Area and Population.-The area of Belgium is 11,373 square miles. The population on Dec. 31, 1895, was estimated at 6,410,783, composed of 3,198,507 males and 3,212,276 females. The number of marriages in 1895 was 49,712; of births, 183,015; of deaths, 125,148; excess of births, 57,867. The population of Brussels, with suburbs, at the beginning of 1895 was 518,387. Antwerp had 262,255, Liége 163,207, and Ghent 157,214 inhabitants. There are 6,335 public primary schools, with 720,191 pupils; 1,431 infant schools, with 142,384 pupils; and 1,797 adult schools, with 69,270 pupils. Every commune is required to maintain at least one primary school. The provincial and national governments grant subventions. The total cost of elementary education in 1894 was 30,322,383 francs. About 27 per cent. of the population over fifteen years of age could not read nor write in 1890. Out of 63,113 young men called out in 1896 for military service 22,911 had more than a rudimentary education, 31,141 could merely read and write, 1,284 could only read, 7,129 could neither read nor write, and of 648 no returns were given. Finances.-The revised budget for 1897 makes the ordinary revenue 386,923,178 francs. Of this sum 25,276,000 francs are derived from taxes on property, 19,846,000 francs from personal taxes, 7,270,000 francs from trade licenses, 400,000 francs from mines, 36,116,632 francs from customs duties, 52,420,297 francs from excise, 20,475,000 francs from succession duties, 19,850,000 francs from registration taxes, 6,500,000 francs from stamps, 5,778,000 francs from various indirect taxes, 1,579,000 francs from canal tolls, 154,000,000 francs from railroads, 6,730,000 francs from telegraphs, 12,649,500 francs from the post office, 1,435,000 francs from pilotage dues, 3,178,500 francs from domains and forests. 9,358,900 francs from funds and securities, the national bank, etc., and 4,060,349 francs from repayments. The total ordinary expenditure was estimated at 386,295,842 francs, of which 113,659,819 francs are for interest and sinking fund of the debt, 4,865,200 francs for the civil list and dotations, 21,594,240 francs for the Ministry of Justice, 2,806,014 francs for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 26,432,385 francs for the Ministry of the Interior and Public Instruction, 23,171,149 francs for the Ministry of Agriculture and Public Works, 116,438,585 francs for the Ministry of Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs, 48,381,375 francs for the Ministry of War, 19,069,415 franes for the Ministry of Finance, 1,926,000 francs for the gendarmerie, and 3,095,060 francs for the Ministry of Industry and Labor. The ordinary revenue for 1894 was 362,600,000 francs, and the extraordinary revenue 42,589,000 francs; total, 405,185,000 francs. The ordinary expenditure in that year was 353,340,000 francs, and the special expenditure 49,219,000 francs, making a total of 402,559,000 francs. The revenue of the provincial administrations in 1894 amounted to 15,225,500 francs, and their expenses to 14,069,000 francs. The revenue of the communes from ordinary sources amounts to about 118,000,000 francs a year, besides which 60,000,000 francs or more are expended for extraordinary purposes. The public debt was raised almost entirely for railroads and other useful and reproductive public works. The capital amount in 1895 was 2,246,366,647 francs, of which 2,006,407,015 francs pay 3 per cent. interest, 219,659,632 francs 24 per cent., and 20,000,000 francs are redeemable treasury bonds. The Army.-The Belgian defenses consist of the central arsenal of Antwerp, with the fortified towns of Dendermond and Diest, the fortifications at Mons, Tournai, and Ypres, guarding the French frontier, and those at Liége, Huy, and Namur, with those of the scheme of 1887 for the further fortification of the line of the Meuse. Every able-bodied Belgian on reaching the age of nineteen is liable to conscription, but substitution is permitted. The annual recruit is about 13,300 men. The period of service is eight years, though not more than two or three years of actual service with the colors are required. The strength of the army on the peace footing in 1895 was 3,515 officers and 48,165 men. Of the total, 1,923 officers and 27,738 men were in the infantry, 379 officers and 5,849 men in the cavalry, 467 officers and 8,215 men in the artillery, 94 officers and 1,534 men in the engineers, 64 officers and 2,522 men in the gendarmerie, and 588 officers and 2,307 men attached to the general staff, administrative corps, military school, and other establishments. The artillery is armed with 200 guns, in war time with 240. There are 7,200 horses for the army and 1,636 for the gendarmerie. The war strength of the army is 3,505 officers and 163,082 men, with 14.000 horses. In addition there is the Civic Guard organized, in the towns, numbering about 43,000 men. Commerce and Industry.