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The Louisiana Historical Quarterly
Vol. 14, No. 1	January,	1931
THE FIRST STATE TRIAL IN LOUISIANA
Documents Covering the Impeachment of Bienville Under Direction of Louis XIV Before Diron D?Artaguette, Special Commissioner, at Fort Louis, Mobile, February 24-27, 1708.
Introduction by Henry Plauche Dart
WHEN Iberville constructed the fort at Biloxi in 1699, he placed Sauvolle in command, with Bienville next in rank. Upon the death of the former in 1702 Bienville succeeded by virtue of his commission and he was the executive of the Colony, in his capacity as Lieutenant in command, until 1707, when de Muy was appointed Governor of Louisiana and Diron D?Artaguette, Commissioner General (?Commissaire Ordonna-teur?) with instructions to examine into charges which had been preferred against Bienville by Nicholas de La Salle, the Commissary, abetted by de la Vente, the Curate of the Colony. The newly appointed Governor died at sea en route to Louisiana and D?Artaguette came on alone. Under the purpose of his mandate and the powers conferred therein, D?Artaguette outranked Bienville, who, however, continued to function as Lieutenant in charge of the military forces.
D?Artaguette entered at once upon the exercise of the duties of his office and on the 24th of February, 1708, he opened a formal inquiry into the charges against Bienville and continued this from day to day finishing the same on February 27th. The conduct of the Inquiry was strictly in line with the French law of Criminal Procedure adopted in 1670. It was necessarily ex parte because that was the command of the Statute. The accused was advised of the charges, but he had no right to be present at the hearing, nor to be represented there. He did have