security in treating or contracting with it For if 't is sufficient to say your Majesty is always a Minor what Trust or Confidence can any body put in your Promises Or when a War is once begun what way can be found to end it This Argument is so full of Reason and may be carried so high as to confound all those who maintain such pernicious Maxims Your Majesty is too knowing to want any Instruction in a Matter so clear and indisputable I will not therefore trouble you with Reasons but shew that they by whom you are so ill advis'd give just Occasion to the whole World to accuse you of intolerable Ambition which is so ill a Character that it turns your ancient Friends into Enemies and indispensibly stirs up all Princes against you For who can ever think himself secure against your Injustice Or who will trust a Prince whose Word is not to be taken in Peace or War People are not safe in either in the one they are in perpetual Distrust and in the other in continual Perplexity not knowing what to fear While these things were transacting the Queen your Mother dyed who had she liv'd would
Nature must not be put into the Hands of Partizans whose only Business being to get Money persecute true Gentlemen who have none to give 'em and substitute Plowmen in their Places if they have ready Money to buy the Priviledge they have to declare whom they please Noble This is an Abuse not to be suffer'd and which will lose your Majesty the Love of your Gentry when they have just Reason to complain that the Persecution they suffer is not to discover who are Ignoble and no Gentlemen but to pick the Pockets of those who really are so It is much better such an Inquisition should be made by your Attorney-general and his Substitutes and that you should appoint Receivers into whose Hands the Fines of such as are found and condemn'd to be no Gentlemen should be paid and by them brought into your Majesty's Treasury If this Course were taken your Majesty can never be reproached with delivering up Widows and Orphans to Blood-Suckers but all you do will appear Just then you will find a great many Gentlemen of a new Impression who owe their Gentility to their Money So that after having bought a Quality which doth not belong to 'em 't is but reasonable to make 'em pay something more for their Usurpation because your Majesty is oblig'd to punish all those who make use of Ill means to obtain their Ends. The Command your Majesty gave me to fill your Coffers made me think of an Edict which appear'd profitable to the Publick and really is so if it be seriously consider'd It was to establish a Controul upon all Acts and Proceedings in Law Courts to prevent the Tricks and Cheats heretofore practis'd in them by Antedates And tho perhaps it might not keep Sergeants from playing the Knave because by this Controul they might render their Declarations and Falsifications more Authentick yet all imaginable Care was taken against it by obliging them to get Witnesses to testifie all they did which I think was a certain Remedy against any ill that could happen by Antedates Your Majesty finding it very Reasonable and Just establish'd this Controul throughout the Kingdom tho' in many Places it met with opposition whether from Judges that did not like it for Reasons I do not understand or that it displeas'd some particular Persons whose Genius did not reach so far as to understand of what consequence things are to them But your Majesty was forc'd to do them good against their Wills That which I thought very strange was that the Parliament of Thoulouse were in this guilty of a Fault for which tho' your Majesty pardon'd the whole Body yet you thought fit to punish the Particular Member who was most culpable that the Punishment of one might serve for Example to the rest there would otherwise be still Danger of relapsing into the like Offence The Matter of Fact was this That Parliament had given Judgment that a Horse should be restor'd which had been sold for the Payment of a Fine Order'd by the Edict to be levy'd on such as offended against it Now this was a very insolent Sentence because it did indeed nullifie the Validity of your Majesty's Edict or at least so little regarded it that it was in a manner to say no body should submit to it unless he pleas'd But seeing in such Cases nothing ought to be done imprudently lest your Majesty's Authority be made use of to no purpose I caus'd the first President to be told who had not medled in the Business that if the Sentence they had pass'd were not revok'd they must expect to be all Fin'd which it was his Interest as President to prevent and on whom the Fault would be laid tho' he were Innocent I wrote likewise to your Attorney General and to your Advocates without whose Knowledge the Sentence had pass'd that they should take better heed another time to do their Duty and having a little reprov'd 'em the first President assembled the Parliament in his own House where the Farmer-general of your Majesty's Demeans was by my Order present He desir'd to speak and the Assembly having given him leave he told them That no Reparation