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Letter for Monseigneur Henri-Charles Victorin du Bourget ((@Eid3r))

Cher Monsieur,

It is with great distress that I have read reports of the widespread starvation and famine spreading across our Kingdom. I have watched your career with great interest and have learned the true extent of your honor, faith, and devotion to the King’s land. I know most fully that you are devoted to the restoration of the proper place of the Church in the realm of France, her eldest daughter. In the name of France’s preservation and in the memory of my dear brother François Chagnon, the parish priest of Saint Fulgent who was murdered during the War in the Vendée in 1793, I will donate 2,000 francs to the Most Christian Society of Saint Isidore the Laborer. Further, if there is anything within my power as a general in the army of His Majesty, contact me. Vive le Roi.

Dans l'attente de votre réponse, veuillez agréer, cher Monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments les meilleurs.

Sincèrement, Jean-Marie Chagnon.
 
((In honour of the topic of national politics, I present:

))
 
((Private – @TJDS ))

Letter from the Bishop of Montauban to Minister of the Interior

Your Excellency,

First, let me congratulate you on your appointment as Minister of the Interior. I certainly hope that your acumen and intellect will steer the Kingdom toward the pristine shores of prosperity. The inaction of the previous ministry, of which you had no part, has caused many ills to the realm and the herculean task of righting these wrongs now befalls partly to you. Rest assured of my utmost cooperation in the noblest endeavor of yours.

On the subject of this most dreadful famine, which is threatening the lives of so many of our concitoyens, I am writing to you to promote the cause of the most worthy Society of Saint Isidore the Laborer, which under the tutelage of the Holy Order of Saint-Francis, has made it its humble mission to provide food for the needing masses.

We Franciscans being of humble financial mean, we must rely on the charity of many to pursue our bonnes oeuvres. I certainly hope that this letters awakes in your the Christian kindness and generosity of which you are endowed and that, like Tabitha in the Acts, 9:36, you shall be stirred to abound with deeds of kindness and charity.

It goes without saying that the patronage of an esteemed person such as you would lay great credence to our endeavour. I sincerely hope that, despite our political differences, we can unite as Christians and assuage the hardship that this famine has wrought upon the kingdom.

Avec vous dans la Foy,

Henri-Charles Victorin du Bourget
Bishop of Montauban
 
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Saint-Cry fights the Dullaries
The Marshal marched furiously. It was like the march on Moscow, only much shorter and instead of fallen soldiers it was fallen tears. 'How dare anyone disagree with me' he mumbles in a rather disagreeable manner 'for I am always right'. Turning right, he ran into a wall. Turned out it wasn't always right to go right. Turning left instead, he marched with imaginative legions to confront the two scariest men in all of France, a perfumed dilettante and a sleepy bureaucrat. The nightmares he has had for time on end will soon be over, for it will be a battle of the ages.

He waited silently for about an hour while the two men worked. He launched a brutal offensive against their senses by coughing twice, but to no avail. Their bulwark was impenetrable. Taking his teachings from his long term under Napoleon, the one true ruler of France, Saint-Cry decided to present his ultimate offensive. 'Excuse me, do you have a moment?'

This was the time, Saint-Cry's feet rattled in Ney's boots. They fit quite nicely, but the man always had good taste. There was a reason Saint-Cry stole most of his clothes from Ney, raiding the baggage cart during Ney's personal charges. 'That's off topic, don't get distracted, that's how you lost numerous battles' he mumbled to himself yet again. The two premier favourites of the Dullaries, the Perfumed Man and the Dutchman, looked up with a quizzical look.

"Can we help you?" they asked, the question hanging in the air like Saint-Cry's loyalty to the Bourbons. 'Yes' cried Saint-Cry with a small tear welling in his eye 'how can you not listen to my obviously amazing advice, I am right at everything! Napoleon has said so.' The Dullaries nodded, then said "You're the Minister of War, what about your purview extends to the Ministry of Finance, Trade, or the Interior."

Saint-Cry sputtered and pouted. No one has talked to him this way since his soldiers told him that the battle was the other way during his brave cavalry charge to the nearest brothel. 'But I'm right!' the Perfumed Man dainty waved a silken kerchief he stole from his 'wife'. "Of course Lord Marshal".

Saint-Cry let out a leap and laughed. 'I am victorious once again' he shouted to no one at all. The Dullaries tittered and shook their heads as the Marshal skipped away, marking his name with a nice black mark. Another member to be purged, for there can only be the King and the Dullaries.
 
