About the same date， "a deputation from the department of Gard expressly demands a sum of two hundred and fifty millions， as indemnity to the cultivator， for grain which it calls national property." - This fearful sum of two hundred and fifty millions， they add， is only a fictive advance， placing at its disposal real and purely national wealth， not belonging in full ownership to any distinct member of the social body any more than the pernicious metals minted as current coin."[6] Buchez et Roux， XXVI.， 95. (Declaration of Rights presented in the Jacobin Club， April 21， 1793.)[7] Decrees in every commune establishing a tax on the rich in order to render the price of bread proportionate to wages， also in each large city to raise an army of paid sans-culottes， that will keep aristocrats under their pikes， April 5-7. - Decree ordering the forced loan of a billion on the rich， May 20-25- - Buchez et Roux， XXV.， 156. (Speech by Charles， March 27. - Gorsas， "Courrier des Départements，" No. for May I5， 1793. (Speech by Simon in the club at Annecy.) - Speech by Guffroy at Chartres， and of Chalier and associates at Lyons， etc.
[8] Report by Minister Claviéres， February 1， 1793， p. 27. - Cf.
Report of M. de Montesquiou， September 9， 1791， p. 47. "During the first twenty-six months of the Revolution the taxes brought in three hundred and fifty-six millions less than they should naturally have done." - There is the same deficit in the receipts of the towns， especially on account of the abolition of the octroi. Paris， under this head， loses ten millions per annum.
[9] Report by Cambon， Pluvi？se 3， year III. "The Revolution and the war have cost in four years five thousand three hundred and fifty millions above the ordinary expenses." (Cambon， in his estimates， purposely exaggerates ordinary expenses of the monarchy. According to Necker's budget， the expenditure in 1759 was fixed at five hundred and thirty-one millions and not， as Cambon states， seven hundred millions.
This raises the expenses of the Revolution and of the war to seven thousand one hundred and twenty-one millions for the four and a half years， and hence to one thousand five hundred and eighty-one millions per annum， that is to say， to triple the ordinary expenses.) The expenses of the cities are therefore exaggerated like those of the State and for the same reasons.
[10] Schmidt， "Pariser Zust？nde，" I. 93， 96. "During the first half of the year 1789 there were seventeen thousand men at twenty sous a day in the national workshops at Montmartre. In 1790， there were nineteen thousand. In 1791， thirty-one thousand costing sixty thousand francs a day. In 1790， the State expends seventy-five millions for maintaining the price of bread in Paris at eleven sous for four pounds. - Ibid.， 113. During the first six months of 1793the State pays the Paris bakers about seventy-five thousand francs a day to keep bread at three sous the pound.
[11] Ibid. I.， 139-144.
[12] Decree of September 27， 1790. "The circulation of assignats shall not extend beyond one billion two hundred millions.... Those which are paid in shall be destroyed and there shall be no other creation or emission of them， without a decree of the Corps Legislatif， always subject to this condition that they shall not exceed the value of the national possions nor obtain a circulation above one billion two hundred millions.
[13] Schmidt， ibid.， I.， 104， 138， 144.
[14] Felix Rocquam， "L'Etat de la France au 18 Brumaire，" p.240.
(Report by Lacuée， year IX. - Reports by préfets under the Consulate (Reports of Laumont， préfet of the Lower-Rhine， year X.； of Coichen， préfet of the Moselle， year XI.， etc.) - Schmidt， Pariser Zust？nde，"III.， 205. ("The rate of interest during the Revolution was from four to five per cent. per month； in 1796 from six to eight per cent. per month， the lowest rate being two per cent. per month with security.")[15] Arthur Young， "Voyage en France，" II.， 360. (Fr. translation.)"I regard Bordeaux as richer and more commercial than any city in England except London."[16] Ibid.， II.， 357. The statistics of exports in France in 1787give three hundred and forty-nine millions， and imports three hundred and forty millions (leaving out Lorraine. Alsace， the three Evéchés and the West Indies).-Ibid.， 360. In 1786 the importations from the West Indies amounted to one hundred and seventy-four millions， of which St. Domingo furnished one hundred and thirty-one millions； the exports to the West Indies amounted to sixty-four millions， of which St. Domingo had forty-four millions. These exchanges were effected by five hundred and sixty-nine vessels carrying one hundred and sixty-two thousand tons， of which Bordeaux provided two hundred and forty-six vessels， carrying seventy-five thousand tons. - On the ruin of manufactures cf. the reports of préfets in the year X.， with details from each department. - Arthur Young (II.， 444) states that the Revolution affected manufactures more seriously than any other branch of industry.
[17] Reports of préfets. (Orme， year IX.) "The purchasers have speculated on the profits for the time being， and have exhausted their resources. Many of them have destroyed all the plantations， all the enclosures and even the fruit trees." - Felix Rocquam， ibid.， 116.