FRANCE. 



327 



richten," explained ihat "the trinlo alliance as 

 such dor.- not threaten Russia or her policy. Inil 

 a- soon as a .suspicion ari.-es that its inllucnci- is 

 to be exercised for the defense of England's 

 unti-Russian interests, Russia's resentment is 

 aroused." The naval and municipal entertain- 

 ments that were prepared for the Russians at 

 Toulon were magnificent. The city, decked with 

 Russian and French Hags, was Sued with en- 

 thusiastic visitors from every part of France. 

 The Russians received addresses of welcome 

 from public bodies of every sort, all inspired 

 with the discreet propriety that marked the 

 speeches of President Carnot and Admiral 

 Rieunier. The articles of the press dwelt 

 elTusively on the friendship of the two na- 

 tions, the end of the long isolation, and the 

 power of the new league, which gave France 

 again a weighty voice in European affairs and 

 was a guarantee of a long peace, and mentioned 

 war only as a remote and dreaded contingency. 

 Admiral Avellan, the Russian commander, and 

 60 of his officers, were conducted to Paris by 

 President Carnot and M. Humbert, the President 

 of the Municipal Council, who once had been a 

 galley slave at Toulon as a convicted Commu- 

 nist, and had made himself conspicuous as a 

 eulogist of the Nihilist murderers of Alexander 

 II. There they were feted with a round of balls, 

 dinners, luncheons, illuminations and fireworks, 

 a torchlight procession, a gala performance at 

 the opera, and everywhere in the lavishly deco- 

 rated city, which stopped its ordinary business 

 to welcome them, were greeted with exuberant 

 manifestations of popular friendship and de- 

 light, to which they responded with equal en- 

 thusiasm. Returning to Toulon loaded with 

 presents, they witnessed the launch of the " Jau- 

 reguiberry " on Oct. 27, and then sailed away. 

 The organs of public opinion in Russia reflected 

 a popular delight over the French alliance scarce- 

 ly less enthusiastic than that of France. The 

 Czar, whose misgivings were banished by the 

 unanimous welcome of the Russian officers by 

 all classes and parties of Frenchmen, from So- 

 cialists to Royalists, sent the following dispatch 

 to President Carnot : 



At the moment when the Russian squadron is quit- 

 ting France I am anxious to express to you how much 

 I am touched by and grateful for the warm and 

 splendid reception which our sailors have every- 

 where found on French soil. The testimonies of 

 warm sympathy which have been once more mani- 

 t'oted with so much eloquence will add a fresh link 

 to those already uniting the two countries, and will 

 contribute, I hope, to the strengthening of the gen- 

 eral peace the object of their efforts and of their 

 most constant wishes. 



To this M. Carnot replied as follows: 



The telegram, for which 1 thank your Majesty, 

 reached me at the moment I was leaving Toul'on in 

 order to return to Paris, after visitinir the tine squad- 

 ron on which I had the warm satisfaction of saluting 

 the Russian flag in French wat-ere. The cordial and 

 spontaneous welcome which your brave sailors have 

 everywhere met with in France signally attirms once 

 more the sincere sympathies uniting our two count ries. 

 It marks at the same time a profound faith in the 

 beneficial influence which can be exerted together by- 

 two great nations devoted to the cause of peace. 



The French Government extended to the new 

 Russian squadron the privilege of using all the 



facilities of the French naval harbors in the 

 Mediterranean, and the oHicers of every harljor 

 .nlered to perform any service for the 

 Ruians that I hey would for French ship-. The 

 effect of the rapprochement had been gradually 

 to transfer the German invc.-tinents in Russian 

 securitie- to French hands. Owing to the finan- 

 cial support of the French |>eople, who already 

 held nearly 4,(XX),00<),0<X) francs of Russian se- 

 curities, the credit of Russia stood higher than 

 ever, and the Russian Government was in posses- 

 sion of means to develop the military and naval 

 systems and the resources of the country. 



The Cabinet of Casimir P6rier. When 

 the new Chamber met, on Nov. 14, Casimir Pe- 

 rier was again elected President. The Moderate 

 and the Radical Republicans having both been 

 strengthened and the Monarchists almost ex- 

 tinguished, there was a contest between the 

 Radicals anxious to impose a progressive policy 

 on the Government and the Moderates who 

 wished to break with Radicalism and combine 

 with the right. The Cabinet was not reorgan- 

 ized to suit either view, and clinging to Repub- 

 lican concentration put forth a programme con- 

 taining no concessions to the Radicals. The re- 

 sult was a defeat on a vote of confidence. Pres- 

 ident Carnot summoned M. Raynal, who de- 

 clined, and then M. Spuller, who attempted to 

 form a Cabinet. He could not get together a 

 homogeneous Cabinet without including M. Con- 

 stans, who was obnoxious to M. Carnot, and on 

 Nov. 30 gave way to M. Casimir Perier. After 

 a week's interregnum the list was completed on 

 Dec. 2, as follow: Prime Minister and Minister 

 of Foreign Affairs, Casimir Perier; Minister of 

 the Interior, David Caynal ; Minister of Justice, 

 M. Dubost ; Minister of Finance, Auguste liur- 

 deau; Minister of War, Gen. Mercier; Minister 

 of Marine, Admiral Lefevre ; Minister of Com- 

 merce, M. Marty; Minister of the Colonies, 

 Theophile Delcasse ; Minister of Public Instruc- 

 tion, Eugene Spuller; Minister of Agriculture, 

 M. Viger ; Minister of Public Works, M. Jonnart. 

 M. Dupuy was elected to succeed M. Casimir 

 Perier as President of the Chamber of Deputies. 



The new Premier in the ministerial declara- 

 tion said that the country had shown by the elec- 

 tions its aversion both to reaction and socialism. 

 Socialism the Government intended to combat 

 by real reforms and the amelioration of the con- 

 dition of the working classes, especially by a 

 radical reform in the system of direct taxation, 

 a remodeling the land laws, the creation of a 

 pension fund for old and disabled workingmen, 

 and the organization by the Government of ag- 

 ricultural credit and insurance. On a socialist 

 proposal for amnesty to political and strike of- 

 fenders the ministry narrowly escaped a defeat, 

 as 100 Deputies abstained from voting. 



Franco-Italian Labor Riot*. The ancient 

 city of Aigues-Mortes gives employment every 

 summer to a considerable number of laborers in 

 the salt marshes. The Italians are generally dis- 

 liked in the south of France, as the Belgians are 

 in the north, because they work for lower wages 

 than the French laborers and will not join the 

 labor unions. The French salt workers, for the 

 most part a lawless set of vagabonds, felt this 

 jealousy for the Italians who underbid them. 

 On Aug. 17, after the men had been paid off and 



