EUROPE. 



the French population above 20 years of age who | 

 were unable to read or write, as well as 20 per 

 cent, of those under 20 years. Perhaps the cause 

 of this lies to some extent in the hostile attitude 

 of the dominant church to enlightened instruction. 

 Roman Catholic children seldom remain at school 

 .after eleven or twelve years of age, and are conse- 

 quently apt to forget, in after-years, the little they 

 may have been indifferently taught But the 

 quality of education varies in different parts of the 

 country ; in the east and north, it is more general 

 .and more effective than in the southern districts. 



With respect to national industry, France may 

 be regarded more as an agricultural than a manu- 

 facturing country. By the law of inheritance, the 

 property of a father is divided equally among his 

 children ; and consequently, there is a progres- 

 sive tendency to more minute divisions and sub- 

 divisions of the land. According to the latest 

 official returns, the cultivated land of France, em- 

 bracing an area of 90,000,000 acres, was divided 

 into 5,550,000 distinct properties. Of these prop- 

 erties, over 5,000,000 were under six acres in I 

 extent, and the result is a generally mean condi- 

 tion of rural affairs, and a deficiency of high-class 

 systematic agriculture. The chief agricultural 

 product is bread-corn, chiefly wheat The next 

 article in importance is wine. Silk and olive-oil 

 .are largely produced in the south ; and from beet- 

 root are manufactured yearly above 300 million 

 pounds of sugar. Poultry is a more important 

 article of agricultural produce in France than 

 elsewhere. In manufactures, France ranks next 

 to Great Britain. The leading articles are silks, 

 woollens, tapestry, shawls, cotton, shoes, gloves, 

 hardware, &c. The French specially excel in 

 articles of ornament and mode, wherever skill and 

 taste are required, and the manufacturer must 

 also be an artist. Ship-building is carried on at 

 Rochefort, Brest, Cherbourg, &c. ; and in engine- 

 building and other heavy machinery, the French 

 are beginning to attain considerable eminence. 

 'The commerce of France has enormously in- 

 creased since the peace in 1815 ; the annual 

 value of her imports and exports together, during 

 the fifteen years from 1867 to 1881, being on an 

 average nearly 240 millions sterling. The num- 

 ber of vessels that entered the harbours of France 

 in 1881 were 35,420, with a tonnage of 11,675,750; 

 departures, 23,373 vessels, tonnage, 7,527,000. j 

 The mercantile marine in 1880 consisted of 15,058 

 vessels, having a tonnage of 919,298 ; of these, 

 652 were steamers, with a tonnage of 277,760. 

 The internal communication of the country is 

 carried on by well-kept roads these being classed 

 into national, departmental, and communal, ac- 

 cording as they are upheld by the government, or 

 by the departments and communes to which they 

 belong ; by river-navigation, of which there is 

 upwards of 5616 miles ; by 2250 miles of canal ; 

 and by railways, of which, according to the official 

 report of 1882, about 16,500 miles are in operation. 

 About 10,000 miles more are arranged for. 



The government of France has repeatedly 

 changed its form since the first great Revolution 

 in the end of the eighteenth century. On Sep- 

 tember 4, 1870, the Emperor Napoleon III. was 

 declared to be no longer the head of the state, 

 and a republic was proclaimed. At the close of 

 1872, the supreme power was vested in a National 

 Assembly, with whom rests the nomination of the 



chief officer of the state, bearing the title of Presi- 

 dent of the French Republic. He is authorised 

 to execute all laws and ordinances passed by 

 the Assembly. The Assembly consists of two 

 houses the Chamber of Deputies with 584 mem- 

 bers ; and the Senate of 300 members. There 

 are nine administrative departments : (i) the 

 Ministry of Justice ; (2) of Foreign Affairs ; (3) 

 of Finance ; (4) of the Interior ; (5) of War ; 

 (6) of Marine and Colonies ; (7) of Public In- 

 struction and Worship ; (8) of Agriculture 

 and Commerce; (9) of Public Works. In 1882, 

 the revenue amounted to about 2,856,500,000 

 francs (.114,000,000), and the expenses to about 

 3,315,000,000 francs (.132,500,000). In the same 

 year the public debt was about ^960,000,000, 

 one half of which was incurred in the dreadful 

 war of 1870. The army, according to the govern- 

 ment estimates of 1882, is calculated at 498,500 

 men ; the effect of the new law of military service 

 passed by the National Assembly in 1872, being 

 that practically the whole French people are sub- 

 jected to military drill. The capital is Paris, with 

 a population (in 1881) of 2,269,023. 



SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 



These two perfectly distinct and independent 

 kingdoms belong to a region so unique in char- 

 acter and situation, that we shall treat them, in 

 regard to their physical geography, as one. This 

 region, commonly known in Britain as ' the Pen- 

 insula,' lies at the south-western extremity of the 

 European continent, with which it is connected 

 by an isthmus 230 miles broad, and is situated 

 between lat. 36 and 43 46' north, and between 

 long. 3 20' east and 9 30' west. It is bounded 

 on the north by the Bay of Biscay, and by France, 

 from which it is separated by the Pyrenees ; on 

 the east, by the Mediterranean ; on the south, by 

 the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar, and 

 the Atlantic ; and on the west, wholly by the 

 Atlantic. The only islands geographically con- 

 nected are the Balearic an important group, ex- 

 hibiting in miniature all the characteristic features 

 of the mainland. The area thus included is com- 

 puted at 231,577 square miles, of which 195,766 

 belong to Spain, and 35,811 to Portugal. 



In superficial character, the Peninsula is 

 decidedly mountainous. The interior may be 

 considered as one vast table-land, from 2000 to 

 3000 feet above the level of the sea, traversed by 

 numerous mountains, and intersected by rivers. 

 Around this central nucleus extends a narrow belt 

 of maritime low land, sloping gradually towards 

 the sea, and broken into an alternation of hills 

 and valleys, which produce a most agreeable 

 variety of aspect, and present a pleasing contrast 

 to the bleak and barren sameness by which the 

 central region is characterired. The principal 

 mountain chains, all of which run east and west 

 across the Peninsula, are : (i) the Cantabrian 

 Mountains and the Pyrenees, forming the most 

 northern range ; (2) the Sierra de Guadarrama ; 

 (3) the Sierra de Toledo ; (4) Sierra Morena ; (5) 

 the Sierra Nevada, running parallel to the shores 

 of the Mediterranean. Between these ranges flow 

 the great rivers of the Peninsula the Ebro, the 

 Douro, the Tagus, the Guadiana, and the Guadal- 

 quivir, all of which, except the first, discharge 

 their waters into the Atlantic, and form channels 



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