BELGIUM. (ROYAUME DE BELGIQUE.) Reigning King. Leopold II., born April 9, 1835, the son of King Leopold I., former Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and of Princess Louise, daughter of the late King Louis Philippe of the French; ascended the throne at the death of his father, Dec. 10, 1865; married, Aug. 22, 1853, to Queen Marie Henriette, born Aug. 23, 1836, the daughter of the late Archduke Joseph of Austria. Children of the King. I. Princess Louise, born Feb. 18, 1858; married, February 4, 1875, to Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, born March 28, 1844, eldest son of Prince August, cousin of the reigning duke, and of Princess Clementine of Orléans, daughter of the late King Louis Philippe of the French. II. Princess Stéphanie, born May 21, 1864; married to the late Archduke Diédé Rudolf, only son of the Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, May 10, 1881; widow 1889. III. Princess Clémentine, born July 30, 1872. Brother and Sister of the King. I. Philippe, Count of Flanders, born March 24, 1837; lieutenant-general in the service of Belgium; married, April 26, 1867, to Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, born November 17, 1845. Offspring of the union are three children living:-1. Princess Henriette, born Nov. 30, 1870. 2. Princess Josephine, born Oct. 18, 1872. 3. Prince Albert, born April 8, 1875. II. Princess Charlotte, born June 7, 1840; married, July 27, 1857, to Archduke Maximilian of Austria, elected Emperor of Mexico July 10 1863; widow June 19, 1867. King Leopold II. has a civil list of 3,300,000 francs. The kingdom of Belgium formed itself into an independent State in 1830, having previously been a part of the Netherlands. The secession was decreed on October 4, 1830, by a Provisional Government, established in consequence of a revolution which broke out at Brussels on August 25, 1830. A National Congress elected Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg King of the Belgians on BB June 4, 1831; the prince accepted the dignity July 12, and ascended the throne July 21, 1831. By the Treaty of London, Nov. 15, 1831, the neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed by Austria, Russia, Great Britain, and Prussia. It was not until after the signing of the Treaty of London, April 19, 1839, which established peace between King Leopold I. and the sovereign of the Netherlands, that all the States of Europe recognised the kingdom of Belgium. Constitution and Government. According to the Constitution of 1831, Belgium is 'a constitutional, representative, and hereditary monarchy.' The legislative power is vested in the King, the Chamber of Representatives, and the Senate. The royal succession is in the direct male line in the order of primogeniture. The King's person is declared sacred; and his ministers are held responsible for the acts of the Government. No act of the King can have effect unless countersigned by one of his ministers, who thus becomes responsible for it. The King convokes, prorogues, and dissolves the Chambers. In default of male heirs, the King may nominate his successor with the consent of the Chambers. If the successor be under eighteen years of age, which is declared to be the age of majority, the two Chambers meet together for the purpose of nominating a regent during the minority. The power of making laws is vested in the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate, the members of both Houses being chosen by the people. The Chambers meet annually in the month of November, and must sit for at least forty days; but the King has the power of convoking them on extraordinary occasions, and of dissolving them either simultaneously or separately. In the latter case a new election must take place within forty days, and a meeting of the Chambers within two months. An adjournment cannot be made for a period exceeding one month without the consent of the Chambers. The Chamber of Representatives is composed of deputies chosen directly by all citizens, twenty-one years of age, paying direct taxes to the annual amount of 40 francs. Under this qualification, the electoral lists, in the year 1889-90, contained the names of 133,039 electors, the right of suffrage being with 21.83 in every thousand of the population. The number of deputies is fixed according to the population, and cannot exceed one member for every 40,000 inhabitants. In the year 1889 they amounted to 138, elected in 41 electoral districts. To be eligible as a member, it is necessary to be a Belgian by birth or naturalisation; to have attained the age of twentyfive years, and to be resident in Belgium. The members not residing in the town where the Chamber sits receive, during the session, an allowance of CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT 371 423 francs each per month. The members are elected for four years, onehalf going out every two years, except in the case of a dissolution, when a general election takes place. The