DENMARK. 



graphs. The total disbursements are estimated at 

 67.419,059 kroner, of which 15,315,507 kroner are 

 for improvement of state property and reduction 

 of debt, 10,244.513 kroner for the Ministry of War, 

 6,858,350 kroner for interest and expenses of the 

 state debt, 6,851,848 kroner for the Ministry of 

 Marine, 5,779,933 kroner for the Ministry of the 

 Interior, 4,048,606 kroner for the Ministry of Pub- 

 lic Instruction and Worship, 4,485,914 kroner for 

 extraordinary state expenditure, 3,984,486 kroner 

 for the Ministry of Justice, 3,790,356 kroner for the 

 Ministry of Finance, 3,215,401 kroner for military 

 and civil pensions, 1,155,200 kroner for the civil 

 list, 679,649 kroner for the Ministry of Public 

 Works, 606,456 kroner for the Ministry of Foreign 

 Affairs, 319,016 kroner for the lligsdag and Coun- 

 cil of State, and 83,764 kroner for Iceland. The 

 reserve fund preserved for sudden emergencies 

 amounted on March 31, 1895, to 17,850,992 kroner. 

 Other investments of the state brought the active 

 assets up to 50,553,395 kroner, not including the 

 domains nor 190,080,660 kroner invested in rail- 

 roads. The national debt was 208.428,026 kroner, 

 bearing mostly 3 per cent, interest and held by 

 Danes, excepting foreign loans amounting to 61,- 

 907,283 kroner. 



Commerce. The total value of imports in 1894 

 was 348,969,131 kroner, and of exports 263,664,535 

 kroner. The values, in kroner, of the principal 

 classes of imports and exports were as follow : 



The commerce of 1894 was divided among for- 

 eign countries in the following proportion : 



Navigation. The number of vessels entered at 

 Danish ports during 1894 was 27,738, with 2,334,640 

 tons of cargo, and the number cleared was 27,657, 

 with 590,040 tons of cargo, not including 34,283 

 coasters entered and 34,426 cleared. 



The mercantile marine on Dec. 31, 1894, com- 

 prised in Denmark and the colonies 3,591 vessels, of 

 334,899 tons, of which 389, of 141,994 tons, were 

 steamers. 



The Army and Navy. At the age of twenty- 

 two every able-bodied Dane can be called into the 

 service, in which case he is attached to the regular 

 army and its reserve for eight years and for eight 

 years more is inscribed in the extra reserve. The 

 period of training lasts three months for the field 

 artillery and engineers, four months for the siege 

 artillery and technical corps, six months for the in- 

 fantry, and eight months for the cavalry. A part 

 of the troops, especially those who have shown the 

 least aptitude or diligence, are put through a sec- 

 ond period of drill, lasting eight months for the in- 

 fantry, eleven months for the cavalry, and twelve 

 months fur tin- artillery and engineers. Every 

 corps is called out further for annual exercises, last- 



ing about a month. The strength of the army in 

 1894 was 778 officers and 13,152 men on the peace 

 footing and 1,214 officers and 42,919 men on the 

 war footing, not including the civic corps, number- 

 ing about 18,000 officers and men, and the extra re- 

 serve liable to be summoned in emergencies, num- 

 bering 16,500. 



The Danish naval force is designed for coast 

 defense. It comprises a battle ship of 5,300 tons, 

 armed with a 36-ton and 4 22-ton guns, 4 ironclads, 

 3 first-class armored cruisers, one carrying a 52-ton 

 gun and the others 2 28-ton guns, a second-class 

 cruiser, 15 smaller cruisers, and 7 first-class, 3 sec- 

 ond-class, and 2 third-class cruisers. A first-class 

 torpedo vessel and an armor-clad were ordered in 

 1896. Most of the vessels were built in Copen- 

 hagen. 



Communications. The Danish railroads in 1894 

 had a total length of 1,332 miles, of which 1,067 

 miles were owned by the Government. 



The postal traffic in 1894 embraced 64,934,658 

 letters and postal cards and 61,741,703 newspapers, 

 circulars, and samples. 



The state telegraph lines on Dec. 31, 1894, had a 

 total length of 3,013 miles, with 8,515 miles of wire. 

 The number of dispatches in 1894 was 1,796,527, of 

 which 627,564 were domestic, 1,130,198 international, 

 and 38,765 official. 



Legislation. Although the Folkething last 

 elected is as Agrarian and Radical in its tendencies 

 as any of its predecessors, the deadlock in legisla- 

 tion and the constitutional crisis that lasted nine 

 years ended with the compromise of 1894 and have 

 not recurred notwithstanding much friction-, the 

 principal cause having been removed when the 

 fortifications of Copenhagen were completed. The 

 Landsthing in 1896 approved additional expendi- 

 ture for the increase of the army, and the Folke- 

 thing voted to nationalize a line of coasting steam- 

 ers, to contribute to the International Peace Bureau 

 at Berne, and to increase the salaries of a certain 

 class of school teachers. A provisional financial 

 law was prepared, but it was not needed, as the two 

 houses at the last moment came to an agreement on 

 a budget in which both withdrew the extraordinary 

 demands. The Government made a concession to 

 the Agrarian party in the shape of legislative pro- 

 posals for the amelioration of the unfortunate con- 

 dition of the rural population made by the newly 

 appointed Minister of Agriculture, whose very crea- 

 tion marked a great change in the relations be- 

 tween the Government and the rural constituencies. 

 These proposals were very obnoxious to the urban 

 supporters of the Government. The Radical ma- 

 jority defeated several important measures pro- 

 posed by the Government during the session. 



Iceland. The ancient colony of Iceland has its 

 own Constitution and its Legislative Assembly, 

 called the Althing, which is composed of 2 Cham- 

 bers, the upper one of which consists of 12 mem- 

 bers, half of them nominated by the Danish Gov- 

 ernment and the other half elected by the popular 

 Chamber, which has 36 members, all elected by the 

 people except 6, who are nominated by the Crown. 



The area of Iceland is 39.756 square miles, of 

 which 16,180 are inhabited. The population at the 

 last enumeration was 70,927, having greatly dimin- 

 ished in recent times owing to dearth on the island 

 and consequent emigration, chiefly to the United 

 States. The imports in 1894 were valued at 3.235,- 

 536 kroner, and the exports at 2,716,719 kroner. 



To protect the Icelandic shore fisheries from 

 British steam trawlers and other poachers, a law 

 was passed forbidding foreign fishing craft from 

 entering territorial waters or using the ports. The 

 British Government protested against this, and 

 after the matter was discussed a provisional agree- 



