ABSTRACT
The most obvious central organization in the French colonial system is naturally the Ministry of the Colonies, and nothing better reflects the haphazard growth of that system than the history and present position of the Ministry. The central organization of the French colonies is thus simple. There is the Ministry of the Colonies with its bureaux; and, save for the ponderous Conseil Superieur and various lesser Commissions, that is all. The word bureaux are not a mere rhetorical flourish in describing the French colonial system: it is the colonial system. The bureaux are all-powerful, and, save for Parliament, unchecked: and every detail of colonial existence comes within their ken. Spain, Holland, and Great Britain already had such a Ministry, and France had a more important empire than two of these. Lastly, just at this moment, the leading French possessions were all demanding permanent organization.
