11. niers pronounced his annual oration upon the French budget
on Friday last. It was of course an attack on the Empire, which he said had increased the Budget from 60,000,000/. to 92,000,000/., by expenditure on wars, on expeditions, on arma- ments, on the services, on railways, and on the reconstruction of the cities. He did not object to any of these things except the petty expeditions, but questioned if all should be accomplished at once, particularly when they involved not only the outlay of all the natural increase of revenue, but also the addition of 20,000,000/. to the taxes. He repudiated, however, any reduction in the army, and his speech was wholly wanting in practical sug- gestion. M. Berryer, who followed, advised the reduction of the army by 50,000 men, but M. niers' speech had answered that suggestion, and M. Rouher had little difficulty in proving that if the national budget had increased, so had the national wealth, that the railways were worth their cost, that the cities were not ruined, and that France in return for wars had reaped political power. •
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