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BELGIUM (Fr. Belgique; Flem. Belgic)
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See also:BELGIUM (Fr. Belgique; Flem. Belgic) , an See also:independent, constitutional and neutral See also:state occupying an important position in See also:north-See also:west See also:Europe. It was formerly See also:part of the See also:Low Countries or See also:Netherlands (q.v.). Although the name Belgium only came into See also:general use with the See also:foundation of the See also:modern See also:kingdom in 1830, its derivation from See also:ancient times is clear and incontrovertible. Beginning with the See also:Belgae and the Gallia Belgica,of the See also:Romans, the use of the See also:adjective to distinguish the inhabit-ants of the See also:south Netherlands can be traced through all stages of subsequent See also:history. During the See also:Crusades, and in the See also:middle ages, the See also:term Belgicae principes is of frequent occurrence, and when in 1790 the See also:Walloons See also:rose against See also:Austria during what was called the See also:Brabant revolution, their leaders proposed to give the See also:country the name of Belgique. Again in 1814, on the See also:expulsion of the See also:French, when there was much talk of See also:founding an independent state, the same name was suggested for it. It was not till sixteen years later, on the collapse of the See also:united kingdom of
See also:GEOGRAPHY]
the Netherlands, that the occasion presented itself for giving effect to this proposal. For the explanation of the See also:English See also:form of the name it may be mentioned that Belgium was a See also:canton of what had been the Nervian country in the See also:time of the See also:Roman occupation.
See also:Topography, &c.—Belgium lies between 490 30' and 51° 30' N., and 2° 32' and 6' 7' E., and on the See also:land See also:side is bounded by See also: In addition it has a See also:sea-See also:coast of 42 M. The western portion of Belgium, consisting of the two See also:Flanders, See also:Antwerp and parts of Brabant and See also:Hainaut, is See also:flat, being little above the level of the sea; and indeed at one point near See also:Furnes it is 7 ft. below it. The same description applies more or less to the north-See also:east, but in the south of Hainaut and the greater part of Brabant the general level of the country is about 300 ft. above the sea, with altitudes rising to more than boo ft. South of the See also:Meuse, and in the See also:district distinguished by the appellation " Between Sambre and Meuse," the level is still greater, and the whole of the See also:province of Luxemburg is above 500 ft., with altitudes up to 165o ft. In the south-eastern part of the province of See also:Liege there are several points exceeding 2000 ft. The highest of these is the Baraque de See also:Michel See also:close to the Prussian frontier, with an See also:altitude of 2190 ft. The Baraque de Fraiture, north-east of La See also:Roche, is over 2000 ft. While the greater part of western and See also:northern Belgium is devoid of the picturesque, the See also:Ardennes and the Fagnes districts of " Between Sambre and Meuse " and Liege contain much pleasant and some romantic scenery. The See also:principal See also:charm of this region is derived from its See also:fine and extensive See also:woods, of which that called St See also:Hubert is the best known. There are no lakes in Belgium, but otherwise it is exceedingly well watered, being traversed by the Meuse for the greater part of its course, as well as by the See also:Scheldt and the Sambre. The numerous affluents of these See also:rivers, such as the Lys, Dyle, Dender, Ourthe, Ambleve, Vesdre, See also:Lesse and See also:Semois, provide a See also:system of waterways almost unique in Europe. The canals of Belgium are scarcely less numerous or important than those of Holland, especially in Flanders, where they give a distinctive See also:character to the country. But the most striking feature in Belgium, where so much is modern, utilitarian and ugly, is found in the older cities with their See also:relics of See also:medieval greatness, and their See also:record of ancient fame. These, in their See also:order of See also:interest, are See also:Bruges, Antwerp, See also:Louvain, See also:Brussels, See also:Ghent, See also:Ypres, Courtrai, See also:Tournai, Furnes, Oudenarde and Liege. It is to them rather than to the sylvan scenes of the Ardennes that travellers and tourists See also:flock. The See also:climate may be described as temperate and approximating to that of See also:southern See also:England, but it is somewhat hotter in summer and a little colder in See also:winter. In the Ardennes, owing to the greater See also:elevation, the winters are more severe. See also:Geology.