66 



BELGIUM. 



port that the large breweries which paid the 

 highest taxes also paid much more in propor- 

 tion than the smaller establishments. Another 

 interesting fact was that the number of private 

 brewers had increased beyond all expectation, 

 the Chancellor of the Exchequer stating the 

 amount received in fees from this source dur- 

 ing the fiscal year, 1881 to 1882, at 46,000. 



The total number of breweries on September 

 30, 1880, and the number doing business dur- 

 ing the year 1880-'81, were as follows : 



The general result of the new tax, according 

 to these figures, seems to be a closing of the 

 smaller breweries; for, if the 2,183 beginners 

 of the year 1880 are added to those producing 

 less than 1,000 barrels, a total of 18,953 results, 

 which number was reduced to 14,948 in the 

 first year under the new tax, showing a de- 

 crease of 4,005. The total amount of the beer- 

 tax, inclusive of licenses, during the fiscal 

 year ending March 31, 1882, was 8,500,000, 

 while in the last fiscal year, under the old tax, 

 which ended on March 31, 1880, the total beer- 

 tax amounted to 7,727,000, showing a surplus 

 of 853,000. 



BELGIUM. The census of December 31, 

 1880, makes the total population of Belgium 

 5,519,844. The mean density of population is 

 187 inhabitants per square kilometre. The 

 kingdom is divided into 41 administrative ar- 

 rondissements and 2,583 communes. The pop- 

 ulation of the different provinces is as fol- 

 lows: 



The population of Belgium at former censuses 

 was 5,087,826 in 1870, 4,731,957 in 1860, 4,426,- 

 202 in 1850, and 4,073,162 in 1840. In 1870 the 

 province of Antwerp had 492,482 inhabitants ; 

 Brabant, 879,814; West Flanders, 668,976; 

 East Flanders, 837,726; Hainault, 897,006; 

 Liege, 592,177; Limburg, 200,336 ; Luxemburg, 

 205,784; and Namur, 313,525. The population 

 has increased most in the arrondissements of 

 Oharleroi (160 per cent), Brussels (91 per cent), 

 Antwerp (89 per cent), Liege (82 per cent), 

 Verviers (63 per cent), and Mons (49 per cent) ; 

 it remained nearly stationary in those of Bruges, 

 Fumes, Ypres, Courtrai, and Tournai, and di- 

 minished in those of Audenarde, Thielt, and 

 Ath. 



AREA. The total area of the kingdom is 2,- 

 945,516 hectares, about 11,373 square miles. 

 The number of agricultural holdings has in- 

 creased from 5,720,976 in 1845 to 6,472,845 in 

 1880. Their average size is a little over an 

 acre. 



OCCUPATIONS. The statistics of occupations 

 show that 773,698 persons are employed in 

 agricultural pursuits : 267,940 in the clothing 

 trades, 185,658 in textile manufacture, 139,612 

 in domestic service, 131,311 in the building 

 trades, 110,139 in food manufactures, and 83,- 

 363 in the coal and iron industry. There are 

 8,146 in the employment of the Government, 

 18,196 religious, and 50,804 landlords and cap- 

 italists. Of the population above the age of 

 seven years, 58 per cent know how to read and 

 write ; above the age of thirty -five, the propor- 

 tion is 49 per cent, and below the age of four- 

 teen it is 72 per cent. In 1866, 32 per cent of 

 the population was married. In 1840 there 

 was one divorce to every 1,175 marriages ; in 

 1865, one to every 739 ; and in 1880, one to ev- 

 ery 182. The excess of births over deaths was 

 33 per cent in 1840, 28 per cent in 1865, and 39 

 per cent in 1880. The percentage of illegiti- 

 mate births was 8 per cent in 1880, an increase 

 of 2 per cent since 1840. 



CHAMBEBS. The representation in the Cham- 

 ber of Deputies was increased by six, and in 

 the Senate by three seats, by a law introduced 

 by the Government to give effect to the pro- 

 visions of the Constitution requiring one dep- 

 uty to be chosen to every 40,000 inhabitants, 

 and half as many senators as there are dep- 

 uties. The present numbers are 138 and 69. 

 A new oath has been adopted in criminal pro- 

 cedure which runs as follows: "I swear be- 

 fore God and man to speak without hate or 

 fear, and tell the whole truth and nothing but 

 the truth." Whoever declares that he has con- 

 scientious scruples against swearing can use the 

 formula, " I solemnly promise to speak," etc. 

 POLITICAL QUESTIONS. Political activity in 

 Belgium is confined to the protracted conflict 

 over education, and the rights and status of the 

 Roman Catholic clergy in the state. In the 

 elections in June the Liberals gained a slight 

 advantage, increasing their majority in the 

 Lower Chamber from fourteen to sixteen, while 





