BEL 



183 



BEL 



merit under the crown, he immediately vacates his seat until 

 re-elected. The president and vice-presidents of each cham- 

 ber are nominated by its members at the beginning of each 

 session. 



The chambers assemble as of right every year oh the 

 second Tuesday in November, unless they shall have been 

 previously called together by the king. The session must 

 last at least forty days ; its prorogation is pronounced by 

 the king. 



The number of citizens registered as electors in the lists, 

 as they stood in each province in April, 1833, and the num- 

 ber of representatives and senators chosen in each province, 

 are as under : 



The person of the king is declared sacred. His ministers 

 are responsible for the acts of the government. No act of 

 the king can have any legal effect until countersigned 

 by one of his ministers, wno by that means becomes 

 responsible. 



The king appoints and dismisses his ministers at plea- 

 sure. He nominates to civil and military offices. He pro- 

 mulgates the rules and orders necessary to insure the exe- 

 cution of laws, but has no power to dispense with nor to 

 suspend the execution of the laws. The king commands 

 the land and sea forces, declares war, and makes treaties of 

 peace, of alliance and of commerce, communicating the same 

 to the legislative chambers as speedily as the public safety 

 and interest permit. Commercial treaties have no legal 

 effect until they have been assented to by the chambers. 

 No cession, exchange, or addition to the national territory 

 can be made except by means of a law passed in conjunction 

 with the chambers. 



The king is declared of age at eighteen years. Before 

 he can exercise the functions of royalty, he must take the 

 following oath, in presence of both legislative chambers: 

 ' I swear to observe the constitution and the laws of the 

 Belgian people, to maintain the independence of the nation 

 and the integrity of its territory.' 



It' at the death of the king his successor should be a 

 minor, the two chambers meet together in order to appoint 

 a regent. The regency cannot be intrusted to more than 

 one person, who, before he can enter upon his office, must 

 take the t>ath just recited. 



In case the throne should become vacant, the chambers 

 deliberating together shall appoint a provisional regent; 

 both chambers are then dissolved, and must meet again at 

 latest in two months, when the new chambers, sitting in 

 deliberation together, are to supply the vacancy. 



No man can be appointed a minister of state who is not a 

 Belgian by birth or naturalization. No member of the royal 

 family can be a minister. The ministers have the right of 

 attending and speaking in either of the chambers, but can 

 only vote in one, provided they have been elected members 

 thereof. The chambers may require the presence of minis- 

 ters. In no case can the king screena minister from re- 

 sponsibility. 



The king has the right of coining money, and of con- 

 ferring titles of nobility, but without granting thereby any 

 peculiar privileges, such being repudiated by a fundamental 

 article of the constitution, which declares all Belgians to be 

 equal in the eye of the law, without any distinction of 

 orders. 



Judges receive their appointments directly from the king, 

 and hold them for life, so that they cannot be superseded 

 but by their own consent, or by a judgment pronounced in 

 ojuMi court, and fir reasons publicly declared on that occa- 

 sion. Tlie trial by jury is established for all criminal and 

 political charges, and for offences of the press. 



No taxes can be levied by the state unless previously 

 established l>> a law passed by the chambers, and all such 

 taxes must be voted annually, the laws by which they are 



established expiring at the end of a year. The contingent 

 of the army is voted under the same limitation. 



Personal liberty, and liberty of conscience, are guaranteed 

 to every citizen by the constitution in the fullest sense ; all 

 are amenable to the laws, and all are placed equally under 

 their protection. 



Military Forces. The Civic or National Guard of the 

 kingdom is raised for the purposes of defending the consti- 

 tutional rights of the monarchy and the people, of main- 

 taining order, upholding the laws and preserving the terri- 

 tory of Belgium from invasion. This uard is unequally 

 divided into three corps (bans'). The entire number of the 

 three is 590,907 men, raised in the different provinces in the 

 following proportions : 



Brabant . . 27 legions 



Antwerp . . 20 



East Flanders 38 



West Flanders 

 Hainault . 

 Namur . 

 Liege . . 

 Limbourg 

 Luxembourg . 



40 

 35 



16 

 25 

 '24 

 32 



82,166 men. 

 48,533 

 108,206 

 82,663 

 89,834 

 31,542 

 53,771 

 49,793 

 44,399 



Total 257 legions 590,907 men. 



The first corps, or ban, includes only 89,089 men. The 

 government is authorised to give a more active and efficient 

 character (mobiliser) to the whole, or any part of this corps ; 

 hitherto only a portion has been called/into active service. 



The more regular or standing army consists of the fol- 

 lowing number of men : 



12 regiments of infantry of the line, each 1 900 



foot chasseurs 

 2 horse chasseurs 



2 lancers 



1 regiment of cuirassiers . 

 1 'guides' . 



1 gensd'armes 



1368 

 1462 

 1462 



22,800 

 4,104 

 2,924 

 2,924 

 1,500 

 867 

 1,156 



Artillery, battering train, sappers and miners, &c. 5,557 



Total . . . . . 41,832 

 The number of horses belonging to this army is 14,034 

 Finances. The total revenue of Belgium for the year 

 1834, as stated in the ' Budget General ' laid before the 

 Chambers by the government, amounted to 84,130,624 

 francs (3,365,225^.). This revenue was derived from the fol- 

 lowing principal sources, viz. : 



Direct taxes. viz., land-tax, licenses for car- 

 rying on trades (patents), and personal Francs. 



contributions 31,410,624 



Customs duties. On importations, exporta- 



tions, transit, and tonnage duties . 7,600,000 

 Excise. Salt, wine, spirits, beer, sugar, &c. 17,580,000 

 Sundries. Stamps, duty on registrations, 



and on successions . . 17,375,000 



i*ost3. Carriage of letters, specie, &c. . 2,340,000 

 National domains. Rents, produce of canal 



dues, &c. 2,400,000 



Sundries. Tolls on roads, passports, sei- 

 zures, &c 5,425,000 



84,130,624 



The expenses of the year were just about equal to the 

 receipts, and may be classed as follows : 



Francs, 



Interest on the public debt . . . 10,864,394 

 Civil list, expenses of the chambers, salaries 

 and expenses of officers engaged in admi- 

 nistering justice, prisons, and police, and 

 public charitable institutions . . 8,734,505 

 Diplomatic services and expenses . . 691,200 



Marine 1,001,201 



Army 40,000,000 



Provincial government, public instruction, 

 religious worship, expenses of civic guard, 

 public works, advancement of scientific 



objects, &c 10,482,244 



Salaries of various public functionaries, ex- 

 penses of national domains, of ports, cus- 

 toms, excise, &c. .... 11,315,897 

 Overpayments returned, and the like . 1,033.000 



Francs 84,122,441 

 or 3,364,897 



