Marc-Denis-Maurice VATAR-DESAUBIEZ (1768–1836), former capta - Lot 179

Marc-Denis-Maurice VATAR-DESAUBIEZ (1768–1836), former captain of hussars. Autograph letter, Château-Thierry, June 6, 1831, to a marshal; 3 pages, in-4. On the grain trade. [Vatar-Desaubiez published a work on this subject in 1822: Considerations on Public Economy Regarding the Grain Trade, or Ways to Reconcile the Interests of the State, Landowners, and the People with Those of Commerce]. As mayor of Nogent l’Artaud (Château-Thierry district), he sets forth his ideas on the grain trade to a marshal under whose command he had served. In order to “remedy the many disruptions and significant financial waste that always fall largely on the poorest taxpayers,” he proposes “maintaining a reserve of grain as a counterweight, ready to be brought into the balance of such diverse public interests, to maintain a certain equilibrium against rises or falls in the price of this staple commodity. The main purpose of this counterbalance would be to promote the prosperity of agriculture through public purchases ordered in years when wheat prices are very low,” and would allow the government “to export our grain without fear of exposing itself to the slightest danger,” without having to grant permits to private individuals. “It would enable us to occupy the leading position in the general European market, thanks to our geographical location at the center of this part of the world, and as a nation that is at once agricultural, continental, and maritime,” and would be very useful in the event of a poor harvest. “These granaries or public reserves could be established at little cost […] in a number of locations and at key points along the navigable waterways. […] At the same time, they would serve as ready-made supplies in the event of war.” As for foreign trade, “apart from supplying our colonies, we could supply Holland, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Piedmont, Savoy, Switzerland […] and England itself”… This is the system that Vatar Desaubiez asks the marshal to present to the government: “It is not ‘a theory from the streets, schools, clubs, or public forums that I claim to advocate; it is one of the first foundations of the social edifice, and one of the first principles of public order—that fine motto of the current government and of all wise men’”…