FRANCE. 



273 



32 Senators and 68 Representatives, will be unani- 

 mously Democratic. A constitutional amendment, 

 which was carried by a large majority, changes the 

 section regarding sureties on the official bonds of 

 State officers by including county and municipal 

 officers, and adding that " any duly organized and 

 responsible guarantee or surety company, either 

 foreign or domestic, lawfully doing business in this 

 State, may become and be accepted as surety on all 

 such official bonds." 



FRANCE, a republic in western Europe, pro- 

 claimed on Sept. 4, 1870, when the Emperor Na- 

 poleon III was deposed. The legislative power is 

 vested in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, 

 which unite to form the National Assembly for the 

 election of a President or to revise the Constitution. 

 The Senators number 300. They are now elected 

 for nine years by electoral bodies in the depart- 

 ments formed of chosen electors and the represen- 

 tatives of the departments in the Chambers and the 

 local councils. Of the 75 Senators who were elected 

 for life under the law of 1875, there were 26 sur- 

 vivors at the end of 1897. The Deputies number 

 584, elected for four years by arrondissements or by 

 subdivisions of arrondissements when the popula- 

 tion exceeds 100,000. No candidate can stand for 

 more than one constituency at a time, and no prince 

 of a deposed French dynasty can be a candidate, 

 nor any person previously condemned by a court of 

 law. The President is elected for seven years. 

 Felix Faure was elected President of the republic 

 on .Tun. 17, 1895, to succeed Sadi-Carnot. 



The Cabinet, formed on April 30, 1896, was com- 

 posed at the beginning of 1898 as follows : Presi- 

 dent of the Council and Minister of Agriculture, J. 

 Meline ; Minister of the Interior, M. Barthou ; 

 Minister of Finance, G. Cochery; Minister of For- 

 eign Affairs, M. Ilanotaux ; Minister of War, Gen. 

 Billot; Minister of Marine, Admiral Besnard ; 

 Minister of the Colonies, A.Lebon; Minister of 

 Public Worship and Education, M. Rambaud : Min- 

 ister of Justice, M. Milliard, appointed on Dec. 2, 

 1897; Minister of Commerce and Industry and of 

 Posts and Telegraphs, Henri Boucher : Minister of 

 Public Works, M. Turrel. 



Finances. The budget estimates for 1898 make 

 the total revenue 3.413,916,088 francs, of which 

 3,282,992,549 francs are the ordinary revenue, 55,- 

 495,059 francs various extraordinary receipts, 6,800,- 

 000 francs exceptional receipts, 66,591,328 francs 

 recettes d'ordre, and 52,037,152 francs the revenue 

 of Algeria. Of the ordinary revenue 482,132,136 

 francs come from direct taxes, 39,832,577 francs 

 from taxes assimilated to direct taxes, 1,975,069,400 

 francs from indirect taxes, 679,867,550 francs from 

 Government monopolies and factories, and 56,090,- 

 886 francs from state domains and forests. The 

 direct contributions comprise 93,273,138 francs 

 from the personal and property tax, 118,632,730 

 francs from the land tax, 82,005,308 francs from 

 the tax on buildings, 59,717.140 francs the tax on 

 iloors and windows, 127.442,990 francs from trade 

 licenses, and 1,060,830 francs from the tax for ad- 

 vertisement. The taxes assimilated to direct taxes 

 are 7,006,650 francs from property in mortmain, 

 2,275,070 francs from mines, 5,154,500 francs from 

 verification of weights and measures, 12,800,000 

 francs from carriages and horses, 3,326.000 francs 

 from velocipedes, 5,947,535 francs from the military 

 tax, and 3,322,822 francs from other taxes. Of the 

 indirect taxes registration yields 506,221,100 francs, 

 the stamp duty 170,295,200 francs, income from 

 transferable securities 67,661,000 francs, the tax on 

 stock-exchange operations 5,053,000 francs, import 

 duties 382,884,000 francs, statistical dues 6,779,000 

 : francs, navigation dues 7.667,000 francs, customs 

 duty on salt 24,968,000 francs, various dues and 

 VOL. xxxvin. 18 A 



fines 5,925,190 francs, taxes on wine, cider, etc., 

 170,484,000 francs, tax on beer 23,723,500 francs, 

 tax on spirits 268,733,000 francs, railroad taxes 54,- 

 083,500 francs, licenses for beverages 13,693,000 

 francs, various excise duties 74,435,500 francs, and 

 the duty on sugar 192,463,500 francs. The revenue 

 from Government monopolies and factories is made 

 up of 392,885,900 francs from tobacco, 43,040,600 

 francs from matches and gunpowder, 230,196,200 

 francs from posts, telegraphs, and telephones, and 

 13,744,850 francs from other establishments. 



