Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/450

* NETHERLANDS. 398 NETHERLANDS. trade. The value oi tla- ;;ooil.s carried iu tliis transit business in lUOU was .$243,1130,000. l'"ree trade is tlie Government policy, duties being levied on a few articles only for purposes of revenue. Xo article pays more than o per cent, duty, and grain, iron, wool, cotton, coal, and many other commodities are on the free list. The chief centres of ilomcstic trade are Rotter- dam. Amsterdam, Khisliiiig. Dordrecht (timber). Jliddelburg, Lcyden, Utrecht, Alkmaar, and Hoorn (cheese). Traxsportatiox and Commu>-icatio.s. The largest routes of trade by water or rail con- verge on Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Flushing. Great ship canals have given their preeminence to Rotterdam (SlS.oO? inhabitants in lOOO) and Amsterdam (.tIO.OOO). Rotterdam, near the mouth of tjie Meuse. was threatened with being cut oir from the sea by accumulations of sand in the river; a new waterway was therefore dug across the Hook of Hidland through the dunes to the north of the lleuse, by which ships of the heaviest tonnage now reach the town. I'ully three-fourths of the sea trade of the Netherlands pertains to Rotterdam, steamers plying between that city and all the largest ports of Western and Northern Europe and to the Kast Indies and Unit- ed States. TIk' traflic by sailing ships with the colonies and other distant lands is also very im- portant. Amsterdam is also connected by regu- lar lines of steamers with many ports of Kurope. America, and Asia. The two ports command about nine-tenths of the total sea trade; Flush- ing, iliddelburg, and Harlingen also have some importance. The Dutch merchant marine being small (213 steamers and 425 sailing vessels in 1000). a little more than one-half of the sea trade is carried umler the Uritish flag. Two ship canals connect .msterdani with the sea. The older is the North Ibdland Canal, extending from Amsterdam to Alkmaar and fielder. 52 miles long, completed in 1825. By means of this canal the <langer(nis passage of the Zuyder Zee was avoided. In recent years, however, the impor- tance of the canal declined, as it is not wide enough for the more modern large ships. The North Sea Canal was therefore built between Amsterdam and the North Sea. 16 miles in length and fully meeting the rei|uircnients of modern trade. These arc the great ship canals of the Netherlands, but the wliole country is a land of canals. All the towns and even the villages are conneete<l with one another by these waterways. The larger canals are over 00 feet broad. to 9 feet deep, and sometimes they lie higher than the fields through which they pass. The domestic traffic of the country is carried on the canals. There is little coasting trade. because commodities are carried from one juirt to another on the canals. The total extent of the canals is nearly 2000 miles, and the length of navigable waters outside of the canals is ahoiit 3000 miles. The railroads are of more importance for international than for internal cnmmeree. They carry most of the freiirlit that England sends into Central Europe. Flushing, on the ."seheldt. and Hook of Holland, near Rotterdam, are ports on the main rail routes between England and Germany. In 1000 the railroails had a length of 1S30 miles, of which the State ownerl about nnehalf and private companies the remainder. Good wagon roads in all parts of the country, all paved with brick (klinkers), supplement the other excellent means of communication. Their total length is about 3000 miles. Banking. All banks are private banks, but the Bank of the Netherlands is the only one that is permitted to issue bank notes, the amount of which, in 1901, was 221,b09.000 llorins, or $89,- 101.338 in our currency. The money in general circulation, however, is ehielly silver. Two-lifths of the ]iaper money in circulation must be cov- ered. The bank secured the right to issue bank notes in 1803 for twenty-tive years; in 1888 the right was prolonged for fifteen years, with a continuation for ten years more unless rescinded by the (iovernment or the bank, two years' notice lieing given. In accordance with notice given by the Government in 1901, the present arrangement will terminate in November. 1903. The Ijaiik of the Netherlands has branches in all important towns, and does the same business as other lianks, but provides more guarantees. It is the ile- positorv of the State funds and of the cash of the Post-Ol'lice Savings Bank. in 1901 the total exchanges of the bank were .$194,700,060; stock of gold. .$29,808,000; stock of silver, ' .$27,352,080; capital, .$8,040,000; reserve fund. .$2,211,000. The bank receives 5 per cent, of the prolits. the bal- ance being divided between the State and the hank. In 1809 there were 389 jirivate savings banks, with 420,885 depositors and .$30,900,534 tleposits. The State I'ostal Savings Baidc, in 1000, had 820,131 depositors and $44,048,194 deposits. Finance. The sources of revenue in 1901 were: excise, .$20,211,500; direct taxation, $14,500,- 872; indirect taxation, $0,027,015; post-office, $4,328,750; export and im|)ort duties, $4,007,500; pilot dues, $1,358,335; Government tele2rai)hs, $030,875; State domains, $735,000; State lot- teries. .$271,250; fisheries. $55,000; railroails. $1.- 807.500. The expenditures were: national delit, $14,431,070; Department of War, $9,405,180; De- partment of Public Works, $12,241,095: Depart- ment of Finance, $10,401,715; Department of Marine, $0,940,705; Department of Interior, $0.- 052,815; Department of .lustice. $2,045,705; De- partment of Colonies. $548,840; Department of Foreign Affairs. .$355,505; royal housi-bold, $333,- 335; superior State authorities, $283,900; mis- cellanecnis. $20,830. The total revenue was $50,- 971.100 and the expenditures were $04,481,445. The total debt anKninted in 1901 to $482,800,435, About $130,000,000 of the revenue of the past half century has been applied to the ri'duction of the public debt. Money, Weights, and Measire.s. The stand- ard coin is the 10-llorin gold piece, containing 0.048 granunes of fine gohl. The unit of the silver coinage is the florin, containing 9.45 grammes of fine silver. The country has the gold standard, and gold ami the silver coins is- sued before 1875 are legal tender. The value of the coins has for years been invariable. The princi]ial coins are the guilder or florin of 100 cents, worth 40'/-, cents in our currency, and the gold piece of 10 florins. Jletric weights and measures are used. P<u'ri.ATioN. The population is most dense in the provinces of North and South Holland and Utrecht, which contain almost half of it, al- though embracing less than one-fourth of the total area. In these provinces are the three largest cities of the country. The annual in- crease of population averages considerably over