could be made for the Fault they had committed but by a Revocation of the Sentence that had been given I was indeed desirous to spare your Majesty the trouble of punishing them Beside when a Minister can save the Appearances and not bring his Master's Authority into dispute 't is Prudence in him so to do The Parliament would fain have shifted off this Affront by proposing many Expedients whereby they thought to have saved their Credit But the Farmer stuck close to his Proposition so that the Parliament to avoid the punishment due to them revok'd the Sentence they had past I did not acquaint your Majesty with this Business till it was ended because when I took upon me the Administration of your Revenue you declar'd you would trust to my Fidelity in all things relating to my Function And indeed whoever you chuse to execute that Office his Authority must be absolute otherwise he can never discharge the Duty of his Place Your Majesty in Affairs of this Nature should consult none but such as are of your Council for if you call in Judges of Courts to advise you I dare say you will be sufficiently abused Lawyers understand nothing of the Business but will be sure to perplex it they will start a Thousand Difficulties about the Point of a Needle which by all means is to be avoided because in the Finances all the Secret is Expedition To prove it I will mind your Majesty of that which I suppose you cannot but remember You made Monsieur de la Reinie Governour of Paris and that this great Capital City of your Kingdom which for its Beauty Grandeur and Wealth deserves to be the Metropolis of the whole World might be better govern'd than formerly it had been I say Monsieur Reinie who by his Place was to have the Particular Inspection and Oversight of all that past in it would have oppos'd my requiring Security for a Duty belonging to your Majesty which was to be paid for Scoops to clear Boats of Water He fancy'd because it concern'd the Fish-Women and other such clamarous People it would raise a Tumult His Fear was not to be blam'd because he meant well but he was mistaken for no body stirr'd and your Majesty had the Duty quietly paid I could quote many Examples of this nature whereby your Majesty would see that such Peoples Understanding reacheth no farther than their Trade and the reason is because their Imaginations are false they fancy Bugbears in every thing and fight with their own Shadows they think that in your Finances 't is as in a Law-Suit a Man ought to be always upon his Guard against the Subtelties of a litigious Petty-fogger They deceive themselves more than others and rather than they will depart from their Maxims they will consent the Government should be turn'd upside
thought it better to lose the advantage of such an Allyance rather than to run the hazard of Your Majesty's Displeasure Tho' your Majesty had to do with so many Enemies yet you took care to secure the Peace of Italy which was upon the point of being disturb'd by the difference which happen'd between the Duke of Savoy and the Republick of Genoa But by interposing your Authority your Majesty prevail'd with both Parties to accept of your Mediation and you brought both to an Agreement You had the same work to do over again in Poland upon the Death of the new King there without Children who had Marry'd the Empeperour's Sister before she was Marry'd the Prince of Lorrain was in Love with her and it was said if she might have had her will she would have preferr'd him tho' he had lost his Country before the King and Crown of Poland Whatever was the matter she made so great a Party for him in the Kingdom that every body thought he would have been chosen King The Poles were so little satisfy'd with the Deceas'd King that they were inclin'd to revive the Law which was against chusing a King of their own Nation Your Majesty seem'd to approve the reviving of this Law by your endeavours to have the Eldest Son of the Duke of Newburg preferr'd before the Prince of Lorrain In the last Election you were for the Old Duke of Newburg the Father with whom then stood Competitors the Prince of Lorrain and the Prince of Condé But because the Poles then objected against the Duke as being too Old and his Age now being greater than it was then your Majesty to please them now propos'd the Son in stead of the Father and spent a great deal of Money to get him Elected which if not might at that time have been prejudicial to your Affairs But tho' the Prince of Newburg was not chosen yet by the Address of your Embassadour the Prince of Lorrain was likewise put by and a Native of Poland preferr'd before all the Princes propos'd For John Sobiescki great Marshal of Poland was made King which very much displeas'd your Enemies they imagining he would be a Friend to your Majesty because he had Marry'd a French-Woman who was the Daughter of Marquess d'Arquyen Captain of the Hundred Swisses of your Brother's Guard You had need of this Aid against the Designs of the House of Austria who fancy'd you would never come off with Honour in the War you had begun The Emperour possess'd