BELGIUM. 



69 



tured iron, 475,198 tons, valued at 76,437,000 

 francs; of steel ingots, 731,249 tons, valued at 

 70,521,000 francs; of steel rails, 633,950 tons, val- 

 ued at 90,154,000 francs. The value of zinc 

 smelted in 1899 was 74,629,000 francs; of silver, 

 15,381,000 francs; of lead, 5,931,000 francs. The 

 production of raw sugar was 244,722 tons; of re- 

 fined sugar, 67,605 tons; of spirits, 678,460 hecto- 

 liters. The catch of cod, herring, etc., was valued 

 at 4,537,998 francs. 



The value of the general commerce in 1900 was 

 3,594,425,067 francs for imports and 3,297,509,775 

 francs for exports. The imports by sea amounted 

 to 1,698,624,895 francs; by land and river, 1,895,- 

 800,172 francs; general exports by sea, 1,406,988,- 

 704 francs; exports by land and river, 1,890,521,- 

 07 1 francs. The imports *f or domestic consump- 

 tion were 2,215,700,000 francs in value; exports 

 of Belgian produce and manufacture, 1,922,900,- 

 000 francs; transit trade, 1,374,600,000 francs. 

 The imports of cereals for domestic consumption 

 in 1900 were valued at 297,872,000 francs; of tex- 

 tile materials, 214,904,000 francs; of resins and 

 bitumen, 92,873,000 francs; of lumber, 85,515,000 

 francs; of minerals, 77,259,000 francs; of chem- 

 ical products, 72,401,000 francs; of coal, 70,486,- 

 000 francs; of hides and skins, 64,696,000 francs; 

 of machinery, 54,861,000 francs; of rubber, 52,- 

 057,000 francs; of drugs, 47,051,000 francs; of oil- 

 seeds, 46,900,000 francs; of diamonds, 40,256,000 

 francs; of cotton goods, 37,079,000 francs; of 

 colors and dyes, 35,904,000 francs; of coffee, 31,- 

 587,000 francs; of tallow, 30,557,000 francs; of 

 wine, 30,251,000 francs; of yarns, 29,930,000 

 francs; of copper and nickel, 27,536,000 francs; 

 of iron, 26,746,000 francs. The special exports of 

 textile fibers was 112,235,000 francs in value; of 

 coal, 111,796,000 francs; of linen and other yarns, 

 79,406,000 francs; of railroad cars, 78,601,000 

 francs; of glass, 76,840.000 francs; of wrought 

 iron, 75,656,000 francs; of cereals, 65,413,000 

 francs; of raw sugar, 59,520,000 francs; of ma- 

 chinery, 57,711,000 francs; of zinc, 49,617,000 

 francs; of hides and skins, 47,856,000 francs; of 

 chemical products, 44,343,000 francs; of cut dia- 

 monds, 43,005,000 francs; of rubber, 41,248,000 

 francs; of fertilizers, 34,183,000 francs; of min- 

 erals, 33,451,000 francs; of coke, 32,730.000 

 francs; of woolen yarn, 32.536,000 francs; of cot- 

 ton goods, 30,844.000 francs; of horses, 29,361,- 

 000 francs; of colors and dyes, 29,172,000 francs; 

 of resins and bitumen, 28,712,000 francs. 



The special imports from and exports to the 

 principal foreign countries in 1901 were valued 

 in francs as follows: 



Navigation. The number of vessels entered 

 at Belgian ports during 1900 was 8,619, of 8,500,- 

 772 tons; cleared, 8,620, of 8.476,874 tons. The 

 merchant navy on Jan. 1, 1901, consisted of 4 



sailing vessels, of 741 tons, and 69 steamers, of 

 112,518 tons. Of the vessels entered and cleared 

 in 1900 Belgium owned 1,906 entered, of 1,380,- 

 390 tons, and 1,908 cleared, of 1,384,776 tons; 

 Great Britain, 4,042 entered, of 3,804,974 tons, and 

 4,019 cleared, of 3,759,418 tons; Germany, 1,037 

 entered, of 1,679,067 tons, and 1,035 cleared, of 

 1,670,504 tons; Norway, 530 entered, of 319,102 

 tons, and 538 cleared, of 330,404 tons; Sweden, 

 237 entered, of 193,391 tons, and 243 cleared, of 

 203,141 tons; Denmark, 237 entered, of 235.310 

 tons, and 242 cleared, of 236,986 tons; Holland, 

 203 entered, of 203,777 tons, and 199 cleared, of 

 196,121 tons; Japan, 48 entered, of 197,055 tons, 

 and 49 cleared, of 201,034 tons; France, 148 en- 

 tered, of 148,730 tons, and 149 cleared, of 149,232 

 tons; Russia, 66 entered, of 67,113 tons, and 67 

 cleared, of 68,540 tons. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The 

 total length of railroads in operation on Jan. 1, 

 1901, -was 2,833 miles, of which 2,503 miles were 

 operated by the Government and 330 miles by 

 companies. The number of passengers carried 

 during 1900 was 123,700,046 on the state and 

 15,428,041 on the companies' railroads; gross 

 earnings, 209,194,311 francs on the state and 

 28,130,076 francs on the companies' railroads; ex- 

 penses, 140,428,195 francs for the state and 

 11,828,518 francs for the companies' railroads. 

 The state railroads cost 1,963,623,697 francs to 

 build. Since the first railroad was constructed 

 in 1834 the Government has received in net prof- 

 its above all expenses for operation, maintenance, 

 and interest on borrowed capital amounting for 

 the whole period to 115,528,477 francs. 



The post-office in 1900 carried 137,617,928 pri- 

 vate letters, 25,365,408 official letters, 65,384,943 

 postal cards, 123,648,551 circulars, etc., and 134,- 

 724,720 newspapers; receipts were 25,242,483 

 francs, and expenses 13,498,196 francs. 



The telegraphs of Belgium had on Jan. 1, 1901, 

 a total length of 3,975 miles, with 24,940 miles of 

 wire. The total number of despatches in 1900 

 was 14,411,487; receipts were 9,309,440 francs; 

 expenses, 8,596,234 francs. There were 37,285 

 miles of telephone wires and 14,920 stations. The 

 number of conversations in 1900 was 39,884,321. 



Legislation. The Chambers in the early part 

 of the session of 1902 agreed to the Government's 

 military reform bill, which reduces the term of 

 service and increases the effective strength of the 

 army 20 per cent, by an extension of the volun- 

 teer system. The antigambling bill, which sup- 

 presses the public gaming-houses in Ostend and 

 Spa and all gambling clubs in Belgium, was 

 finally passed by the Chamber of Representatives, 

 March 22. A workmen's accident bill divides the 

 risk between employer and employee. In case of 

 temporary or permanent incapacity the work- 

 man receives half the amount of his average 

 earnings, and this is paid to his family for a cer- 

 tain number of years if he is killed. Contribu- 

 tory negligence on the part of the injured work- 

 man does not absolve the employer from his lia- 

 bility for compensation. Employers are bound 

 to insure themselves in a company approved by 

 the Government or to deposit a sufficient insur- 

 ance fund in the state savings-bank. A com- 

 mission is appointed for the settlement of claims, 

 which includes representatives of both employ- 

 ers and working men. 



At meetings held at the People's Palace in 

 Brussels and in all the industrial centers of the 

 provinces the Socialists of Belgium decided to 

 start a new movement for universal equal male ' 

 suffrage. A manifestation in front of the Parlia- 

 ment buildings announced for Mardi gras was 



