1876 to 249,188,700 francs in 1886.

Since the new Chamber met the air has been full of rumours of new loans,
and of modifications of taxation. These modifications may ease the
pressure on one point, but only by increasing it upon another point. No
financier in France pretends to put the annual burden borne by the
French people at much less than double the annual taxation of Great
Britain. M. Meline, a Republican of the Republicans, admitted before the
Chamber of Deputies on February 10, 1885, that the people of France were
more heavily taxed at that time 'than those of any other country in the
world.' He put the taxation of England at 57 francs a head, of the
United States at 59 francs a head, of Germany at 44 francs a head, and
of France at 104 francs a head.

And to-day the French people are more heavily taxed than they were in
1885. The mere general expenses of collecting the revenue of France are
set down in the Budget for 1890 at 107,343,926 francs, or, in round
numbers, 4,293,745_l._; divided as follows. Direct and assimilated land
taxes, 19,838,175 francs; registrations, domains, and stamps,
19,143,950; customs, 31,077,301; indirect taxes, 37,284,500 francs.

M. de Witt represents the Canton of Castel Moron in the Council-General
of the Lot-et-Garonne, and he is Mayor of the Commune of Laparade. At
the Legislative elections of last year, he contested the representation
of the Nerac district with M. Fallieres, the Minister of Public
Instruction, and was defeated, receiving 6,484 votes against 8,967 given
to the Minister. M. Fallieres 'on the stump,' speaking with the
authority of a Minister of 'Public Instruction,' actually assured the
electors that to vote for M. de Witt was to vote to 're-establish
seignorial rights, and to bring on a German or _Cossack_ invasion!' One
result of this was, that M. de Witt was burned in effigy near Tonneins
after the election!

After the election of M. de Witt as Mayor of Laparade, he was accused
before the tribunal at Marmande of 'corrupting' the electors of the
commune. The accusation rested on 'conversations,' but the tribunal
sentenced M. de Witt to a fine of a thousand francs, and several of his
electors to smaller fines. They all appealed to the Court at Agen, where
the case was pleaded by M. Piou, deputy for the Haute Garonne and one of
the ablest barristers in Southern France.

It throws an interesting light on the present condition of political
life in France, that