National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-08-19
rnoM THE rnENcu cAprrAL.
The Policy of Colonial Expansion Dis
cusse1 I'm Paris.

times has at TINS season OF the year OF be- .
ginning his letter with a complaint Of tn,
excessive heat and the absence Of interest
ing topics. On the contrary, have never
known more delightful weather in the
month Of July than the cool, sunny days
that we have had for the past three weeks
and which still continue. Those Americans
whom | have lately met herc-ror ths
American travellers have not all left US for
Switzerland or the seashorc--arc ourpris1l
to find so cool and dry a summer, and want
to know If It is always so. Unfortunately
for those Of us who are so Parsinazcl that
we prefer to remain here to going elsewhere,
our summers are not always cool, but we
rarely ever have more than four or five un-
comfortable days at time, and | never
remember the year when the heat
was sufficiently great to prevent n
gCCd nights rest. "A long absence
Of rain has however, serious consequence
for us, for the water supply Of Paris is II
adequate. Notwithstanding the 5000
cubic meters of water that the city receives
daily, the administration Is somatlmes
obliged during the warm period to issue
warnings to the inhabitants TO use tho
source water with great economy. This
source water, ! may say in passing, Is usel
for house purposes, and the Seine water for
the public services. For many years the
question of an increased supply of waterha
been, as they say here, 'under study" but,
with its proverbial slowncss, the admins
tration has only recently made move. Out
of the 500, ,530,0 600 that are to be expended
during the next twelve years for important
public works that Of an increased water
supply figures for Sll 100000. This sum is
to be used principally to build new aquc-
duets for bringing the source water from
lower Burgundy. When these works are
finished perhaps the 10000 houses which
are stil without running water may be
supplied.
FRENCH COLONIAL POLICY.
But when l began my letter did not
intend to talk about the water question,
which, although very interesting one,
must give way to the more pressing topics
of the week. In spite OF the fact that we
are about entering upon the month of Au-
gust the appropriation bill for 1886 has not
yet been voted, and parliament is discuss
ing as vigorously as though the session
were not near its end general political
question. Political questions always have
more fascination for French politicians
than subjects concerning the interior affairs
| Of the country. This is why we have
| just had, in the chamber, a long aud In
| great part retrospective debate over the
statu quo at Madagascar until the new
parliament shall decide just what 1t intends
! TO do about this burning subject OF colo
| nial expansion. You know all about the
acquisitions of Tunis aud Tonquin and the
efforts that the French are making to
subiugatc the Hovas at Madagascar, so /
need not go into details, but as the>subject
of colonial policy is likely to be one
| of the principal issues In the coming cleo
toral campaign, and as during the present
| week we have had two great speeches on
the subiect-one by the man who guided
French policy while the new colonies were
being gained, and one by his ablest and
most convinced opponent-I am obliged to
not pass the subject by IN silence. NJ. Ferry,
in spite of his seeming unpopularity, is one
of the abest men in the republican party,
and he possesses to high degree the grand
political quality of pluck. He is never so
happy as when he is struggling to carry out
his ideas, and those men who thought that
his sudden and unexpected overthrow on
March 30, on the Tonquin question, had
broken his political chances for n long
while to come, must have been astonished
at the applause he gathered two days ago
when he defended before the assembly the
very policy that had caused his downfall.
French politics are full of surprises. This
same NJ. Ferry was obliged to retire
from power in 1881 on an adverse
|
the Tunis expeditions aud this very cham
her which has twice driven him from power
now warmly applauds him when he boldly
defends that policy on the eve of the gem
eral elections. Notwithstanding the ability
with which NJ Ferry argued that the role
of France ought not to be confined within
her continental domains, that she ought to
extend her influence even by military CON
quest, and that policy OF abdication would
reduce her to a third or fourth-rate power,
am inclined to believe that the country Is
tired of the expenditure of men and money
that these enterprises cost. Undoubtedly
the people do not want the French flag
withdrawn from Tonquin or Madagascar,
and even NJ. Clemenceau's followers would
not dare to propose such thing to the
electors, but between NJ. Jules Ferrys theory
of unlimited expansion and complete alb
dication there is medium which responds
to the general sentiment OF the country,
viz, to limit the colonial policy to the ad-
ministration of the old colonies, to the
organization of the new possessions, to the
| protection of the commercial interests, and
to the safeguard Of the strategic points that
France has in the world. NJ. Clemenceau
in his reply to NJ. Ferry,was as he is always
on great occasions, mercilessly logical,
vigorous, and concise. lie frankly accused
NJ. Ferry of advocating war policy and of
attempting, on the eve Of the elections to
lnuhc lut present CuDluet ubhulHc u JOlut
responsibility fer the policy of the former
ministry. NJ. Clemenceau's opinion is that,
as France has the heaviest public debt In the
world, 1t is not sound policy to attempt to
conquer possessions SO far from home, and
to eXpend there hundred million when
France needs new schools, more highways,
and improved industrial tools that will en-
able her to compete with her rivals. These
problems, and the regulation Of the evolu-
tionary movement through which the
country is now passing, he thinks ought to
satisfy the ambition of any minister OF
chamber NJ. Clemenceau's allusion to NJ.
Ferry's attempt to shelter himself and par
ty behind the present ministry naturally
forced NJ. Brisson, the president Of the
council to make declaration. NJ. Brisson
announced that the government was neither
in favor of the policy Of abandonment, the
policy OF adventures, nor the policy OF con
quest; 1t was for the policy of preserving
the national domain, and upon this point II
demanded the vote Of the twelve millions,
Such declaration was all that could be OK
pccted from minority which is, after all
only provisional one. Called upon "a
take power after NJ. Ferry's overthrow IN
March, NJ. Brsson and his colleagues did so
simply to finish up the Tonquin business
and to superintend the elections The vote
was 2Ol in favor against 142 opposed. 1t Ii
curious to remark that the first vote on
the Madagascar enterprise united oyel
four hundred adherents, so the colonial
idea seems to have weakened considerably
in the chamber during the past year. This
long, interesting, and tumultuous debate,
although retrospective In character, will
serve to enlighten the electors on the po
sition of the two principal groups of The
republican party. 1t will also make this
question of colonial expansion a more i'm
portant issue in the campaign than 1t was
before. The great stumbling block has
thus far been the religious question, but the
debate just closed in the chamber and to bC
renewed in the senate will force the separ,l
tiOn of church and state into the secont
rank, DANIEL D'ARTHEz.