Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/637

Rh The state church of Iceland is the Lutheran; and all the Icelanders, without exception, belong to it. One bishop and 141 clergymen minister to the spiritual wants of the islanders. The bishop is appointed by the king. The parishes are 290, but the livings are only 141, from which it may be seen that many ministers have to serve two, and some even three parishes. The king appoints some of the ministers, and the governor-general others, with the advice of the bishop. The ministers are paid partly from the revenues of church property, and partly from tithes.

The Icelanders have long been famous for their education and learning, and it is no exaggeration to say that in no other country is such an amount of information found among the classes which occupy a similar position. A child of ten unable to read is not to be found from one end of the island to another. A peasant understanding several languages is no rarity, and the amount of general information which they possess might be envied by many who have had greater facilities for acquiring knowledge. Till within the last few years there were no elementary schools in the island; all children were taught by their parents or near neighbours. Now a few elementary schools have been started, but their number is still too small to make any general difference in the education. For classical and general education there is a college at Reykjavik, with seven professors and about one hundred students. There is also a college for ministers, with three professors. The general physician of the island, assisted by two medical men, gives lectures to medical students; but those who propose to enter the legal profession have to attend the university of Copenhagen.

There is less difference in the material prosperity of the Icelanders than in that of the inhabitants of more advanced countries. One does not find the abject poverty so often seen in large towns and among the agricultural population of some of the most civilized countries of Europe. On the other hand, wealthy men, or owners of extensive properties, are unknown, the richest man in Iceland deriving only £300 a year from his property. Although no abject

poverty is seen, there are more paupers comparatively than in more populous countries, and the poor-rates in many parishes exceed all the other taxes put together. The Icelanders are often too liberal in granting relief, which in many cases breeds idleness, carelessness, and want of forethought. It is also to be noticed that in few countries is it so easy to live with as little labour as in Iceland. On account of the climate, out-of-door work cannot be conducted for more than five months of the year at most, but even this time is not used, with so much energy and skill as it might be. The haymaking, carried on for two months in the year, is the only work which is prosecuted with anything like energy. Fishing is prosecuted not continuously but periodically. The want of activity among the Icelanders is to be ascribed partly to their slow temperament, and partly to their utter want of training. They are very fond of gathering any amount of miscellaneous information, but their want of training prevents them from turning it to practical account. There is no doubt that they are endowed with intellectual faculties of a superior kind, and, with proper training, might make far more of their country than they do at present. It appears that the island could easily support eight times the number of the present population, if its resources were properly developed. Crime is rare; and the moral character of the Icelanders is about the same as that of the other countries of the north.

The census of 1870 returned the population of the island as 69,763. In 1801 the population was only 46,240; in 1880 it is estimated to have increased to 73,000. The birth-rate is about 33 per thousand, and the death-rate 24. Nearly the whole of the population live on isolated farms, the number of each family, including servants, being on an average seven. The chief town or village is Reykjavík, with about 2500 inhabitants. It is the seat of the governor-general, the bishop, the colleges, and the superior court. In the north-west is Isafjörður, with about 400 inhabitants, and in the north Akureyri, with the same number. (Author:J. A. Hjaltalin)