444 BELGIUM. 



elementary scliool, and to afford gratuitous education to all those children whose 

 parents apply for it. The teacher is appointed by the municipal council, which 

 may also dismiss him, and votes him a salary of at least £40 per annum. The 

 influence of the priesthood has been paramount in the schools ever since 1830. 

 Heligious instruction is always given by the priests, who enjoy the same privileges, 

 as inspectors of schools, as do the officials appointed by the King. Only reading, 

 writing, the four simple rules of arithmetic, and the " elements " of French, 

 Flemish, or German, are taught, in addition to the catechism. The training insti- 

 tutions for teachers are partly in the hands of the priesthood and partly in those 

 of the State. The priesthood, moreover, directs the course of instruction at the 

 University of Louvain, which is in opposition to the two "universities maintained 

 by the State and the " free " University of Brussels, and has affiliated with it nu- 

 merous colleges and industrial schools. Its influence is felt, too, in the examina- 

 tion boards, only half the members of which are appointed by the State. These 

 boards have done much to lower the standard of university education in Belgium, 

 for, anxious that the pupils of their friends should receive diplomas, they exhibit 

 a considerable amount of indulgence in their examinations. 



The power of the Church is, indeed, great in Belgium, and has only quite 

 recently been somewhat shaken.* The constitution, which was drawn up by an 

 assembly having thirteen abbots amongst its members, not only secures perfect 

 freedom to the Church, but also makes the State in a certain measure its tribu- 

 tary. The Pope appoints the bishops, the bishops appoint the curates, and the 

 State merely pays their salaries. There are an archbishop and five bishops, about 

 6,000 priests, and an army of monks and nuns, more especially in Flanders. The 

 actual clerical staff propably numbers 30,000 individuals.f The number of Protes- 

 tants and Jews is small, :}: but not so that of persons who have virtually left the 

 Church, and decline its sacramental ceremonies at baptisms, marriages, or funerals. 



Belgium enjoys the privileges of neutrality, but nevertheless has burdened itself 

 with a very considerable army. On a war footing it numbers over 100, OCO men, 

 and during the Franco-German war 83,000 men were actually under arms.§ 

 The army is recruited by conscription and voluntary enlistment. Only about one- 

 third of the men who annually become liable are called upon to serve, and remain 

 with the colours from two to four years. Conscripts are permitted to provide a 

 substitute, or Government does it for them if they pay £64 to the Minister for 

 War. This leads to the army being recruited exclusively amongst the poor and 

 necessitous. The officers are trained at a military school, whilst a staff school, 



* At the elections held in June, 1S7S, the "Liberals " secured a innjority of six in the Senate, and of 

 eleven in the House of Representatives. 



f In 1866 there were 178 monasteries (2,991 monks) and 1,144 convents (15,20-5 nuns). 

 t 13,000 Protestants, 1,500 Jews. 



War Footing'. Peace Footing'. 

 § Tnfanfrj', 78 battalions ...... 75,541 2G,o91 



Cavalry, 40 squadrons 7,404 5,329 



Artillery, 91 batteries 14,308 7,860 



Engineers, 3 bat'alions 3,010 1,390 



100,26lï 40,970 