-Most of the land of Belgium is divided into small parcels, which are highly cultivated by farmers or by the owners. The proportion of cultivators owning their land is increasing. Of the total area of the kingdom, 67 per cent. is under cultivation and 17 per cent. is forest. The agricultural class forms about 22 per cent. of the total population. Wheat, rye, oats, and the sugar beet are the principal crops. Tobacco was raised to the amount of 5,166,000 kilogrammes in 1895. The raw sugar produced in 1895 amounted to 182,178,000 kilogrammes; refined sugar, 65,662,000 kilogrammes. The distilleries produced 628,340 hectolitres of proof spirit. There were 118,957 persons employed in the coal mines in 1895. The number of women working underground decreased from 2,172 in 1893 to 1,628 in 1895. The production of coal in 1895 was 20,451,000 tons, valued at 193,357,000 francs. The iron mines produced 312,637 tons of ore, and 1,942,900 tons of iron ore were imported, mostly from Luxemburg. The production of pig iron was 829,234 tons, valued at 40,207,000 francs; of manufactured iron, 445,899 tons, valued at 55,729,000 francs; of steel ingots, 407,634 tons, valued at 31,018,000 francs; of steel rails, etc., 367,918 tons, valued at 42,419,000 francs. The zinc product was 38,496,000 francs in value; lead, 4,203,000 francs; silver, 3,430,000 francs. The value of imports in the general commerce of 1895 was 2,904,948,026 francs, of which 1,397,293,169 francs constituted the ocean trade and 1,507,654,857 francs the railroad and river traffic. The general exports amounted to 2,424,560,429 francs, of which 1,154,157,499 francs represent goods shipped from the ports and 1,450,705,084 francs the amount sent by land and river. The total value of the imports for domestic consumption was 1,680,400,000 francs; of the domestic exports, 1,385,400,000 francs; of the transit trade, 1,219,400,000 francs. The special imports of cereals were 268,292,000 francs in value; raw textile materials, 155,543,000 francs; drugs and chemicals, 95,105,000 francs; resins and gums, 85,457,000 francs; timber, 66,411,000 francs; woolen, cotton, and silk tissues, 64,059,000 francs; oil seeds, 59,462,000 francs: mineral substances, 59,458,000 franes; hides, 59,037,000 francs; coffee, 55,174,000 francs; metals, 50,357,000 francs; animal products, 38,958,000 francs; live animals, 37,791,000 francs; meat, 32.833,000 francs; wines, 32,792,000 francs; coal and coke, 30,263,000 francs; linen and woolen yarns, 23,338,000 francs; fertilizers, 20,612,000 francs; machinery, 19,518,000 francs; butter, 18,868,000 francs; flour, 18,785,000 francs; tobacco, 12,090,000 francs. The special exports of linen, wool, and other textile yarns were valued at 106,282,000 francs; coal and coke, 87,726,000 francs; textile materials, 80,643,000 francs; tissues, 72,490,000 francs; hides and leather, 65,551,000 francs; chemicals and drugs, 62,892,000 francs; cereals, 62,821,000 francs; machinery and carriages, 61,780,000 francs: meat, 52,877,000 francs; iron, 52,370,000 francs; glass, 50,954,000 francs; sugar, 48,090,000 franes; steel, 47,906,000 francs; animal products, 36,028,000 francs; mineral substances, 33,320,000 franes; zinc, 31,794,000 francs; fertilizers, 27,850,000 francs; horses, 27.288,000 francs; bitumen. 24,447,000 francs; dyes and colors, 22,430,000 francs; oil seeds. 22,295,000 francs. The foreign countries participating most largely in the Belgian trade and their respective shares in the special commerce of 1895 were as follow, values being given in franes: COUNTRIES. France. United States Great Britain Netherlands.. Imports. 132,852.000 Russia 116,910,000 Roumania. 100,108,000 92,693,000 20,339,000 28,274,000 3,557,000 Exports. -46,650,000 266,708,000 21,510,000 21.859,000 1,487,000 5,665,000 21,932,000 7,710,000 9,813.000 27,748,000 34,103,000 racial pride of the Flemings, followed by their triumph in religious and political matters over the Liberalism of the French school that formerly held sway and gave the Walloons a preponderant influence, naturally suggested the elevation of their national tongue to an equal place beside the French as one of the parliamentary and legal languages of the country. The way was prepared by a long agitation conducted by their political leaders, known as the Flamingants, who adopted for their motto the cry "In Vlaanderen Vlaamsch," and raised the proud claim that the Fransquillons, as they nicknamed the Walloons and their sympathizers, must acknowledge that the Flemish element has all the rights that can be claimed by their French-speaking fellow-countrymen, including that of being addressed by the official representatives of the sovereign power in their own tongue. By using their native language the Flemings, who form three fifths of the population of Belgium, could oftener make their way to the front than 299,856,000 284,220,000 by trying to rival their Walloon competitors in the speech that these have employed from the cradle. 