with this Opinion did two things which were mightily cry'd down by all People not transported with Passion against you One was the seizing upon Prince William of Furstenburg in Collen who was Abbé of Stravelo and the Elector of Collen's Plenipotentiary under which Character he could not be seized without violating the Law of Nations The other was the taking away by force Fifty Thousand Crowns wich your Majesty had in the City and which for the same reason ought to have been Sacred But because the House of Austria had a mind to obstruct the Peace and could find no better Obstacle it past over all other Considerations Prince William was first carry'd to Bonne where he had Ten Hours Conference with Marquess de Grana Governour of the Town Who reproach'd him with being born a German yet had in several Occasions which he particularly named betray'd his Country Which Prince William deny'd but own'd he had serv'd your Majesty after he had many times endeavour'd to deserve the Emperour's Favour but could never obtain it From Bonne he was Conducted to Newstat where the Emperour resolv'd to have him put to Death in Prison after a private Sentence past against him where only a few Persons were present who Condemn'd him to be Beheaded But your Majesty who beside all your other good Qualities hath that of diving into the most secret Councils of your Enemies found a way to ingage the Pope's Nuncio to represent to the Emperour that he ought not in such a manner to put a Church-Man to Death The scruple being easily put into the Emperour's Head he stopp'd the Execution and caus'd him to be remov'd to another Prison Your Majesty complain'd to the Court of Vienna of the Violence offer'd to the Person of Prince William and at the same time demanded Restistution of the Fifty Thousand Crowns that had been taken from you But receiving no satisfactory Answer to either you recall'd your Embassadours who were still at Collen The other Princes did the like seeing after what had been done there was no more safety for them than for Prince William But since they that are strongest are still thought to have most reason on their side your Enemies listed so many Troops that few were of Opinion your Majesty would ever be able to make Head against ' em The Bishop of Munster was of that mind and therefore quitted your Party The Elector of Collen would have done the like if the Bishop of Strasburg had not disswaded him But when People thought you could not but sink under the weight of so many Enemies you attack'd Franch-Conté to which you had offer'd a Neutrality The Swiss who had concern'd themselves in the Negotiation were angry with the Spaniards for refusing what you offer'd and therefore guarded their Frontiers to keep the Spaniards from being assisted by their Allies Your Majesty went into Franche-Conté in Person and there did that which was never before known to be done at the taking of any place You caused Canons to be hoisted up and planted upon Mountains so very high and steep that a Man could hardly clamber up by which you became Master of Besanson that your Enemies thought impregnable The Conquest of this Province gave your Majesty new strength of which you had need enough in the condition you were in For the King of England was in a manner forced to a Peace with the Dutch by his own Subjects who were more jealous of your Conquests than others But the King of England still left his Troops in your Majesty's Service They were some Regiments of which the most considerable was called the Royal Regiment Commanded by the Duke of Monmouth Some of the Officers were very insolent so that one of them gave ill Language to one of Monsieur Louvoy's Grooms who to go the nearer way crost their Camp Your Minister who expected Respect should be paid to his very Liveries put this Officer under a Guard whereupon the others Mutiny'd But seeing the Marquess had not the same Power over the English that he had over your Troops he was obliged to release the Officer this was some Mortification to Monsieur Louvoy's excessive Pride A Minister or any Person of greater or less Quality might well be ashamed to take a Servant's part against a Gentleman unless the ill usage of the Servant were intended for an Affront to the Master One of your Majesty's Captains was of a more phlegmatick Temper who seeing his Coachman that used
