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pete for business in the world's carrying trade. Shipowners view with apprehension the increase in competing tonnage, as there was no expansion in the world's requirements at the end of 1905 to justify the huge orders which had been placed with shipbuilders. If trade all over the world expands as fast as the sanguine ones expect and if peace is maintained-then all may be well; if not, the shipping industry will continue to suffer from low freights and excessive competition.

I have already referred to the large advance in the price of iron. After allowing for speculative movements there can be no doubt that the chief part of the advance was in consequence of a genuine demand in the iron and steel trades. The orders for new steamers account for part of that demand; in other directions also, there was gratifying expansion. The engineering trades were better occupied at the close of 1905 than for a long time past, the awakening being very noticeable in the machinery, waggon, motor and cycle trades. In machinery the exports increased by nearly 2,250,000l. sterling, and the motor and cycle trades had an output which is estimated at over 10,000,000l.-nearly all at home. Textile machinery, largely in consequence of the "cotton boom," flourished, and the British makers were well occupied in equipping new mills at home and in India. Curiously enough, coal-the basis of industry-was dull, and the prices hardly advanced at all. Usually coal moves too rapidly when industry calls for its services; and by swelling the cost of production tends to check expansion. Fortunately that was not experienced during the past year, and cheap coal aided materially the revival in our staple departments of industry.

It should not be concluded from the above brief survey that the year 1905 was all that could be desired. It was not. But the course of business showed that our manufacturers and traders have learned one great lesson from past troubles-namely, to adapt themselves and their works to modern requirements. British manufacturing departments have been pretty thoroughly overhauled and are now equipped in a much more efficient way than they were even three or four years ago. When the worldwide revival began they were able to command their share of the world's trade; it will be seen in the future if they are able to keep it. One hears much less, too, of that magnificent attitude of aloofness-"if you don't like my goods you can go somewhere else "-which has done irremediable damage in the past. The Briton is making himself adaptable-it is hard work, but he has done harder things in his time, and will do still harder things before he is beaten by the foreigner who receives so much gratuitous and undeserved advertisement at some British hands.

F. HARCOURT KITCHIN.

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL HISTORY.

CHAPTER I.

FRANCE AND ITALY.

I. FRANCE.

[References to matters connected with the Moroccan negotiations will be found also in Chapter II., Foreign and Colonial History, under "Germany," and, more fully, in Chapter VII., under "Morocco."]

THE capital domestic event of the year 1905 in France was without doubt the vote of the Chambers for the separation of Church and State. Though one of the essential articles of the Radical programme, it had figured for such a long time among the reforms always promised and always postponed that very few politicians believed that its hour had come. Nevertheless from New Year's Day the absence of the Pope's Nuncio on the occasion of the diplomatic reception at the Elysée was felt to be a grave symptom of an impending religious crisis.

The opponents of the Government meantime had at last hit upon a formidable policy, in the campaign opened near the end of 1904 against delation in the army. General Février, formerly High Chancellor of the Legion of Honour, had agreed to be a channel for all the petitions of the Knights of the Order asking that its council should proceed against and expel as unworthy all the members who had furnished secret and malicious information about any officers or functionaries through the medium of freemasonry. From all sides protests poured in. The Conservative papers published every morning columns of confidential reports addressed to the Grand Orient by officers or civilians concerning generals, colonels, officers of all ranks, of whom very few were represented as Republicans. The Ministry, however, continued its course. M. Clemenceau defined the policy of M. Combes as le gouvernement du pointage, and reproached him with having always in his pocket a little note-book where were entered the names of deputies and senators, with private marks indicating the methods by which they could be worked upon. On January 10 the Parliamentary session opened.

In the Senate M. Fallières was re-elected to the Chair with

out opposition. For the Presidency of the Chamber M. Henri Brisson and M. Doumer, an ex-Governor-General of Indo-China, were the candidates. The latter was elected by 265 votes against 240 for the member for Marseilles. The choice of M. Doumer was significant, inasmuch as he had clearly declared that it was necessary at all costs to give check to a Ministry whose very existence had become a scandal and a real danger. The address of the new President of the Chamber was interrupted so often and so furiously by the Socialists that at the end of the sitting M. Doumer remarked that "it is not a very generous thing to attack a President. He is the only person who has no right to defend himself." The maladroit attacks of M. Doumer's rabid enemies tended, however, distinctly to strengthen his position and increase his importance. The great Parliamentary battle began on the 13th by the interpellation of M. Vazeille upon the general policy of the Government. It lasted two days and drew forth especially the principal speakers of the Left, the Right not taking any part in the strife excepting by their clamour. MM. Lhôpiteau, Deschanel, Krantz and Ribot set forth the grievances of the Republican Opposition. The President of the Council, the Minister of War and M. Jaurès defended the policy of the Cabinet. The votes were taken on the order of the day treated as a vote of confidence. It was only carried by 287 votes to 281. As the Cabinet included six deputies who had taken part in the voting, while M. Doumer, the President, whose views were undoubted, had according to custom abstained from voting, this was a virtual defeat.

