The citizens comprising the order of the nobility of the bailliage of Dourdan consider that, as soon as the Estates General is convened and the assembly constituted, an address should be voted to the King to thank him for the magnanimous act of justice he has just accorded the nation in restoring its rights, and to pledge to him, in the name of all Frenchmen, unlimited gratitude and love, inviolable submission and fidelity to his sacred person, his legitimate authority, and his august royal house. They would doubtless wish to use this liberty first in paying him new homage of their blood and fortune; but they wish more, they wish to contribute with all their power to the personal happiness of His Majesty, as well as to the general welfare of his people, by working in concert with him to bolster the tottering edifice of the French Constitution, by rendering his faithful commons happier through a just distribution of the taxes necessary to the State, by freeing him of the troubles and anxieties which extensive and absolute legislation necessarily entails; finally, by leaving to him only favors to grant and benefits to dispense throughout the free nation {65} that he governs; thus the subjects of all orders, encompassing the Monarch with their liberty, their happiness, and their unlimited devotion, will render him, if possible, still more beloved throughout his realm, and assuredly more respected abroad. 

     Accordingly, the noble citizens of the bailliage of Dourdan request:

     That a formula for the drafting and publication of laws be established, and that it express both the right of the nation and that of the King, in these words, or similar ones: “The free and general Estates of France declare that the general will is __________. Accordingly, the said Estates most respectfully supplicate His Majesty to sanction the said articles by royal approbation ________________.        WE, KING OF FRANCE, upon the request of the Estates General, assembled at _________, have published and do publish __________, have ordered and do order _________. Thus we inform all those whom it may concern that they are to take in hand and put into effect all articles above stated, according to their form and tenor; FOR SUCH IS THE OUTCOME OF THE NATIONAL WILL, WHICH HAS RECEIVED THE SEAL OF OUR ROYAL AUTHORITY.”

     Since the constitutional laws assure each and every one of his liberty, fortune, position, and property, the nobility requests:

     That every arbitrary order prejudicial to the liberty of citizens be abolished entirely;

     That individual liberty be assured and guaranteed, so that every citizen arrested may be placed in the prisons of the courts which are to take cognizance of his offence within twenty-four hours of the time of his arrest; that, immediately upon his detention, he be permitted to choose a counsel or advocate.

     Liberty shall be understood to include the right to come, go, live, and reside wheresoever one pleases, inside or outside the kingdom, without need of permission; referring to the Estates General the determination of cases in which it is necessary to restrict such liberty with regard to leaving the kingdom.

     That liberty of the press be granted, upon condition that author and printer are responsible; and the Estates General shall determine the most severe restrictions in order to prevent such liberty from degenerating into licence.

     The nobility of the bailliage of Dourdan requests, likewise, that, according to the formal wish of His Majesty, no tax be established and no loan be made without the concurrence of the legislative power. {66}

     That the administrator of finances be not permitted to make any anticipation or assignment other than on the annual income, under penalty for lèse-patrie, the lenders to forfeit all claim.

     That any individual convicted of having collected any sum whatsoever in excess of that established by law be declared guilty of embezzlement and sentenced accordingly.

     That no citizen be deprived of his rank, employment, or position, except according to a legal judgment.

     That all property, whoever be the owner, be inviolable and sacred, property being whatever one owns on public faith and on the affirmation of the law; that no one be deprived thereof except for public interest, and that he then be compensated therefor without delay, and at the highest possible price.

     Finally, that ministers henceforth be responsible and accountable to the Estates General.

     But if it is magnanimous of the French Monarch to share the legislative power with free subjects, it is at the same time just and necessary that he be invested with all executive power, and that his person be ever sacred.

     He must have command of the troops on land and sea, assign military positions, appoint generals and ministers, make peace or war, negotiate treaties of alliance or commerce with foreign powers, convoke, prorogue, and dissolve the Estates General, under the express condition, in case of dissolution, of effecting a new convocation immediately in the form and number approved by the assembled nation.

     Finally, the King alone must preserve that right, so kind, so consoling, so worthy of a great monarch, that right to dispense benefits, to encourage virtue by dignities and marks of distinction, and, above all, the right to grant pardon.