presently take Hagenau but the Prince of Condé having oblig'd them to raise the Siege they attacqued Saverne which they thought to carry with more ease But their Success there was the same they had at Hagenau so that this Campaign which at first threatned your Majesty with a turn of Fortune ended so little to your disadvantage that your Majesty had no cause to fear on that side The Sweeds came not off so well They were at last advanc'd into the Elector of Brandenbourg's Country where they took some Posts of no great consequence but they went on so slowly that they seem'd to act in concert with the Elector he taking as little care to oppose them But the Elector knowing that the King of Sweden being press'd by your Majesty would at last act more vigorously against him made haste out of Holland where he then was to defend his own Country and had the good Fortune as soon as he arriv'd to rout the Swedes at a Pass called Felbeling They lost there the greatest part of their Cannon and Baggage a blow they could not recover during that Campaigne The King of Denmark who with the Princes of the Family of Brunswick took part with the Elector had now an opportunity to do his own business They all at one time fell upon the Swede in the Dutchy of Bremen in the Isle of Rugen and some other of his Frontiers And finding little resistance any where the King of Denmark besieged and took Wismar a considerable Port upon the Baltick Sea Your Majesty having now more Reason than ever to be sensible of the ill Service Monsieur Louvoy had done you in perswading you not to make Peace accepted of the King of England's Mediation which he offer'd to all the Princes engaged in the War in order to make an end of it They all consented as you did and sent their Plenepotentiaries to Nimeghen where yours arriv'd first The Spanyard till now appear'd most averse to the Peace but the Business of Messina had brought down his Pride and he fear'd that you would become Master of the whole Kingdom of Sicily as you already were of the Capital City and of Augusta where the Duke of Vivonne had plac'd a Garrison This last Town was not considerable for its strength but being a Retreat for your Shipping was of great advantage to your Majesty The Dutch on the other side were grown weary of the War which was a very great Charge to 'em by the Subsidies they had paid to those Princes who came to their assistance Beside they began to think they were not so much concern'd in the War your Majesty having quitted their Country and there was now no more to be consider'd but the Interests of the Emperour with those of the Princes of the Empire But those being so different promoted the Peace since it is certain they had less reason to distrust your Majesty than their own Party For as the Emperour's Power which he insensibly increas'd gave great cause of Jealousie to all the Princes so the Emperour on his part could not be well pleas'd to see them maintain a good Correspondence one with another and often confer together concerning their Interests without calling him to their Councils Things being in this condition at the beginning of the Year 1676 Monsieur Louvoy who had still a Spleen against me about the business of the Routes endeavour'd to be even with me in an Affair relating to the Finances wherein he suspected I had been tampering But I made it appear to your Majesty as clear as the day that I was no way concern'd in it and that if any thing had been done which could not be justified Damarets my Nephew was to be called to an Account for it who had had the ordering of the whole business I told your Majesty at the same time I would not be answerable for him knowing him to be a dangerous Person where there was any thing to be got I never trusted him he was so Covetous yet I was one of the first he endeavour'd to deceive Your Majesty was much more kind to him than he deserved you gave him a Hundred Thousand Crowns in the first business he undertook for you but there are some People so insatiable that should your Majesty give 'em half your Kingdom they would not be contented However you were so gracious to him as to pass all by for my sake which is not the only thing for which I am indebted to your Majesty Tho' I can say without boasting I never had recourse to your Favour to be pardon'd for defrauding or robbing your Majesty I have always endeavour'd to walk uprightly and I desie any Person to accuse me of the contrary The Heir of one Named Friois by Nation a Swiss who had got a very considerable Estate in your Kingdom could testifie what I say were he call'd to it Friois dyed very Old and was never Married The Person of whom I speak as Heir to him claimed what he left but was oppos'd by one that Farmed your Majesty's Demesnes who pretended a Title to it in your Majesty's Right because Friois was a Bastard So that according to the Law of your Kingdom all he had got belong'd to him that had got the King's Title This Contest put them upon making Friends He pretended Heir to the Swisse thinking he could find no body that could do him more Service than my self offer'd me Two Hundred Thousand Francks if I would stand by him I told him no Sum were it never so great could tempt me to do any thing that was unjust so that seeing he could do nothing with me he address'd himself to some very near Monsieur Louvoy who for that Summ divided among 'em did his business Villacerf and Pouange had Twenty Thousand Crowns apiece Stouppa and a certain Man whose Name I have forgot had the rest The Farmer of your Majesty's Demesnes made his Complaint to me and pray'd me to inform your Majesty what wrong had been done him but I found your Majesty so prepossest that it was impossible for me to do any thing for him I know many other Cases wherein there hath been the like prevarication and your Majesty may be assur'd that during the War there hath been a base unworthy Trade of Selling vacant Places even so low as Ensigns This hath made one Alexander the Son of a pittiful Scrivener so Rich that he thinks himself a Companion for Persons of the best Quality 'T is by the like abuse Charpentier and Bynot his Brother-in-Law are become so wealthy tho' one but the Son of a little Townsman of Compeigne and the other the Son of a Sergeant of Tonnere Your Majesty may make bold with these Mens Purses when you have occasion for Mony and need not fear any body will find fault with it The one will throw up whole Companies he hath sold and the others will disgorge the Blood of entire Corporations wherewith they have fatted themselves
