BELGIUM. 



77 



private and 17,891,763 official letters, 39,260,182 

 postal cards, 88,274,979 circulars, and 100,693,346 

 newspapers. The receipts for 1892 were 17,513,- 

 873. and the expenses 9,954,020 francs. 



The number of messages sent by telegraph in 

 1892 was 7,975,523. The length of lines was 

 4,617 miles, with 22,739 miles of wire. The re- 

 ceipts for the year were 3,445,599 francs, and 

 expenses 4,535,192 francs. 



The Electoral Law. It was incumbent upon 

 the Parliament elected under the old electoral 

 Jaw to frame the act regulating the application 

 of the new law before its own mandate expired 

 in June, 1894. The new fundamental statute 

 provided that the suffrage should be universal, 

 plural, and obligatory; but it did not state how 

 the electoral lists should be formed, nor whether 

 a system of representation of minorities should 

 be introduced or whether the sole representation 

 of majorities should be continued. The Prime 

 Minister espoused the theory of the proportional 

 representation of minorities, though his own, as 

 well as the other parties, was divided in opinion 

 as to its wisdom or expediency. The Cabinet 

 and the Right, however, approved the submis- 

 sion of the question to Parliament. The princi- 

 ple was embodied in the electoral bill submitted 

 by the Government, but in a separate bill. The 

 electoral bill passed the Chamber after three 

 months of discussion, on Feb. 17. Propositions 

 of the Left to disqualify persons convicted of 

 petty offenses and recipients of charity were re- 

 jected, and also one to create a special jurisdic- 

 tion to control electoral lists, and thus relieve 

 the courts of appeal. The triple vote was ac- 

 corded to priests and schoolmasters. 



In staking the existence of his Cabinet on the 

 proposal for minority representation, M. Beer- 

 naert was inspired by the desire of reacting 

 against the tyranny of party organizations and 

 leaders. The bill was opposed by Deputies who 

 thought their seats .endangered 'by the innova- 

 tion, and by leaders who felt confident of their 

 ability to crush out the opposite party in their 

 districts, while others, who were likely to lose 

 or were not sure of gaining a majority in 

 their districts with extended suffrage, favored 

 minority representation. Therefore, when the 

 question came to a vote, the Government was 

 not solidly supported by its party; and though 

 it received many votes from the opposition par- 

 ties, the measure was defeated on March 16 by 

 75 votes to 50, with 16 abstentions. The Ultra- 

 montane party of Woeste and the Left Center, 

 or party of Frere Orban, gave most of the ad- 

 verse votes, while many members of the Ex- 

 treme Left voted with the Moderate Right. 

 M. Beernaert on the following day sent in the 

 resignations of the Cabinet to King Leopold. 

 M. Woeste, who had the support of a large part 

 of the Catholic masses, could not assume the 

 direction of the Government without provoking 

 violent political disturbances and perhaps revo- 

 lution, especially if he should carry through an 

 electoral bill cutting up the large electoral dis- 

 tricts in such a way as to leave the political pre- 

 ponderance for many years in the hands of the 

 ultra-Clericals, who "are also Protectionists and 

 enemies of the army, for they are representa- 

 tives of agricultural interests and certain great 

 industries in whose behalf they would reverse 



the free-trade policy that has prevailed since 

 1847, and they have been able to frustrate the 

 military reorganization, being in favor of a vol- 

 untary standing army, like the English, whereas 

 the Liberals and Democrats would abolish not 

 only enlistment but conscription and substitu- 

 tion, and establish universal compulsory service, 

 as in Switzerland. When Gen. Brialmont pro- 

 posed a royal commission in the interest of the 

 promised military reforms, the Minister of War 

 deprecated such action, and the anti-military 

 majority negatived the motion by 62 votes to 34. 

 M. Beernaert was anxious to leave the military 

 question and the question of a protective tariff 

 also to be decided by a Parliament elected under 

 the new franchise. 



The ministerial crisis was settled after several 

 conferences with the King, who tried to induce 

 Beernaert to renjain by the reorganization of 

 the Cabinet, with M. de Burlet for President. 

 M. Lejeune retired with M. Beernaert. All the 

 remaining ministers retained their portfolios. 

 The late Premier was succeeded as Minister of 

 Finance by M. de Smet de Naeyer, and M. Le- 

 jeune, as Minister of Justice, by M. Begerem. 

 The Cabinet was constituted on March 26. The 

 proposal for proportional representation was 

 withdrawn, as raising too many difficulties. 

 The Cabinet promised to propose new duties on 

 grain required for distillation, but not on ali- 

 mentary cereals. M. Feron, of the Extreme 

 Left, offered a scheme of proportional repre- 

 sentation which the Chamber rejected, at the 

 same time deciding to retain the existing appor- 

 tionment, thus pronouncing against M. Woeste's 

 scheme of single-member districts. The electoral 

 bill was finally passed by the Chamber on June 

 6, and by the Senate on June 27, whereupon the 

 session was declared closed. The Government 

 had abandoned its bill to place import duties on 

 butter and margarine, flour, oatmeal, chicory, 

 canned goods, and textile fabrics, and one sub- 

 sidizing the Congo Railroad with 10,000.000 

 francs, because the Antwerp Deputies, called to 

 account by their constituents for voting in favor 

 of the " famine act," resigned their seats. 



The Elections. In preparation for the elec- 

 toral contest in October, an effort was made to 

 unite the Liberals, Radicals, and Socialists on a 

 single platform under the name of Progressists. 

 A programme was drawn up, including universal 

 equal suffrage for all citizens at the age of twen- 

 ty-one ; proportional representation ; free trade ; 

 a state monopoly of alcoholic liquors ; eight 

 hours a day for coal miners and legal limitation 

 of hours of labor in other industries ; a weekly 

 day of rest; regulation of landlords and agri- 

 cultural employers by rural councils ; prohibi- 

 tion of night work for women ; abolition of con- 

 scription and paid substitutes; separation of 

 church and state; obligatory primary educa- 

 tion ; and security of the right of every citizen 

 to be instructed in school, judged in court, 

 and commanded in the army in his own lan- 

 guage. The incompatibility of the principles of 

 the doctrinaire Liberals and the Collectivists 

 wrecked the proposed anti-Clerical alliance. 

 The two wings of the Clerical party, on the 

 contrary, in a measure patched up their differ- 

 ences, and agreed on a programme embracing 

 defense of religion, property, and the family; 