     The order of nobility desires further that the distinction of three orders in the Estates General be strengthened and regarded as inherent in the Constitution of the French monarchy, and that opinions be given therein only by order.

     That in the event, however, that vote by order be absolutely rejected by the Estates General, and the deputy of the bailliage of Dourdan see that further resistance to vote by head is useless, he then request that vote by head be taken in the separate chamber of every order and not in the assembly of the three orders united.

     That vote by head never take place on matters of particular interest to one of the three orders alone. {67}

     That the opposition of one order alone may not delay projects of the other two and result in veto, except by at least two-thirds of the votes.

     That the Estates General be periodic; that it determine the time of its recurrence and the form of its convocation and composition; that it approve taxation only until its next assembly; and that if it be not convoked by the King at the established time, all taxes immediately cease to be valid throughout the entire extent of the kingdom.

     That the Estates General may not concern itself with any deliberation until, in conjunction with the King, it has passed an act enunciating the Constitution and the rights above mentioned, and constituting, henceforth, the fundamental law of the kingdom.

     That, in the event of a new reign or a regency, the Estates General be convoked within two months by the King, or, in his name, by a warrant of the Great Seal drawn up by the Chancellor of France.

     That there be no intermediate commission during the interval between Estates General.

     That the powers of deputies be limited to a term of two years, dating from the opening of the next Estates General, and that the persons of the deputies be inviolable during the session of the Estates.

     That since the custom of giving proxies to deputies of the bailliages is most disadvantageous, the Estates be requested to suppress them, or to place thereon whatever restrictions they deem advisable.

     That provincial administrations, the form and power of which shall be determined by the Estates General, be established in all provinces of the kingdom.

     Finally, that, in order to render these laws of Frenchmen more impressive, a uniform and invariable formula be drafted for the oath which kings must take at their coronation; by which oath they shall swear, in the presence of the Estates General, to observe the declaratory act, a duplicate of which shall be deposited in the treasury of the Church of Saint-Remi at Rheims, and shall be presented to them with as much pomp as the Holy Ampulla. By such oath the monarch shall be formally bound to protect the Christian, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion, and likewise to use all his power and every means to maintain it in all its purity. Lastly, by said oath the constitution is to be fully guaranteed.

     The requests of the nobility concerning this important matter are as follows: {68}

     Commitment of the general administration of provinces to provincial administrations, and consequently suppression of the intendants.

     Restoration to the cities of free election of municipal officials.

     The suppression of municipalities in country parishes, and the meeting of the said parishes at the district seat, every parish preserving the right to send thereto two representatives, who, conjointly with the curé and the seigneur, in person or by proxy, shall betake themselves to the assembly on the day indicated.

     The establishment of parish public granaries under the direction of the provincial administrations, to which administrations a report shall be made annually on the quantity of grain contained in the public granaries and the amount of surplus, in order that, on the basis of the account they are required to render to the government, the latter may prescribe the use thereof.

     That out of funds previously deducted from the totality of benefices, an increase in revenue be provided for curés, vicars, and other ecclesiastics for whom there is inadequate provision.

     That charity bureaux be established in all parishes for the relief of the aged and infirm of both sexes, women in childbirth, and needy infants and children.

     That public charity workshops, under the supervision of the provincial administrations, likewise be established in all provinces; that the rate of workers’ daily wages therein be fixed at one-fifth below ordinary daily wages; that it be decreed annually by the provincial administration, following the harvest and in proportion to the value of commodities of prime necessity.

     That workers in the said workshops be employed in the construction of main roads and communication roads, the maintenance thereof, and all similar works, under the supervision and guidance of the bridge and highway engineers.

     That said engineers render account to the provincial administrations, not only of their operations and management, but also of the employment and conduct of the said workers attached to the public workshops.

     That the profits of lotteries be applied to the support of the workshops and charity bureaux.

     That the aforementioned charity workshops established in the provinces replace the corvées, and that, accordingly, the corvées be suppressed. {69}

     The nobility of the bailliage of Dourdan, firmly convinced of the necessity of protecting agriculture, requests:

     That steps be taken to eliminate, as far as possible, the remaining vestiges of the feudal regime, respecting at all times the sacred right of property.

