ment of the completion of the Twentieth Century fund of £250,000, the final subscriptions having come in since the opening of the assembly. The annual meetings of the Baptist Missionary Society were held in London, April 29 and May 1. The report represented that the purpose determined upon at the centenary meeting of the society several years before, to raise the annual income to £100,000, had never been carried out, but they had been forced to face each year a deficit of £10,000, which had to be met by special subscriptions. The deficit this year was £9,909, toward the removal of which subscriptions were taken during the meeting, whereby it was reduced to £3,700.

The general receipts of the Zenana Mission had amounted to £11,035, and the expenditures to £10,705. The mission staff numbered 63 missionaries in India and 5 in China. In India, visits were paid regularly to about 3,000 zenanas, 1,500 zenana pupils were under instruction, and 97 schools were taught, with nearly 4,000 pupils. The missionaries returning to China had been warmly welcomed back by the Chinese Christian

women.

The Bible Translation Society returned a total income of £1,554, and a balance in hand of £101 after meeting all expenses. Progress was reported in the preparation and revision of versions of the Scriptures in Bengali, Oriya, Cingalese, and Dualla and other languages of the Congo.

The autumnal assembly of the union was held in Birmingham, Oct. 6-9, Tuesday, Oct. 7, being given to the meeting of the Baptist Missionary Society. At this meeting a farewell was given to 10 missionaries returning to their fields and 4 new missionaries going out; and a resolution was adopted pledging cooperation with the visitation of the churches which had been instituted for the purpose of securing sufficient funds to maintain an equilibrium between income and expenditure, and of obtaining further support to meet the new and promising openings that were presenting themselves and the increasing demands for reenforcements from fields already occupied. The address of the President of the Union, the Rev. J. R. Wood, was on The Church and the Nation. The treasurer of the Twentieth Century fund of £250,000 (which had all been subscribed) reported that the amount of £204,000 in cash had been received for it-£173,000 of the sum from England. A considerable additional amount was expected from Wales, and some from England. The education bill was the subject of an active discussion, and resolutions were unanimously adopted declaring that the members of the assembly maintained the objections against the bill offered in the spring meeting of the union for the following reasons:

"1. That the bill seeks to confirm and to perpetuate clerical control of elementary schools.

2. That it provides no effective remedy for the grievous wrong which is done to non-conformists and other parents in 7,470 parishes where the only public elementary schools are those whose avowed object is the training of the scholars in the principles of the Established Church.

3. That in the case of 11.777 Church of England and 1,045 Roman Catholic schools, while the entire cost of teaching staff and furniture and apparatus would be defrayed from the public purse, denominational managers would appoint and dismiss teachers and prescribe any form of religious instruction which they pleased; and

4. That the bill violates the fundamental

principle of the Constitution that taxation shall be accompanied by popular control. They regard the bill as the product of an alliance between the Government and the High Anglican party and the Roman Catholic hierarchy, having for its main purpose the clericalizing of education at the cost of the just rights of all Free Church citizens and to the injury of Protestantism and non-conformity; and since this attempt occurs at the end of a series of sectarian aggressions in our national educational legislation, and as a fresh and unprovoked disturbance of the present arrangement, they are resolved to use their political influence to secure a system of national education in harmony with the principles of justice and efficiency, and in which every public elementary school shall be unsectarian and placed under the management of a board of which women may be members, and no citizen, teacher, or scholar be placed at any legal disadvantage on account of religious opinion.

"They now declare their solemn determination not to submit to this measure if it becomes law and to render it unworkable by every lawful means in their power. They are not surprised that very many of the opponents of the bill have resolved to suffer distraint of goods as a protest against this obnoxious measure, rather than pay the school rate, and they are for their own part resolved to adopt this course." A committee was appointed to consider the question of a sustentation fund. Addresses were delivered and papers read during the meetings on the problem of The Mid-Town Church and the growing alienation of the working classes from places of worship, The Problem of Suburban Work, The Missionary Dispensary, The Rural Baptist Church, Lay Preaching Power; and a public evening meeting was devoted to the Exposition of Free Church Principles.

Baptist Jubilee in New Zealand.-Jubilee celebrations of the foundings of the first Baptist churches in the colony were held in New Zealand early in the year. The Baptist Union was not formed till 1882. The returns from the associated churches showed that there were 34 churches in the union, with 3,679 members, and sitting accommodations for 9,790 persons.