An EXCERPT from the MEMOIRS of the comte Louis-Mathieu Molé
"The council of ministers met three times a week, Monday and Friday at the Paris residence of Dhuizon and Wednesday with the king. It convened at one o'clock; we were all usually on time, except Decazes and Dhuizon. Dhuizon, evidently bored by his responsibilities, would stretch his time at the spa for at least forty minutes, while Decazes would arrive an hour, sometimes two hours, late, carrying under his arm the red portfolio, which he had the habit of sending daily to the king. It started out by waiting for Dhuzion while the members told little stories, typically about the foreign wars and whatever had happened in the intermission of our council. Then Dhuzion would arrive, seemingly startled that Decazes was late, and would turn his chair around to the table, and open the session. Each minister brought to the council all the current business and important nominations of his department. The keeper of the seal [minister of Justice] would lead off; his business was very brief. It was while he was speaking that Decazes entered with a worried, nonchalant, absentminded look, without apologizing, and sat down next to me. Then Decazes opened his portfolio, drew out his police reports, passing them on to M. de Valence, who was (in his opinion) the President of the Council. Valence for his part, read the police reports in silence, and the minister whose turn it was to report spoke to deaf ears, until, wanting to have some decision, he begged in a discouraged tone that the real President of the Council and the royal favorite would deign to give him just a moment's attention. When I became convinced that it was always going to be this way, I did the same as the others and only listed when something interested me. Most of the time I walked around the room; Gouvion [St. Cyr] went to sleep, M. de Richeleiu and Decazes read or wrote, Pasquier warned himself at the fire, and Durand was the only one to listen because of his pedantic conscience, but became angry because he felt obliged to do it; and Corvetto, who had known, as I also had, different ways of dealing with matters of state, experince an impatience which was revealed by his most subtle sallies and by sly glances at in my direction. Dhuzion, for his own part, would cozy up with the next piece of political philosophy; that is, if he showed up at all! Typically, our attention was only aroused when Durand would become irritable, and Gouvion, ever indomitable, would make himself a rebel just for the purpose of his reputation, and the two would quarrel until Valence, who saw that Dhuzion would do nothing, gave stern rebuke.

When Louis XVIII presided, he spoke little, but as unquestioned master, he summarized the discussions with an admirable clarity of conception and a selection of terms in which one could surmise that they came from a prepared speech, learned by heart in advance. Otherwise, he would typically sleep, and with good reasons, for if he did not, he would tell amusing stories of the most promiscuous variety, or flaunt his aptitude in mimicry.
 
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((Private - @oxfordroyale ))

Letter from the Bishop of Montauban to the Baron of Roybon

Your Excellency,

I realize that we are not formally acquainted and I certainly hope you will forgive my outrecuidance in writing to you directly, but common relations have testified of your pristine morals and your compassionate nature towards the difficulties of the common man.

As you might have heard, the Holy Order of Saint Francis, through the Most Christian Society of Saint Isidore the Laborer, is gathering donations and expressions of support in order to purchase grain from Spain and provide bread for the hungry masses of the kingdom.

Keeping in mind the wisdom brought to us through Proverbs 19:17, which states that “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and he shall repay him for his good deed”, I would like to inquire as to the Society counting on your benevolence as a backer of this most worthy and noble cause.

Avec vous dans la Foy,

Henri-Charles Victorin du Bourget
Bishop of Montauban

- Private -
((@Eid3r))

A letter from Colonel Alexandre Louis Desrosiers, baron de Roybon, to Henri-Charles Victorin du Bourget, Bishop of Montauban, dated 4 February 1818.

Monseigneur,


It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, though I find myself somewhat embarrassed -- your estimation of my morals is far too kind. As to the contents of your letter, I am all too aware of the severe famine that has stricken our poor and beleaguered country, and it pains me deeply to imagine the hardships that the masses bear as a result of the current grain shortages. I have been privileged in my life, but I have not forgotten my duty as a servant of the Lord. I will gladly donate to your most Christian cause so that the burden on our people might be alleviated by even the slightest of degrees. Enclosed is a sum* I believe your Society shall find most suitable. Please, do not hesitate to contact me again -- I would be more than happy to provide further assistance if needed.

I pray that you shall meet the best of luck in your noble and holy endeavor. God watches over us all, and especially rewards those who are compassionate to their fellow man.

Sincerely,
Colonel Alexandre Louis Desrosiers, baron de Roybon
* 750 francs, to be exact.
 
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((Saint-Cyr again, before the legislature.))

There was little use in papering over the difference in approaches between the War and Interior Departments. Every day the crisis lingered on, more reports filtered to Paris on the police and National Guard being overwhelmed by the Bread Riots and the Army being called out by prefecture authorities. Saint-Cyr's sudden appearance days ago before the legislature was a sign of his growing frustrating with the lack of progress on solving the grain crisis. He was a military man and the exceedingly long and detailed pieces of legislation the Interior Minister chose to proffer did nothing to endear him to the War Minister. Both were on the same wavelength of the ideological spectrum but would fundamentally differ in their approaches to advancing policy.

A few days prior, the Interior Minister had escalated the rift in Cabinet with demanding the Marshal obey the line of the Interior Ministry and cease any public criticism. The usually placid Saint-Cyr presided over an angry departmental meeting where his junior-ministers vented their complaints at the taxing nature of the bread crisis on Army readiness. It was only with great self-control and willpower that Saint-Cyr ended the proverbial circular firing squad and asked one of his deputies to write a face-saving memorandum to the Interior Minister, asking for his public assurances that none of his proposals would touch tariffs. The core supporters of the Liberal Doctrinaires were the mercantile class and new nobility, interests which greatly depended on the income of agribusiness and who were fond of defending "the salt of the earth," the smallholders who had gained land in the last two decades. The interests of both classes dovetailed and gave cover for each other.

