When the peasant first brings his corn to market, the magistrate in the towns obliges him to take the assignat at par; when he goes to the shop with this money, he finds it seven per cent the worse for crossing the way.
Edmund Burke: “When the peasant first brings his corn to market, the magistrate in the towns obliges him to take the assignat at par…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke illustrates the unfairness faced by rural peasants in economic transactions, highlighting the disparity between town and country.
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A few years ago I should be ashamed to overload a matter so capable of supporting itself by the then unnecessary support of any argument; but this seditious, unconstitutional doctrine is now publicly taught, avowed, and printed.
Those who are servants in name, as well as in effect, do not like to be told of their situation, their duty, and their obligations.
By adhering in this manner and on those principles to our forefathers, we are guided, not by the superstition of antiquarians, but by the spirit of philosophic analogy.
The people of England will not ape the fashions they have never tried, nor go back to those which they have found mischievous on trial.





