第37章

forms the universe. They are as "indifferent to the affairs of the State as to their own affairs， allowing one to be governed by provincial intendants as they allowed he other to be governed by their own intendants."Let us contemplate them at work on the budget. We know how large that of the church is； I estimate that they absorb at east one-half of it. Nineteen chapters of male nobles， twenty-five chapters of female nobles， two hundred and sixty commanderies of Malta belong to them by institution. They occupy， by favor， all the archbishoprics， and， except five， all the bishoprics.[7] They furnish three out of four abbés-commendatory and vicars-general. If， among the abbeys of females royally nominated， we set apart those bringing in twenty thousand livres and more， we find that they all have ladies of rank for abbesses. One fact alone shows the extent of these favors： I have counted eighty-three abbeys of men possessed by the almoners， chaplains， preceptors or readers to the king， queen， princes， and princesses； one of them， the abbé de Vermont， has 80，000 livres income in benefices. In short， the fifteen hundred ecclesiastical sinecures under royal appointment， large or small， constitute a flow of money for the service of the great， whether they pour it out in golden rain to recompense the assiduity of their intimates and followers， or keep it in large reservoirs to maintain the dignity of their rank. Besides， according to the fashion of giving more to those who have already enough， the richest prelates possess， above their episcopal revenues， the wealthiest abbeys. According to the Almanac， M. d'Argentré， bishop of Séez，[8] thus enjoys an extra income of 34，000 livres； M. de Suffren， bishop of Sisteron， 36，000； M. de Girac， bishop of Rennes， 40，000； M. de Bourdeille， bishop of Soissons， 42，000； M. d'Agout de Bonneval， bishop of Pamiers， 45，000； M. de Marboeuf bishop of Autun， 50，000； M. de Rohan， bishop of Strasbourg， 60，000； M. de Cicé， archbishop of Bordeaux， 63，000； M. de Luynes， archbishop of Sens， 82，000； M. de Bernis， archbishop of Alby， 100，000； M. de Brienne， archbishop of Toulouse， l06，000； M. de Dillon， archbishop of Narbonne， 120，000； M. de Larochefoucauld， archbishop of Rouen， 130，000 ； that is to say， double and sometimes triple the sums stated， and quadruple， and often six times as much， according to the present standard. M. de Rohan derived from his abbeys， not 60，000 livres but 400，000， and M.

de Brienne， the most opulent of all， next to M. de Rohan， the 24th of August， 1788， at the time of leaving the ministry，[9] sent to withdraw from the treasury "the 20，000 livres of his month's salary which had not yet fallen due， a punctuality the more remarkable that， without taking into account the salary of his place， with the 6，000livres pension attached to his blue ribbon， he possessed， in benefices， 678，000 livres income， and that， still quite recently， a cutting of wood on one of his abbey domains yielded him a million."Let us pass on to the lay budget； here also are prolific sinecures， and almost all belong to the nobles. Of this class there are in the provinces the thirty-seven great governments-general， the seven small governments-general， the sixty-six lieutenancies-general， the four hundred and seven special governments， the thirteen governorships of royal palaces， and a number of others， all of them for ostentation and empty honors. They are all in the hands of the nobles， all lucrative， not only through salaries paid by the treasury， but also through local profits. Here， again， the nobility allowed itself to evade the authority， the activity and the usefulness of its charge on the condition of retaining its title， pomp and money.[10] The intendant is really the governor； "the titular governor， exercising a function with special letters of command，" is only there to give dinners； and again he must have permission to do that， "the permission to go and reside at his place of government." The place， however， yields fruit. The government-general of Berry is worth 35，000 livres income， that of Guyenne 120，000， that of Languedoc 160，000； a small special government， like that of Havre， brings in 35，000 livres， besides the accessories； a medium lieutenancy-general， like that of Roussillon， 13，000 to 14，000 livres； one special government from 12，000 to 18，000livres； and observe that， in the Isle of France alone， there are thirty-four， at Vervins， Senlis， Melun， Fontainebleau， Dourdan， Sens， Limours， Etampes， Dreux， Houdan and other towns as insignificant as they are pacific； it is the staff of the Valois dynasty which， since the time of Richelieu， has ceased to perform any service， but which the treasury continues to pay. - Consider these sinecures in one province alone， in Languedoc， a country with its own provincial assembly， which ought to provide some protection the taxpayer's purse.

There are three sub-commandants at Tournon， Alais， and Montpelier， "each one paid 16，000 livres， although without any functions since their places were established at the time of the religious wars and troubles， to keep down the Protestants." Twelve royal lieutenants are equally useless， and only for parade. The same with three lieutenants-general， each one "receiving in his turn， every three years， a gratuity of 30，000 livres， for services rendered in the said province.