Surprisingly the Interior Minister complied with the War Minister's demand and to the acclimation of Saint-Cyr's Liberal Doctrinaire supporters, he retracted the proposals he had himself proffered. Now it would be on the Interior Minister to deliver his proposal, for Saint-Cyr's part he would whip votes to support the government's agenda; a defeat would be demoralizing at this point and he had suffered enough of sitting through cabinet meetings that alternated between a restful sleep on his part while some colleague went over some obscure bit of minutiae and full-throated defiance against what he considered too complex to push forward through the Chamber. His main concern was the military and in that realm matters were moving forward swimmingly. Yet as his wife admonished him, the Marshal would have to lend his credibility to move forward the ideas of his colleagues in order to demand the same actions from them for his agenda.

Slowly, unwillingly, Saint-Cyr had become a politician and had his neck deep in the mud with the rest of his peers.

"Gentlemen, I urge we pass the legislation offered by the Government with haste. It is not for lack of effort that this crisis is growing but for want of orders. It is within the power of this Chamber and the Peers to press forward approval of the necessary agenda for you, to alleviate the present inequities in the national diet. The King's Police, National Guard, and Army are keeping order and protecting the grain convoys with all necessary vigor but it is a state of affairs that cannot be left this way forever.

"Give the order to rebuild our shattered infrastructure, to stabilize the price of bread, and the people will surely do their utmost to comply."
 
((Saint-Cyr again, before the legislature.))

There was little use in papering over the difference in approaches between the War and Interior Departments. Every day the crisis lingered on, more reports filtered to Paris on the police and National Guard being overwhelmed by the Bread Riots and the Army being called out by prefecture authorities. Saint-Cyr's sudden appearance days ago before the legislature was a sign of his growing frustrating with the lack of progress on solving the grain crisis. He was a military man and the exceedingly long and detailed pieces of legislation the Interior Minister chose to proffer did nothing to endear him to the War Minister. Both were on the same wavelength of the ideological spectrum but would fundamentally differ in their approaches to advancing policy.

A few days prior, the Interior Minister had escalated the rift in Cabinet with demanding the Marshal obey the line of the Interior Ministry and cease any public criticism. The usually placid Saint-Cyr presided over an angry departmental meeting where his junior-ministers vented their complaints at the taxing nature of the bread crisis on Army readiness. It was only with great self-control and willpower that Saint-Cyr ended the proverbial circular firing squad and asked one of his deputies to write a face-saving memorandum to the Interior Minister, asking for his public assurances that none of his proposals would touch tariffs. The core supporters of the Liberal Doctrinaires were the mercantile class and new nobility, interests which greatly depended on the income of agribusiness and who were fond of defending "the salt of the earth," the smallholders who had gained land in the last two decades. The interests of both classes dovetailed and gave cover for each other.

Surprisingly the Interior Minister complied with the War Minister's demand and to the acclimation of Saint-Cyr's Liberal Doctrinaire supporters, he retracted the proposals he had himself proffered. Now it would be on the Interior Minister to deliver his proposal, for Saint-Cyr's part he would whip votes to support the government's agenda; a defeat would be demoralizing at this point and he had suffered enough of sitting through cabinet meetings that alternated between a restful sleep on his part while some colleague went over some obscure bit of minutiae and full-throated defiance against what he considered too complex to push forward through the Chamber. His main concern was the military and in that realm matters were moving forward swimmingly. Yet as his wife admonished him, the Marshal would have to lend his credibility to move forward the ideas of his colleagues in order to demand the same actions from them for his agenda.

Slowly, unwillingly, Saint-Cyr had become a politician and had his neck deep in the mud with the rest of his peers.

"Gentlemen, I urge we pass the legislation offered by the Government with haste. It is not for lack of effort that this crisis is growing but for want of orders. It is within the power of this Chamber and the Peers to press forward approval of the necessary agenda for you, to alleviate the present inequities in the national diet. The King's Police, National Guard, and Army are keeping order and protecting the grain convoys with all necessary vigor but it is a state of affairs that cannot be left this way forever.

"Give the order to rebuild our shattered infrastructure, to stabilize the price of bread, and the people will surely do their utmost to comply."

"It would be a pleasant matter if it was as simple as the Minister suggests. It would be an even more pleasant matter if it was not that this calamity, which he now urges this chamber to address, were not the direct responsibility of the President of the Council! Indeed, I ask, could this have not been avoided if the necessary steps were taken previously, during my time as Minister of the Interior, to address the growing issue? Perhaps, indeed, we can finally receive an answer from this government on the matter - perhaps it shall be explained why Monsieur Dhuizon continues to sit as President of the Council, even as the blood of His Majesty's subjects lay upon the man's hands?

