Evening star., 1925-11-26
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

The French government is again In
distress. The Painleve ministry has
failed to retain the backing of ma
jority Of the Assembly, and, under
the practice in that country, the tall
ure requires the resignation OF the
cabinet.
NJ. Aristide BRAND. who already has
had seven terms as premier, was again
offered the premiership. AS he could
not satisfy the Socialists of the AS
sembly, who hold the balance or
power, he declined the empty honor,
knowing that within a few days he
would follow Painleve in defeat. The
premiership was then offered to Sen
ator Doumer, a Socialist. but he failed
to gain the backing Of a majority, and
at present the task Is in the hands or
NJ. Herriot.
Under radical socialism what is to
be the fate of France? The PainleVe
ministry went into defeat, ostensibly,
upon a bill to initiate the currency bill.
lions of francs, but, really. because IT
refused the Socialist demand for a
capital levy" or confiscation OF prop
erty of the wealthy. When socialism
comes vaulting into the saddle, Will
1t go en- comble Ito the limit. or will
power bring with it recognition OF
responsibility?
X X X
There fs no law in France requiring
the resignation of the ministry upon
losing the support of the majority OF
the Assembly, but ministry is help
less without legislative support. and
therefore. there can be no alternative
The French constitution differs ma
terially from the English form OF gov
ernment. In England. If a cabinet
H. TO-
the worse for Parliament, for the
King, acting through the prime min
lister, may prorogue it and cali for
new election of members of the House
of Commons The country at large
NAV elect other members who Will
support the measures and policies OF
the cabinet, and the prime minister
with the same secretaries, may carry
on"
Such is not the case in France. The
President of France cannot call for a
new election of the Assembly, without
the consent Of the Senate, and such
prorogation is obsolete. In both
countries the members of the upper
house hold life tenures of office. and
the changing will of the people finds
expression only through the lower
house-the House of Commons In Eng
land and Chamber Of Deputies in
France.
A Senator in France may hold q
salaried position while serving In the
Senate, but a Deputy cannot do SO
without being reelected after accept
ing the salary, except that a Deputy
may serve in the cabinet and retain
his seat in the Chamber. The min,
istry, headed by the premier, is re
sponsible directly to the Assembly
not to the President.
When our President Cleveland made
his famous complaint that he had
Congress on his hands" he uttered an
Americanism which would be incom
prehensible in France. for the Presi
dent Of France has practically nothing
to do with the policies or acts of the
Assembly-the parliamentary body
corresponding to our Congress. The
policies are framed by the cabinet
i.e., the ministry, and submitted to the
Assembly for approval. 1t is when the
principal policies fail to gain that ap
proval that the ministry must resign
So jealous is the Assembly Of its pow
er to control the ministry that any
failure to resign after such d1Sap
proval would lead to refusal to pass
financial appropriations or to indorse
any of the subsequent measures intro
duced by the recalcitrant ministry.
There Is no permanency in any
French ministry, for there is no such
thing as any party's holding a ma
jority In the Assembly. 1t is not a
body made up and controlled by two
great parties, as in the United States
Congress; it is composed of "blocs, y
each a minority, but each fighting all
the others.
\ X
Down the center of the Chamber OF
Deputies runs a broad aisle. The
President of the Chamber sits at one
end of that aisle. On his right, facing
the center-not facing the presiding
officer, as in our Congress-sit the
more conservative "blocs"-the Bour'
bons and other blocs standing for
either the republic under the constitu'
ton or for some pretender to the
French throner Next are the Pro