Our Paris Letter.

Manawatu Herald, 7 March 1895, Page 3

Our Paris Letter.

■ ■ ■» (from oub own cobrespondent.) Paris, 17th Jan., 1895. After an exciting debate in the Chamber of Deputies on the 14th inst., the Dupuy Ministry was defeated and resigned office. The question at issue was the guarantee of interest payable by the State to the Orleans and Midi Railway Com* and it was raised by a recent r-decision of the Oonseil d'Etat to the effect that the guarantee was not, payabl&Jintil 1956 and not 1901, as the- Government contended. M. Millerand, the Socialist Deputy, qpewß&'tbe attack by blaming the <jfcjwrnment for allowing the computes to lajrttke matter into t h

law courts. There was more than a million at stake, and Parliament ought to have asserted its sovereign will without leaving the matter to be decided by any tribunal. M. Dnpuy : " That is a revolutionary theory/ 1 M. Millerand then went on to attack M. Roynal, the Minister who negotiated the arrangement with the companies in 1888, and concluded by moving a resolution for the appointment of a committee to decide whether M. Roynal should be prosecuted for criminal neglect in the exercise of his functions. M. Eoynal then ascended the tribune and declared his perfect willingness to submit to an investigation of his motives and conduct. The Minister of Public Works, declared that, firmly believing it was the intention of the Chamber in 1888 not to prolong the guarantee, he preferred giving up office to remain in it. when the companies contention had been accepted by the conseil d'etat. M. Mallerand's motion for the appointment of a committee was then carried amid a scene of great excitement, by 225 votes to 223. Seven other resolutions were read, and M. Dnpuy declared that the Government accepted that of M. Trelat, a colourless motion with no direct bearing on the question at issue. Two other resolutions were de* feated by small majorities amid growing excitement, and the House was then asked to decide whether it would give priority to M. Trelat's motion or that of M. Kuntz, affirming the intention of the Chamber to reserve the rights of the State. On a division, priority for the Tre'lat motion was rejected by 268 votes to 211, whereupon M. Dupuy resigned office and left the Chamber with his Colleagues. The President of the Republic accepted the resignation of his Ministers At half past ton o'clock of the 15th inst., the following day after the resignation of the Ministry, the startling news became known that M. Oasimir Perier, President of the Republic had resigned his hi»h office. The statement was at first received with incredulity but was soon confirmed. From one till three o'clock in tbe afternoon the President of ihe Senate was closeted with M. Casimir-Perier. It is understood that M. Chaliemd Lacouv urged that only two coursos could be adopted to fnd the Cabinet crisis ; either a Radical Cabinet headed by M. Brisflnn, the President of the Chamber of Dupu iea, or a Cabinet de Resistance supported by the Senate and resorting, in case of need, loa dissolution of the Chamber. Bith M. Casimir Perier and M. Chillemei Lacour were opposed to a Radical Cabinet under M. Bourgeois. The news of the President's resignation caused a great sensation in the provinces. Telegrams report that at Bordeaux a crowd assembled before the Prefecture, believing the statement to be a hoax ; but when official information came, there was general consternation. At Lyons everyone was taken by surprise. At Marseilles, Macoz, Lyon, Douai and other large towns crowds besieged the prefectures. In Paris, on the other hand, the ■ public seemed absolutely unconcerned. No~ demonstration of any : kind occurred, though the affair, of course, formed the sole topic of discussion at the clubs and in political circles. The election of a new President will be held at Versailles on the 17th inst. Nearly all the Parisian papers are blaming M. Casimir Perier's precipitate withdrawal, which they attribute to the influence of his wife and mother.

HISTORY REPEATED. — Thousands of people aaw Charles I. beheaded in 1648. Yet in all that crowd there was bat one roan who knew why the blood spurted from the dißFevered arteries ia the Monarch's neck. That was Dr. Harvey, the King's Physioian. He had announced the circulation of the blood, and in so doing started a tremendous scandal. People called him a fool, a meddler, a madman. What a lucky thing it was that the Puritans chopped off the King's head instead of Harvey's. A King more or less doesn't matter, but a thinker more or leas does. Thank mercy its safer now to tell new truths than it was 250 years ago. That is why we are not afraid to say Crease's Al Coffee is the very best procurable. IT AFFORDS you pleasure to give your friends when calling nice cakes and to answer enquiries, and iufoim them that you nsed the Sun Baki-.g Powder, which you woul'l not be without on account of its qoaliij and cheapness — and obtainable everywhere. To Newspaper Advertisers : Apvertisino Blocks from McKee and Gamble, NewZta* and Press Agency, Wellington.