"The monsieur must be made aware that an action taken to address an issue only after it becomes a crisis is no resolution. It is simply an attempt to bandage a wound with the petals of daisies, and while we may have advanced the interests of this Kingdom in a productive way had these resolutions been properly presented to Parliament in the prior legislative session, it is exceedingly clear that the President of the Council, in his seclusion and unwillingness to present neither himself nor the activities of His Majesty's government to either Chamber, has acted in a manner emphasizing his own self-gain and the advancement of his faction.

"Indeed, I do make the claim that the President of the Council intentionally rejected all proposals relating to food production and infrastructure in order to deny the possibility of a legislative victory for the members of His Majesty's Council aligned with this Chamber's then-majority faction. And now, in an effort to redeem himself and recover from the chaos into which he - he himself - has plunged France, he has allowed his marionettes to present to this Chamber a resolution which is lifted, in part, verbatim from proposals which he rejected not even three years ago.

"And yet, the Minister of War continues to suggest that the burden for this crisis might rest upon this Chamber? Non! The only burden in this matter rests upon Dhuizon. Indeed, I intend to support the measure proposed by the Minister of the Interior - for it is, in part, my own. However, I believe that a full approach may only be undertaken by any loyal and clear-sighted member of this body on the condition that the Minister of War, and the other members of His Majesty's Council, openly confirm that the liability for this calamity does indeed rest upon the President of the Council.

"Furthermore, they ought to understand that the refusal to acknowledge that much of this crisis stems directly from his incapable nature and inabilities in the realm of actual policy is a mark against themselves. It is a fact, as I am sure some of our clerical friends may confirm, there exist sins of omission, and the refusal to indict a man guilty of such an immense catastrophe is a mark against oneself.

"Merci."


Alexandre de Berstett,
Député du Bas-Rhin
 

(( Private @Cloud Strife ))


Letter from the Bishop of Montauban to the Maréchal de Saint-Cyr, Minister of War

Votre Grâce,

Despite our political divergences, which I am led to believe are many, I know for a fact that you are a man made from a most Christian cloth. Therefore, I stand certain that you are appalled by the dejection in which so many of our citizens are cast, being unable to feed their families due to the scarcity of bread.

While I certainly hope that the politics of our nation shall lend themselves to a quick relief effort, I must say that what I have witnessed from the Chamber of Deputies has led me to fear for the common man. I assume that you have fought to the utmost against the timidity of the Government’s reaction to the current famine, which gnaws at the popular pillar of the monarchy, destroying the love of the people for our most just and desired King Louis XVIII. However, while I trust in the personal industry of our Minister of the Interior, a most knowledgeable man, I am afraid that his proposed reforms, should they clear the Chamber, might be too long to take effect, as the good people of France is starving now.

Over the past few months, I have been most busy with the relief efforts spearheaded by my Franciscan brothers who, while lacking in land, riches and capital, are wealthy in courage, strength of will and pugnacity. Through the Most Christian Society of Saint-Isidore the Labourer, we have been hard at work to procure grain from Spain and process it in a humble bread to be handed to the hungry masses.

While I am quite happy to claim a measure of success for this initiative, it remains utterly dependant on the benevolent patronage by men of charitable moral constitution. Alas, as you will most likely agree, the presence of such men in our beloved France, where they flowed like a torrential river, has been drying up to a small rivulet in the last decades.

I know that, before being Minister of War and a Maréchal, you are at heart homme de paix. Should you be able to lend your most gracious name to our relief efforts, I will be most grateful to your Grace.

Avec vous dans la Foy,

Henri-Charles Victorin du Bourget
Bishop of Montauban
 
Dearest Thérèse,

I have served for the past three years in a state of confusion. I must start from the beginning, for I can not simply explain the past two years in simple terms, for they are precisely the opposite.

A week after my Corps was reshuffled, I found myself under the purview of Saint-Cyr in Toulouse. Whilst I respect the man, I must find his views on politics less than desirable. He, like the men he surrounds himself with, are adherents to the reprehensible brand of leftism that lead to the rise of men such as Robespierre. He shows no respect for tradition, and less for those who do not agree with him. But, I must give him credit, he is a skilled officer. He has reorganized His Majesty's Army, and with some degree of luck and certainly with skill, he has restored some semblance of order to the Royal Army.

However, I now find myself a general as weak as paper, for that is all my command is. I am no general, I am no man of the sword, I am a man of the pen, and it infuriates me. Nevertheless, I am inclined to instruct my two subordinates, Alexander Desrosiers and Charles Perrin, to recruit men to the Royal Army in their own methods. I will not subject my subordinates to humiliation like the Duke of Bourbon does his. I fear for France and for the Army, but I place my faith in the King and God. We will survive this.

Give the children my best,
Francçois
 
A letter from the comte de Dhuizon to the Tsar and Autocrat of All the Russias
regarding the Grand Alliance.
Your Imperial Majesty,

I write You in an occasion of sorrow for my wondrous King and His realm, but also, I would dare hope, one of merciful openness on the part of Your Imperial Majesty -- for to You I bring an offer of committed amity and cooperation between Your realm and the realm of His Majesty King Louis.

