000,000 francs, yield but
28,000,000 francs in the provinces which impose their own taxes
(pays d'Etats); instead of 28,000,000 francs, the Treasury obtains
but 6,000,000. On the patriotic contribution which was to deduct
one quarter of all incomes over four hundred livres, and to levy two
and a half per cent. on plate, jewels, and whatever gold and silver
each person has in reserve, the State received 9.700,000 francs. As
to patriotic gifts, their total, comprising the silver buckles of
the deputies, reaches only 361,587 francs; and the closer our
examination into the particulars of these figures, the more do we
see the contributions of the villager, artisan, and former subjects
of the taille diminish. - Since the month of October, 1789, the
privileged classes, in fact, appear in the tax-rolls, and they
certainly form the class which is best off, the most alive to
general ideas and the most truly patriotic. It is therefore
probable that, of the forty-three millions of returns from the
direct imposts and from the patriotic contribution, they have
furnished the larger portion, perhaps two thirds of it, or even
three-quarters.
Pages:
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669