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M. Bouvier, whose death was announced in Thursday's papers, is

best known as the Prime Minister of France who decided that the retention of M. Delcasse as Foreign Minister was a dangerous defiance of German susceptibilities. The part he played in his previous Premiership in breaking the power of General Boulanger in 1887 is less open to criticism. A Provencal, a disciple and protégé of Gambetta, he amassed a fortune as a banker and financier, and made his way to Cabinet rank when be was only forty. His mastery of finance was undoubted—indeed, according to some critics, it dominated his outlook on international politics ; and the way in which he met the charges brought against him in connexion with the Panama scandals cannot be pronounced satisfactory.

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