250 



DENMARK. 



valued at 539,000, and the exports to Denmark at 

 472,000 kroner. 



The Danish Antilles, comprising the islands 

 of St. Croix or Santa Cruz, St. Thomas, and St. 

 John, although their total area is only 118 square 

 miles, are exceedingly productive, exporting an- 

 nually from 12,000,000 to 16.000,000 pounds of 

 sugar and 1,000,000 gallons of mm. 



Finances. The revenue fell from 56.380,909 

 kroner in 1884 to 51,333,290 in 1888, while the 

 expenditures increased in the same period from 

 50,198,940 to 59,868,223. According to the 

 budget for 1889-'90, sanctioned in the provision- 

 al law of April 1, 1889, the revenue' amounted to 

 54,457,514 kroner, of which 732,151 kroner were 

 derived from state domains, 3,800,939 from in- 

 terest on assets, 9,632,000 from direct taxation, 

 2,707,000 from stamps, 1,935,000 from succession 

 and conveyance duties, 2,099,000 from fees, 29,- 

 154,000 from customs and excise duties, 900,000 

 from lotteries, 57,759 from the Faroe islands, 

 2,157,660 from miscellaneous taxes, and 1,282,- 

 005 from the sinking fund and other sources. 

 The budget of expenditure was fixed at 57,251,- 

 480 kroner, of which 1,223,240 kroner were ap- 

 propriated to the civil list, 306,616 to the Rigsdag 

 and Council of State, 7,050,640 to interest and 

 expenses of the debt, 3,408,375 to pensions. 883,- 

 256 to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 3,388,153 

 to the Ministry of the Interior, 3,430,744 to the 

 Ministry of Justice, 2,095,137 to the Ministry of 

 Worship and Education, 10,285,916 to the Min- 

 istry of War, 6,503,536 to the Ministry of Marine, 

 3,206,741 to the Ministry of Finance, 96,668 to 

 the Ministry for Iceland, 9,029,758 to extraordi- 

 nary expenditure, and 6,842,707 to improvement 

 of state property and reduction of the debt. 



The reserve fund for sudden emergencies 

 amounted on March 31, 1888, to 17,821,340 kroner. 

 The public debt has been reduced from 203,471,- 

 121 kroner in 1881 to 193,159,225 in 1888. The 

 foreign debt, which pays generally 4 per cent., 

 amounted to 13,319,666 kroner. "The domestic 

 debt pays as a rule 3-J- per cent, interest. 



Politics and Legislation. The conflict 

 between the King's ministers and the people re- 

 garding the powers of the Folkething and the 

 responsibility of the ministry has lasted about 

 twenty years, and for nearly half that period con- 

 stitutional forms have been superseded, legisla- 

 tive progress has been suspended, and all the 

 interests of the country have suffered from the 

 anomalous and arbitrary methods of carrying on 

 the public business. The country had grown so 

 tired of the sterile dispute that in the Folkething 

 there were but 10 left of the irreconcilables who, 

 under Berg's leadership, had braved the Estrup 

 ministry for years, whereas the Moderate Oppo- 

 sition, the party of conciliation, discussion, and 

 compromise, had grown to 64. Of this party of 

 compromise there were some who were prepared 

 to come to an agreement with the Landsthing in 

 regard to the budget, and who in the previous 

 session had voted with the Ministerialists on the 

 budget proposals. Concessions on this point 

 prior to the reconstruction of the Supreme Court 

 and the settlement of the main constitutional 

 questions was not the wish of the leaders of the 

 party, and hence the same tactics were followed 

 in the budget debate as in former sessions. The 

 minister brought in his proposals at the opening 



of the session, the discussion was protracted in 

 the Folkething till January, at the last moment 

 the Government presented supplementary esti- 

 mates, and there was no possibility that the 

 Landsthing could complete its consideration of 

 ' the budget before Jan. 28, when the Rigsdag 

 would expire by limit of time. There was no 

 intention on the part of the warring politicians 

 that the budget should be regularly voted, nor 

 could the Left be expected to approve the con- 

 troversial items for the fortification of the capi- 

 tal and the creation of a state police which had 

 just before been condemned anew in the party 



Srogramme. All other demands were reported 

 ivorably by the budget committee, which went 

 even beyond the request of the Government in 

 voting appropriations for improving internal 

 communications. The ministry, arguing from 

 the growth of the party of compromise that the 

 country would come over to its side, clung the 

 more firmly to the policy that the constituencies 

 had five times condemned. On Jan. 3 a royal 

 decree announced the dissolution of the Folke- 

 thing on the ground that its labors up to that 

 time gave no promise that any business of im- 

 portance could be concluded before the close of 

 the constitutional period. New elections were 

 ordered for Jan. 21. If the Government party 

 expected to see a turn in the tide of popular 

 opinion it was greatly disappointed. Instead 

 of 28 Ministerialists in the old Folkething, only 

 23 were elected to the new. Moreover, the party 

 of compromise was reduced to 57 members, ancl 

 the irreconcilable elements were increased by the 

 addition of 7 members to the Berg group, and 

 by the election of 3 Social Democrats, who were 

 represented in the last Legislature by a single 

 deputy. The growth of the Social Democracy, 

 which received about one quarter of the votes of 

 the entire country, and more than one quarter 

 of those of the rural constitiiencies of Jutland, 

 was the most noticeable feature of the election. 



The Minister of the Interior introduced a bill 

 when the new Folkething resumed the business 

 of the session for constructing a harbor and 

 creating a free port near Copenhagen. This and 

 the project of building a coast railroad from 

 Klampenborg to Helsingoer met with the full ap- 

 proval of all parties. The Liberals favored the 

 improvements, not merely on the ground of their 

 utility, but because they were expected to deplete 

 the treasury and leave the Government with no 

 surplus to carry on the fortifications at Copen- 

 hagen and defray the other military expenditures 

 that had been persisted in despite the popular 

 condemnation. The Government bills were re- 

 jected and the establishment of a free port, on 

 the advantages of which all economical author- 

 ities were agreed, was postponed because the 

 ministers proposed to raise a special loan for tho 

 purpose, instead of applying the money lyinij in 

 the treasury. A plan fora sea, fort at Copen- 

 hagen, armed with 5 pieces of the heaviest ord- 

 nance, 12 of smaller caliber, and 13 rapid-firing 

 guns,- omitted for the present the metal t.o\\ers 

 in which, according to the original scheme, the 

 guns were to be mounted. The strengthening 

 of the maritime defenses of Copenhagen, unlil 

 the nearly completed fortifications on the land 

 side, which were condemned by the naval officer 

 and some of the best military authorities, includ- 