—Belgium lies upon the northern side of an ancient See also:mountain See also:chain which has See also:long been worn down to a low level and the remnants of which rise to the See also:surface in the Ardennes, and extend eastward into See also:Germany, forming the See also:Eifel and Westerwald, the Hunsrtick and the See also:Taunus. `Westward the chain lies buried beneath the Mesozoic and, See also:Tertiary beds of Belgium and the north of France, but it reappears in the west of England and See also:Ireland. It is the " Hercynian chain " of See also:Marcel See also:Bertrand, and is composed entirely of Palaeozoic rocks. Upon its northern margin See also:lie the nearly undisturbed Cretaceous and Tertiary beds which See also:cover the greater part of Belgium. The latest beds which are involved in the folds of this mountain range belong to the See also:Coal See also:Measures, and the final elevation must have taken See also:place towards the close of the Carboniferous See also:period. The fact that in Belgium See also:Jurassic beds are found upon the southern and not upon the northern margin indicates that in this region the chain was still a See also:ridge in Jurassic times. In the Ardennes the rocks which constitute the ancient mountain chain belong chiefly to the Devonian System, but See also:Cambrian beds rise through the Devonian strata, forming the masses of See also:Rocroi,669 See also:Stavelot, &c., which appear to have been islands in the Devonian sea. The Ordovician and See also:Silurian are absent here, and the Devonian rests unconformably upon the Cambrian; but. along the northern margin of the Palaeozoic See also:area, Ordovician and Silurian rocks appear, and beds of similar See also:age are also exposed farther north where the rivers have cut through the overlying Tertiary deposits. Carboniferous beds occur in the north of the Palaeozoic area. Near See also:Dinant they are folded amongst the Devonian beds, but the most important See also:band runs along the northern border of the Ardennes. In this band lie the coalfields of Liege, and of See also:Mons and See also:Charleroi. It is a long and narrow trough, which is separated from the older rocks of the Ardennes by a See also:great reversed See also:fault, the faille du midi. In the southern See also:half of the trough the folding of the Coal Measures is intense; in the northern half it is much less violent. The structure is complicated by a thrust-See also:plane which brings a See also:mass of older beds upon the Coal Measures in the middle of the trough. Except along the southern border of the Ardennes, and at one or two points in the middle of the Palaeozoic See also:massif, Triassic and Jurassic beds are unknown in Belgium, and the Palaeozoic rocks are directly and unconformably overlaid by Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits. The Cretaceous beds are not extensive, but the See also:Wealden deposits of Bernissart, with their numerous remains of See also:Iguanodon, and the See also:chalk of the district about the Dutch frontier near See also:Maastricht, with its very See also:late Cretaceous See also:fauna, are of See also:special interest. Exclusive of the Ardennes the greater part of Belgium is covered by Tertiary deposits. The See also:Eocene, consisting chiefly of sands and marls, occupies the whole of the west of the country. The Oligocene forms a band stretching from Antwerp to Maastricht, and this is followed towards the north by a discontinuous See also:strip of See also:Miocene and a fairly extensive area of See also:Pliocene. The Tertiary deposits are similar in general character to those of the north of France and the south of England. Coal and See also:iron are by far the most important See also:mineral productions of Belgium. See also:Zinc, See also:lead and See also:copper are also extensively worked in the Palaeozoic rocks of the Ardennes. Area and See also:Population.—The area comprises 2,945,503 hectares, or about 11,373 English sq. m., and the See also:total population in See also:December 1904 was 7,074,910, giving an See also:average of 600 per sq. m. The Nine Area in Population at Population per Provinces. English sq. m. end of 1904. sq. m. 1904. Antwerp . 1093 888,980 813.3 Brabant . 1268 1,366,389 1077.59 Flanders E. 1158 1,078,507 931.35 Flanders W. 1249 845,732 677.8 Hainaut . 1437 1,192,967 830.18 Liege 1117 863,254 772.8 See also:Limburg . 