Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/332

 324] FOREIGN HISTORY. [1899.

bear the obloquy of this catastrophe, and managed to extricate itself with some difficulty in Parliament ; but as soon as the Budget was passed by the two Chambers M. Vandenpeereboom resigned and his predecessor, M. de Smet de Naeyer, resumed the presidency of the Council (Aug. 5), taking at the same time the portfolios of Finance and Public Works. His Cabinet was, moreover, almost entirely remodelled, M. de Favereau becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs; M. van den Heuvel, Justice; Baron van den Bruggen, Agriculture; M. de Trooz, Home Office and Public Instruction ; Major-General Cousebaut d'Alkemade, War ; and M. Libaert, Railways, Posts and Tele- graphs ad interim, but subsequently taking over the portfolio of Industry and Commerce.

The new Ministry took up the programme of its predecessors with some slight modifications ; and the summer passed in keen struggles over the clauses of the Electoral Bill, to which the Socialists under the leadership of M. Vandervelde displayed an uncompromising hostility. At the same time the majority was divided on the question of proportional representation — the Opposition showing a similar want of unanimity. After three months' constant skirmishing and debating, the bill was no further advanced than a week after its introduction. M. de Woeste, separating himself from the majority of his colleagues, proposed amendment after amendment. The final struggle, (Oct. 28) began with rejecting by 98 to 48 votes M. Vander- velde's amendment to determine the electoral circumscription of each province. This defeat was followed by another — that for dividing Brussels into three electoral districts, moved by M. B6thune, supported by M. de Woeste and rejected by 100 to 34 votes. These points having been thus settled, the Chamber at last passed by 75 to 55 and 1 abstention the first and most important clause of the bill. The Socialists there- upon abandoned their obstructive policy, and at the same time M. de Woeste threw up his post as President of the Catholic Committees. But the Electoral Bill was not yet done with, and another month passed before the order book had been cleared of the confused mass of proposals and alterations with which the measure had been overlaid. Finally, however, the Chamber of Bepresentatives passed (Nov. 24) the Electoral Beform Bill by 71 to 63 votes and 8 abstentions, a pitiable result, and in a way justifying the popular dissatisfaction with which the decision of Parliament was received.

The Senate then took up the rest of the year in the discussion of the bill, in which greater respect for parliamentary traditions was displayed than in the Chamber. At the same time if the methods of the senators were more orderly, their objections and amendments were not less confused than those of the deputies. The most important contribution to the debate was the speech of M. van den Heuvel, who had been called in to assist the Government as a specialist on the subject of proportional