M. Bocher, the "business man " of the Orleans family,
and a Senator, is supposed to be the shrewdest man in France, but he is not always wise. On Wednesday, he induced the Royalists to agree to pass the Estimates en bloc and in silence, alleging that the -Senate bad not been allowed time for serious discussion, and that he would not mislead the country by a semblance of de- bate. There is pettishness in a resolution of that kind, as the Senate could have discussed any items it found especially objectionable. It did, indeed, replace the salary of the Arch- bishop of Paris in the Estimates. The only result will be that the Ministry of Finance, which would be delighted if its Budget were never debated at all, will have a motive the less for urging the Estimates through the Chamber. The Senate could, we imagine, do as the Chamber under M. Gambetta once did, and accept the Budget up to a fixed date and provisionally.
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