390 



FRANCE. 



the acts of his Ministers of May 16th, and if 

 they were to be impeached he declared his in- 

 tention of placing himself beside them at the 

 bar of the High Court of Justice. The debate 

 began on the 13th, and the bill was defeated 

 by 225 votes of the Left to 187 of the Extreme 

 Left and Eight combined. M. Clemenceau 

 then proposed the order of the day pure and 

 simple, seeing that the Chamber, having aban- 

 doned the impeachment, had no right to brand 

 the Ministers in question. This proposal was 

 rejected by 225 to 187 ; and M. Eameau then 

 brought forward a resolution declaring that 

 the Ministers of May 16th and November 23d, 

 by their culpable schemes against the Govern- 

 ment of the republic, betrayed the Govern- 

 ment which they should have served, and that 

 the Chamber accordingly delivered them over 

 to the judgment of the nation. M. Eameau 

 further proposed that the resolution should be 

 placarded in every commune in France. This 

 was carried by 240 to 157. 



On March 15th M. Jules Ferry submitted 

 two important bills to the Chamber, one on 

 higher education, the other on the Supreme 

 Council of Public Instruction. The former 

 abolishes the mixed jury of examiners for de- 

 grees instituted by the law of 1875, and con- 

 fines academic degrees to candidates registered 

 and examined in the state universities. It 

 also precludes free or non-state institutions 

 from assuming the title of university or facul- 

 ty, which is to be reserved for state establish- 

 ments. No member of a religious community 

 not recognized by the state may hencefortli 

 act as a teacher, and the declaration of public 

 utility which accords the compulsory purchase 

 of sites and other advantages will be conceded 

 only by a bill sanctioned by Parliament, in- 

 stead, as at present, of being granted by the 

 Council of State on the recommendation of 

 the Supreme Council of Public Instruction. 

 The second bill reorganizes the Supreme Coun- 

 cil, the law of 1872 on that subject having just 



expired. It excludes from the new Council 

 the four prelates elected by the episcopate, as 

 also the representatives of the other state 

 churches. It likewise excludes the three rep- 

 resentatives of the Council of State and those 

 of the Court of Cassation and the Ministries of 

 War and Marine. Fifteen members are to be 

 nominated by the Government from professors 

 and school inspectors; five ex officio members 

 will also be appointed ; these twenty holding 

 office for life ; while twenty-six others are to 

 be elected for six years by various educational 

 bodies, and four representatives of non-state 

 education are to be nominated by the Govern- 

 ment. The preface to the higher education 

 bill showed that the intention was to disqualify 



from all classes of teaching religious communi- 

 ties not recognized by law. This was justified 

 on the ground that foreigners were not allowed 

 to teach, and that the same exclusion should 

 apply to " an order essentially foreign by the 

 character of its doctrines, the nature and aim 

 of its statutes, the residence and authority of 

 its chiefs." This passage referred to the Jesu- 

 its, who, according to the statistics given by 

 the "Temps," have 27 colleges in France, with 

 848 teachers, viz. : St. Affrique, 25 ; Marseilles 

 (two colleges), 33; Aix, 41; Dijon, 18; Brest, 

 25 ; Toulouse (three colleges), 76 ; Montpellier, 

 8; Tours, 20; Dole, 40; St. Etienne, 21; 

 Vals, Haute-Loire, 101; Eheims, 27; Vannes, 

 34 ; Montgre, Eh6ne, 24 ; Paray-le-Monial, 8 ; 



