ould be abolished; (6) that no new office should be created
without the agreement of the Parliament of Paris.

The Parliament of Paris thus proposed to take up a position similar to
that occupied by the English Parliament. But the Parliament of Paris was
unfitted to be a legislative body. It was merely a close corporation of
hereditary lawyers, whose claim to political functions had been
summarily dismissed by Richelieu. The demand for the abolition of the
intendants at once testifies to its want of statesmanship.

Among Richelieu's beneficial measures none was more valuable than the
appointment of the intendants. By abolishing them the Parliament of
Paris was threatening the unity of the whole internal administration.
Without the intendants the provinces would once again fall into the
incapable hands of the nobles, feudalism would again be rampant, and
general confusion and anarchy would ensue. The Parliament no doubt
attacked the intendants in the hope of succeeding to their functions and
thus securing a considerable voice in the administration of the
provinces. The intendants, too, whose full title was "intendants of
justice, police, and finance," had often infringed upon the jurisdiction
of the Parliament, which was always jealous of any invasion of its
judicial powers. The proposals of the chamber of St. Louis constituted a
distinct attack on the royal power; they also implied on the part of the
sovereign courts an invasion of the rights of the nation. The King alone
had legislative power, and the States-General alone had the right to
present to him their grievances. At this crisis it is evident that the
Parliament wished to supersede the States-General and to take their
place. Such a usurpation on the part of a body of lawyers could not be
tolerated either by the government or by the nation, and the resistance
of the former eventually received the full support of the French people.

Anne of Austria, in her determination to preserve for her son all the
royal prerogatives intact, was furious at the demands of the sovereign
courts, and was prepared to enter upon a contest with them without
delay. Mazarin, however, persuaded her to temporize. Orleans, on July
7th, presided over a conference in his palace, and certain concessions
were made by Mazarin to the opposition. The superintendent, Emery, was
dismissed, and the incapable Marshal de la Meilleraye substituted. A
chamber of justice was set up, to deal with all abu