1073 



FRANCE. 



FRANCE. 



ion 



war with Russia, by the loan of 250,000,000 francs, contracted in the 

 spring of 1854. 



Military Forces; Navy. The effective of the French army in 

 January 1853 amounted to 350,000 men and 80,000 horses; butthese 

 numbers have been recently increased considerably in consequence of 

 the war with Russia. 



Infantry. 100 regiments of 2000 men each ; 10 battalions of 

 Chasseurs-a-pied of 800 men each ; 3 regiments of Zouaves ; 3 batta- 

 lions of African light infantry ; 12 training companies (fusiliers and 

 pioneers) ; a foreign legion numbering 2600 men ; 3 battalions of 

 native African tirailleurs ; and 6 veteran companies. 



Cavalry. 12 regiments of reserve ; 20 regiments of the line; and 

 26 regiments of light cavalry ; besides 3 regiments of Spahis and 4 

 companies of remoute. 



Artillery. 14 regiments with 16 batteries, and 1 regiment of pon- 

 toon men; 12 companies of workmen, and 1 company of armourers; 

 4 train squadrons ; and 5 companies of veteran gunners. 



Engineers. 3 regiments of sappers and miners; 2 companies of 

 workmen, and 1 company of veterans. 



Gendarmerie. 25 legions spread over the departments of France, 

 with about 5000 men for special purposes, make a total of 25,572 men. 



Of general and superior officers there were, marshals 6 ; generals 

 nf division*) 80 ; in reserve, 69 ; generals of brigade, 160 ; in reserve, 

 1 7 'i ; colonels, 30 ; lieutenant-colonels, 30 ; chiefs of squadrons, 100; 

 captains and lieutenants, 400 ; adjutants, &c., 246. 



At the end of 1852 the French fleet numbered 25 sail of the line 

 (6 of 120 guns, 4 of 100 guns, 9 of 82 to 90 guns, and 6 of 80 guns), 

 37 frigstee (12 of 60 guns, 14 of 50 to 52 guns, and 11 of 40 to 48 

 guns), 80 corvettes, 44 brigs, 43 small armed vessels, and 32 transports 

 in all 211 sailing vessels. 



The steam fleet included 3 screws (one of 90 guns, a second of 80 

 guns, and a third of 120 guns), one ship of the line (90 guns, 960 

 horse-power), 20 frigates of 450 to 650 horse-power, 5 corvettes (320 to 

 450 horse-power), 22 corvettes (220 to 300 horse-power), and 57 small 

 vessels in all 108 steamers. 



There were besides 49 sailing-vessels and 7 steamers buildiug in 

 the naval dockyards. Many of these have been finished and launched 

 in consequence of the Russian war. 



The number of officers in the navy in 1852 was 1874, including 2 

 admirals, 12 vice-admirals, 20 rear-admirals, 110 captains of men-of- 

 war, 230 captains of frigates, 650 lieutenants, 550 ensigns, and 300 

 aspirant*. The seamen enrolled numbered 100,000 ; but only 27,000 

 were on active service. The marine infantry numbered 11,868 men 

 including 483 officers; the marine artillery, 2971 men; medical 

 officers, &c., 1233. 



Population, Religion, Educational Establishments, <kc. The prin- 

 cipal stock from which the French nation derives its origin is the 

 Celtic. At the period of Julius Cresar's invasion the Celts occupied 

 nearly all the midland, western, and southern parts of the country. 

 The south-western corner of the country was occupied by the Aqui- 

 tanians, whose territory extended from the Garonne to the Pyrenees : 

 and probably some Ligurian tribes were intermingled with the Celts 

 on the shore of the Mediterranean. Some Greek settlements, of which 

 Masailia (Marseille) was the chief, existed along that coast. The north- 

 eastern parts of the country, from the Seine and Marne to the Channel 

 and the Rhine, were occupied by the Belgse, a Celtic people, some of 

 whom in Caesar's time were mixed with Germans, without however 

 having lost their national characteristics. The immediate vicinity of 

 the Rhine was occupied by some tribes who affected a Germanic 

 origin. The subjugation of the country by the Romans produced an 

 intermixture of Romans with the natives. The modern French 

 language shows how extensive and how permanent has been the 

 influence of the Latin tongue. 



At the breaking up of the Roman empire, three of the invading tribes 

 possessed themselves of France : the Visigoths south and west of the 

 Loire, the Burgundians in the south-east, extending from the Sa6ne 

 and Rhdne to the Jura and the Alps, and the Franks in the north and 

 east. A branch of the Celtic nation, migrating from the British Isles, 

 settled in the extreme west, and have transmitted to the present age 

 their peculiarity of language and the name of the island (Bretagne or 

 Britain) from which they came. Politically the ascendancy of the 

 Franks extinguished the independence of their co-invaders ; but the 

 tribes which succumbed to their yoke remained in the settlements 

 they had acquired, and have influenced more or less the characteristics 

 of their descendants. But notwithstanding these admixtures, the 

 C'eltse may still be considered as the main stock of the French people. 



