io 4 o HOLLAND 



The imports from England were valued at 24,500,000, and the exports to England at 

 41,600,000, while for Prussia the figures were about 57,200,000 and 104,000,000. 



Mining remains restricted to the south of Limburg, but there it extends over a larger 

 surface every year. Stone, used for building, has for years no longer been obtained from the 

 St. Pietersberg near Maastricht but is now found near Valkenberg, Libbe and other places 

 in the Geul valley; 6 coal-mines are being worked, four of which are in private hands and 

 two belong to the state; these six mines, lying in the neighbourhood of Kerkrade and Heerlen, 

 in 1910 produced 1,292,289 tons (1,000 kilograms) of coal, worth 8.2 million guilders, and the 

 number of men working in them was 7,238, of whom 5,574 were Dutchmen. In 1912 a bill 

 was passed to enlarge the territory of the state mines by buying the so-called Maas-fields. 

 The rich layers of coal which by deep borings have been found in the north of Limburg, 

 the east of North Brabant, and the east of Gelderland, are not being worked yet, 

 neither are the salt-layers near Winterswijk, although the salt is very pure and thick. 



So far the working of coal-mines has not had any influence on industrial activity, and the 

 little iron ore that is found in Overyssel and Gelderland has not been smelted in Holland 

 since 1885. Yet industrial activity in Holland has become livelier of late years; it manu- 

 factures and sends abroad excavating machines, such as dredgers, suction dredgers, elevators, 

 etc. The most important branch of industry, however, is that of textiles, especially cotton. 



Finance. The budget, in millions of guilders (12 guil. = 1), has shown the following 

 figures: 



Year. Exp. Rev. Year. Exp. Rev. 



1909 .... 1974 I9I-3 I9H .... 213.4 195.5 



1910 .... 204.7 !99-5 J 9 12 (est.) . . 222. 202. 



The national debt in 1912 amounted to 1,105,000,000 guilders, on which 32,400,000 

 guilders interest has to be paid. 



Defence. As to the army, in 1911 a new bill (the Militia Bill) was passed, which brought 

 the yearly contingent of the army militia from 17,500 up to 23,000, that of the navy militia 

 from 600 up to looo. In the same year a bill was passed for the raising of officers' pay, after 

 the government in 1910 had had to take back a bill on this subject, which had caused the 

 minister of war to resign. This was specially of importance, because in consequence of this 

 the bill for the improvement of the defence of the coast was also postponed. This bill, 

 which necessitated an expenditure of 46 million guilders and provided amongst other things 

 for the building of a fortress at Flushing, had attracted much notice abroad. In 1912 

 the government presented a new bill, more restricted and consequently less expensive, for 

 the defence of the coast, in which the fortress at Flushing is kept. 



Education. Mention must be made of the largely increased number of private sectarian 

 schools of late years, since they are largely subsidised by the state. In 1912 the Rijksland- 

 bouwschool (state agricultural college) was removed from Wageningen to Groningen and 

 an Indian agricultural school was founded at Deventer. The college for higher education 

 in agriculture, horticulture and forestry remains at Wageningen. The University of 

 Groningen, totally destroyed by fire on the 3Oth of August 1906, was rebult in a more modern 

 style, and the number of laboratories and other scientific institutions, which was already 

 large before, was further increased. At The Hague there was founded an Academy for the 

 Government of the Dutch Indies (1909), for the higher education of officials there. 



Dutch Colonies. The Dutch colonies in the Malay Archipelago have now a population 

 of 38,000,000, of whom 80,000 are Europeans, 570,000 Chinese, 30,000 Arabs, and 23,000 

 other immigrant Asiatics. The population of Java alone is 30,100,000, 65,000 being Eu- 

 ropeans, 300,000 Chinese, 19,000 Arabs, and 2,800 other immigrant Asiatics. Of late years 

 Dutch authority has been extended over many regions where hitherto it had only existed in 

 name or not at all, such as the interior of Celebes, Flores, Soemba, Soembawa, Timor, Ceram, 

 etc. The interior of Sumatra has also been subjected entirely and a new residence (Djambi) 

 formed there, while the sultan of Riouw has been dethroned. Of special importance is the 

 increased knowledge gained of Central Celebes and South New Guinea, where the Snow 

 Mountains were reached and snow summits were discovered of more than 16,700 ft., such 

 as the Carstenz, Juliana and Wilhelmina summits. This was accomplished in 1909 by an 

 expedition under Mr. H. A. Lorentz, who already in 1907 had pushed his way from the 

 East-bay, along the North river to the Hellwig mountains, a promontory of the Snow Moun- 

 tains. In order to determine the boundary between Dutch and German New Guinea a 

 great combined expedition was at work in 1910 in the basin of the Empress Augusta river. 

 New Guinea was visited not only by Dutch travellers, civil service men and officers, but 

 also by foreigners, such as the Englishman Pratt, the Swiss Hirschi, and the Dane Mikkel- 

 sen. _ Especially remarkable was the discovery in South New Guinea of pygmies, and also 

 of tribes who are still living in the Stone Age, as the use of metals is unknown to them. 

 Another Dutch scientific expedition left Holland in August 1912 for South New Guinea to 

 continue the work begun by the Lorentz expedition. Conducted by Captain A. Franssen 

 Herderschee it will examine the Central Mountains above a height of 2,300 meters (7,666 ft.), 

 the part that was not examined by the preceding expedition. Other important explorations 



