n; \ 



measure was approved by the commit t.v. The seat 



.anillis. war Brest, rendered vacant by the 



niul*t,who succeeded 1; 

 el a the represent.. 

 /list cause, was contested by the AbU- (ia 



i hi- reooncilia- 



f the Pope wit and the Comte 



latter had the support of 



-.il.h.-an-. inn nevertheless the 



;. *olously supported by his fellow 



bftjntw condemned the electioneer- 

 -lnur that under the Concordat 

 they are forbidden to intervene in elect.. 

 test*, and conswiucntly Annulled the election; but 



Hid was ell 



anew. The Council of Kducation nppr- 

 posal ! dangers of alcoholism in 



nir.ll Bernard asked for 80,000,000 francs to 



six years on new vessels. exclusive 



.f the noriiml amount granted in the budget for 



< . MMruction. which was 72.000.mo francs for 

 1897 and in other years about 76,000,000 francs. 

 The extra expenditure was declared to be necessary 



,- to the rapid increase of the naval forces of 

 other powers, especial IT those of the trip; 

 liancf. The vessels to be constructed are an 1*- 

 knot ironclad turret ship of 12,050 ton-. '2 an: 

 .M-kiiot cruisers of 7 >' protected 8P 



of 2,500 tons, 4 torpedo-boat destroyers of 300 t n^. 

 and 9 coast-defense torpedo boats of 85 tons. M. 

 Lockroy brought forward a counter-scheme pro- 

 posing to spend 200.000.000 francs in four or five 

 yean, of which 150,000,000 francs would go for new 

 ships, mostly cruisers of a large sphere of action ; 

 40,000,000 francs for fortified naval station- in 

 Diego Suarex, New Caledonia. .Martinique, etc.; 

 and lo.om.tMK> francs for repairing and reconstruct- 

 vessels. The Mini-ter of Marine was 

 compelled by the action of the Naval Committee to 

 combine this proposal with his own. The com- 



ee proposed that 120,000,000 francos be ap- 

 plied to the construction of large armored cruisers 

 and light vessels, 60,000,000 francs expended <.n 

 torpedo boats, destroyers, and submarine boats, and 

 17.000.000 francs devoted to necessary repairs of 

 battle ships and gunboats in active service. Tin 

 need of distant refuge and coaling stat i< >ns t hrough- 

 out the world was insisted on. and the Government 

 promised to establish such station-, obtaining the 

 necessary fund- by the sale of public buildings and 

 lands. The vessels to be commenced were 1 battle 



6 cruisers, 4 destroyers, <and 9 torpedo boats. 

 ..-t for 1H9N amounted to 284,000,000 



-. an increase of 26,000.000 francs over that 

 of 1897. The sum of 92,000,iMH) francs is de . 

 to const met i<>n. The new vessels to be begun dur- 

 ing the year are 2 battle ships, each to cost 28,000,- 

 000 francs, an armored cruiser of 9,000 tons, cost- 

 ing 19.000,000 francs, 5 seagoing torpedo boats, 

 and 6 first-class coast-defense torpedo boats. Pub- 

 lic anxiety about the navy was increased after the 

 close of the session by an accident to the gunboat 

 - Bruix." ran*-! by a flaw in the propeller sh;. 

 The Government carried a bill to raise - 

 money from sugar by increasing the excise duty in 

 order to meet the expense of increasing the I 

 ties. M. Jaun*. the Socialist leader, propo- 

 make a state monopoly of sugar-refining as a sub- 

 stitute for bounties. M. Siegfried suggested lower- 

 ing tt .-more productive of revenue than 

 increasing it. The Chamber voted to restri< 

 decorations of the Legion of Honor to 20 grand 

 crosses, 50 grand officers. 250 commanders, 

 officers, and 12,000 chevaliers. ;nent bill 

 subjects foreigners who neglect to notify the 

 of a change of residence to a penalty of 50 to 



;incs. the SHIIH 



tie Mini'-:- 



\\ith the Arm\ Committee thai the 

 Idition of a fourth battalion to each in- 

 fantry regiment should not reduce the -trench of 

 ive battalion-. The decline of the 

 ,'ile marine, in spite of bounties 

 cmial to half the cost of building -Inp- .-.; 

 m iu n. a, and the deflection of trade to 



the railroad- and | Igium and Holland, 



attributeM Mi. MI in ihos. 



WaS the subject of much dlscii ion. A bill WES 



adopted imposing 1$ fram- on each metric ; 

 merchandise, each passenger, and each head of 

 cattle landed from foreign vessels. A duty was 

 impo-ed on lead, which will enable Trench mines. 

 M. I 1 .. .IK her calculates, to .supply half of the ijiian- 

 tity reipiin-il. A step was taken in the direct 

 reforming the ,-terial inquiries tlur 



lie subject of criticism ' i liun.lri-d 

 years. I'nder the French law. a- it ha- hi 1 



-ii-pceted person may be impri-oiie.l for 

 days, s<imelimes f ( ,r months, while under 

 secret interrogation liv the magistrate, una 1 

 confer with his counsel, who is as ignorant a 



client of the deposition of the witnesses and 



objects of tlie inquiry. A bill was passed b\ the 



providing that any person ;,: to !" 

 interrogated within twe'nty-four hours; th. 



this first examination^ the prisoner's identic 

 be proved and he is to be infnrmed of the of] 

 with which lie is charged : that at subse<|iiei. 

 animation- he shall not be interrogated not 

 fronted with wiine < except in I 

 his counsel ; and that the magistrate shall not de- 

 bar the prisoner from all communication with out- 

 siders for more than two periods of ten dl 



A Senate bill makes married women valid wit- 

 nesses to legal documents. The new law decentral- 

 izing the univer-iiie- and emancipating them from 

 the rigid control of the Ministry of Kducatinn had 

 the effect of reviving the activity of some of the 

 lesser ones by opening the door't and 



donation* for the endowment of special -tudio. 

 Each university i- to have a council con-i-tini: of 

 the rector, the heads of faculties, and delegates 

 elected bv the professors, which council will have 

 control of the teaching, discipline, and property of 

 the university, subject in some cases to the Sui 

 Kducation Council. The state will continue t 

 the stipends of professors and to receive the fees 

 for examinations and diplomas; the univt-r-ity will 

 have the students' fees, and from these and endow- 

 ments must maintain the buildings. The de- 

 Doctor can henceforth be worn by f w. II 

 as Frenchmen, but a very high examination moat 

 be passed before it can be awarded to any one. M. 

 Berenger extracted a promise of a stricter c. 

 -hip over some of the Pari-ian places of amusement, 

 but the Minister of Kducation was averse to fetter- 

 ing the freedom of artistic product ions or that of 

 the city of plea-Jim- in which foreigner- found de- 

 light, while the laboring people of Paris constituted 

 a different city, one that would meet ti 



the u-st civilization. A bill of M that 



passed th-- punishment of im- 



pri-onmcnt from a month to two years and 

 of from 100 to 5,000 francs for circulation of in- 

 decent speeches, song-, book-, drawing*, emblems, 

 or objects incitinir to debauchery. The bud;.'. 

 passed, with no material changes, from pn- 



the Chamber adjourned on April 12 



t again on May is. The burning of a charity 



;. by which the Duchess d'Alencon 

 and I80othen lo-t their lives, led to an examina- 

 tion of the arrangement- for safety in case of fire 

 in all the theaters and public halls of Paris, which 



