number of voters registered in the
district!

But, taking the general return of the votes cast at these elections as
authentic, it is perfectly plain that the Monarchical party in France is
stronger to-day than it was in 1885, and that the Republican party is
weaker in France to-day than it was in 1885.

In 1885 the strength of the two parties stood as follows:--

Republicans of all shades 4,377,063
Conservatives and Monarchists 3,608,578
_________
Republican majority 768,485

In 1889 the strength of the two parties stands as follows:--

Conservative Monarchists 3,144,978
Boulangists 629,955
_________
3,774,933

Opportunist Republicans 2,980,540
Radicals 981,809
Socialists 90,593
_________
4,052,542

Republican majority 277,609

Here at once we see a falling off in the Republican majority, between
1885 and 1889, of no less than 490,876 votes. This is certainly
significant enough when we remember that in 1885 the Monarchists did not
everywhere and openly attack the Republic as a form of government, while
in 1889 the issue was admitted on both sides to involve the existence of
the Republic as a form of government.

But this is not all.

When we compare the total of the votes cast in 1885 and 1889, we find a
diminution of no fewer than 788,821 votes. If this proves anything, it
proves that the voters of France care very much less about the stability
of the Republic in 1889 than they did in 1885. And this farther appears
from the further fact that the falling off in the total of votes cast
affected the Republican vote of 1889 much more seriously than it
affected the Monarchical vote. Indeed it did not affect the Monarchical
vote at all. On the contrary, while there was a positive falling off
from the Republican vote of 324,521 between 1885 and 1889, there was a
positive increase of the Monarchical vote, between 1885 and 1889, of
166,355.

How is it possible to weigh the meaning of these figures fairly without
seeing that a form of governme