540 



NETHERLANDS, THE. 



The Israelites and the minor sects constitute 

 two per cent, of the population. The Protes- 

 tants are a majority in nine and the Roman 

 Catholics in two provinces. The population 

 of the larger cities in December, 1876, was as 

 follows: 



CITIES. Population. 



Amsterdam 296,200 



Rotterdam 136,230 



Hague 104,095 



Utrecht 66,106 



Leyden 41,298 



Groningen 40,589 



Arnhem 88,017 



Haarlem 84,797 



Maestricht 29,083 



Leeuwarden 27,085 



Dortrecht 26,576 



Tilburg 26,103 



Bois-le-Duc 24,588 



Delft 24,511 



Nimeguen 23,509 



Helder 22,080 



Schiedam 21,680 



Zwolle 21,593 



The colonies of the Netherlands are consider- 

 ably larger and more populous than the coun- 

 try itself. The total area is estimated at 641,- 

 201 square miles; the population at 24,480,900, 

 divided as follows : 



COLONIES. Population. 



1. In the East Indies 24,370,600 



2. In the West Indies 41,024 



8. Surinam 69,829 



Total 24,480,900 



The army of the Netherlands in Europe con- 

 sisted, in 1877, of 2,063 officers and 60,867 

 men ; the East Indian army numbered 1,425 

 officers and 33,996 men. 



The navy of the Netherlands on July 1, 

 1877, consisted of 86 steamers, with 376 guns, 

 and 19 sailing-vessels, with 94 guns : total, 105 

 vessels, with 470 guns. 



The merchant-navy, on January 1, 1877, 

 consisted of 1,749 sailing-vessels, of 449,700 

 tons, and 86 steamers, of 76,827 tons : total, 

 1,835 vessels, of 526,527 tons. 



The aggregate length of railroads in opera- 

 tion was, on January 1, 1877, 1,695 kilometres 

 (1 kilometre = 0.62 English mile), of which 997 

 were State railroads. 



The aggregate length of the State telegraph 

 lines was, on January 1, 1877, 3,470 kilome- 

 tres; the aggregate length of the wires, 12,666 

 kilometres ; the number of offices was 335 ; 

 the number of telegrams carried in 1876 was 

 2,376,900; the revenue was 773,143 florins; 

 the expenditures, 1,285,320. 



The number of post-offices in 1876 was 

 1,282. The number of inland letters was 37,- 

 904,450; of foreign letters, 10,630,120; of 

 postal cards, 9,816,319; and of newspapers, 

 etc., 37,408,638. 



In the budget for the year 1877, the expen- 

 ditures and revenues are estimated as follows : 



EXPENDITURES. Dutch Florins. 



Eoyal House 875,000 



Cabinet ; Supreme State authorities 606,641 



Ministry of Foreign Affairs 658,172 



Ministry of Justice 8,660,962 



Ministry of the Interior 26,240,760 



Ministry of the Navy 18,905,379 



Ministry of War 28,122,601 



Public Debt : 26,737,655 



Ministry of Finances 20,554,425 



Colonies 1,516,090 



Unforeseen 60,000 



Total 11 7,927,685 



REVENUE. Florini. 



Direct taxes 28,841,226 



Land-tax 10,480,826 



Poll-tax 9,078,000 



Patent-tax 8,782,400 



Excise 88,510,000 



On spirits 18,700,000 



On other liquors 14,810,000 



Taxes on stamps, enregistrement, inheritances 19.678,800 



Customs 6,861,799 



Taxes on gold and silver wares 866,200 



Domains 1.675,000 



Post 8.800,000 



Telegraphs 785,000 



Lottery 480,000 



Taxes on game and fisheries 137,000 



Pilotages 860,000 



Taxes on mines 4,018 



State railroads 1,492,600 



Miscellaneous 6,535,618 



Receipts from the colonial administration .... 9,974,872 



Total 106,892,828 



Deficit 11,535,362 



The financial estimates are always framed 

 with great moderation, mostly exhibiting a 

 deficit, which in the final account becomes a 

 surplus. 



In 1877, the national debt was represented 

 by a capital of 922,192,152 florins, divided as 

 follows : 



The budget estimates of the Dutch colonies 

 for the year 1877 were as follows : 



