Amomg the mercantile navy of December 31st, 1863, there were 345 steamers, of a total burthen of 84,918 tons. On December 31st, 1862, there were 338 steamers, of 78,981 tons.

The following table gives the number and tonnage of merchant vessels which belonged to the principal ports of France on December 31st, 1862 and 1863 :—

The growth of the railway system of France dates from the year 1840, previous to which there were only few lines in France. For a time, the idea was entertained of making all the railways which were to be built state property;' but in the end it was determined, and settled by the law of June 11th, 1842-modified in 1858, 1859, and 1863-that the work should be left to private companies, superintended, however, and, if necessary, assisted in their operations, by the state. The French railways at present are almost entirely-the exception being to the amount of less than 200 miles-in the hands of six great companies. The length of lines held by each of these companies on January 1st, 1865, was as follows:-Paris, Lyons, and Mediterranean, 1,9943 miles; Eastern of France, 1,559 miles; Orleans, 1,829 miles; Western of France, 1,0514 miles; Northern of France, 7281 miles; and Southern of France, 827 miles. six systems combined had thus, in 1865, an aggregate of 7,989 miles in operation.

The

The conventions agreed on between the government and the railway companies in the years 1858, 1859, and 1863 were carried into effect on January 1st, 1865. By these conventions the government guarantees 4 per cent. interest and 65c. for a sinking fund, altogether 4f. 65c. per cent. on the capital expended in the construction of a certain number of lines classed under the collective title of new work (nouveau réseau). The sum to be expended by the six great companies was estimated at 7,100,000,000 francs, and the works executed and grants made by the government as 1,640,000,000 francs, being in round numbers about nine milliards of francs, of which there remain only

It

about 2,500,000,000f. to be expended. Private enterprise abandoned to its own resources, it is believed, could not have constructed the principal lines, although they pay a fair interest, and the government alone could not have procured nine milliards. It was ascertained in the year 1857 that the railway companies could not undertake the construction of additional lines without injury to the shareholders, unless the government would give them a sufficient guarantee. was at that period that a distinction was first made between the lines of which the concession was given previous to the year 1857, and those given after that period. At present the whole of the lines of which a concession has been made to the great companies, with the exception of the Northern, which has not required any guarantee from the government, comprise about 18,000 kilomètres, of which the expense to their account is estimated at six and a half milliards.

The following are the phases through which the pecuniary relations between the government and the companies will have to pass: During the first stage, the guarantee being called for in consequence of the deficiency in the receipts of certain companies, the treasury will be called on to advance a sum estimated at from 31,000,000f. to 35,000,000f. annually. As it is expected the commerce and industry of the country will gradually improve, the receipts of the railway companies will increase in a corresponding ratio, and the sums to be advanced to them according to the guarantee will diminish in proportion as the receipts on the railways increase. At a later period it is calculated that the receipts will enable the companies to repay the sums advanced by the government. It is hoped that at a still later period the companies will be able to divide their surplus receipts with the government, and, finally, at the expiration of the leases granted to the railway companies, the railways will become the property of the state, which will gratuitously receive the full amount of the receipts, which, if they be estimated at only from 350,000,000f. to 400,000,000f., will pay the full amount of the interest on the national debt.

Colonies.

The colonies and foreign dependencies of France are,-1. In America, the islands of Martinique, Guadaloupe, Marie-Galante, Desirade, Saintes, a part of St. Martin in the Antilles, French Guiana and Cayenne; St. Pierre and Miquelon, near Newfoundland, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence; forming a total area of 80,000 square miles, with 301,323 inhabitants. 2. In Africa, Algeria, Senegal, and Goree on the W. coast, and the islands Bourbon and St. Marie in the Indian Ocean, certain portions of Madagascar, and, since 1843, the islands Mayotta and Nossi-Bé. In 1843, France

H

also took possession of Assinie at the W. of the gold coast of Guinea. The total possessions in Africa cover an area of 95,700 square miles, with a population of 447,428 souls. 3. In Asia, Pondicherry and Karikal on the Coromandel coast, Mahé on the coast of Malabar, Yanaon in Orissa, and Chandernagore in Bengal, altogether, 10,800 square miles, with 2,219,878 inhabitants. 4. In the Pacific Ocean, the two groups of the Marquesas and Tahiti, taken possession of in 1841, and the island of New Caledonia in 1854, the whole forming an area of 9,560 square miles, with 9,946 inhabitants. The colonies are subjected to special laws. In 1845 an ordonnance was passed, having for its object the amelioration of slavery in the French colonies, and in 1848 the Provisional Government decreed its total abolition.

The total official value of the imports into and exports from the several French colonies, exclusive of Algeria, in the years 1860 and 1861 is given in the subjoined table:

Martinique

Guadaloupe

Francs 28,299,775 30,976,500 23,076,726 21,872,565 £ 1,131,991 1,239,060 923,069 874,902

Francs 29,680,517 26,920,631 20,242,128 18,409,997

£ 1,187,221
Francs 6,515,077
260,603
49,170,730 55,993,221

1,076,825

809,685

7,078,092

1,891,538

736,399 1,299,415

283,124

£

Sénégal (St. Francs

Louis)

£

Francs

Sénégal (Gorée)

6,329,929

163,394 6,318,235

More important, from a political as well as commercial point of view, than the whole of the above colonies combined, is the colony of Algeria; for an account of which, see AFRICA-Algeria.

