FRANCE. 



980 



Thr relation- n|' state iitul Church liavc aroused 

 - nii<l incident- in which the complexity of the 

 problem lias not, iwrhaps, admitted of suracienl clear- 

 llt-rc arc the principles which will guide u> in 

 utter. \\ c do not liclicvc our-elve- eommis- 

 sioiicil tu |.i-.-|>arc the .-.|>anition f the Churches ami 

 .!e. '1 here is not in t lie ( 'liain I >cis, ami we do 

 lint believe there is in the country, a majority to ac- 

 complish this. Our duty, then-tore, is to maintain 

 firmly the coneonlat legislation. We shall appl\ it 

 iii its true spirit. The concordat assures to the clergy 

 a special situation and riirhts. hut in return iin|>-r.- 

 on them, whatever lie their i-cclcsiasticiil rank, rigor- 

 ous olil'i-Mi'ions. Not oidy do they, like all citi/i-ns, 

 we oiicdienec to the nation's laws, hut they are 

 hound, moreover, to contine themselves to their duties 

 as ministers and to hold themselves absolutely aloof 

 from part \ stru<:<_ r les. \Ve shall not hoitate to exact 

 of all resiiect for these obligations. \Vc believe that 

 we have sutliciciit power to secure such respect; if this 

 were not the ease we should ask Parliament for the 

 -.iry means of sol vim: difficulties upon which it 

 U for the national representatives to pronounce a sov- 

 ereign decision. 



The legislative programme gave priority to 

 tin 1 measures under discussion for the ameliora- 

 tion of the lot of workmen, and in particular 

 those which concern the regulation of the labor 

 of children, girls, and women in industrial estab- 

 lishments, the right to compensation of workmen 

 injured in fulfillment of their duties, arbitration 

 between employers and employed, the healthful- 

 ness and security of workshops, the regulation 

 of savings banks, the creation of a national super- 

 annuation fund for laborers, and the reform of 

 t he liquor traffic. The movement which, outside 

 the interested calculations of parties, promised 

 to bring toward the republic the masses of uni- 

 versal suffrage was welcomed, and the ministers 

 would endeavor, in the wise spirit of a broad 

 tolerance, to extend the feeling that the repub- 

 lic was a guarantee of security and liberty to all, 

 but without sacrificing the principle of the abso- 

 lute independence of civil society, or losing sight 

 of the guiding ideas of the revolution from 

 which the institutions of the republic collect- 

 ively sprang. Its aim was " the more and more 

 equitable division of the common burdens and 

 advantages, the progressive elevation of all to an 

 increasing degree of moral and material well- 

 being." 



The ministers being challenged to explain the 

 supposed negotiations with the Vat ican, M. Ribot 

 declared that there had been none, and that the 

 Pope's encyclical had been wholly spontaneous, 

 although, in accordance with the concordat, on 

 Dec. 17, 1891, the French ambassador at the 

 Vatican had called attention to the campaign of 

 a part of the clergy which had retarded the 

 pacification recommended l>y the Holy See and 

 endangered the concordat, and said that the 

 Government, anxious as it was to achieve re- 

 ligious peace, could not be responsible for the 

 consequences of a conflict thus provoked by the 

 clergy. The Pope had expivs-i-d his intention 

 of seeking to avoid such conflicts. M. Loulx-t 

 expressed approval of the course that M. Ribot 

 had pursued, and on a resolution accepting the 

 declarations of the ministers the Government 

 was sustained by '541 votes to 91. 



M. Kouvier's cudgel provided for the redemp- 

 tion of 130,000,000 francs of treasury bonds, of 

 160,000,000 francs due in 1893, out of the sur- 



plus of 1890-'91, and for a considerable reduc- 

 tion of the duties on wine and cider and a cor- 

 iv-ponding increase in tho-.- on spirits. The 

 repeal of the duty on railroad passenger tickets 

 was followed by a reduction \ in percent, in 

 fust-, 20 per cent, in second-, and 30 per cent, in 

 third-class fares. In the municipal election-. 

 which occurred in the beginning of May. the 

 Republicans made large gains. New political 

 groups were formed in consequence of the changed 

 attitude of the Church toward the republic and 

 the thrusting aside of the religions question. A 

 considerable section of the Extreme I^eft organ- 

 ized and formulated a programme as a Kadical- 

 Socialist group. As the immediate result of the 

 Pope's encyclical, 38 Deputies of the Right cre- 

 ated a Catholic Republican party to contend for 

 liberal ideas, social and religious peace, and the 

 amelioration of the lot of the workingman. 

 The Union of Christian France, organized by 

 M. de Mun, dissolved after the Pope's encyclical 

 appeared, while a Republican Catholic league 

 for the defense of popular rights was founded by 

 Gaston David. 



The Constitutional Right, founded after the 

 last general election for the purpose of co-operat- 

 ing with conservative Republicans within the 

 republic, which it acknowledged as the legal 

 Government of the country, gained new ac- 

 cessions. A group, consisting partly of Mon- 

 archists, was formed to look after and promote 

 colonial interests. The Royalist Right, presided 

 over by the Due de la Rochefoucauld, issued in 

 June a manifesto testifying to their fidelity to 

 the cause of the monarchy. The Radical Left 

 was revived as the anticlerical Union of Radical 

 Republicans. 



The detachment of the Under Secretaryship 

 of the Colonies from the Ministry of Commerce 

 and the restoration of the control of the Ministry 

 of Marine over this department was the occasion 

 for much grumbling, and a bill was offered for 

 the creation of a separate Ministry of the Col- 

 onies. M. Cavaignac presented a* programme 

 which contemplated the increase of the personnel 

 of the squadrons from 7,500 to 14,000 men, and 

 the building of 6 ironclads of over 14,000 tons, 

 besides improved cruisers. A misunderstanding 

 between the military and civil and the naval 

 authorities in Dahomey afforded ground for an 

 attack on the new Minister of Marine on July 11, 

 and he was overthrown on a resolution in favor 

 of unity of command, and was succeeded by 

 M. Burdeau, a popular young Deputy who be- 

 gan life as a mechanic, had made his mark soon 

 after entering the Chamlwr in 1885 at the age of 

 thirty-four, was a delegate to the Labor Confer- 

 ence at Berlin, and in 1891 had gained new dis- 

 tinction by the ability that he displayed as re- 

 porter of the budget. 



In the bill for arbitration between employers 

 and workmen the Conseils des Prudhommcs are 

 constituted the arbitrators. A bill for the re- 

 newal of the charter .of the Bank of France for 

 twenty-three years, from 18!S. requires the bank 

 to advance 180,000,(XX) francs to the Government 

 without interest, instead of 140.000,000 francs 

 with interest. l>ut allows it to increase its note 

 circulation from 3,500.000.000 to 4.000.(HK).000 

 francs. A branch must lie established in tho 

 chief town of every department, and agricultural 



