NETHERLANDS. 



487 



jM>ru of home produce for the same year were 

 ..;.'. IMIO Builders. The imports of iron ami 

 -ted iii !*! e re valued at 125,552,000 guilders, 

 and the exports at 86,249,000 guilders; imports 

 .tiles at 101,423,000, and exports at 111,- 

 819,000 guilders ; imports of cereals at 192,1:.'?,- 

 Odd, and exports nt lO^.-l.'^.lKM) guilders; im- 

 port, of coal at :;s.s:::5,0(H). and exports at 2,:;t>i;.- 

 (Hid -uilders: imports of rice at 89,873,00(1, and 

 exports at 1 1,034,001) guilders; imports of min- 

 i-nil oil at 25,954,000, and exports at 428,000 

 guilders; imports of coffee at :M,980,(XK), and 

 exports at 24,007,000 guilders; imports of but- 

 ter at 3,200,000, and exports at 31.044,000 guild- 

 ers : imports of cheese at 88,000, and exports at 

 10.010.000 guilders; imports of drugs at 174,- 

 694,000, and exports at 116,120,000 guilders; 

 imports of vegetables at 981,000, and exports at 

 19,662,000 guilders ; imports of wood at 24,031,- 

 (Mto. and exports at 12,783,000 guilders: imports 

 of skins at 19,178,000, and exports at 20,505,000 

 guilders ; imports of copper at 37,922,000, and 

 exports at 18,652,000 guilders; imports of soot, 



frease, and tallow at 48,995,000, and exports at 

 7,114,000 guilders; imports of saltpeter at 13,- 

 958,000, and exports at '13,383,000 guilders; im- 

 ports of zinc at 10,930.000, and exports at 9,171,- 

 000 guilders; imports of tobacco at 7,612,000, 

 and exports at 3,731,000 guilders; imports of 

 tin at 9.276,000, and exports at 10,498,000 guild- 

 ers; imports of colors at 12,016,000, and exports 

 at 10,699,000 guilders; imports of seeds at 26,- 

 306,000, and exports at 9,072,000 guilders. The 

 imports of bulbs, shrubs, and trees were valued 

 for 1890 at 217,000, and the exports at 5,012,000 

 guilders. Very little coal is mined in the king- 

 dom, only 298,585 guilders' worth of coal being 

 extracted in 1890. In the same year 4,326 ves- 

 sels, with crews numbering about 15,250, were 

 engaged in the fisheries, the herring catch alone 

 amounting to 5,909,495 guilders, and the pro- 

 duction of oysters numbering 51,237,506. There 

 were, in 1890, 544 distilleries, 12 sugar refineries, 

 30 beet-sugar manufactories, 53 salt works, 543 

 breweries, !)0 vinegar manufactories, 91 soap 

 manufactories, and 3 wine manufactories. 



Navigation. In 1890 the Dutch mercantile 

 navy consisted of 500 sailing vessels, of 360,- 

 000' M 8 (2-83 cubic metres = 1 ton), and of 118 

 steamers of 364,000 M 3 . There entered the ports 

 of the Netherlands 8,711 vessels, of 14,878,000 M 8 , 

 with cargoes, and 764 vessels, of 535,000 M 8 , in 

 ballast ; there cleared from the ports 5,931 ves- 

 sels, of 8,511,000 M 8 , with cargoes, and 3,272 ves- 

 sels, of 6,745,000 MVin ballast. Of the total 

 number of vessels entered, 2,623, of a tonnage of 

 1. 1 J.'i.oOO M 8 , and of the vessels cleared, 2,613, of 

 4.41 1.000 M 8 , were Dutch. 



Session of the Parliament. The session of 

 the States-General was opened by the Queen-Re- 

 gent on Sept. 20, 1892. The speech from the 

 throne stated that the general condition of the 

 country was good, although trade, navigation, 

 and manufactures were only fairly prosperous. 

 Hills were announced dealing with electoral re- 

 forms applicable to the States-General and Pro- 

 vincial Assemblies, and measures for profes- 

 sional and trade taxation, for reforming the 

 army and strengthening the navy, and for ef- 

 fectual social reforms, would be introduced. In 

 regard to the Dutch Indies, bills would be pro- 



posed dealing with the army, finance, coffee cul- 

 ture, and the working of mine-. In t lie budget 

 for 1893, as presented to the .statcs-d. 

 the revenue is estimated at rjx.OOO.fXX) guilder?-. 

 and the exj)enditure at i:!l,MM).<XH) guilder-. 

 The expenditure includes a sum of 5,000.000 

 guilders for railroads and canal- and a naval 

 credit of 1,500,000 guilder.-. The deficit of 

 3,800,000 guilders will be covered by an addi- 

 tion to the floating debt. 



Taxation Reforms. An impoitant measure 

 was passed by the States-General on .July 22, 

 1892. namely, the law dealing with reforms of 

 the finances and taxation. Nine times within 

 forty vears have attempts been made to abolish 

 the old system of taxation and to introduce 

 measures juster and more applicable to modern 

 requirements, but every time such measures 

 were defeated by the combined efforts of the 

 Anti-Revolutionists and the Clericals, who were 

 opposed to any bill originated by a Liberal min- 

 istry. Minister of Finance Pierson finally MIC- 

 ceeded in molding a series of reforms which 

 were passed by the States-General. The main 

 reform was that of imposing a tax on capital 

 consisting of either real or personal property. 

 Any capital below 13,000 guilders is exempt from 

 taxation ; properties between 13,000 and 14,000 

 guilders pay a fixed tax of 2 to 4 guilders, and 

 those from '15,000 to 200.000 guilders pay 1-25 

 guilders per mille. A capital of 200,000 guil- 

 ders and upward pay a fixed tax of 237'50 guil- 

 ders, and in addition 2 guilders for every thou- 

 sand above the sum of 200,000 guilders. Kvei y 

 capital of 15,000 guilders and upward is en- 

 titled to an exemption from taxation of the first 

 10,000 guilders. A second reform was the total 

 abolition of the excise duty on soap, and a re- 

 duction of the import duty, which was fixed at 

 4 guilders per 100 kilogrammes on perfumed 

 and transparent soaps, 2 guilders on all other 

 dry soaps, and 1 guilder on soft soap. The tax 

 on the transfer of real property was reduced 

 from 6-27 per cent, to 2-15 per cent of the value 

 of the transfer, and the excise duty on salt was 

 reduced from 9 to 4 guilders per 100 kilo- 

 grammes. The deficit occasioned by the reduc- 

 tions of the indirect taxes, which are partially 

 covered by the impost on individual capitals, will 

 be made up by higher taxation on distilled 

 liquors, which excise duty is raised from 60 to 

 63 guilders per hectolitre.' Other reforms to be 

 carried through arc the reduction of the ground 

 tax, the abolition of the street and road fees, and 

 the substitution of a professional and trade tax 

 for the taxation of patents. 



The Election Bill. The elections in 1891 

 were fought and won by the Liberal party mainly 

 on their programme calling for a revision of the 

 election laws and the extension of the right of 

 suffrage to the limits fixed by the Constitution 

 as amended in 1887. The election law, as intro- 

 duced into the States - General, regulates tin- 

 general and provincial elections and fixes tin- 

 qualifications of the voters. To be qualified to 

 vote, a person must lx> able to road and write, 

 and must prove his ability by doing some writing 

 in the presence of a functionary, who in turn 

 submits the document to a nranidpd commis- 

 sion for examination. A voter must bo able to 

 support himself and his family independently of 



