Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/812

BELGIUM. interest-bearing floating debt, and the rest repre- sents the growing consolidated 3 per cent. debt. The payment on the debt requii'es more than $26,000,000 annuall}', including sinking-fund payments.

Population. Belgium is the most densely peopled country in Europe, the average popula- tion being about 600 per square mile. The density of population has been shown for each province in the first table of this article. The increase of the population may be seen from the following figures obtained by succes- sive general censuses:

Year Population Increase per Cent, per Annum lg46 4,337,196 4,629,560 4,827,833 6,520,009 6,069,321 6,815,054 0.44 1866 0.65 1880 1.02 0.99 1900 1.22

The increase during the last decade was the largest in the history of the country. As in all well-settled old coiuitries, there is a surplus of women over men. the figures for 1900 being 3,398,007 men and 3,416,057 women. There are four cities with a population exceed- ing 100,000: Brussels, Antwerp, Li6ge, and Ghent.

IMMIOR.VTION AKD Emioeation. Belgium pre- sents an exception among the countries of West- ern Europe in that it has a greater immigration than emigration. The following table shows the growth oi the tF0 movements for the last four decades of the century:

Years Annual Aveeaoe Figcres op Immigration Emigration 10.749 15,499 19,207 26,800 10,349 1871 1880 11,472 1881 1890 17,698 1891 1900* 22,900
 * Round figures.

Immigration is greatest from France, Ger- manii, and the Netherlands, the three countries furnishing nearly 90 per cent, of the total. Curiously enough, emigration is distributed in about the same proportions among the same countries, only an insignificant proportion (about 2 per cent.) going to the United States; all of which shows that the character of the emigration movement in Belgium is quite dif- ferent from that in the countries of Germany, Austria, Italy, and the United Kingdom, from which the bulk of the emigration to the United States is drawn. The emigration from Belgium is evidently of a temporary nature, the people going to and coming from the three neighbor- ing countries mentioned as their interests re- quire, but evidently not changing permanently their place of abode.

Religion. With the exception of about 10.000 Protestants and some 4000 .Tews, all the people of Belgium are Roman Catholics. Religious liberty is untrammeled. The Church must de- rive most of its material support from the peo- ple. The State, however, grants some subven- tions to the ecclesiastical orders, the total barely- exceeding $1,400,000 per annum. The country is divided into the six dioceses of Jleehlin, Bruges, Ghent, Tournay, Xamur, and Li6ge. Education. The educational system comprises secular institutions supported by the State or the local governments, and the schools maintained and managed by the Roman Catholic priest- hood. The eft'orts of the clergy to obtain con- trol of popular education have been a principal feature of Belgian politics for a number of decades. The Constitution of 1831 totally sepa- rated Church from State, but conceded to the Catholic clergy as representatives of what was practically the only faith in Belgium the right of imparting religious instruction in the public schools; the Liberal Party, abetted by the grow- ing Socialist Party, has made repeated efl'orts to do away with religious teachings in the schools and to substitute purely secular education; but the preponderating Catholic majority has al- ways sustained the present denominational system. Higher education is provided for by tiie State imiversities at Ghent and Li6ge, and the free universities of Brussels and Lou- vain, all of which give courses in law, medi- cine, philosophy, and science ; and at Louvain instruction is given in Catholic theology. An- nexed to the universities are schools of en- gineering, manufactures, arts, and mines. In addition there are a large number of normal, conmiercial. and industrial scliools, a Royal Acad- emy of Fine Arts at Antwerp, and schools of design and music. The secondary schools com- prise the royal athenfeums (35) and the high, schools (128), which are supported and con- trolled by the Government; the number of insti- tutions of secondary learnin,g which are under the independent control of the clergy is prob- ably equal to the number of State schools. Pri- njary education is left to the care of the com- munes, in every one of which there must be at least one elementary school : the State and the provinces, however, subsidize the communal schools and exercise the right of inspection. In 'the closing years of the century the primary schools for children were attended by about 800,000 pupils, and the primary schools for adults by upward of 100,000.

Government. The government of Belgium is a "constitutional, representative, and hereditary monarchy," based on the Constitution of 1831, which guarantees to the citizen equality before the law, personal liberty and security, the right of association and petition, and the freedom of worship, instruction, and the press. The Crown is hereditary in the direct male line, and on the failure of male issue, the monarch, with the consent of the Chambers, appoints his successor. The King is commander-in-chief of the army, con- cludes treaties of war .ind peace, nominates officials, and issues decrees, but has no power to suspend the execution of the haws. He rules through a council of ministers responsible to the Chambers, and every royal act must be counter- sianed by a minister. The departments of State are eight in number, and comprise the Jlinistries of Finance and Public Works; Interior and In- struction: Foreign Affairs; .Justice; War; Agri- culture, Industry, and Labor; Railways, Posts, and Telegraph. The legislative power is vested in the King and the Chambers, consisting of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. The Senate