The French Chamber has been indulging in a very curious
debate. On Monday M. E. Roche, the Socialist Deputy, formally proposed the separation of Church and State, and asked " urgency " for his Motion. M. Combes, though a little taken aback, was unwilling to oppose urgency, as he is in full conflict with seventy Bishops who are trying to impede his action against the teaching Orders; and the Motion might have been carried but that a Deputy suddenly suggested a Committee "to consider all matters relative to the separation of Church and State." This was accepted by M. Combes and (tarried by 294 votes to 254, the understanding clearly being that the Committee will require an indefinite time to report. The debate, though singular as an incident, was, for reasons given elsewhere, entirely unreal. Neither French statesmen nor the French people are ready for Disestablishment.
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