A the predominance of the Celtic race may be inferred from that 

 of their adopted language in the greater part of France, so the local 

 predominance of other tribes is indicated by that of their peculiar 

 tongue. The Breton, an adulterated form of the language imported 

 by the British settlers, is still the language of the rural dis- 

 trict* of Bretagne; the Basque is yet found at the foot of the 

 Pyrenees, and may bo considered as the representative of the ancient 

 dialect of the Aquitanians. In Alsace the German language is predo- 

 minant ; a circumstance which may be ascribed to that province 

 having been more completely occupied by those tribes who overthrew 

 the Roman empire, and who have preserved their own language ; and 

 also to the long incorporation of Alsace with Germany, and its corn- 



GKOO. DIV. VOL. II. 



paratively late annexation to the rest of France. The dialect of 

 Lorraine, the adjacent province to Alsace, may be considered also as 

 having strong affinity to that of Germany, from similar causes to those 

 stated above. 



The population of France at the commencement of the 18th 

 century was about 19,669,320, exclusive of Corsica and part of Lor- 

 raine, which were not then united to France. In the year 1762 the 

 population had increased to 21,769,163, inclusive of Corsica and the 

 whole of Lorraine. In 1784 it had further increased to 24,800,000. 



The population, according to the different census returns of the 

 present century, has been stated to be as follows : 



1801 

 1811 

 1821 

 1831 



27,349,003 

 29,092,734 

 30,461,875 

 32,569,223 



183G 

 1841 

 1846 

 1851 



33,540,910 

 34,230,178 

 35,401,761 

 35,781,628 



The predominant religion of France is the Catholic ; the Protest- 

 ants, who reside chiefly in Alsace and in Languedoc, number about 

 1,500,000, of whom two-thirds are Calvinists, and the remainder 

 Lutherans, Methodists, &c. The Jews number about 80,000. Both 

 Catholic and Protestant clergymen are paid by the state. Those of 

 the Catholic hierarchy who have the dignity of cardinal have a yearly 

 income of about 1300J. ; the archbishops have about 800/. ; and the 

 bishops about 600. Of the working clergy the incomes are from 

 20Z. or 301. to 40Z. or 601. a year. The total number of priests rather 

 exceeds that of the communes, which is 36,835. Before the first 

 French revolution, the country abounded with monastic establish- 

 ments. The abbeys and convents for men have been, with very few 

 exceptions, abolished. The nunneries and abbeys for women for the 

 most part remain. The French nuns do not, except a few, lead a life 

 of pure meditation, but are actively engaged in attendance upon the 

 sick, or in the instruction of youth. 



The Catholic clergy are chiefly educated in seminaries established 

 for the express purpose of clerical instruction. There is one establish- 

 ment for the higher studies at Paris ; and above 200 seminaries 

 scattered throughout France. Strasbourg is the chief place of instruc- 

 tion for the clergy of the Lutheran Church ; Moutauban for those of 

 the Calviuistic or Reformed Church. 



Before the revolution France had 23 universities, of which that of 

 Paris was the most important and enjoyed great privileges. Under 

 Bonaparte a body was organised with the title of University, which has 

 continued with some modifications to hold to the present time the 

 chief direction of education. Of this body, which is incorporated, 

 and which possesses large disposable funds arising partly from real 

 property, partly from public grants, and partly from the payments of 

 pupils, all public teachers are members. The highest officer of this 

 body is the minister of public instruction, who has a seat in the 

 cabinet ; he fills up all appointments in this branch of the adminis- 

 tration, and all vacancies in the academies and colleges, upon the 

 recommendation however of the local authorities, by whom strict 

 examinations are instituted. Twenty-six university-academies were 

 established in different parts of France, and the whole territory was 

 divided into as many circuits, one to each. The seats of these 

 university-academies were Aix, Amiens, Angers, Besan9on, Bordeaux, 

 Bourges, Caen, Cahors, Clermont, Dijon, Douai, Grenoble, Limoges, 

 Lyon, Metz, Montpellier, Nancy, Nimes, Orleans, Paris, Pau, Poitiers, 

 Reunes, Rouen, Strasbourg, and Toulouse. The number of these 

 institutions has we believe been recently increased, and the bishops in 

 their respective dioceses have obtained a share in the management and 

 superintendence. Each academy consists of a rector, who inspects 

 all schools and places of public instruction within his circuit, and 

 communicates with the higher authorities at Paris. He is assisted by 

 a council of ten members. These form the administrative portion of 

 the academy. The plan of instruction, if the institution is complete 

 in all its parts, comprehends the five faculties of theology, law, medi- 

 cine, literature, and the sciences, together with a college or high school. 

 The preparatory instruction to the academies is furnished in the 

 colleges, which are established in almost all the chief towns of arron- 

 dissements. Besides these establishments there arc several colleges 

 and schools of high repute in Paris. The lay religious order of the 

 Christian Brothers devotes itself exclusively to the education of boys, 

 and a very large number of schools is conducted by its members. 

 Almost all the orders of nuns are actively engaged in the education 

 of girls. 



Nearly every commune has one school of elementary instruction. 

 Evey commune, the population of which exceeds COOO, has a school 

 for superior instruction (elements of geometry, and its application to 

 the arts ; elements of chemistry and natural history ; elements of 

 history and geography, and more especially the history and geography 

 of France). Every department has a normal school for the instruction 

 of schoolmasters, either by itself or by uniting with some other depart- 

 ment. These schools are supported partly by private foundations, 

 donations, and legacies; partly by the communal, departmental, or 

 general government. 



All the poor who are incapable of paying for the instruction of 

 their children have them educated gratis at the elementary schools, 

 and a certain number selected after an examination are educated 

 gratis at the schools of superior instruction. 



Commercial and Manufacturiny Industry. The woollen mauufac 



3 z 



