Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/537

Rh and engraving are taught in the most efficient manner ; 2. Academies of design established in the principal towns, and giving instructions in designing, architecture, and the prin ciples of geometry and perspective drawing ; 3. Schools of design established in all the larger towns for instructing young persons and artisans in the elements of designing and architecture. In 1873 there were 76 such academies and schools in the kingdom, having 9966 pupils.

The Royal Academy of the Fine Arts at Antwerp is principally intended to afford gratuitous instruction in painting, sculpture, architecture, and engraving, and to propagate and encourage a taste for the fine arts. In 1873 there were 1666 scholars. A competition in one of the branches of the fine arts is annually held in Antwerp, the laureate at which receives a pension of 3500 francs annually for four years, to enable him to perfect himself in his art in Germany, France, and Italy. The second prize is a gold medal of 300 francs. The Royal Academy of the Fine Arts at Brussels is an institution similar to that at Antwerp. Instruction is gratuitous, and the vacancies are filled up by competition.

The Royal Musical Conservatory at Brussels is under the direction of the minister of the interior, aided by a com mission of seven members nominated by the king, with the burgomaster of Brussels as honorary president. The instruction is gratuitous, and includes vocal and instru mental music, composition, and the Italian language. The number of scholars in 1873 was 529. There are six bursaries of 250 francs, and ten of 125 francs, in connec tion with this institution. There is a similar establishment at Lie&quot;ge, with (in 1873) 694 scholars. Music, both vocal and instrumental, is much cultivated in Belgium ; and musical schools and societies are established in almost all the principal towns and throughout the country. In 1873 there were, besides those mentioned, 108 musical schools and societies, with 7440 members. A competition in musical composition takes place every two years at Brussels, the laureate receiving a pension of 3500 francs for four years, to enable him to study in France, Germany, and Italy. The second prize is a gold medal of the value of 300 francs.

Belgium possesses a great number of learned societies, as the Royal Medical Academy, the Royal Academy of Science, Literature, and Art, tkc. The Royal Medical Academy has its seat at Brussels. It is divided into six sections, and has 36 titular and 18 assistant members, with 24 corresponding and an indefinite number of honorary members. Each of the sections has certain branches of medical science assigned to it. The academy answers any questions that may be proposed to it by the Government, upon matters connected with public hygiene, and makes researches in all subjects connected with or tending to advance medical science. Gold medals are given annually for the best essays on prescribed subjects. It receives an annual grant of 20,000 francs from the state.

The Royal Academy of Science, Literature, and Art also has its seat at Brussels. It is divided into three classes, for the sciences, literature, and the fine arts ; the first two are each subdivided into tvo sections, and the last into branches, for painting, sculpture, engraving, architecture, and music. Each class is composed of 30 members, 50 foreign associates, and not more than ten native corre spondents. Each class proposes annually certain subjects for essays, to which gold medals of the value of 600 francs are adjudged. The academy receives an annual grant of 40,000 francs from the state. Connected with this academy is a royal commission of history for the purpose of searching for and editing old chronicles and documents tending to throw light upon the early history of the country. There has also just (1875) been instituted by the king a pme of 25,000 francs (.1000) to be given annually for the best work published on a subject previously announced of interest to Belgium. Every fourth year the^competition is to be open to foreigners. There is a Government inspector-general of science, literature, and art, who has the general superintendence of that department, under the minister of the interior. Under him are two administrative boards, the one for literature and science, and the other for the fine arts.

The Royal Observatory for astronomical and meteoro- Royal i logical observations is under the management of a director servato and three assistants. In the observatory are instruments specially provided by Government for the use of young men desirous of_ making meteorological or astronomical observations.

The Royal Museum of Brussels, for the reception of objects in natural history belonging to the state, is under the direction of a council of five members appointed by the king. There is also a museum of industry, containing models and plans of machines used in arts, manufactures, and agriculture. Annexed to this museum is a school where instruction is given gratuitously in the construction of such machines. It possesses a chemical laboratory, library, (fee. There is also a royal museum of war instru ments at Brussels, and in 1870 a royal botanic garden was laid out for aiding in the study of botany and horticulture. The royal museum of painting and sculpture is under the direction of a commission, composed of a president and six members nominated by the king, and charged with the collection of works of ancient and modern masters for the museum. A triennial exhibition of works of living artists, Belgian and foreign, in painting, sculpture, engraving, architecture, and lithography, is held at Brussels. There are similar exhibitions held in Antwerp, Ghent, Liege, Bruges, ifec. The geographical establishment at Brussels has a con siderable collection of books and maps, a garden, a herb-i arium, collections of rocks, lava, fossils, &c.

Besides the libraries belonging to different societies, associations, &c., there are a number of public libraries in Belgium. The principal of these is the royal library of Brussels. It contained in 1871 about 301,500 volumes, 22,221 manuscripts, 53,556 engravings, and 19,517 medals and coins. This is the only library that receives copies of copyright works. The public library of Ghent is connected with the university. It has 80,000 volumes and 600 manuscripts, besides pamphlets, (fee. The Lie&quot;ge public library has 68,000 volumes, about 26,000 pamphlets, and 430 .manuscripts. The public library of the Louvain university is the most ancient in Belgium, and is particularly rich in works of ancient history, theology, and literature, including Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Oriental. These libraries are open daily for consultation, and in almost all of them volumes are lent out at the discretion of the conservators.

The archives of Belgium contain a great number of interesting and valuable documents connected with the history of the country. These are carefully preserved, classified, and catalogued. The general archives of the kingdom at Brussels contain upwards of 100,000 documents, and the archives of Antwerp upwards of 70,000. Those at Bruges, Ghent, Liege,, Mons, Namur, Tournay, Hasselt, and Arlon are ancient and important. The archives of the city of Bruges, at one time the grand commercial entrepot of Europe, contain a number of valuable papers bearing upon the events of which this city was the theatre in the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, they do not go further back than 1280, the previous documents having been all destroyed by an extensive fire in that year.

The benevolent and charitable institutions of Belgium are numerous and open to all. The duty of supporting 