Lozere, 229. (Speech by Napoleon, Council of State, May 29,
1804.)--Pelet adds: "The duration of the service was not fixed.... As
a fact in itself, the man was exiled from his home for the rest of his
life, regarding it as a desolating, permanent exile.... Entire sacrifice
of existence.... An annual crop of young men torn from their families
and sent to death."--Archives nationales, F7, 3014. (Reports of
prefects, 1806.) After this date, and even from the beginning, there
is extreme repugnance which is only overcome by severe means.. ..
(Ardeche.) "If the state of the country were to be judged of by
the results of the conscription one would have a poor idea of
it."--(Ariege.) "At Brussac, district of Foix, four or five individuals
arm themselves with stones and knives to help a conscript escape,
arrested by the gendarmes.... A garrison was ordered to this
commune."--At Massat, district of Saint-Girons, on a few brigades of
gendarmes entering this commune to establish a garrison, in order to
hasten the departure of refractory conscripts, they were stoned; a shot
even was fired at this troop.... A garrison was placed in these hamlets
as in the rest of the commune.--During the night of Frimaire 16-17 last,
six strange men presented themselves before the prison of Saint-Girons
and loudly demanded Gouaze, a deserter and condemned. On the jailor
coming down they seized him and struck him down."--(Haute-Loire.)
"'The flying column is under constant orders simultaneously against the
refractory and disobedient among the classes of the years IX, X, XI,
XII, and XIII, and against the laggards of that of year IV, of which
134 men yet remain to be supplied."--(Bouches-du-Rhone.) "50 deserter
sailors and 84 deserters or conscripts of different classes have been
arrested."--(Dordogne.) "Out of 1353 conscripts, 134 have failed to
reach their destination; 124 refractory or deserters from the country
and 41 others have been arrested; 81 conscripts have surrendered as a
result of placing a garrison amongst them; 186 have not surrendered.
Out of 892 conscripts of the year XIV on the march, 101 deserted on the
road."--(Gard.) "76 refractory or deserters arrested."--(Landes.) "Out
of 406 men who left, 51 deserted on the way," etc.--This repugnance
becomes more and more aggravated. (Cf. analogous reports of 1812 and
1813, F7, 3018 and 3019, in "Journal d'un bourgeois d'Evreux," p. 150 to
214, and "Histoire de 1814," by Henry Houssaye, p.8 to 2