It has been the policy of His Majesty's Government, having received His wishes and putting them, with His guidance, into a series of legislative and executive policies, to return to Europe a sense of peace, and to restore to the realms of the continent normal relations, particularly those between France and her neighbors, and all the other Powers besides. It needs no padding to say that Franco-Russian relations endured a most brutal and extended stretch of the poorest kind; I thus offer my hand, as a humble appointee of His Majesty King Louis, in friendship and amity between the governments of St. Petersburg and Paris. The Council of State has decided to take one further step, as well: I hereby put forward the proposition to allow French entry into the Grand Alliance of St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Vienna. Those three governments share characters that endorse and defend the qualities of absolute authority on the part of the monarch. This is a position which is fully endorsed and defended by my own government in Paris. It would be right and proper, I believe, for France to formally request, on the part of Your Imperial Majesty -- and the King of Prussia and Emperor of Austria -- entry into this Alliance which holds so high the precepts of general European peace and a defense of aristocratic values and rights at all levels.

His Majesty remains eternally committed to the values and goals of that Alliance, and would, perhaps, rest easier at night knowing he has, in three other great European cities, friends and allies willing to uphold the current peace. The amity and bonds which France and Russia shared before the terrible revolutions of 1789 and 1792 must be restored if this peace shall be maintained for any reasonable period of time. It is my humble opinion that it will barely last some years at this rate -- as with the power of the Alliance being expanded West, other Powers in this region of the continent would be far less likely to engage in aggressive foreign policy, and would be more likely to respect the common peace, and the majesty of those that defend and uphold it.

I remain as always Your most humble and dutiful servant &c.,

Comte AUGUSTE PHILIPPE de Dhuizon
President of the Council of State of France
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(( Joint IC between @Eid3r and @naxhi24 ))
Part 1

The Comte de L’Isle Jourdain arrived at the Hôtel de Neuilly in a proper military uniform. It has been a while since he last attended an event like this. He remembered the many formals and dinners he had to attend with his mother in England, eating and treating with English nobles and other French emigres. He needed this break, the General’s deadline for the plays was fast approaching, and he was exhausted out of observing the acting troupe finalize the details. He was ready for the whole theatrical shenanigan to be over so he can return to partaking in actual military duty. Perhaps his department could finally get some new legionnaires he can lead in the field. He stepped out of his carriage once it arrived at de Neuilly. The winter air was cool against his face. He breathed in, and walked towards the door.

The good bishop of Montauban had spent the last weeks attending to the good society of the capital, like a pauper with a cause, that of the hungry masses. From balls to gatherings in even the shadiest of salons, he had worked tirelessly to gather enough funds to sustain his charities. For the time of one night, it appeared he had nothing to his agenda mondain. He was about to sit down for a frugal meal, when a servant announced the arrival of the Comte de l’Isle-Jourdain, a fellow southerner.

“Le bon Messire Barrande est ici? Quickly, Martin. Let the count enter and bring him directly to the table, for he his of the most pleasant company I am sure and of irreproachable morals, which in this day and age, is quite rare.”

Martin, the most discreet of men, of a placid constitution and dry features, quickly executed himself. Within minutes, he introduced the guest to the dining room. “Le Comte de l’Isle-Jourdain!”

Nathanaël proceeded to walk into the dining room. He noted the elderly gentleman at the table and assumed it was the Bishop.

The dining room was not a grand affair. It was well know that the Bishop, a most ascetic man, was living a rather austere life. Quite certainly, the vicious rumors of Paris had casted him as a fat bishop dining in his flock’s misery, but the room certainly gave a feeling of long-gone grandeur, the walls mostly bare and marked by the shadow of paintings long gone.

The old man stood up, lurching on his cane, and inclined slowly as a greeting to his guest.

“My dear friend, it is a pleasure to be formally acquainted with you. If you would please be so kind as to join me for a small repas, I am quite sure we have a lot to talk, since we both call the same department home.”

“Monseigneur.” said the Comte bowing to the Bishop. Montauban was only a few miles from L’Isle Jourdain, the home of the Barrande estate. He visited once on his way to Toulouse during the Verdet uprising. He was indeed surprised to see that a man of the cloth from Montauban was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. “I am delighted to be in your presence.”

“But the delight is all mine”, answered the Bishop. “It is not everyday that this humble dwelling is visited by a most worthy Peer of France. I understand that you have elected for the military career while waiting for the years to pass and for your voice to be allowed in the esteemed body of the Pairs. I must say it is a most worthy choice.”

The bishop gestured for the soldier to take a seat, while a platter of fruit and bread was presented to him.

“Pray do tell us, how fares your career in the armed forces of our most noble King?”

Nathanaël took his seat, and picked an apple off the fruit platter. “I joined based on the recommendation of a fellow peer. A man like me could use military service under his belt. Though with France currently reeling from twenty years of war, there is not much the military can do for we do not have the manpower. My commanding officer, the Prince of Condé, has me testing out a rather odd idea for getting new recruits…” said the Comte. “Have more individuals donated to the Society?” asked the Comte biting into the apple afterwards.

The Bishop listened intently to the words of his young guest. The manners of Barrande were quite refined, a testimony to the countless émigrés who had managed to retain the best of France, its superior etiquette, even in exile.

