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 494 P- S. Reinsch loupe has described the situation as follows : " The greatest part of their activity is given, no matter what repugnance they may feel thereto, to the task of cultivating the good will of the minister towards their friends among the colonial functionaries. They must constantly be on their guard against adverse influence and spend their time soliciting support in the bureaus. The colonial elections have become a matter of mere personal antagonism."' As we turn from representation in the national parliament to the local colonial council we find that it is animated by the same political desires as the deputies and senators in Paris, 'and that its chief con- cern is the control of the patronage. The uppermost consideration in the mind of a councillor is always the gaining of votes through local influence, or the punishment or reward of the administrative departments according to the attitude they have taken toward his election." The fiscal policy of the councils is governed by the same considerations. E.xpenses for public improvements of an industrial nature, such as harbors and roads, are constantly kept down. On the other hand since the influence of the general council grows with the number of officials dependent on it, the expenditure for salaries is constantly increasing. Thus, Martinique has 1400 func- tionaries out of 14,000 men who could possibly hold civil service positions.^ The bane of functionarism is fixed upon the colonies, and political life has consequently become an acrid struggle for perso'nal influence and patronage. By the side of this expenditure for the civil service, large sums are voted for public education and scholarships ; the latter fulfill the double purpose of advancing learning and pro- viding for the proteges of the politicians. Large grants and conces- sions are often made out of the public property ; thus, the council of Guiana granted 200,000 hectares of valuable land to one individ- ual, and at the same time proposed to divide the colonial reserve fund among the communes.^ It may be interesting to glance for a moment at the parallel ex- perience of Great Britain with the island of Jamaica. Although the English have tried representative institutions in the tropical colonies, they have never adopted manhood sufirage. The measures by which, under Lord Derby's administration of the Colonial Office in 'Letter in V Indepcndant de la Guadelotipi, February i6, 1S99. Merivale in his lectures on colonization ( 1S41 ) expresses the belief that colonial representatives would be mere party agents in Parliament. 2 Debate in the General Council of Guiana, cited in Annales des Sciences Politiques, XV. 256. '^ Les Colonies, Sept. 15, 1900. Also Mr. Austin Lee's Report on French Colonics, published by the British Foreign Office, 1900. « Annales des Sciences Politiques, XV. 259.