EUROPE. 



EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. 285 



proo 



. .i....t 



therefore resolved to dissolve the Parliament 

 '1 make an appeal to the country for a now 

 f ot its continuing confidence. Thegeneral 

 elections resulted, however, in a complete \ i. 

 ton of iho Conservative party and the ap- 

 pointment of a Tory ministry. Toward the 

 t' tin- year the country was thrown into 

 excitement by a pamphlet published by 

 (ihtd.stono on tl jo Vatican Decrees. (.Sw GREAT 



Ki:i IAIN. ) 



The nu\v elections which took place in Bel- 

 gium somewhat reduced the majority of the 

 Catholic party in the two Chambers of tlio 

 luture, without, however, destroying it in 

 cither. The advantage thus gained by the 

 Liberals was, however, more than neutralized 

 1'V the widening breach between the more 

 moderate wing of the Liberals and the Kadi- 

 Gals. (See BELGIUM.) 



The Government of the Netherlands did not 

 succeed in bringing the war against the sultan- 

 ate of Acheen to a close. The Craton, the 

 stronghold of the Achinese on the coast, was 

 occupied, and the commanding general of the 

 1 Mitch issued a proclamation of annexation, but 

 the brave Achinese, stimulated by religious 

 fanaticism, persisted in a stubborn resistance 

 and compelled the Dutch Government to fit 

 out a third expedition. The thorough discus- 

 sion of the policy pursued by the Government 

 in the East Indian colonies convinced the 

 Dutch Chambers of the indispensable necessity 

 of sweeping reforms in the administration of 

 the colonies. (See NETHERLANDS.) 



In the three Scandinavian kingdoms a cur- 

 rent of friendly feeling toward the kindred 

 people of Germany appears to have set in and 

 to gather strength. The expulsion of some 

 Danish agitators from Schleswig, by order of 

 the Prussian Government, gave for a time new 

 fuel to the irritation of the Danes who still 

 complain of the non-compliance on the part 

 of Germany with the fifth article of the Peace 

 of Prague, which provides for taking a vote of 

 the inhabitants of Northern Schleswig on the 

 question whether they will belong to Germany 

 or to Denmark. The statistics of the votes cast 

 in Northern Schleswig at the last elections for 

 the German Reichstag show, however, that 

 the German nationality is making rapid prog- 

 ress, and it is likely to be soon in the ascen- 

 dency. The long conflict between the people 

 of Iceland and the Danish Government was 

 terminated by the royal assent to the new lib- 

 eral Constitution of Iceland. In the Danish 

 Diet the uncompromising opposition of the 

 majority of the Folkething to the policy of the 

 ministry continued. The principles of the op- 

 position assume more and more a republican 

 character, and may ere long lead to serious 

 complications. (See DENMARK and SWEDEN.) 



The population of Europe at the close of 

 1874 was estimated atabout 300,921,000 against 

 801,281,000 in 1873. The apparent decrease is 

 due to a more accurate statement of the pop- 

 ulation of Turkey, which, according to the con- 



current opinion of the best authorities, is not to 

 large as had formerly been assumed. The fol- 

 lowing table exhibits the area and population 

 of the countries of Europe, arranged according 

 to the number of inhabitants, the iri<! 

 countries being either dependencies or tributary 

 states so small as to be only nominally inde- 

 pendent, and virtually dependent upon the 

 larger country, the name of which precedes 

 theirs : 



The number of Catholics is estimated at 

 147,500,000, or 49.1 per cent, of the total popu- 

 lation ; the number of Protestants at 71,760,- 

 000, or 23.9 per cent. ; the number of Greek 

 Catholics at 69,350,000, or 23.1 per cent. ; the 

 number of Jews at 5,000,000 ; the number of 

 Mohammedans at 6,400,000. Included in the 

 number of the Catholics are about 100,000 Old 

 Catholics. 



The area and population of the foreign col- 

 onies of European states were estimated, at 

 the close of 1874, as follows : 



EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. The Brit- 

 ish Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance visited 

 the French and the Italian branches of the or- 

 ganization during October, for the purpose, 

 chiefly, of obtaining an expression of their 

 preferences as to the place in which the next 

 General Conference of the Alliance should be 