“I feel a pique of disapproval toward that new method of recruitment. However, coming from his Highness, the Prince of Condé, it must retain an agreeable degree of morality. Please, do tell me more about it. As for the Society, I must say that I am quite surprised by the response from many in the Capital. However, no charitable organization will ever be able to meet all the needs caused by a major famine. The government will have to step it vigorously, which looks just as remote as … let us say something ludicrous as a Pole sitting on the Throne of St. Peter's one day.” remarked the bishop.

“Indeed, I have had little time to sit in the Chamber of Peers during debate, but from what I hear is coming out of the Palais du Luxembourg, the government has yet to make up their minds on the matter. There are people hungry and bureaucracy is going to starve them to death. As for the Prince of Condé’s plan for recruitment, it involves the theater. The General ordered myself and Colonel Gottolierd to create plays to draw in more recruits. It is a rather odd assignment, but it beats sitting around doing nothing, waiting for men to join up in the army.” said the Comte.

The Bishop smirked at the mention of the theater. “Quite decidedly, his Highness the Prince of Condé is a man of considerable industry. One can only hope that these plays will have the desired effect. This being said, what plagues the recruitment is most likely the absence of military-aged men in our beloved country, with so many lost to us through the ravages of 20 years of war. Might I inquire how your play is progressing?”

“The troupe I hired is rehearsing the play for when it is to be performed. All of the parts have been put together. All we need to do is put on the show.” said the Comte. “But you are right about the recruitment. The Republic and the Empire zapped most of our young bodies and has weakened our recruitment capabilities. It will take years before we can replenish our manpower. I hope that Marshall Saint-Cyr has some plan to help remedy this situation before we go to war again”. The Comte took a small piece of bread and looked at it. “My mother used to tell me that the Revolution started because the common folk could not get access to bread. All that madness, the death, the wars, all because people wanted to feed themselves and their families. The government refuses to learn from history, for the same thing is happening now.” said the Comte.

The Bishop’s face turned grave. “Indeed, the lack of bread always has the potential of being the spark which ignites the stores of gunpowder. As for the replenishment of our armed forces, I fear not that it shall be done in due time. After all, we are Frenchmen and France is the greatest kingdom in Europe. It will once again boast the best armies, I am quite sure. Hear me well, my young friend, for the country which will defeat us once, even less twice does not exist yet! Vive la France, mon cher ami” said the bishop. He then proceeded to a toast.
 
FIELD MARSHAL His Grace The Duke of Wellington, Knight of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order

BbOGqe7.jpg

Your Excellency M. de Valence,

I have received a letter from the Tsar, begging arbitration on the clause of the recent treatise, regarding the matter of claims. I am aware that M. de Richelieu declared, this previous September, that France could pay no more than 200 million francs in claims. I have viewed the documents with minute examination, and I have concluded that France will be obligated to endure the cost of 240 million fancs, and nor will I consider any further deliberation for the reduction of such an enumeration. I would ask that you accept, on behalf of His Catholic Majesty, that the Kingdom of France adds 12,040,000 francs of rentes [dividend payments on bonds] to your accounts of public debts, in addition to the nominal capital of 240 million francs. The distribution I have determined in detail, and thus I request, upon review and deliberation, that you give the consent of France.


Sincerely,
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Bills with scratched out lines are the revisions of His Majesty.
--


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On the council of our ministers, and the conviction of our persons, the laws hereafter listed are proposed to the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Peers.

AS a need exists for the expedient address of the status quo in which reform of and thereby restoration of stability in various sectors of the economy other relevant areas of French Society is undeniable, this Bill, seeking to encourage needed reform of the existing systems of economic discourse and thereby restore trust in trade practices and thereby growth in the economic systems, is hereby put to the Chamber for consideration:

§ I. Administration and Fiscal Appropriations
I. Roads in the Kingdom of France shall be divided into three categories; royal roads and infrastructure of general use, departmental roads, and local roads; the maintenance and construction of the first shall be the responsibility of the national government, the maintenance and construction of the second shall be the responsibility of the departmental government, the maintenance and construction of the third shall be the responsibility of the communal government.
II. A Seigniorage is to be established on all French currency and is to be levied and administered by the Ministry of Finance in the next Budget proposed by His Majesty’s Government.
III. The required surety to be payed by tax farmers if they fail to meet their obligations towards the French State, should, by act of the Ministry of Finance, be increased to incentivize adherence to the adhere to the demands and standards set out by the Finance Ministry.
IV. Tariffs on imported Industrial Goods produced in France shall be increased by the Ministry of Finance in the next Budget proposed by His Majesty’s Government.