     That the champart [MF: rent for fields (ed.)] in kind, of all seigneurial rights the most unfavorable to the progress of agriculture and the liberty of the cultivator, be redeemed or exchanged without injuring property and without affecting royal and seigneurial rights. For example, that if one-twelfth be collected, redemption therefrom be permitted by private contract with the consent of the sovereign seigneur, either by abandoning one-third of the property to release the other two-thirds, or by paying in cash the value of said same third according to an estimate based on the statement of appraisers.

     That the tithes, injurious to both the progress of agriculture and the consideration due the curés, who are often forced into disputes over their interests with persons to whom they must preach disinterestedness, be exchanged according to a private contract between the tithe owner and the entire community encumbered with the tithe.

     That taxpayers of one and the same community be free collectively, but not individually, to redeem themselves from personal corvées and banalités, at forty per cent of the real or nominal revenue, based on the statement of appraisers.

     That all farmers who have a great area of land under one management, to the detriment of agriculture and the small cultivators, bear the greater part of the personal tax, of which the said less fortunate cultivators shall be relieved.

     That the right of franc-fief be abolished, because it hampers trade in lands and may humiliate citizens who are not of noble birth. That the provincial administrations consider it one of their prime duties to concern themselves with ways and means of seeking out that very poor nobility which leaves the army only in order to work its lands, that they may aid it in a manner worthy thereof and of the sacrifice it is making in spite of the needs of its pecuniary privileges, by inducing the government to have a fixed sum decreed annually for such purpose. {70} 

     That no citizen occupy civil or military positions before the age of twenty, because his life up to that time ought to be devoted to education.

     That religion always be the basis of scholastic and moral education. That in the cities there be public schools, presided over by citizens of distinguished personal attainments and of recognized enlightenment. That only the following subjects be taught therein: 1st, the principles of natural law, which illumine the rights and duties of man; 2nd, the principles of civil law, which illumine the rights and duties of the citizen; 3rd, the principles of public law, which illumine the rights and duties of the nation.

     That only those fifteen years or over be admitted to the schools. That since scholastic education is to prepare for moral education, the headmasters of the scholastic schools be required to render account of their conduct and their pupils to the headmasters of the schools of morality, and to receive their certificates in that essential subject.

     That in rural parishes there be vicars or officiating ministers of religion to aid the curés in the work of their ministry, to increase the opportunities for attending divine worship, and to supervise and conduct free schools for youth on behalf of the needy; and that this be  made possible through pensions for the benefices.

     That, in order that no citizen be lost to the Patrie, religious orders be divided into two classes, one devoted to the education of youth, the other to visiting the sick to administer spiritual and temporal aid.

     That parents or natural guardians have absolute authority over their children until the age of twenty; that in the event that parents or guardians need the aid of the law against their children or wards, in order to avoid abuse of authority, a guardian ad hoc be named, who, in conjunction with the said parents or natural guardians, shall appeal to the courts of justice, where hearings shall always be held in camera to receive complaints brought in such cases.

     That, since all exclusive privileges whatsoever granted to individuals or companies are prejudicial to general liberty, they never be renewed, and new ones never be granted.

     That essentially useful manufactures be encouraged and increased in preference to those for luxury purposes only; and that the primary {71} ones be relieved of part of their tax, which should be transferred to those of secondary utility.

     That the excessive number of douanes [ports of entry (ed.)] and barriers which impede the internal commerce of the kingdom be withdrawn to the frontiers. That the excessive urban population, which results in the pernicious depopulation of rural districts, continue to be restricted by the collection of entrance fees at the gates of large cities.  

     That venality of offices be generally abolished, and that the Estates General consider the wisest means of reimbursing officeholders, at the same time undertaking to fill the vacant offices by election.

     That the excessive extent of the jurisdictions of some sovereign courts likewise be restricted; that the number of offices therein be diminished; that new courts be created wherever necessary; that a disposition favorable to the people be made of all these respective jurisdictions; likewise, that the delimitation of each one of such jurisdictions be decreed; and that no person ever undergo more than three degrees of jurisdiction, including that of the seigneurial courts.

