DENMARK. 



209 



The following table exhibits the value (in 

 crowns) of Danish commerce in 1879 : 



The aggregate length of railroads in opera- 

 tion in 1879 was 1,576 kilometres (1 kilometre 

 = 0'62 mile) ; of these, 1,240 kilometres be- 

 longed to the state and 335 to private compa- 

 nies. The number of post-offices was, in 1879, 

 164; the number of letters and postal-cards 

 mailed, 27,422,333 ; of merchandise and printed 

 matter, 2,195,221 ; of newspapers, 25,733,527. 

 The aggregate length of state telegraph lines 

 was 3,444 kilometres; of wires, 9,115; the 

 number of telegraph-offices was 124. Besides 

 the state telegraph lines there were 137 offices 

 of railroad telegraphs opened to the public. 

 The number of dispatches sent in 1879 was as 

 follows: 422,848 inland, 522,147 international, 

 and 24,128 service dispatches, making a total 

 of 969,123 dispatches. 



Denmark found herself during this year in 

 a dilemma such as had not before arisen in 

 any constitutional country. The financial pol- 

 icy propounded by the ministry met the views 

 of the Second Chamber. But the popular 

 Chamber opposed totally the financial projects 

 of the Cabinet, and refused, by a large major- 

 ity, to agree to the budget until it should be 

 stripped of every feature attaching to the fiscal 

 policy of the Government. The Cabinet did 

 not feel called upon to resign as long as they 

 reflected the opinions of a firm majority in 

 the co-ordinate branch, and since their policy 

 and their course of action met with the hearty 

 approval of the King. An appeal to the coun- 

 try resulted in the re-election of the same men 

 to the popular assembly, and thus rendered 

 more hopeless any escape from the difficulty 

 except the complete surrender of its legislative 

 authority by the Senate. Parliament was dis- 

 solved by the advice of the ministry a second 

 time, the third dissolution during the whole 

 contest. The people responded by electing a 

 still heavier majority of the Opposition party. 

 VOL. xxi. 14 A 



The Left, in order that they might carry on 

 the conflict with the Landsthing and the King 

 to the end, voted temporary supplies for the 

 regular expenses of Government. The Lands- 

 thing agreed to this measure of relief with re- 

 luctance. Upon its term of expiration it was 

 continued indefinitely, pending the struggle 

 over the budget. 



The contest resolved itself into the question 

 whether the Government was not answerable 

 to the people, and ought not to submit to the 

 clearly expressed will of the country, as de- 

 clared by universal suffrage. Estrup and his 

 colleagues in the ministry insisted as a matter 

 of principle that the authority of the Second 

 Chamber and the prerogative of the crown 

 should not be subordinated to the popular 

 branch of the Legislature. The opposition, led 

 by Berg and Holstein-Ledreberg, determined 

 to carry through the principle that the Lower 

 House should entirely control the supplies, and 

 that the arbitrament of the ballot should be 

 decisive in the politics of the country. The 

 ministry withdrew nearly the whole of the 

 disputed items in the budget, until it was no 

 longer a question of financial policy. The in- 

 significant sum, which the ministry still in- 

 sisted upon and the Opposition objected to, 

 was a mere pretext, the real issue being the 

 responsibility of the ministry to the people. 

 The Left demanded the resignation of the min- 

 istry and the formation of a Cabinet from their 

 own ranks, and, in case this did not remove 

 the difficulty, the dissolution of the Landsthing. 



Measures for the acquisition of railroads by 

 the state were carried in the Folkething in 

 January. It was voted to acquire the East 

 Jutland road, and to construct the projected 

 railways from Tommerop to Assens, and from 

 Kivo to Glyagoro. 



The right to furnish passing ships with vict- 

 uals and marine stores out of the bonded ware- 

 houses of Helsingor without the payment of 

 duty, has been granted. 



The question of civil marriage came up in 

 the Folkething on the occasion of a private bill. 

 Civil marriage has existed since 1851, but only 

 for dissenters from the national church. It 

 appeared that clergymen frequently refused to 

 marry divorced persons, being prompted by 

 their religious scruples to defy the law. A 

 bill was introduced to extend civil marriage to 

 divorced persons. In a mutual interchange of 

 opinions several spoke in favor of making the 

 civil form general and obligatory. 



Three differences of long standing existed 

 between the Government and the representa- 

 tive body. The Government desired to pre- 

 serve the university fund intact, and pay 