165,004.000 They would follow the example of the burghers of 310,790.000 Ghent, who returned to Charles V his letter written 20,267.000 in French. It was a question with them of abstract 9,028,000 justice and of individual liberty, for it is the im14,353,000 memorial right of every community to have its laws 15,474,000 inscribed and discussed in its own language and of 25,323,000 every person to be heard in the tribunals of his own country without recourse to a foreign tongue. From a government of their own creation and Chambers that they controlled the Flemish politicians thought that they could exact the recognition of their national language, on which they had set their hearts, and which they supported by arguments drawn from the most varied sources, in the guise of historical precedent, the preponderance of the Flemish race, the abstract principles of justice, and the nationalistic tendency of the age. Not that they or their Walloon opponents recognized any separatist tendency in the movement, for all were careful to assert that the difference of language by no means constituted a difference of nationality and that Flemings and Walloons were all equally Belgian patriots. The Walloons protested that the bill would constitute a grave danger for Belgium by completely isolating the Flemish section of the inhabitants and placing the Walloons in a position of relative inferiority, both in the Chambers and elsewhere, by reason of their ignorance of Flemish. The Liberal Association petitioned Parliament to reject it on the ground that the actual laws gave entire satisfaction to the Flemish, while the Coremans law would oblige Deputies to vote articles that they did not understand and was only the first of a series of measures having for their object the exclusion of Walloons from public employments, revealing a tendency that constituted a danger to national unity. The opposition of the Walloons only served to fortify the Flemish politicians in their resolution to secure what they considered a just recognition of the equal standing of their community with that of the Walloons of the south. They carried the measure through the Chamber of Deputies by a large majority without any long discussion. The National Flemish Union denounced vengeance upon the Brussels Deputies who enviously voted against it. There seemed little question of its passing the Senate in its integrity, especially after M. de Vriendt had declared that, should the Senate amend or modify it, he would withdraw it on its return to the Chamber rather than admit the least alteration in its stipulations. But before the vote was taken in the Senate the question began to be considered in quarters remote from the heat of political strife and the inconvenience and inexpe Navigation. During 1895 there were 7,249 vessels, of 6,858,237 tons, entered at the ports of Belgium, and 7,227, of 6.811.765 tons, cleared. Of those entered, 3,867, of 2,569,024 tons, arrived from English ports, and 266, of 543,247 tons, from the United States, and of those cleared 4,960, of 4,046,331 tons, were bound for English and 224, of 548,776 tons, for American ports. The merchant marine at the close of 1895 comprised 5 sailing vessels, of 917 tons, and 54 steamers, of 86,296 tons. Communications. The railroads of Belgium had a total length at the beginning of 1896 of 2,839 miles, of which 2,044 miles were managed by the Government and 795 miles by companies. There were 76,937,198 passengers transported in 1895 on the state lines and 22,662,735 by the companies. The gross earnings of the state lines were 154,467,350 franes, and the expenses 90,436,312 francs. The total cost of the Government railroads was 1,413,057.543 francs. The net receipts from 1835, when the first railroad began running, till the close of 1895, amounted to 1,505,187,060 francs, and during the same period the sum of the fixed charges has been 1,437,038.840 francs. The post office in 1895 carried 109,921,305 private and 20,786.583 official letters, 45,177,886 postal cards, 89,061,193 circulars, etc., and 110,695,533 newspapers. The receipts were 19,712,524 francs; expenses, 10,586,960 francs. The telegraph lines in 1895 had a total length of 4,045 miles with 19,645 miles of wire. The number of messages sent in 1895 was 8.515,157: receipts, 4,909,693 francs; expenses, 4,867,971 francs. The Flemish Question. The principal question brought before the Parliament in the session of 1897 was that of the official rehabilitation of the Flemish tongue. Deputies Coremans and de Vriendt introduced a bill making Flemish equal ly with French the official