FKANCE. 



335 



only bo cnllc.l together to take up arms. 8. The 

 Mttnal Guard Mobile, formed of tho aoldicra of 



..niiv, ui those of tlu reserve who baTo 



..I of tho exonerated, 



ho liable to be calU-.l mt. It -A ill l,e 



! out by virtue of 11 medal law, mnl 



absence of 'tin- C.-rps Legislatif, by an ira- 



G, h will !>.- runverteil nil.i l;i\v (In- 

 .mil Guard Mobile will 

 it will ! ronijioscd in 



great part t>; i^'d, clothed, and 



iLisen cadres will suflice 



"t and disciplined corps. The ser- 



lines will be scarcely any thing, t'"r 



.Teat part comprehend only old soldiers 



who v* !> t'f l)oiin.l to :i painful ap- 



.1 in time of peace from 



ion. The men of the National Guard 



i.irth, in time of peace, be able to 



consider themselves as liberated from the burden of 



" i triage is authorized at any period 



^nch is the general plan of the meas- 



Supposing that out of the 326,000 Frenchmen 



who everv year attain the age of twenty, 160,000 of tho 



most valid are taken, 60,000 men will be left for the 



army, and as many for the reserve. Deduc- 



ade of the legal exemptions, of ordinary losses, 



of diminutions of all kinds, each class at the end of 



six years will give the following results : 



Active army 417,483 soldiers. 



Reserve of the 1st ban 212,873 " 



.-rveofthe2dban 212,873 " 



:ioiial Guard Mobile.... 889,986 " 



Total 1,232,215 soldiers. 



The publication produced throughout Franco 

 tho greatest dissatisfaction, and many of tho 

 most prominent men of the Conservative party 

 remonstrated against it. Tho Government, to 

 liato public opinion, declared that the plan 

 would be considerably modified. 



On December 1st the gold medal, purchased 

 in Frnnce by subscription for Mrs. Lincoln, was 

 v<l by the committee into the hands of 

 Mr. Higelow, at the United States legation. 

 Mr. 15igelow was at the same time requested 

 t take charge of tho following letter to Mrs. 

 Lincoln : 



>f ADAMR : We are charged to present you with the 

 medal struck in honor ofthe great man whose name 

 yoa bear, at the desire of upward of 40,000 French 

 citizens, who wih to manifest their sympathy for the 

 American Union by a tribute of respect to the mem- 

 ory of one of its purest and most illustrious rep- 

 resentatives. If France possessed the liberties that 

 America enjoys, it is not by thousands but by millions 

 that the admirers of Lincoln would be counted. 



Pray accept, madamc, the homage of our profound 

 respect. 



Th Mtmbtrt of tfo Committee : Albert, ancien 

 membre du gonvernement provisoire ; Arago (Etien- 

 ne), ancien representant du peuple; Barni (J.), pro- 

 .r a 1' Academic de Geneve; Blanc (Louis), 

 ancien membre du gonvernement provisoire ; Chas- 

 sin (Ch.-L.), homme de lettrcs; Cbauffour-Kestncr 

 ( Victor), ancien representant du peuple ; Delord 

 (Taxile), r6dacteur de YAvenir National ; Despoia 

 (Eugene), professcur libre; Greppo, aucien repr6- 

 t du peuple; Hugo (Victor), ancien repre- 

 it du peuple; Joigneaux (Pierre), ancien 

 representnnt du peuple; Kneip (Louis), ouvrier en 

 i-iano*; Laurent-Pichat (L.), homme de lettres; 

 Littre, membre de 1'Institut; Mangin (Victor), re- 

 dacteur en chef du Pharede la Loire; Michclet 

 (JA membrode 1'Institut ; Pelletan (Eugene), d6pute 

 de la Seine ; Quinet (Edgar), ancien repr6sentaut du 



ncuplc; Schoolchcr (Victor), ancien iou*>ecretairc 

 d'etat au ministere du la marine, ancien rcpresenUnt ; 

 Thomas (A), ancien directeur du Rational. 



In jin.'sontiiitf the above letter and medal, 

 M. .\lln-rt, member of the Provisional Gov- 

 ernment ol'184, addressed Mr. Bigelow as fol- 

 lows : 



We thank you, sir, for having taken upon your- 

 self to transmit to Mrs. Lincoln the gold medal which 

 French citizens desire to present to her. This medal 

 is a homage rendered to the illustrious President for 

 whom she mourns, a testimony of admiration for 

 the man who immortalized himself in the service of 

 the great Ucpublic ofthe United States, and a thank- 

 offering due to him from all defenders of liberal and 

 democratic views throughout the world. We are 

 happy to think, sir, that Mrs. Lincoln will receive 

 tins medal from yonr hand, and we beg you to ac- 

 cept the expression of our warm sympathy for the 

 great nation which you have the honor to represent. 



Mr. Bigelow warmly thanked the committee 

 for their sympathy with tho American Re- 

 public. The following is the reply of Mrs. Lin- 

 coln: 



CHICAGO, January 8, 1867. 



GENTLEMEN: I have received the medal yon have 

 sent me. I cannot express the emotion with which 

 this proof of the sentiments of so many thousands 

 of your countrymen fills me. So marked a testimony 

 to the memorv of my husband, given in honor of hu> 

 services in tfie cause of liberty, by those who in 

 another land work for the same great end, touches 

 me profoundly, and I beg you to accept, for your- 

 selves and those whom you represent, my most 

 grateful thanks. I am, with the profoundest respect, 

 your most obedient servant, 



MARY LINCOLN. 



The most notable features in the foreign policy 

 of France during the year 1866, were the nego- 

 tiations with the United States, concerning the 

 withdrawal of the French troops from Mexico. 

 The Government of the United States was in- 

 cessant in urging upon the French emperor a 

 speedy evacuation of Mexico. The French Gov- 

 ernment, in a note of January 9th, assured the 

 Government of the United States that it hoped 

 that the object of the French expedition 

 would soon be attained, and that it was en- 

 deavoring to conclude with the Emperor Maxi- 

 milian an arrangement which would satisfy 

 the interests and the honor of France, and per- 

 mit her, at the same time, to regard the mission 

 of tho French army in Mexico as terminated. 

 A declaration to the same effect was made 

 by the emperor, on January 22d, in tho speech 

 from the throne, on opening the Corps Le'gis- 

 latif. On April 5th, the Moniteur announced 

 that the emperor had resolved that the return 

 of the French troops should take place in 

 November, 1866, and in May and November, 

 1807. Subsequently the minister of the United 

 States in France was suddenly informed that 

 the French Government had found it, from mil- 

 itary reasons, impossible to withdraw the first 

 instalment of tho troops in November, but that 

 it would hasten the evacuation of Mexico, and 

 probably complete it before the time stipulated. 

 In December all tho necessary preparations for 

 bringing back the whole of tho expeditionary 

 forces were greatly accelerated, and the evacu- 



