BELGIUM. 



61 



shame. His zeal and earnestness in his work 

 continued to his last hours ; in a momentary 

 delirium, but a few moments before his death, 

 he imagined himself conversing with a pris- 

 oner, and said: "My friend, I am a dying 

 man ; I cannot do any thing for you ; you 

 must apply to the Governor." 



BELGIUM, a kingdom of Europe. King, 

 Leopold II., born April 9, 1835 ; succeeded his 

 father, Leopold I., on December 10, 1865. 

 Heir-apparent, the brother of the King, Count 

 Philip of Flanders, born March 24, 1837; mar- 

 ried April 25, 1867, to Princess Maria of Ho- 

 henzollern-Sigmaringen ; has one son, Baldwin 

 Leopold, born June 3, 1869. The ministry ap- 

 pointed on December 7, 1871, is composed as 

 follows : President, B. T. Count de Theux de 

 Meylandt ; Minister of Foreign Affairs, G. B. T. 

 C. Count d'Aspremout-Lynden; Minister of Fi- 

 nances, T. E. X. Malou ; Minister of the Interior, 



C. Delcour ; Minister of Justice, T. 0. A. de 

 Lantsheere ; Minister of Public Works, F. D. V. 

 Moncheur. The Minister of War, Lieutenant- 

 General Guillaume (appointed July 2, 1870), re- 

 signed in December, 1872, and his portfolio was 

 provisionally intrusted to the Minister of For- 

 eign Affairs. Mr. Russell Jones was accredited 

 minister resident of the United States at Brus- 

 sels, July 14, 1869, while Belgium is represent- 

 ed at Washington by its minister resident, Mr. 

 M. Delfosse (appointed January 1, 1865). 



The area of Belgium is 11,373 square miles, 

 with a population, according to the official cal- 

 culation of December 31, 1870, of 5,087,105 

 inhabitants. 



The public debt of Belgium, on May 1, 1871, 

 amounted to 715,936,114 francs. 



The development of Belgian commerce dur- 

 ing the period from 1854 to 1870 is illustrated 

 by the following table (value in francs) : 



The following table shows the movement of shipping in 1869 and 1870 : 



Among the arrivals in 1870 there were 866 

 vessels, with 101,428 tons, under the Belgian 

 flag; among the clearances 858 vessels, with 

 98,919 tons. 



The budget for 1871, as approved by the 

 Chambers, fixed the revenue at 178,124,000 



francs, and the expenditures at 169,695,455 

 francs. The standing army numbers, accord- 

 ing to a decree of April 5, 1868, 100,000 men 

 in time of war. 



The exports and imports of Belgium in 1869 

 and 1870 were as follows (in francs) : 



Of railroads, there were in January 1, 1871 : graph- wires, 8,774 miles. The number of bu- 