language of Belgium. The literary revival of the Flemish tongue and the reawakening of historical memories and local or lected to arbitrate the matter. A congress of employees, composed of delegates representing clerks, salesmen, artisans, persons in Government employ, and the mass of wage earners who do not belong to the laboring class, met at Brussels on Feb. 7 with the object of taking common action with a view to bringing before Parliament the grievances of their class, and organized a system of local unions and a central league whose duty it should be to exact from parliamentary candidates a pledge to assist their cause. The Chamber, which heretofore has had no stricter code of discipline than the simple call to order, revised its rules against the protests of the whole Left for the avowed purpose of curbing the Socialists, who have introduced into the debates an unaccustomed laxity and disregard for parliamentary etiquette. diency of the change to be reflected upon. The The Liberal Opposition supported the military authorities in the demand for army reorganization, which the Clerico-Conservative Cabinet took up and then abandoned or deferred because the ministers could not get their democratic followers to agree to submit to the enforced military service that it would entail. The Liberals insisted that the reform should embrace the reorganization of the Civic Guard. Societies of retired officers and military men of all grades, including veterans of 1880, representatives of the Liberal League, and delegations from communal councils and other corporate bodies, assembled in Brussels on June 13, and in a monster procession, with Gen. Brialmont for their spokesman, presented an address to the King in favor of army reform, to which King Leopold, who is a convinced advocate of the introduction of conscription into Belgium, replied with a powerful plea for the urgent necessity of strengthening the military defense of the country, saying that he was too solicitous for the security and eventual defense of the country not to desire that the principle of personal service should be the base of the military system, and that it would be at the mercy and hazard of events unless it organized its defenses solidly, modeling its military institutions on those of the surrounding nations, with tactical units composed, armed, and trained in conditions analogous to those of its neighbors. The King's outspoken utterances on the military question created a widespread sensation in Belgium and gave occasion for an interpellation in the Chamber, The bill for the reorganization of the Civic Guard was passed by the Chamber at the end of July after a long discussion. The Socialist Demblon protested against the clause providing for the administration of the oath of allegiance, and delivered a violent attack on the King, incurring thereby a vote of censure, passed by 74 votes to 17, with 6 abstentions. The Chamber passed a bill compelling all foreigners who have resided in Belgium for a year to enroll themselves in the Civic Guard. This measure was the result of the great increase of late in the foreign colonies of Brussels and Antwerp. Objections against the enforcement of this law were interposed by the British and American diplomatic representatives. The question of army reform took precedence of all other matters in the public mind. The original bill to enforce universal conscription and put an end to the privilege of purchasing substitutes enjoyed by the wealthy classes was withdrawn by the Government on the eve of the meeting of the Chambers in October, 1896, and in consequence Gen. Brassine resigned the Ministry of War. The actual strength of the Belgian army is the lowest of any country in Europe, and the mili tary budget per capita is a third of that of France or Great Britain. Universal liability to service was exceedingly popular in the Walloon half of the kingdom. Even a section of the Socialists in their Legislation.-The Government on Jan. 1 accepted an arrangement presented by the French Minister regulating the relations of Belgium with France in Tunis. Parliament enacted a bill for suppressing gambling operations on the stock exchange. A plan of the works that will convert Brussels into a seaport was finally adopted by the ministry, the municipal authorities, and the commission of maritime installations on Jan. 4. The course of the canal will pass through the plain of Tour and Taxis, thus bringing the new docks nearly into the heart of the capital. The law authorizing the police authorities to expel foreigners, which was originally framed in 1835 and would expire on Feb. 15, 1897, was continued in force by a vote of 61 to 35 in the Chamber on Jan. 21. The English Government demanded redress for Ben Tillett, the labor organizer, who came to Antwerp in connection with the dock