DENMARK. 



The movement of shipping in 1871 and 1872 

 was as follows : 



HOME NAVIGATION. 



YKAR. 



87-'78 



4.;. no 

 48,071 



M 



1,007 



in-.', 



OUTWARD NAVIGATION. 





IJUJB* 



Fonlfa 



The commercial navy, on March 81, 1873, 

 was composed of 2,629 sailing-vessels, with an 

 aggregate of 175,057 tons, and 109 steamers, 

 with 21,602 tons; total, 2,738 vessels, with 

 lit 7. 259 tons. 



army, in time of peace, numbers 15,258 

 men ; and on the war-footing, 52,656. The 

 navy, in 1874, comprised 82 steamers, 7 of 

 whirh are iron-clads, and 2 sailing-vessels. It 

 was manned by 800 men, and officered by 1 ad- 

 miral, 16 commanders, 84 captains, 47 lieuten- 

 ants, and 20 sub-lieutenants. 



On January 1, 1874, there were 5,567 miles 

 of railroad in operation. A new railroad on 

 the island of Laaland was opened on June 24, 

 1874. The length of telegraph-lines, in 1873, 

 was 4,870 miles ; that of the wires, 1,578 miles. 

 The post-office forwarded, in 1872-'73, 14,958,- 

 402 letters, and 13,781,803 newspapers. 



The Folkething (lower branch of the Legis- 

 lature) had closed the year 1873 by the adop- 

 tion of an address to the King, expressing the 

 wish that the administration of the country 

 be changed. When the Folkething, after the 

 expiration of the Christmas vacation, reassem- 

 bled, on January 6, 1874, a reply to the ad- 

 dress was received, which declared that, how- 

 ever much the misproportion between the 

 length pf the session and the accomplished 

 work was to be deplored, and however desira- 

 ble a solution of the conflict between the Gov- 

 ernment and the Legislature, and the removal 

 of the agitation prevailing throughout the coun- 

 try, might be, the Government must decline a 

 change of administration, but must rather ap- 

 peal to the patriotism of the parties, and ex- 

 pect from them the work of reconciliation. 

 The official Berling Gazette, which, on Janu- 

 ary 1, 1874, entered its one hundred and twen- 

 ty-sixth year, published on that day a warning 

 article on the serious condition of the country, 

 which, according to the issue of the pending 

 conflict, might either expect a quiet and grad- 

 ual development of its material and spiritual 

 interests, or an imminence of the trials and 

 dangers so indissolubly connected with the ab- 

 solute rule of elective majorities. The ministry, 

 immediately after the adoption by the Folke- 

 thing of the address to the King, expressing 

 want of confidence in the administration, had 

 offered its resignation, but the King, in a let- 

 tvr diitod January 2, 1874, replied that the 

 ministry must remain in office, as it consisted 



of the best men in the country, who potMMdd 

 his entire confidence, and whose character wat 

 a guarantee that the fundamental law would 

 fended against any encroachment. The 

 I ni tod Left now adopted the course of refer- 

 ring all drafts laid before it to a committee in- 

 : ( >f passing them to a second reading. The 

 army bill was thus disposed of by a vote of 47 

 against 40 votes. After a debate which lasted 

 several days, an order of the day, with pre- 

 amble, was adopted by 67 votes against 81, 

 condemning the publication by the ministry 

 of the autograph letter written by the King 

 on the 2d of January, in reply to an address 

 passed by the Folkething in December. The 

 resolution protests against the course taken by 

 the ministry, on the ground that the King is 

 thereby drawn into party conflicts. During 

 the discussion the Government declared that 

 the adoption of this order of the day would 

 have no practical results. As, according to 

 the fundamental law, an electoral district is 

 not to have more than 16,000 inhabitants, and 

 as the electoral districts of Copenhagen, owing 

 to the rapid increase of population, exceeded 

 this number, the Government proposed the cre- 

 ation of four new electoral districts. As the 

 United Left, which has its chief strength in 

 the country, fears that the increase of city dis- 

 tricts will add to the strength of the Liberal 

 party, it rejected the proposition of the Gov- 

 ernment, as it had already rejected a similar 

 bill two years ago. A motion to forbid the 

 manufacture of phosphor-matches was adopted 

 by both Houses. A Government bill for rais- 

 ing the salaries of Government officers was re- 

 jected in the Folkething by 62 against 42 votes. 

 The Landsthing, which does not agree with 

 the Folkething, declined, by 81 against 11 votes, 

 a bill passed by the latter to establish in the 

 provincial towns special dwellings for the 

 houseless poor. The Landsthing granted and 

 the Folkething denied the Danish indigenate 

 to the grandchildren of the late Danish state 

 minister, Count Carl von Moltke (died in 1866) 

 on the ground that their father, Count Adam 

 von Moltke, had until recently resided in Aus- 

 tria, and had, in 1864, belonged to the Austrian 

 army operating against Denmark ; that, there- 

 fore, no guarantee was given that the children, 

 who were born in a foreign country (a daugh- 

 ter ten years old, and a son four years old), 

 would be educated as patriotic Danes. The 

 merits of the grandfather were not taken into 

 account, on the ground that, as Danish minis- 

 ter, he was a representative of Holstein. The 

 Folkething, in discussing the budget estimate, 

 rejected the proposed construction of a new 

 iron-clad, as well as the construction of new 

 barracks in Odeuse, for which the Government 

 had demanded an allowance of 61,800 rigsda- 

 lers. On the other hand, the pay of private 

 soldiers in the army and navy was raised at 

 the rate of two shillings a day. With the 

 modifications moved and carried by the oppo- 

 sition, this budget was, at length, unanimously 





