FRANCE. 



265 



into a perpetual 3-per-cent. rente of 6,307,520 

 francs a year, representing a capital of 157,688,- 

 000 francs. The population is mainly engaged 

 in agriculture. In 1900 there were 429,238 hec- 

 tares under wheat, 430,171 under barley, 15,322 

 under oats, 15,252 under corn, and 11,522 under 

 beans. There were about 800,000 quintals of 

 wheat, 450,000 quintals of barley, 80,000 quintals 

 of oats, 30,000 quintals of beans, and 25,000 quin- 

 tals of corn sent to Marseilles in 1901. There 

 are 200,000 hectares of olive-groves in central 

 Tunis, yielding 339,983 hectoliters of oil in 1901. 

 In the south are 1,350,000 date-palm trees, and 

 the annual export of dried dates is valued at 800,- 

 000 francs. The area planted to vines in 1900 was 

 11,374 hectares, 9,708 hectares belonging to Eu- 

 ropeans, and the production of wine was 225,000 

 hectoliters. There were 9,930 quintals of cork 

 bark cut in 1900 and 11,882 quintals in 1901. 

 Oranges, lemons, pistachio-nuts, almonds, and 

 henna are other products of the country, and 

 alfalfa is exported. The mines in 1899 produced 

 lead and zinc ores of the value of 2,141.000 

 francs, and the product of quarries was valued 

 at 1,700,000 francs. The phosphate-mines at 

 Gafsa yielded 150,000 tons in 1900. The fisheries, 

 which are exploited by Italians almost entirely, 

 in 1900 produced 134,350 kilograms of sardines, 

 28,450 kilograms of anchovies and 1,435,990 kilo- 

 grams of other fish, the whole valued at 759,832 

 francs, and 85,826 kilograms of sponges, valued 

 at 59,809 francs. The total value of imports in 

 1900, including precious metals, was 61,514,242 

 francs; exports, 42,560,191 francs. The imports 

 in 1899 were 55,778,241 francs in value, of which 

 the principal ones were grain and pulse for 11,- 

 972,482 francs, textile fabrics for 8,222,587 francs, 

 colonial produce for 4,564,628 francs, metal manu- 

 factures for 4,454,023 francs, animal products for 

 2,776,211 francs, pottery and stone for 2,621,067 

 francs, leather and paper manufactures for 2,197,- 

 37^: francs, lumber for 1,913,220 francs, and bev- 

 erages for 1,883,584 francs. The total value of 

 exports in 1899 was 49,433,460 francs, the" leading 

 ones being olive and other vegetable oils for 

 14,698,887 francs, grain and pulse for 11,307,024 

 francs, ores and metals for 4.353,693 francs, ani- 

 mals and animal products for 3,624,997 francs, 

 beverages for 1,813,660 francs, sponges, etc., for 

 1,791,323 francs, fish for 1,686.004 francs, alfalfa 

 for 1,414,305 francs, and fruits and seeds for 

 1,225,978 francs. The imports of precious metals 

 were 9.223,500 francs; exports, 8,018.000 francs. 

 The values in francs of the trade in 1899 with 

 various countries are given in the following 

 table: 



The number of vessels entered at Tunisian 

 ports during 1900 was 11,751, of 2,520,435 tons, of 

 which 1,955, of 1.320,377 tons, were French. The 

 length of railroads in 1901 was 588 miles, of 

 which 417 miles belonged to the Government. 

 The length of telegraph-lines was 2.390 miles, 

 with 5,330 miles of wire. There were 9 telephone 

 systems, with 130 miles of line and 143 miles of 

 wire, and 448 miles of long-distance lines, with 

 528 miles of wire. The number of conversations 

 in 1899 was 309,000. The number of telegraph 



messages in 1899 was 701,690; the number of let- 

 ters handled in the post-office, 5,656,932 internal 

 and 11,172,752 external. Loans for the con- 

 struction of four railroads of the total amount 

 of 40,000,000 francs were authorized on May 1, 

 1902, and the first one for 5,000,000 francs, bear- 

 ing 3 per cent, interest, was issued at 95 on July 

 29. Ali Bey died on June 11, 1902, and Prince 

 Mohammed was invested as Bey. He agreed 

 that his civil list and private estates should be 

 placed under a French manager, without whose 

 consent no payments or debts can be made. 



The boundaries of Algeria and Tunis are unde- 

 fined on the south, and. beyond them are terri- 

 tories conceded in conventions made with Great 

 Britain to be a French sphere of influence which 

 extend to the French protectorates on the Niger 

 and the Congo (see WEST AFRICA), and will 

 give France the greatest colonial empire in 

 Africa when they shall be under the dominion of 

 the republic. On the other side of Africa France 

 has a new colony with a fine port giving commer- 

 cial access to the interior of Abyssinia (see EAST 

 AFRICA). Some of the islands off the southeast 

 coast of Africa have been French possessions for 

 centuries. By the conquest of Madagascar the 

 second largest island in the world was definitely 

 added to the colonial dominions of France (see 

 MADAGASCAR). The island of Reunion, 420 miles 

 east of Madagascar, has long been the home of 

 French Creole planters, who with negro and 

 coolie labor raise sugar-cane, vanilla, cacao, 

 coffee, and spices. The Governor, P. Samary in 

 1902, is assisted by a Privy Council having 3 offi- 

 cial and 4 nominated members and by an elective 

 General Council. The colony sends a Senator and 

 2 Deputies to the French Chambers. The area of 

 the island is 965 square miles, and its population 

 in 1897 was 173,192, including 15,219 East Indi- 

 ans, 9,848 Africans, 4,496 natives of Madagascar, 

 and 836 Chinese. The town of St. Denis has 

 32,850 inhabitants; St. Pierre, 27,900: St. Paul, 

 20,000; St. Louis, 13,300. There is a French gar- 

 rison of about 800 soldiers. The export of sugar 

 in 1900 was 33,669 tons. The total value of im- 

 ports in 1900 was 22,025,000 francs, and of export* 

 17,450,000 francs. The value ot sugar exported 

 was 10,125,000 francs; of vanilla, 3,275,000 francs. 

 The imports from France and French colonies 

 were 16,450,000 francs in value, and of exports to 

 France and French colonies 15.836,000 francs. 

 There were 138 vessels, of 189,625 tons, entered 

 in 1900. A railroad, 83 miles in length, runs from 

 Pointe-de-Galets to St. Pierre. It became the 

 property of the Government in 1887. The local 

 revenue in 1901 was 5,033.700 francs, balancing 

 the expenditure, but France in 1902 contributed 

 4,661,851 francs, of which 2,452,000 francs were 

 for the railroad and harbor. The petty islands 

 of St. Paul and Amsterdam in the Pacific and 

 the uninhabited isle of Kergiielcn belong to 

 France. Mai/otte has an area of 140 square miles. 

 The population in 1898 was 11,640. Sugar is 

 grown for export and for the distillation of rum. 

 Vanilla is being more extensively cultivated. The 

 raising of coffee, cacao, tea, and rubber is in the 

 experimental stage. The value of imports in 1900 

 was 561,620 francs, of which 292,967 francs came 

 from France and French colonies. 1'ne value of 

 exports was 1.309,932 francs. The value of sugar 

 exported was 1,008,296 francs; of vanilla, 155,670 

 francs. The local revenue in 1900 was 293,807 

 francs. The expenditure of France in 1902 was 

 20,000 francs. The debt consists of an advance 

 of 500,000 francs from the French treasury made 

 to repair the damages of the cyclone of 1898 and 

 repayable in twenty years without interest. The- 



