FRANCE. 



385 



it was natural to render them independent, 

 and this is the fundamental principle of our 

 institutions." The speaker further said, "In 

 order that the liberty of the press may be a 

 benefit, it is necessary, in a country newly 

 constituted, that a new, vigorous, and inde- 

 pendent political generation should arise to re- 

 replace the minds enervated by revolutions." 

 At Marseilles, M. Behic, minister of agricul- 

 ture, commerce, and public works, announced 

 that the time approached when custom-dues will 

 be assessed, with a view to the financial inter- 

 ests of the country only. He also stated that 

 the completion of the whole system of railways 

 in France would be hastened. He likewise 

 promised the establishment of a new code of 

 commercial legislation, an extension of the right 

 of association, and an organization for profes- 

 sional tuition. The hopes raised by these prom- 

 ises were, however, not fulfilled. The laws 

 prohibiting more than twenty persons to as- 

 semble without previous permission, and those 

 concerning the press were enforced with the 

 usual rigor. The applications made for the au- 

 thority to establish new papers were almost al- 

 ways denied to men known to belong to the 

 Opposition. The Government also made an ef- 

 fort to undersell the independent papers, by the 

 establishment of a cheap evening edition of the 

 Noniteur. 



Important reforms have been carried through 

 in the postal department. The Noniteur states 

 that hi 1847, a few months before the postal re- 

 form of that period, the number of letters which 

 1 through the French post-office was 126,- 

 000,000 a year. It is now nearly 300,000,000. 

 In 1847 the receipts of the post-office were 

 53,287,190 fr. In 1863 they exceeded 72,000.- 

 000 fr. Hereafter all France will be divided 

 into six districts, with a resident inspector in 

 each, whose duty it will be to see that the pos- 

 tal service in his department is properly per- 

 formed, and to take measures for ensuring the 

 most rapid transmission of correspondence by 

 railway and other conveyances. The Jtfon iteur, 

 in conclusion, says that it is a decentralizing 

 measure, by which the improvement suggested 

 by experience may be introduced without pre- 

 vious arrangement with the central adminis- 

 tration. 



The Journal des Debats, referring to an of- 

 ficial blue-book 'lately published, with an ac- 

 count of the commercial transactions of France 

 in 1863, congratulates the country on its rapid 

 tendency, during the last three years, to ap- 

 proach the greatness of the commerce of Great 

 Britain. The amount of England's commercial 

 transactions in 1862 was stated at 9,500,000,000 

 of francs, while in 1863 that of France was 

 6,763,000,000. The difference is still about a 

 third to the disadvantage of France, but ten 

 years back it was more than one half. Com- 

 pared with the preceding year, the increase in 

 France during the year 1863, amounts to 814,- 

 000,000, and during the last five years the aug- 

 mentation amounts to 1,236.000,000. The 

 VOL. iv. 25 A 



commercial relations with the ports of 

 have made but little, and those with the French 

 colonies hardly any progress. The greatest 

 improvement has been in the commerce with 

 England. Two years before the reforms the 



Smeral commerce of France with the United 

 ingdom (of Europe) kept at the average of 

 1,000,000,000. The following is the progress 

 it has since attained: in 1860, 1,261,000,000; 

 1861,1,175,000,000; 1862,1,490,000,000; and 

 1863, 1,752,000,000. 



The most important events in the foreign 

 relations of France during the year 1864 were 

 the Convention of April 10th, which founded 

 the throne of Mexico, and that of September 

 15th, by which France agreed to withdraw 

 within two years her troops from Eome, while 

 Italy, in return, took the solemn engagement 

 not to attack it, and even to defend it against 

 ah" aggression from without. (See MEXICO and 

 ITALY.) The relations of France to the United 

 States during the year 1864 were thus reviewed 

 in the '' Yellow Book " (volume of diplomatic 

 correspondence), which was laid before the 

 Corps Legislatif in February, 1865 : " "War still 

 continues in the United States, and the indom- 

 itable resolution of the two belligerents does 

 not permit us now, any more than a year ago, 

 to see the end of this bloody and disastrous 

 struggle. The Government of the Emperor 

 has not departed from those principles of strict 

 neutrality which it has laid down as the rule 

 of its conduct since the commencement of the 

 war. Decided, so long as circumstances were 

 not more favorable, not to renew our efforts 

 to open a way to an understanding, we have 

 remained inactive but not indifferent specta- 

 tors of a conflict in which so much ruin is ac- 

 cumulated. We have thought it our duty to 

 turn our attention solely to the condition of 

 our French subjects, as worthy of our interest. 

 Owing to the peculiar situation of the Confed- 

 erate States of the South, with which we do 

 not keep up official relations, we can often do 

 nothing but register the claims of French sub- 

 jects in those States, reserving to ourselves 

 the right of enforcing them at some fitting op- 

 portunity. We have, at the same time, neg- 

 lected no means to bring the Federal Govern- 

 ment to admit that it ought, in strict equity, 

 to distinguish between those damages suffered 

 by our countrymen, resulting from military 

 operations, and those which the authorities, 

 by irregular and forced requisitions, have gra- 

 tuitously inflicted upon them : and we have 

 insisted that proper reparation should be grant- 

 ed for the latter injuries. We wish we could 

 add that our efforts had obtained the result we 

 were entitled to expect." 



On April 8th, 1864, an insurrection broke 

 out in the province of Oran, in Western Al- 

 geria, among the tribes of Ouled-Sidi-Sheikh, 

 Fraras, Flittas, and others. The chief cause 

 of it was said to be an old prediction that the 

 year 1864 would be a momentous one for the 

 Arabs the date of the recovery of their inde- 