§ II. Infrastructure and the Post Service
I. The Bridge and Road Service is hereby established under the purview of the Minister of the Interior and shall be tasked with the administration, construction and maintenance of Royal Roads and Infrastructure.
II. The Royal Postmaster is hereby encouraged to expand the Postal Service and Post Office establishments to all communes of France
III. The Bridge and Road Service is hereby encouraged to repair and reconstruct all Royal Roads and Infrastructure to acceptable levels for trade and regular use
IV. The Ministry of the Interior shall be authorized funds to be used for the purpose of repairing, refurbishing et c. bridges, docks, windmills, churches, water mills, granaries, government buildings, and bakeries in those regions, departments, and communes of France in which they are deemed necessary.
V. Utility Workmen Service shall be established under the purview of the Minister of the Interior and shall be tasked with administration and deployment of Utility Workmen for projects referred to in Articles II, III & IV of Paragraph II.
VI. Utility Workmen are unemployed men of good moral character and of the age of sixteen or higher who shall be tasked with the physical assistance of the Bridge and Road Service, Ministry of the Interior, and the Postal Service in (re)building, maintaining Royal Infrastructure and the Postal Network and other tasks deemed necessary and fruitful for the Utility Workmen and French Society by the Ministry of the Interior, supervised by specialists from the Bridge and Road, Ministry of the Interior and/or Postal Services with their tasks, until the full professionalisation of the Bridge and Road Service Construction Corps and new addition in Post Network and Post Offices has been completed and the Departments and Communes are able to bring construction and maintenance projects to a successful end.
VII. All Utility Workmen must be resident in the Department in which the work is taking place at the time that such works begin
VIII. Utility Workmen are paid in adequate food stuffs for them and their direct family for every day of work deemed adequately completed, the Utility Workmen who have completed all 6 workdays of the week adequately and have admirably completed their tasks shall be awarded a sunday wage of 2 francs.

§ III. Board of Trade & Banking
I. The Ministry of Finance shall establish a Board of Trade & Banking with its own responsible Undersecretary. It shall include respected Representatives from the Trade and Banking sectors.
II. The Board of Trade & Banking shall be charged with working to restore the workings of and trust in the aforementioned economic sectors.
III. This Board of Trade & Banking shall, with the consent of the Ministry of Finance, sell stable low-interest government bonds to reputable banks and other lending institutions to provide a trading fundament for those aforementioned institutions and exchange unfavourable state loans with such bonds.
IV. The Board of Trade & Banking shall advise the Ministry of Finance on the matters of import and export duties and tariffs to award the Ministry invaluable information on such matters and improve their ability to implement such measures.
V. The Board of Trade & Banking shall advise the Ministry of Finance on matters concerning the Compagnons du Tour France and shall investigate whether legislation is required and of what nature such legislation should be on the matter.

§ IV. Commission of Agriculture
I. The Ministry of Finance shall establish a Commission of Agriculture, until the food supply and food competition are restored to acceptable and stable levels in France.
II. The Commission of Agriculture shall be charged with the supplying areas of low food-self sufficiency in times of high food competition with enough foodstuffs to restore acceptable correlation between foodstuff supply and demand, thereby guaranteeing public peace & order.
III. The Commission of Agriculture shall advise the Ministry of Finance on matters of import tariffs on food stuffs, in order to prevent uncertainties and natural phenomena disturbing public peace & order through destruction of the status quo of peaceful food competition and the correlation of supply and demand of foodstuffs of French origin.
IV. The Commission of Agriculture shall also gather and disseminate through the Kingdom the best practices related to agriculture and the production of foodstuffs.
V. The Commission shall include administrators named named by the King and be selected from the merchant class, the farming estate owners, the clergy and the military.
VI. The Commission shall be tasked with the creation of maintenance of a Registre Agricole de France, which shall document the state of agricultural estates and fields.
VII. The Commission shall head inquiries in the various courts of Europe to find the most promising agricultural practices.
VIII. The Commission shall commission a report on the possibilities for the conversion of unused lands in the Kingdom toward agricultural production. The report shall be presented to the King no later than the fall of 1820.
A Bill advising His Majesty and His Majesty's Government to implement the following suggestions reforming the electoral system of France to ensure the stability of France and assure good advice and legislation by the elected lower Chamber for the betterment of France.

AS the current electoral law has been deemed unsatisfactory by His Majesty and His Government, as it has in the past cases displayed its inability in suggesting persons of high moral character and ability to serve in the advisory organs to His Majesty and His Government, this Bill, seeking to assure the good advice and legislation by the elected Chamber in the French Parliament, is hereby put to the Chamber for consideration:

I. All male citizens of the age of thirty or senior, who has paid a total of no less than 300 francs in direct taxes to the French Government in the last year, shall be awarded a direct vote in legislative elections, through participation in the Departmental Electoral College.
II. Sessions of the Departmental Electoral College are to be presided over by the President of the Electoral College, a male citizen of the age of thirty-five or senior, who has paid a total of no less than 300 francs in direct taxes to the French Government in the last year, is of good moral character. The President of the Electoral College is nominated by the King.
III. Every year a fifth of the Chamber of Deputies is to be renewed by departmental elections.
IV. The Legislative Election for the Chamber of Deputies shall be conducted as follows:
(1) The Departments for which deputies have to be nominated for service in the Chamber of Deputies shall organise an Electoral College in a suitable building in the Chef-lieu de département [En. Capital of the Department] or if no such building is available, the official residence of the Prefect.
(2) The Electoral College names its Secretary and Ballot Tellers.
(3) The Electoral College nominates the deputies required for service in the Chamber of Deputies.