931 255,359 274.28 Luxemburg 1706 225,963 132.45 See also:Namur 1414 357,759 253 Total 11,373 7,074,910 622 The population was made up of 3,514.,491 See also:males and 3,560,419 See also:females. The See also:rate at which the population has increased is shown as follows:—From 188o to 1890 the increase was at the rate annually of 54,931, from 1890 to 1900 at the rate of 62,421, and for the five years from 1900 to 1904 at the rate of 66,200. In 1831 the population of Belgium was 3,785,814, so that in 75 years it had not quite doubled. The following table gives the total births and deaths in certain years since 188o: See also:Year. Total births. Total deaths. Excess of births. 1880 . 171,864 123,323 48,541 1895 183,015 125,148 57,867 1900 193,789 129,046 64.743 1904 191,721 119,506 72,215 These figures show that the births were 23,674 more in 1904 than in 1880, while the deaths were nearly 4000 fewer, with a population that had increased from 51 to 7 millions. Of 191,721 births in 1904, 12,887 or 6.7 % were illegitimate. See also:Statistics of 670 See also:recent years show a slight increase in legitimate and a slight decrease in illegitimate births. The See also:emigration of Belgians from their country is small and reveals little variation. In 1900, 13,492 emigrated, and in 1904 the total rose only to 14,752. Of Belgians living abroad it is estimated that 400,000 reside in France, 15,000 in Holland, 12,000 in Germany and 4600 in Great See also:Britain. The number of Belgians in the See also:Congo State in 1904 was 1505. The number of foreigners See also:resident in Belgium in 1900 with their nationalities were Germans, 42,079; English, 5096; French, 85,735; Dutch, 54,491; Luxemburgers, 9762; and all other nationalities, 14,411. With regard to the See also:languages spoken by the See also:people of Belgium the following See also:comparative table gives the return for the three censuses of 1880, 1890 and 1900: 1880. 1890. 1900. 1 French only . 2,230,316 2,485,072 2,574,805 Flemish only 2,485,384 2,744,271 2,822,005 See also:German only 39,550 32,206 28,314 French and Flemish 423,752 700,997 801,587 French and German . 35,250 58,590 66,447 Flemish and German . 2,956 7,028 7,238 The three languages 13,331 13,185 42,889 Constitution and See also:Government . The Belgian constitution, drafted by the See also:national See also:assembly in 1830—1831 after the See also:pro-visional government had announced that " the Belgian provinces detached by force from Holland shall form an independent state," was published on the 7th of See also:February 183r, and the modifications introduced into it subsequently, apart from the See also:composition of the electorate, have been few and unimportant. The constitution originally contained one See also:hundred and See also:thirty-nine articles, and decreed in the first place that the government was to be " a constitutional, representative and hereditary See also:monarchy." Having decided in favour of a monarchy, the provisional government first offered the See also:throne to the duc de See also:Nemours, son of See also: He is the See also:head of the See also:army and has the exclusive right of dissolving the chambers as preliminary to an See also:appeal to the country. The senate is composed of seventy-six elected members and twenty-six members nominated by the provincial See also:councils. A senator sits for eight years unless a See also:dissolution is ordered, and no one is eligible until he is See also:forty years of age. Half the[GOVERNMENT seventy-six elected senators retire for re-See also:election every four years. There is no See also:payment or other See also:privilege, except a pass on the state See also:railways, attached to the See also:rank of senator. The chamber of representatives contained one hundred and fifty-two members until 1899, when the number was increased to one hundred and sixty-six. Deputies are elected for four years, but half the See also:house is re-elected every two years. A See also:deputy must be twenty-five years of age, and the members of both houses must be of Belgian See also:nationality, See also:born or naturalized. A deputy receives an See also:annual honorarium of 4000 francs and a railway pass. Down to 1893 the electorate was exceedingly small. See also:Property and other qualifications kept the voting See also:power in the hands of a limited class. This may be judged from the fact that in the year named there were only 137,772 voters out of a population of 62 millions. In See also:April 1894 the new electoral See also:law altered the whole system. The property qualification was removed and every Belgian was given one See also:vote on attaining twenty-five years of age and after one year's See also:residence in his See also:commune. At the same time the principle of multiple votes for certain qualifications was introduced. The Belgian See also:citizen on reaching the age of thirty-five, providing he is married or is a widower with