Jean Claude Balthazar Victor de Chantelauze (10 November 1787 – 10 August 1859) was a French lawyer and politician who was appointed Minister of Justice in the last weeks of the Bourbon Restoration. He lost his post in the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

of 1830, and spent the next six years in prison.

Early years

Jean Claude Balthazar Victor de Chantelauze was born in

Montbrison, Loire Montbrison (; frp, Montbréson) is a commune and a subprefecture of the Loire department in central France. Montbrison was the historical capital of the counts of Forez, and today it is the principal city in the Forez. The commune gives its ...

, on 10 November 1787. He became known after the first Bourbon Restoration in 1814 by a very liberal brochure on the draft constitution that the conservative senate had to submit to King

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

. He was then appointed deputy prosecutor in Montbrison. He made a point of resigning during the Hundred Days when

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

returned from exile. After the second Restoration this earned him the position of Advocate-General at the court of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

on 25 October 1815. He was awarded the cross of the Legion of Honor in 1821. He was appointed Attorney General first at the court of

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

on 21 July 1826, and three months later at the court of Riom.

Political career

On 17 November 1827 Chantelauze was elected as a deputy for the Loire (Montbrison). There were some difficulties about the election and he did not enter the chamber until 11 February 1828. At the opening session of 1830 Chantelauze was supported by the government in a bid to become President of the Chamber, winning 116 votes. In the secret committee of 15 March 1830 he protested against the proposed hostile address to the government. When

Jean Joseph Antoine de Courvoisier Jean Joseph Antoine de Couvoisier (30 November 1775 – 18 September 1835) was a French magistrate and politician. Early life Couvoisier was born at Besançon on 30 November 1775. During the revolutionary period, he left the country and served i ...

resigned, King

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

offered the Ministry of Justice to Chantelauze, who accepted on 19 May 1830 after much hesitation. Chantelauze was reelected on 23 June 1830. He signed the reactionary

July Ordinances The July Ordinances, also known as the Four Ordinances of Saint-Cloud, were a series of decrees set forth by Charles X and Jules Armand de Polignac, the chief minister, in July 1830. Compelled by what he felt to be a growing, manipulative radi ...

on 25 July 1830 without speaking for or against them.

Later years

During the

that erupted on 26–29 July 1830, Chantelauze accompanied the king to Rambouillet, and after the abdication retired to the

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

region. He was arrested and taken to Tours, where he pleaded immunity as a deputy without success. He was jailed, and on 25 August 1830 was taken to the Château de Vincennes. He was tried in front of the Chamber of Peers on 15 December 1830, and on 21 December 1830 was sentenced to life imprisonment, as were

Pierre-Denis, Comte de Peyronnet Pierre-Denis, comte de Peyronnet (9 October 1778, in Bordeaux – 2 January 1854) was the president of the Bordeaux Court in France in 1815, Minister of Justice from 1821 to 1828 and four times Minister of Interior. Opposed to Napoleon's Empire, ...

and

Martial de Guernon-Ranville Count Martial Côme Annibal Perpétue Magloire de Guernon-Ranville (2 May 1787 – 30 November 1866) was a French magistrate and politician. He was Minister of Public Education and Religious Affairs in the Ministry of Jules de Polignac during the l ...

. Chantelauze was imprisoned in the

Château de Ham The Château de Ham (also called fort or forteresse de Ham) is a castle in the '' commune'' of Ham in the Somme ''département'' in Hauts-de-France, France. History The early castle, whose construction date is unknown, is mentioned in a 1052 ...

. He was released in 1836 when a collective pardon was granted at the instigation of Molé ministry. After this he lived in deep retirement. He died in the Château de Beauplan,

Pierrelatte Pierrelatte (; oc, Pèiralata) is a Communes of France, commune in the Drôme Departments of France, department in southeastern France. Since the 1980s it hosts one of the biggest production plants of the enriched uranium existing in the world, u ...

, Drôme, on 11 August 1859, aged 71.

References

Citations Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chantelauze, Jean Claude Balthazar Victor de 1787 births 1859 deaths People from Montbrison, Loire French nobility Legitimists French Ministers of Justice Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of Parliament for Loire French magistrates Knights of the Legion of Honour