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Adam Smith
gabelle, or salt tax; others are exempted from it altogether. Some
provinces are exempted from the exclusive sale of tobacco, which
the farmers-general enjoy through the greater part of the king-
dom. The aides, which correspond to the excise in England, are
very different in different provinces. Some provinces are exempted
from them, and pay a composition or equivalent. In those in which
they take place, and are in farm, there are many local duties which
do not extend beyond a particular town or district. The traites,
which correspond to our customs, divide the kingdom into three
great parts; first, the provinces subject to the tariff of 1664, which
are called the provinces of the five great farms, and under which
are comprehended Picardy, Normandy, and the greater part of the
interior provinces of the kingdom; secondly, the provinces subject
to the tariff of 1667, which are called the provinces reckoned for-
eign, and under which are comprehended the greater part of the
frontier provinces; and, thirdly, those provinces which are said to
be treated as foreign, or which, because they are allowed a free
commerce with foreign countries, are, in their commerce with the
other provinces of France, subjected to the same duties as other
foreign countries. These are Alsace, the three bishoprics of Mentz,
Toul, and Verdun, and the three cities of Dunkirk, Bayonne, and
Marseilles. Both in the provinces of the five great farms (called so
on account of an ancient division of the duties of customs into
five great branches, each of which was originally the subject of a
particular farm, though they are now all united into one), and in
those which are said to be reckoned foreign, there are many local
duties which do not extend beyond a particular town or district.
There are some such even in the provinces which are said to be
treated as foreign, particularly in the city of Marseilles. It is un-
necessary to observe how much both the restraints upon the inte-
rior commerce of the country, and the number of the revenue
officers, must be multiplied, in order to guard the frontiers of
those different provinces and districts which are subject to such
different systems of taxation.
Over and above the general restraints arising from this compli-
cated system of revenue laws, the commerce of wine (after corn,
perhaps, the most important production of France) is, in the greater
part of the provinces, subject to particular restraints arising from
the favour which has been shown to the vineyards of particular
provinces and districts above those of others. The provinces most
famous for their wines, it will be found, I believe, are those in
which the trade in that article is subject to the fewest restraints of
this kind. The extensive market which such provinces enjoy, en-
courages good management both in the cultivation of their vine-
yards, and in the subsequent preparation of their wines.
Such various and complicated revenue laws are not peculiar to
744
The Wealth of Nations
France. The little duchy of Milan is divided into six provinces, in
each of which there is a different system of taxation, with regard to
several different sorts of consumable goods. The still smaller territo-
ries of the duke of Parma are divided into three or four, each of
which has, in the same manner, a system of its own. Under such
absurd management, nothing but the great fertility of the soil, and
happiness of the climate, could preserve such countries from soon
relapsing into the lowest state of poverty and barbarism.
Taxes upon consumable commodities may either he levied by
an administration, of which the officers are appointed by
govermnent, and are immediately accountable to government, of
which the revenue must, in this case, vary from year to year, ac-
cording to the occasional variations in the produce of the tax; or
they may be let in farm for a rent certain, the farmer being al-
lowed to appoint his own officers, who, though obliged to levy
the tax in the manner directed by the law, are under his immediate
inspection, and are immediately accountable to him. The best and
most frugal way of levying a tax can never be by farm. Over and
above what is necessary for paying the stipulated rent, the salaries
of the officers, and the whole expense of administration, the farmer
must always draw from the produce of the tax a certain profit,
proportioned at least to the advance which he makes, to the risk
which he runs, to the trouble which he is at, and to the knowledge
and skill which it requires to manage so very complicated a con-
cern. Government, by establishing an administration under their
own immediate inspection, of the same kind with that which the
farmer establishes, might at least save this profit, which is almost
always exorbitant. To farm any considerable branch of the public
revenue requires either a great capital, or a great credit; circum-
stances which would alone restrain the competition for such an
undertaking to a very small number of people. Of the few who
have this capital or credit, a still smaller number have the neces-
sary knowledge or experience; another circumstance which restrains
the competition still further. The very few who are in condition to
become competitors, find it more for their interest to combine
together; to become copartners, instead of competitors; and, when
the farm is set up to auction, to offer no rent but what is much
below the real value. In countries where the public revenues are in
farm, the farmers are generally the most opulent people. Their
wealth would alone excite the public indignation; and the vanity
which almost always accompanies such upstart fortunes, the fool-
ish ostentation with which they commonly display that wealth,
excite that indignation still more.
The farmers of the public revenue never find the laws too se-
vere, which punish any attempt to evade the payment of a tax.
They have no bowels for the contributors, who are not their sub-