280 



FKANCE. 



traordinary expenditures. The budget for 1869, 

 as voted by the Senate and Legislative body, is 

 as follows: Regular receipts, 1,700,948,247; 

 specie budget, 272,959,763 ; extraordinary bud- 

 get, 102,882,787; total receipts, 1,995,404,666; 

 total of expenditures, 2,128,340,645; deficit, 

 132,935,979, which will be covered by a por- 

 tion of the loan of 440,500,000 francs. The 

 public debt, in 1868, amounted to 12,993,298,000 

 francs. The following details of the public debt 

 in May, 1868, given by a Paris writer, Louis Ple*e, 

 are interesting: "The public debt is divided 

 into three parts consolidated, reduced or con- 

 verted, redeemable debt, and life annuities. 

 The first (consolidated) is composed of four and 

 one-half, four, and three per cent, rentes. The 

 annual interest paid on the four and one-half 

 amounts to 37,453,098 francs ; on the four, to 

 not more than 446,096 francs; and on the 

 three, to not less than 305,900,742 francs ; total 

 interest of the funded debt, 343,799,936 francs. 

 The expense of the redeemable debt consists 

 in the interest of capital of which the state is 

 the depositary, such as caution-money, interest 

 on money borrowed annually for the service 

 of the Treasury, and periodical payments for 

 the redemption of dues, or for territory to for- 

 eign governments. The interest on caution- 

 money, of which the state is the depositary, 

 amounts to 8,700,000 francs, and which, at 

 three per cent., gives a capital of over 290,- 

 000,000 francs, and indicates the large number 

 of functionaries holding places for which they 

 give security. The interest of the floating debt 

 is 26,000,000 francs, or a capital of more than 

 866,000,000 francs at three per cent. The pe- 

 riodical payments, rents, or redevances, amount 

 to 248,832 francs for the Sound and Belt tolls, 

 and another of 20,000 francs to Spain. The 

 Dette Viag&re, or life annuity, is of several 

 kinds. It comprises fourteen articles, some 

 of them important. First, are the military 

 pensions, which amount to 45,000,000 francs; 

 the second, civil pensions, as fixed by the law 

 of the 9th of June, 1853, amounting to 52,455,- 

 000 francs; the third, retiring allowances, or 

 superannuation pensions, amounting to 5,500,- 

 000 francs. Then come gratuities to old sol- 

 diers of the first republic and empire, which 

 are set down at 2,700,000 francs; civil pen- 

 sions, fixed by the law of 1790 at 1,779,000 

 francs; yearly indemnities on the same account, 

 910,000 francs; pensions on the old civil list, 

 539,000 francs; pensions granted by way of 

 national recompenses, 508,000 francs ; pensions 

 on account of the Mont de Milan, 311,700 

 francs ; pensions of the great functionaries of 

 the empire, 288,000 francs ; and some other 

 less important items. The previous budgets 

 comprised the dotation of Marshal Pelissier, 

 but which ended with him. 



The army, according to the new law of 

 February 1, 1868, consists of the active army 

 and the reserve, each numbering four hun- 

 dred thousand men. The active army is com- 

 posed as follows 



A "Garde Rationale Mobile," which' will num- 

 ber about 550,000, was to cooperate for the de- 

 fence of fortresses, coasts, and frontiers. The 

 National Guard has a military organization, 

 and is placed under the Minister of War. It 

 comprises 250 battalions, having each eight 

 companies of 2,000 men, and 125 batteries of 

 200 men. Together, the active army, the re- 

 serve, and the National Guard number 1,350,- 

 000 men. 



According to the French "Blue Book," pub- 

 lished in January, 1869, the condition of the 

 army of France at the end of December, 1868, 

 was as follows : 



Total available military forces 1,028,980 



Number of regular troops 700,000 



Active army at home 378,852 



" in Algeria 64,531 



" in Italy 5,328 



Total in active service 448,712 



The French fleet, on July 1, 1868, was com- 

 posed as follows: Vessels afloat, 360; in the 

 course of construction, 92 ; the number of guns 

 was, on January 1, 1867, 6,784; the steamers 

 together had 706,241 horse-power. The ma- 

 rine force consisted of 72,403 men. Of the 

 condition of the fleet at the close of the year 

 the "Blue Book," published by the Govern- 

 ment in January, 1869, gave the following in- 

 formation : 



The fleet was composed on the 31st December, 1868, 

 of 430 vessels, of which 331 were steamers, with a 

 total of 76,165 horse-power. There are, besides, in 

 course of completion, afloat, seven others of 3,710 

 horse-power, and on the stocks 31 more of 12,405 

 horse-power, and one sailing transport. This total is 

 divided into two distinct portions, the first including 

 the vessels which form part of the new fleet, to "be 

 constituted in accordance with the programme in 

 course of execution since 1857 ; and the second, com- 

 posed of the remains of the old navy, considered un- 

 fit to take palace in the new, either directly or after 

 transformation. The new naval force, the only one 

 that constitutes the real maritime strength of the em- 

 pire, counts, as completed, 314 steamers and 10 sail- 

 ing-vessels. A table shows : 1. Iron-clads to the 

 number of 50, of various classes. 2. The unarmored 

 fighting-ships, 96 screw-steamers. 3. 91 small steam- 

 ers, dispatch-boats, tenders, etc. 4. Transports, 95^ 

 of various sizes ; and finally, the two training-schools, 

 one for gunners and the other for naval pupils. Or 

 the old fleet there still remain 17 steamers and 29 

 sailing-ships. 



The works undertaken for the enlargement of the 

 buildings and increase of the mechanical power in 

 the two founderies of Euelle and Nevers have been 

 actively pushed forward. In the latter place they are 

 very advanced ; in the former they may be considered 

 as terminated. These two establishments are now in 

 full course of fabrication of large artillery. 



The pieces of 19, 24 and 27 centimetres (7* to 104 



