DOUBLE FIGURES.
For the tenth time M. Aristide Briand is head of a Cabinet in France. His eighth lasted four months, but in diminishing ratio his ninth lasted only a little over three. The collapse of this, as of the last, was due to the failure to find a way out of the financial morass and to stem the downward trend of the franc, which now seems to be in a fair way to join the paper mark. The same causes led to M. Poincare's defeat in the 1924 election, brought down M. Heriot in the following April, and M. Painleve last October.
Five successive ministries have failed to solve the problem which still faces M. Briand. There was a hope that M. I'eret, his last Finance Minister, would open up a roadway to financial stability, and it was his confession of failure and resignation which brought about the fall of the whole Cabinet —beaten by the franc. M. Peret announced his resignation in enigmatic terms.—he seeme to favour a wider coalition of the diverse elements composing the Chamber, but past efforts in this direction do not make the outlook a very encouraging one. This year's operations in the Chamber have been interesting, and, at times, exciting. M. Doumer submitted a Finance Bill early in the year designed to balance the budget, repay Bank of France advances and establish a sinking fund.
The Chamber resolutely declined to pass the new taxation on the necessary scale, and a new bill was introduced simply to provide for the wiping out of the deficit, the original demand for nearly nine thousand million francs being thus reduced by nearly one-half. The bill proposed increases upon a large number of articles and a tax upon payments, M. Doumer opposing any further increase in direct taxation. Thie again met with opposition, the parties of the iLeft cutting out imposts on coffee, salt, alcohol, motor cars, tobacco and the payments tax, with the result thait only one thousand million francs of new money was provided. M. Briand tl»«n tried to force the original bill through the Senate, stating that he would resign if it were not returned unmutilated. It was not. and he resigned, to again form a Ministry with M. Peret as Finance Minister.
Once again a long series of increased taxation upon articles of trade vms introduced. Some of these were described by M. Peret as vital, but when they were struck out he calmly produced others, and eventually succeeded in get+ing taxes through which promise,! to balance the budget. They have not done so; the credit established under the great American loan failed to stop the headlong rush of the franc, and so a new Ministry comes into office. It is not likely that its success will be any more notable, unless the Deputies radically change their views and agree to extension of direct taxation on a scale which will begin the task of restoring the national credit. The French have a horror of direct taxation, and when they do pay they do it with a very ill grace. Their income taxation is fractional compared with the British imposts, yet the increase made in December w<as violently resisted, and the "iax dodgers" have kept back millione of francs which should have gone into the treasury. The elected members of the Chamber will not courageously tp.ll their constituents that there is only one way out. and so the national credit steadily declines, and the national burden steadily increases.
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Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 142, 17 June 1926, Page 6
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583DOUBLE FIGURES. Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 142, 17 June 1926, Page 6
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