The total expenditure for France was estimated 

 for 1898 at 3,342,632,679 francs and Algerian ex- 

 penditure at 71,147.857 francs, making the total 

 budget 3,413,780,536 francs. Of the expenditure 

 for France 1,247,832,789 francs are for the public 

 debt, 13,313,737 francs for the President, Senate, 

 and Chamber of Deputies, 19,397,710 francs for the 

 Ministry of Finance, 35,039,533 francs for the Min- 

 istry of Justice, 15,239,800 francs for the Ministry 

 of Foreign Affairs, 74,171.495 francs for the Minis- 

 try of the Interior, 603,684,297 francs for the ordi- 

 nary and 25,867,100 francs for the extraordinary 

 expenses of the army. 284,795,500 francs for the 

 navy, 213,602,604 francs for the Ministry of Instruc- 

 tion and Fine Arts, 43,065,553 francs for the Min- 

 istry of Worship, 205,284,888 francs for the Ministry 

 of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs, of 

 which 170,252,211 francs are the working expenses 

 of the post office and telegraphs, 88,030,868 francs 

 for the Ministry of the Colonies, 28,767,268 francs 

 for the Ministry of Agriculture, 195,157,494 francs 

 for the Ministry of Public Works, 208,657,881 francs 

 for the regie and collection of taxes, and 40,724,162 

 francs for repayments. 



The national debt on Jan. 1, 1896, amounted to 

 the capital sum of 31,094,356,744 francs, of which 22,- 

 005,373,951 francs represent the consolidated debt, 

 227,450,532 francs the Morgan loan, 3,936,491,000 

 francs redeemable debt, 3,371,429,015 francs an- 

 nuities, etc., 1,143,607,551 francs floating debt, and 

 310,004,695 francs guaranteed debts. The debt 

 charges in 1898 amounted to 1,247,832,789 francs, 

 of which 693,680,314 francs were for the consoli- 

 dated debt, 321,896,231 francs interest and amorti- 

 zation of redeemable loans, and 232,256,244 francs 

 for floating debt. 



The revenue of the departments amounted col- 

 lectively to 273,527,833 francs in 1895, and the 

 expenditure to 272,328,307 francs ; departmental 

 debts, 418,992,744 francs. The ordinary revenue of 

 the communes of France for 1896 was estimated at 

 the aggregate sum of 740,146,826 francs, and their 

 expenditure at 705,590,038 francs; the sum of their 

 debts in 1895 was 3,515,153,501 francs. The reve- 

 nue of Paris was estimated for 1897 at 302,271,967 

 francs of ordinary and 42,119,660 francs of extraor- 

 dinary receipts; debt, 1,769,000,000 francs. 



The Army. The French army is composed of 

 145 divisional regiments of infantry, each of 62 

 officers and 1.591 men; 18 regional regiments, con- 

 taining 51 officers and 1,560 men each ; 30 battal- 

 ions of chasseurs of 4 or 6 companies, each company 

 containing 19 officers and 552 men ; 4 zouave regi- 

 ments, each numbering 73 officers and 2,551 men ; 

 4 regiments of Algerian tirailleurs, each having 103 

 officers and 2,632 men ; 2 regiments of 5 battalions 

 of foreign legionaries ; 5 battalions of African light 

 infantry; 13 regiments of cuirassiers, 21 of mounted 

 chasseurs, 14 of hussars, and 6 of African chasseurs, 

 each regiment containing 5 squadrons, with 37 offi- 

 cers, 792 men, and 722 horses ; 3 regiments of 

 spahis, 2 of 5 squadrons and 1 of 8 squadrons, and 

 1 regiment of Tunisian spahis; 8 remount compa- 

 nies, each of 299 men ; 40 regiments of field artil- 

 lery, comprising 428 mounted, 52 horse, and 16 

 mountain batteries, besides 4 mounted and 8 moun- 