legitimate offspring and pays five francs of See also:direct taxes, gets a second vote. Two extra votes are given for qualifications of property, See also:official status or university diplomas. The maximum voting power of any individual is three votes. In 1904 there were 1,581,649 voters, possessing 2,467,966 votes. This system of plural voting has proved a success. It does not, however, satisfy the Socialists, whose See also:formula is one See also:man, one vote. The final See also:change in the system of See also:parliamentary elections was made in 1899-1900, when proportional See also:representation was introduced. Proportional representation aims at the See also:protection of minorities, and its working out is a little intricate, or at all events difficult to describe. The following has been accepted as a clear See also:definition of what proportional representation is:—" Each electoral district has the number of its members apportioned in accordance with the total strength of each party or See also:political See also:programme in that district. As a See also:rule there are only the three See also:chief parties, viz. See also:Catholic, Liberal and Socialist, but the presence of Catholic-Democrats or some other new See also:faction may increase the total to four or even five. The number of seats to be filled is divided by the number of parties or candidates, and then they are distributed in the proportion of the total followers or voters of each. The smallest minority is thus sure of one seat." An See also:illustration may make this clearer. In an electoral district with 32,000 votes which returns eight deputies, four parties send up candidates, let us say, eight Catholics, eight Liberals, eight Socialists and one Catholic-Democrat. The result of the voting is, 16,000 Catholic votes, 9000 Liberal, 4500 Socialist, and 2500 Catholic-Democrat. The seats would, there-fore, be apportioned as follows: four Catholic, two Liberal, one Socialist and one Catholic-Democrat. The king has one right which other constitutional rulers do not possess. He can initiate proposals for new See also:laws (projets de loi). He is also charged with the executive power which he delegates to a See also:cabinet composed of ministers chosen from the party representing the See also:majority in the chamber. Down to 1884 the Liberal party had held power with very few intervals since 1840. The Catholic party succeeded to See also:office in 1884. The ministers represent departments for See also:finance, See also:foreign affairs, colonies, See also:justice, the interior, See also:science and arts, See also:war, railways, posts and telegraphs, See also:agriculture, public See also:works, and See also:industry and labour. The See also:minister for war is generally a soldier, the others are civilians. Ministers may be members of either chamber and enjoy the privilege of being allowed to speak in both. Sometimes one minister will hold several portfolios at the same time, but such cases are rare. The kingdom is divided into nine provinces which are sub-divided into 342 cantons and 2623 communes. The provinces are governed by a See also:governor nominated by the king, the canton is a judicial See also:division for marking the limit of the See also:jurisdiction of each See also:juge de paix, and the commune is the administrative unit, See also:Administration. possessing self-government in all See also:local matters. For each commune of 5000 inhabitants or over, a burgomaster is appointed by the communal See also:council which is chosen by the See also:electors of the commune. As three years' residence is required these electors are fewer in number than those for the legislature. In 1902 there were 1,146,482 voters with 2,007,704 votes, the principles of multiple votes, with, however, a maximum of four votes and proportional representation, being in force for communal as for legislative elections. See also:Religion.—The constitution provides for See also:absolute See also:liberty of conscience and there is no state religion, but the people are almost to a man Roman Catholics. It is computed that there are ro,000 Protestants (half English) and 500o See also:Jews, and that all the See also:rest are Catholics. The government in 1904 voted nearly 7,000,000 francs in aid of the religious establishments of, and the benevolent institutions kept up by, the Roman Church. The See also: The middle schools have one privilege. They can give a certificate qualifying scholars for a mastership in the primary schools, which are under the full See also:control of the communes. These appointments are always bestowed on local favourites. The pay of a school-See also:master in a small commune is only £48, and in a large See also:town £96, with