the origins of contemporary france-4-第135节
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administrators; Prairial 15。 … Letter of the Bapaume administrator;
Prairial 24。 … Letter of the Vervier administrator; Messidor 7。 …
Letter of the commissary sent by the district of Laon; Messidor。) …
Cf。; I6id。; letter from the Abbeville district; Prairial 11。 〃The
quintal of wheat is sold at one thousand assignats; or rather; the
farmers will not take assignats any more; grain not to be had for
anything but coin; and; as most people have none to give they are
hard…hearted enough to demand of one his clothes; and of another his
furniture; etc。〃
'109' Ibid。; AF。; II。; 71。 (Letter of the Rozoy municipality。 Seine…
et…Marne; Messidor 4; year III。) A bushel of wheat in the vicinity of
Rozoy brings three hundred francs。
'110' Ibid。; AF。; II。; 74。 (Letter of the Montreuil…sur…Mer
municipality; Prairial 29。)
'111' Ibid。 (Letter of the Vervins administrators; Prairial 11 Letter
of the commune of La Chapelle…sur…Somme; Prairial 24。)
'112' Ibid。; AF。; II。; 70。 (Letter of the procureur…syndic of the
district of Saint…Germain; Thermidor 10。) This file; which depicts the
situation of the communes around Paris; is specially heartrending and
terrible。 Among other instances of the misery of workmen the
following petition of the men employed on the Marly water…works may be
given; Messidor 28。 〃The workmen and employees on the machine at
Marly beg leave to present to you the wretched state to which they are
reduced by the dearness of provisions。 Their moderate wages; which at
the most have reached only five livres twelve sous; and again; for
four months past; having received but two francs sixteen sous; no
longer provide them with half a pound of bread; since it costs fifteen
and sixteen francs per pound。 We poor people have not been wanting in
courage nor patience; hoping that times would mend。 We have been
reduced to selling most of our effects and to eating bread made of
bran of which a sample is herewith sent; and which distresses us very
much (nous incommode beaucoup); most of us are ill and those who are
not so are in a very feeble state。〃 … Schmidt; 〃Tableaux de Paris;〃
Thermidor 9。 〃Peasants on the market square complain bitterly of
being robbed in the fields and on the road; and even of having their
sacks (of grain) plundered。〃
'113' Archives Nationales; D。; § I; file 2。 (Letter of the Ervy
municipality; Floréal 17; year III。) 〃The indifference of the egoist
farmers in the country is at its height; they pay no respect whatever
to the laws; killing the poor by refusing to sell; or unwilling to
sell their grain at a price they can pay。〃 … (It would be necessary to
copy the whole of this file to show the alimentary state of the
departments。)
'114' Ibid。; AF。; II。; 74。 (Letter of the district administrators of
Bapaume; Prairial 24。 … Letter of the municipality of Boulogne…sur…
Mer; Prairial 24。)
'115' Ibid。;; AF。; II。; 73。 (Letter of the municipality of Brionne;
district of Bernay; Prairial 7。) The farmers do not bring in their
wheat because they sell it elsewhere at the rate of fifteen hundred
and two thousand francs the sack of three hundred and thirty pounds。
'116' Ibid。; AF。; II。; 71。 (Letter of the procureur…syndic of the
district of Meaux; Messidor 2。) 〃Their fate is shared by many of the
rural communes〃 and the whole district has been reduced to this dearth
〃to increase the resources of Paris and the armies。〃
'117' Schmidt; 〃Tableaux de Paris。〃 (Reports of the Police; Pluvi?se
6; year III。) … Ibid。; Germinal 16。 〃A letter from the department of
Drome states that they are dying of hunger there; bread selling at
three francs the pound。〃
'118' Archives Nationales; AF。; II。; 70。 (Deliberations of the
council…general of Franciade; Thermidor 9; year III。)
'119' Ibid。 (Letter of the procureur…syndic of the district of Saint…
Germain; Thermidor 10。) … Delécluze; 〃Souvenirs de Soixante Années;〃
p。 10。 (The Delécluze family live in Mendon in 1794 and for most of
1795。 M。 Delécluze; senior; and his son go to Meaux and obtain of a
farmer a bag of good flour weighing three hundred and twenty five
pounds for about ten louis d'or and fetch it home; taking the greatest
pains to keep it concealed。 Both father and son 〃after having covered
the precious sack with hay and straw in the bottom of the cart; follow
it on foot at some distance as the peasant drives along。〃 Madame
