ens and
citoyennes of Narbonne being in requisition for the discharge and
transport of forage; whereas, this morning, the Representative, in
person, having inspected the performance of this duty," and having
observed on the canal "none but sans-culottes and a few young citizens;
whereas, not finding at their posts any muscadin and no muscadine;
whereas, the persons, whose hands are no doubt too delicate, even
temporarily, for the glorious work of robust sans-culottes, have, on the
other hand, greater resources in their fortune, and, desiring to afford
to the rich of Narbonne the precious advantage of being equally useful
to the republic," hereby orders that "the richest citizens of Narbonne
pay within twenty-four hours" a patriotic donation of one hundred
thousand livres, one-half to be assigned to the military hospitals, and
the other half, on the designation thereof by a "Committee of Charity,
composed of three reliable revolutionary sans-culottes," to be
distributed among the poor of the Commune. Should any "rich egoist
refuse to contribute his contingent he is to be immediately transferred
to the jail at Perpignan."--Not to labor with one's own hands, to
be disqualified for work demanding physical strength, is of itself
a democratic stain, and the man who is sullied by this draws down on
himself, not alone an augmentation of pecuniary taxation, but frequently
an augmentation of personal compulsory labor. At Villeneuve, Aveyron,
and throughout the department of Cantal,[41115] Representative Taillefer
and his delegate Deltheil, instruct the Revolutionary Committees to
"place under military requisition and conscription all muscadins above
the first class," that is to say, all between twenty-five and forty
years of age who are not reached by the law. "By muscadins is meant all
citizens of that age not married, and exercising no useful profession,"
in other words, those who live on their income. And, that none of the
middle or upper class may escape, the edict subjects to special rigor,
supplementary taxes, and arbitrary arrest, not alone property-holders
and fund-holders, but again all persons designated under the following
heads,--aristocrats, Feuillants, moderates, Girondists, federalists,
muscadins, the superstitious, fanatics the abettors of royalism,
of superstition and of federation, monopolists, jobbers, egoists,
"suspects" of incivism, and, generally, all who are indifferent to the
Revolution, of which local comm