The issue was inevitable. Delayed some days by the death of Mme. Loubet, mother of the President of the Republic, it came about on January 18, when M. Combes gave in his resignation and that of his colleagues. After a brief interregnum M. Rouvier received and accepted (Jan. 21) the commission to form a Government, and on January 24 the names of the new Ministers and their respective portfolios were published. M. Rouvier was President of Council and Minister of Finance; M. Berteaux remained War Minister, and M. Delcassé Minister of Foreign Affairs; M. Chaumié left the Ministry of Public Instruction for that of Justice. Seven portfolios were given to politicians who had never been in office before. M. Gaultier, Senator of l'Aude, was entrusted with Public Works; the others were deputies. MM. Etienne and Thomson, two Algerians, old colleagues of Gambetta, were appointed, the former to the Interior, the latter to the Marine.

On the 27th the Government appeared before the Chambers and read a declaration in which it gave the programme of Bills to be discussed and brought to an issue before the end of the session. They included the military law, the repeal of the Falloux Law, an Income Tax Bill, Separation of Church and State, and the establishment of an old-age pension fund. The debate began at once in the Chamber of Deputies on the general policy of the

Government. On the part of the supporters of the late Cabinet, M. Maujan put forward a demand for the separation of Church and State to follow immediately on the Income Tax Bill. The Nationalists and the Right pressed the inquiry, What measures would the Minister of War take against the informers? M. Rouvier and M. Berteaux pleaded the necessity of a sort of moral amnesty for all, covering the officers who had allowed themselves to be instigated to manifestations against the Republic and those who, in order to defend it, had consented to inform the lodges. M. Sarrien proposed an order of the day by which the Chamber should declare that "it counted on the Government to effect, by the union of all Republicans, the needed reforms-lay, democratic and social." An enormous majority accepted this non-committal formula, but the vote did not give any indication of the real strength of the new Ministry.

After a few days of quiet legislative work during which the Senate was occupied with the Military Law and the Chamber with the Budget, a debate of a lively character began (Feb. 10) on the religious question. M. Morlot interpellated the Government as to the measures which they intended to take, pending the Separation, to give security to the administration of the Concordat in the vacant dioceses. The orators of the Right maintained for their part that the country ought to be consulted before Separation was proceeded with. Some curiosity attended the maiden speech as a Minister of M. Bienvenu Martin. He stated the case with considerable force, striving to throw upon the Vatican the responsibility of the rupture, and declaring that he would stake his honour on carrying to completion the project of separation which had been introduced on the preceding day in the name of the whole Government. The impression made by this speech was all the stronger for the fact that M. Ribot who had led the campaign against the Combes Ministry went so far as to declare that he was not hostile to a new régime replacing the Concordat. Finally an order of the day was proposed which bore the signatures of MM. Sarrien, Pelletan, Briand, Morlot, Codet and Georges Leygues-that is to say of all the heads of the Republican groups-declaring that it was the attitude of the Vatican which had rendered the rupture necessary. The enormous majority which pronounced in favour of this declaration indicated what progress the idea of separation had made in the public mind.

The debates in the Senate on the Military Law, or rather on the fifty-eight clauses which the Chamber had modified, lasted from January 17 to February 15. The whole law was carried by 239 votes to 37. The Senate adhered in the main to the text it had adopted on a former occasion. It shortened to a term of two years the length of active service in the Army, but allowed to remain the two terms of twenty-eight days' training for the reservists and the term of thirteen days for the territorial Army. It was also enacted that the students of the Polytechnic

School and the School of Saint-Cyr must spend a year as simple soldiers before entering the school, and that the students of the Superior Normal School and of the Central School must have a year of service in the ranks and a year as reserve officers. These were the only infractions of the principle of equality.

Intense interest was shown at this period in the discussions of the International Commission meeting in Paris to consider the complaints of Great Britain with regard to the firing directed by the Russian Admiral Rozhdestvensky against the Hull fishing fleet. French diplomacy had exerted itself very helpfully to avert any disastrous international consequences from this fatal blunder. In view of the report of the Commission (see p. 54) it was held by French public opinion that England's forbearance at the time of the North Sea incident bore witness in a striking manner to the sincerity of her pacific feeling. The efficacy of France's conciliatory rôle in this affair might doubtless be taken as a consequence of the Franco-English agreement signed in April, 1904; and this evidence of the reality of the friendly feeling between the two nations was all the more welcome by reason of the fact that serious embarrassments appeared on the point of arising with regard to one of the most important articles of their agreement, namely, the clause relating to Morocco.

In the middle of the month of March a violent Press campaign was suddenly opened in Germany on the subject of the French mission sent to the Shereefian territory and directed by M. St. René Taillandier. It was easy to see that this polemic was inspired. It led up to the somewhat theatrical visit of William II. to Tangier. France was surprised at this bad humour in her neighbour and did not at first understand its import. Colonial affairs became embarrassed at several points. On the Congo great disturbances and even resounding scandals were disclosed by the newspapers, and they took such a form that it became necessary to find some extraordinary remedy for the evils which threatened to imperil that great possession. M. Savorgnan de Brazza was appointed by the Colonial Minister to conduct an inquiry upon the spot. In Madagascar the work of General Gallieni was the object of lively criticism and the Government put an end to his dictatorship and recalled him to France. In Indo-China also there were disturbances; brutal stupidity of officials was reported and a growing lack of discipline in the Colonial Army, of which the recruiting left much to be desired. The responsibility for this state of things could not be imputed to the Ministry. The causes were deeply seated. The method of nominating Colonial administrators, too much influenced by the recommendations of Deputies, the absence of control, the bad examples and the inexperience of a great number of those officials explained some abuses, but the results were deplorable, since they threatened not only the good name of France but also the very safety of her Colonies.

Other causes of public anxiety were not wanting. M. Pelle

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