AS'SIGNATS. After appropriating to national purposes the land belonging to the church, the French national assembly (see ASSEMBLY, NATIONAL), instead of bringing it into the market at a time of insecurity, when its value was depreciated, issued bonds on the security of it, which were called assignals, as representing land assigned to the holder. This paper-money consisted chiefly of notes for 100 francs Ge.,4) each, though many of them were for sums as low as ten or five francs, and even lower; and the first issue amounted to 400,000,000 francs. The fiegt A., which were issued in the spring of the year 1790, bore interest; but subsequent issues did not. The facility of this plan of pro viding government income led to its being repeatedly had recourse to, as the property of wealthy emigrants—persons who abandoned their country iu alarm—fell into the hands of the rulers, and was confiscated, till the amount rose to the enormous sum of 45,578,000,000 francs, besides a great number of forged A. manufactured abroad, and smuggled into the kingdom. The value of the A. naturally soon began to decline, and confidence once gone, the declension became fearful. In June, 1793, 1 franc in silver was worth 3 francs in paper; in Aug., it was worth 6. The state took the most extreme measures to compel the acceptance of A. at their full nominal value. The effects of these were to cause the A. to flow back into the public treasury, to raise the prices of all commodities, and to make every one averse to have any dealings with the state. One
of these consequences was attempted to be met by fixing a maximum of prices. But no one could compel producers and dealers to produce and sell at a loss; so that all busi ness became disorganized. At last the value of A. came almost to nothing. Millions of individuals had suffered incalculable loss, and only a few, who had bought public lands with the A. that cost them little or nothing, had enriched themselves at the expense of the community. In Mar., 1796, a Louis d'or (24 francs) brought 7200 francs in A. After this, they were withdrawn from the currency in 1796, and redeemed at of their nominal value, by mandats, a new kind of paper-money, which enabled the holder at once to take possession of public lands at the estimated value, while A. could only be offered at a sale. The mandats also soon fell to a seventieth of their nominal value, and were returned to government in payment of taxes or of land.
At length, in July, 1796, the system of paper-credit, so obstinately persisted in by government and so disastrous in its results to the public, came to an end. , A law was passed, declaring that every one was entitled to transact business in whatever circulat mg medium he pleased; that the mandats should be taken at their current value; and that the taxes be received either in coin or mandats at that rate. The A. were executed on a coarse kind of paper, and the devices were so meager as to be easily counter feited.