The National Register. — London, England, 1815-10-01 00:00:00

OCT. 1: to which numbers must have been condemned, by the un due favours granted to such crooked influence. But, without recurring to such cases, what must have been the state of the poor people paying heavy taxes, from which the nobility and clergy were exempted ? A cruel aggravation of their misery, to see those who could best afford to pay, exempted, because able !—The inrolments for the militia, which the Callers call an injustice vithout example,* were another dreadful scourge on the peaantry ; and, as married men were exempted from. it, occasioned in some . degree that mischievous population, which brought beings into the world, in order for little else than to be stat ved. The coeves, or police of the roads, were annually the ruin of many hundreds of farmers; more than 300 were reduced to beggary in filling up one vale in Lorraine: all these Oppressions fell on the tiers etat only ; the nobility and elergy having been equally exempted from militia, and corn'es. The penal code of finance makes one shudder at the horrors of punishment inadequate to the critne.t A few features will sufficiently characterize the old government. 1. Smugglers of salt, armed and assembled to the number Of five, in Provence, afine of SCO liv. and nine years gallies; —in all the rest of the kingdom, death. 2. Smugglers armed, assembled, but in number under five, a fine of 300 liv. and three years gallies. Second offence, Eli. 3. Smugglers, without arms, but with horses, carts, or bGats; a fine (f3OO liv. if not paid, three years gallies. Se cond offence, 400 li v. and nine years gallies.—ln Dauphine, second onnce, gallies for life.--In Provence, five years gal/ic•c. 4. Smugglers, who carry the salt on their back, and with out arms, a fine of 200 liv. and, if not paid, are ilogsred and branded. Second offence, a fine of 300 liv. and six years rallies. 5. Women, married and single, smuge.lers, first offence a fine of 100 liv. Second, :100 liv. Third, fogged, and ba nished the kingdom for Fiji. Husbands responsible both 'in fine and bodii. _ _ 6. Children smugglers, the same as women.—Fathcrs and mothers responsible ; and,, for defect of payment, flowed. 7. Nobles, if smugglers, thprit:ed of their nohility ; and their houses razed to the ground. • 8. Any persons in employments (I suppose employed in the salt-works or the revenue l , if smuggler, death. 4nd such as assist in the theft of salt in the transport, hanged: . • 9. Soldiers smuggling, with antic, are hanged; without arms, gallies . for 4f•. 10. Buying smuggled salt to resell it, the same punish ment as fur smuggling. 11. Persons in the salt employments, empowered, if two, or one with two witnesses, to enter and examine houses, even qf the prit:ilerred orders. 12. All families, and persons liable to the taille, in the • Nob. &icy, p. 6, &cc. &c. . t It is calculated by a writer (Recherches el Consid. par M. 1e Baron de Cormere, tom. ii. p. 187.) very well informed en every subject ot , finance, that, upon an average, there were annually taken tip and sent to prison or the gallics, Men, 2,310, Women, 896, Children. 201. Total, 3,437. 300 of these to the gallies (tom. 112). The salt confiscated from there miserablvs amounted to 12,633 quintals, which at the mean price of 8 liv, are • • • • 101.064 Ile. 2,772 lb. of salted flesh. at 10s. • 1,086 horset, at 50 liv. - 52 tarts, at 150 liv. Fines, . -Seized in houses. t • . •105,5:30 ~•. 'ER. provinces of the Grandes Gabe/les inrolled, and their con sumption.of salt for the pot and saGre (that is, the daily con sumpti6n, exclusive of salting meat, &c. &c.) estimated at 71b. a head per annum, which quantity they are forced to buy, whether they want it or not, under the pain of various fines, according to the case. The Capitoineries were a dreadful scourge on all the oc cupiers of ltd. By this team, is to be understood the pa ramountship of certain districts, granted by the king, to princes of the blood, by which they were put in possession of the property of all game, even op lands not belonging to them ; and, what is very singular, on manors granted long before to individuals; so that the erecting of a district into a eapitainerie, was an annihilation of all manerial rights to game within it. This wag a trifling business, in comparison of other circumstances; for, in speaking of the preset vation of the game in these rapitaineries, it must be observed, that by game must be understood whole droves of wild boars, and herds of deer, not confined by any wall or pale, but wan dering, at pleasure, over the whole country, to the destruc tion of the crops; and to the peopling of the gallies by rhe wretched peasants, who presumed to kill them, in older to save that food which was to support their helpless children. The game in the capitainerie of Moutceau, in four parishes only, did mischief to *the amount of 184,263 liv. per an num.• No wonder then that we should find the people asking l Nous demandonsti zrand cris la destruction des capi tailleries c 5 celle dr route sorte de gibirr:t And what are we to think of demanding, as a favour, the permksion— De Nettoyer ses grains, de ,faucher les pros artifields, et d'eu‘snr se.s ehauntes sans.hard pour la perdrir ou tout autre giGier.l Now, an English reader will scarcely understand it without being told, that there were numerous edicts for preserving the game. which in:inhibited weeding and hoeing, lest the young partridges should be. disturbed ; steeping seed, lest it should injure the game; manuring with night. soil, lest the flavour . of the partridges should be injured by feeding on the corn so produced; mowing bay, &c. before a certain time, so late as to spoil many crops;. and taking away the stubble, which would-dtprive the birds of shelter. The tyranny exercised in-these capitaineries, which extended over 400 leagues of country, was 90 great, : that:many ca/rims demanded the utter suppression of thein.§ Suclywere the exertions of arbitrary power which the lower orders felt di rectly from the royal authority but, heavy as, they were, it is a question ; whether the others, salt:red ,circuitously through the nobility and the clergy, were pot, yet more oppressive? Nothing can exceed the complaints , made in the cahiers under this bead. They speak of the dispensation of justice in the manerial courts, as comprising every species of despotism : the districts indeterminate—appeals endless—irreconcileable to liberty and prosperity— and irervocably proscribed in the opinion of the publie—aug menting litigations—favouring every species of chicane — ruining the parties—not only by enormous expenses on the most Otty objects, hut by a dreadful loss of time. The • Calmr du tiers etat de Meaux, p. 49. t De Mantes and Meuian. p. 40.—Also, Nob. 4. Tier Etat de Pe ronne, p. 42. De Trois ordres de Montfort, p. 28.—Ttiat is t "We most earnestly pray for the suppression of the Capitaineries, and that of all the game laws." De Mantes and Meulun, p. 33.—That is to say, " the futon,- to weed their corn, to Mow their upland grass, anti to take oft their stubble, without consulting the convenience of the partridges, or any other st.rt of came." § Clerge de Prorins 4 . Mont create, p. ,53.- ; --Clerge de Paris, p. 23. ,- - Clerre de Mantes 4 p. -15. -16.—(14..r vi Laon, p. 11. Nub. de Nemours, p. 17. —Nub. de Path, p. d'xirras p. YU. ll I:eitm art. 1.. • . . r • • THE NATIONAL JikEGIS'