Alpha Book

[Sidenote: Local Administration. The Intendants]
The Royal Council had numerous local representatives. There were the
bailiffs and seneschals, whose actual powers had quite disappeared, but
whose offices served to complicate matters. Then there were the
governors of provinces, well-fed gentlemen with fat salaries and little
to do. The bulk of local administration fell into the hands of the
intendants and their sub-delegates. Each of the thirty-four intendants
--the so-called "Thirty Tyrants of France"--was appointed by the king's
ministers and was like a petty despot in his district
(_generalite_).
The powers of the intendant were extensive. He decided what share of
the district taxes each village and taxpayer should bear. He had his
representatives in each parish of his district, and through them he
supervised the police, the preservation of order, and the recruiting of
the army. He relieved the poor in bad seasons. The erection of a
church, or the repair of a town hall, needed his sanction.


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