     That such subordinate courts, distributed throughout the rural districts and constituting part of the property of the seigneurs, be conducted in the interests of public welfare; that their composition be rendered more respectable and their subordination more correct. They appertain to the citizens of all orders and may be able more closely to allow for the defects of society.

     That the sovereign courts be composed of members chosen, without distinction, from all orders. The most important consideration is that the magistrates be honest and well informed.

     That the superior courts responsible for maintaining the depository of the laws may not subject said laws to any examination, or deviate from any of their provisions.

     That, under penalty of loss of status, no attorney undertake the defence of a cause without previously obtaining the authorization of one of the consulting advocates designated for such purpose by the several courts.

     That all commissions, changes of venue, together with letters of surséance and the right of committimus, be suppressed; and that those who have signed or executed arbitrary orders, even though warranted by orders supposedly obtained from His Majesty, be prosecuted by the courts and condemned to suitable redress.

     That criminal proceedings be public; that they take the form of {72} an inquiry through the concurrence of the ordinary judges of the accused and twelve of his peers under oath, so that these latter pronounce solely and exclusively upon the fact, and the courts of justice pronounce solely upon the law and apply the penalty, textually enunciated by law, on the offence textually defined by said same law.

     That the accused have the aid of counsel at all times, and that all supporting evidence be admitted throughout the entire proceeding. That the deed or deeds with which the accused is charged be explicitly enumerated and defined in the complaint which constitutes the basis of the suit; that they be expressed in the sentence of condemnation, and that no other be included therein.

     That the peers under oath pronounce, with hand on the Gospel, these words: guilty or not guilty; that they then retire, and the courts of justice pronounce acquittal or penalty.

     That unanimity of the peers under oath be necessary to effect a conviction which is to subject an accused to the death penalty. That like offences be punished with like penalties, whatever the rank or status of the offender.

     That the death penalty be applied much less frequently; that it be effected in one manner only, and that the least painful; and that all those uselessly barbarous punishments, repugnant to the manners of a gentle nation, and offensive to both religion and humanity because they consign the condemned person’s last moments to excessive suffering, be outlawed forever.

     That any judge who, after a decree of condemnation has been pronounced, dares extend the penalty arbitrarily and subject the accused to a kind of punishment and disgrace to which the decree has not condemned him, be declared guilty of lèse-humanité [crime against humanity], degraded, deprived of his position, and thenceforth disqualified.

     That the Estates General alone recognize the crime of forfeiture of courts, and that appeal may be had before it against the injustice of said same courts.

     That all courts of exception, other than those above designated, be disestablished; considering, meanwhile, the best means of compensating the incumbents.  

     That capitaineries, an obvious violation of property, be generally suppressed; but that homage be paid the King to the extent of the hunting preserve necessary for his enjoyment, and that proprietors who suffer therefrom be compensated. {73}

     That ordinary hunting rights likewise be maintained as property; but that an estimate be made, according to the statement of appraisers, of the damage caused by the excessive amount of game, and that compensation be strictly exacted.

     That the damage resulting from the excessive number of pigeons be reduced by reviving the regulations with regard thereto.

     That poorhouses, always costly, useless, and ruinous, be abolished and replaced by public works, which may offer resources to the destitute and at the same time be of public usefulness; and that vagabonds and vagrants be employed in works regulated by the provincial administrations, to which such wise measures are to be entrusted.

     That the Estates General which, on several occasions, has considered uniformity of weights and measures for the entire kingdom, but always in vain, undertake the settlement of said matter which is so important for the facility and activity of commerce.

     That the regulations made for the maintenance of religion and morals be reestablished in all their vigor; that some of them be revised in order to effect, if possible, their most desirable restoration.

     That the magistrates responsible for the inspection of prisons be required to make frequent visits thereto, to supervise the wholesomeness of the air, the cleanliness and the health of the prisoners, and to suggest, and even provide them with, books of morality.

