Bouches-du Rhône Calvados ... 5,247.95 805,532 5,692.61 453,793 62.3 309,646 317,430 52.6 299,820 350.044 Côtes-du-Nord 7,217.64 605.523 432.126 Gers 6.290.58 291.160 33.1 765.918 153.5 Some of the principal cities, with their com396,318 403,431 69.6 223,361 228,690 38.6 munal population in 1911, are as follows: Paris, 346,424 351,733 58.0 2,888,110 (1,053,262 in 1851); Marseilles, 550,619; Lyons, 523,796; Bordeaux, 261,678; Lille, 450,871 337,810 217,807; Nantes, 170,535; Toulouse, 149,576; Saint-Etienne, 148,656; Nice, 142,940; Le Havre, 136,159; Rouen, 124,987; Roubaix, 122,723; 83.9 Nancy, 119,949; Reims, 115,178; Toulon, 104,582; Amiens, 93,207; Limoges, 92,181; Brest, 90,540; Angers, 83,786; Tourcoing, 82,644; Nîmes, 80,437; Montpellier, 80,230; Rennes, 79,372; Grenoble, 77,438; Dijon, 76,874; Tours, 73,398; Calais, 73,322; Orléans, 72,096; SaintDenis, 71,759; Le Mans, 69,361; Levallois-Perret, 68,703; Clermont-Ferrand, 65,386; Versailles, 60,458; Besançon, 57,978; Boulogne-surSeine, 57,027; Saint-Quentin, 55,571; Troyes, 55,486; Boulogne, 53,128; Béziers, 51,042; Avignon, 49,304; Lorient, 49,039; Caen, 46,934; Clichy, 46,676; Bourges, 45,735; Neuilly-sur-Seine, 44,616; Cherbourg, 43,731; Montreuil, 43,217; Asnières, 42,583; Villeurbanne, 42,526; Saint-Ouen, 41,904; Poitiers, 41,242; Perpignan, 39,510; Bel643,934 133.5 fort, 39,371; Dunkerque, 38,891; Vincennes, 38,568; Ivry, 38,307; Saint-Nazaire, 38,267; Angoulême, 38,211; Courbevoie, 38,138; Aubervilliers, 37,558; Pau, 37,149; Roanne, 36,697; La Rochelle, 36,371; Pantin, 36,359; Douai, 36,314; Le Creusot, 35,587; Rochefort, 35,019. 442.065 67.9 221,994 231,188 35.3 829.095 823.923 77.3 480,484 482,779 77.2 608,098 611,805 86.9 287,673 290,216 41.1 341,205 237,916 65.4 555,911 562,315 67.5 252,713 257,725 50.0 288,902 293,397 30.8 276.019 42.2 314,770 60.7 274,610 49.8 221,724 34.3 517,508 107.0 56.2 Of EDUCATION. In 1911 the conscription list carried 301,467 men of the class of 1910. Degree of instruction of 18,093 of these, unknown. the other 283,374, 2.79 per cent could neither read nor write, 1.31 per cent could read only, 27.44 per cent could read and write, 65.98 per cent had acquired a more extensive primary education, and 2.30 per cent were graduates of secondary institutions. In 1913 the conscription list carried 309,580 men of the class of 1912, of whom 2.48 per cent could neither read nor write, 1.37 could read only, 28.76 could read and write, 54.76 had received other primary instruction, 2.57 were graduates, 2.17 had received degrees, and 7.89 remained unclassified. Infant schools (1912-13), 3868 (2660 public and 1208 private lay schools), with 8410 teachers and 583,074 pupils. Primary schools, in51.4 cluding superior primary schools, 81,489, with 156,189 teachers, and 5,508,534 pupils. State expenditure for primary instruction during the year 1912, 225,477,137 francs. 213,171 263.890 47.9 863,879 138.4 Secondary public schools (1912-13): 343 lycées and colleges for boys (100,203 students), and 139 for girls (33,282); 55 secondary courses for girls (5076 pupils). Students in universities, Jan. 15, 1914, 42,037. AGRICULTURE. Of the productive area (1909), 23,615,220 hectares were under crops (including sown meadows), 4,837,610 under natural meadows, 1,577,220 under forage plants, 3,627,330 un der pasture, 1,686,942 under vines, 1,220,150 under industrial plants, truck gardens, etc., 9,329,193 under woods and forests; 3,843,520 hectares were fallow or uncultivated; 3,218,579 not inIcluded in any of the foregoing. As calculated in 1912: 23,747,220 hectares cropped, 4,898,510 meadows, 1,572,440 forage plants, 3,613,290 pasture, 1,624,213 vines, 251,560 industrial plants, etc., 1,098,450 various and uncultivated, 2,615,705 not included in foregoing-a total of 52,952,579 hectares. A table of cereal crops follows-year 1912, area sown in hectares, yield by measure in hectolitres and by weight in metric quintals, and value in thousands of francs: 010 (3,041,054); fat stock over six months, 2,808,230 (1,632,252), sows, 960,000 (785,989). MINING AND METALS. In 1912 there were 1459 conceded mines, covering an area of 1,166,353 hectares, of which 496, covering an area of 596,262 hectares, were in operation. In these mines 236,966 persons were employed-168,358 underground, 68,608 at the surface. Total estimated number of work days, 67,991,633; total estimated wages, 358,001,473 francs. Total output, 62,284,573 tons, valued at 775,403,262 francs at the pit's mouth. The quarries employed 134,087 work people; output, 53,279,845 