Delécluze kneads the bread herself and bakes it。
'120' Archives Nationales; AF。; II。; 74。 The following shows some of
the municipal expenditures。 (Deliberations of the commune of Annecy;
Thermidor 8; year II I。) 〃Amount received by the commune from the
government; 1;200;000 francs。 Fraternal subscriptions; 400;000
francs。 Forced loan; 2;400;000 francs。 Amount arising from grain
granted by the government; but not paid for; 400;000 francs。〃 (Letter
from the municipality of Lille; Fructidor 7 ) 〃The deficit; at the
time we took hold of the government; which; owing to the difference
between the price of grain bought and the price obtained for bread
distributed among the necessitous; had amounted to 2;270;023 francs;
so increased in Thermidor as to amount to 8;312;956 francs。〃
consequently; the towns ruin themselves with indebtedness to an
incredible extent。 … Archives Nationales; AF。; II。; 72。 (Letter of
the municipality of Tours; Vendémiaire 19; year IV。) Tours has not
sufficient money with which to buy oil for its street lamps and which
are no longer lit at night。 A decree is passed to enable the agent
for provisions at Paris to supply its commissaries with twenty
quintals of oil which; for three hundred and forty lamps; keeps one
hundred agoing up to Germinal 1。 The same at Toulouse。 (Report of
Destrene; Moniteur; June 24; 1798。) On November 26; 1794; Bordeaux is
unable to pay seventy two francs for thirty barrels of water to wash
the guillotine。 (Granier de Cassagnac; I。; 13。 Extract from the
archives of Bordeaux。) Bordeaux is authorized to sell one thousand
casks of wine which had formerly been taken on requisition by the
government; the town to pay for them at the rate at which the Republic
bought them and to sell them as dear as possible in the way of regular
trade。 The proceeds are to be employed in providing subsistence for
its inhabitants。 (Archives Nationales; AF。; II。; 72; orders of
Vendémiaire 4; year IV。) As to aid furnished by the assignats granted
to towns and departments cf。 the same files; 400;000 francs to
Poitiers; Pluvi?se 18; four millions to Lyons; Pluvi?se 17; three
millions a month to Nantes; after Thermidor 14; ten millions to the
department of Herault in Frimaire and Pluvi?se ; etc。
'121' Archives Nationales; II。; § 1; file 2。 (Deliberations of the
commune of Troyes; Vent?se 15; year III。) … 〃Un Sejour en France。〃
(Amiens; May 9; 1795。) 〃As we had obtained a few six franc crowns and
were able to get a small supply of wheat。 。 。 。 Mr。 D and the
servants eat bread made of three fourths bran and one fourth flour。
When we bake it we carefully close the doors; paying no attention to
the door bell; and allow no visitor to come in until every trace of
the operation is gone。 。 。 The distribution now consists of a
mixture of sprouted wheat; peas; rye; etc。; which scarcely resembles
bread。〃 (April 12。) 〃The distribution of bread (then) was a quarter of
a pound a day。 Many of those who in other respects were well off; got
nothing at all。〃
'122' Ibid。 (Letters of the municipality of Troyes; Vent?se 15; year
III。; and Germinal 6。) Letter of the three deputies; sent by the
municipality to Paris; Pluvi?se ; year III。 (no date。)
'123' 〃Un Sejour en France。〃 (Amiens; Jan。 30; 1795。) Archives
Nationales。 AF。;II。; 74。 (Deliberation of the commune of Amiens;
Thermidor 8; and Fructidor 7; year III。)
'124' 〃Souvenirs et Journal d'un Bourgeois d'Evreux;〃 p。 97。 (The
women stop carts loaded with wheat; keep them all night; stone and
wound Representative Bernier; and succeed in getting; each; eight
pounds of wheat。)
'125' Archives Nationales; AF。;II。; 73。 (Letter of the municipality
of Dieppe; Prairial 22。) … AF。;II。; 74。 (Letter of the municipality
of Vervins; Messidor 7。 Letter of the municipality of Lille;
Fructidor 7。)
'126' 〃Correspondance de Mallet du Pan avec la Cour de Vienne;〃 I。;
90。 Ibid。; 131。 One month later a quintal of flour at Lyons is worth
two hundred francs and a pound of bread forty…five sous。
'127' Archives Nationales; AF。; II。; 13。 (Letter of the deputies
extraordinary of the three administrative bodies of Chartres;
Thermidor 15: 〃In the name of this commune dying of hunger 〃) … 〃The
inhabitants of Chartres have not even been allowed to receive their
rents in grain; all has been poured into the government storehouses。〃
'128' Ibid。 (Petition of the commune of La Rochelle; Fructidor 25;
that of Painb?uf; Fructid