railways. An administrative tribunal called the cour des comptes
subjects the accounts of the state’s financial agents (trésoriers-payeurs,
receveurs of registration fees, of customs, of indirect taxes,
&c.) and of the communes[1] to a close investigation, and a vote of
definitive settlement is finally passed by parliament. The Cour des
Comptes, an ancient tribunal, was abolished in 1791, and reorganized
by Napoleon I. in 1807. It consists of a president and 110 other
officials, assisted by 25 auditors. All these are nominated for life
by the president of the republic. Besides the accounts of the state
and of the communes, those of charitable institutions[1] and training
colleges[1] and a great variety of other public establishments are
scrutinized by the Cour des Comptes.
The following table shows the rapid growth of the state revenue of France during the period 1875–1905, the figures for the specified years representing millions of pounds.
| 1875. | 1880. | 1885. | 1890. | 1895. | Average 1896–1900. |
Average 1901–1905. |
| 108 | 118 | 122 | 129 | 137 | 144 | 147 |
Of the revenue in 1905 (15012 million pounds) the four direct taxes produced approximately 20 millions. Other principal items of revenue were: Registration 25 millions, stamps 712 millions, customs 18 millions, inland revenue on liquors 1612 millions, receipts from the tobacco monopoly 18 millions, receipts from post office 1012 millions.
Since 1875 the expenditure of the state has passed through considerable fluctuations. It reached its maximum in 1883, descended in 1888 and 1889, and since then has continuously increased. It was formerly the custom to divide the credits voted for the discharge of the public services into two Expenditure. heads—the ordinary and extraordinary budget. The ordinary budget of expenditure was that met entirely by the produce of the taxes, while the extraordinary budget of expenditure was that which had to be incurred either in the way of an immediate loan or in aid of the funds of the floating debt. The policy adopted after 1890 of incorporating in the ordinary budget the expenditure on war, marine and public works, each under its own head, rendered the “extraordinary budget” obsolete, but there are still, besides the ordinary budget, budgets annexes, comprising the credits voted to certain establishments under state supervision, e.g. the National Savings Bank, state railways, &c. The growth of the expenditure of France is shown in the following summary figures, which represent millions of pounds.
| 1875. | 1880. | 1885. | 1890. | 1895. | Average 1896–1900. |
Average 1901–1905. |
| 117 | 135 | 139 | 132 | 137 | 143 | 147 |
The chief item of expenditure (which totalled 148 million pounds in 1905) is the service of the public debt, which in 1905 cost 4814 million pounds sterling. Of the rest of the sum assigned to the ministry of finance (5934 millions in all) 812 millions went in the expense of collection of revenue. The other ministries with the largest outgoings were the ministry of war (the expenditure of which rose from 2512 millions in 1895 to over 30 millions in 1905), the ministry of marine (1034 millions in 1895, over 1212 millions in 1905), the ministry of public works (with an expenditure in 1905 of over 20 millions, 10 millions of which was assigned to posts, telegraphs and telephones) and the ministry of public instruction, fine arts and public worship, the expenditure on education having risen from 712 millions in 1895 to 912 millions in 1905.
Public Debt.—The national debt of France is the heaviest of any country in the world. Its foundation was laid early in the 15th century, and the continuous wars of succeeding centuries, combined with the extravagance of the monarchs, as well as deliberate disregard of financial and economic conditions, increased it at an alarming rate. The duke of Sully carried out a revision in 1604, and other attempts were made by Mazarin and Colbert, but the extravagances of Louis XV. swelled it again heavily. In 1764 the national debt amounted to 2,360,000,000 livres, and the annual change to 93,000,000 livres. A consolidation was effected in 1793, but the lavish issue of assignats (q.v.) destroyed whatever advantage might have accrued, and the debt was again dealt with by a law of the 9th of Vendémiaire year VI. (27th of September 1797), the annual interest paid yearly to creditors then amounting to 40,216,000 francs (£1,600,000). During the Directory a sum of £250,000 was added to the interest charge, and by 1814 this annual charge had risen to £2,530,000. This large increase is to be accounted for by the fact that during the Napoleonic régime the government steadily refused to issue inconvertible paper currency or to meet war expenditure by borrowing. The following table shows the increase of the funded debt since 1814.[2]
| Date. | Nominal Capital (Millions of £). |
Interest (Millions of £). | ||||||||||||||||||
|
5034 | 212 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 177 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 23814 | 934 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 22034 | 912 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 49814 | 1512 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 79614 | 30 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 98612 | 3414 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 103834 [3] | 3212 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 103714 | 31 |
The French debt as constituted in 1905 was made up of funded debt and floating debt as follows:
| Funded Debt. | |
| Perpetual 3% rentes | £888,870,400 |
| Terminable 3% rentes | 148,490,400 |
| Total of funded debt | £1,037,360,800 |
| Guarantees to railway companies, &c. (in capital) | £89,724,080 |
| Other debt in capital | 46,800,840 |
| Floating Debt. | |
| Exchequer bills | £9,923,480 |
| Liabilities on behalf of communes and public | |
| establishments, including departmental services | 17,366,520 |
| Deposit and current accounts of Caisse des | |
| dépôts, &c., including savings banks | 15,328,840 |
| Caution money of Trésoriers payeurs-généraux | 1,431,680 |
| Other liabilities | 6,456,200 |
| Total of floating debt | £50,506,720 |
Departmental Finances.—Every department has a budget of its own, which is prepared and presented by the prefect, voted by the departmental council and approved by decree of the president of the republic. The ordinary receipts include the revenues from the property of the department, the produce of additional centimes, which are levied in conjunction with the direct taxes for the maintenance of both departmental and communal finances, state subventions and contributions of the communes towards certain branches of poor relief and to maintenance of roads. The chief expenses of the departments are the care of pauper children and lunatics, the maintenance of high-roads and the service of the departmental debt.
Communal Finances.—The budget of the commune is prepared by the mayor, voted by the municipal council and approved by the prefect. But in communes the revenues of which exceed £120,000, the budget is always submitted to the president of the republic. The ordinary revenues include the produce of “additional centimes” allocated to communal purposes, the rents and profits of communal property, sums produced by municipal taxes and dues, concessions to gas, water and other companies, and by the octroi (q.v.) or duty on a variety of articles imported into the commune for local consumption. The repairing of highways, the upkeep of public buildings, the support of public education, the remuneration of numerous officials connected with the collection of state taxes, the keeping of the cadastre, &c., constitute the principal objects of communal expenditure.
Both the departments and the communes have considerable public debts. The departmental debt in 1904 stood at 24 million pounds, and the communal debt at 153 million pounds. (R. Tr.)
Army.
Recruiting and Strength.—Universal compulsory service was adopted after the disasters of 1870–1871, though in principle it had been established by Marshal Niel’s reforms a few years before that date. The most important of the recruiting laws passed since 1870 are those of 1872, 1889 and 1905, the last the “loi de deux ans” which embodies the last efforts of the French war department to keep pace with the ever-growing numbers of the German empire. Compulsory service with the colours is in Germany no longer universal, as there are twice as many able-bodied men presented by the recruiting commissions as the active army can absorb. France, with a greatly inferior population, now trains every man who is physically capable. This law naturally made a deep impression on military Europe, not merely because the period of colour service was reduced—Germany had taken this step years before—but because of the almost entire absence of the usual exemptions.