strike and was expelled by order of the Minister of Justice in 1896; but the Belgian Government cited precedents for its action. The British Foreign Office then proposed arbitration, and, Belgium acceding, a French jurist was se parades carried banners praising the principle of a nation in arms. The Socialists in June set on foot a large miners' strike in the Borinage district around Mons, the object of which was to obtain the recall of recently issued obnoxious pit regulations as well as an increase of 20 per cent. in wages. Congresses. Four congresses dealing with questions concerning the welfare of the laboring classes were held in Brussels during the summer of 1897. The first, meeting on July 7, discussed the question of Sunday rest, and took account of all the grounds -hygienic, social, and religious-upon which it is advisable to insure to working people a respite from labor on the first day of the week and the means by which the desired end can be legally enforced. M. Nyssens, the Minister of Industry and Labor, presided at this congress, the committees of which were made up of prominent representatives of the cause from the various Continental countries and from England. The second congress, held on July 23 and the two succeeding days, dealt with the question of the housing of workingmen's families under improved conditions and at cheaper rents than now prevail. M. Beernaert, Minister of State and President of the Belgian Chamber, presided over this congress and over the next one, which opened on July 26 and remained five days in session, discussing the question of the employer's or the workman's liability in case of accidents, the compulsory insurance of workmen against illness as well as accident, and the just apportionment of the cost between the workmen and the masters. The legislation of European countries on this subject was studied with a view of working out a system of compulsory insurance for Belgium. The fourth congress, of which the Duc d'Ursel was chairman, discussed on Sept. 27 and the three following days the feasibility of organizing a system of international protective legislation for the benefit of workers in mines, factories, and other industrial establishments. Among the subjects of debate were hygienic regulations and the limiting of the hours of labor for men as well as for women and children. The chief countries of Europe and the United States were represented. On Aug. 30 a congress, presided over by exMinister Lejeune, met to discuss the ways of combating drunkenness and its consequent evils. This was the sixth international congress against alcoholism, and it remained in session four days. The most important subject of debate was the mission of the state in controlling or suppressing the abuse of alcohol and the poverty and misery caused by alcoholism, the increase of disease, insanity, vice, pauperism, and crime, and other grounds for state interference. The international conference to promote arbitration was opened on Aug. 7 in the hall of the Chamber of Deputies, and had M. Beernaert for its president. There were delegates present from America, England, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, and Roumania. The British section offered resolutions expressing regret that the United States had refused to ratify the Anglo-American arbitration treaty. There was a women's congress held in August; also in connection with the Brussels exhibition were convoked congresses of legal, bibliographical, and architects' medico-legal associations. An international colonial congress was organized under the auspices of King Leopold, with Auguste Beernaert for its president, and representatives arrived from France, Spain, Hungary, Brazil, Persia, Santo Domingo, Servia, and the Congo Free State. BOLIVIA, a republic in South America. The legislative power is vested in the Congress, consisting of a Senate of 18 members, elected for six years, and a Chamber of Deputies of 64 members, elected for four years. Every male Bolivian of full age and able to read and write possesses the franchise. The President is elected for four years by the vote of the nation, and is not re-eligible for the next succeeding term. Severo Fernandez Alonso was inducted as President on Aug. 15, 1896. The Cabinet at the beginning of 1897 was as follows: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Manuel M. Gomez; Minister of Finance, L. Gutierrez; Minister of the Interior and Justice, Macario Pinilla Minister of Public Instruction, Colonization, Telegraphs, Public Works, and Industry, Dr. J. V. Ocha; Minister of War, G. Sanjines. Area and Population.