138 FRANCE, ANNAM, AND CHINA. 



The Government of M. De Freycinet found considerable difficulty 

 in securing a suitable and worthy successor to the lamented Resi- 

 dent-General Paul Bert, for the Premier observed : " those to whom 

 I offer it decline, and those who offer themselves, I am obliged to 

 refuse." 



The appointment was strongly pressed upon the President of the 

 Budget, M. Rouvier, also upon the Prefect of the Department of the 

 Rhone, M. Massicault, but they both refused the honour ; until at 

 last, faiUng to secure a diplomatist in France, the Government 

 offered the post to M. Bihourd, the recently appointed French 

 Resident in Tunis, and he accepted the unenviable position, and left 

 for the East in January 1887. 



The condition of the Colony, partly arising from the death of 

 Paul Bert, and the serious delay in appointing his successor, became 

 once more distracted by the insurrectionary movements of restless 

 and dissatisfied sections of the population, and compelled the army 

 of occupation to be constantly on the alert. Everywhere throughout 

 both Annam and Tonquin, especially on the frontiers with China, 

 there were serious conflicts ; on the borders of Kwantung, Kwangsi, 

 and Yunnam, where the regular and irregular troops in the pay of 

 China vainly attempted an invasion of the conquered provinces ; also 

 on the frontier of the Upper Black River, the French forces had to 

 contend with the disciplined troops of one of the former kings of 

 Annam, the ex-Regent Thuyet, a rival of the Tu-Duc dynasty ; also 

 on the southern frontier of Annam the French had to oppose an 

 insurrection in the province of Than-Hoa, headed by the deposed 

 King of Annam, who had since his deposition become a source of 

 much trouble. 



These outbreaks in various parts of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula 

 kept the army of occupation very active, and it was seriously 

 aggravated by the large number of desertions from the loyal 

 native troops, often with their arms and ammunition, who were 

 allured by bribes and other attractions ; so that the rebel forces 

 appeared to be acting on the offensive, concurrently, and by this 

 concerted action they hoped to strike a serious blow against French 

 rule, and in favour of their cherished independence. 