Chamber has the parliamentary initiative and the preliminary vote in all cases relating to the receipts and expenses of the State and the contingent of the army. The Senate is composed of exactly one-half the number of members comprising the Chamber of Representatives, and the senators are elected by the same citizens who appoint the deputies. The senators are chosen for eight years; they retire in one moiety every four years, but in case of dissolution the election must comprise the whole number of which the Senate is composed. The qualifications necessary for a senator are, besides those for a deputy, that he is at least forty years of age; and paying in direct taxes not less than 2,116 francs. In those provinces where the list of citizens who possess this last-mentioned qualification does not reach to the proportion of one in 6,000 of the population, that list is enlarged by the admission into it of those citizens who pay the greatest amount of direct taxes, so that the list shall always contain at least one person who is eligible to the Senate for every 6,000 inhabitants of the province. The senators do not receive any pay. The presumptive heir to the throne is of right a senator at the age of eighteen, but he has no voice in the proceedings until twenty-five years of age. All the proceedings of the Senate during the time the Chamber of Representatives is not sitting are without force. The Executive Government consists of seven departments, under the following Ministers, appointed October 26, 1884, viz. :— 1. President of the Council and Minister of Finance.-M. A. Beernaert. 2. Minister of Justice.-M. J. Lejeune. 3. Minister of the Interior and of Instruction.-M. J. Derolder. 4. Minister of War.-General C. Pontus. 5. Minister of Railways, Posts, and Telegraphs.—M. J. H. P. Vandenpeereboom. 6. Minister for Foreign Affairs.-Prince de Chimay. 7. Minister of Agriculture, Industry, and Public Works.-M. L. Debruyn. Besides the above responsible heads of departments, there are a number of Ministres d'Etat,' without portfolio, who form a Privy Council called together on special occasions by the sovereign. The acting ministers, as such, do not form part of the Privy Council. Local Government. The provinces and communes of Belgium have a large amount of autonomous government. Provincial and communal electors must be twenty. one years of age, and pay direct taxes of 20 francs for the provinces and 10 for the communes. A certain degree of education, and the occupation of certain positions, entitle to vote without having to pay taxes. In the year 1889 there were 399,218 provincial and 534,640 communal electors. To be eligible to the Provincial or Communal Council, persons must be twentyfive years of age and domiciled in the province or commune. Half the Provincial Council is renewed every two years, and it meets fifteen days each year. There is a permanent deputation of six members elected, which is presided over by the Governor of the province. All provincial and communal interests, including local finances, are under the care of the council, 80 far as they are not provided for in the general administration. The Communal Councils are elected for six years, half being renewed every three years. In each commune there is a college composed of the burgomaster, president, and a certain number of aldermen, corresponding to the permanent deputation of the Provincial Council, and both are the organs of the central administration. Area and Population. Belgium has an area of 29,455 square kilomètres, or 11,373 English square miles. The following table shows the population in the various census years since 1846 and between 1880 and 1889, with the absolute increase and the rate per cent. of increase between each of these years : The kingdom is divided into nine provinces, the area and population of which were as follows at the census of December 31, 1880, and by estimate on December 31, 1889, with density per square mile at the latter date : In 1889 there were 3,038,102 males and 3,055,696 females. According to the census returns of 1880 there are 2,230,316 Belgians who speak French only; 2,485,384 who speak Flemish only; 39,550, German only; 423,752, French and Flemish ; 35,250, French and German; 2,956, Flemish and German; 13,331 who speak all three languages; and 6,412 who do not speak any of the three. AREA AND POPULATION 373 The census returns according to occupation are tabulated as follows: The difference between the above total and that of the population of 1880 is no doubt accounted for by the fact that many persons are entered under more than one head. It is estimated that about 800,000 people are directly engaged in agricultural pursuits. The following table gives the number of births, deaths, and marriages in each of the five years from 1884 to 1889 : 57,268 124,904 39,642 50,187 60,170 1885 175,043 8,524 15,140 8.65 117,775 39,910 115,296 42,491 The following table shows the immigration and emigration of 1885-89: |