Essai sur la derniere révolution de l'ordre civil en France

First edition.
Contemporary full marbled brown calf bindings. Decorated spines with raised bands. Red morocco title and volume labels. One tear to the volume label of volume II. Pale traces of dampstaining at the beginning of volume I. Some scuffing to the boards. Two small lacks along the upper joint of volume III. Fine copy, relatively fresh.
Essential to the proper functioning of the executive and legislative branches, the Parlements, beginning with that of Paris, were severely repressed by Louis XV. After the edict of December 1770 which restricted the rights of the Parlements, Louis XV had 130 magistrates of the Parlement of Paris arrested and exiled. On January 18, 1771, the Parlement of Paris having reiterated its refusal to sit to ratify royal decisions, the keeper of the seals Maupeou convinced the king to break their systematic opposition, and the Parlement was dissolved. Louis XVI would restore the parliamentarians to their functions in 1774. The work carefully studies the articles of the 1770 edict and traces the history of the Parlements, their role in matters of taxation and public credit. Volume III contains the proofs and clarifications of this history of the Parlements regarding the historical and juridical demonstration of their power.