Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub
[blocks in formation]

The ordinary and extraordinary revenue and expenditure of Belgium for the years stated are shown in the following table in thousands of francs :

[blocks in formation]

The following table gives the details of the proposed budget for the year 1898 :

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

In the budget for 1899 the total revenue is estimated at 435,037,428 francs.

The following table shows the total amount of the national liabilities of the kingdom in 1898

Share of the Netherlands debt at 2 per cent.
Loans at 3 per cent.

Total.

[ocr errors]

Francs 219,959,632

2,346,633,844

2,566,593,476

Almost the entire debt of Belgium was raised for and devoted to works of public utility, particularly the construction of State railways. There is a sinking fund attached to all descriptions of the debt, with the exception of the 21 per cent. old debt.

The total debt amounts to about 157. 11s. per head of population, and the annual charge to about 12s.; or, including civil and military pensions, &c., to about 15s. per head; but the interest is more than covered by the revenue from railways alone. The total exports of home produce average 97. 10s. per head.

Local Finance.

The provincial budgets for the year 1895 show a total revenue for all the provinces of 15,663,866 francs, and a total expenditure of 14,582,162 francs, thus leaving a surplus of 1,081,684 francs.

According to the communal budgets for 1892, the total revenues and expenditures of the communes were :

[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

The maritime frontier of Belgium is 42 miles in length; the Dutch frontier, north and east, 282 miles; the German frontier, in the east, 60 miles; the Luxembourg frontier, in the east, 80 miles; and the French frontier, south and west, 384 miles. The chief military arsenal of the kingdom is Antwerp, where also are the fortified towns of Dendermonde and Diest. There are fortifications at Liège, Huy, and Namur on the Meuse, and at Mons, Tournai, and Ypres on the French frontier, and in 1887 an extensive scheme for the further fortification of the Meuse was resolved upon and is being carried out.

The standing army is formed by conscription, to which every able man who has completed his nineteenth year is liable, and also voluntary enlistment. Substitution is permitted. The annual contingent required is about 13,300 men. The legal period of service is eight years, of which, however, two-thirds are

DEFENCE-PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY

419

allowed, as a rule, on furlough. The country is divided into two military circumscriptions or districts; the first comprising the province of Anvers and the two Flanders', and the second the rest of the country. There are military schools of various grades and several establishments for special military education.

The following is the composition of the Belgian army, apart from the general staff and the administrative and sanitary services :-Infantry : 1 regiment of carabineers, of 4 active and three reserve battalions, each of 4 companies and 1 depôt; 1 regiment of grenadiers, 3 regiments chasseurs-à-pied, 14 regiments of the line, each of these three bodies of 3 active and 2 reserve battalions each of 4 companies and 1 depôt ; a corps of discipline and correction; a school for army cadets. Cavalry: 2 regiments of chasseurs, 4 regiments of lancers, 2 regiments of guides, each of 5 active squadrons and I depôt. There are also three divisions of gendarmerie each of 3 companies, and 1 light squadron. Artillery: A special staff; 2 regiments of field artillery each of 8 mounted batteries, 2 reserve batteries and 1 depôt battery; 2 regiments of field artillery each of 7 mounted batteries, 2 horse batteries, 3 reserve batteries, and 1 depôt battery; 3 regiments of fortress artillery, each of 14 active batteries, 2 reserve batteries, and 1 depôt battery; 1 regiment of fortress artillery of 16 active batteries, 2 reserve batteries, and I depôt battery; 4 special companies— pontooners, artificers, mechanics, and armourers. Train, consisting of a staff, 7 companies, and 1 depôt company. Engineers: A special staff; 1 regiment of 3 battalions each of 4 companies of sappers and miners, 1 battalion of reserve of 4 companies and a depôt; 5 special companies, telegraphists, railway corps, The following is the peace-strength of the Belgian army in 1898 :

&c.

[blocks in formation]

1 General staff, train, administrative, military school, &c.

For the army there are 9,040 horses and 204 guns, and for the gendarmerie 1,845 horses. In time of war the total strength is 4,466 officers, 143,628 men, and 25,823 horses.

Besides the standing army, there is a 'Garde Civique,' numbering in 1898, 42,827 men, organised as far as possible in the communes, and part of whose duties is to maintain the integrity and independence of the territory; it is only active in communes of over 10,000 inhabitants and in fortified places.