demanded Contributions as if they had been in actual War After this Hostility his next way was to require the like Summs from those that were his Friends which if they did not pay he threatned to burn their Houses The poor Flemings to prevent this ill treatment pay'd the Summ your Minister demanded but when this was done he began to undermine their Houses on purpose to draw from them the last Penny they had being made to believe that otherwise their Houses should be pulled down When he saw they had nothing left their Houses were demolish'd and the combustible Materials burnt that they might be of no farther use to the poor miserable People I am perswaded your Majesty never knew this and all that have the Honour to be near you believe you so far from approving such cruelties that you would rather have had them exemplarily punish'd I will not say the same was done beyond the Meuse where your Army commanded by Mareschal Crequi seiz'd upon many Posts dependences on the Dutchy of Luxembourg and block'd up that strong place I do not think it was done without your Majesty's Order because Monsieur Louvoy made you believe the Spaniards still did you great Wrong Your Minister some Years since imploy'd one of Metz to spoyl a great deal of Paper and tho' at first he dislik'd him yet this Man at last became his great Favourite by telling him he knew a way how to put your Majesty in Possession of all on this side the Rhine without striking a Stroke His means were altogether imaginary for he maintain'd that whatever heretofore held of the Lands your Majesty now possess'd must still hold of the same So that Monsieur Louvoy approving his Reasons made use of them and sent one of the Serjeants of your Parliament of Metz to summon the King of Spain to come at a Day prefix'd to do Homage and Fealty to your Majesty for many things he held of you But his Catholick Majesty thought this new way of proceeding very unreasonable and indeed it was more against Your Majesty's Interest than for it because the Emperour might as well pretend that you ow'd him Homage and Fealty for your own Kingdom which was heretofore a Dependent on the Roman Empire The King of Spain laugh'd at this ridiculous Summons and protested against whatever should be done to his Prejudice Monsieur Louvoy who expected as much procur'd a Sentence to pass by which for not appearing and answering according to the Summons your Majesty was to take possession of what you demanded which was very easy your Majesty having the Power in your own Hands Monsieur Louvoy by eating got an Appetite and by this Sentence procur'd you more than you could have expected from a Ten Years War The Complaints the King of Spain made hereupon begot several Conferences at Courtray between your Majesty's and the King of Spain's Deputies but seeing your Majesty would abate nothing of your Pretensions they separated without doing any thing And the King of Spain resolving that what you took should be by force rather than by Treaty you became Master of all the Country from Sedan home to the Gates of Luxembourg which you block'd up so close that the Spaniards could put nothing into it Some time after your Majesty rais'd the Blockade as you sayd because the Turks were ready to enter into Austria and you would not favour their designs by giving the Emperour any diversion For my own part I believe what you said to be true and I know your Majesty hath too much Sincerity to say one thing and mean another The Spanish Embassador hath published to the contrary but what I have to say is that if you will preserve the Glory you have acquir'd by your Moderation you must do nothing to contradict what you have said Your Reputation is in your own Hands for as it will be your Glory to keep your Word so it will be your shame to give your self the Lye You ought therefore to reject the evil Consels that may be given you which are the bane of Princes tho' the Poyson that is in 'em be hid under fair and specious Pretences I fear all those Camps which Monsieur Louvoy hath marked out on the Frontiers of Germany tend to some new Design But your Majesty who is so great a Lover of Justice must consider that you can never gain Glory by Conquests that are unjust yet if you could be your Power never so great in this World there is another where Kings as well as private Men must give an Account of their Actions The Algerins whom you had