What have we gained by the additional example of their
superiority?
'I fear,' I said, 'that a republic, at least such a republic as you are
likely to have, would begin by some gross economical enormities--by the
_droit au travail_, by the _impot progressif sur la fortune presumtee_,
by a paper currency made a legal tender without limitation of its
amount.'
'The last republic,' said Ampere, 'did some of these things, but very
timidly and moderately. It gave to its paper a forced currency, but was
so cautious in its issue, that it was not depreciated. It created the
_ateliers nationaux,_ but it soon dissolved them, though at the expense
of a civil war. Its worst fault was more political than economical: it
was the 45 centimes, that is to say, the sudden increase by 45 per cent,
of the direct taxes. It never recovered that blow. Of all its acts it
is the one which is best recollected. The Provisional Government is known
in the provinces as "ces gredins des quarante-cinq centimes." The
business of a revolutionary government is to be popular. It ought to
reduce taxation, meet its expenditure by loans, abolish octrois and
prohibitions, and defer taxation until it has lasted long enough to be
submitted to as a _fait accompli_.
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