80 



BELGIUM. 



BICYCLES AND TRICYCLES. 



gar to counteract the bounties of other coun- 

 tries. The new French sugar law was ex- 

 pected to close to Belgian producers the French 

 market, which took three fifths of their ex- 

 ports of raw sugar. 



On the 31st of August, the day after the 

 school bill passed the Chamber, a monster pro- 

 cession of Liberals marched with a petition to 

 the King's palace. The Clericals organized a 

 counter-manifestation for the following Sun- 

 day. As many as 160,000 people were brought 

 to Brussels from all parts of the kingdom. 

 The Liberals gathered in vast numbers on the 

 streets, all wearing a blue flower as a party 

 badge. The peasantry, who composed the 

 bulk of the procession, were as ripe for a col- 

 lision as the turbulent populace of the town. 

 Some of the inscriptions on their banners ex- 

 pressed in insulting language their ancient en- 

 mity toward the people of the capital. But 

 besides the peasants many noblemen, burgo- 

 masters, and politicians marched in the line. 

 Black flags indicative of mourning and carica- 

 tures of priests hung in effigy were displayed. 

 The citizens were many of them armed with 

 sticks, and in front of the Bourse they blocked 

 the way, and, charging upon the ranks of the 

 demonstrators, carried off many of the obnox- 

 ious banners. The countrymen defended them- 

 selves stoutly, but the procession was broken 

 up, only 3,000 reaching the palace to hand in 

 the petition addressed to the King. The mu- 

 nicipal authorities, who were condemned for 

 not making better provisions against a breach 

 of the peace, requested the assistance of the 

 military. Troops of cavalry charged into the 

 crowd many times, trampling down eighty 

 persons before the mob was dispersed. Many 

 people were injured, but no lives were lost. 



The school -bill of M. Jacobs passed the 

 House of Deputies by a majority of 80 to 49, 

 August 30. The only concession made by the 

 Government was to allow discharged teachers 

 an indemnity of 750 francs. "When the major- 

 ity rejected the proposition to require that the 

 clerical teachers should be Belgian citizens, 

 the Liberals withdrew all their amendments. 

 The King postponed for some time the signing 

 of the act. It was promulgated September 22. 

 The Liberals bent all their energies to gain the 

 communal elections in October. They de- 

 manded that the King should regard thes'e as a 

 criterion as to whether the country had given 

 Parliament a mandate to destroy the state 

 school system. In the elections of October 

 13th they won a decisive victory in all the im- 

 portant towns except Mechlin. In these elec- 

 tions the franchise is wider than in the parlia- 

 mentary elections ; it belongs to all who pay 

 10 francs in direct taxes, and to an additional 

 class of recently created electors. There was 

 a very large vote, however, chat had been cast 

 for the Conservatives in the June and July 

 elections which now returned to the Liberals. 

 The King had firmly withstood the clamor 

 that sought to deter him from signing the 



school law, declaring that he would follow the 

 strictly constitutional course. The expression 

 of the popular will at the polls King Leopold 

 was too wise to ignore. It was one of the 

 rare conjunctures when a constitutional mon- 

 arch has to determine whether a ministry with 

 a parliamentary majority behind them are the 

 exponent of the national will. The country 

 was on the brink of revolution on account of 

 the educational question. A precedent was 

 not wanting, since in 1857 a Clerical ministry 

 went out in consequence of a party reverse 

 in the municipal elections. The King conse- 

 quently requested the retirement of the two 

 Ultramontane ministers, Jacobs and Woeste. 

 The Cabinet replied that they must stand or 

 fall together ; but, after consultation with the 

 deputies and senators of the Right, the two 

 obnoxious ministers and M. Malou, who re- 

 fused to remain at the head of affairs, handed 

 in their resignations alone. M. Bernaert suc- 

 ceeded in the premiership, taking the Ministry 

 of Finance; M. Jacobs was succeeded in the 

 Ministry of the Interior by Prof. Thomssen, 

 of Lou vain ; Chevalier Moreau took the Min- 

 istry of Commerce and Agriculture, giving up 

 that of Foreign Affairs to Prince Caraman- 

 Chinay ; M. de Voider was appointed Minister 

 of Justice ; M. Vandenpeereboom remained 

 Minister of Railways, and Gen. Pontus, Minis- 

 ter of War. The ministers took office as an in- 

 terim ministry for the purpose of securing the 

 voting of the estimates and dissolving Parlia- 

 ment in the spring or at r.n early period. They 

 were intrusted solely with the establishment 

 of an army reserve, which Gen. Pontus made 

 a condition of retaining office. The scheme 

 adopted was to form a reserve of 30,000 men 

 by extending to thirteen years the period during 

 which the soldiers who have served their time 

 are obliged to rejoin the army in the case of 

 mobilization. 



BICYCLES AND TRICYCLES. Construction. The 

 bicycle is a vehicle having two wheels in the 

 same plane, connected by a backbone or perch, 

 the fore-wheel having about three times the 

 diameter of the rear-wheel. The fore-wheel, 

 constructed on the suspension principle, has a 

 rubber tire set in a U-shaped rim, direct spokes 

 of small steel wire, and an axle fixed to rotate 

 with it; it is set in such a frame and mount- 

 ed in such a way as to constitute at once the 

 driving, guiding, and substantially supporting 

 wheel of the vehicle. The remainder consists 

 of a smaller suspension- wheel, similarly con- 

 structed (except that its axle does not rotate 

 with it), having its bearings in the lower forked 

 end of a hollow cylindrical perch, which ex- 

 tends upward and in a curved line over the 

 large wheel ; at this upper end it takes a swiv- 

 eled or socket joint perpendicular to the axle, 

 and immediately above the periphery of the 

 large wheel, in a closed head or upper part of 

 an elliptical hollow fork ; the perch bears on it 

 a step to mount by, and a saddle and spring for 

 the rider; the fork, extending downward on 





