The number of births, in 1872, was 85,750 

 males and 81,627 females ; the number of legiti- 

 mate births was 155,528; of illegitimate, 11,848; 

 the number of deaths, 40,084; the number of 

 still-born children, 7,558 ; the number of 

 dcat lis, 62,041 males, and 58,088 females. The 

 number of marriages in 1871 was 37,538 ; the 

 number of divorces, 75. 



The following table shows the immigration 

 into and the emigration from Belgium from 

 1841 to 1871 : 



Exceu of emigration over immigration, 1841-1850. . 12,004 

 " " " 1851-1860. . 28,401 



" " immigration over emigration, 1861-1870 



(about) 4,000 



" immigraiiou over emigration, 1871 3,537 



The following cities had, on December 81, 

 1871, a population of upward of 20,000 inhabit- 

 ants: 



1. Cities with 100,000 inhabitants and more. 



Brussels 175,684 I Ghent 125,070 



Antwerp 183,883 | Lidge 109,686 



2. Cities with from 25,000 to 100,000 inhab- 

 itants : 



Molenbeck St.-Jeau. 30,974 



Jaelles 26,788 



Scbaerbeck 26,714 



Namur 25,600 



Courtrai 26,426 



48.087 



88,986 



r* 85,568 



Louviiin 81,716 



Tournay 81,818 



8. Cities with from 20,000 to 25,000 inhab- 

 itants : 



Saint-Nicolas 24.021 



St-Josse-Ten-Noode 24,080 



Mone 28,251 



S6raing 28,758 



The Legislature consists of two Chambers, a 

 Senate and a Chamber of Representatives, both 

 of which are elected by the people. The Cham- 

 r of Representatives had, from 1831 to 1839, 

 02 members ; from 1839 to 1847, 95 ; from 1847 

 to 1859, 108; from 1859 to 1866, 116; since 

 1866, 124. The Senate always consists of one- 

 half the number of members composing the 

 Chamber of Representatives. The members of 

 both Chambers are elected by the same class 

 of citizens ; those of the Chamber of Represent- 

 atives for a term of eight and those of the Sen- 

 ate for a term of eight years. The former must 

 have attained the twenty-fifth, the latter the 

 fort ieth year of their age : the latter have also to 

 pay direct taxes to the amount of 2,116 francs 

 40 centimes. The electors must have completed 



their twenty-first year of age, and pay direct 

 taxes to the amount of 42 francs 81 centimes. 

 The number of electors was, in 1840, 46,894 

 (1.15 per cent, of the population); in 1860, 

 78,228 (1.76 per cent.) ; in 1860, 97,811 (2.05 

 per cent.) ; in 1865, 104,862 (2.09 per cent.) ; 

 in 1870, 110,689 (2.17 per cent.) ; in 1872, 106,- 

 928 (2.06 per cent). The number of voters who 

 availed themselves of their right of suffrage 

 varied, from 1843 to 1872, from 86 per cent, in 

 1848, to 62 in 1868. The number of persons 

 eligible for the Senate was, in 1878, 49 in the 

 province of Antwerp, 96 in Brabant, 84 in 

 East Flanders, 56 in West Flanders, 66 in 

 Hainault, 37 in Lige, 12 inLimburg, 4 in Lux- 

 emburg, and 47 in Namur : total in the whole 

 kingdom, 451, or 0.0087 per cent, of the popu- 

 lation. The number of persons entitled to 

 take part in the election of members of the 

 Provincial Councils was, in 1872, 211,708. Ac- 

 cording to the law of 1872, the Provincial 

 Councils of the several provinces consisted of 

 the following number of members: Antwerp, 

 68 ; Brabant, 73 ; East Flanders, 80 ; West Flan- 

 ders, 69 ; Hainault, 76 ; Liege, 67 ; Limburg, 40 ; 

 Luxemburg, 41 ; Namur, 55 : total, 559. The 

 aggregate receipts of the provincial adminis- 

 trations, in 1871, were 11,164,386 fr.; the ex- 

 penditures, 9,864,355 fr. : surplus, 1,300,034. 



Of the four universities of Belgium, the free 

 Catholic University of Louvain had, in 1872, 

 the largest number of students (901) ; the free 

 (Liberal) University of Brussels had 588, the 

 State University of Li6ge 436, and the State 

 University of Ghent 210 ; the Royal Academy 

 of Fine Arts at Antwerp, 1,576 students. 

 There were, besides the Antwerp Academy, 

 72 other academies of design, and drawing 

 schools, with 9,447 pupils; a Conservatory of 

 Music at Brussels, with 675, and another at 

 Li6ge with 789 pupils. 



Nearly the entire population of Belgium is 

 nominally connected with the Roman Catholic 

 Church, at tlie head of which is the Arch- 

 bishop of Malines, and five bishops. The 

 other ecclesiastical benefices consisted, Decem- 

 ber 31, 1872, of 156 deaneries, 233 cvre (par- 

 ishes of the first class), 2,772 succursales (par- 

 ishes of the second class), 180 chapels, 1,780 

 vicariates, 110 coadjutors, 29 annexes, 706 

 oratories and chapels of hospitals, colleges, etc. 

 The number of religious communities of men, 

 in 1866, was 178, with 2,991 inmates; that of 

 religious communities of women, 1,144, with 

 15,205 inmates. The number of mutual aid 

 societies recognized by the state was 98 ; 

 their aggregate revenue, 207,203 fr. ; expendi- 

 tures, 180,447 fr. ; capital, December 31, 1871, 

 475,895 fr. ; number of mutual aid societies 

 not recognized by the state, 466,806 fr. ; cap- 

 ital, December, 1871, 511,692 fr. 



In the budget for 1873, the receipts were es- 

 timated at 205,985,000 francs; the expendi- 

 tures at 201,412,211; the public debt on May 

 1, 1878, amounted to 760,114,664 fr. 



In January, in the Chamber of Representa- 





