Directors, the affurance of my refpect for you, and my most zealous wishes for the happiness and profperity of the French Republic.

Anfwer of the Prefident of the Directory.

WITH a fincere and ardent affection, the French nation will always renew thofe ties which are to unite her to powers, whom odious intrigues, or erroneous views of their intereft, may have detached from her at different periods. The French Republic is, doubtlefs, too powerful to fear the number of its enemies, whomfoever they may be. It is alfo too generous, too candid, and cherishes humanity too highly, not to endeavour to live in peace with all the neighbouring ftates, and not to be defirous of reckoning them among the number of their friends. The Landgrave of Heffe Caffel is one of thofe whom the Executive Directory is happy to confider as a friend. His fidelity has been hitherto manifefted in a manner which does him infinite honour; and will fecure to him the goodwill of the Republic. We may rely upon that good will, as well as all thofe who have purfued the fame line of conduct. The Executive Directory, regulated by the genius of a free people, cannot have recourfe to the evafions of a dark and crooked policy. To the contrivances of their enemies they oppofe a conduct perfectly open, and for the attachment of their friends, they return a fincere and unchangeable affection. May all governments, for the repofe of the world, and the happiness of mankind, fpeedily abjure their ancient maxims, and finally adopt fimilar principles. Minifter plenipotentiary, the Executive Directory hears, with real fenfibility, the teftimonies of attachment towards France and her government, which you have made in the name of the Landgrave of Heffe Gaffel, they invite to tranfmit to the Landgrave their fentiments of gratitude, and to affure him, that nothing on the part of the French Republic fhall ever difturb a harmony fo advantageous. The Directory alfo owes to you particular acknowledgments for the regard and the wishes you have expreffed for the profperity of our Republic. We are affured, that during your refidence here, a mutual confidence will prevail amongst us, which will at all times ferve to promote the happiness of both countries, as well as your own fatisfaction. Such is the moft fincere defire of the Executive Directory of the French Republic.

Report

Report on the Finances, prefented to the Council of Five Hundred, on the 14th July, 1796.

THE

HE laws of the 28th Ventofe and 6th Floreal laft, by seeking to redeem mandats, with the whole of the national property, have deprived the bills payable to bearer, arifing from the reftitution of confifcated property, the deftination given them by the law of the 21ft Prairial, third year, for the acquifition of the property of emigrants. The bearers of thefe bills, who are at the fame time debtors to the Republic, demand the privilege of paying off their debts by means of the credit refulting from thefe fame bills. Your intention, citizens legislators, has not been to render these titles of legitimate credit void in their hands, whilft they are compelled to pay their own debts to the nation. A compenfation fo juft in itself, cannot but be advantageous to the Republic, fince it will operate to the extinction of part of the national debt; nevertheless, it may be neceffary to pay fome attention to the difference in value between their reprefentative amount of affignats, and the fame unfixed value, to the acquittal. of which they may be applied.

It is for your wisdom to determine the new destination of this property and its real value; and we cannot but express our defire that you will take the object of this meffage into confideration.

The Executive Directory fpares no pains by this meffage, in enforcing the juftice and the neceffity of permitting the holders of bills the privilege of paying their debts with that property.

In the fecond place, the minifter of finance, in his relative fituation with the committee, has made it evident that he was not only of the fame opinion, but that he thought it would be more convenient to admit the direct creditors of the Republic for fums. difpofed of by minifters fince the 5th Brumaire, and who had. obtained national domains, to balance their accounts within the period appointed for the payment of the first fixth part of the laft quarter, which they eafily might do; and for that purpose, to have the liberty of paying as cafh, frank for frank, and to offer the warrants of minifters, of which they might be the holders, for the purpose of entirely balancing the account for which they were given in payment.

This method, he adds, appears to me proper to render justice to the parties interested, and to relieve the public treasury.

He explains himself in the fame manner in his public audiences, and in his anfwers to those who daily came to haften the committee in making its report to the council.

The 30th Fructidor, one of our colleagues came to this tribune. to defire of you, "that interpreting the law of 28 Ventofe, the council fhould declare, that it was no obftacle to the full and

complete

complete execution of that of the 21ft Prairial, of the 3d year, and that confequently the bills furnished, and to be furnished to the heirs of condemned perfons, fhould be received in payment of national eftates of emigrants fold, or to be fold.

He called for the act of jultice, as being of fuch a nature, that it appeared to him impoflible that any one could offer a wellfounded objection to it. It was neceffary, he faid, either to declare frankly that the amount of the fales of property of con demned perfons fhould either be employed for the benefit of the Republic, or that real, entire, and effectual juftice fhould be rendered to their heirs. In viewing the firft, as contrary to thofe principles of humanity and juftice by which the council was aciuated, he made no doubt but the fecond would be adopted.

He even added, that the intereft of the nation demanded it; that the prodigious quantity of the property of emigrants, which are neither fold nor bargained for, are leffened in value, in confequence of bad management, and in a manner scarce produce any thing for the public treafure. Give them, he said, in payment to thofe creditors who, on many accounts, deferve to be confidered; for whom I here call upon your justice, and you will foon fee this fame property doubly advantageous to the public, by the fertility it will refume, and the contributions to which it will be fubject.

The council referred this motion to the committee of finances, to make a report on the fame.

