THE FATE OF I CIO DO RUM. 199 



own any sort of vehicle wheelbarrow, cart, wagon, 

 barouche, carriage, or droschke unless said ve- 

 hicle was made in all its parts at Issoire, and bore 

 the signature of the mayor and the seal of the 

 Common Council. This saved the city many 

 thousands of francs, for, now that the people no 

 longer drove over to Clermont, the Clermont mer- 

 chants sent goods to Issoire; and when they 

 entered the gates, the Clermont people paid the 

 charges of the octroi. 



When the first Issoire wagon was finished, the 

 maker had put such a high price upon it that no 

 one would buy, and the reviving industry began 

 to faint again. The wagon-maker said that he 

 could n't help it. Unless he could in some way 

 get wood and nails at special prices, his wagons 

 would be out of the reach of all buyers. A few of 

 the Common Council were in favor of releasing the 

 wagon-maker from the octroi on articles used in 

 the manufacture of wagons ; but the rest were un- 

 willing to do this, because to buy these materials 

 outside is another drain on the prosperity of a 

 town. At last they arranged a compromise, by 

 which the city gave an order for a new street- 

 sprinkler and twelve rubbish-carts, to be paid for 

 from the public treasury. They had no need for a 

 new sprinkler then, and five rubbish-carts would 

 have been enough. But a liberal order like this 

 made the wagon-maker contented, and a generous 

 policy was necessary to start anew the wheels of 

 trade, which, in spite of all their care, were fre- 

 quently becoming clogged. 



Once more the treasury was nearly empty. 



