The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-03-29

Paris, March 28.-By the decisive nla- jority of 316 to 269 the Chamber of Dep
 uties tonight passed the government
 bill for the suppression of all forms of teaching by the religious orders. This supplements and completes the work begun by the former premier, M. Wal
 deck Rousseau, in 1901.
 The first law suppressed the unau-
 thorized teaching orders which had for a long time carried on their vocation
 despite the lack of legal sanction. The new law does not make any distinction
 between authorized and unauthorized Congregations, but sweeps away the whole fabric of teaching by religious | orders, thus in effect substituting the system of state schools for those here
 tofore conducted by the orders.
 1 Besides effecting the educational sys- tenn, the passage of the bill is the
 achievement of the principal work un-
 dertaken by Premier Combes, and it is believed that the premier will now VOL
 untarily retire.
 The parliamentary battle over the
 bill was one of the severest which the | Chamber of Deputies has seen in re- ] CCill ytdIS. lIlc IHillOLlty 1dllO0 " NY | velop any serious strength, but carried
 it's obstruction to the point of fine art, and, moreover, Premier Conlbes
 suffered severely by defections from his own side, such leaders as Leygues (rad-
 ical republican,, minister of public in- struction in the Waldeck- Rousseau cabibnet; Millerand (radical socialist)
 and Caillaux Republican, carrying l amendments which considerably modi- l fled the drastic character of the origi- nal measure. Premier Combes, how ever, maintained his majorties on the
 main features of the bill, and the clos | ing vote was in the nature of person. al triumph for him.
 | To-day's scene in the chamber was marked by excitement, as the last
 clauses of the bill dealt with dry ques- tions of detail upon which it was im-
 possible to raise a heated debate, and, 1 the battle having been thoroughly 1 fought out in previous sittings, the op- { position contented itself with merely < platonic protests before the taking of < the final division.
 1 The bill. which still has to pass the
 senate, though no very serious opposi-
 tion to it is anticipated there, forbids [ all teaching by the religious orders in 1 the territory of France proper, and pro- 1 vides for the suppression, within ten | years, of all orders actually holding an | authorization to teach. An amendment
 which first carried, despite the wishes ! of Premier Combes. renders the meas ure inapplicable to the colonies, but, as
 the premier was careful to point out in
 the final debate, this does not affect
 the power conferred on the government
 by the law of 1901 of closing such i schools in the colonies by decree. The
 existing congregations are prohibited l from recruiting new members and their
 novitiates are according suppressed at once, with the exception of few who
 are destined solely for the purpose of | training teachers for service in the col onies These latter, however, are for
 bidden to enroll minors. Severe penal ! ties attach to any attempt to evade I these provisions.
 1 The property of the authorized con-
 gregations is to remain untouched until ! the closing of their last school, when a
 liquidator is to be appointed to wind
 up their affairs, pensioning the surviv-
 ors and returning to the owners and heirs the donations and bequests which
 have been conditionally made, and ap-
 plying any surplus to the purpose of
 secular education.
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