A number of petitions came every day to the committee from different parts of the Republic. People could not imagine how it was poflible to refufe receiving money, the fame as mandats, according to the rate of exchange, in payment, for the laft quarter of the price of the national domains; and more particularly in the departments of the weft, they asked how, with an army without pay, in want of money, and in the midft of various other wants, impoffible to procure without money, it thould be refufed, and particularly when in confequence of that refufal the purchafers were obliged to renounce their purchafes, or to buy mandats at four livres, and four livres and ten fols, to pay into the public treafure, where they were only received at the rate of two livres and fifteen fols. The difcontent has increated, complaints are made in all parts, and with fo much the more vioience, inafinuch as they are perfuaded that the government will not gain any thing, that the purchafers will be ruined, and stockjobbers alone derive any advantage.

In the mean time, however preffing circumstances were, the committee of finances, unwilling to hazard any thing, poftponed from day to day the defired report; at laft the period appointed for the purchafers to fave their depofits arrived, and the committee could delay no longer. They drew up a plan, and

the

the fecond complementary day communicated it to the Executive Directory, requesting, at the fame time, its obfervations and ideas upon the fubject. The committee waited for an answer. until the 4th Vendemiaire, a delay which was fatal in the de partment of the Seine; it could no longer defer its report. I prefented it to you, and the very fame evening the Directory received the answer of the committee.

It is eafy for you to form an idea what powerful motives the committee had to induce it to prefent its plan to you. The Directory by its meffage urged it; the minifter announced it as a meafure commanded by justice and intereft; the public violently called for it, and a longer delay on the part of the committee would have expofed it to deferved reproach.

The object propofed is not difficult. It has fought to fecond the views of justice, contained in the meffage of the Executive Directory of the 24th Thermidor, and in the motion of order of our colleagues. It endeavoured to promote the convenience of purchasers as much as the public intereft would permit, and to give them every support.

Reprefent to yourfelf a citizen of good faith, who, having received a payment in mandats of a nominal value, is defirous of purchafing national domains, and who, deceived in his expectations, finds himself obligated to fubmit to the lofs occafioned by the difcredit of mandats, and conftrained to pay the last quarter in money, or in mandats, according to the courfe of exchange. Would you not regret that the law of the 13th Thermidor makes no exception in his favour? But if, on the one hand, you fee this honeft citizen, under the abfolute neceflity of procuring fpecie in order to discharge his fourth payment, prefenting himself at the office appointed to receive the fame; there meeting with a denial, and under the neceffity of applying to a stock-jobber, who would demand a confiderable fum to furnish him with mandats for the purpose of making good his payment. Could you be infenfible to the diftrefs of this honeft citizen, and could you leave him any longer in the cruel alternative, of either abandoning his purchase, or of making a more confiderable facrifice than that preferibed by the law?

The council is well fatisfied that there are no means more eligible to revive confidence, and attach every citizen to the government, than to indemnify them against every obstacle which is not actually neceffary to the public intereft, and to render them every affiftance which may tend to conciliate them to the government. It cannot be contended but that it is the interest of the public to encourage purchasers to adhere to what they have purchafed; and that if the public intereft renders it neceffary to infift upon the laft payment being made according VOL. V. S

01

to the real value, that at least they fhould be permitted to make their payments in money.

On the other hand, if the council confiders the unfortunate fituation he is placed in, who has feen his property fold, though in fact he may have committed no other crime than that of hav ing been a courageous friend of liberty, or of having by his talents, his virtues, or his fortune, given offence to tyrants. If it confiders that the laws which juftified the fale of fuch a man's eftate, at the fame time are defirous that he should receive an equivalent, by authorifing the employment of bills for the acquifition of national domains, it cannot be surprising that the holders of thefe bills fhould be eager to make purchases, and if, after having exhaufted that property, they fhould be compelled to pay the three first quarters in mandats, they will be reduced to defpair, and to the cruel neceffity of abandoning their purchases, if we refufe to receive property in payment of the last quarter, for which a real value is demanded.

Citizens who are holders of mortgage titles, and who have lieus upon eftates that are fold, are not in a more favourable fituation. Depicture a citizen, who in 1788, or prior to that period, had fold an eftate for 100,000 livres, and who had only received one-half of the purchase-money when the grantee emigrated. This eftate would, of courfe, be comprised among the national domains, in confequence of his emigration; yet it is nevertheless the fecurity of the vender, who may have repurchased it, under the idea that government would admit part, if not the whole of his lieu upon the eftate, as payment for fo much as it might amount to, and if this juftice is denied him, he is reduced to the neceffity of abandoning his purchase, or of lofing what he may have paid as a depofit.

In fhort, however fmall may be the favours which occupiers of eftates may receive, becaufe fome of them by their prodigality juftify the charges of dilapidation brought against them, they are till entitled to your juftice, and we ought not to refufe thofe who have confiderable fums of money the liberty of complaining against measures which are likely to involve for forfeitures for default of payment of fums of money, when, at the fame time, they cannot receive what is due to them.

By adopting the plan fubmitted to you by your committee, you will obviate all thofe caufes of forfeiture, and you ought not to lofe fight how fatal they muft be, fince in effect they oblige the public treafury to make reftitutions, which are far from fatisfy ing thofe to whom they are made, inafmuch as they are not equivalent to what they may have been deprived of; circumftances. which cannot fail of multiplying difcontent, and of contributing to the difcredit of mandats.

Thus

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