Thus the whole machinery of administration has been changed. It is
the new assemblies which assess the taxes and superintend their
collection; which determine upon and direct all public works; and
which form the court of final appeal in regard to matters in
dispute. The intendant, the sub-delegate, the elected
representative[9], thus lose three-quarters of their authority.
Conflicts arise, consequently, between rival powers whose frontiers
are not clearly defined; command shifts about, and obedience is
diminished. The subject no longer feels on his shoulders the
commanding weight of the one hand which, without possibility of
interference or resistance, held him in, urged him forward, and made
him move on. Meanwhile, in each assembly of the parish
arrondissement, and even of the province, plebeians, "husband-
men,"[10] and often common farmers, sit by the side of lords and
prelates. They listen to and remember the vast figure of the taxes
which are paid exclusively, or almost exclusively, by them -- the
taille and its accessories, the poll-tax and road dues, and
assuredly on their return home they talk all this over with their
neighbor.
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