With the exception of a few antiquarian and half-rustic royalists， nobody objects； there is no thought of reconstructing the machine on another plan； in sum， nobody is dissatisfied with the way it works. It works well， most effectively； under the Restoration as under the Empire， it renders to those who are interested the service demanded of it； it goes on providing better and better for the two grand objects of local society， care for the public highways and protection against natural calamities. In 1814， its net results are already admirable and do it credit - reparation of the ruins accumulated by the Revolution，[48] the continuation and completion of former projects， new and striking enterprises， dikes against the sea and the rivers， basins， moles， and jetties in the harbors， quays， and bridges， locks and canals， public edifices， 27，200 kilometers of national roads and 18，600 kilometers of departmental roads，[49] without counting the district roads just laid out； all this done regularly， exactly， and economically， Charles Nicolas， "Les Budgets de la France depuis le commencement du XIXe siècle." In 1816， the four direct contributions returned， in principal， 249 millions， and， in additional centimes， 89millions only. For a long time the additional centimes applied to the local service and voted by the department or by the commune are not many and do not exceed 5 %. of the principal. by competent functionaries， employed and superintended， who at first through fear are compelled to be prudent， and then through habit and honor have become honest accountants； there is no waste， no underhand stealing， no arbitrary charges； no sum is turned aside between receipts and expenses to disappear and be lost on the road， or flow out of its channel in another direction. The sensitive taxpayer， large or small， no longer smarts under the painful goad which formerly pricked him and made him jump. Local taxation， annexed to the general tax， is found to be reformed， lightened， and duly proportioned. Like the principal， the "additional centimes" are an equitable charge， graduated according to the sum of net revenue； like the principal， they are assessed according to the assumed sum of this net revenue by the councils of the arondissements among the communes， and by the communal assessors among the inhabitants. They are collected by the same collector， with the same formalities， and every taxpayer who thinks himself taxed too heavily finds a court of appeal in the council of the prefecture， before which he can make his claim and obtain the release or reduction of his quota. - Thus no crying iniquity exists， nor keen suffering； on the other hand， there are the infinite conveniences and daily enjoyment of possessions， the privation of which， to the modern man， is equal to the lack of fresh， pure air， physical security and protection against contagion， facilities for circulation and transport， pavements， light， the salubrity of healthy streets purged of their filth， and the presence and vigilance of the municipal and rural police. All these benefits， the objects of local society， are due to the machine which works with little cost， without breaking down or stopping for any long time， as lately under the Republic， and without any extortion and clashing， as in the times of the ancient Régime. It works by itself， almost without the help of the parties interested， and which， in their eyes， is not its least merit； with it， there is no bother， no responsibility， no elections to attend to， no discussions to maintain， no resolutions to pass. There is only one bill to be settled， not even a specified bill， but a surplus of centimes added to each franc， and included with the principal in the annual quota. Just like an owner who， by his correct， exact， and somewhat slow although punctual and capable supervisors， are relieved of the care of his property. He may dismiss the head steward of his domain in a fit of ill-humor， but， if he changes his stewards， he does not change the system； he is too accustomed to it， and his indolence demands it； he is not tempted to take care and trouble on himself， nor is he qualified to become his own intendant.
And what is worse， in the present case the master has forgotten that he is the owner of his domain， he hardly remembers that he is a personality. Whether large or small， department or commune， local society has no longer the consciousness of being a natural body， composed of involuntarily united members with common interests； this sentiment， already weakened and drooping at the end of the ancient régime， lost under the multiplied attacks of the Revolution and under the prolonged compression of the Empire. During twenty-five years it has suffered too much； it has been too arbitrarily manufactured or mutilated， too frequently recast， and made and unmade. - In the commune， everything has been upset over and over again， the territorial circumscription， the internal and external system， all collective property. To the 44，000 municipalities improvised by the Constituent Assembly， there succeeded under the Directory 6000 or 7000cantonal municipalities， a sort of local syndicate， represented in each commune by a subaltern agent， and then， under the Consulate， 36，000 distinct and permanent communes. Sovereign at the start， through the improvidence and abdication of the Constituent Assembly， the communes become， in the hands of the Convention， so many timorous subjects surrendered to the brutality of perambulating pashas and resident agas， imposed upon them by Jacobin tyranny； then under the Empire， a docile herd governed in a correct way from above， but possessing no authority of their own， and therefore indifferent to their own affairs and utterly wanting in public spirit. Other more serious blows affect of the them still more deeply and acutely.
