crats, 14; Left Radicals, 41; Left Republican Democrats, 45; Socialists, 105; Radicals and Radical Socialists, 140; Republican Socialists and French Socialists, 42; Republicans of the Left, 36; Democratic Republican Union, 103; Independents, 30.

The Senate is composed of 314 members, elected for nine years from citizens 40 years old, one-third retiring every three years. The election of the Senators is indirect, and is made by an electoral body composed (1) of delegates chosen by the Municipal Council of each commune in proportion to the population; and (2) of the Deputies, Councillors-General, and District Councillors of the department. Besides the 225 Departmental Senators elected in this way, there were, according to the law of 1875, 75 Senators elected for life by the united two Chambers; but by the Senate Bill of 1884 it was enacted that vacancies arising among the Life Senatorships would be filled by the election of ordinary nine-years Senators, the department which should have the right to the vacant seat to be determined by lot. The Princes of deposed dynasties are precluded from sitting in either House.

Senate, elected on January 11, 1924: Gauche Démocratique, 157; Union Républicaine, 88; Gauche Républicaine, 30; Right, 10; Union Démocratique et Radicale, 23; Independents, 6.

The Senate and Chamber of Deputies asseinble every year on the second Tuesday in January, unless a previous summons is made by the President of the Republic, and they must remain in session at least five months out of the twelve. The President is bound to convoke them if the demand is made by one-half of the number of members composing each Chamber. The President can adjourn the Chambers, but the aljournment cannot exceed the term of a month, nor occur more than twice in the same session.

Bills may be presented either in the Chamber or Senate by the Government, or on the initiative of private members. In the first case they are remitted to the bureaux for examination; in the second, they are first submitted to a commission of parliamentary initiative. Financial laws must be first presented to and voted by the Chamber of Deputies.

The Senate, constituted as a High Court of Justice, tries cases of attempt against the safety of the State or of plotting to change the form of government.

Senators and Deputies are paid 27,000 francs (1,0807.) a year and the Presidents of the two Chambers receive allowances for the expense of entertainment. Members of both Chambers travel free on all railways by means of a small annual payment. The dotation of the President of the Republic is 1,200,000 francs (48,0007.), with a further allowance of 1,200,000 francs for his expenses. On January 1, 1905, a fund was instituted for pensions to ex-Deputies, or their widows and orphans. It is supported by contributions from Deputies (deducted from their pay) as well as by gifts and legacies.

France has, besides, a special institution under the name of Conseil d'État, which was introduced by Napoleon I., and has been maintained since. It is presided over by the Minister of Justice or (in his absence) by a vice-president, and is composed of Councillors, Masters of Requests (Maîtres des Requétes), and Auditors, all appointed by the President of the Republic. Its duty is to give opinion upon such questions, chiefly those connected with administration, as may be submitted to it by the Government. It is judge in the last resort in administrative suits, and it prepares the rules for the public administration.

II. LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

For administrative purposes France is divided into 90 departments including the 'territory of Belfort' (remnant of the department of HautRhin). Since 1881 the three departments of Algeria are also treated for most purposes, as part of France proper. The department has representatives of all the Ministries, and is placed under a Prefect, nominated by Government, and having wide and undefined functions. He is assisted by a Prefecture Council, an administrative body, whose advice he may take without being bound to follow it. The Prefect is a representative of the Executive, and, as such, supervises the execution of the laws, issues police regulations, supplies information on matters which concern the department, nominates subordinate officials, and has under his control all officials of the State. There is a Sub-Prefect in every arrondissement, except in those containing the capitals of departments and the department of the Seine.

The unit of local government is the commune, the size and population of which vary very much There were, in 1921, in the 90 departments into which France was divided, 37,963 communes. Most of them (33,986) have less than 1,500 inhabitants, and 22,024 have even less than 500; while 140 communes only have more than 20,000 inhabitants. The local affairs of the commune are under a Municipal Council, composed of from 10 to 36 members, elected by universal suffrage, and by the scrutin de liste for 4 years by Frenchmen after 21 years and 6 months' residence; but each act of the Council must receive the approval of the Prefect, while many must be submitted to the Council General or even to the President of the Republic, before becoming lawful. Even the commune's quota of direct taxation is settled by persons (répartiteurs) chosen by the Prefect from among the lists of candidates drawn up by the Municipal Council.

Each Municipal Council elects a Mayor, who is both the representative of the commune and the agent of the central government. He is the head of the local police and, with his assistants,. acts under the orders of the Prefect.

In Paris the Municipal Council is composed of 80 members; each of th 20 arrondissements into which the city is subdivided has its own Mayo. The place of the Mayor of Paris is taken by the Prefect of the Seine, and, in par by the Prefect of Police. Lyons has an elected Mayor, but the control of th police is vested in the Prefect of the department of the Rhone.

The next unit is the canton (3,019), which is composed of an average of 12 communes, although some of the largest communes are, on the contrary, divided into several cantons. It is a seat of a justice of the peace (juge de paix), but is not an administrative unit.

The district, or arrondissement (385), has an elected conseil d'arrondissement, with as many members as there are cantons, its chief function being to allot among the communes their respective parts in the direct taxes assigned to each arrondissement by the Council General. That body stands under the control of the Sub-Prefect. A varying number of arrondissements form a department, which has its conseil général renewed by universal suffrage to the extent of one-half every three years (one Councillor for each canton). These conseils deliberate upon all economical affairs of the department, the repartition of the direct taxes among the arrondissements, the roads, normal schools, and undertakings for the relief of the poor. Their decisions are controlled by the Prefect, and may be annulled by the President of the Republic.

Area and Population.

I. PROGRESS AND PRESENT CONDITION.

The legal population at the date of the last two enumerations was :→

Not including military and naval forces and crews of the commercial navy abroad, which in 1921 numbered 192,973, and in 1911, 93,47

According to the Peace Treaty with Germany (June 28, 1919) AlsaceLorraine has been transferred to France, to date from the Armistice of November 11, 1918. The districts of Lower Alsace, Upper Alsace and Lorraine have become the departments of Bas-Rhin (1,848 square miles and population 651,686); Haut-Rhin (1,354 square miles, population 468,943), and Moselle (2,403 square miles, population 589,120).

Total area added to France is 5,605 square miles, population (1921) 1,709,749. Thus the total area of France is 212,659 square miles and population 39,209,518.

According to the Treaty of Versailles (article 45), France obtained from Germany as a compensation for the destruction of the coal mines in the North of France, the exclusive rights of exploitation of the coal mines situated in the Saar Basin. The area of this district is about 751 square miles, and the population 657,870. For the next 15 years the Saar Basin will be governed by a Commission of Five, chosen by the League of Nations. At the end of 15 years the population will decide by vote one of three alternatives, viz., the maintenance of the rule set up by the Treaty, union with France, or union with Germany.

Between the years 1811 and 1820 the average annual surplus of births over deaths was 5.7 per thousand of population; between 1851 and 1860 it was 2.4; between 1881 and 1890 it was 18; and between 1901 and 1910 it was 1.2. The average number of births per marriage was (1881-85) about 3; in 1891 it was 2.1.

In the following table, the third, fourth, and fifth columns give [in brackets] for the first five censuses the population, its density, and its average annual increase of France, excluding Alsace-Lorraine, and are thus comparable with the data for the censuses posterior to the loss of Alsace and Lorraine (1872-1911).