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179 - Marc-Denis-Maurice VATAR-DESAUBIEZ (1768–1836), former capta…
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Estimate €300 - €400
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Description
Marc-Denis-Maurice VATAR-DESAUBIEZ (1768–1836), former captain of the hussars. Letter from the author, Château-Thierry, 6 June 1831, to a marshal; 3 pages, quarto. On the grain trade. [Vatar-Desaubiez published a work on this subject in 1822: ‘Considerations on Public Economy Regarding the Grain Trade, or Ways of Reconciling the Interests of the State, Landowners and the People with those of Trade’]. As mayor of Nogent l’Artaud (Château-Thierry district), he sets out his views on the grain trade to a marshal under whose command he had served. In order to ‘remedy many disorders and instances of great financial waste, which always fall largely upon the poorest taxpayers’, he proposed ‘maintaining a reserve of grain as a counterweight, ready to be brought into play in the balance of such diverse public interests, to maintain a certain equilibrium against rises or falls in the price of this essential commodity. The main aim of this counterbalance would be to promote the prosperity of agriculture through public purchases ordered in years when wheat is at rock-bottom prices’, and would enable the government ‘to export our cereals without fear of exposing itself to the slightest danger’, without having to grant permissions to private individuals. ‘It would enable us to occupy the leading position in the general European market, by virtue of our geographical position at the centre 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 localities and at the main points along the navigable waterways. […] At the same time, they would serve as ready-made supplies in the event of war’. As regards 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, the universities, the clubs or the press that I claim to be putting forward; 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 present government and of all wise men’…
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About the sale Letters and Autograph Manuscripts – Part I
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Auction time 10/13/2026 at 2:00 PM
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