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 374 FRANCE and the Saone, and the canal of the Rhine and Rhone, connecting these two rivers ; the canal of the Centre, between the Loire and the Saone ; the Loing, Briare, and Orleans canals, opening a communication between the Seine and the Loire; the St. Quentin canal, which is remarkable for its tunnel, and connects the Oise with the Scheldt; the canal of Britta- ny, the longest of all, running from Nantes to Brest, 230 m. The railways, highways, and canals are placed under the superintendence of a special department known as the board of en- gineers of bridges and public ways (ingenieurs des ponts et chaussees). Each department has its chief engineer. The present government of France is a republic, that form having been pro- claimed on Sept. 4, 1870, immediately after the downfall of Napoleon III., when a provisional government was instituted. In the hands of a national assembly, at first called only for the purpose of debating on the terms of peace with Germany, the organization of government gradually assumed a more definite form ; and although the labors of this assembly have not yet (May, 1874) resulted in a positive and accepted permanent constitution, the present administration of the country pending the com- pletion of this work may be considered fixed as follows. The executive power is exercised by a president, who is responsible to the as- sembly. The term of office of Marshal Mac- Mahon, who succeeded M. Thiers in this office in May, 1873, has been fixed at seven years by a special decree of that body, passed in Novem- ber. Under the president, and appointed by him, are the ministers of justice, foreign affairs, the interior, finances, marine and colonies, public instruction, public works, agriculture and commerce, and war, all of whom are also responsible to the assembly. Each department under these has its chief and under secretaries. The national assembly is made up of members elected at different times since its constitution in February, 1871. By a law passed May 24, 1872, a council of state was created, consisting of 28 members elected by the assembly, and 15 appointed by the president. The functions of this body are restricted to the giving of advice on bills presented to the assembly by the government, or on matters submitted to it by the president or ministers. The internal administration of each department is in the hands of a prefect, who is assisted by a council of prefecture, and has under his direction the sub-prefects of the arrondissements ; a mayor, aided by a municipal council, is at the head of each commune. The mayors of towns with more than 20,000 inhabitants, and of the capi- tals of departments and arrondissements, are appointed by the government. In other towns they are elected by the municipal councils. Councils of arrondissement and councils of department hold sessions of a few days twice every year to regulate the assessment of taxes and give expression to the wishes and wants of their respective communities. Such are the administrative arrangements all over the coun- try, with the exception of the department of the Seine and the city of Lyons, which have an organization of their own. For the admin- istration of justice France has 27 courts of appeal established in so many of the principal cities, and holding jurisdiction over from one to seven departments. They are composed of a president, several vice presidents, and from 20 to 60 councillors, to whom must be added an attorney general (procureur general), as- sisted by advocates general and substitutes. The principal of these courts is that of Paris. Under them, each arrondissement has its court of original or primary jurisdiction (tribunal civil ou de premiere instance) ; each canton, its tribunal of justice of peace and its simple police court. At the head of the judiciary establish- ment stands the court of cassation, which is a supreme court of appeal in both civil and criminal cases. The crime of high treason falls under the jurisdiction of an exceptional high court of justice. The courts of assize (one in each department) are organized juries, but take cognizance of criminal cases only. The court of accounts (cour des comptes), although not a regular tribunal, may be also mentioned here ; it is established to audit and examine all the accounts connected with the public revenue and expenditure. Besides the regular judi- ciary courts, tribunals of commerce and councils of prudhommes, chiefly composed of commer- cial men, have been established in the principal manufacturing and commercial towns, to decide upon cases connected with trade and manufac- tures. The penitentiary institutions of France, in which great improvements have been made within the last 30 years, are generally well managed and free from abuses. Besides the lagnes of Brest, Rochefort, and Toulon, most of the inmates of which have been transported to the penal colonies of Guiana, there are 23 cen- tral prisons for convicts of various grades, the principal being at Clairvaux, Gaillon, Melun, Poissy, and Clermont-de-FOise. Religious tol- eration is established by a law which se- cures equal freedom and protection to every kind of worship ; but all forms of religion not expressly recognized by the government are likely to suffer from the regulation which makes meetings of more than 20 persons dependent upon previous authorization by the police. A vast majority of the population belong to the Roman Catholic church. The French govern- ment not only supports the pastors of this church, but also those of the Protestant and Jewish communions. France, exclusive of its colonies, is divided into 84 Catholic dioceses, 67 of which are bishoprics and 17 archbishop- rics, viz. : Aix, Albi, Auch, Avignon, Besancon, Bordeaux, Bourges, Cambrai, Chambery, Ly- ons, Paris, Rennes, Rheims, Rouen, Sens, Tou- louse, and Tours. Every bishop and archbish- op is assisted by vicars general and a chapter. The dioceses are divided into parishes, which, according to their importance, are intrusted to