BELGIUM, a constitutional, representative, hereditary monarchy in western Europe. The legislative power is vested in the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. Senators are elected for eight years, one-third by provincial councils and two-thirds by the direct vote of the people. Half the Senators retire every four years. The Chamber contains 152 members, one to 40,000 inhabitants, elected for four years. Every male citizen twenty-five years of age possessing full civil rights and domiciled for one year in his commune has a vote. If he is thirty-five years of age, married or a widower with children, and pays 5 francs in direct taxes, he is entitled to 2 votes. If he possesses real property of the value of 2,000 francs or investments in the public funds yielding 100 francs a year, he may cast 2 votes. If he is a graduate of an institution of higher education or holds or has held public office or practises a profession implying the possession of higher education he has 2 votes; and if, in addition, he is the head of a household or an owner of property or public stocks, he has 3 votes. There were 1,452.232 individual electors in 1900 who cast 2,239,621 votes for Representatives and 1,227,720 who cast 1,994.153 for Senators. The number of Representatives is determined after each census, and the Senate consists of half their number.

The reigning sovereign is Leopold II, born April 9, 1835, who, on Dec. 10, 1865, succeeded his father, Leopold I, a prince of Saxe-Coburg, who was elected King of the Belgians by a National Congress on June 4, 1831, after the secession on Oct. 4, 1830, of Belgium from the Netherlands. A treaty was signed on Nov. 15, 1831, by Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Russia, guaranteeing the perpetual neutrality and inviolability of Belgium. The heir to the throne is Philippe, Count of Flanders, born March 24, 1837, the king's only brother, who has one son living, Prince Albert, born April 8, 1875.

The Council of Ministers appointed on Aug. 5, 1899, was composed as follows: President of the Council and Minister of Finance and of Public Works, Count de Smet de Naeyer; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baron P. de Favereau; Minister of Justice, M. van den Heuvel; Minister of Agriculture, Baron van den Bruggen; Minister of the Interior and of Public Instruction, M. de Trooz; Minister of War, Major-Gen. A. Cousebant d'Alkemade; Minister of Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs, M. Liebaert; Minister of Industry and Labor, Baron Surmont de Volsberghe, who resigned on Aug. 20 and was succeeded by Gustave Francotte.

Area and Population.-The area of Belgium is 11,373 square miles. The population in 1902 was 6,693,000. The census of that date makes it 6,693,810, or 589 to the square mile, an increase of 624,489 in ten years. The number of marriages in 1899 was 55,765; of births, 194,268; of deaths, 126,963; excess of births, 67,305. The number of divorces in 1899 was 563. The number of immigrants in 1900 was 29,231, and of emigrants 25,064; net immigration, 4,167. The population of the principal towns on Dec. 31, 1900, was as follows: Brussels, including suburbs, 561,782; Antwerp, 285,600; Liège, 173, 708; Ghent, 160,949; Mechlin, 56,013; Verviers, 52,203.

Finances.-The ordinary revenue of the Government in 1899 amounted to 483,372,000 francs, and the ordinary expenditure to 570,442,000 francs. In 1900 the ordinary revenue was 491,905,000 francs. For 1902 the budget estimate of revenue was 489,040,050 francs, of which 26,438,000 francs are derived from property taxes, 21,629,000 francs from personal taxes, 9,000,000 francs from trade licenses, 1,600,000 francs from mines, 43,355,806 francs from customs, 68,725,640 francs from excise, 2,902,000 francs from various taxes, 30,200,000 francs from registration and other fees, 19,720,000 francs from succession duties, 8,000,000 francs from stamp-duties, 913, 000 francs from fines, 2,105,000 francs from rivers and canals, 204,370,000 francs from railroads, 10,000,000 francs from telegraphs, 15,910,230 franes from posts, 1,510,000 francs from steamboats, 2,985,000 francs from domains and forests, 14,999,300 francs from profits of the Bank of Belgium and other chartered enterprises, and 4.677,074 francs from repayments. The total expenditure for 1902 was estimated at 488,344,403 francs, of which 133,781,107 francs were for interest and sinking-fund of the public debt, 5.115,276 francs for the civil list and dotations, 26,791,400 francs for the Ministry of Justice, 3,283.988 francs for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 30,160,181 franes for the Ministry of the Interior and Public Instruction, 12,412,756 francs for the Ministry of Agriculture, 16,448,800 francs for the Ministry of Industry and Labor, 160,327,494 francs for the Ministry of Railroads, Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones, 55.205,371 francs for the Ministry of War, 34,498,820 francs for the

Ministry of Finance and of Public Works, 7,334,210 francs for the gendarmerie, and 2,076,000 franes for repayments, etc.

