Voltaire begins by saying that he did not plead in council about the hundredth penny required for the sale of Tourney, but instead wrote to Monsieur de Chauvelin. He adds that in this letter, he noted that the land of Tourney is considered foreign, as it was in the old census, and exempt from all imposition and tax. He notes that he also wrote that it is preserved in its immunities, exemptions and franchises since the acquisition of the country of Gex by Henry IV; that these franchises were preserved by Louis XIV in the treaty of Arau 1658; and that the current King specially maintained this land in its privileges, by a patent to Mr de Brosses in 1755. Voltaire then states that he claims rights to the land and is ready to pay any necessary fees. He concludes by asking the recipient to send a copy of his letter to whomever may be interested in it.

The MS is part of a collection of letters that also includes:
f. 1 Milan, Duchy of. Ludovico Maria: Letter to, from P. de Comines: 1495.: Fr.
f. 1 Philippe de Comines, Sire d’Argenton: Letter to the Duke of Milan: 1495.: Fr.
f. 2 Cosmo I; Grand Duke of Tuscany: Letter to M. Niccolini and L. Ridolphi: 1537.
f. 2 Matheo Niccolini: Letter to, from Catherine de’ Medici: 1537.: Ital.
f. 2 Giorgio Ridolphi: Letter respecting his imprisonment at Florence: 1537: Ital.
f. 2 Luigi Ridolphi: Letter to, from C. de’ Medici: 1536.: Ital.
f. 4 Françoise de Harlay, wife of Robert de Harlay, Baron de Monglat: Letter to, from Elizabeth, Queen of Spain: 1560-1568.
f. 5 Philip II of Spain: Letter to the Estates of the Walloon Provinces: 1579.: Fr.
f. 5 Walloons: Letter to the Estates of the Walloon provinces, from Philip II. of Spain: 1579.: Fr.
f. 6 Sir John Floyer, MD (ob. 1734): Letter to W. Whiston: 1715.
f. 8 James II of England; Mary of Modena: Letter to Count Lauzun: circ. 1690.
f. 8 John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort; styled 1st Duke of Melfort: Letter on his political position at Rome: circ. 1690.
f. 8 Antoine Nompar de Caumont, Comte de Lauzun; Commanding French troops in Ireland: Letter to, from Qu. Mary of Modena: circ. 1690.: Fr.
f. 10 François Marie Arouet de Voltaire: Memorial to M. Girard: 1759.: Fr.
f. 11 François Marie Arouet de Voltaire: Poem entitled “Mon Testament”: 18th cent.: Hologr.
ff. 13, 14 Pius VII; Pope: Letter to L. Bonaparte: 1808.: Ital. and Fr.
ff. 13, 14 Letitia Ramolini Buonaparte, Mother of Napoleon I: Letters to, from Pius VII.: 1808.: Ital. and Fr.
f. 15 Jean Jacques Rousseau, philosopher: Letter relating to his epitaph on Voltaire: 1844.
f. 15 P- D- de Launey, Comte d’Entraigues: Letter to J. Sainsbury: 1844.
f. 15 François Marie Arouet de Voltaire: Letter relating to Rousseau’s epitaph on: 1844.