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Notes:

All ministers have a bonus of +1 PP.

New bonuses in the next slate of laws.

Vote like this:

Electoral Law: Oui/No/Abstention
Reform and Stability Act: Oui/No/Abstention


[Profession]
[Party]
[Enter Bonus +1 PP/No Bonus]

- Name


[48 hours until voting closes. Bills may still be proposed for the next slate. Time will continue to move forward with new events. @Syriana give your response to Wellington. All characters should prepare for the upcoming Congress.]

 
Electoral Law: Oui.
Reform and Stability Act: Oui.

[Deputy].
[Doctrinaire].
[Downtrodden figurehead +1 pp].

"Monsiuer President,

The time for debate is now over and the time of action is finally here. I now urge every single Deputy to find it in their hearts to vote to put an end to this famine. To revive our economy. Do not become confined into partisanship and only vote no because of who proposed it, rather than its content. The people of France are starving and they need our help urgently. Do not let us err like the last session and cast the very nation into despair and crisis because you can't stomach a few details. Let us come together for the betterment of France and help the people. Therefor I wish you all too will vote for the Reform and Stability Act and approve of the upcoming budget.

Thank you President and friends".

Lothaire sat down again and were content that the two bills by Durand passed through to proposal with little ammendments. He were also happy to see that, for now, his gamble in embracing the Deputy of Gers's bill had stilled the front on that side and that he had not pressed the issue of the Church further and polarised the Chamber when they frankly had more important things to do - the battle for the Church status would come at a later point in the campaign. As for his repeal of the taxes he never pictured them getting into proposals, but it were intended to ruffle some feathers and make a statement. Lothaire would then pass a letter down the Doctrinaire bench to Durand and hoped to install some unity. Now he would sit down drink water and relax. Hopefully the bills would pass through without much effort in both Chambers, but he were ready to rise up and fight for it in this Chamber if it were needed.

((Private letter to @TJDS ))

Your excellency the Minister of Interior,

I hope you understand why I seemed to support the Deputy of Gers. It was not out of ideological support, but rather that I wished to stall discussions on what he brought up to let more pressing reforms pass through - and to prevent that he would propose radical proposals as he hinted he would do at the last session such as repaying the Church for its lost lands. For his election amendment I would only go to those lengths if we could not secure majority, but I doubt that would be the case. Also my initital critics of your bill were done with two things in mind. First since it was the first time I heard of it, I needed to be sure that it were done thorougly and for the better of the French economy. Now the most important part were to ask these questions early on in order to still the debate on that early on to ease its implementation.

For the next slate I must again ask you what are your plans for this? I don't want to sound like a needy or overly curious child, but I still believe we would come better out of it all if we work together and with a common front. Then no one will need to run a solo course, but can put on a united front - something I asked for even before the election.

For that I must ask you the status of the Church Lands. Is the Deputy of Gers correct in his assumptions of the nullification of the 1801 Concordant? If so can we still sell those lands? I have no law degree nor am I a member of the Cabinet so my knowledge on this matter is limited I must say. I also would like to ask when we can secure the position of the Veterans - if you are interested at all that is.

-Yours faithfully,

Capitaine e Deputée Lothaire Lécuyer.


 
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FIELD MARSHAL His Grace The Duke of Wellington, Knight of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order

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Your Excellency M. de Valence,

I have received a letter from the Tsar, begging arbitration on the clause of the recent treatise, regarding the matter of claims. I am aware that M. de Richelieu declared, this previous September, that France could pay no more than 200 million francs in claims. I have viewed the documents with minute examination, and I have concluded that France will be obligated to endure the cost of 240 million fancs, and nor will I consider any further deliberation for the reduction of such an enumeration. I would ask that you accept, on behalf of His Catholic Majesty, that the Kingdom of France adds 12,040,000 francs of rentes [dividend payments on bonds] to your accounts of public debts, in addition to the nominal capital of 240 million francs. The distribution I have determined in detail, and thus I request, upon review and deliberation, that you give the consent of France.


Sincerely,
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Addressed to the Field Marshal His Grace Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington,
Commander of the Army of Occupation of the European Alliance;

Your Grace,

Receipt is acknowledged of your communication of Tuesday last. His Majesty's Government is most grateful for the impartial arbitration of His Imperial Majesty, the Russian Emperor, and for the benevolent concession offered by His Grace. We shall undertake to accept the agreement enclosed within your previous letter. We would be grateful if His Grace or, if convenient, a representative appointed in his stead, would attend at the Palais d'Orsay to sign a new convention on behalf of the Alliance, the ratifications of which may then be exchanged via the relevant channels.


Please receive, Monsieur, this expression of distinguished sentiments,

His Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs


Marquis de Valence


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Electoral Law: Oui
Reform and Stability Act: Oui

[Peer et Ministre]
[Independent]
[Ministre des Affaires Étrangères, Préféré du Roi +3 PP]

- Séverin Maximilien, marquis de Valence
 
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((You have both @Syriana. Ministerial bonuses exist with personal bonuses.))