tons, valued at 293,623,038 francs. In the table below are shown some of the principal mining products, with their value in francs, for comparative years: Tons 1911 Francs 1912 1911 1912 ..38,520,827 40,394,177 589,219,277 631,427,608 708,764 751,001 7,229,739 8.001,683 .16,639,426 18,423,752 77,462,085 89,387,275 58,521 42,714 735,674 512,716 1,339,303 1,098,515 18,826,599 Wheat Barley 759,630 17,295,400 44,014,200 216,499 7,888,320 5,006,940 112,359 Coal Oats Corn Millet 2,981,980 110,531,900 51,451,600 1,091,970 Peat ...... Salt 15,850,245 pyrites * Ore. In the invaded area were 275,000 hectares under wheat in 1915, 24,000 under rye, 19,700 under barley, 243,000 under oats, 4238 under vines (1914). In 1912, 33,133 hectograms of silk-worm eggs were placed to be hatched, against 35,431 hectograms in 1911. The cocoons obtained amounted to 6,233,942 kilograms, against 5,109,426 in 1911. Average yield of cocoons per hectogram of eggs, 188.1 kilograms (144.2 in 1911). Live stock statistics follow (Dec. 31, 1910 and 1913; July 1, 1915). 195,433 1,653,599 Employed in metal works in 1912 were 5870 workpeople; output, 4,939,194 tons. Smelting works, 13,312 workpeople; 524,907 tons. Steel works, 72,653 workpeople; 3,250,278 tons. FISHERIES. There were in 1911, 137,057 persons engaged in the various fisheries, with 28,885 vessels of 247,634 aggregate tons. In 1910 there were 128,869 fishermen, with 28,288 sail boats of 206,129 aggregate tons, and 454 steamers of 38,000 tons; value of sail boats, 51,933,057 francs; of steamers, 23,945,330; value of the engines, 25,309,360. Total value of all fisheries products for the year 1910, 140,288,211 francs. The total value of the products was 139,568,367 francs, of which the Newfoundland cod fisheries contributed 19,015,063 francs, the herring fisheries 13,243,466, and the sardine fish13,483,189 eries 11,311,615. 469,487 COMMERCE. Imports for four years are given 7,047,750 5,490,796 below by great classes (special trade), values in thousands of francs (A-foodstuffs, B-raw materials, C-manufactured articles): 192,740 3,230,700 Cattle Sheep Goats 1,417,710 Swine 6,900,230 1,453,230 152.266 12,286,849 C Of the horses enumerated Dec. 31, 1913, 2,558,170 were over and 672,530 were under three years (July 1, 1915, 1,562,742 and 664,467); of the cattle, 7,807,560 were cows (6,346,496), 1,- A 845,620 oxen (1,262,315), 284,490 bulls (211,- B 343), 2,855,780 young stock (2,581,870), and 2,013,930 calves (1,884,825). Of the sheep, 9,334,840 were ewes over one year (8,033,886), 2,589,000 sheep over one year (1,572,236), 295,410 rams (239,832), 3,993,780 lambs (3,637,235); pigs under six months numbered 3,294, Exports appear in the following table, by great classes as above, with the addition of D (by parcel post), values in thousands of francs: Imports: Wool Cotton Coal, etc. Rubber Cereals Wines Machinery Skins, etc. Timber Copper Coffee Flax Oil seeds Petroleum Chem. products. Exports: Raw wool Silk Cottons Wines Woolens Raw silk A. de P.* Automobiles Skins Metals 1906 138.6 By an order of Aug. 22, 1915, raw cotton was declared contraband of war. SHIPPING. The number of ships, French and foreign, with their aggregate tonnage, entered and cleared, exclusive of coasting, during the years 1911 and 1912 are given herewith. 1911 1912 Merchant marine, Jan. 1, 1913: 15,813 sailing vessels, of 614,024 tons; 1857 steamers, of 904,494-total, 17,670 vessels, of 1,518,518 tons. COMMUNICATIONS. There were reported in operation Dec. 31, 1913, 40,786 kilometers of main 273.0 337.7 341.4 365.5 294.2 248.2 railway lines, and 10,645 of local lines. At the end of 1910 there were in operation 40,484 kilometers of main railway lines, 234 of industrial lines, and 8956 of local lines; making a total of 49,628 kilometers, besides 8687 kilometers of tramways. The main lines had a personnel of 339,032, and rolling stock including 12,840 locomotives and 379,181 cars. Receipts from main lines (1910), 1,829,942,000 francs; expenditure, 1,098,802,000; net profit, 731,140,000; net kilometric profit, 18,060. Length of main lines in operation in 1911, 40,635 kilometers; in 1912, 40,854. Length of local lines in operation in 1911, 9321; in 1912, 9925. 307.8 316.9 332.8 292.3 374.2 313.9 * Articles de Paris. 