chastiz'd the last Year were become never the wiser for it So that you were forc'd to send du Quêne a Second time who made them sensible that it was better to implore your Majesty's Pardon than to expose themselves to a new Punishment He threw in a great Number of Bombs which totally ruin'd the Town they had endeavour'd to repair But the Contests and Divisions which were among 'em some being for Mezzomorto and others for Balucbachi the one for Peace the other for War kept them from following the best Advice which was to give your Majesty Satisfaction I doubt their Constancy will not be Proof against your Thunder for I know your Majesty is not us'd to be baffled in what you undertake and I presume you will send your Fleet thither ten times rather than not bring those Pirates to reason I shall here conclude what I have seen done by your Majesty which would have been to your immortal Glory if the confidence you have repos'd in Monsieur Louvoy had not led you to undertake some things more out of Ambition than Justice your Majesty knows best whether I speak Truth or no and can't be deceiv'd after my relating so many Circumstances To make your Reign perfectly Glorious you have nothing more to do than to regulate your Future Actions by your own understanding which is so free from Falshood and Injustice and which will demonstrate to the World you have had no part in any of those things I have now told your Majesty I hope you will take in good part the Liberty wherewith I have address'd my self to you for the good of your Kingdom at least I think so But if I am mistaken I willingly submit my self to your Majesty's Judgement and to that of all Honest Men. CHAP. VII Which shews that those particular Favours which your Majesty hath receiv'd from God oblige you to render to him that which is his due and that no Kingdom can prosper without the fear of God IF I have been so unhappy to have displeas'd your Majesty by relating many things with more Freedom than I should have taken yet I cannot be guilty of the same Fault in what I am now about to say since I am certain that in matters of Piety and wherein the Service of God is concern'd your Majesty thinks no Man can speak too boldly nor can any thing
be said that can better please you Many Churches rebuilt at your Charge others to which you have added more Maintenance to supply their wants Blasphemers severely punish'd the Poor relieved and many things of the like kind which for brevity's sake and not to be thought a Flatterer I do not mention are all convincing Testimonies that the Glory of God is your Majesty's chief care Though in this you have done no more than what all the World is bound to do yet I say 't is your Majesty's Duty more than another Man's not only because as you are a Soveraign you are oblig'd to give good Example to your Subjects but because you cannot omit the doing of it without being very ingrateful to God If your Majesty will but cast your Eyes on the Favours you have receiv'd from him you will see many things which require an Eternal Acknowledgement I do not speak of such things as are common to you with all men but reflect if you please on those Blessings which God's Providence hath in so particular a manner pour'd out upon your Majesty How are you bound to thank him for your Miraculous Birth his giving you Being to fill the noblest Throne upon Earth is one of the least of his Favours and to draw you doubly I may say out of nothing as he did after the Queen your Mother had been Barren three and twenty Years is a Blessing that cannot be forgot without double Ingratitude If you follow step by step what God hath done for you you will find his Protection over your Person hath been very singular Remember that almost universal Rebellion of your Kingdom that Confederation of the Parliaments against your Authority the insolence of your People and how easily you quell'd these Monsters You will then confess this was not the Work of Man but the Hand of God If after this you call to mind the Fidelity of your Commanders and Souldiers even to the prejudice of their Ancient Rights and that Victory still wedded to your side forc'd the Spaniards to yield to the Peace of the Pyrenees notwithstanding their great aversion to it You will see that this likewise was a Favour of Divine Providence which never forsook you How can you chuse but be thankful for the Miracle it wrought in recovering you from that terrible Sickness which I have already mention'd I know God made use of Natural Causes to which impious Men attribute all that is extraordinary but by their leave there was something more in that recovery for you were not only given over by your Physicians who I confess are many times mistaken but you were more than half dead as those that were present did verily think and can testifie I spoke Truth when I said your Curtains were drawn If your Majesty please let us follow the course of your Life and see whether that which happen'd after this be Natural Do you in good earnest believe that so regular and mature a Judgment as appear'd in you presently after the Cardinal's