290 



FLORIDA. 



FRANCE. 



hope that it may never be expunged from the stat- 

 ute books of the State, nor the principle it em- 

 bodies be torn from the hearts of our people ; that 

 the convention expresses the emphatic hope that 

 the State will never relax its efforts in the cause of 

 education till every child within its limits shall 

 have had opportunity to secure the rudiments of a 

 sound knowledge of the English language and the 

 principles of business, without distinction of race, 

 color, or previous condition, but always and at all 

 times in separate buildings, and with different 

 teachers." 



A proposition to refer all nominations of State 

 officers to primary elections was defeated by a vote 

 of 180 to 165. Following is the ticket : For Govern- 

 or, William D. Bloxham ; Secretary of State, John 

 L. Crawford ; Attorney-General, William B. Lamar ; 

 Comptroller, William H. Reynolds: Treasurer, Clar- 

 ence B. Collins; Superintendent of Public Instruc- 

 tion, William N. Sheats; Commissioner of Agricul- 

 ture, Lucius B. Wombwell ; Justice Supreme Court, 

 Milton H. Mabry. 



The Republican State Convention for electing 

 delegates to the national convention was held at 

 Tallahassee in March. The so-called " organized " 

 faction of the party outnumbered the so-called 

 " lily-whites," and the latter left the convention 

 after the report of the Committee on Credentials 

 in reference to contesting delegations, and organized 

 in a separate convention. Both factions selected 

 delegates to the national convention, the former 

 being in favor of McKinley, the latter of Morton, 

 and both adopted resolutions expressing sympathy 

 with the Cubans. The convention of the so-called 

 " lily-whites " for nomination of State officers was 

 held at Ocala in May. The following ticket was 

 made : For Governor, E. R. Gunby ; Secretary 

 of State, H. S. Chubb ; Superintendent of Public 

 Instruction, I. E. Webster; Treasurer, Philip Wal- 

 ter; Judge of Supreme Court, George M. Robbins; 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, E. E. Skipper ; Comp- 

 troller, T. T. Munroe : Attorney-General, Stephen 

 E. Foster ; for Congressman from First District, E. 

 K. Nichols ; for Congressman from Second District, 

 H. G. Garrett. 



At a convention in Ocala, July 8, the " organ- 

 ized " faction nominated as follows : For Governor, 

 George W. Allen ; Superintendent of Instruction, 

 Byron F. Marsh ; Treasurer, W. A. Allen ; Justice 

 of the Supreme Court, Thomas E. Wilson ; Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture, James Harden ; Comp- 

 troller, John McDougall; Attorney-General, William 

 B. Sheppard; Congress, Second District, J. N. 

 Stripling. 



The ticket finally put in the field was made np 

 from these two, and was as follows : For Governor, 

 E. R. Gunby ; Secretary of State, T. F. McGourin ; 

 Attorney-General, William B. Sheppard ; Treasurer, 

 W. A. Allen ; Comptroller, John McDougall ; Su- 

 perintendent of Public Instruction, Byron F. Marsh ; 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, Henry S. Chubb; 

 Justice of the Supreme Court, Thomas E. Wilson. 



The Populists, in their convention at Ocala in 

 August, chose the following candidates: For Gov- 

 ernor, William A. Weeks; Secretary of State, J. C. 

 Keller; Comptroller, !'. \V. Knapp : Treasurer, L. 

 1 1. ( 'ohoon ; Attorney-General, Frank Harris ; Judge 

 of the Supreme Court, D. L. McKinnon : Superin- 

 tendent of Public Instruction, 0. N. Williams ; Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture, J. F. Richbourg. 



Arthur C. Jackson was the candidate of the Pro- 

 hibitionists for Governor. They made no other 

 nominations. 



The gold Democrats held a State convention at 

 Jacksonville in August. Seventeen counties were 

 represented. A State committee was selected, and 

 delegates chosen to the national convention. Reso- 



lutions were adopted approving the financial policy 

 of the Cleveland administration, approving gold as 

 a standard of values, condemning the attack of the 

 Chicago convention on the Supreme Court, and ex- 

 pressing sympathy with the Cubans. 



The campaign was very spirited, the interest cen- 

 tering largely in the choice of State legislators. 

 Senator Call refused to recognize the State Executive 

 Committee, and stumped the State upon his own 

 account, denouncing corporations and advocating 

 free silver. In many places where the regular 

 Democratic nominees were against him, his friends 

 made independent nominations. The Democratic 

 candidate for Governor also made speeches through 

 the State in favor of free silver. 



Nov. 2 the chairman of the State committee 

 issued an address to the Populists of Florida, in 

 which he denounced the silver Democrats, declared 

 for McKinley, and urged all Populists in the State 

 to follow his lead. He declared the silver Demo- 

 crats had treated the Populists with the utmost dis- 

 respect and would not only not adhere to the Chi- 

 cago platform, but would knife the Populist party 

 as soon as the opportunity presented itself. 



At the October election all the Democratic can- 

 didates were chosen. The vote for Governor stood : 

 W. D. Bloxham, Democrat, 27,172; E. R. Gunby, 

 Republican, 8,290; \V. A. Weeks, Populist, 5,270. 



At the November election Bryan received 32,213 

 votes; McKinley, 11,389; Palmer, 1,778; Levering, 

 868. 



FRANCE, a republic in western Europe, pro- 

 claimed Sept. 4. 1870, upon the deposition of the 

 Emperor Napoleon III, and declared permanent in 

 the Constitution of June 16, 1873. The President 

 of the republic is elected for seven years by an ab- 

 solute majority of the National Assembly, consist- 

 ing of both chambers united in Congress. There 

 are 300 Senators elected for nine years, one third 

 retiring every third year. They are elected by 

 commissions in the several departments and colo- 

 nies, consisting of delegates chosen by the munici- 

 pal councils of the communes and the Deputies and 

 members of the council-general and district coun- 

 cils of the department. There are 584 Deputies, 1 

 to 70,000 of population, elected by scriitin d'arron- 

 dissement, those arrondissements which have over 

 100,000 inhabitants returning two Deputies. The 

 President appoints a ministry from the Chamber, 

 the members of which are usually selected by the 

 leader, whom the President commissions to form a 

 Cabinet. The ministers are jointly responsible to 

 the chambers for the general policy of the Govern- 

 ment and individually for their personal acts. 



The President of the Republic is Francois Felix 

 Faure, born in 1841, who was elected on Jan. 17, 

 1895, President Casimir-Perier having resigned. 

 The Cabinet in the beginning of 1896 was composed 

 of the following ministers: President of the Coun- 

 cil and Minister of the Interior, Leon Bourgeois ; 

 Minister of Finance, Paul Doumer ; Minister of 

 Foreign Affairs, M. Berthelot; Minister of War, 

 Godefroy Cavaignac; Minister of Marine. M. Lock- 

 roy; Minister of Justice, M. Ricard ; Minister of 

 Public Instruction and Worship. M. Combes ; Min- 

 ister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs. 

 M. Mesureur; Minister of Public Works, M. Guyot- 

 Dcssaigne ; Minister of Agriculture, Albert Viger; 

 Minister of the Colonies, Pierre Paul Guieyesse. 



Area and Population. France has an area of 

 204.092 square miles. The population present at, 

 the taking of the census of April 12. 1891, was )!S.- 

 095,170. Owing to a low birth rate, the popula- 

 tion of France increases more slowly than in other 

 countries of Europe, and between 1886 and 1891 was 

 almost stationary, the annual rate of increase being 

 6-5 in 10,000 and the average number of births to a 