84.5 During 1915 the railways of France, except in the territory actually the scene of military operations, were restored somewhat to their normal conditions. The railway systems, both state and private, passed through the trials of the earlier stages of the war with considerable credit, notwithstanding the fact that the military organization of the French lines was in no way comparable to that of Germany. The French railroads performed a wonderful service, and were essential elements of the successful retreat and operations attending the battle of the Marne in 1914. Reports of their activity in the first months of the war, published in 1915, revealed the fact that from Aug. 1 to Aug. 20, 1914, no less than 1,800,000 men were taken to the front, and each of these soldiers was handled three times, so that in reality 5,400,000 troops were delivered at various points along the battle line. In addition, it was estimated that some 5,000,000 of the civilian population were also traveling, and that two armies were being hurried into Alsace and Lorraine. After the first two weeks of the war, except in the actual zones of fighting, the regular schedules for regular passengers and commercial freight practically were resumed, and were carried on in addition to the movement of large numbers of troops and war material, on a battle front 584 miles long from the English Channel to the Swiss frontier. When it is recalled that the rolling stock was constantly decreasing, as well as the coal supply, and a smaller number of railroad men were available, the importance of the work may be appreciated. France contains six large railway systemstwo controlled by the state, and four by private corporations-the latter comprising 30,000 of the 36,000 miles of single track, and it was by these private companies that much of the work was done during the war. In addition to the mobilizing of the troops in the early part of the war, there was the transport of tourists, and on Aug. 1, 1914, the time tables on every one of the six systems of France were changed to a new schedule. One of the most notable incidents of the war was the transportation of 70,000 Indian troops from Marseilles in three days, from the south of France to the vicinity of Orleans, whence they proceeded to support the English at Nieuport-Dixmont. The French railways at first suffered from the effects of mobilization as in some cases employees were withdrawn, but gradually this trouble became adjusted, and in many instances the wives of railroad men called to the colors took their husbands' places. value 19.295 cents. The 1912 budget, as voted, estimated the revenue for the year at 4,495,849,566 francs (including revenue returnable from Algeria, 2,480,900 francs); the expenditure at 4,497,963,139 francs. Sources of revenue: 3,136,996,425 from taxes; 953,225,785 from monopolies and state industrial enterprises; 68,218,850 from state domains; 69,441,485 from divers sources (indemnities, repayments, annuities, sales, prison labor, etc.); 153,000,000 from special sources; 114,967,021 recettes d'ordre (from colonial railways, fines, fees, etc.); 2,480,900 from Algeria. Expenditure: 1,286,084,002 for the public debt, 19,972,948 for public services, 2,539,705,705 for the ministries, 605,873,584 for costs of administration and collection of taxes, 46,326,900 for reimbursement, restitution, etc. Actual revenue and expenditure are given below in francs for three years: Revenue Expenditure The Eastern Railroad (chemin de fer de l'Est), with the single exception of the Northern Railroad (chemin de fer du Nord), suffered more physical and financial disaster than any other of the French roads, because of the German lines. At least half of the 500-mile line of trenches beginning at Laon was in the territory adjacent to the tracks of the Eastern Railroad, which was in consequence seriously crippled. On that half Foreign affairs.. of its system which brought in the greatest revenue, it could do no business at all, and it was thought it would be many months after the cessation of hostilities before it could rebuild its burned stations, restore dynamited bridges, repair its roadbed, etc. Likewise the Northern Railway (chemin de fer du Nord) suffered severely, as much of its territory was in the enemy's hands. At the beginning of September, 1914, only 414 miles, or 18 per cent of the total network of 2324 miles, was actually being operated by the company. At the end of 1915, the company was operating a total length of about 1200 miles, or 51.5 per cent of the entire system. Of the 768 stations on the system, 346 were either occupied by the enemy or closed to traffic. Not all the remaining 412 stations were open to the public, a certain number being exclusively reserved for military uses. For over a year the Nord was deprived of the use of most of its main