FRANCE. 



357 



tern of recruitment, he was able to shelve 

 before it came up in the Senate, by with- 

 drawing all the army bills under considera- 

 tion, under the pretext of preparing a single 

 bill for the reorganization of the army. This 

 bill, though the principle was exceedingly 

 popular, was distrusted by all the military au- 

 thorities, who consider that it will lower the 

 efficiency of the army. The service he la- 

 bored to make more pleasant, as well as more 

 efficient, and many of the causes of discon- 

 tent in the ranks were removed by changes 

 in the regulations. He gave the soldiers more 

 comfortable beds in their barracks, abolished 

 the rule requiring them to shave off their 

 beards, relieved them of the duty of carrying 

 knapsacks, did away with Sunday drills and 

 parades, and gave them more holidays. He 

 founded an officers' casino in Paris, and was 

 able in many ways to improve the prestige of 

 the army, and to render it more popular in 

 the nation. The abuses of the contract sys- 

 tem and the loose methods of the war office 

 were corrected with vigor. All departments 

 connected with the service were spurred to 

 greater activity. Great masses of war mate- 

 rial were collected. A repeating - rifle was- 

 adopted for the infantry, not long after Ger- 

 many had decided on a model, and the line 

 will be armed with the new weapon in two 

 or three years. The great siege -guns, in 

 which France was already superior to any 

 other power, both as respects size and num- 

 bers, were added to, and their destructive 

 power greatly increased by a new explosive, 

 called melinite. 



Many people were filled with mistrust when 

 a Radical, like Boulanger, was given the con- 

 trol of the army. Yet the energy and practical 

 sense that he showed, and the enthusiasm for 

 the army that he awakened, soon gained the 

 good-will of all Republicans except the Fer- 

 rists. His patriotic speeches, terse and vigor- 

 ous in style, and his ubiquitous activity, made 

 him the most popular personage that has arisen 

 in French politics since Gambetta. Even the 

 Monarchists regarded him with admiration and 

 approval. The Germans considered him as the 

 personification of the idea of revenge, though 

 none of his patriotic expressions could be con- 

 strued as hinting at the redemption of the lost 

 provinces. A bloodless duel, in which he en- 

 gaged with the senator Baron Lareinty, on 

 July 16, added to the renown of the popular 

 War Minister. Lareinty shouted out, when 

 Boulanger characterized the Due d'Aumale's 

 letter to M. Gr6vy as impudent, that it was 

 cowardly thus to insult an absent person. 

 Boulanger challenged him for that expres- 

 sion, and received his fire, while his own pis- 

 tol failed to discharge. The principals then 

 parted with compliments. 



Legislation. A law was passed allowing free- 

 thinkers fuller rights of civil burial. The 

 Chamber agreed to make the question of the 

 separation of church and state an order of the 



day. A bill was passed allowing the sittings 

 of the Municipal Council of Paris to be held 

 in public, and one for a large loan to be issued 

 by the city. The proposed tax on imported 

 grain for the protection of farmers was aban- 

 doned. The navigation treaty with Italy expired 

 on July 16, 1886, the Chamber having refused 

 to ratify a new treaty. 



The question of a national loan was the most 

 important one of the session. The Finance 

 Minister's proposal of a loan of 1,500,000,000 

 francs for the converson of the floating debt 

 met with so much opposition that he had to 

 modify the project. His new proposition to 

 issue bonds for only 900,000,000 francs was 

 assented to by the budget commission before 

 the adjournment of the regular session; but in 

 the extraordinary session, which began on No- 

 vember 10, the Right and the Radicals united 

 to attack the Government for not keeping their 

 promise on assuming office to balance the bud- 

 get by retrenchment, and finally forced the 

 ministry to retire. 



Reeonstitntion of the Cabinet The autumn ses- 

 sion of the Assembly was mostly taken up with 

 the discussion of the budget, over which no 

 agreement was possible between the CJhamber 

 and the Minister of Finance. The majority ob- 

 jected to the conversion of the short - term 

 bonds and the funding of the floating debt by 

 means of a new loan. They would not listen 

 to Sadi-Carnot's plan to abolish the extraordi- 

 nary budget, and defray the cost of such pub- 

 lic works as were regarded necessary by sus- 

 pending the sinking-fund. They rejected the 

 new taxes proposed by him, such as an increase 

 in the spirit duty of one third, a higher duty 

 on inheritances, etc., except a duty of five 

 francs per centner on grain and the increase 

 of the thirty- franc excise duty on alcohol to 

 forty francs, while the income-tax proposed by 

 the budget committee was not approved by 

 the ministry, who said that it would require a 

 year to study the best form of income-tax. 

 The Chamber made no objection to voting 

 400,000,000 francs to provide the army with 

 magazine rifles and armor -plated fortresses, 

 nor to the demand of the Minister of Marine 

 who asked for 200,000,000 francs for torpedo- 

 vessels and light cruisers; yet it insisted on 

 the establishment of an equilibrium in the bud- 

 get. The only possible way to seoure a bal- 

 anced budget was by economies. The critics of 

 the Government suggested the abolition of use- 

 less offices. A few of the subordinate places 

 in the ministries the Government agreed to 

 do away with. A motion to abolish under-sec- 

 retary ships was lost by a small majority. A 

 Radical, M. Colfavru, offered an amendment to 

 the budget for the suppression of sub- prefect- 

 ures. The sub-prefects, 360 in number, are 

 the representatives of the central Government 

 in the arondissements. Raoul Duval, who was 

 elected as a Conservative, but has given in 

 his adhesion to the republic, and is endeavor- 

 ing to lead the more liberal sections of the 



