young’s TRAVELS IN FRANCE.

621

Perhaps, in the fyftem of their finances, there is no circumftance that fnews a declineof the real principles of their government, more than that of putting contraventions ofthe tobacco farm under the controul of the State inquifitors ; which mnift have beendone fmce M. de la Lande’s fecond edition, as he mentions exprelsly their having no-thing to do with the finances*. A conduct utterly ridiculous, in a fiate that once con-ducted itfelf with fo much dignity.

Even in the delicate article of imparting the privileges of the ariftocracy, to the no-bility of Terra Firma, by whom they are in general detefted, they have exhibited nodoubtful lymproms of weaknefs and want of policy. Reputation has been for manyyears the great fupport of their government; to manifeft therefore fuch a want of po-licy, as ftrikes the mod carelefs eye, is to fuffer in the tendered: point. In 1774, theyoffered gratis, a feat in the confvglio maggiore, to forty families, their iubjects, who poffefl-ed 1200I. a year in land ; provided there were four degrees of nobility, on the fide ofboth hufband and wife. Great numbers of families were eligible, but not ten in thewhole would agree to the propofal. To offer a fhare in the legiflature of fo celebrateda republic, which in paft periods would have been fought for with lingular avidity, andto fuffer the mortification of a refufal, u'as exhibiting a fign of internal weaknefs, and ofwant of judgment, adapted to reduce the reputation of their policy to nothing. Themotives for the refufal are obvious : thefe families mult of courfe remove to Venice ; thatis, to go from a city where they were old and refpeCfed, to another where they wouldbe new and defpifed. Their eflates alfo would not only fuffer from their abfence, butwould be fubject to new entails, and held by other tenures; no mortgage of them is al-lowable ; and they are fubjeCt to peculiar laws of inheritance. In addition to thefe dif-advantages, they are cut off from ferving foreign princes ; w'hereas the nobility of TerraFirma engage in fuch fervices. The Emperor’s ambaffador at Turin , is a fubjeCt of Ve-nice ; and one of the Pellegrini family, a field marfhal in his army. Nor did the noblemenof Terra Firma refufe the favour for thefe reafons alone ; they dreaded the pow'er w'hichthe State exerts over the noble Venetians, in fending them upon expenfive embaflies,in which they muff fpend the whole of their income, and, if that be not fufficient, con-tract debts to fupport themfelves ; for thefe reafons, and many others mentioned to me,which I did not equally underhand, the government might have known before they madethe offer, that it would fubject them to the difgrace of a refufal. Long before the pe-riod in queftion, confiderable additions had been made to nobles of Venice, from theTerra Firma, but thefe honours were paid for ; the price 17,000k fterling; 7000k incafh, and 10,cool, lent to the State in perpetuity.

It is a curious circumftance, w'hich marks undeceivingly the general features of theVenetian government, that about forty years ago, as well as at other periods, there werenegociations between the Court of Vienna and the Venetians, relative to an exchangeof territory ; the diftri£t of Crema was to have been given by Venice, for apart of theGhiara d’Adda ; the rumour of which filled the people of the latter with the greatefl ap-prehenfions; they felt even a terror, at the idea of being transferred to the governmentof Venice ■, knowing, certainly, from their vicinity, that the change would be for theworfe. This afcertains the comparative merit of two governments, that one is lefs badthan the otner.

Upon the whole it may be remarked, that the wifdom of the Venetian governmentflows entirely from its interior organization, which is admirably framed; but abufes, infpite of this, have multiplied fo much, that the firff real fhock that happens will overturn

* Voyage en Italic, tom. vii. p. 7.

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