Production and Industry.

I. AGRICULTURE.

In each province of Belgium there is an Agricultural Commission appointed by the King; delegates from which, along with specialists, form a supreme council of agriculture. There are six special services connected with the

[graphic]

department of agriculture, dealing with forestry, clearing and planting, irrigation, veterinary affairs, cultivation, and agricultural laboratories.

The tendency in Belgium is to a great subdivision of holdings; these increased from 572,550 in 1846, to 910,396 in 1880, the date of the latest statistics. At that date the holdings of various sizes were as follows:-Less than 1 hectare (2:47 acres) 594,376; from 1 to 5 hectares 226,088; from 5 to 10 hectares 48,390; from 10 to 20 hectares 25,893; from 23 to 50 hectares 12,186; above 50 hectares 3,403.

The area worked by owners increased by 94,650 hectares between 1866 and 1880. In 1880, 713,019 hectares were worked by owners, and 1,270,512 by farmers.

Of the 2,945,715 hectares which compose the area of Belgium, 67.34 per cent. are under cultivation, and 16 61 per cent. under forest, 7.88 per cent. uncultivated, the rest roads, marshes, rivers, &c. The population connected with agriculture in 1880 numbered 1,199,319, or 21 77 of the whole.

The following figures show the yield of the chief crops for two years. For the area under the various crops there are no more recent statistics than those of 1880:

[blocks in formation]

In 1895 the yield of tobacco grown in Belgium was 5,166,000 kilogrammes. The net revenue from forests alone in 1890 was 4,830, 884 francs. In 1880 there were 271,974 horses, 1,382,815 horned cattle, 365,400 sheep, and 646,375 pigs.

II. MINING AND METALS AND OTHER INDUSTRIES.

There is a special department for the administration of Industry and Labour. There are a Superior Council of Industry, a Council of Mines, and a Council of Prud'hommes or specialists for advising the State as to the interests of various industries.

The number of quarries in Belgium in 1896 was 1,409, workmen 32,601. The number of workmen engaged in metallic mines in 1894 was 1,581; in 1895, 1,422; in 1896, 2,017. The quantity of iron ore produced in 1895 was 307,031 tons, valued at 1,417,820 francs. There were in 1895, 223 coal mines in Belgium, of which 120 were worked. The number of workpeople in 1896 was 119,246 (in 1893, 116,861), of whom 888 were women (in 1893, 2,172), 5,781 boys (in 1893, 6,359), working underground. production of coal, and its value, were as follows:

The

[blocks in formation]

21,252

Tons (1000) 20,366 19,583 19,411 20,535 20,451 Value in 1000 frs. 268,503 201,288 181,406 191,292 193,357 202,010

The quantity of iron ore imported in 1895 was 1,857,624 tons; in 1896, 2,069,676 tons, mostly from Luxemburg.

The quantity and value of pig iron and manufactured iron produced were as follows:

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

In 1896 there were 17 pig-iron works in activity and 3 unemployed; 34 blast furnaces active and 9 inactive; number of workmen, 3,305.

For the manufacture of iron there were 49 works active and 2 inactive; 357 puddling furnaces active and 75 inactive; number of workmen, 14,821. Of steel works there were 12 active and 2 inactive; Martin and other furnaces, active and 4 inactive; Bessemer converters, 16 active and 15 inactive; number of workmen, 5,382.

The value of the zinc produced in 1896 was 45,912 francs, and the workmen employed 4,970; value of lead, 5,149,000 francs; of silver from lead, 3,189,000 francs; number of workmen, 727.

In 1896 there were 123 sugar manufacturing establishments which turned out 199,844,000 kilogrammes of raw sugar, and 32 refineries giving an output of 71,729,000 kilogrammes. There were also 209 distilleries in operation, whose output was 546,470 hectolitres of alcohol at 50° G.-L.

In 1896 there were 422 fishing vessels of 9,981 tons, of which 432 vessels were engaged in deep-sea fishery and the value of the deep-sea fish caught was 2,981,833 francs.

Commerce.

The value of the general commerce in the year 1896 was, imports 3,037,371,700 francs, and exports 2,720,302,115 francs; in 1897, imports 3,090,829,820 francs, and exports 2,837,271,890 francs. Of the general imports in 1897, those by sea were valued at 1,522,554,528 francs, and by land and river at 1,503,275,292

« ForrigeFortsæt »