The national debt on June 30, 1901, amounted to 2,650,898,150 francs, of which 2,428,111,982 francs are loans raised at 3 per cent. interest, 2,826,536 francs represent the capitalized value of annuities, and 219,959,632 francs are the share of Belgium in the old debt of the United Netherlands, a perpetual debt on which 2 per cent. interest is paid. The loans were raised almost entirely for the building of railroads and other useful and remunerative public works. They are redeemable by means of a sinking-fund. The revenue of the provincial administrations in 1898 was 18,819,013 francs, and expenditures 15,938,019 francs; provincial debts, 32,207,082 francs. The ordinary revenue of communes amounted to 118,742,538 francs, and expenditure to 117,144,576 franes; the extraordinary revenue to 59,278,223 francs, and expenditure to 62,172,216 francs.

The Army. The standing army is raised partly by conscription, to which every Belgian is liable at the age of twenty, and partly by voluntary enlistment. The strength of the army on the peace footing in 1902 was 267 staff and superior officers, 1,921 officers, and 27,788 men in the infantry, 370 officers and 5,770 men in the cavalry, 633 officers and 8,682 men in the artillery, 152 officers and 1,703 men in the engineers, 78 officers and 963 men in the administrative departments, 210 surgeons, 41 veterinarians, and 71 officers and 2,903 men in the gendarmerie; total, 3,743 officers and 47,809 men, with 10,879 horses. The infantry soldiers carry Mauser magazine rifles of the model of 1889, of 7.65 millimeters caliber, holding 5 cartridges. The field-artillery have 204 Krupp breech-loading steel guns of 8.7 centimeters bore in the mounted and 7.5 in the horse batteries. Conscripts are allowed to furnish substitutes, which the Ministry of War provides on the payment of a maximum price of 1,600 francs. The nominal term of service is eight years in the active army and five years in the reserve. Unlimited leave is given after service with the colors for twenty-eight to thirty-six months. The war strength of the army is 143,000 men, with 28.600 horses. It is proposed to increase the strength to 180,000 men by shortening the term of service.

Commerce and Production. Of the total area of Belgium 65.06 per cent. is cultivated, 17.70 per cent. is forest, and 17.24 per cent. is waste. marsh, river, road, and building and mineral land. Less than 19 per cent. of the people are dependent on agriculture. The production of wheat from 180.377 hectares in 1899 was 3,816,777 hectoliters; of barley from 40.242 hectares, 1,402.871 hectoliters: of oats from 248,693 hectares, 10.101,950 hectoliters: of rye from 283,375 hectares. 6,543,152 hectoliters; of potatoes from 184,690 hectares, 33,246.046 hectoliters; of sugar-beets from 54.099 hectares, 18.068,318 quintals; of other beets from 40,561 hectares, 17,383,656 quintals; of tobacco from 2,148 hectares, 34,067 quintals. The quantity of hops gathered was 63.911 quintals. The annual value of forest products is estimated at 22.000.000 francs. The value of quarry products in 1899 was 55,448,745 franes. The quantity of iron ore mined in 1899 was 201. 445 tons, valued at 1,073,100 francs; the quantity imported from Luxembourg and other countries was 2,621.336 tons. There were 125.258 persons employed in the coal-mines, which produced 22.072,000 tons, valued at 274.444.000 francs. The production of pig iron was 1,024,576 tons, valued at 74,404,000 francs; of manufac