Death notwithstanding the ill Education he gave you was only the Gift of Nature 'T is to God alone you are indebted for it and to whom you are to return thanks 'T was not in your Power to make your self wise especially in a Court where you were suffer'd to do what you would and where none but Women had the care of your Education What shall I now say of the Wars wherein you have been engag'd by evil Counsel and if I may dare say so by your own Ambition And yet how happily are you come off All these Miracles are from Heaven God having sent you into the World that you might Glorifie him by your Actions and hath more particularly engaged you to praise him by many Obligations heap'd upon one another If you do not do that which God expects from you what will all the World say that know the Chararacter of a good Man is to be Grateful As it is your Majesty's Obligation so 't is your Interest to be thankful For if a Prince take no care to give to God that which is his due how can he expect his People should do their Duty to him whose greatest Glory is to be the living Image of God upon Earth If he thinks to be obey'd because as a Master he commands others and believes his Subjects must Love or fear him because Reward and Punishment are in his Hands he is much mistaken For the Power of a Prince be it never so great would quickly be brought to nothing if those that obey him did not do it for God's sake who is greater than he 'T is Religion that first made Subjects fear their King and still continues that Fear As a Tree which doth not continually receive Nourishment from the Earth grows dry and withers by degrees so take away Religion in a Kingdom the Respect and Fear of a Soveraign which Subjects suck in with their Milk insensibly decays till it be quite Dead whence follow a thousand Mischiefs greater than can be Imagin'd or express'd and then neither Hope of Reward or Fear of Punishment can prevail with Subjects to do their Duty A Wretch that doth not believe in God thinks there is much more to be got by Disobedience and Rebellion than ever he could expect from his Prince and what Effect can the fear of Punishment have upon him who believes there is no other World beside this and that one quarter of an Hour will put an End to all his Pain Not to give God his due is to open a Door to all manner of Wickedness and a Prince thereby exposes himself to the Hazard of being driven out of his Kingdom Look but upon the Ottoman Empire which is much more subject to revolutions than any other Kingdoms because the greatest part of its Subjects think the Religion they profess to be meer humane Invention and when a Man once comes to that Belief 't is a very hard matter to conquer his Prejudice and raise him up to the Knowledge of the true God Besides such an Opinion blinds and makes Men so brutish as to attribute all things to Nature and 't is extremely difficult for 'em to find the way out of their error Let us come a little nearer and see what hath been done in England the want of Religion in that Kingdom was the cause of all that happen'd there since the time of Henry the 8th the introducing of so many Sects brought the People at last to dip their hands in their King's blood Come we now to your own Kingdom where we may observe the same disorders in the reign of three or four Kings one after another If you would know the reason read but their History One was a Blasphemer instead of punishing that sin in his Subjects Another was an Atheist and so of the rest So that their Subjects who had very little more Religion than they attempted to dethrone ' em These Confusions lasted till the Reign of the Deceased
better than what is given to most of the Maids of St. Cir. Where tho the House be under the care of very great Persons yet one who hath a heart as great as her Birth is often forc'd against her Will to Marry a Tax or Toll gatherer Those who have other Sentiments are not truly noble but only so in shew and appearance To prove what I say I need only tell what lately happen'd in the House of a great Lady where a Young Woman very well born by the baseness of her Parents who Sacrifis'd her to their Private Advantage was forc'd to marry one of their Domesticks she died with Grief And the Man that married her now courts another who may she have her Will will never have him but because some in very great Power are for him he will certainly marry her in spite of all she and her Guardian can do to the contrary Your Majesty is much dishonour'd by interposing your Authority in such cases for these things are commonly done by Letters under the Privy Signet by Vertue of which Daughters are taken from their Parents and forc'd to enter into Religion where they are necessitated to be disobedient being oblig'd to do that which by the Laws of God and Man they are forbidden to do How many Women that are Heiresses to good Estates are sacrific'd in this manner and they that do it never consider how your Majesty loses the hearts of the Gentry whom it concerns The Countess of Tallard and the Marchioness of Thiange were married against the Will of their