Each Commission took five months to complete its investigations. The "Franklin" Report was presented to the King on 11 August β and was immediately published and very widely circulated throughout France and neighbouring countries β and the "Society" Report was presented to the King five days later on 16 August The "Franklin Commission's" investigations are notable as a very early " classic " example of a systematic controlled trial , which not only applied "sham" and "genuine" procedures to patients with "sham" and "genuine" disorders, but, significantly, was the first to use the " blindfolding " of both the investigators and their subjects.
Further, having completed their investigations into the claims of d'Eslon [ 5 ] β that is, they did not examine Franz Mesmer , Mesmer's theories, Mesmer's principles, Mesmer's practices, Mesmer's techniques, Mesmer's apparatus, Mesmer's claims, Mesmer's "cures" or, even, "mesmerism" [ 6 ] itself β they were each required to make "a separate and distinct report".
From their investigations both Commissions concluded a that there was no evidence of any kind to support d'Eslon's claim for the substantial physical existence of either his supposed "animal magnetism" or his supposed "magnetic fluid", and b that all of the effects that they had observed could be attributed to a physiological rather than metaphysical agency. Consequently, to accurately understand the contemporary significance of the Commissions' work, and the matters that they severally and collectively examined and, as well, those which they did not it is important to identify the wide range of significant tensions, disputes, and circumstances prevailing at the time , which prompted the need for an official investigation of the particular nature and type that was undertaken, and the sort of implicit issues β in addition to the more specific questions of medicine and of science β that their inquiries would, hopefully, address.
At the conclusion of the interview, Mesmer reluctantly agreed to the proposed conditions: that a number of his previous and current patients be examined by a team of "commissioners" β it was also stipulated that, as a "requirement" of the King, Mesmer was to "remain in France", until his "doctrines" and his "principles" had been thereby "established", and that he was "not [to] leave except by permission of the King" β and that, if the commissioners' reports were "favourable", the government would issue "a ministerial letter" to that effect Pattie, , p.
Once again, Mesmer rejected the offer made on behalf of the King; and, having been told that the King's decision was final , and given that the impetus for the first interview had come from the Queen, Mesmer wrote an extraordinary letter translated at Pattie, , pp. So, there were many reasons for the Commission to satisfy the French interests of the King, rather than the Austrian interests of his queen.
