Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/68

 32 BELGIUM.

Church and Education.

The Roman Catholic religion is professed by nearly the entire population of Belgium. The Protestants do not amount to 13,000, while the Jews number less than 1,500. Full religious liberty is granted by the constitution, and part of the income of the ministers of all denominations is paid from the national treasury. The amount thus granted in the budget of 1870 was 4,508,200 francs to Roman Catholics; 69,336 francs to Protestants, and 11,220 francs to Jews, being at the rate of 1 franc per head for the Catholics, of 5 francs per head for the Protestants, and of 7 1/2 francs for the Jews.

The kingdom is divided into six Roman Catholic dioceses, namely, the Archbishopric of Malines and the Bishoprics of Bruges, Ghent, Liege, Namur, and Tournay. The archbishopric has three vicars-general and a chapter of twelve canons, and each of the bishoprics two vicars-general and a chapter of eight canons. In each diocese is an ecclesiastical seminary. There are few endow- ments, and the clergy derive their maintenance chiefly from fees and voluntary gifts. The salaries paid by the state are comparatively small, being 21,000 francs, or 840/. to the archbishop ; 16,000 francs, or 640/. to each of the five bishops ; 2,000 francs, or 80/. to canons, and from 600 to 800 francs, or 24/. to 32/. to the inferior parish clergy. At the last census, there were 993 convents in Belgium, of which number 145 were for men and 848 for women.

The Protestant Evangelical Church, to which belong the greater number of the Protestants in the kingdom, is under a synod com- posed of the clergymen of the body, and a representative from each of the congregations. It sits in Brussels once a year, when each member is required to be present, or to delegate his powers to another member. The English Episcopal Church has eight minis- ters, and as many chapels, in Belgium — three in Brussels, and one in each of the towns of Antwerp, Bruges, Ostend, Spa, and Ghent. The Jews have a central synagogue in Brussels ; three branch synagogues of the first class at Antwerp, Ghent and Liege, and two of the second class at Arlon and Namur.

Education is not yet generally diffused among the people, but much progress towards it has been made within the last thirty or forty years. In 1830, the number of children attending school was 293,000 ; in 1845, it was 439,000 ; and in 1865, the number had risen to 564,000. The schools are supported by the communes, the provinces, and the State combined. In 1830, when Belgium was separated from Holland, the communes relaxed in their efforts in building schools, and the State had to assist, when it was arranged that the Government should pay one-sixth of the cost, the