...the King's finances are at present in such a great lethargy that if something is not done soon by your prudent counsels, all good men will begin to despair of the safety of the state, which can only be restored if financial affairs are re-established. The three affairs which His Majesty principally recommended to the care of the directors of finance [Aligre and Barillon de Morangis, appointed on the death of La Vieuville on 2 January] were to find enough money to give satisfaction to the holders of annuities (rentiers), to pay the Swiss, and to oblige the munitions contractors to provide enough bread for the subsistence of the garrisons and the king's armies. You know better than any one, my lord, in what manner the munitions contractors honour their contract. They have a just fear that the successor of Monsieur de La Vieuville will not continue their lease, because its price astonished all good men, since the assignments given for their reimbursement included extraordinary double interest charges. In 1645 and 1646, when the King had twice the number of troops and many more garrisons to maintain than presently, munitions only cost 4.5 million livres a year. If the present contract holds, it will cost the King nearly 9 million. As for the Swiss, they are dissatisfied but wait patiently for Your Eminence's return [to Paris], hoping that you will protect their interest. The rentiers hoped for things from the return of the King to Paris, with his authority re-established with all the sovereignty imaginable, and that the verification of so many edicts by the sovereign courts would provide sure means of re-establishing the payment of their rentes in conformity with the declaration of October 1648. However, we are now in the fourth week when not only no payment has been made at the town hall, but the revenue farms on which the said payments are assigned are abandoned and without farmers. This produces such a bad effect that, joined with the ill will and speeches of trouble-makers and malcontents who are still too numerous, Paris is on the eve of some great sedition...

Since no finance minister has been appointed, all the financiers, revenue farmers, receivers and others hide and absent themselves so that they are not forced to meet their payments. They conserve their money and their credit either to enter into new contracts or to merit a gratification from the new finance minister when they bring him some notable assistance... [Advises the appointment of `one of your most faithful clients' as finance minister].

There is a rumour here that Your Eminence has the plan of establishing a council of finance... It has always been recognized in France that such councils are the ruination of affairs and have never lasted more than six weeks. Many different people bring as many different opinions for reasons of self-interest, envy or a spirit of contradiction. A large number of people are suitable for issuing general rulings. But for the summary discussion of individuals' affairs, proposals for extraordinary taxes, and contracting loans of money, secrecy and speed are very necessary...

[Source: A.A.E. France 892, fos. 137-139].