348 



FRANCE. 



riven only two days' rations ; the suppression 

 of the shelter-tent (tente cTabri) and water-proof 

 sheet, the substitution of a simple mess tin for 

 every two men for the cumbrous cooking uten- 

 sils now in use, and the suppression of two of 

 the pouches now worn and of certain articles ot 

 the kit. On the other hand, a number of uten- 

 sils and tools as, for instance, a larger tin, a 

 coffee-mill, two hatchets, and three small pick- 

 axesare to be the common property of a 

 squad of men, and are to be carried in succes- 

 sion by the men composing each squad. 



Several estimates have been given of the 

 aggregate strength of the armed forces of 

 France. An article in the " Journal des Sciences 

 Militaires " sets down the total numbers of the 

 active army and its reserve and the territorial 

 army and its reserve, including the men who, 

 though liable, are wholly untrained, at 3,600,- 

 000. An estimate by Major East, of the Eng- 

 lish War Office, including trained men only, 

 places the total at 2,473,000, to which the un- 

 trained men, 792,140, may be added. The 

 " Cologne Gazette, " in a series of articles on 

 the subject, estimates that in 1885, when the 

 reorganization of the armed forces of the coun- 

 try will have been completed, the Minister of 

 War will have at his disposal 1,738,000 trained 

 men belonging to the active and territorial 

 armies the estimate taking no account of the 

 reserve of the territorial army. Of this force, 

 1,325,000 men will be infantry or riflemen, 74,- 

 000 cavalry, 118,000 artillerymen, and 50,000 

 engineers. Of the whole, 840,000 will be of 

 the active army, the remainder belonging to 

 the garrison and depot troops and the territo- 

 rial army. The estimate agrees nearly with that 

 made by Sir Garnet Wolseley, which fixes the 

 force at 1,825,000 men. 



An important judgment has been delivered 

 by the Court of Cassation on a question af- 

 fecting the right of Roman Catholic priests to 

 marry when they have voluntarily renounced 

 orders, or been " unfrocked." The case before 

 the Court was on an appeal involving the le- 

 gitimacy of four children of a priest who had 

 seceded from the Church and married in 1848. 

 The birth of the children had been registered 

 without any question of their legitimacy, and 

 no question had arisen as to the legality of the 

 marriage, which had been performed according 

 to the civil rite by the mayor of the commune, 



11 the suit was brought. The Court decided 

 that the marriage was illegal, and that the chil- 

 dren hnd no claim to inherit their father's prop- 

 &rty. The decision was based upon the terms of 

 the concordat, and upon the Roman canon law. 

 The International Exhibition at Paris was 

 opened with imposing ceremonies and festivi- 

 May 1st, and was closed November 10th. 

 The whole number of admissions was 16,032,- 



25, showing an average of about 82,000 a day : 

 and the total receipts were 12,653,746 francs, 

 against 9,830,369 francs in 1867. (See EXPO- 

 SITION.) 

 According to a return made by the Ministry 



of Public Worship to the Chamber of Deputies 

 on October 28th, there are in all 200,000 per- 

 sons under vows in France, exclusive of the 

 45,000 ecclesiastics in receipt of pay from the 

 state. There are two kinds of religious bodies 

 in France the congregations which are con- 

 trolled by a central authority, and alone have 

 the right of forming branches, and the com- 

 munities which are independent of each other, 

 although subject to the same rules. There are 

 five legally authorized congregations of men, 

 which have founded 115 establishments at home 

 and in the colonies, and 109 abroad. The num- 

 ber of members of these five congregations is 

 2,418. The number of communities of men is 

 four, with 84 members. There are 384 estab- 

 lishments which are unauthorized, the mem- 

 bers of which number 7,444 men. The differ- 

 ence between them is that those which are not 

 authorized labor under legal disabilities, and 

 are liable to dissolution. There are, in addi- 

 tion, 23 religious associations of men devoted 

 to the education of the young. The number 

 of schools under their direction is 3,096. The 

 number of the members of these associations 

 is 20,341. As regards nuns, there are 224 

 congregations legally authorized, which have 

 founded 2,450 establishments, numbering 93,- 

 215 members. There are 35 diocesan congre- 

 gations of 3,794 members, 644 communities of 

 16,741 members, 602 unauthorized establish- 

 ments of 14,003 members, and 528 congrega- 

 tions devoted to the education of the young. 

 The number of schools under the direction of 

 the latter is 16,478. Thus it would appear that 

 of the 200,000 persons above mentioned, only 

 30,300 are men, and of these the greater part 

 are engaged in education. Of the women, 

 about 40,000 seem to be engaged in teaching, 

 while 93,000 are wholly devoted to purely re- 

 ligious duties. 



The foreign delegates forming the Interna- 

 tional Postal Congress were received by Mar- 

 shal MacMahon, May 26th, with an address in 

 which he expressed his wish that the Universal 

 Postal Union might be shortly followed in eco- 

 nomic questions by unions of a similar charac- 

 ter destined to cement solidarity and friendship 

 between nations. Dr. Stephan, the Director 

 of the German Post-Office, replied, speaking 

 of the happy coincidence of the Exhibition with 

 the meeting of the Congress, and saying : " We 

 see the French people wholly occupied with 

 pacific labors, adding fresh luster to the na- 

 tional history. The success of the Congress 

 has been largely aided by the liberal ideas and 

 the elevated and conciliatory spirit which have 

 presided over its deliberations." 



The International Congress for the Promo- 

 tion of Commerce and Industry, in August, 

 adopted a resolution in favor of the establish- 

 ment of an international commercial code 

 between all nations. A committee was ap- 

 pointed to draw up the basis of the proposed 

 code, and to make a report to the Congress 

 which will assemble at Brussels in 1880. 



