The sun., 1908-08-16

E II ' - =. ~ n ~ '' " I#4 +.|t| ~
IN. SUNDAY. AUGUST Is
ister Of Foreign Affairs. national e1ietencs
being, after justice. the chief care Of the
State; next comes the Minister Of War,
thsn tho Minister Of Finance The other
Ministers are seated according to their
Importance and the chronological order
Of the creation Of their departments.
NJ. Hanotaux goes on to say that the
Ministers deliberate in a low voice, with
out secretaries or minutes; what takes
place is familiar and confidential con-
versation In which the fate Of the Cabinet.
and hence the destinies Of the country.
are discussed simply and naturally. Each
Minister speaks in his turn according to
precedence. He submits the affairs OF
his department to the opinion Of the Coun-
oil. Useful observations are exchanged.
II 'unanimity should not be obtained
vote is taken. after which unanimity is
taken for granted, for each decision of
tho Council binds az those who have take;,
part In 1t. The President Of the Republic.
as We have seen. presides; he asks ques-
tions and makes no mystery Of his own
opinion; he counts the votes. and here his
has to sanction it. however. and at the end
or during the course Of the sitting he ooun-
tersigns the decree already signed by ono
Of the Ministers. A resolution carried
by the Council Of Ministers. II it only re-
lates to measure of administration. ac-
qures the value of public act and comes
into force from the moment when 1t re-
ceives publicity In the Journal OMciel
t. n, Iof., Tots IN m the nj her
hand, the resolution Of the Council Of Min
listers is likely to create a constant rela-
tionship between citizens 1t Is complete
only when 1t becomes law. To that
end 1t is submitted as a Ministerial bill to
discussion In Parliament. II 1t is rejected
the Ministry falls. Even with reference
to the specially administrative acts Of
the Cabinet. Parliament may assert its
control by means Of questions or inter-
pellations. After an Interpolation the
vote which maintains or overthrows the
Cabinet asserts an agreement or disagree
rnent between the Chambers. or rather
between the Chamber Of Deputies on the
one hand and the Ministry on the other.
By this simple machinery every action
Of the Cabinet passes or may pass through
tho sieve of Parliamentary approval or
disapproval.
Nv.
According to the Constitution Of 1875
tie President of the French Republic is
not responsible except in a case OF treason.
The Ministers. on the contrary. are as
We have seen responsible to Parliament.
and that is precisely what constitutes
their subordination. II the actions Of the
Cabinet are not ratified at least by silence.
the disavowal of the Chambers dissolves
the Ministry. As NJ. Hanotaux puts 1t.
these men. without ancestors. without
personal power, return to the crowd Of
citizens whence they came Another
leader, chosen by the President according
to the indications given him by the vote in
the Chamber OF Deputies, assumes power
in order to carry out the present wishes
Of the Parliament.
Here, then. we have the full extent of
| the rights Of the French Parliament under
the Constitution of 1875. That body, meeting
In Joint session Of the two houses at YER
sailles. elects the President Of the Repub-
/ lio; 1t discusses and votes the laws; 1t has
the right Of declaring war. the right Of
ratifying treaties. the right to vote the
annual budget; the initiative In matters
l0RlbhIlV0, pOltlCdl buaB0tdAyt q
special administrative power. exercised
by means Of the right Of Interpolation
and Of Parliamentary inquiry; the indi-
rect nomination Of the President Of the
Council and consequently Of the Cabinet;
control over tho Government itself and
the executive administration by the oon-
slant action of Ministerial responsibility
| M. Hanotaux does not forget to name a
| .~I oh x>o
for Parliament tho supreme authority In
the State. permanenoe.
It was said at one time In France that
athe King never dies; 1t would be true to
say now that parliament never dies in
France II is impossible that the whole
OF Parliament should ever be dissolved.
In the first place. the Senate, one-third OF
which Is renewable every three years, is
legally indestructible. There is, in the
second place. another permanence. that OF
the sessions OF Parliamentary action. No
power in the State can oppose the meeting
| Of Parliament. particularly Of the popular
chamber, on certain hIsd dates. The
| Chambers are oonstitutionally entitled to
meet on the second Tuesday in January,
and their session must last at least Ave
months. It Ia true that the President OF
the Republic has a right to adjourn the
meeting. but the adjournment cannot ex-
Deed the term Of one month. Besides the
necessity OF obtaining the annual vote OF
the budget the Executive power finds in
the Constitution Of 1875 another obstacle to
J a possible desire to administer the coun-
try without Parliamentary control. "The
President. says the Constitution. shall be
bound to call meeting Of the Chambers il
during the interval between two sessions he
Is requested to do 80 by an absolute majority
| OF the members who compose either Cham
ber.' Therefore the Chambers. even thong
absent, may. II occasion should arise. de-
fend their own threatened authority. FL
nahy, as q supreme resource the present
French Constitution contains q provision
by which in the event Of an illegal disso-
luton OF Parliament the Councils General
have the right and the duty to organize
legal resistance. to call the Chambers to-
gether and to decree a supreme appeal to
the country. Thus We see that every pre-
caution has been taken to bar the way
before personal power or dictatorship