Money, Weights, and Measures.

The money, weights, and measures of France, and the British equivalents, are

Annales Législatives de l'Instruction Primaire, Actes et Documents officiels. Paris, 1865.

Annuaire Militaire de l'Empire Français, pour l'Année 1865, publié par le Ministère de la Guerre. 8. Paris, 1865.

Bulletin des Lois. Imprim. Impériale. Paris, 1865.

Bulletin Administratif de l'Instruction Publique. Paris, 1865.

Bulletin annoté des Lois, Décrets et Ordonnances. Paris, 1865.

Bulletin de l'Intendance et des Services administratifs de l'Armée de terre. Paris, 1865.

Bulletin officiel du Ministère de l'Intérieur. Paris, 1865.

Circulaires et Instructions officielles relatives à l'Instruction Publique. 8. Paris, 1865.

Compte Général de l'Administration de la Justice criminelle en France pendant l'Année 1864, présenté à Sa Majesté l'Empereur par le Garde des Sceaux, ministre de la justice. 4. Paris, 1865.

Commerce de la France. Documents statistiques réunis des Douanes. 4. Paris, 1865.

par l'Administration

Exposé de la Situation de l'Empire, distribué à MM. les Membres du Corps Législatif, le 17 Février, 1865. Paris, 1865.

Ministère des Finances: Comptes Généraux de l'Administration des Finances. Paris, 1865.

Ministère de l'Agriculture, du Commerce et des Travaux Publiques: Archives statistiques. Paris, 1865.

Moniteur Universel Journal officiel de l'Empire Français. Paris, 1860–65. Recueil Général des Lois et Arrêts, de 1859 à 1865. Paris, 1865.

Recueil Général des Lois, Décrets et Arrêts, depuis le 2. Décembre, 1852. Paris, 1865.

Tableau du Commerce Général de la France, avec ses Colonies et les Puissances Étrangères, pendant l'Année 1862. 4. Imp. Impériale. Paris, 1865. Reports by Mr. Grey, H.M.'s Secretary of Embassy, on the Commerce and Financial State of France, dated August 31, 1862, and Feb. 20, 1863; in 'Reports of H.M.'s Secretaries of Embassy,' &c. No. VI. London, 1863.

Reports by Mr. Grey, H.M.'s Secretary of Embassy, on the Trade, Commerce, and Navigation of France, dated July 1863, and February 15, 1864; in 'Reports of H.M.'s Secretaries of Embassy,' &c. No. VII. London, 1864.

General Report by Mr. Consul-General Churchill on the Trade and Navigation of Algeria from 1857 to 1863; in Commercial Reports received at the Foreign Office.' London, 1865.

2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

Annuaire de l'Administration Française, par Maurice Block. 8ème année, 1865. 12. Paris, 1865.

Annuaire de l'Économie Politique et de la Statisque pour 1865. 22ème année 16. Paris, 1865.

de la collection.

Annuaire de l'Instruction Publique pour l'Année 1865. 12. Paris, 1865. Annuaire de l'Algérie, 1865. Paris, 1865.

Annuaire de la Cochinchine Française. 8. Paris, 1865.

Annuaire Militaire de l'Empire Français pour l'Année 1865, publié sur les documents communiqués par le Ministère de la Guerre. 12. Strasbourg, 1865. Annuaire de la Gendarmerie Impériale, publié sur les documents communiqués par le Ministère de la Guerre, et comprenant la gendarmerie maritime. Paris, 1865.

Blanc (Hippolyte). Étude sur le Recrutement de l'Armée. 8. Strasbourg,

1865.

Clapier (A.). Précis Historique sur le Commerce de Marseille. 8. Paris, 1865.

Conquet (P.). Annuaire de l'Administration de l'Enregistrement et des Domaines. 12. Paris, 1865.

Darboy (Mgr., Archévêque de Paris). Traité de l'Administration temporelle des Paroisses, suivi d'une table chronologique renfermant le texte des principales lois et de nombreux décrets et avis du Conseil d'État. 8. Paris, 1865.

Flachat (Eugène). Les Chemins de Fer en 1862 et en 1863. 8. Paris, 1864. France Ecclésiastique: Almanach du Clergé pour l'An de grâce 1865. 15ème année. 12. Paris, 1865.

Huard (Adrien). Étude comparative des Législations Françaises et Étrangères en matière de propriété industrielle, artistique et littéraire. 8. Paris, 1865. Joanne (Adolphe). Dictionnaire des Communes de la France. 8. Paris, 1864.

Laboulaye (Edouard). L'État et ses Limites, suivi d'essais politiques sur l'instruction publique, les finances, le droit de pétition, etc. Paris, 1865.

Nervo (De). Les Finances Françaises sous l'ancienne Monarchie, la Répubhique, le Consulat et l'Empire. 2 vols. 8. Paris, 1864.