FRANCEVILLE 



Franceville. Military station 

 in the Gabun colony of French 

 Equatorial Africa. It is situated 

 on the Passa, an affluent of the 

 Ogowai (Ogoue) river. 



Franche Comte. District of 

 Europe ; in full, the free county of 

 Burgundy. It was first an in- 

 dependent state, then part of the 

 duchy of Burgundy,and finally part 

 of France. Its early capital was 

 D61e, but after 1678 Besangon ; it 

 lay between Lorraine and Switzer- 

 land, while through it ran the 

 Saone. After the dissolution of the 

 Frankish Empire the free county 

 was one of the many little states 

 which arose on its ruins. It had 

 its own counts, who retained a 

 practical independence, in spite 

 of occasional interference from the 

 kings of France and Germany, until 

 the 14th century, when it was in- 

 cluded in the duchy of Burgundy. 



In 1477, on the death of Charles 

 the Bold of Burgundy, it was 

 seized by Louis XI of France, but 

 a few years later it was regained 

 by the emperor Maximilian, the 

 son-in-law of Charles. From Maxi- 

 milian it passed to Charles V and 

 Philip II of Spain, and then in 

 1668 it was conquered by Louis 

 XIV of France, who formally se- 

 cured it by the Treaty of Nimwegen 

 in 1678. The last remains of its 

 independence were then extin- 

 guished, and since then it has 

 been part of France. Since the 

 Revolution it has been divided, and 

 now forms the depts. of Haute 

 Saone, Jura and Doubs, and part 

 of the dept. of Ain. See Burgundy. 



Franchet d'Esperey, Louis 

 (b. 1856). French soldier. Born 

 at Mostaganem, Algeria, and edu- 

 cated privately ^^M 

 and at St. Cyr, | 

 he entered the 

 army in Oct., 

 1876. He took 

 part in the Tu- 

 nis operations, 

 1881-82, in the 

 Tongking expe- 

 dition, 1885-87, 

 and served in Franchet d'Esperey, 

 China, 1900-1. French soldier 

 He next saw active service in 

 Morocco, 1912-13, and in 1914 was 

 in command of the 1st Army Corps 

 at Lille. 



During the Great War he was 

 placed at the head of the French 

 Fifth Army, succeeding Lanrezac 

 after the battle of Charleroi, Aug., 

 1914. He fought on the right of 

 the British in the 1st battle of 

 the Marne, and gained a victory 

 at Montmirail, Sept., 1914. Later 

 he succeeded in holding the Aisne 

 bridgeheads. In April, 1916, he was 

 placed in command of a group of 

 the armies of the East in France, 





3307 



and in Jan., 1917, of the group of 

 the armies of the North, which ho 

 held till June, 1918, when he was 

 given supreme command of the 

 Allied armies of the Orient, re- 

 ceiving the surrender of Bulgaria, 

 Sept., 1918. He was in command in 

 Turkey-in-Europe until Nov., 1920, 

 and was created marshal, 1921. 



Franchise (late Lat. francus, 

 free). Originally something to which 

 the idea of freedom was attached, 

 i.e. the free grant of a privilege. It 

 is now used in two narrower senses, 

 one hi law and the other in poli tics. 

 In law, a franchise is a privilege 

 granted by the crown to an indi- 

 vidual, or more usually to a cor- 

 poration, such as the right to hold 

 a market or fair, or rights of fishing. 

 This use of the term persists in 

 the United States, where franchises 

 are public rights handed over to 

 private or semi -private bodies. 



In politics, the franchise is the 

 right to vote, especially the right 

 to vote at elections of members of 

 parliament. It varies in different 

 countries, but the tendency at 

 present is to bestow it upon all 

 adults, men and women alike. In 

 Australia, New Zealand, and the 

 greater part of Canada the fran- 

 chise is on these lines, as it is in 

 the states of the U.S.A., in Ger- 

 many, and in several other coun- 

 tries. Acts of Parliament bestowing 

 the vote on fresh classes of the 

 population are frequently known 

 as Franchise Acts. 



In England the franchise was at 

 first the privilege of all freeholders, 

 who voted in the county court ; 

 but by an Act of 1430 it was re- 

 stricted, as far as the counties were 

 concerned, to those whose free- 

 holds were worth 40s. or more. In 

 the towns the franchise varied very- 

 much, each borough having its 

 own custom, usually conveyed to 

 it by royal charter. There were 

 variations, too, in the franchise in 

 Scotland and Ireland. Uniformity 

 was first introduced by the Reform 

 Act of 1832. In England, in the 

 counties, it was given, in addition 

 to the existing freeholders, to copy- 

 holders and those renting land 

 worth 50 a year. In the boroughs 

 a uniform franchise was introduced , 

 the vote being given to all house- 

 holders whose premises were worth 

 10 a year and upwards. In 1867 

 a second Reform Act reduced the 

 qualifications in the counties to the 

 holders of land worth 12 a year, 

 and in the boroughs gave it to all 

 householders. In addition a lodger 

 franchise was introduced. For 

 Scotland and Ireland there were 

 also Reform Acts, the main princi- 

 ples being the same as in England. 

 t In 1884 a Reform Act introduced 

 uniformity, not only between 



FRANCIA 



county and borough, but between 

 England, Scotland, and Ireland. 

 All householders were given the 

 franchise, as were lodgers hi coun- 

 ties as in boroughs. Certain classes 

 were disqualified as before, e.g. 

 aliens and criminals, and women 

 were still excluded. In addition 

 there was still a university fran- 

 chise, based on the possession of a 

 degree. In 1867 proposals for 

 what were called fancy franchises 

 were made, but were not passed 

 into law. 



The important Act of 1918 con- 

 ferred the franchise on women, 

 giving the vote to all adult males 

 and to women over 30 years of age, 

 six months' residence or occupa- 

 tion of business premises of the 

 value of 10 a year or over being 

 necessary in the case of men. 



In addition to the parliamentary 

 franchise there has been in the 

 United Kingdom a uniform munici- 

 pal franchise since 1835, in which 

 women have been included. Other 

 franchises are the right to vote 

 at elections for county coun- 

 cillors, introduced in 1888, and the 

 right to vote at elections for urban 

 and rural district councillors, dat- 

 ing from 1894. From this use of 

 the word comes enfranchise, to 

 bestow the vote, or, as frequently 

 used, to give a place the right of 

 representation in Parliament ; and 

 disfranchise, to take it away. See 

 Election ; England ; Local Govern- 

 ment ; Parliament ; Reform Acts ; 

 Representation ; Vote. 



Francia, FRANCESCO (c. 1450- 

 1517). Italian painter. He was 

 born at Bologna, his real name 

 being Francesco Raibolini, and was 

 apprenticed to a goldsmith. He 

 achieved distinction as a worker in 

 metal, in niello, and in type-found- 

 ing, but shortly after the coming 

 of Lorenzo Costa to Bologna, 1483, 

 he became a painter. Costa and 



Francia. Madonna, Infant Jesus, 

 and S. John, an example of the 

 artist's work in the Dresden Gallery 



