From Our Own Correspondent, Paris, Jan. 30.
The vote in the Chamber of Deputies which enables the French Government to come to the assistance of the Banque Ilndustrielle de Chine was arrived ut after a somewhat confused debate, in which, however, it was clear that the great majority of the Chamber realized that, for the sake of French financial prestige in the Far East, some action must ye taken, if only to protect depositors. The Bill voted, however, is by no means identical with the measure proposed by M. Briand. His scheme was that the Government should be given a free hand to do as they pleased with the instalments of the Boxer indemnity, with the somewhat vague reservation that the money must be used "for the protection of French moral and material interests in the Far East." This would have left the Government free to do exactly as they Fleased, without having to ask for any further sanction from Parliament. M. Poincaré did not asx for such extensive powers. The Government is merely authorized to open negotiations with the Chinese Government with a view to an agreement under which the instalments due to France may be used to protect French interests in the Far East, and it is clear that this agreement will be subject to the ratification of Parliament, will any other agreements whicn may have to be made subsequently. For the time being, the Chamber has merely expressed its views on one question—the principle of diverting the Boxer instalments from the use to which they would "have been put in the ordinary course—the relief of taxation. The Government will now have 19 obtain two things from the Chinese Government and the Maritime Customs. The first is a definite undertaking to pay the instalments in gold or in dollars instead of francs, point on which some doubt stil] exists. The second is a promise agree to the transfer of the French Government's claim to the bank or syndicate of banks which will discount the instalments, as the French Government will give riv guarantees and accept no responsibility in connexion with the eventual non-payment of the instalments. These payments would be made, not to the French Government but to the bank or syndicate which takes the affair in and.
Looxine ror PuRcHASERS.
The French Government will now have to find purchasers for its claim, and will probably look for them in the United States, inasmuch as, if the full profit from the premium on gold as compared with paper francs is to be obtained, it
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.