a maximum ranging from £8o to £152 after twenty-four years' service. It is therefore clear that no very high qualifications could be expected from such a See also:staff. The control of the state comes in to the extent of providing district inspectors who visit the schools once a year, and hold a meeting of the teachers in their district once a See also:quarter. In each province there is a chief inspector who is See also:bound to visit each school once in two years, and reports direct to the minister of public instruction. With regard to the middle schools, the government has reserved the right to appoint the teaching staff, and to prescribe the books that are to be used The results of the middle schools are fairly satisfactory. Still better are the Athenees Royaux, twenty in number, which are quite independent of the commune and subject to official control under the See also:superior direction of the king. See also:Mathematics and See also:classics are taught in them and the masters are allowed to take boarders. The See also:expenditure of the state on education amounts to about a million See also:sterling. In 186o the grants were only for little over one-eighth of the total in 1903. In 1900 31.94 % of the Coal population was illiterate. Considerable progress in the education of the people is made visible-by a comparison of the figures of three decennial censuses. In 188o the illiterate were 42.25 % and in 1890 3 7.63, so that there was a further marked improvement by 1900. Among the provinces Walloon Belgium is better instructed than Flemish, Luxemburg coming first, followed by Namur, Liege and Brabant in their order. Higher instruction is given at the See also:universities and in the schools attached thereto. Those at Ghent and Liege are state universities; the two others at Brussels and Louvain are free. At Louvain alone is there a See also:faculty of See also:theology. The number of students inscribed for the academical year 1904–1905 at each university was Ghent 899, Liege 1983, Brussels 1082, and Louvain 2134, or a grand total of 6098.. Liege is specially famed for the technical schools attached to it. There are also a large number of state-aided schools for special purposes; (I) for military instruction, there are the Ecole Militaire at Brussels, the school of cadets at Namur, and army schools at different stations, e.g. See also:Bouillon, &c. For See also:officers in the army, there are the Ecole de Guerre or staff See also:college at Brussels with an average attendance of twenty, a See also:riding school at Ypres where a course is obligatory for the See also:cavalry and See also:horse See also:artillery, and for soldiers in the army there are regimental schools and evening classes for illiterate soldiers. (2) For education in the arts, there is the Royal See also:Academy of Fine Arts at Antwerp, and besides this famous school of See also:painting there are eighty-four See also:academies for teaching See also:drawing throughout the kingdom. In See also:music, there are royal conservatoires at Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, and Liege. Besides these there are sixty-nine See also:minor conservatoires. (3) For commercial and professional education, there are 181 schools. The Commercial See also:Institute of Antwerp deserves special See also:notice as an excellent school for clerks. (4) Among special schools may be named the three schools of See also:navigation at Antwerp, See also:Ostend and See also:Nieuport. Since the See also:wreck of the training-See also:ship " See also:Comte de Smet de Naeyer " in 1906, it has been decided that a stationary training-ship shall be placed in the Scheldt like the " See also:Worcester " on the See also:Thames. Among the numerous learned See also:societies may be mentioned the Belgian Royal Academy founded in '769 and revived in 1818. For the encouragement of See also:research and See also:literary See also:style the government awards periodical prizes which are very keenly contested. Justice.—The administration of justice is very fully organized, and in the See also:Code Belge, which was carefully compiled between 1831 and 1836 from the old laws of the nine provinces leavened by the Code See also:Napoleon and modern exigencies, the Belgians claim that they possess an almost perfect See also:statute-See also:book. The courts of law in their order are Cow' de Cassation, Cour d'Appel, Cour de Premiere Instance, and the Juge de Paix courts, one for each of the 342 cantons. The Cour de Cassation has a See also:peculiar judicial See also:sphere. It works automatically, examining every See also:judgment to see if it is in strict See also:accord with the code, and where it is not the decision or See also:verdict is simply