ABSTRACT
The blunt confrontation between crown and parlement was at its most serious in May, June and July 1732. It was clear that royal authority would have been compromised had the ministry not taken vigorous action to ensure the submission of the parlement. Yet, the crisis appeared more insoluble than it actually was: the judicial strike and later the mass resignations were both tactical manœuvres by the magistrates, designed to emphasise their discontent and make the government look arbitrary. Strikes were both embarrassing and troublesome for the government but, given the tactical element in the decision of the counsellors to resign, it was never really a question of accepting the resignations.1