lines, and the only double-track main line available at the end of 1915 was that from Paris to Creil, Amiens, Boulogne, Calais, and Hazebrouck. In 1912 there were 190,111 kilometers of telegraph lines, and 710,557 of wires; state telegraph stations, 18,707; railway and private stations, 3577. There were 51,750 kilometers of urban telephone lines, with 1,135,953 of wires; and 108,447 kilometers of interurban lines, with 571,405 of wires. Post offices, 14,634. Postal receipts for the year 1912, 390,942,960 francs; expenditure (posts and telegraphs), 353,028,874 francs. Telegraphic receipts (including wireless), 49,347,920 francs. Telephone receipts, 56,649,228 francs. FINANCE. The monetary unit is the franc, par Interior 1914 Revenue 607,485 Monopolies 68,037 Sundries .2,940,050 .1,318,324 Instruction 1914 .1,004,858 753,085 Total .5,373,517 Expenditure 343,882 21,816 177,421 Colonies 1,436,491 Agriculture 489,124 Public works.. Merchant marine. 96,032 Marine Total The special-services budget balanced at 816,329,331 francs for 1913. The total general debt, Jan. 1, 1913, stood at 31,449,083,037; floating debt, Oct. 1, 1913, 1,432,412,800; grand total, 32,881,495,837. ARMY. See MILITARY PROGRESS, passim. NAVY. On Dec. 1, 1912, the number and displacement of warships, built and building, of 1500 or more tons, and of torpedo craft of more than 50 tons, were as follows: 7 battleships (dreadnought type), having a main battery of all big guns (11 inches or over in calibre), of 161,644 aggregate tons-all building; 20 battleships (predreadnought type), with main batteries of more than one calibre, of 286,005 tons built; 2 coast-defense vessels (smaller battleships and monitors), of 15,400 tons-built; 10 cruisers (designed for speed at some expense of armament and armor protection), of 49,978— built; 75 torpedo-boat destroyers, of 29,816 tons -built, and 9, of 6860 tons-building; 157 torpedo boats, of 15,370 tons-built; 76 submarines, of 27,803 tons-built, and 13, of 7456-building. Total vessels built, 361, of 630,769 tons; building, 29, of 175,960 tons-in all, 390 vessels of 806,729 tons. Excluded from the foregoing are ships over 20 years old, unless reconstructed and rearmed within 5 years; torpedo craft over 15 years old; transports, colliers, repair ships, torpedo depot ships, or other auxiliaries. nel, 60,188 officers and men. Number and displacement (built), July 1, Person 1914: 4 battleships (dreadnought type), of 92,368 tons (and 8, of 193,656 tons estimated, building); 18 battleships (predreadnought type), of 262,675 tons; 1 coast-defense vessel of 8800 tons; 20 armored cruisers, of 201,724 tons; 9 cruisers (unarmored warships of more than 1500 tons), of 46,095 tons; 84 torpedo-boat destroyers, of 35,812 tons (and 3 of 2563 tons, building); 135 torpedo boats, of 13,426; and 64 submarines, of 27,940 tons (and 22, of 14,766 tons, building). Total number of vessels built, 335, of 688,840 aggregate tons; building, 33, of 211,075 tons-a total of vessels built and build ing, 368, of 899,915 tons. The total strength of the personnel, including reserves, was about 180,000, one-third being active-service ratings. The general efficiency increased noticeably from 1904 to 1914. The main squadrons were concentrated in the Mediterranean under the command of Admiral Boué de Lapeyrère. The armoredcruiser fleet included the Edgar Quinet and the Waldeck Rousseau, completed in 1911, and having a displacement of 13,900 tons, and an armament of 14 7.6-inch guns. The submarine service is highly efficient, the vessels composing it being remarkable for their heavy armament. Air craft, April 7, 1913, included 13 military dirigibles on hand and 7 ordered; and 450 military aeroplanes on hand, including monoplanes, biplanes, and hydroaëroplanes. A bill passed Feb. 13, 1912, by the Chamber of Deputies, provided for a home fleet to consist of 28 battleships divided into 4 squadrons each and 4 vessels in reserve; in addition, each squadron to include 2 second cruisers and 12 destroyers, with 2 cruisers and 4 destroyers in reserve. The fleet for foreign service was to contain 10 principal vessels with the necessary auxiliaries. There were to be 94 vessels, together with minelayers and mine-raisers, in the submarine flotilla. To complete this programme by the time fixed (Jan. 1, 1919), 16 new battleships were to be constructed at the rate of two a year (1910-17). Dreadnoughts laid down in 1913 were the Flandres, Gascogne, Languedoc, Normandie, and Béarn (the latter 1914). These ships are to displace 25,800 tons and be armed