Interest paid to the company _per annum_ 48 000 000 Profits upon the general farms 15 000 000 Ditto upon the general receipt of other taxes 1 500 000 Ditto upon the tobacco 2 000 000 Ditto upon the mint 4 000 000 Ditto upon their trade 10 000 000 —————————— In all of yearly income 80 500 000 Now if we suppose the interest of money at 3 _per cent._ this sum would answer to the capital of 2664 millions, which was more than all the debts of the kingdom, for which they were to become answerable. Upon this view of the matter, I say, _it was possible_, that the Regent might form this plan, without any intention to defraud the creditors; and more I do not pretend to affirm. I have said that he purposely made the company raise the price of their actions, in order to draw more notes into circulation. To this it may be objected, that he might as well have paid off the creditors with bank notes, without going this round-about way to work; and have left them to purchase the actions directly from the company. I answer, that such an operation would have appeared too bare-faced, and might have endangered the credit of the bank. Whereas in buying the actions, which were run upon by every body, the state only appeared desirous of acquiring a share of the vast profits to be made by the company. Farther, As the company appeared willing to accept of bank notes from the state, in payment of their actions, this manœuvre gave an additional credit, both to the actions, and to the notes; a thing very necessary to be attended to, in a scheme which was calculated to bring about a total transformation of the security for the King’s debts. I must however observe, that at the period concerning which we are now talking, (viz. at the time the company promised the dividend of 200 livres _per_ action) the plan we have been describing could not have been carried into execution. There were at that time only 400,000 actions created, rated at 777 millions: of these were disposed of at least 250,000, to wit, the original 200,000; and the second creation of 50,000, sold for coin. Besides, there were then only coined in bank notes for 520 millions. So there was not a possibility of executing the plan I have mentioned, as matters then stood. It is from the subsequent operations of the system, that it appears evident that this and this only could be the intention. We shall see how the number of actions were multiplied, without any other view than to make the public imagine, that the funds necessary for carrying on the trade of the company were immense. The number of the actions sold to the public was very inconsiderable, compared with those sold to the Regent, and found in his hands at the blowing up of the system.