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ling. A lively debate on the subject occurred in the Reichstag, in which Dr. von Bennigsen, national liberal leader, Baron von Manteuffel, conservative, Herren Bebel and Singer, socialists, Herr Richter, radical, and others took part, resulting in the unanimous adoption of a resolution condemning duelling. The weight of opinion, too, in the press, is in favor of abolition of the custom. But in spite of all, the high

est personages in the country have refrained from taking decisive measures to check it. On May 16 Baron von Kotze was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in a for

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tress.

The Imperial Census.-A census of the empire was taken last December, revealing a large and steady increase in population -a noteworthy contrast to the situation in France, where for some years population has been almost stationary. Germany has now a population of 52,244,503, as compared with 49,422,928 in 1890, an increase in five years of more than

BARON VON MANTEUFFEL,

PROMINENT CONSERVATIVE MEMBER IN THE

REICHSTAG.

5 per cent. In 1871 the population of the empire was only 41,069,846. The increase of the quarter-century has thus amounted to more than 1,000,000. This has been effected, moreover, in spite of enormous emigration, and in spite of the depressing influence of the military system.

Miscellaneous. On April 20 Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, third daughter of the Duke of SaxeCoburg-Gotha, formerly Prince Alfred of England, Duke. of Edinburgh, was married to Prince Ernest William Frederic, hereditary prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

The bride was born September 1, 1878. Her two elder sisters are Princess Marie, wife of Ferdinand, crown prince of Roumania, and

Princess Victoria Melita, wife of the Grand Duke of Hesse. Prince Ernest was born September 13, 1863, and was for a time fourth secretary of the German legation in London. For three years he assisted his father in his duties as stadtholder of Alsace-Lorraine. He is a lieutenant in the Prussian army; and is related to Queen Victoria, being a grandson of the queen's half-sister, Princess Feodora of Leiningen, who was a daughter of the Duchess of Kent and her first husband, the Prince of Leiningen.

An incident which has called into prominence the question of the relations of Prussia to the other states of the empire, occurred in Moscow at a banquet given to Prince Henry, the German emperor's brother, and other visiting German princes, in connection with the Russian coronation festivities. The chairman, in speaking to a toast, alluded to the non-Prussian princes as members of Prince Henry's suite-a remark which immediately elicited from Prince Ludwig of Bavaria the passionate response:

"We are not a part of Prince Henry's suite; nor are we vassals of the German empire. We are the emperor's allies."

Prince Henry at once left the banqueting hall. The incident was reported closed on June 29, when, on board the imperial yacht Hohenzollern, and in presence of the emperor, Prince Henry and Prince Ludwig exchanged mutual explanations. It, however, showed how strong is the sentiment of states' rights under even such a centralized form of government as exists in Germany.

The Meteor, the new sailing yacht built for the emperor in England, by D. & W. Henderson, after designs by G. L. Watson, proved herself, at various races held in June, to be on all points of sailing, running, reaching, and beating, in a light to moderate wind, the swiftest racer ever seen in British waters. She outsailed the Prince of Wales's Britannia, Mr. Walker's Ailsa, and Mr. Rose's Satanita.

In lines and model the Meteor is a larger and improved Britannia. She draws about 17 feet of water; is 89 feet on the water-line, and 24.2 feet beam. She can carry about 12,240 square feet of canvas, her mainsail alone having an area of 6,000 square feet. Her main boom is 97 feet long, and her gaff 59 feet.

On April 22 Baron von Hammerstein, former editor of the Kreuz-Zeitung and conservative leader in the Reichstag (Vol. 5, pp. 699, 940), was convicted on charges. of forgery, fraud, and embezzlement, and sentenced to three years' penal servitude, deprivation of civil rights for five years, and a fine of 1,200 marks. An appeal from the sentence was rejected, June 26, by the supreme court at Leipsic.

FRANCE.

A New Ministry.-The conflict between the senate and the cabinet and chamber of deputies (p. 190) continued till April 23, when the Bourgeois ministry tendered to President Faure their resignation, which was accepted.

In the senate, April 3, an interpellation regarding the foreign policy of the government was submitted; and Premier Bourgeois (holding the portfolio of foreign affairs) asked that the questioning should be deferred to a more convenient time. The senate refused, and the premier declared that he should make no reply. Thereupon, by a vote of 157 to 77, the senate again withheld the vote of confidence, and immediately adjourned its sessions to April 21. The subject-matter of the interpellation was the government's management of French interests in Egypt. When the senate met, April 21, a motion was adopted to defer discussion of the Madagascar credits until a new ministry should be formed.

On the 23d the Bourgeois ministry resigned after receiving a vote of support by a large majority in the chamber of deputies.

In a speech to the deputies the premier recalled the circumstances of the vote on the Madagascar credits, which the senate had refused to sanction, thus making it impossible to provide for indispensable expenditures. Whatever the senate's motive might be in taking that course, the ministers were under obligation to subordinate everything to the national dignity and security. They therefore made way for another ministry, though they were not unmindful of their other duties to the chamber and the republic. He concluded with the declaration that the national assembly alone is entitled to interpret the constitution of a ministry.

