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Updated: June 14, 2025
But the principal picture, within the town, is that of the vast curving quays, bordered with houses that look like the hotels of farmers-general of the last cen- tury, and of the wide, tawny river, crowded with ship- ping and spanned by the largest of bridges.
Athos is on good terms with Charles II. Take service there, and leave these scoundrels of contractors and farmers-general, who steal as well with French hands as others have done with Italian hands; leave the little snivelling king, who is going to give us another reign of Francis II. Do you know anything of history, Raoul?" "Yes, monsieur le chevalier."
"You must not conceal from yourself," continued Colbert quietly, "that attacking the farmers-general is attacking the superintendence. The two unfortunate guilty men in question are the particular friends of a powerful personage, and the punishment, which otherwise might be comfortably confined to the Chatelet will doubtless be a signal for disturbances!"
As you probably know, we have made large shipments of tobacco, contracted for by several farmers-general, but such has been the delay in delivery and payment after reaching this country that we deemed it absolutely necessary to have someone over here to attend to the matter. At Havre I found affairs irregular and prices low and fluctuating.
As to the National Assembly which represented only the middle class and people, he regarded it with contempt. "Why, it was from the middle class," he said, "that the oppressors of the people were drawn. It is they who were farmers-general, collectors, and officials of all kinds. It is they who ground down the nation and enriched themselves with the spoil.
"What would this chamber of justice do?" "Try the farmers-general and contractors, who, during ten years, have been robbing the state." "Well, but what would you do with them?" "Hang two or three, and that would make the rest disgorge." "I cannot commence my reign with executions, Monsieur Colbert." "On the contrary, sire, you had better, in order not to have to end with them."
I shall next lead you to the house of a parvenu, that is, one of those, who, from having made some successful speculations, and possessing a conscience not overnice as to the means of fixing Fortune, is enabled to live in the expensive style of the ci-devant court-lords and farmers-general. H , now in the enjoyment of an annual income of a hundred thousand francs, or L4000 sterling.
The guild was master, and the guild got its authority by dividing profits with a corrupt court. Thus a few laborers received very high wages, but for the many there was no work. The guild made common cause with the priest and the peer. The collection of taxes was farmed out to the "farmers-general," who kept half they got.
Strange as this may appear, he did so confiscate it; he put it up to a pretended public, in reality to a private corrupt auction; and such favored landholders as came to it were obliged to consider themselves as not any longer proprietors of the estates, but to recognize themselves as farmers under government: and even those few that were permitted to remain on their estates had their payments raised at his arbitrary discretion; and the rest of the lands were given to farmers-general, appointed by him and his committee, at a price fixed by the same arbitrary discretion.
Those would be thought the natural, proper farmers-general of each district. No such thing, my Lords. They are found in the body of people whom I have mentioned to your Lordships. They were almost all let to Calcutta banians. Calcutta banians were the farmers of almost the whole. They sub-delegated to others, who sometimes had sub-delegates under them ad infinitum.
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