Lettres de cachet, from 1789 onwards a hateful symbol of the Old Regime, suffered a slow death characterized by hesitations and perplexity. Even though this incarnation of absolute monarchy and symbol of royal arbitrariness aroused virtually unanimous opposition, the deputies of the National Constituent Assembly waited until March 1790 to abolish the lettres de cachet. Indeed, the fear of the consequences of such a decision caused some hesitancy among the deputies, who created in November 1789 a special Comité des lettres de cachet. This Comité labored to prepare appropriate legislation and to investigate a varied and unknown collection of material about the prisonners of the King as well as others still detained in prisons because of the lettres de cachet. The debats and the final text of this decret reflect the cautiousness of deputies torn between the desire to expose the plight of the victims of oppression and at the same time the fear of disorder that could result from this decision.