A resolution was adopted, by 283 votes to 268, affirming "the right of preponderance in the representatives of the principle of universal suffrage "-i. e., in the chamber of deputies. The next day the Madagascar credits were voted by the senate.

President Faure requested M. Méline to form a ministry; and on April 28 the new cabinet was announced, viz.: Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture-M. Méline. Minister of Commerce-M. Boucher

Minister of Justice-M. Darlan.

Minister of Public Works-M. Turrel.

Minister of Foreign Affairs-M. Hanotaux.

Minister of the Interior-M. Barthou.

Minister of War-General Billot.

Minister of Marine-Admiral Besnard.

Minister of Finance-M. Cochery.

Minister of Public Instruction and Worship-M. Rambaud.
Minister of the Colonies-M. Lebon.

The new ministers are moderates, or conservatives, and, in the recent struggle between the Bourgeois cabinet (backed by the chamber) and the senate, strenuously upheld the right of the upper house to a decisive voice in the conduct of the government.

MELINE, FELIX JULES, new prime minister of France, was born in the department of Vosges in 1838; joined the Paris bar; wrote for

M. MÉLINE,

PRIME MINISTER OF FRANCE.

opposition journals under the empire; was elected to the chamber of deputies in 1876; was minister of agriculture in the Jules Ferry cabinet, 1883-85, and president of the chamber in 1889. He is sometimes called "the French McKinley," being a very ardent protectionist. He is also a bimetallist.

On April 30, in a statement of the policy of the new cabinet, M. Méline said that the probate laws and the laws regulating the traffic in drink would be strongly urged by the government. He promised economy in the administration of public affairs, and simplification of the methods of laying and collecting taxes. No effort would be spared

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to aid the interests of agriculture, to complete the national defense, to regulate the hours of labor and the liability of employers, and to organize pension funds. This declaration of policy was approved in the chamber by a vote of 231 to 196: 157 deputies either were absent or refrained from voting.

The Petite République asserts: "The senate has challenged public opinion in the most barefaced manner, and violated the rights of the people. * * The fallen ministry deserted the people at the very moment when democracy was marching to victory. None but the socialists remain firm, and they now hold their own against the coalition in league with the senate."

The Siècle thinks that the senate acted very wisely, as "the army is in no humor to allow the commune to rule."

The St. James's Gazette of London, Eng., sees in the fall of the Bourgeois ministry a gain of stability for the Russian alliance.

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Björnstjerne Björnson contributes to the Politiken of Copenhagen this prophecy: The reign of capitalism is at last coming to an end; the real republic has begun. Emperors, kings, and parliaments will be swept away. All these great and pompous personages who live under the influence of capitalism are in imminent danger. They are nothing but the defenders of speculators, contractors, bankers, and monopolists. From Greece to the most northern point of Europe the people rebel against this rule of money, and that is why the crisis in France is of special interest.

"For the first time in the history of France a revolution will be brought about in a happy, peaceful manner, by the common suffrage and under able leaders. This alone is very characteristic of the state, not only of France, but of all Europe. That Bourgeois, Goblet, and Jaurès will introduce socialistic rules, no one believes, not even those who predict it. They will endeavor only to overthrow the rule of capital. The fall of the Bourgeois ministry cannot alter this. The victory of the senate cannot alter it. The empire of capitalism totters, and the true republic has begun in France."

The French Pretender.-Philip, Duke of Orléans, purposes to make an effort to reach a throne in France by means of a sort of plebiscitum. The royalist party is to propose him as a candidate for election to the chamber of deputies in succession to the Count de Maillé, who at present represents a strongly royalist constituency-Cholet, in the department of Maine-et-Loire.

The duke, being an exile, is civilly dead, and, though he were to receive the suffrages of the entire electorate, would not be admitted to a seat in the chamber. But the vote cast would show what the people think of him and his cause. The experiment would be made over and over again wherever a vacancy occurred. The mind of France regarding the pretensions of the duke might thus be canvassed, and thus he might some day be justified in laying claim to royal power as the choice of the people of France.

This project appears to have the approval, and what is not less important, the financial support of the Duke of Aumale and the ex-Empress Eugénie. The Bonapartist pretender, Prince Victor Napoleon, it is expected, will soon announce his retirement from the rôle of pretender; and the Duke of Orléans, it is said, is to marry Prince Victor's sister, the Princess Letitia Bonaparte, relict of the Duke of Aosta, brother of the king of Italy. Of this matrimonial alliance a recent correspondent writes:

"The match is certain to be promoted by King Humbert, who for many reasons would be glad to be rid of the moral and financial responsibility of his sister-in-law, who is at the same time his niece, and who has been a source of anxiety and trouble to him since she became a widow. It will likewise be promoted by all those reigning

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