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The third estate of the electoral district of Carcassonne, desiring to give to a beloved monarch, and one so worthy of our affection, the most unmistakable proof of its love and respect, of its gratitude and fidelity, desiring to cooperate with the whole nation in repairing the successive misfortunes which have overwhelmed it, and with the hope of reviving once more its ancient glory, declares that the happiness of the nation must, in their opinion, depend upon [Page 398] that of its king, upon
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While the cahiers conveyed the grievances of common people, they were not meant as a direct challenge to the Old Regime. They were instead suggestions of reforms.
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Among the three Estates, the Second Estates cahiers were possibly the most surprising. Many of them proved to be quite liberal in their opinions, 89% voting that they were willing to give up their financial privileges. Where, up until then, they had been against the idea of the commoners entering their ranks (as shown by the Segur Ordinance), they were finally accepting of the fact that academic merit, rather than the position held by a man because of his birth, should be the requirements to hol
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The cahiers of the Third Estate spoke out mainly against the financial privileges held by the two other Estates. They were both exempt from most taxes such as the church tithe and the taille (the main direct tax). They also wanted to have a fair voting system in the Estates-General. At the moment, they would be outvoted by the other two orders, who would combine their votes on any issue that suited them. They had double representation (600, rather than 300 members representing them), but each es