frustrated by a strong cordon of troops and police who kept the demonstrating bands out of the neutral zone around the houses of Parliament, the royal palace and the ministries, within which political demonstrations are forbidden. The question was soon brought up in the Chamber. Liberals, Democrats, and Christian Socialists joined in the demand for a revision of the Constitution. From the various groups working for a change in the electoral law motions were offered in the Chamber for a similar change in the municipal and provincial voting franchise, which can be effected by the legislative action of Parliament without alteration of the national Constitution. Every such motion was rejected. The Moderate and Progressist sections of the Liberal party united on a program calling for the abolition of plural voting and for proportional representation, though the Moderates reserved the option of proposing a double vote either for heads of families or for men who have reached a certain age. The Premier said that the Government was determined not to alter the present system of plural voting, as a safeguard against the Socialists who threatened to use the extended franchise as an instrument to accomplish their ideals. The Socialist demonstrations grew threatening and violent when the Government refused to discuss a compromise. The Minister of War called out the reserves. Coal-miners began to strike and bomb outrages were committed against Clerical party leaders when the Chambers reassembled in April and the Socialists and Liberals were ready to press the question in Parliament. On the night of April 10, when mobs attempted to erect barricades in the streets of Brussels after a stormy debate in the Chamber, the troops fired volleys and used their bayonets. The Socialist leaders threatened a general strike if the Government used force to suppress the popular demonstrations. It became evident that the Government could no longer rely on the troops as heretofore to turn their weapons against the populace. The ministers still resisted the discussion of revision in Parliament, determined not to yield once more to popular tumults. The Socialists threatened to order a general strike and stoppage of business as well as a legislative deadlock. The Government insisted that provisional credits should be voted first sufficient for the needs of administration till the end of October. The number of members by which the Chamber should be increased, to correspond with the increase in the population, was also given precedence. The third Government measure was an extraordinary budget of 100,000,000 francs for public works. The Socialists carried on obstruction for five days without being able to prevent the first two points of the Government program from being acted upon. Their violent behavior in the Chamber and the street disturbances that followed estranged the Liberals, who were as desirous of electoral reform as the Socialists. Whenever in the opinion of the ministers a demand for a revision of the Constitution is ripe for action the two Chambers resolve themselves into a Constituent Assembly. After a general strike of working men had occurred in 1891 and another in 1893 in favor of universal suffrage a compromise was accepted by the Clerical party, which had then been in power since 1884 and still remains in power. The Constituent Assembly enacted the present franchise law giving a vote to every man twenty-five years of age, 2 votes to husbands or widowers of thirty-five having legitimate issue or to owners of real estate worth 2,000 francs, and 3 votes to those

The

possessing either of these qualifications who are university graduates or professional men. number of qualified electors was increased from 135,000 to 1,400,000 with over 2,000,000 votes. This extension of the franchise admitted Socialists to the Chamber, but was unsatisfactory to the Liberals, who carried through a system of proportional representation in 1899. Until this was adopted the scrutin de liste frequently left the Liberals without representation in districts where they almost had a majority. The Belgian system of proportional representation is worked out by dividing the total vote for each list by the number of members to be elected; the quotient is the electoral divisor which regulates the division of seats among the candidates of the different parties by the number of times it is contained in the total number of votes cast for each party ticket. The result for the whole country in 1900 was to give still to the Clericals an unduly large proportionate representation. In a total ballot of 2,075,000 the Clericals cast 1,040,000 votes, the Liberals and Progressists 535,000, the Socialists over 500,000. In the allotment of seats the Clericals obtained 85, the Liberals and Radicals 33, the Socialists 33, the Christian Democrats 1, giving the Catholics a majority of 18 over the united Opposition parties, who polled a popular vote about equal to theirs and in the true proportion would have as many seats. Hence the old Liberals as well as the Radicals entered into coalition with the Socialists, willing to sacrifice, if necessary, to political expediency Janson's old scheme of allowing men who have reached the age of thirty-five or forty or married men to vote twice, and to accept the Socialist program of one man one vote, while the Socialists on their side agreed to adopt the favorite Liberal principle of proportional representation. The Socialists and Liberals proposed to lower the voting age to twenty-one and to alter the composition of the Senate. The Catholics proposed to couple woman suffrage with the Socialist plan of an equal franchise for all electors. This innovation was resisted by the Liberals, who anticipated that the influence the clergy can exert over the female mind, especially in the more ignorant classes, would secure to the Clericals a permanent majority. The Government bill increasing the number of Deputies from 152 to 166 and the number of Senators from 76 to 83 passed the Chamber on April 12 without opposition. The arrest of M. Vandervelde, the Socialist leader, on April 12 led to a serious riot in Brussels. The troops charged with fixed bayonets and fired volleys, while the rioters used revolvers and glass bombs filled with corrosive fluids. Disturbances occurred in other towns. This outbreak caused a breach between the Socialists and the Liberals, who wished to withdraw from the alliance and urged the Government to dissolve Parliament when the Socialists decreed a general strike. The strike began in the coal-mines and spread to all the trades. In three days more than 200,000 men quit work. On April 17 Count de Smet de Naeyer gave his decision not to bring forward equal suffrage because the majority of the people did not want it, because there was no chance of a two-thirds majority in the Constituent Assembly in its favor, and above all because the Government would not yield to mob rule and allow the proceedings of Parliament to be dictated from the street or the action of the Government to be influenced by strikes, intimidation, and violence. By 84 votes to 64 the Chamber on April 18 decided not to admit the question of revision to consideration.

The un