Delegates from all the socialist organizations in France have held a three hours' heated debate in congress at Nancy over a proposal to make their deputies pay 6,000 francs year out of their Parliamentary allowance into the party fonds. Immediately after Parliament voted to increase this allowance from 9,000 francs to 15,000 francs, the Sodalist deputies declared that they would not touch a cent of the extra money, but a few days later they changed their minds and announced their intention of keeping half. For this they were severely taken to task at Nancy. One irate delegate told them they ought to live as frugally as they did before their allowance was raised, and another openly expressed his belief that they wanted the extra money for riotous living. Finally it was decided that the party interests would be satisfied "and its dignity preserved by the voluntary payment of 3,000 francs " year by each socialist deputy. So far as the socialists are concerned, the increase in the parliamentary allowance has resulted in about £6,000 " year being transferred from the ratepayers' pockets to wirepulling organizations. Other deputies have benefited little, because their consti-tents insist on having a big share of the extra money in the shape of subscriptions for local enterprises, hospitality and the hundred and one ways in which the sovereign people manages to make its representatives pay for their dignity. The moral seems to be that members of parliament ought to be paid as little possible.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.