rs on
account of this and submits to it only because he is obliged to. If the
operation is performed on him by other hands he submits to it willingly
or not. But that he should do it himself, spontaneously and with his own
hands, it is not to be thought of. On the other hand, the collection of
a direct tax according to the prescriptions of distributive justice, is
a subjection of each taxpayer to an amputation proportionate to his bulk
or, at least, to his surface; this requires delicate calculation and is
not to be entrusted to the patients themselves, for, not only are they
surgical novices and poor calculators, but, again, they are interested
in calculating falsely. They have been ordered to assess their group
with a certain total weight of human substance, and to apportion to
each individual in their group the lighter or heavier portion he must
provide. Everyone will soon understand that, the more that is cut
from the others, the less will be required of him. And as each is more
sensitive to his own suffering, although moderate, than to another's
suffering, even excessive, each, therefore, be his neighbor little or
big, is inclined, in order to unjustly diminish his own sacrifice by an
ounce, to add a pound unjustly to that of his neighbor.

Up to this time, in the construction of the fiscal machine, nobody knew
or had been disposed to take into account such natural and powerful
sentiments; through negligence or through optimism, the taxpayer had
been introduced into the mechanism in the quality of first agent; before
1789, in the quality of a responsible and constrained agent; after 1789,
in the quality of a voluntary and philanthropic agent. Hence, before
1789, the machine had proved mischievous, and after 1789, impotent;
before 1789, its working had been almost fatal,[3215] and after 1789
its returns scarcely amounted to anything.[3216] Finally, Napoleon
establishes independent, special and competent operators, enlightened
by local informers, but withdrawn from local influences. These are
appointed, paid and supported by the central government, forced to
act impartially by the appeal of the taxpayer to the council of the
prefecture, and forced to keep correct accounts by the final auditing of
a special court (cour des comptes). The are kept interested, through
the security they have given as well as by commissions, in the integral
recovery of unpaid arrears and in the prompt returns of collected taxes.
All, asses