Meanwhile， other officials， those of the excise， descend into the cellar. None are more formidable， nor who more eagerly seize on pretexts for delinquency[34]. "Let a citizen charitably bestow a bottle of wine on a poor feeble creature and he is liable to prosecution and to excessive penalties. . . . The poor invalid that may interest his curate in the begging of a bottle of wine for him will undergo a trial， ruining not alone the unfortunate man that obtains it， but again the benefactor who gave it to him. This is not a fancied story." By virtue of the right of deficient revenue the clerks may， at any hour， take an inventory of wine on hand， even the stores of a vineyard proprietor， indicate what he may consume， tax him for the rest and for the surplus quantity already drunk， the ferme thus associating itself with the wine-producer and claiming its portion of his production. - In a vine-yard at Epernay[35] on four casks of wine， the average product of one arpent， and worth six hundred francs， it levies， at first， thirty francs， and then， after the sale of the four casks， seventy five francs additionally. Naturally， "the inhabitants resort to the shrewdest and best planned artifices to escape" such potent rights. But the clerks are alert， watchful， and well-informed， and they pounce down unexpectedly on every suspected domicile； their instructions prescribe frequent inspections and exact registries "enabling them to see at a glance the condition of the cellar of each inhabitant."[36] - The manufacturer having paid up， the merchant now has his turn. The latter， on sending the four casks to the consumer - again pays seventy-five francs to the ferme. The wine is dispatched and the ferme prescribes the roads by which it must go； should others be taken it is confiscated， and at every step on the way some payment must be made. "A boat laden with wine from Languedoc，[37] Dauphiny or Roussillon， ascending the Rhone and descending the Loire to reach Paris， through the Briare canal， pays on the way， leaving out charges on the Rhone， from thirty-five to forty kinds of duty， not comprising the charges on entering Paris." It pays these "at fifteen or sixteen places， the multiplied payments obliging the carriers to devote twelve or fifteen days more to the passage than they otherwise would if their duties could be paid at one bureau." -The charges on the routes by water are particularly heavy. "From Pontarlier to Lyons there are twenty-five or thirty tolls； from Lyons to Aigues-Mortes there are others， so that whatever costs ten sous in Burgundy， amounts to fifteen and eighteen sous at Lyons， and to over twenty-five sous at Aigues-Mortes." - The wine at last reaches the barriers of the city where it is to be drunk. Here it pays an octroi[38] of forty-seven francs per hogshead. - Entering Paris it goes into the tapster's or innkeeper's cellar where it again pays from thirty to forty francs for the duty on selling it at retail； at Rethel the duty is from fifty to sixty francs per puncheon， Rheims gauge. -The total is exorbitant. "At Rennes，[39] the dues and duties on a hogshead (or barrel) of Bordeaux wine， together with a fifth over and above the tax， local charges， eight sous per pound and the octroi， amount to more than seventy-two livres exclusive of the purchase money； to which must be added the expenses and duties advanced by the Rennes merchant and which he recovers from the purchaser， Bordeaux drayage， freight， insurance， tolls of the flood-gate， entrance duty into the town， hospital dues， fees of gaugers， brokers and inspectors.
The total outlay for the tapster who sells a barrel of wine amounts to two hundred livres." We may imagine whether， at this price， the people of Rennes drink it， while these charges fall on the wine-grower， since， if consumers do not purchase， he is unable to sell.
Accordingly， among the small growers， he is the most to be pitied；according to the testimony of Arthur Young， wine-grower and misery are two synonymous terms. The crop often fails， "every doubtful crop ruining the man without capital." In Burgundy， in Berry， in Soisonnais， in the Trois-Evêche's， in Champagne，[40] I find in every report that he lacks bread and lives on alms. In Champagne， the syndics of Bar-sur-Aube write[41] that the inhabitants， to escape duties， have more than once emptied their wine into the river， the provincial assembly declaring that "in the greater portion of the province the slightest augmentation of duties would cause the cultivators to desert the soil." - Such is the history of wine under the ancient regime. From the producer who grows to the tapster who sells， what extortions and what vexations！ As to the salt-tax， according to the comptroller-general，[42] this annually produces 4，000domiciliary seizures， 3，400 imprisonments， 500 sentences to flogging， exile and the galleys. -If ever two taxes were well combined， not only to despoil， but also to irritate the peasantry， the poor and the people， here they were.
VI. BURDENS AND EXEMPTIONS.
Why taxation is so burdensome. - Exemptions and privileges.
Evidently the burden of taxation forms the chief cause of misery；hence an accumulated， deep-seated hatred against the fisc and its agents， receivers， store-house keepers， excise officials， customs officers and clerks. - But why is taxation so burdensome？ As far as the communes which annually plead in detail against certain gentlemen to subject them to the taille are concerned， there is no doubt. What renders the charge oppressive is the fact that the strongest and those best able to bear taxation succeed in evading it， the prime cause of misery being the vastness of the exemptions[43].