with 12 13.4-inch and 24 5.5-inch guns. The three battleships launched in 1913 are the Lorraine, Bretagne, and Provence, having a displacement of 23,177 tons and armed with 10 13.4-inch and 22 5.5-inch guns. The Jean Bart and the Courbet were completed in 1913, having a displacement of 23,096 tons, and being armed with 12 12-inch and 22 5.5-inch guns. The Paris and the France were completed in 1914. The Vendée was to have been laid down early in 1915. See also NAVAL PROGRESS. GOVERNMENT. Under the present constitution, the President is the executive, assisted by a cabinet responsible to the Chamber. The legislative power is vested in a Parliament, or National Assembly, composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. The President elected by the National Assembly by an absolute majority of votes for seven years, chooses his own cabinet, ordinarily, but not of necessity, selected from among the members of the two chambers. The Senate is made up of 300 members aged not less than 40 years, and elected by delegates for nine years; the Chamber of Deputies is made up of members elected by direct popular vote for four years, 1 to every 70,000 inhabitants. The president from 1906 to 1913 was Clément-Armand Fallières; he was succeeded Jan. 7, 1913, by Raymond Poincaré, born 1858. HISTORY OPENING OF THE PARLIAMENTARY SESSION. After five terrible months of the war, the French people and the French government showed no sign of weakening in their steadfast determination to fight on until the German invader had been expelled and the lost Provinces of AlsaceLorraine regained. Although events had proved that the war would be long and victory costly, the same grim "will to conquer" which had been expressed in August, 1914, prevailed in France at the beginning of the new year. President Poincaré, in a New Year's address, confidently affirmed that France would never rest until victory was won; he even ventured to predict that the war would be pressed to a successful conclusion before the close of the year 1915. The establishment of civil government, Jan. 1, 1915, in the portion of Upper Alsace occupied by the French was another manifestation of the same spirit of optimism. When the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate assembled for the legislative session of 1915, new proof was afforded of the patriotic unanimity of the nation's representatives. The Socialists, who had hitherto made it a practice to nominate a separate list of candidates for the presiding officers of the Chamber, decided in January, 1915, to abandon their custom and to unite with the other groups in reelecting, by an almost unanimous vote, M. Paul Deschanel as president of the Chamber of Deputies. M. Antonin Dubost was reëlected as president of the Senate. In their inaugural addresses, both presiding officers praised the union sacrée, the willingness of all parties to forget their political antagonisms and to work for the triumph of France. The tasks incumbent upon the National Legislature in war-time were admirably summed up by M. Deschanel. The Chambers, he said, must strive "to aid those who are at the front as well as the families left behind; to repair damage done by the invader; to collaborate, according to the measure of their authority, in the work of defense; and to join with the nation and the government in attempting to achieve the expulsion of the enemy, the deliverance of the heroic country (Belgium) which by an act unique in history sacrificed itself to honor, and the restitution of those provinces which force has wrenched from us. At the same time, we must, during the war, prepare for the works of peace; beginning to-day we must establish the elements of to-morrow's economic régime—customs, transports, mines, credit, industry—and of national reconstitution; we must lay the basis for the new France, more fraternal and more prosperous than before." FINANCIAL QUESTIONS. Old political controversies being for the time forgotten, the Chamber of Deputies during the spring concerned itself chiefly with special measures for the relief of suffering caused by the war, for the regulation of industry, and the conservation of the nation's economic resources during war-time, and for the provision of funds for the energetic prosecution of the war. French industry had been crippled by the German occupation of very important industrial areas; business was conducted under abnormal conditions, as the moratorium had been prolonged; nevertheless France had not only to defray her own enormous expenses in the war, |