310 



FRANCE. 



indemnity due to other foreigners was like- 

 wise unpaid. President Grant, in his last mes- 

 sage to Congress, recommended it to take legis- 

 lative action on this matter. Congress, how- 

 ever, had not moved yet. In conclusion, the 

 Duke Decazes said he had full confidence in 

 the good faith of the American Government. 



On August 2d the bill constituting the Sen- 

 ate was passed in the Assembly by 559 against 

 73 votes. 



The Channel Tunnel bill was likewise passed. 

 This bill sanctions the convention signed be- 

 tween M. Caillaux, Minister of Public Works, 

 and M. Michel Chevalier, representing the 

 French company for constructing a tunnel 

 under the Channel. The convention is sub- 

 stantially as follows : 



The company undertakes within five years at the 

 utmost to expend on French territory a minimum 

 sum of 2,000,'000 francs in investigations, experi- 

 ments, etc. At the expiration of five years it will 

 have the right of abandoning or retaining the con- 

 cession. It is bound to come to an understanding 

 with an English company furnished with the neces- 

 sary powers to insure the construction and working. 

 The period allowed for the execution of the work is 

 fixed at five years. The term of the concession will 

 be ninety-nine years from the opening of the under- 

 taking. The French Government pledges itself to 

 authorize no other tunnel between France and Eng- 

 land for thirty years from the opening. The com- 

 pany has thus a monopoly of thirty years. These 

 conditions have been submitted to Lord Derby, who 

 declared he had no objection to them. The French 

 company has been formed, and the 2,000,000 francs 

 subscribed in 400 shares of 5,000 francs each. The 

 chief-engineers of the enterprise will probably be 

 Mr. Hawkshaw on the English side, and M. Lavally, 

 the general contractor of the Suez Canal, on the 

 French side. The estimate of the cost of the sub- 

 marine tunnel has been calculated according to the 

 outlay on French railways as regards everything ap- 

 plicable to the tunnel. The tariff per kilometre has 

 been considerably raised, but, as the tunnel will 

 have to compete with navigation, the tariff will ne- 

 cessarily be governed by the convenience of the 

 public. 



The Bern Postal Convention was approved 

 by the National Assembly on August 3d. 



The Assembly adjourned on August 4th. 



On the prorogation to November 4th being 

 declared, a cry of " Vive la republique! " was 

 raised on the Left benches, which were less 

 deserted than the Right. The Committee of 

 Permanence, which consists' of twelve depu- 

 ties of the Right, two of the Lavergne group, 

 and eleven of the Left, met immediately after 

 the dispersion of the Assembly and resolved 

 to meet on August 19th, and, as heretofore, 

 every Thursday fortnight during the vacation. 

 At a meeting of the Left Centre on August 

 3d, M. Laboulaye, the President, delivered a 

 speech which produced a great impression, 

 and- was the absorbing topic of discussion 

 in the lobbies of the Assembly. Looking 

 back on the past six months, he declared 

 that the session had been a good one for the 

 country. Last January France had not ex- 

 tricated herself from the provisoire which 

 had enervated it for four years, the future 



was uncertain, and the Government without 

 strength ; but, thanks to the patriotism of a 

 certain number of the Right Centre, and to 

 the cooperation of the Left, the provisoire had 

 been condemned, the chimera of the Septen- 

 nate had vanished, and the republic had been 

 recognized as the Government of France. By 

 assuring to the country the only Government 

 all parties may accept, men's minds had been 

 soothed and public uneasiness has been dis- 

 pelled ; France thus gained hope and pros- 

 perity. Describing the constitution as a com- 

 promise, constitutional monarchists, he said, 

 had returned with confidence to a system 

 which they had always regretted, while Re- 

 publicans had given it a democratic form by 

 instituting a presidency and maintaining uni- 

 versal suffrage. 



The Bonapartists in Paris celebrated the 

 15th of August, the Fete Napoleon, with their 

 customary mass at the Church of St.-Augus- 

 tine. The weather was fine, and the attend-, 

 ance of the faithful a fair one. There was no 

 attempt at demonstration beyond the wearing 

 of violet-flowers and immortelles. M. Rouher, 

 the Duke de Mouchy, and the Duke de Padoue 

 were conspicuous by their presence, but the as- 

 semblage, on the whole, was less distinguished 

 than usual. About 1,500 persons in all were 

 present. The demonstration passed off in the 

 most pacific manner, not even the faintest cry 

 of any sort being raised. 



A Bonapartist banquet was held at Evreur 

 on September 5th, at which a letter was read 

 from Admiral Baron de la Ronciere-le-Noury, 

 the commander of the French Mediterranean 

 squadron. This letter, dated on board the 

 Magenta, September 2d, was afterward pub- 

 lished in the Courrier de VEure, and created 

 great excitement and violent comment among 

 all supporters of the constitution. The admi- 

 ral says his constant desire is to associate him- 

 self with every manifestation looking to the 

 union of the Conservative party. He says: 

 "He is a Conservative in my eyes, ^vhat- 

 ever faction he may belong to, who repudi- 

 ates the doctrine of the Revolutionists of the 

 4th of September, and of their sectaries." 

 This passage and the following were bitterly 

 attacked by the Republican and Orleanist jour- 

 nals : " I shall not cease to be the devoted 

 servant of the Government of Marshal MacMa- 

 hon so long as he shall not be borne outside 

 of the conservative paths in which to-day he 

 is concentrating his most ardent efforts. But 

 I assert that when the moment comes France 

 should become free to choose, and thus once 

 more take her place among the European 

 hierarchy, which is denied her by her present 

 form of government." On hearing of the 

 publication of the letter, Marshal MacMahon 

 called a council of ministers to take cognizance 

 of the matter, and the Minister of Marine, who 

 was absent from Paris, was summoned to re- 

 turn to participate in the council. Accord- 

 ingly the Journal Officiel of September 9th 



