Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/816

BELGIUM. sentation in the Chambers is apportioned among the different political parties in proportion to the number of votes cast by each at the election for deputies. Such a measure was adopted in 1899, and the immediate result was the rise of the Liberal party almost from oblivion to considerable importance.

Belgian nationalists are seeking to unify Belgian history in order to prove Belgium's claims to nationality as against Holland and France. Moke, Histoire de la Belgique, with a continuation by E. Hubert (Brussels, 1881), is such an attempt. For the period of independence, consult: Thonissen, La Belgique sous le règne de Leopold I., 4 vols. (Louvain, 1855-58); Hymans, Histoire parlementaire de Belgique de 1830 à 1880 (Brussels, 1878-80); Laveleye, Le parti cléical en Belgique (Leipzig, 1874), written from the Liberal point of view; Woeste, Vingt ans de polémique (Brussels, 1885), which is Catholic in its sympathies; and the works of Theodore Juste on the Revolution, its men and its problems.

Among geographical and statistical works, may be mentioned: Leroy, Géographie générale de la Belgique (Namur, 1889); Genonseaux, La Belgique physique, politique, etc. (Brussels, 1878); Garcia de la Vega, Royaume de la Belgique (ib., 1883); Wauters, La Belgique ancienne et moderne (ib., 1882, et seq.); Hymans, La Belgique contemporaine (Mons, 1884); Penck, "Das Königreich Belgien," in Kirchhoff, Länderkunde von Europa, Vol. II. (Leipzig, 1889); Meuriot, "Note sur la statistique agricole de la Belgique," in the Journal de la Société de Statistique de Paris (Paris, 1900); Julin, "Le recensement général des industries et des métiers en Belgique au 31 Octobre, 1896," in La Réforme Sociale, Vol. IX. (Paris, 1900); Essars, "Banking in Belgium," in A History of Banking in All the Leading Nations, Vol. III. (New York, 1896); Nicolai, Les chemins de fer de l'état en Belgique 1834-84 (Brussels, 1885).

BELGOROD, byel'g6-r6t, or BIELGOROD (Russ. byely, white + gorod, city). The capital of a district in the Russian Government of Kursk, situated on the right bank of the Donetz, 87 miles south of Kursk, and 43 miles from Kharkov (Map: Russia, E 4). Belgorod, which derives its name from a neighboring chalk-hill, is divided into two — the old and the new — towns. It is built chiefly of wood, and is an archiepiscopal see. It has manufactures of leather and soap, and agriculture is fairly well developed. There is a considerable trade in wax, apples, tallow candles, and especially of chalk, of which about 1300 tons are produced annually within the city limits. Population, in 1897, 21,800.

BELGRADE, bel-gi-fld' (Serv. Beograd, from bel, white + grad, city, fortress; in Ger. Weissenburg, same meaning, anciently Singidunum). The capital of Servia. situated at the confluence of the rivers Save and Danube (Map: Turkey in Europe, C 2). It consists of half a dozen distinct quarters. The famous old fortress occupies in part the level ground at the junction of the two rivers, and in part is built on a hill about 150 feet high. The appearance of Belgrade has been greatly modernized during the last decades. One section, known as the English Quarter, has handsome villas and gardens. There are large business houses and hotels, and a number of banks. Hundreds of cabs, as well as a tramway and an electric railway, afford easy means of communication between the different parts of the city. The King's Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the residence of the Metropolitan, the National Theatre, and the public offices are the principal buildings. One of the old mosques is in a good state of preservation. The city has three parks, one of which contains a menagerie and the other an obelisk commemorating the emancipation of the Servians from Turkish rule. At the head of the educational institutions is a royal college with faculties of philosophy, jurisprudence, and engineering. Belgrade is the seat of the Royal Servian Academy of Sciences, to which belongs the National Library, with about 100,000 volumes. The industries of the town are not important, but its commerce is extensive, it being the great entrepôt of the trade between Austria-Hungary and Servia, and the outlet of the products of the kingdom. It exports the raw products of Servia and imports largely manufactured products. The population of Belgrade is increasing rapidly; in 1884 there were 26,600 inhabitants: in 1890, 54,500; in 1895, 59,100; in 1900, 69,097. At the close of the Middle Ages Belgrade was a frontier fortress of Hungary, and in the Turkish wars was a key to that kingdom. It was stormed in 1521 by the Turks, who had attempted to capture the town in 1456, and had been repulsed with great loss by John Hunyady and a crusading force. Thrice taken for Austria — in 1688 by the Elector of Bavaria, in 1717 by Prince Eugène (after a brilliant victory over the Turks), and in 1789 by General Loudon — it was restored each time, by treaty, to the Turks. Though Servia became practically independent in the early part of the Nineteenth Century, the Turkish garrison was not withdrawn till 1867.

BELGRAND, bel'griiN', (1810-78). A French civil engineer, born at Ervy (Aube). He studied at the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées, became in 1852 a chief engineer, and in 1875 an inspector-general of the first class. He designed the water-supply and sewerage systems of Paris, two mammoth works of engineering. His publications include Les travaux souterrains de Paris, Les eaux anciennes de Paris, and other volumes.

BEL'GRAVE SQUARE. One of the largest and must fashionable residence squares of London, lying west of the Green Park and south of Hyde Park, and built in the early part of the Nineteenth Century. It was named from Belgrave, in Leicestershire, a property belonging to the Duke of Westminster.

BELGRA'VIA. The fashioniible residence district in London, built up south and west of Belgrave Square. In the early part of the Nineteenth Century it was a marshy farm, which was filled in and drained about 1825. Consult Hare, Walks in London (London, 1883).

BELIAL, be'li-ol or bel'yal. A Hebrew term occurring twenty-seven times in the Old Testament, and generally taken to mean 'wicked' or 'worthless,' both in the moral and material sense. It occurs very frequently in the Bible in the phrase 'sons of Belial' (I. Kings xxi. 10, 13; II. Chron. xiii. 7; Deut. xiii. 13), and how-