Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/72

 36

BELGIUM.

Infantry Cavalry. Artillery Engineers and train

Total, without officers

Men

Horses

Guns

74,000

7,903

14,513

2,::.">i

6,572

4,050

152

98,770

10,622

152

The actual number of soldiers under arms, on the let of June, 1869, amounted to 37,391 rank and file, comprising 24,409 infantry, 5,114 cavalry, 6,331 artillery, 667 engineers, and 570 train.

Besides the standing army, there is a Civic Militia — Garde Nationale — organised, under laws dated May 1848, and July 13, 1853, to maintain liberty and order in times of peace, and to defend the independence of the country in time of war. The Civic Militia, numbering 125,000 men without, and 400,000 men with the reserve, is composed of all citizens between 21 and 40, able to bear arms; but is in active service only in towns having more than 10,000 inhabi- tants, and in fortresses. The men elect their own officers, up to the rank of colonel. In time of peace, the Civic Militia is under the direction of the ministry of the interior ; but in time of war under that of the ministry of war, and subject to military discipline. — (Re- port of the Royal government to the Statesman's Year-book.)

Area and Population.

Belgium has an area of 536^ geographical square miles, or 11,267 English square miles. The kingdom is divided into nine provinces, the area and population of which were as follows in the two official enumerations, of Dec. 31, 1856, and Dec. 31, 1866 : —

Provinces

Area

Population

1856

1866

Geo. Sq. Miles

Antwerp

51-582

434,485

474,145

Brabant

59-800

748,840

820,179

™, fWest Flanders | ^

58923

624,912

639,709

54-645

776,960

801,872

Hainault

67-794

769,065

847,775

Liege.

52-714

503,662

556,666

Limburg

43-943

191,708

199,856

Luxemburg.

80-469

193,753

196,173

Namur

66-673

286,175

302,719

r

536543

1

Total. <

Eng. Sq. Mile 11,267

[ 4,529,560

4,839,094

It will be seen that Belgium had, at the end of 1866, a population