annulled. There is only one See also:judge in this See also:court, but he has the assistance of a large staff of revisers. The Cour de Cassation never tries a See also:case itself except when a minister of state is the accused. The See also:president of this tribunal is the highest legal functionary in Belgium. There are three courts of appeal, viz. at Brussels, Ghent and Liege. At Brussels there are four See also:separate chambers or tribunals in the appeal court. See also:Judges of appeal are appointed by the king for See also:life from lists of eligible barristers prepared by the senate and the courts. Judges can only be removed by the unanimous vote of their brother judges. There are twenty-six courts of first instance distributed among the principal towns of the kingdom, and in Antwerp, Ghent and Liege there are besides special tribunals for the See also:settlement of commercial cases. Of course there is the right of appeal from the decisions of these tribunals as well as of the regular courts. Finally the 342 Juge de Paix courts resemble See also:British See also:county courts. Criminal cases are tried by (I) the Tribunaux de See also:Police, (2) Tribunaux Correctionnels, (3) and the Cours d'Assises. The last are held as the length of the See also:calendar requires. See also:Capital See also:punishment is retained on the statute, but is never enforced, the prisoner on whom See also:sentence of See also:death is passed in due form in open court being relegated to imprisonment for life in solitary confinement and perpetual silence. The chief prisons are at Louvain, Ghent and St Gilles (Brussels), and the last named serves as a house of detention. At Merxplas, near the Dutch frontier, is the agricultural criminal See also:colony at which an average number of two thousand prisoners are kept employed in comparative liberty within the See also:radius of the convict settlement. See also:Pauperism.—For the See also:relief of pauperism there are a limited number of houses of mendicity, in which inmates are received, Provinces and communes. and houses of See also:refuge for See also:night shelter. At the beguinages of Ghent and Bruges See also:women and girls able to contribute a specified sum towards their support are given a See also:home. National Finance.—The See also:budget is submitted to the chambers by the minister of finance and passed by them. The See also:revenue and expenditure were in the years stated as follows: Year. Revenue. Expenditure. Year. 1880 394,215,932 francs 382,908,429 francs
1895 • 395,730,445 „ 410,383,402 „
1903 632,416,810 „ 627,975,568
revenue is made up from taxes, including customs, tolls, including returns from railway See also:traffic, &c., and the See also:balance comes from various revenues, return of capital, loans, &c. The following are the principal items of expenditure (1903) :
Service of See also:debt
Sovereign, senate, chamber, &c. Departments, foreign office agriculture
railways .
finance . industry
See also:tear
public instruction justice .
Minor items .
The difference is made up of "special expenditure." The total debt in English See also:money may be put at 126 millions sterling, which requires for interest, sinking fund and service about 54 millions sterling annually. The rate of interest on all the loans extant is 3 %, except on one See also:loan of 219,959,632 francs, which pays only 21 %.
Army and National See also:Defence.—The army is divided into the regular army, the See also:gendarmerie, and the garde civique. The Belgian regular army is thus composed: See also:infantry, one See also:regiment of See also:carabiniers, one of grenadiers, three of chasseurs ¢ pied, and fourteen of the See also:line, all these regiments having 3 or 4 active and 3 or 4 reserve battalions apiece; cavalry, two regiments of guides, two of chasseurs d cheval, and four of lancers, all See also:light cavalry; artillery, four horse, thirty See also: Of these only 12,525 were enrolled in the army, and of that number 1421 were See also:volunteers, who took an engagement on See also:receipt of a See also:premium. The effective strength of the army in 1904 with the See also:colours was 3406 officers and 40,382 men. To this total has to be added the men on the active See also:list, but either absent on leave or allowed to return to See also:civil life, numbering 70,043. It is assumed• that on mobilization these men are immediately available. The reserve consists of 181 officers and 58,o14 men, so that the total strength of the Belgian army is 3587 officers and 168,439 men. The field force in war is organized in four infantry and two cavalry divisions, the total strength being about soo,000. The See also:peace effective has not varied much since 187o, but the total See