Besides the above public schools there are many private or free schools-about 80 colleges, 65 middle-class schools for boys, 150 institutions for girls, besides many infant, primary, and adult schools, mostly under ecclesiastical care.

By a law of 1842 each commune was required to have at least one primary school. The Acts now in force are those of 1884 and 1895, by which the cost of primary instruction devolves on the communes, while the State and provinces intervene by way of subsidies. The total sum spent on elementary education in 1901 was 42,381,922 francs by State, provinces, and communes, and including fees, &c.

There were in the school year 1901-02, 72 communal industrial schools, with 20,826 pupils, and 39 communal and 118 free professional and commercial schools and courses with altogether 16,587 pupils.

The proportion of the population above seven years who could not read or write at the census of 1900 was 22.1 per cent.; in 1890, 28.8 per cent.; in 1880, 33.2 per cent. In the year 1903 there were 63,834 young men called out for military service, and of this number 5,698, or 9.0 per cent. could neither read nor write; in 1890 the corresponding percentage was 15.92.

cases.

Justice and Crime.

Judges are appointed for life by the King from lists prepared by the Senate and by the Court. There is one Court of Cassation for the whole kingdom. There are three Courts of Appeal, and there are Assize Courts for criminal The country is divided into 26 judicial arrondissements or districts, in each of which is a Court of first instance. In each canton there is a justice of the peace, a police court, and a judge of the peace; there are 222 such cantons. There are, besides, special military, commercial, and other tribunals. There is trial by jury in all criminal and political cases. The Gendarmerie (2,991) and the Garde Civique (43,073) are used for the maintenance of internal order. The following table shows the number of criminals sentenced at the Assize Courts and Correctional Tribunals in the years stated :

The mean number of inmates of the various classes of prisons was :—

1 The figures show only the number of children in the correctional branch of the State charity schools annexed to the Ghent central prison.

Pauperism.

Apart from private charitable associations, which are numerous, public charity is administered under precise regulations. The only public charity institutions are refuges, dépôts de mendicité, or alms-houses, hospitals, and the bureaux de bienfaisance, the administrators of which are appointed by the Communal Councils, while the provinces of the State contribute to maintain certain classes of hospitals, refuges, or alms-houses, and asylums. It is the The charity duty of the commune to furnish assistance to its paupers. institutions received in donations and legacies 1,676,433 francs in 1902; Outdoor relief is provided under certain conditions. The statistics of the dépôts de mendicité for the reception of beggars and vagabonds (adults) were as follows:

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

The following table gives the heads of the proposed budget for the year 1905:

The following table shows the total amount of the national liabilities of the kingdom in 1903 :

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 debt charge (including amortisation) amounted to 143,536,535 francs in 1903.

The total debt amounts to about 167. 14s. per head of population, and the annual charge to about 178. 11d. per head; but the interest is more than covered by the revenue from railways alone. The total exports of home produce in 1902 were 117. 3s. per head.

Local Finance.

The provincial accounts for the year 1901 show a total revenue for all the provinces of 23,853,226 francs, and a total expenditure of 20,095,863 francs. The provincial debts in 1902 amounted to 33,100,629 francs.

According to the communal budgets for 1892, the total revenues of the communes amounted to 178,020,761 francs, and the expenditures to 179,316,792 francs. The local revenue of Antwerp in 1901 amounted to 31,895,196 francs, and expenditure to 33,490,434 franes; of Brussels, revenue 34,995,117 francs, expenditure 34,959,950 francs.

Defence.

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 recruited by voluntary enlistment supplemented, if necessary, by annual levies of able-bodied men who have completed their nineteenth year (arts. 1 and 6 of the law of March 1, 1902). Substitution is permitted. The annual contingent required is about 13,300 men. The legal period of service is eight years in the army and five in the reserve. The war

strength is 180,000 men. 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 1 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 companiespontooners, 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 infantry is armed with the Mauser magazine rifle, and the artillery with Krupp guns. The following is the peace-strength of the Belgian army in 1905

&c.

1 General staff, provincial staff, hospital service, and civil officials.

In time of war the total strength is 143,000 men, and 28,600 horses. Besides the standing army, there is a 'Garde Civique,' numbering in 1903, 43,073 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 department of agriculture, dealing with forestry, clearing and planting, irrigation, veterinary affairs, cultivation, and agricultural laboratories.

In Belgium there is a great subdivision of holdings; these increased from 572,550 in 1846, to 910,396 in 1880, and diminished to 829,625 in 1895. In 1895 the holdings of various sizes were as follows:-Less than 1 hectare (2.47 acres) 544,041; from 1 to 5 hectares 190,833; from 5 to 10 hectares 50,065; from 10 to 20 hectares 28,151; from 20 to 50 hectares 12,951; above 50 hectares 3,584. In 1895, 596,333 hectares were worked by

owners, and 1,320,358 by farmers.

Of the 2,945,589 hectares which compose the area of Belgium, 1,736,174 hectares are under cultivation, 521,495 under forest, 190,444 fallow or uncultivated, the rest roads, marshes, rivers, &c. The population connected with agriculture in 1895 numbered 1,204,810, or 18.79 of the whole.

The following figures show the yield of the chief crops for two years: