FRANCE. 



291 



to. The Minister of Justice proposed one in 

 the shape of a duty on houses levied on the 

 occupiers, who should pay a percentage of 

 their rent, to be fixed annually according to 

 the financial exigencies of the Government. 

 This scheme, like most of the Government 

 proposals, met with little favor. The Radi- 

 cals and Reactionaries who demanded the dis- 

 missal of the sub- prefects would not accept 

 the Government proposal merely to reduce 

 the number from 360 to 296. and the question 

 was left in abeyance. The Chamber agreed to 

 bills raising the duty on wheat from 3 francs 

 to 5 francs, with a corresponding increase on 

 other cereals andfl our, and the duties on oxen 

 from 25 francs to 38 francs, on cows from 12 

 francs to 20 francs, on sheep from 3 francs to 

 5 francs, and on meat from 7 francs to 12 

 francs per hundred kilos. The last item af- 

 fects only the United States, since with other 

 countries there are treaties fixing the meat 

 duty at 3 francs. A surtax of 10 francs per 

 1,000 kilos on sugar was approved. The sale 

 of the crown jewels realized 6,684,000 francs. 

 The Cabinet had no element of strength, but 

 the question of its displacement was a matter 

 of anxiety on account of the military situation. 

 Gen. Boulanger's efforts to increase the effi- 

 ciency of the army had been followed by Prince 

 Bismarck's alarming speeches in the Reichstag 

 and the increase of the German army with the 

 sanction of the nation, attested by a general 

 election. A grave situation was thus created, 

 which had passed beyond the ability of states- 

 men to control. The German authorities for- 

 bade the export of horses, called out reservists, 

 and were engaged in military preparations on 

 the French frontier that might portend an in- 

 vasion in the spring. Gen. Boulanger had con- 

 structed barracks, and was planning an exper- 

 imental mobilization on the German frontier. 

 To forego this test of the army organization, 

 or to dismiss the reorganizer of the military 

 resources of the republic would seem an evi- 

 dence of fear, and might even precipitate in- 

 stead of averting an attack. The Radicals, sup- 

 ported by the Monarchists, would not assent 

 to the budget presented by the Minister of 

 Finance, and the budget committee called for a 

 reduction of from 2 to 3 per cent, in each de- 

 partment. The ministry could not see its way 

 to a retrenchment of more than 26,000,000 

 francs without disorganizing the services. The 

 vote, nominally on the retrenchments demand- 

 ed by the Radicals, was determined by the 

 military situation, yet it was very uncertain 

 whether, if the Goblet Cabinet were defeated, 

 it would not give place to a Freycinet-Boulan- 

 ger Cabinet that would probably lead to war. 

 The result of the vote, which was taken on May 

 17, indicated the perplexity of men's minds, 

 but resulted in a defeat of the Government by 

 a majority of 275, composed of 165 Reactiona- 

 ries and 110 Republicans, augmented by M. Fer- 

 ry and 57 other Moderates, less than half of 

 the Extreme Left voting with M. Clemenceau, 



while 40, with 60 Radicals and 150 Moderates 

 and Independents, voted to sustain the minis- 

 try. M. de Freycinet declined to form a new 

 ministry, while M. Gr6vy objected firmly to 

 sending for M. C16menceau. M. Duclerc, 

 M. Rouvier, and others were summoned to the 

 Elys6e, and finally M. Floquet, President of 

 the Chamber and a member of the Radical 

 Left, undertook the task, after first declining. 

 A war policy could not be thought of under 

 the premiership of a man who once shouted 

 for Poland in the presence of the Czar. The 

 Opportunists would promise him no support; 

 and, after others had tried and failed, M. Rou- 

 vier, who was Minister of Commerce under 

 Gambetta and Ferry, succeeded in forming a 

 cabinet from which in view of the fact that 

 M. Goblet, who was a Radical, had been over- 

 thrown by a part of the Opportunist party 

 joining with the Extremists and the Mon- 

 archists all Radical elements were excluded. 



The Rouvier Cabinet. The new ministry, con- 

 stituted on May 30, was composed as follows : 

 President of the Council and Minister of Fi- 

 nance and of Posts and Telegraphs, Maurice 

 Rouvier ; Minister of the Interior and of Wor- 

 ship, Clement Armand Fallieres ; Minister ot 

 Education, M. Spuller; Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs, L. E. Flourens; Minister of Justice, 

 M. Bousqnet; Minister of Public Works, M. de 

 Here"dia; Minister of Agriculture, M. Barbe ; 

 Minister of Commerce, M. Dautresme. The 

 portfolio of War was accepted by Gen. Saussier, 

 commandant of Paris, but on his insisting on 

 the withdrawal of the military bill, Gen. Fer- 

 ron was appointed in his place. 



The phrase with which the new ministry 

 introduced itself was " a cabinet of Republican 

 concentration." In the ministerial declaration 

 " all Republicans, all patriots," were invited to 

 help in the work of reconciliation. M. Goblet 

 had offended the Extremists by asserting his 

 independence of them, and invoking support 

 from the moderate section of the Right. Dur- 

 ing the crisis the Monarchists had received a 

 rebuke from the Comte de Paris for their 

 readiness to combine with Radicals and Social- 

 ists for the purpose of upsetting cabinets. The 

 Extremists, who had no representation in the 

 new Cabinet, pressed M.Rouvier to say whether 

 he intended to govern with a Republican ma- 

 jority. This he affirmed, and in the vote, on a 

 motion of want of confidence, he received a 

 majority of ten or twelve among the Republi- 

 cans, and, with the Right, a majority of 285 

 against 139 in the Chamber. He promised a 

 reduction of 60,000,000 francs in the expendi- 

 ture, and expected to tnake existing taxes suf- 

 fice by making collections more stringent and 

 repressing fraud. 



The Military BUI. The military organization 

 bill, which Gen. Boulanger had prepared, was 

 adopted by the new ministry, and discussion 

 on it began on June 5. Seminarists, students, 

 and teachers, previously exempt from military 

 conscription, were to be compelled to undergo 