Parents and tho' to Persons of Quality yet what Satisfaction is that to a Father or Mother who perhaps had taken other Measures and thought themselves secure under your Majesty's Reign from any such Violence The Gentry stand in need of another Help which they can expect from none but your Majesty They are up to the Ears in Debt out of which if you do not take some course to deliver them they will be all undone it is not very difficult and 't will be an act of Justice in your Majesty for you will restore that repose to them which they have lost on your Account it being a certain Truth that they have been ruin'd in your Service Moreover you will infinitely oblige their Creditors by saving them the trouble and Charge of a multitude of Suits which the Malice of Judges and the Knavery of Lawyers will make endless Your Majesty needs do no more than order all Debtors to sell to their Creditors such a Portion of Land as is worth the Money they owe them which Land shall be valued at a reasonable Price not at the rate it goes now but as it went Twenty five Years ago For Gentlemen would be quite undone should their Estates be valued at no higher Rate than the present Rents the misery of the Times which cannot always continue having made Land less worth by a third Part than formerly it was 'T is manifest that when better Order is taken Lands will return again to their former Value But that Creditors may not complain your Majesty will do well to reduce all Land to five and twenty Years purchase and all Money to Four per Cent. Interest and then let the Creditors take their Choice whether they will have their Principal and Interest at that Rate or take the Land that is offered them Julius Caesar did almost the same thing for when he saw the Romans so much in debt that they were not able to clear themselves he order'd they should pay their Creditors in the manner I have propos'd and that their Creditors should be satisfied with it If your Majesty would do this you would find a great Advantage by it For Gentlemen would not only be in a better condition to serve you but when your Majesty wanted Money you might if you pleas'd have all in the Kingdom at Five per Cent. Interest for every one would rather lend his Money to your Majesty than to any body else Were so good an Order once establish'd it would be observ'd for the Future Were that done which was intended Twelve Years ago but not put in execution because there were such contests about it in Parliament there should be Registers appointed to record all Obligations and Contracts then no body could be deceiv'd or cheated for by looking over the Register every Man's Debts might be known and a Man might presently see whether he that desir'd to borrow Money could give good Security for it The Parliament had no mind this should be done because it would have cut off the Hydra's Head of all Process and Law Suits by which they grew Rich. Their Pretence against such a Register was that all the Grandees of the Court as well as others would be ruin'd by it for owing more than they had wherewith to pay they would not be able to borrow Sixpence when their Debts came to be discover'd So that prevailing by this Pretence with many considerable Persons to be of their Mind they so caball'd together that your Majesty revok'd the Edict you had made concerning it But this was too weak a Reason to hinder the doing of so much good It is absolutely necessary to oblige People to deal faithfully and honestly one with another and they that lend Money ought to have good Security for it Private Men's Credit must likewise be kept up otherwise when they have occasion for Money tho' they have an Estate they will not be able to borrow because they are thought to owe more than really they do and it must appear plainly to Lenders that they have good Security When such a Register is establish'd it will not be in Peoples Power to cheat one another as they now daily do There is another Benefit which your People will have by it against which there can be no Objection which is when Men want Money they now apply themselves to Usurers by whom they are soon and certainly undone But when Registers are settl'd they will have no occasion to deal with them for whoever hath an Estate in Goods or Land may have what Money he wants at reasonable Interest and then they that have nothing will not be able to deceive any body CHAP. XIII Of Lawyers or those concern'd in the administration of Justice IT may be thought strange I should maintain that they who are employ'd in the administration of Justice are a Sort of People that ought to be destroy'd As if I thereby design'd to introduce Libertinism and Violence two Things intolerable in a Kingdom But tho' I maintain that the rooting out of these People is the way to reform all Abuses and make the Kingdom flourish yet let it not be thought I any more intend Justice should be banish'd than the Fear of God and the King There are ways of doing Justice without making it so chargeable to the People and it may be done with ease by putting what I am about to say in practice That which