FRANCE. 



287 



Republican concentration on conservative lines. 

 The triennial elections of Senators were held in 

 one third of the departments on Jan. 7. The 

 outgoing Senators were mostly re-elected. The 

 Reactionaries lost 8 seats, and the Radicals won 

 a few, but the Socialists none. The resulting 

 composition of the Senate was : Republicans, 

 225; Reactionaries. 48; Radicals, 23; Rallied 

 Conservatives, 4. When the Chamber assembled, 

 Charles Dupuy was re-elected President on Jan. 

 11. M. Burdeau's conversion bill reducing the 

 interest on the 4i-per-cent. debt to 3 per cent, 

 was passed without opposition. The 4^-per 

 cents, were the product of a conversion of 5-per- 

 cent, stock effected ten years before, not without 

 the resistance of the holders. The new conver- 

 sion bill provided that holders who did not pre- 

 sent their bonds within a week for redemption in 



CASIMIB-PfeRIER. 



cash would be deemed to have accepted the con- 

 version. An amendment was made that the sav- 

 ings should be applied partly to labor superan- 

 nuations and partly to an agricultural bank, and 

 Jaures proposed that the proceeds should be ap- 

 plied to the remission of the land tax for the bene- 

 fit of peasant proprietors : but when M. Burdeau 

 had made it a Cabinet question the Government 

 proposal prevailed by a vote of 306 to 206 in 

 favor of devoting the sum saved in interest to 

 the relief of the general budsret, 50,000,000 francs 

 in 1895 and 70.000,000 francs in 1896. The capi- 

 tal converted was 7.000,000,000 francs. The 

 Government promised that the new rente would 

 not be converted nor paid off within a period of 

 eight years. The bill passed the Chamber on 

 Jan. 16 the day after it was presented with 

 only a single negative vote, and on the following 



day was unanimously adopted by the Senate. 

 The Government promised to lighten the bur* 

 dens weighing upon agriculture by a separate 

 measure. M. Clovis-Hugues on Jan. 27 inter- 

 pellated the Government regarding the domi- 

 ciliary searches and wholesale arrests under the 

 anti-anarchist law of December, 1893, causing 

 an uproar in the House and the suspension of 

 M. Thivrier for glorifying the Commune. On 

 Feb. 21 the Chamber passed a bill for the protec- 

 tion of agriculturists, raising the duty on wheat 

 from 5 to 7 francs per 100 kilogrammes after a 

 debate over the Socialist proposition of Jaures 

 to restrict the right of importing wheat to the 

 Government, and thus abolish middlemen and 

 the manipulation of prices by speculators. His 

 amendment was rejected by 481 votes to 52, and 

 the Government bill was passed by 371 to 172. 



A part of the clergy and one or two clericals 

 in the Chamber attempted to raise difficulties 

 regarding a new law requiring churches to sub- 

 mit all accounts, including casual receipts, to- 

 the prefects to be audited. The leaders, how- 

 ever, held aloof from the dispute. The papal 

 nuncio wrote a letter, deprecating, indeed, the 

 recalcitrant attitude of the Bishop of Lyons and 

 others, which letter, moreover, was not meant 

 for publication, but which was published, and 

 for this undiplomatic act M. Casimir-Perier de- 

 manded explanations from the Vatican and re- 

 ceived the apology from the nuncio, and the 

 assurance that the incident would not be re- 

 peated. In reply to a question regarding a 

 decree of the Socialist Mayor of St. Denis for- 

 bidding the display of religious emblems or 

 symbols in the streets, such as a cross in a 

 funeral procession, M. Spuller. after saying that 

 he had annulled the decree, announced the ces- 

 sation of the long religious strife that has vexed 

 France, saying that the Government would 

 henceforth be guided by " the veritable spirit of 

 tolerance, enlightened and humane, which is in- 

 spired not only by liberalism of ideas but by 

 warmth of heart," and that, while vigilant to 

 maintain the rights of the laity, it would be 

 animated by " the new spirit, which has for its 

 object to conciliate all citizens and bring pacifi- 

 cation into French society." On another occa- 

 sion he said " inflexible moderation " was the 

 line of conduct the Government set itself. 



On March 17 the Chamber passed, almost 

 without discussion, a bill creating a separate 

 Ministry for the Colonies. The action, which 

 many have advocated for years, was precipitated 

 by the resignation of Maurice Lebon, Under 

 Secretary for the Colonies in the Ministry of 

 Commerce, who declared that in this subordi- 

 nate position he lacked sufficient authority to 

 carry out necessary decisions. The Senate was 

 specially convened to pass the bill, and Senator 

 Boulanger was appointed to the new post on 

 March 20. After the death of Gen. de Miribel, 

 the Minister of War, on April 30, appointed Gen. 

 de Boisdeffre to be chief of the general staff. 



The incidence of taxation was altered by the 

 budget proposals of M. Burdeau, and social re- 

 forms were not neglected in the scheme of this 

 ministry, which exasperated the Socialists and 

 Radicals by its vigor and firmness. Casimir- 

 Perier, in a* speech, said : " We must reform our 

 morals at the same time as our laws. Those 



