FRA I 



807 



Tin- strength mid distribution of tho array was 



as follows, including i (Hirers mill men: 



or 







A'lmlnlstnrtlTS... , 

 il army corps, 



: ll Staff 



M)lS 











Grand total.... 



Fmra. 



76.110 

 li. "ll 

 6,753 

 11,808 



108,841 



"....- 1 

 :;.;u: 



MM 



U.688 



ton* 



USD 

 588 



:.7.71o 

 861 



a-io 



1,058 



.V.M7'J 



TunU. 



7.::::; 

 1,078 



1,269 

 598 



1 .'.- I 

 65 



110 



108 



12,689 



188^01 



7s,667 



7'.'. --tl 

 11. -II 

 11,840 



M;.M:t 



1,041 



8,819 



2-^,747 

 8,048 



&7-VJ77 



7,115 



:;:..:: 1 1 

 1,868 



t',:-j 



1H8M 



2,196 



568 



11,450 



783 



142,870 



Iii the autumn of 1891 the largest force ever 

 moMi/cd for peace operations, except perhaps in 

 i in 1890, took part in the annual manceu- 

 MV-. which took place in Champagne. Four 

 army corps, the Fifth and Sixth, under Gen. de 

 (iiillifi-t, and the Seventh and Eighth, under 

 (ifii. I'uvoust, met as two hostile arlhies and 

 wt-nt through a series of sham engagements, 

 and then both armies were united and con- 

 ducted against a skeleton enemy by Gen. Saus- 

 sier. The reservists, who constituted two fifths 

 of the total force of 120,000 men, bore the 

 forced marches and the excessive heat even bet- 

 ter than the active soldiers. The endurance, 

 dix-ipliue, training, and intelligence displayed 

 by the men, and proof of a highly organized 

 si a IT service given by the efficient co-operation 

 of all parts, convinced military critics of the 

 complete restoration of the military prestige of 

 France. The officers, a large proportion of whom 

 have risen from the ranks, seemed to exercise 

 f, r reat care to provide properly for the men and 

 to command their respect and obedience ; but the 

 non-commissioned officers, few of whom are, 

 like those of the German and other armies, old 

 soldiers re-enlisted, failed to exercise the proper 

 authority, though not through lack of intelli- 

 gence. The chief characteristics of French tac- 

 tics, as revealed by the manoeuvres, are the use 

 made of the mobility of the well-trained artillery 

 and the keeping up, regardless of sacrifice, of a 

 strong front in an infantry attack, which pro- 

 ceeds in a direct line to the prescribed objective, 

 each regiment having a certain space to occupv. 

 The Lebel rifle is sighted up to 2,200 yards, in 

 advancing upon an enemy's position the line 

 breaks into sections, then into squads, and, final- 

 ly, into a chain of skirmishers, hut the lying posi- 

 tion is not allowed, even for firing, which only 

 begins at about 750 yards. No use is made of the 

 intrenching tools on the offensive. Before the 

 bayonet assault all the supports are brought up 

 to form a strong front, and the magazines are 

 not emptied till just before the final rush, the 

 rifle being always used as a single-loader, except 

 I iy eommand and in prescribed contingencies. In 

 notion not a single officer is with the firing line, 

 whereas on the march the officers go at the head 

 and the commanding general and staff in the very 

 front. The infantry and artillery both use snioke- 

 IH nowder. The ca'valry supports the other arms, 

 always in strong force, wherever the nature of 

 the ground permits and in all stages of an action. 



The NYY. The French navy in 1891 con- 

 M>t.-d of 482 Teasels of all ebMM. The sea- 

 going armor-clods were 14 barbette ships, 7 cen- 



trul-lmttery ships, 4 turret ship-. T t I,,-, 

 erniM-rs. and 2 broadside frigates. The armor- 

 clad vessels for coast defense comprised 3 bar- 

 bette ships, 8 turret ships, 2 gun vessels, 8 bar- 

 bette gunboats, and 2 floating batteries. Then- 

 were 7 steel deck-protected cruisers, and ainom; 

 tin- unprotected vessels were 28 cruisers of the 

 fir>t and second classes, 14 of the third class, 

 80 screw and 16 paddle gunboats, 14 screw dis- 

 patch vessels of the first and 1 1 of the second 

 class, 22 paddle dispatch boats, 16 dispatch 

 transports, and 8 small gunboats. The torpedo 

 flotilla numbered 4 torpedo cruisers, 8 dispatch 

 vessels, 17 sea-going torpedo boats, 51 torpedo 

 boats of the first, CO of the second, and 7 of the 

 third class, and 1 submarine boat. All are of 

 steel, and have been built since 1885. Of the 

 sea-going armor-clads 14, of the coast-defense 

 armor-clads 7, all the deck-protected cruisers, and 

 75 of the unprotected vessels have been launched 

 since 1880. The unfinished vessels in the be- 

 ginning of 1891 were 5 sea-going armor-clads, 4 

 coast-defense armor-clads, 7 sea-going deck-pro- 

 tected vessels, 1 torpedo cruiser, 3 torpedo dis- 

 patch vessels, 14 torpedo boats, and 3 transports. 

 The English navy alone excels the French in 

 numbers and strength ; no navy excels it in effi- 

 ciency. In the naval manoeuvres of 1891 a 

 squadron was headed off by another more pow- 

 erful but slower, and, being unable to get by to 

 deliver an attack on the French coast of "the 

 Mediterranean, shaped its course for Ajaccio, 

 where it was caught and stopped at the begin- 

 ning of the bombardment. There were 60 vessels 

 mobilized, and both the active sailors and the 

 reserves proved their efficiency. 



Finances. The estimated revenue in 1891 

 was 8,247,408,825 francs, as compared with 3,- 

 085.614,460 in 1890,' according to the revised 

 budget estimates. The land tax was expected 

 to produce 110,748,600 francs in 1891, as com- 

 pared with 128,031,840, in 1890, and the building 

 tax 88,344,000 francs, as compared with 68..VJC.- 

 000 francs. The personal-property tax, which 

 is a graded capitation tax ranging from li to 

 4 francs, was estimated at 81.502.500 francs, 

 against 80,187,500 francs in 1890 ; the door and 

 window tax at 53,234,000, against 52.676.900 

 francs : trade licenses at 111,548.400, against 110,- 

 742,400 francs ; carriage and other s] ieeial taxes at 

 30,091,200, against 20,154,500 francs; and Al- 

 gerian direct taxes at 9,114,300, against 8,779,700, 

 francs, making the total from direct ta\.~ 4*1.- 

 643,000 in 1891 and 478,098,840 francs in 1890. 

 The total receipts from indirect tnxes wen 

 mated at 1,997.454,200 francs in 1891 and in the 

 corrected estimates for 1890 at 1,874,789.300 

 francs, the receipts from registration fees being 

 estimated at 505,822,500 francs in 1891, against 

 509,104.300 francs in 1890 ; stamp duties at 160,- 

 412,500, against 159,797,400 francs; custom re- 

 ceipts at 362,261,900, against 373,985.500 francs : 

 excise and other duties at T^i.oi-J.oOO, against 

 582,594,500 francs: tax on movables at 45U04.- 

 500, against 50,424,000 francs; sugar duties at 

 178,000.000, against 178,700,000 francs ; and in- 

 direct taxes in Algeria at 20.183.000, against 19,- 

 250,800 francs. The revenue from state mo- 



