NETHERLANDS 



4126 



NETHERLANDS 



dam's inhabitants number about 600,000, Rot- 

 terdam's Irss than 500,000, but Rotterdam is 

 growing much the more rapidly. The Mamie, 

 the nat inn's capital and the >eat of The Hainie 

 Tribunal, has 300,000 people. Its true name is 

 's-Gravenhage. Utrecht is the only other city 

 of over 100,000, but there are t \v-nt y-six others 

 with more than 20,000. In Maryland, the 

 American state nearest Holland's size, there is 

 one city about the size of Amsterdam, and 

 only one other over 20,000. 



Government. Till the French Revolution 

 Holland was the foremost champion of liberty 

 on the European continent, but having learned 

 under French domination the sordid side of 

 republicanism, the Dutch people decided after 

 the fall of Napoleon to have a king. The con- 

 stitution of 1814, with amendments, is still in 

 force. Under it Queen Wilhelmina has execu- 

 tive power, and a slight measure of legislative 

 power as well, for acts of the Staten Generaal, 

 or Parliament, are submitted to her before 

 being voted on as well as after. In addition 

 she may at any time dissolve either or both 

 sections of the States-General. The upper half 

 of the Parliament, called the Eerste Kamer, or 

 First Chamber, corresponds to a Senate. Its 

 members are chosen by the legislature, or 

 Staten, of the eleven provinces and serve nine 

 years, one-third of them retiring every three 

 years. The Tweede Kamer, or Second Cham- 

 ber, contains 100 members, twice as many as 

 the First, and they are elected by the people. 

 Since 1916 all men over twenty-three have the 

 right to vote, which before was limited to tax- 

 payers, householders and wage earners. 



All national legislation originates in the lower 

 house, the upper chamber lacking even the power 

 to amend the bills sent to it. But with the 

 caution so characteristic of the Dutch, financial 

 matters are kept entirely out of the hands of 

 the States-General, instead of being in the con- 

 trol of the lower house as in most countries. 

 The Minister of Finance prepares an annual 

 budget which he presents to a special commis- 

 sion of seven, appointed for life by the queen. 



A Council of State shares with the sovereign 

 the governing power. It is distinct from the 

 Cabinet, which is like those of other European 

 nations in being responsible to the States-Gen- 

 eral. The Council of State has fourteen mem- 

 bers and a vice-president. The sovereign pre- 

 sides, and the heir apparent, when of age, is 

 also a member. 



The Cabinet Ministers, who are frequently, 

 though not necessarily, members of the States- 



r.enrral. may attend all sessions of that body 

 and may speak to any question, whether they 

 are members or not. Only the members may 



NATIONAL, PALACE 

 The official residence of Queen Wilhelmina. 



vote. Usually there are twelve Cabinet mem- 

 bers, three without portfolios and nine others 

 presiding over departments of Interior, Foreign 

 Affairs, Finance, Justice, Colonies, Marine, War, 

 Communications, and Agriculture, Industry and 

 Commerce. 



The legislatures of the provinces consist each 

 of one chamber. They may legislate in all 

 matters of provincial welfare, but subject to 

 the approval of the queen. Communities have 

 councils and mayors, but they are subject to 

 the legislatures of the provinces, and their 

 ordinances may be vetoed by the queen. 



The Empire. Holland's colonial possessions, 

 aside from Surinam or Guiana, and Curasao, 

 are all in the East Indies. Java is the most 

 important of them, for it contains about 30,000- 

 000 people. In area, however, Borneo, New 

 Guinea, Sumatra and Celebes are larger. Most 

 of the people of the islands are Mohammedan. 



The eastern colonies, a list of which will be 

 found in the article EAST INDIES, DUTCH, are 

 administered by a Governor-General and a 

 council of five appointed jor four years by the 

 queen, who may pass laws except in matters 

 which, according to the constitution, remain in 

 the hands of the legislature at The Hague. 

 The natives are actually governed through a 

 complex system of officials of their/ own race, 

 who sometimes receive commissions on the 

 amount of taxes they collect. In general the 

 Dutch are very lenient rulers, often criticized by 

 other nations for their laxity in allowing native 

 customs to continue; on the other hand, they 

 systematically force the output of the islands 

 to be kept up to its maximum level. Only in 

 Sumatra and Lombok have they had to wage 

 war to conquer the natives. 