also:paper strength is 75,000 more than in that year. In the years 1900–1904 it increased by 8000 men. The gendarmerie is a mounted force composed of men picked for their physique and divided into three divisions. It numbers 67 officers and 3079 men, but has no reserve. It is in every sense a See also:corps d'elite, and may be classed as first-rate heavy cavalry. The total strength of the garde civique in 1905 was 35,102, to which have to be added 8532 volunteers belonging to the corps of older formation, service in which See also:counts on a See also:par with the garde civique. Some of the latter regiments, especially the artillery, would rank with British volunteers, but the mass of the garde civique does not pretend to possess military value. It is a defence against See also:sedition and See also:socialism. The defence of Belgium depends on five fortified positions. The fortified position and See also:camp of Antwerp represents the true See also:base of the national defence. Its detached forts shelter the See also:city from See also:bombardment, and so long as sea communication is open with England, Antwerp would be practically impregnable. Liege with twelve forts and Namur with nine forts are the fortified teetes de posit protecting the two most important passages of the Meuse. The forts are constructed in See also:concrete with armoured cupolas. See also:Termonde on the Scheldt and Diest on the Dender are retained as nominally fortified positions, but neither. could resist a regular bombardment for more than a few See also:hours, as their casemates are not See also:bomb-See also:proof. The training camp of the Belgian army is at. Beverloo in the province of Limburg, and at Braschaet not far from Antwerp are ranges for artillery as well as See also:rifle practice. The Belgian officer is technically as well trained and educated as any in Europe, but he lacks See also:practical experience in military service. Mines and Industry.—The principal mineral produced in Belgium is coal. This is found in the Borinage district near Mons and in the neighbourhood of Liege, but the working of an entirely new coal-field, which promises to attain vast dimensions, was commenced in 1906 in the Campine district of the province of Limburg. The coal mines of Belgium give employment to nearly 15o,000 persons, and for some years the average output has exceeded 22,000,000 tons. Other minerals arc iron, See also:manganese, lead and zinc. The iron mines produce much less than formerly, and the want of iron is a See also:grave defect in Belgian prosperity, as about £5,000,000 sterling See also:worth of iron has to be imported annually, chiefly from French See also:Lorraine. The chief See also:metal industry of the country is represented by the iron and See also:steel works of Charleroi and Liege. Belgium is particularly See also:rich in quarries of See also:marble, See also:granite and See also:slate. Ghent is the capital of the textile industry, and all the towns of Flanders are actively engaged in producing woollen and See also:cotton materials and in See also:lace manufacture. The bulk of the population is, however, engaged in agriculture, and the extent of land under cultivation of all kinds is about 61 million acres. See also:Commerce.—The See also:trade returns for 1904 were as follows: Imports 4,426,400,000 francs General Commerce . Special Commerce (included in General 2,782,200,000 Commerce) Exports 3,849,100,000 General Commerce . Special Commerce (included in General 2,183,300,000 Commerce) The general commerce includes goods in transit across Belgium, the special commerce takes into See also:account only the produce and the See also:consumption of Belgium itself. The trade of Belgium has more than trebled as regards both imports and exports since 1870. The following table shows the amount of exports and imports between Belgium and the more important foreign states: Imports. Exports. France . 465,684,000 francs 346,670,000 francs Germany . 351,025,00') „ 505,473,000 „ England . 335,404,000 „ 392,324,000 „ Holland . 240,873,000 „ 268,781,000 United States . 222,301,000 „ 86,324,000 See also:Russia . 212,119,000 „ 26,671,000 See also:Argentina . 198,913,000 ,, 41,508,000 „ British See also:India 141,669,000 „ 25,860,000 „ See also:Rumania 102,174,000 „ 3,949,000 See also:Australia . 