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 DENMARK 412 wooden goods. YIII. Other raw materials of vegetable or animal foreign vessels, but with this difference, that whilst the clearances origin, including all kinds of manures and oils. IX. Raw materials of Danish steamers numbered 21,783, and those of Danish sailing of mineral nature, and goods manufactured from them. X. All vessels amounted only to 11,092, the reverse proportion held good for other goods. In the third column — indicates excess of export, foreign vessels, of which 11,013 were steamers and 19,872 sailing + excess of import; the fourth column indicates the value oi the vessels, chiefly Swedish. A large proportion of Danish vessels foreign goods re-exported, which is included in the general figure lor are engaged in the carrying trade between foreign ports ; in 1899, 4703 clearances of Danish vessels so employed occurred in Great imports and exports. In the first of the classes under which the articles have been Britain, lesser number in other countries. Denmark has long possessed a very complete set of excellent summarized the most important is horned cattle, of which 37,736 head were exported in 1899, all home-bred ; only 1130 head were roads. The length of the railways, which for the most part are imported. The trade in live sheep and swine, which was formerly State property, was at the close of 1900, 1810 miles. important, has now mostly been converted into a dead-meat trade. In the course of 1900 about 20,000,000 of passengers kommu/i/. ca s In the second class, butter is the principal article, the export in were carried, travelling 587,500,000 miles; besides posos^ s ’c ’ ‘ 1899 amounting to 158,303,300 fib avoir., valued for export at luggage, about 3,571,000 tons of goods were carried. £7,708,600, or 38'6 per cent, of the total value of Danish exports. There were in 1899, 274 post offices, 583 sub-offices, and 10,115 Of this quantity 134,898,700 lb, valued at £6,611,900, was home letter-boxes ; 90,382,094 ordinary letters and 915,323 letters conproduce, whilst the remaining 23,404,600 lb (value £1,096,700) taining money were carried, of which respectively 17,228,427 and had been imported chiefly from Russia (also Siberia) and Sweden 69,157 for or from places abroad. 3,260,627 parcels were carried, of and re-exported as of foreign origin. In 1899 there was a further which 641,191 to or from places abroad. 83,499,502 newspapers and importation of butter for home consumption of 14,183,000 lb periodicals were carried, of which 2,789,143 to or from abroad. The production of margarine amounted in the year 1899-1900 to 2,628,616 postal orders passed through the post, of which 328,754 to 35,849,064 lb, besides which 5,622,290 lb were imported, but or from abroad ; finally, 983,457 different sums were collected for only 384,889 lb were exported, margarine being largely consumed senders of parcels, of which 85,927 were in respect of parcels to or in Denmark instead of the butter which is exported. Next to from places abroad. The telegraph service is earned on by the butter the most important article of Danish export is bacon, of General Post Office. There were 480 stations ; the length of the lines which 164,667,953 lb, valued at £3,083,620, were exported in was 3850 miles. 2,056,613 telegrams were carried, of which 595,433 1899, all home produce excepting 5,782,349 lb, which had been passed between Danish stations, 842,886 between Danish and foreign previously imported, together with 2,721,240 lb for home con- stations, whilst 618,294 passed through the Danish system between sumption. Eg"s were exported in 1899 to the number of foreign stations. Of the second class, 257,562 were exchanged with 302,994,800. The first two classes of articles, living animals Germany, 231,651 with Great Britain, 103,704 with Sweden, 83,404 and articles of food of animal origin, are the only ones of which with Norway, 53,026 with Russia, and 30,338 with America. There the exportation exceeds the importation ; with regard to all other are 171 telephone stations in connexion with the State telegraph. The principal bank of Denmark is the National Bank at Copengoods, the reverse is the case ; at the same time, from about 26 per cent, to 92 per cent, of the export in each of these classes hagen, which is the only one authorized to issue notes. The total consisted of foreign goods re-exported. Denmark had formerly amount of these is £5,333,334 ; the notes are of the value of 10 kr. a considerable net export of grain, but this is not the case now, (1 krone=ls. Igd.), 50, 100, and 500 kr. Next in importance are owing partly to the increase of the population in wealth and the Danske Landmands Bank, the Handels Bank, and the Private number, and consequently to the greater consumption of bread- Bank, all at Copenhagen. The provincial banks are very stuffs, partly to the great development of dairy-farming and numerous; many of them