-The present area of Bolivia is computed to be 567,360 square miles. The population, according to an official enumeration made between 1890 and 1893, is 2,019,549, not including about 250,000 wild Indians. The civilized Indians number about 1,000,000, whites 5,000,000, and mestizos 500,000. La Paz, the former capital, has about 40,000 inhabitants; Sucre, the present capital, has 20,000. Education is free and legally compulsory. There were 506 primary schools in 1894, with 710 teachers and 26.873 pupils. Finances. The revenue for the financial year 1896 was estimated at 6.305,793 bolivianos, and the expenditures at 6,727,824 bolivianos. The public debt amounts to 9,493,705 bolivianos, consisting of 4,428,705 bolivianos of internal debt, various loans amounting to 3,065,000 bolivianos, and an external debt of 2,000,000 bolivianos. The expenditure on the army in 1896 was 1.781,624 bolivianos. The standing army numbers 1,250 men, besides which there is a National Guard, forming the reserve and the extraordinary reserve, in which, under the conscription law of 1892, all citizens are required to serve from the age of twenty-one to that of forty. Commerce and Production.-Metals and forest products constitute the exports of Bolivia, besides some coffee, which is exported to Chili and the Argentine Republic, and hides and skins. Since the loss of Antofagasta to Chili Bolivia has had no seaport. The export of rubber is large and increasing. Coca is an important product, and so is cinchona, but less so than formerly. Sugar is grown for the distillation of rum. Wheat, corn, barley, and beans are raised for domestic consumption. Cattle, sheep, and llamas are numerous. These last are the common transport animals. Wool is made into coarse cloth worn by the Indians. The silver produced in 1894 was 14,519,296 ounces. Tin is found associated with silver, and in 1895 the export amounted to 2,000 tons of bars and about 4,000 tons of concentrated tin ore. The annual product of copper barilla is 3.000 tons. Gold is washed out by the Indians in small quantities. Other mineral products are antimony, bismuth, salt, and borax. The imports for 1894 were estimated at 6,800,000 bolivianos, consisting chiefly of provisions, hardware, textiles, wine and spirits, and apparel. The exports of silver and silver ore through Antofagasta are estimated at £1,914,500, and the tin exports at £433,900. Considerable silver is coined in the mint, but there has always been an export movement taking the coin out of the country, hence the Government now coins only half bolivianos and smaller pieces 8 per cent. lighter than the old bolivianos. Communications.-There are 500 miles of railroad, forming the Bolivian section of the line leading from Antofagasta to Oruro, with a branch to Huanchaca. Concessions have been obtained for lines from Oruro to Cochabamba and from Challapata to Potosi, for one from La Paz to the Peruvian frontier, connecting with the road from Mol lendo to Lake Titicaca, and for one in the east from Santa Cruz to the Paraguay river. An international railroad between Bolivia and the Argentine Republic is projected. The telegraph lines have a total length of 2,000 miles. The post office forwarded 1,532,458 letters, newspapers, etc., in the internal, and 420,579 in the international service in 1893. BOOK-PLATES. To Germany we undoubtedly owe the origination of the earliest example of a book-plate with which to mark ownership of a printed book that came from German types, and to which it is an unstrained sequence. The earliest book-plate known has been assigned a probable date of about 1450. As might be expected, this was exceedingly crude when compared with more recently engraved plates by the best artists. The early plates were very simple in design, being, in fact, only what are now known as "name labels." These early labels were rectangular slips on which appeared the owners' names, often bordered elab FRENCH PLATE UNDER NAPOLEON I. RANK INDICATED BY TOQUE AND PLUMES INSTEAD OF HELMET. DESIGNED BY plates," following M. Poulet Malassis on French plates, whose monograph appeared in 1874, classifying, arranging, and originating a nomenclature that has since served as a standard. The rules described by Warren, on which the composition of book-plates had for the most part taken place, have been subject to frequent modification and change. EARLY FRENCH PLATE. PERIOD PRIOR TO 1650. CHARGES ON orately. Because of the limited education of the Notwithstanding the comparative antiquity of book-plates, little attention was paid to them until a very recent period. It is true they were used here and there, and people knew there were such things, but almost no literature appears on the subject until in 1837 Rev. Daniel Parsons wrote some magazine articles on book-plates. More than forty years INFERIORA Bromley Lord Montfort ENGLISH TRICKED PLATE. PERIOD PRIOR TO 1738. In the fifteenth century it was the name label followed by the varying armorial and heraldic types, exemplified among others by the famous Albrecht |