A great debate in the French Senate on Tuesday brings
under a strong light the burdens which the Governments which have ruled since 1870 have imposed on France. M. Loubet, Chairman of the Financial Committee, suggested that the Colonial Budget, now £3,200,000 a year, must abso- lutely be cut down, and that the expenditure on education and pensions must be prevented from growing, even if that rendered the Minister of Finance hopelessly unpopular. The Premier, M. Ribot, replied that reductions were hardly possible because out of the total Budget the interest on Debt absorbed 274,200,000, and the Army and Navy 236,400,000, leaving only £22,800,000 for all other expenses. It was im- possible to reduce the charge for the Debt, or to spend less on the Army and Navy, and the remainder afforded little margin. In other words, the fixed charges of France, with a stationary population, exceed the whole national expenditure of Great Britain. The Senate ordered M. Loubet's speech to be printed and placarded in all communes, as a warning to constituencies not to press for grants in aid ; but the warning will not be taken, and no Finance Minister will consent to be a scapegoat. France is very rich ; but the people are already restless under their taxation, and some day the Anti-Colonial party, already num eroue, will insist on the abandonment of all Colonies not on the Mediterranean, even if they do not pro- pose a forcible " conversion " of the Debt. Meanwhile, the whole credit voted for Madagascar has been exhausted, and the Chamber must be asked to vote another 22,500,000, to be raised, it is expected, by concessions to the railways.
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