are at the same time savings banks. cattle-feeding. The proportionally large importation of timber This latter class numbered at the close of 1899, 532. The total of is caused by the scarcity of native timber suitable for building their deposits was £37,410,320, their rate of interest, with few purposes, the plantations of firs and pines being as yet insuffi- exceptions, 3^ to 4 per cent.. There exists, besides, in Denmark cient to produce the quantity required, and the quality of the 15 mutual loan associations (Kreditforeninger), whose business is wood being inferior beyond the age of about 40 years. The large the granting of loans on mortgage. The total of the money lent importation of minerals and metals and goods made from them by these institutions was £46,121,780. Registration of mortgages is, of course, likewise caused by the natural poverty of the country is compulsory in Denmark, and the system is extremely simple, a fact which has been of the greatest importance for the improvement in these respects. Coals were imported to the value of £1,953,700. of the country. There are comparatively large institutions for Among the unclassified articles may be noted vessels built abroad, which in the statistics for 1899 figure with a value of £654,100 insurance of all kinds in Denmark. The largest office for life insurance is a State institution. By law of 9th April 1891 a system of on the import side against £175,400 on the export side. The value of the trade (1899) of Denmark with particular old-age pensions has been established for the benefit of persons, over 60 years of age. The total number of those who in 1898 were countries will be seen from the following table :— in receipt of permanent and direct assistance was 40,759, of whom 27,629 were without encumbrance, whilst 13,130 were heads of Countries. Total. Balance. Import. Export. families having in all 15,897 persons depending on them. Those assisted were fully 17 per cent, of all persons in Denmark above 60' £> £ years of age, but the number will of course increase. 69 T5 per cent, Great Britain 17,607,400 5.584.400 12,023,000 -6,438,600 lived in the rural districts. Germany 11,718,000 8,014,000 3,704,000 + 4,310,000 The imit of the Danish monetary system is the krone (crown), Sweden 4,804,500 2,868,000 1,936,500 + 931,500 equal to Is. IJd., which is divided into 100 ore ; consequently United States 4,722,100 4.341.400 380,700 + 3,960,700 7^ ore are equal to one penny. Since 1873 gold has been the Russia. 2,943,800 2,043,300 900.500 + 1,142,800 standard, and gold pieces of 20 and 10 kroner are coined, but not Norway 625,800 - 209,600 often met with, as the public prefers bank-notes. 1,042,000 416,200 France. As regards the dependencies and colonies of Denmark, see articles 697,300 619,300 78,000 + 541,300 Other countries 4,053,600 3,451,100 on Faroes, Greenland, Iceland, and St Thomas. Their areas 602.500 + 2,848,600 and population are as follows Total 47,588,700 27,337,700 20,251,000 + 7,086,700 Faroes (1900). . . Area, 511 sq. m.; population, 15,230 Iceland (1890). . . ,, 40,426 ,, ,, 70,927 The value of the trade of Denmark proper with the other parts Danish West Indies (1900) ,, 138 „ ,, 30,504 of the Danish State, which is included in the category of “ Other Greenland (1890). about 43,000 ,, ,, 10,576 countries,” was as follows in 1899 :— Total area (without Greenland), 41,075 Sq. m. Total. 127,237 Faroes Imports, £19,400; exports, £35,300 The recent political history of Denmark offers very little of Iceland ,, 133,500 „ 147,800 interest. The country has not been engaged in the Greenland „ 35,000 ,, 18,000 general struggles of Europe, and has been left in peace. Recent Danish West Indies „ 4,200 „ 5,200 political As long as Napoleon III. was on the throne, Denmark fjistory. Total. . £192,100 £206,300 could still hope one day to recover the lost province of North Schleswig, and when war broke out in 1870 between France The commercial fleet of Denmark comprised at the end of 1900, and Germany, public opinion inclined to an active sympathy with exclusive of small craft under 4 tons, 3017 sailing vessels, with a France. The rapid course of that campaign, however, compelled Shipping. collect ive.intonnage of each 146,900 tons. 100Oftons these, 395 Denmark to observe neutrality. After its close any rapproche(tonnage all, 98,799) exceeded register. ment to the new German Empire was distasteful to the people. The steamers numbered 483, with a total tonnage of 247,353, In the circumstances, Austria and Germany agreed, in October 1878, of which 312, with a collective tortnage of 242,770, each exceeded to the abolition of clause 5 of the Treaty of Prague, which, to the 100 tons. The total number of clearances to or from foreign ports great surprise of the Danes, was carried out at the very time the in 1899 was 63,774, of which 32,889 were Danish vessels, 30,885 Danish Court was preparing to give expression to its anti-German