g4 iiKi.iir.M. 



MM fnu>~; MmistfT of Justice, 30.0*5.684 dreiand colors, 16,680,000 francs; flou 



franc* : MmJstrr of Public Works, Commerce. 517.000 francs. 



aod AfrtomlUiri 17.6^.003 francs: Mini. values of the special import > 



civil ht and d.-ta- export* to the prineijml commnvml .-..uiitries 

 'TV, in francs, as follow : 



and 30.000,000 francs of 

 118U87.8S4 franc*. 

 o of 8B>er-< 

 stock wan adopted by the C'ham- 



. 1W4. 



1018 railm of railroads in the Government 

 l* 7M miles were worked by com- 

 Tt m*ipts of the Government lines 

 l4MOMOfraiioa,ai>d the expenses 81,969,- 

 >46 franc*. The capital cost of the state line* 

 wa U4IJH147S franc.. 



Tlw Government telegraph* in 1892 had a to- 

 tal leojrth of 4,617 miles, with 22,789 miles of 

 wire. The nomber of messages in 1898 was 

 Ml 1.960: receipts were 8,450,770 and expenses 



5.181865 francs. 



The port office 

 private aod 19.103 



in 1H93 handled 102,307,722 

 private 'and 19.101155 official letters, 40,195,766 

 postal cards. 80,579,743 printed inclosures, and 

 I08SU*7 journals : receipts were 18,276,628, 

 10.178.078 francs. 



and Induntry. In the general 

 the imports in 1898 were valued at 

 181<H7Q9.74f francs, and the exports at 2,590,- 

 161,786 francs. The imports for domestic con- 

 1.573.100.000 francs, and the 

 of articles of Belgian produce and 

 tare were 1,234300.000 francs in \ 

 The principal special imports and their values 

 were: Grain. 854J271000 franc*: text He, 

 al. 171345,000 francs; chemicals, drug*, and 

 dye*, 86*1.000 francs; timber. 67, 



616.000 francs 



67.128,000 francs; 



. : ' 



58.166,000 francs; coffee, 58,- 

 hides. 52.166,000 francs : 



! ill. 50877.000 francs; animal products, 

 4UIMBJOOO francs; metals. 40.797.000 francs ; 



francs: fertilixers, 23.243.000 



i frncs; fish. vll. 

 floor. W391000 francs; con! 

 477.00O fran<*: marhinerj, 15^88.000 francs: 

 15^98.000 francs; tobacco, 12,781,000 



Tbe raloes of list leading domestic exports 

 wm : Yams. 101,401000 francs ; coal and boke, 



70J15W) francs; tissues, 6M&.000 

 ; ekenicaU and drag, 54J84000 francs; 



' ' i" 



* francs; iron. 46.181.000 francs; steel, 

 O^prodncU 84il2W 



J7.817.000 francs 

 francs: resins and 



- - . ' 

 ItyUMM '-.- ij 



KspaMs.. 



Hwnlvaan'ii 'Norway. 



S 



kSJSJ 



Ba7P< 



80,144000 

 DO,14S,000 



84,410,000 

 18^14,000 

 18,900,000 





About iwo third* >f tlic surfacr of tin- king- 

 dom is arable. This land is divided int. 

 farm- and is krj.t in a hi;;h Matr f cult ivat imi. 

 Tin- yirld of winter wheat is 26 bushels an acre; 

 of sugar beets, 35,182 kilos. Tin- <-<>al ]r<>dnr*-d 

 in 1893 was 19,411,000 tons, valued at 181,406,- 

 000 francs. The iron and steel product was 

 745,264 tons of pig in.n, valued at 36.i> 

 francs; 485,021 tons of manufactured inm. val- 

 ued at 61,873,000 francs; 273,113 tons of 

 ingots, valued at 22,929,000 francs ; and 224,922 

 tons of steel rails, valued at 28,868.000 francs. 

 The value of the zinc produced was 39,602,000 

 francs. The product of sugar, 190,312,000 kilos. 



Narigatlon. During iw:i there wen 

 vessels, of 6,001,968 tons, entered, and 6,977, of 

 5,939,502 tons, cleared at the seaports of Bel- 

 gium. More than one third of the arrivals were 

 from British ports, and more than one half of 

 the departing vessels cleared f-r England. 

 Fn.n, ih,. Tinted si. rssels arm 



567,721 tons, while 233. of 540,093 tons, were 

 d for the United States. 



The merchant navy in 1898 consisted of 6 sail- 

 ing vessels, of 1,039 tons, and 50 steamers, of 71.- 

 499 tons. 



l.'-L-Mation. 'I'll- OOtoomt f the .-lections 

 held under the new Constitution granting uni- 

 versal suffrage was a strong Catholic majority 

 : ' ' -< P the lysten "f n-liirion^ ediica- 

 tion in the elementary schools, t<> introdiu-e a 

 protective tariff for th."- Kenefit. in i.articnlar. of 

 the agriculturists, and to legislate for the nnieii- 

 oration of the coi,diti.,n ,f the working 

 The LiJ.eraK w )).. represented the princii 

 secular education, free trade, and economi 

 er patter, were reduced to a small and impotent 

 minoritv. The workingmen, repn -ent<-d for the 

 first time, had sent a strong band of ardent So- 

 cialist*, who agreed with the Liberals on the 

 school question and whose views of social re- 

 form, on the other hand, were making pr 



'/itholjc popidation, which made the 

 ministry -<-n-itive to their criticisms of its policy 

 toward workingmen. On .Ian. .>.->. the Socialist 

 leader, Atueele, denounced the manufacturers of 

 Ghent for their treatment of their work people, 

 and accused the Government of having one law 



