FLORIDA. 



FRANCE. 



283 



acres of land heavily timbered, and is erecting 

 several turpentine stills. A railroad is to be 

 built from Bloxham, on the Ocklockonnee river, 

 to give the producers an outlet to market by 

 way of the Carrabelle, Tallahassee and Georgia 

 road, which will also be used for hauling lumber. 



About 14 miles south of Tallahassee, in Wa- 

 kulla County, hard limestone rock has been found 

 in great abundance, adjacent to the railroad, 

 and several hundred car loads have been shipped 

 to be used on the St. Augustine jetties. An ex- 

 cellent quality of building granite and a fine 

 grade of white, black, and red marble have also 

 been found in the same locality. 



On April 10 a convention of the phosphate 

 miners and operators of Florida was held in 

 Jacksonville, to consider the ways and means of 

 promoting the development of the industry. 

 The business in this line continued brisk during 

 the year. Complete statistics are wanting, but 

 during March alone there were shipped 18,819 

 tons from Port Tampa, and 2,878 tons from 

 Punta Gorda. 



Fruit. According to statistics compiled by 

 the Commissioner of Agriculture, the value of 

 the fruit products of Florida for 1894 was esti- 

 mated as follows : Oranges, $4,380,621 ; pine- 

 apples, $470,571 ; bananas, $21,350 ; sugar ap- 

 ples, $3,307; lemons, $81,635; pears, $80.145: 

 peaches, $122,035; cocoanuts, $2,529; straw- 

 berries, $104,814; limes, $6,508; grape fruit, 

 $27,170; pecans, $1,484; mangoes, $5,884; avo- 

 cado pears, $2,489; and guavas, $3,622. Un- 

 fortunately, on Dec. 29, 1894, a great frost oc- 

 curred, more destructive than the memorable 

 freeze of 1835, or that of March, 1886. All 

 oranges on the trees estimated at half the crop 

 were frozen solid and ruined in all sections of 

 the State, except Key West. The hundreds of 

 thousands of pineapples growing along the east 

 coast as far as Palm Beach and at Avon Park, in 

 the central part of South, Florida, were killed at 

 a breath ; so were the lemon trees, grape fruit, 

 bananas, guavas, mangoes, and other tropical 

 fruits. Most of the young orange trees were 

 killed, as also the young shoots on the old trees, 

 so that little fruit may be looked for next year. 

 Scarcely 200,000 boxes of good fruit were saved 

 out of the wreck of 2,500,000. Strawberries and 

 other small fruits, tomatoes, eggplants, and 

 other vegetables are also ruined. 



Political. The State Democratic Conven- 

 tion met in Jacksonville July 31. The most 

 significant parts of the platform were these . 



We recognize with feelings of pride the unswerving 

 integrity and patriotism of President Cleveland, his 

 executive ability, his wisdom in maintaining a sound 

 and stable currency, and his steadfast adherence to 

 Democratic principles. 



We hereby heartily indorse the present State ad- 

 ministration as wise, patriotic, and democratic in its 

 administration of affairs. The principles on which 

 the great Democratic victory of 1892 was won should 

 not be sacrificed at the instance of a few Democratic 

 Senators. We approve of the course of the Demo- 

 cratic House of Representatives of the United States 

 in its efforts to relieve the people of all unjust taxa- 

 tion and burdens. We condemn the course of the 

 Democratic Senators of the United States who are re- 

 sisting the just demands of the immediate representa- 

 ti\cs of the people. From the people the Democratic 

 party receives its power ; to the people its first duty 



is due. We are opposed to. all legislation for the 

 benefit of trusts and combines. 



We approve of an amendment to the Constitution 

 of the United States providing for an election of 

 Senators by the direct vote of the people of the sev- 

 eral States. 



Believing the Nicaragua Canal would stimulate the 

 trade of the United States, and particularly that of 

 the State of Florida, we do hereby request our Sena- 

 tors and Representatives in Congress to do their ut- 

 most to secure the construction of the said canal. 



The only candidate for a State office in the 

 election of Oct. 2 was B. S. Liddon for J ustice of 

 the Supreme Court, who was elected without op- 

 position, receiving 24,819 votes, while the total 

 vote in 1892 for Governor was 40,749, and for 

 President 35,461. 



In the elections for Representatives in Con- 

 gress, Nov. 6, S. M. Sparkman, Democrat, re- 

 ceived in the First District 12,379 votes, against 

 2,315 for D. L. McKinnon, Populist, and in the 

 Second District C. M. Cooper, Democrat, was re- 

 elected with 9,229 votes, against 2.334 for Mont- 

 holom Atkinson, Populist. These majorities 

 were estimated by the Secretary of State, as the 

 official returns from some of the districts were 

 missing. 



FRANCE, a republic in western Europe, pro- 

 claimed Sept. 4, 1870. The Constitution of Feb. 

 24 and June 16. 1875, has been amended by the 

 additional laws of Aug. 2 and Nov. 30, 1875, Dec. 

 9, 1884, June 16, 1885, and July, 1889. The Na- 

 tional Assembly is formed by two Chambers, the 

 Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The Sen- 

 ate is composed of 300 members, aged at least 

 forty years, who are elected for nine years by 

 special electoral delegations in the departments 

 and the colonies. One third of the Senate is re- 

 newed every three years. There were 23 still sit- 

 ting in 1893 of the Senators who under the old 

 law hold their seats for life. The Chamber of 

 Deputies consists of 584 members, 1 to 70,000 of 

 population, elected by arrondissements for four 

 years bv the direct suffrage of all adult citizens. 

 Any citizen above the age of twenty-five is eligi- 

 ble, with the exception of members of the active 

 army, who are excluded from the voting fran- 

 chise also, and the major part of the public 

 functionaries. The President of the republic 

 is elected for seven years by a majority vote of 

 the National Assembly, convened in joint ses- 

 sion. Marie Francois Sadi Carnot was elected 

 to succeed Jules Grevy on Dec. 3, 1887, for the 

 term ending Dec. 31, 1894. The ministry at the 

 beginning of 1894 was composed of the follow- 

 ing members : President of the Council and Min- 

 ister of Foreign Affairs, Jean Casimir-Perier ; 

 Minister of the Interior, David Raynal ; Minis- 

 ter of Finance, Auguste Burdeau ; Minister of 

 Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Worship, 

 Eugene Spuller; Minister of Justice, Antonin 

 Dubost ; Minister of Commerce, M. Marty; Min- 

 ister of Marine and the Colonies, Admiral Le- 

 fevre : Minister of War, Gen. Mercier ; Minister 

 of Agriculture, Albert Viger; Minister of Pub- 

 lic Works, M. Jonnart. 



Area and Population. The area of France 

 is 204,092 square miles. The legal population 

 shown by the census of April 12, 1891, was 38.- 

 343,192, showing an increase of p-32 per cent, in 

 five years. The number of resident aliens was 

 1,130,211, of whom 465,860 were Belgians, 286,- 