58,190,000 „ 12,087,000 Congo State 53,100,000 „ 14,049,000 „ See also:China 8,770,000 25,546,000 „ In the relative magnitude of the annual value of its commerce, excluding that in transit, Belgium stands See also:sixth among the nations of the See also:world, following Great Britain, the United States, Germany, France and Holland. The principal imports are See also:food supplies and raw material such as cotton, See also:wool, See also:silk, See also:flax, See also:hemp and jute. Among minerals, iron ore, See also:sulphur, copper, coal, See also:tin, lead and diamonds are the most imported. The exports of greatest value 143,065,352 francs • 5,z89,0$7 3,751,636 12,253,957 165,086,019 34,479,674 19,905,589 63,972,473 31,799,105 27,168,032 4,179,046 Total 510,949,970 are textiles, lace, coal, See also:coke, briquettes, See also:glass, machinery, railway material and See also:fire arms. See also:Shipping and Navigation.—Belgium has no state See also:navy, although various proposals have been made from time to time to establish an armed flotilla in connexion with the defence of Antwerp. The state, however, possesses a certain number of steamers. In 1904 they numbered sixty-five of 99,893 tons. These steamers are chiefly employed on the passenger route between Ostend and See also:Dover. The total number of vessels entering the only two ports of Belgium which carry on ocean commerce, namely Antwerp and Ostend, in 1904 was 7650 of a See also:tonnage of 10,330,127. Among inland ports that of Ghent is the most important, 1127 See also:ships of a tonnage of 786,362 having entered the See also:port in 1904. The corresponding figures for ships sailing from the two ports first named were in the same year 7642 and tonnage 10,298,405. The figures from Ghent were 1128 and 787,173 tons. Whereas the lines of steamers from Ostend are chiefly with Dover and London, those from Antwerp proceed to all parts of the world. A See also:steam service was established in 1906 from See also:Hull to Bruges by Zeebrugge and the ship See also:canal. See also:Internal Communications.—The internal communications of Belgium of every kind are excellent. The roads outside the province of Luxemburg and Namur are generally paved. In the provinces named, or in other words, in the region south of the Meuse, the roads are macadamized. The total length of roads is about 6000 m. When Belgium became a separate state in 183o they were less than one-third of this total. There are about 2900 M. of railways, of which upwards of 2500 M. are state railways. It is of interest to See also:note that the state railways derived a revenue of 249,355 francs (or nearly £10,000) from the See also:penny tickets for the See also:admission of non-travellers to railway stations. Besides the See also:main railways there are numerous light railways (chemins de fer vicinaux), of a total length approaching 2500 M. There are also electric and steam tramways in all the principal cities. The total of navigable waterways is given as 136o m. Posts, telegraphs and telephones are exclusively under state management and form a government See also:department. See also:Banks and Money.—The principal banking institution is the Banque Nationale which issues the See also:bank-notes in current use. In 19o4the average value of no tes in circulation was 645,989,100 francs. The rate of See also:discount was 3 % throughout the whole of the year. The mintage of Belgian money is carried out by a directeur de la fabrication who is nominated by and responsible to the government. The See also:gold coins are for to and 20 francs, See also:silver for half francs, francs, 2 francs and 5 francs. See also:Nickel money is for 5, 10 and 20 centimes, and the copper coinage has been withdrawn from circulation. AUTH0RIrrns.–Annuaire statistique de la Belgique (1905); Beltjens and Godenne, La Constitution beige (Brussels, 1880) ; La Belgique iilustree (Brusse s, 1878–1882) ; See also:Les Pandectes beiges (Brussels, 1898) ; Annales du See also:parlement beige for each year; Belgian Life in Town and Country," Our Neighbours " See also:Series (London, 1904). For geology see C. Dewalque, Prodrome dune description geologique de la Belgique (Brussels, 1880) ; M. Mourlon, Geologic de la Belgique (Brussels, 1880–1881); F. L. See also:Cornet and A. Briart, " Sur le relief du sol en Belgique apres les temps paleozo ques," An. See also:Soc. Geol. Belg. vol. iv., 1877, pp. 71-115, pls. v.-xi. (see also other papers by the same authors in the same See also:journal); J. Gosselet, L'Ardenne (See also:Paris, 1888); M. Bertrand, " Etudes sur le bassin houiller du See also:nord et sur le Boulonnais," See also:Ann. See also:des mines, See also:ser. ix. vol. vi. (Mem.), pp. 569-635, 1894; C. Malaise, " Etat actuel de nos connaissances sur le silurien de la Belgique," Ann. Soc. Geol. Belg. vol. See also:xxv., 1900–1901, pp. 179-221; H. Forir, " Bibliographie des etages laekenien, ledien, wemmelien, asschien, tongrien, rupelien at bolderien at des depets tertiaires de la haute et moyenne Belgique," ibid. pp. 223 seq. (D. C. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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