Besides These, He
Has The Revenue Of The Farms, Consisting Of The Droits D'aydes,
Or Excise On Wine, Brandy, &C.
Of the custom-house duties; of the
gabelle, comprehending that most oppressive obligation on
individuals to take a certain quantity
Of salt at the price which
the farmers shall please to fix; of the exclusive privilege to
sell tobacco; of the droits de controlle, insinuation, centieme
denier, franchiefs, aubeine, echange et contre-echange arising
from the acts of voluntary jurisdiction, as well as certain law-suits.
These farms are said to bring into the king's coffers
above one hundred and twenty millions of livres yearly, amounting
to near five millions sterling: but the poor people are said to
pay about a third more than this sum, which the farmers retain to
enrich themselves, and bribe the great for their protection;
which protection of the great is the true reason why this most
iniquitous, oppressive, and absurd method of levying money is not
laid aside. Over and above those articles I have mentioned, the
French king draws considerable sums from his clergy, under the
denomination of dons gratuits, or free-gifts; as well as from the
subsidies given by the pays d'etats such as Provence, Languedoc,
and Bretagne, which are exempted from the taille. The whole
revenue of the French king amounts to between twelve and thirteen
millions sterling. These are great resources for the king: but
they will always keep the people miserable, and effectually
prevent them from making such improvements as might turn their
lands to the best advantage. But besides being eased in the
article of taxes, there is something else required to make them
exert themselves for the benefit of their country. They must be
free in their persons, secure in their property, indulged with
reasonable leases, and effectually protected by law from the
insolence and oppression of their superiors.
Great as the French king's resources may appear, they are hardly
sufficient to defray the enormous expence of his government.
About two millions sterling per annum of his revenue are said to
be anticipated for paying the interest of the public debts; and
the rest is found inadequate to the charge of a prodigious
standing army, a double frontier of fortified towns and the
extravagant appointments of ambassadors, generals, governors,
intendants, commandants, and other officers of the crown, all of
whom affect a pomp, which is equally ridiculous and prodigal. A
French general in the field is always attended by thirty or forty
cooks; and thinks it is incumbent upon him, for the glory of
France, to give a hundred dishes every day at his table. When don
Philip, and the marechal duke de Belleisle, had their quarters at
Nice, there were fifty scullions constantly employed in the great
square in plucking poultry. This absurd luxury infects their
whole army. Even the commissaries keep open table; and nothing is
seen but prodigality and profusion. The king of Sardinia proceeds
upon another plan. His troops are better cloathed, better payed,
and better fed than those of France.
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