     The nobles regard as decidedly advantageous and even necessary that the first declaration of the Estates General be that, since the nation has the right to consent to taxes, and since all existing taxes are of illegal origin and extension, the Estates General declares them all suppressed by law; that, nevertheless, because of the time required to reorganize this branch of national affairs, and also to avoid possible ill effects on future taxation from an absolute discontinuation of all relations between the taxpayers and the public treasury, the Estates General, desiring that there be no taxes other than those established by the present assembly before its first adjournment, enact provisionally that the present taxes, temporarily authorized, continue to be paid, but only during the present session.

     That the provincial assemblies may never contract any loan or grant any subsidies, however small, even though they concern only one village, because the Estates General is obligated to reserve exclusively the right to consent to every kind of taxation.

     That the Estates General, after its address of thanks to the King {74} and after its declaration on taxation, announce by a proclamation, published immediately, that as soon as it has established the Constitution, it will recognize the royal debt, which thenceforth shall become the national debt; reserving to itself the verification of the extent thereof and the provision for interest payments, as well as for successive reimbursement of the principal; accordingly, that the recognition of said debt immediately follow the passing of the constitutional act.

     That the sums assigned by the nation and deemed necessary to every department be established invariably by the Estates General.

     That the provincial administrations, elected by the provinces and approved by the Estates General, be charged with supervising the assessment and collection of the taxes determined; that the levy thereof be made at the least possible expense; and if, in order to simplify such collection, today most burdensome, it is necessary to make substantial reforms in the department of finance, to observe then that, since the position and existence of many individuals is dependent upon the public faith, it is only just to let such abuses die out rather than to undertake their suppression too precipitately.

     The nobility thinks it also a wise and most important precaution to ordain that the title of every tax mandate, tariff of fees preserved or established, state at the beginning: “In the name of the King, taxes and fees approved by the Estates General up to ____________, 17____”. It believes also that it is decidedly expedient that all Frenchmen keep constantly in mind the fundamental truth that taxes may be established only with the consent of the nation.

     That if the corvée cannot be abolished and replaced by charity workshops, it must continue to be commuted into a money payment and supported by all citizens, without distinction.

     That the gabelle [the salt tax (ed.)] and the aides, the most vexatious of all taxes, ought to be converted into other kinds of taxes.

     That the approval of subsidies must be the last undertaking of the Estates General.

     It most respectfully further supplicates His Majesty to have published a printed list of the gifts, gratuities, pensions, offices, and positions granted during each half year, the names of the recipients, and the motives occasioning their conferment, and likewise an annual account of the receipts and expenditures of every department.

     Finally, the nobility declares that, in order to evince its sentiments {75} of esteem, natural equity, and affection for its fellow citizens of the third estate, it wishes to share with them, in proportion to the property and possessions of all orders, whatever imposts and taxes are approved by the nation; claiming to reserve only the sacred rights of property, the prerogatives of rank, honor, and dignity which must appertain to it according to the constitutional principles of the French monarchy.  

     His Majesty is further supplicated to order that all bishops and beneficiaries reside in their benefices.

     That plurality of benefices [holding multiple offices (ed.)] and charges be proscribed.

     That prebends and benefices be set apart for the retirement of curés who have performed their ministry worthily for twenty years. That administration of the sacraments be gratuitous, and that the endowment of curés, greater in the cities than in the country districts, be established for these latter at from 1,500 to 1,800 livres, and the salary of vicars at from 700 to 1,000 livres.

     Concerning the question presented by a member of the nobility, and on which he has most zealously insisted, to wit: Whether, assuming that religious matters may be brought to and discussed in the Estates General, it is a court competent to give a decision, and whether the authority of the Estates extends to the spiritual or is confined to the temporal;

     The chamber has declared that it believes the Estates General competent concerning discipline but not concerning dogma, and, on the urgent demand of the member of the nobility proposing the question, it has been decreed that it be included in the cahier. 

     The nobility of the bailliage of Dourdan declares that it recognizes only one order of nobility enjoying the same rights.

     It requests that nobility no longer be the concomitant of offices which are purely venal and without functions.

     That nobility be the reward for distinguished services only [e.g., As with the 1722 Russian Table of Ranks (ed.)].

     That neither commerce nor any civil position henceforth be discreditable, provided that such position be not servile.