第14章

The seignior， formerly master and proprietor of all their goods and chattels and of all their labor， can still exact of them from ten to twelve corvées per annum and a fixed annual tax. In the barony of Choiseul near Chaumont in Champagne， "the inhabitants are required to plow his lands， to sow and reap them for his account and to put the products into his barns. Each plot of ground， each house， every head of cattle pays a quit-claim； children may inherit from their parents only on condition of remaining with them； if absent at the time of their decease he is the inheritor." This is what was styled in the language of the day an estate "with excellent dues." -Elsewhere the seignior inherits from collaterals， brothers or nephews， if they were not in community with the defunct at the moment of his death， which community is only valid through his consent. In the Jura and the Nivernais， he may pursue fugitive serfs， and demand， at their death， not only the property left by them on his domain， but， again， the pittance acquired by them elsewhere. At Saint-Claude he acquires this right over any person that passes a year and a day in a house belonging to the seigniory. As to ownership of the soil we see still more clearly that he once had entire possession of it. In the district subject to his jurisdiction the public domain remains his private domain； roads， streets and open squares form a part of it； he has the right to plant trees in them and to take trees up. In many provinces， through a pasturage rent， he obliges the inhabitants to pay for permits to pasture their cattle in the fields after the crop， and in the open common lands， (les terres vaines et vagues). Unnavigable streams belong to him， as well as islets and accumulations formed in them and the fish that are found in them. He has the right of the chase over the whole extent of his jurisdiction， this or that commoner being sometimes compelled to throw open to him his park enclosed by walls.

One more trait serves to complete the picture. This head of the State， a proprietor of man and of the soil， was once a resident cultivator on his own small farm amidst others of the same class， and， by this title， he reserved to himself certain working privileges which he always retained. Such is the right of banvin， still widely diffused， consisting of the privilege of selling his own wine， to the exclusion of all others， during thirty or forty days after gathering the crop. Such is， in Touraine， the right of préage， which is the right to send his horses， cows and oxen "to browse under guard in his subjects' meadows." Such is， finally， the monopoly of the great dove-cot， from which thousands of pigeons issue to feed at all times and seasons and on all grounds， without any one daring to kill or take them. Through another effect of the same qualification he imposes quit-claims on property on which he has formerly given perpetual leases， and， under the terms cens， censives (quit-rents)， carpot (share in wine)， champart (share in grain)， agrier (a cash commission on general produce)， terrage parciere (share of fruits). All these collections， in money or in kind， are as various as the local situations， accidents and transactions could possibly be. In the Bourbonnais he has one-quarter of the crop； in Berry twelve sheaves out of a hundred. Occasionally his debtor or tenant is a community：

one deputy in the National Assembly owned a fief of two hundred casks of wine on three thousand pieces of private property.[29] Besides， through the retrait censuel (a species of right of redemption)， he can "retain for his own account all property sold on the condition of remunerating the purchaser， but previously deducting for his benefit the lord's dues (lods and ventes)." The reader， finally， must take note that all these restrictions on property constitute， for the seignior， a privileged credit as well on the product as on the price of the ground， and， for the copyholders， an unprescriptive， indivisible and irredeemable debt.-Such are the feudal. To form an idea of them in their totality we must always imagine the count， bishop or abbot of the tenth century as sovereign and proprietor in his own canton. The form which human society then takes grows out of the exigencies of near and constant danger with a view to local defense. By subordinating all interests to the necessities of living， in such a way as to protect the soil by fixing on the soil， through property and its enjoyment， a troop of brave men under the leadership of a brave chieftain. The danger having passed away the structure became dilapidated. For a pecuniary compensation the seigniors allowed the economical and tenacious peasant to pick off it a good many stones. Through constraint they suffered the king to appropriate to himself the public portion. The primitive foundation remains， property as organized in ancient times， the fettered or exhausted land supporting a social conformation that has melted away， in short， an order of privileges and of thralldom of which the cause and the purpose have disappeared. [30]

V. They may be justified by local and general services.

All this does not suffice to render this order detrimental or even useless. In reality， the local chief who no longer performs his ancient service may perform a new one in exchange for it. Instituted for war when life was militant， he may serve in quiet times when the régime is pacific， while the advantage to the nation is great in which this transformation is accomplished； for， retaining its chiefs， it is relieved of the uncertain and perilous operation which consists in creating others. There is nothing more difficult to establish than a government， that is to say， a stable government： this involves the command of some and the obedience of all， which is against nature.