(Report by Fourcroy on Brittany.) "The condition of rural structures everywhere demands considerable capital. But no advances， based on any lasting state of things， can be made." - Ibid.， 236. (Report of Lacuée on the departments around Paris.) "The doubtful owners of national possessions cultivate badly and let things largely go to ruin."[18] Reports by préfets， years X. and XI. In general， the effect of the partition of communal possessions was disastrous， especially pasture and mountain grounds. - (Doubs.) "The partition of the communal property has contributed， in all the communes， rather to the complete ruin of the poor than to any amelioration of their fate." -(Lozére.) "The partition of the communal property by the law of June 10， 1792， has proved very injurious to cultivation." These partitions were numerous. (Moselle.) "Out of six hundred and eighty-six communes， one hundred and seven have divided per capitum， five hundred and seventy-nine by families， and one hundred and nineteen have remained intact."[19] Ibid. (Moselle.) Births largely increase in 1792. "But this is an exceptional year. All kinds of abuses， paper-money， the non-payment of taxes and claims， the partition in the communes， the sale for nothing of national possessions， has spread so much comfort among the people that the poorer classes， who are the most numerous， have had no dread of increasing their families1 to which they hope some day to leave their fields and render them happy."[20] Mallet-Dupan， "Memoires，" II.， 29. (February 1， 1794.) "The late crop in France was generally good， and， in some provinces， it was above the average... I have seen the statements of two returns made from twenty-seven departments； they declare an excess of fifteen， twenty， thirty and thirty-five thousand bushels of grain. There is no real dearth."[21] Schmidt， ibid.， I.， 110， and following pages. - Buchez et Roux， XX.， 416. (Speeches of Lequinio， November 27， 1792.) - Moniteur， XVII.， 2. (Letter by Clement， Puy-de-Dome， June 15， 1793.) "For the past fifteen days bread has been worth sixteen and eighteen sous the pound. There is the most frightful distress in our mountains. The government distributes one-eighth of a bushel to each person， everybody being obliged to wait two days to take his turn. One woman was smothered and several were wounded."[22] Cf. "La Revolution，" I.， 208； II.， 294， 205， 230. - Buchez et Roux， XX.， 431. (Report of Lecointe-Puyraveau， Nov. 30， 1792.) (Mobs of four， five and six thousand men in the departments of Eure-et-Loire， Eure， Orme， Calvados， Indre-et-Loire， Loiret， and Sarthe cut down the prices of produce. The three delegates of the Convention disposed to interfere have their lives saved only on condition of announcing the rate dictated to them. - Ibid.， 409. (Letter of Roland， Nov.27， 1792.) - XXI.， 198. (Another letter by Roland， Dec.
6， 1792.) "All convoys are stopped at Lissy， la Ferté， Milan， la Ferté-sous-Jouarre . . . Carts loaded with wheat going to Paris have been forced to go back near Lonjumeau and near Meaux."[23] Archives Nationales， F. 7， 3265. (Letter of David， cultivator， and administrator of the department of Seine-Inférieure， Oct.11， 1792；letter of the special committee of Rouen， Oct.22； letter of the delegates of the executive power， Oct.20， etc.) "Reports from all quarters state that the farmers who drive to market are considered and treated in their parishes as aristocrats. . . . . Each department keeps to itself： they mutually repel each other."[24] Buchez et Roux， XX.， 409. (Letter of Roland， Nov. 271 1792.)"The circulation of grain has for a long time encountered the greatest obstacles； scarcely a citizen now dares to do that business." - Ibid.， 417. (Speech by Lequinio.) "The monopoly of wheat by land-owners and farmers is almost universal. Fright is the cause of it. . . .
And where does this fear come from？ From the general agitation， and threats， with the bad treatment in many places of the farmers， land-owners and traffickers in wheat known as bladiers." - Decrees of Sep.16， 1792， and May 4， 1793.
[25] Buchez et Roux， XIX. (Report by Cambon， Sep.22， 1792.) "The taxes no longer reach the public treasury， because they are used for purchasing grain in the departments." Ibid.， XIX.， 29. (Speech by Cambon， Oct.12， 1792.) "You can bear witness in your departments to the sacrifices which well-to-do people have been obliged to make in helping the poor class. In many of the towns extra taxes have been laid for the purchase of grain and for a thousand other helpful measures."[26] Buchez et Roux， XX.， 409. (Letter of Roland， Nov.29， 1792) -XXI.， 199. (Deliberations of the provisional executive council， Sep.
3， 1792.) - Dauban， "La Demagogie en 1793，" p. 64. (Diary kept by Beaulieu.) Ibid.， 152.)[27] Schmidt， I.， 110-130. - Decrees against the export of coin or ingots， Sep. 5 and 15， 1792.-Decree on stocks or bonds payable to bearer， Aug.14， 1792.