To John Adams from the Marquis de Lafayette, 30 May 1787
From the Marquis de Lafayette
Paris May the 30th [1787]
My dear friend
our Assembly is Ended; and altho’ the late depredations, and Confusion in the finances Make it Necessary to Encrease the Burthen of the People, Yet Have we Reasons to Rejoice at the More Equal Repartition of taxes, and the Barriers that Have Been placed Against future dilapidations— the Provincial Assemblies above all are a great thing—and you will see we Have obtained Many other points.1
inclosed are the Speeches that were Made at the last General Assembly—2 the interesting one is that of the ArchBishop of toulouse3 as it Contains the king’s Answer to the demands of the Bureaux.— I am much pleased with the choice that Has Been made of the ArchBishop—to an UpRight Mind, and an Amiable temper He joins the Greatest Abilities
at the last Meeting of the Bureau of which I was a Member I Made two Motions, the one in favour of the protestants, the other for an Examination of the Criminal laws— Both were Carried Almost Unanimously, Which pleased me the most as, Betwen us, they Had not so well Succeeded in an other Bureau— inclosed I Send You the Petition of the Bureau which was presented to the king By His borther and Graciously Received— I Beg You will keep Not the Measure that is public and ought to be so, But the Resolve itself to Yourself, as I don’t wish to Spread Copies of it Untill it is printed
My Best Respects to Mr̃s Adams Mr̃s Smith, and While you Remember me to the family and all friends Be pleased to Receive the Affectionate Respects of / Your Sincere friend
lafayette
A Circumstance worth Being Remarked is that My Motion in favour of the protestants was Most liberally Supported By the Bishop of langros
RC and enclosures (Adams Papers); internal address: “His Excellency john Adams”; endorsed by AA: “Marquiss Le Fayett / May 30th 1787.”
1. Lafayette referred to the Assembly of Notables’ replacement of the feudal practice of unpaid labor, or corvée, with cash payments and the liberalization of trade, including free trade in grain and the creation of a customs union (, p. 101; , p. 255).
2. Lafayette enclosed copies of two petitions. The first demanded greater toleration for Protestants, and the second outlined revisions to France’s criminal law (both Adams Papers); both were presented to Louis XVI by Charles Philippe, Comte d’Artois. At the Assembly of Notables, Lafayette was especially vocal on both topics. In addition to championing religious tolerance, Lafayette called for major reforms to the country’s criminal code of law, including the abolition of torture, more intensive review of death sentences, and humane improvements to prisons (, p. 315; , p. 257).
3. Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne became president of the Assembly of Notables in May. Unlike Charles Alexandre de Calonne, he supported a land tax that was clearly designed to fund the yearly expenses of the government (, p. 254–255).