FRANCE. 



323 



vier ; Minister of War, C. de Freycinet ; Minis- 

 ter of Marine, Admiral' Krantz ; Minister of 

 Public Instruction, A. Fallieres ; Minister of 

 Public Works, Ives Guyot ; Minister of Agri- 

 culture, M. Faye ; Minister of the Interior, M. 

 Constans. 



Area and Population. The area of France 

 is 528,572 square kilometres, or 204,177 square 



miles. The population between Dec. 18, 1881, 

 May 30, 1886, increased from 37,672,048 to 



and 



38,218,903. The density per square mile is 

 187. There were 1,126,531 foreigners residing in 

 France in 1886, forming 2*97 per cent, of the 

 total population. Of these 482,261 were Bel- 

 gians, 264,568 Italian?, 100,114 Germans, 79,550 

 Spaniards, 78,584 Swiss, 37,149 Dutch, 36,134 

 English, 12,090 Austrians and Hungarians, 11,- 

 980 Russians, 10,253 Americans, and 62,977 from, 

 other countries. There were, moreover, 103,886 

 naturalized foreigners. The number of mar- 

 riages in 1888 was 276,848 ; of births, 924,709 ; 

 of deaths, 879,937 ; excess of births over deaths, 

 44,772, against 56,536 in 1887, 52,616 in 1886, 

 87,661 in 1885, and 78,974 in 1884. In 43 of 

 the 87 departments, notwithstanding the low 

 average death rate, which was 21 '9 per mille, the 

 deaths exceeded the births, and in all the rest, 

 except the Nord, Pas-de-Calais, and the Breton 

 districts, the population is almost stationary. 

 Foreigners contributed about one quarter of the 

 whole increase. The reports for 1889 record 

 272,000 marriages, 4,678 divorces, 880,000 births, 

 and 794.000 deaths. The death rate was lower 

 than in any year since 1874 ; the marriage rate, 

 7*1 per milk, was the lowest ever reported. Ac- 

 cording to the census of 1886, the population is 

 divided between the country and the towns in 

 the proportion of 64'05 and 35'95 per cent. Of 

 308,245 young men examined in 1888 for con- 

 scription in the army, 10'08 per cent, could not 

 read nor write. Education is compulsory and 

 free, and nearly all the children are now found 

 in the schools, which had 6,267,589 pupils in 

 1887, exclusive of 99,799 in the secondary schools. 

 The secular clergy of the Roman Catholic Church 

 numbered 50,437 in 1886, not counting 10,546 

 in ecclesiastical seminaries. There were 687 

 Protestant pastors and 56 Jewish rabbis. 



Commerce and Production. The amount 

 of the general commerce with foreign countries 

 and the colonies, which embraces all merchan- 

 dise entering and leaving France, including re- 

 exports, was 5,187,000,000 francs of imports and 

 4,298,000,000 francs of exports in 1888. The 

 special imports, confined to those intended for 

 domestic consumption, were valued at 4,107,- 

 000,000 francs, and the special exports, consist- 

 ing of domestic products only, at 3,246,000,000 

 francs. The special imports of food products 

 were 1,507,000,000 and the exports 727,000,000 

 francs ; the imports of raw materials were 2,028,- 

 000,000 and the exports 813,000,000 francs ; the 

 imports of manufactured articles were 579,000,- 

 000 and the exports 1,707,000.000 francs. The 

 wine imports, which were 518.000,000 francs 

 in 1886, went back to 438,000,000 francs. Fruits 

 receded from 128,000,000 to 64,900.000 francs. 

 The imports of cereals were 375,000,000 francs, 

 against 289,000,000 in 1887 and 262,000,000 in 

 18.86. The raw-wool imports were 329,000,000 

 francs, 3,000,000 francs more than in 1887, but 



58,000,000 francs less than two years before. 

 Raw silk showed a decline in the two years of 

 99,000,000 francs, the value in 1888 being 192,- 

 000,000 francs. The cotton imports were 158,- 

 000,000 francs, the smallest amount in five years 

 and 45,000,000 less than in the year previous. 

 The value of timber and wood was 166,000,000 

 francs; of hides and furs, 135,000,000 francs; 

 of oil seeds, 146,000,000 francs ; of coffee, 131,- 

 000,000 francs ; about the same as in 1887 ; of 

 coal, 143,000,000 francs, being more than in any 

 year since 1885 ; of cattle, 78,000,000 francs, the 

 same as in 1887, but only half as much as in 

 1884 ; of sugar, 78,000,000 francs, an advance 

 of 27,000,000 francs over the imports of 1887 ; of 

 woolen goods, 65,000,000 francs; of silks, 65,- 

 000,000 francs; of cotton textiles, 50,000,000 

 francs ; of flax, 69,000,000 francs. Among the 

 exports, woolen manufactures figure for 323,- 

 000,000 francs, against 350,000,000 in 1887 and 

 376.000,000 in 1886 ; silk manufactures for 223,- 

 000,000 francs, against 210,000 in 1887 and 242,- 

 000,000 in 1886; and cotton manufactures for 

 106,000,000 francs, against 118,000,000 francs in 

 1887 and 107,000,000 francs in 1883. The ex- 

 ports of wine amounted to 2*42,000,000 francs, 

 an increase of 8,000,000 francs in the preceding 

 year, but. less by 14,000,000 francs than in 1885 

 and by 18,000,000 francs than in 1886. Raw silk 

 and yarn are represented by 117,000,000 francs, 

 a decline in one year of 24,000,000 francs ; raw 

 wool and yarn, by 131,000,000 francs, an increase 

 of 11,000,000 francs. Articles under the head 

 of small wares were valued at 129,000,000 francs ; 

 leather goods, 135,000,000 francs; leather, 92,- 

 000,000 francs; linen manufactures, 87,000,000 

 francs ; metal wares and tools, 71,000,000 francs. 

 Taking these miscellaneous manufactures to- 

 gether, their sum varied little for three or four 

 years. The exports of butter and cheese were 

 valued at 91,000,000 francs; spirits, 65,000,000 

 francs ; refined sugar, 48,000,000 francs, a de- 

 cline of 9,000,000 francs; skins and furs, 63,- 

 000,000 francs ; chemicals, 46,000,000 francs. 



The imports from Great Britain of articles 

 destined for home consumption in 1888 were of 

 the value of 529,000,000 francs, against 476,000,- 

 000 francs in 1887 ; the exports of French prod- 

 uce to Great Britain were of the value of 864,- 

 000,000 francs, against 820,000,000 francs in the 

 preceding year. From Belgium the special im- 

 ports were 419,000,000 francs, compared with 

 414,000,000 francs; and the exports of French 

 goods to Belgium were 472,000,000 francs, as 

 compared with 481,000,000 francs. Spain fig- 

 ured for 378,000,000 francs of imports against 

 357,000,000 francs in 1887, and for 172,000,000 

 francs of exports, against 149,000,000 francs in 

 1887. The imports from the United States in- 

 creased from 272,000,000, francs in 1885 to 293,- 

 000,000 francs in 1886 and 325,000,000 francs in 



1887, and then fell off to 248,000.000 francs in 



1888, while the exports to the United States, 

 which sprang from 254,000,000 francs in 1885 to 

 282,000,000 francs in 1886, began then to decline 

 to 271,000,000 francs in 1887, and in 1888 fell to 

 256,000,000 francs. The imports from Germany 

 showed an increase of 11,000,000 francs from 

 322,000.000 francs in 1887, the amount to which 

 they had fallen from 374,000,000 francs in 1885. 

 yet on the export side there was a decrease of 



