66 



BELGIUM. 



place. These elections, which occur every sec- 

 ond year, are arranged so that the arrondisse- 

 ments which elect senators do not elect rep- 

 resentatives and vice versa. This time various 

 arrondissements whose representation has been 

 recently increased had to elect also four addi- 

 tional senators and eight additional members 

 of the Chamber. Till now the proportion of 

 parties was in the Senate thirty-three Catho- 

 lics and twenty-nine Liberals, and in the Cham- 

 ber sixty-eight Catholics and fifty-six Liberals. 

 The result of the election was a complete sur- 

 prise to every one. The Liberal party obtained 

 a majority in the Chamber of ten and in the 

 Senate of six. In the arrondissement of Ghent, 

 the defection of which in 1870 from the Lib- 

 eral cause was the occasion of the accession of 

 the Clericals to power, the Clericals were com- 

 pletely defeated. In consequence of this result, 

 the Ministry resigned, and M. Frere-Orban, 

 one of the leaders of the Liberals in the Cham- 

 ber, was intrusted with the formation of a new 



Cabinet, which was constituted as follows : M. 

 Frere-Orban, President of the Council and Min- 

 ister of Foreign Affairs ; M. Bara, Minister of 

 Justice ; M. Van Humbeek, Minister of Public 

 Instruction ; M. Sainctelette, Minister of Pub- 

 lic Works ; M. Graux, Minister of Finance ; 

 M. Rolin Jacquerneyns, Minister of the Inte- 

 rior ; and General Renard, Minister of War. 



An extraordinary session of the Chambers 

 was opened on July 23d. M. Rogier, a member 

 of the Belgian Congress of 1830, was elected 

 President of the Chamber of Representatives. 

 On August 7th the Chamber adopted a bill for 

 the creation of a Ministry of Public Instruction. 



The twenty-fifth year after the marriage of 

 the King and Queen was celebrated in Brussels 

 from August 22d to the 25th. All the large cities 

 of the kingdom had sent deputations to express 

 their congratulations. Among the presents 

 was a crown and a lace train of great value 

 presented by the women of the kingdom, and 

 a diadem presented by the city of Brussels. 



THE PLACE ST. PHARAILDE, AND GATEWAY OP THE OLD CASTLE OP THE COUNTS OF FLANDERS. 



The communal elections took place on Octo- 

 ber 29th, and likewise resulted in favor of the 

 Liberals. Of the nine provincial capitals, only 

 one, Bruges, remains in the hands of the Cath- 

 olic party. Among the towns in which the 

 Liberals have this year gained the ascendancy 

 are Malines, Eeclo, Tongern, and Marche. They 

 also retain their endangered majority in Lou- 

 vain, Tournay, Charleroi, and Ypres. In some 

 places, however, as in Liege, the Catholic mi- 

 norities have somewhat increased in strength. 



The Chambers were opened by the King on 

 November 12th. The King, in the speech from 

 the throne, said that at no period had the re- 

 lations between Belgium and other states been 

 more influenced by feelings of esteem and con- 

 fidence than at the present time. On the edu- 



cational question the King said that the instruc- 

 tion given at the expense of the state should 

 be placed under the exclusive control of the 

 civil authorities, whose mission would be to 

 imbue the young with respect for the laws and 

 institutions of their country. Various bills 

 would be presented to the Chambers on this 

 subject. Proceeding to speak of the army, he 

 showed that its organization was still incom- 

 plete, and mentioned the necessity for the cre- 

 ation of a national reserve. The civic guard 

 should also be efficiently armed. Alluding to 

 the state of trade, the King expressed the hope 

 that the industrial crisis was now past, and 

 stated that the Government was endeavoring 

 to find means to alleviate the distress of those 

 affected by it. Public works were being ac- 



