as well aware of the impossibility of checking the general
disaffection in France till Austria had been humbled, and therefore he
devoted all his efforts to bringing the war to a successful conclusion.
The actual congress was not opened at Munster till April 10, 1644, and
it was not till the end of 1645 that the negotiations seriously began.
The questions to be settled were many and complicated. France and Sweden
demanded compensations either in land or money; the Elector of
Brandenburg wished to occupy all Pomerania, which the Swedes had seized;
the Elector Palatine demanded restoration to his dominions. Then there
were innumerable questions dealing with the religious situation, the
United Provinces, Italy, Catalonia, Portugal, the constitution of the
empire, and the position of the German princes.

Early in the proceedings Mazarin brought forward France as the protector
of the ancient German liberties, and so secured the friendship of the
imperial towns and the German princes. The Landgrave of Hesse, the
Elector of Treves, and the Duke of Neuburg readily accepted the
protection of France. It proved impossible to gain the fickle Duke of
Lorraine; it was equally difficult to win over the powerful Elector of
Bavaria. Maximilian I of Bavaria had played an important part in the
Thirty Years' War, but from June, 1644, he began to enter into
periodical negotiations with Mazarin. The cardinal placed no reliance on
these negotiations, which he recognized were meant to sow discord
between France and her allies. Consequently it was not till after the
battle of Nordlingen, followed later by the devastation of his territory
by Turenne, that Maximilian made serious overtures to France. In an
atmosphere of intrigue such as existed at Munster, Mazarin did wisely in
pressing on military operations.

There is no doubt that the continuation of the war had completely
disorganized the financial administration. Various devices such as the
_toise_ had been employed by the government to raise funds, but each
attempt had been met by fresh opposition. In 1647 recourse was had to a
tax known as the _edit du tarif_, which modified the existing
regulations upon the entry of provisions into Paris. Great opposition
was raised by the Parliament, which still more violently opposed in
January, 1648, a tax upon all possessors of lands. A _lit de justice_
was necessary to provide for the requirements of the government.

The operation of the unpopular