ewspapers sorted and bundled
according to the offices of destination and the post routes, were
reduced to 1 centime for the first 50 grammes and 1 centime for each
additional 25 grammes or fraction of 25 grammes--half this rate being
charged for papers circulating within the department of publication or
the adjacent departments.

The value of a centime is roughly one-tenth of a penny. It is hardly
necessary, therefore, to point out that these rates are divorced
entirely from economic considerations, and are to be explained only on
political and administrative grounds.[371] It has been estimated that
in 1895 the loss on printed matter of all kinds was 36 million francs.

In France, as in other countries, the privilege of transmitting
periodical publications at a specially low rate of postage was much
availed of for the transmission of advertising matter, of publications
which were essentially of the character of catalogues or prospectuses
rather than newspapers properly speaking. A law of 1908,[372] passed
with a view, among other things, of minimizing this abuse of the
privilege, restricted the application of the reduced rate to
publications issued not less frequently than once a month. The new
regulation had good results, restricting, as was desired, the number of
periodical publications not legitimately entitled to the privilege. It
had also a result which was regarded by Parliament as undesirable: it
shut out from the privilege the numerous quarterly journals of
scientific and learned societies.[373]

By the same law the minimum rate of postage for small packets of printed
matter sent under loose band, the _imprim['e]s non urgent_, was raised from
1 centime to 2 centimes. The result of this was a little unsatisfactory.
In order to evade the higher charge, advertisers took to printing in
newspapers, circulating at 1 centime, announcements formerly sent out
separately as loose leaflets, a man[oe]uvre which struck doubly: not
only was the legitimate rate of postage evaded, but instead of dealing
with the matter as non-urgent at its convenience, the Post Office was
obliged to treat it in the same way as all other newspaper matter--that
is, to give it the benefit of equal treatment with matter sent at the
letter rate.

NOTE ON SUPPLEMENTS.

A decree of the 24th November 1860 gave to the two Chambers the
constitutional right of discussing the policy of the Government at home
and abroad, and as a natural corollary o