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Land Tenure in France: Germany
Germany. 2,167,667 2,282,103 2,635,030 2,293,200 783,641 633,143 56,866 42,439 20,644 11,501 7,942 9,814 217 4,144 5.672,007 5,276.344
Thus it will be seen that the soil is almost as much divided in Germany as it is in France, the number of holdings under two and a half acres being rather greater in the former country than it is in the latter, though, upon the other hand, there are 217 really large farms (over 1,250 acres) in France as against 4,000 in Germany. The total number of owners of land in France was 4,835,246, or 405,269 less than in 1862, but as 187,000 owners of land were lost to France by the cession of Alsace-Lorraine, the real decrease has only been 218,269. Nearly eighty per cent. of the owners of land cultivate it for themselves, fourteen per cent. are tenants, and six per cent. are metayers, that is to say, tenants who cultivate the farm upon the condition of having a joint share in the profits with the landlord, who supplies the land and the capital.
It is worthy of remark, however, that the number of persons cultivating their own land has increased within the last twenty years, while the number of tenants and metayers has decreased. This wide distribution of the land is the direct consequence of the French law, under which all children inherit the bulk of their father's property equally without distinction of age or sex. The landlord is forced to leave the whole of his estate to be thus equally divided. Should he desire to do otherwise, the French law permits him to bequeath by his will to whomsoever he may nominate, one-fourth of his land if he has three children, one-third if he has two children, and one-half if he has only one. In other words, the fraction of his estate which he can bequeath according to his own desire is that expressed by one for its numerator, and one plus the number of his children for its denominator. Land cannot, under the French law, be tied up by entails and made unsaleable after the owner's death, nor are any marriage settlements, like those which in England often keep an estate out of the market, allowed.
GOVERNMENT AND LAWS.-The form of Government is Republican, with a President elected by joint ballot of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies united in a National Assembly, and responsible thereto. The President appoints the ministers, all of whom are also responsible to the Assembly, and, as in England, are chosen from the dominant party as represented in that body. The political affairs of France are at present in a state of transition, and although the Republic appears to be firmly based, the powers and functions of the different departments are not so well defined as in the United States, England, or Germany.
A Council of State was created in 1872, a majority of its members being elected by the Assembly and the remainder appointed by the President, whose duty it is to advise that officer and the ministers. A Senate being considered desirable, some of the members were elected and others appointed, while retired officers of State of the higher grades, prelates, naval and military officers, were also admitted to seats. Members of the Assembly are elected by universal suffrage and the ballot. Local self-government is not accorded in France to so full an extent as in English-speaking countries, and until the advent of the Republic the tendency of legislation was all in the direction of centralization. Great reforms have, however, been instituted and more are promised, and in a country where every male of twenty-one years has a vote, these can scarcely be long delayed.
The judicial system of France is unquestionably very effective, and is of an elaborate character. The laws are contained in a Code prepared under the direction of Napoleon I. A double system of taxation prevails, direct imposts being levied on lands, houses, persons, and licenses, while import and export duties and excise charges on many articles are levied.