322 SMALL INDUSTRIES AND 



has in France. More details, showing the dis- 

 tribution of the great, middle-sized and small 

 industry hi different branches will be found in 

 the Appendix, and there the reader will also see 

 what a striking resemblance is offered under this 

 aspect by the industry of France and that of the 

 United Kingdom. In the next chapter it will 

 be seen from a similar census that Germany 

 stands in absolutely the same position. 



It would have been very interesting to compare 

 the present distribution of industries in France 

 with what it was previously. But M. Lucien 

 March tells us that " no statistics previous to 

 1896 have given us a knowledge of that distribu- 

 tion" Still, an inquest made between 1840 and 

 1845, and which M. March considers " very 

 complete for the more important establishments 

 which employed more than fifty workmen," was 

 worked out by him, and he found that such 

 establishments numbered 3,300 in 1840 ; in 

 1896 they had already attained the number of 

 7,400, and they occupied more than fifty-five per 

 cent, of all the workpeople employed in industry. 

 As to the establishments which employed more 

 than 500 persons and which numbered 133 in 

 1840 (six per cent, of all the workpeople), they 

 attained the number of 444 in 1896, and sixteen 

 per cent, of all the workpeople were employed in 

 them. 



