"Igwe, ibefe.JISoMz \ for t^e foundin^^^CpUegi-i^^^Colofi^i • Y^U'WJMII^IEI&SflTrY' 1923 LD. 1168 A MANUAL OF BELGIUM AND THE ADJOINING TERRITORIES Prepared by the Geographical Section of the Naval Intelligence Division, Naval Staff, Admiralty LONDON : PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. To be purchased through any Bookseller or directly from H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE at the following addresses : Imperial House, Kingsway, London, W.C. 2, and 28 Abingdon Street, London, S.W. 1 ; 37 Peter Street, Manchester ; 1 St. Andrew's Crescent, Cardiff; 23 Forth Street, Edinburgh ; or from EASON & SON, Ltd., 41 and 42 Lower Sackville Street, Dublin Price 10s. 6d. net. Printed under the authority of His Majesty's Stationery Office By Frederick Hall, at the University Press, Oxford. An Atlas is issued with this volume. A list of the maps in it will be found in Appendix C, p. 585. NOTE This volume, together with its companion atlas, is, in the first instance, a geographical study of Belgium. The subjects dealt with are those on which geography has had a powerful influence, such as the composition and distribution of the population, history, agriculture, mining and manufactures, communications and trade. Certain social questions have also been treated in out line, as hardly separable from the subjects above mentioned. In the main, however, the following chapters aim not at solving social or political problems, 'but at stating economic and geographical facts, apart from which no solution of such questions is possible. Belgium has — except for her forty odd miles of seaboard — no natural frontiers. It was therefore desirable to go beyond her political frontiers and carry the description to the nearest natural boundaries. Roughly speaking, the boundaries adopted have been : (a) a line from Cap Gris-nez to Verdun, following at first the watershed of the Artois plateau and then that between the basins of the Meuse and Seine ; (b) a direct line from Verdun to Metz ; (c) the course of the Moselle to Coblenz and of the Rhine to the North Sea. We thus include a considerable strip of northern France, the whole Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, the Rhine Province of Prussia so far as that lies west of the Rhine and Moselle, with a fragment of the Reichs- land west of Metz and Thionville ; and a part of southern Holland. 6 NOTE A word must be added on the treatment of these marginal districts. It has been in almost every case less exhaustive than that of Belgium, and has been undertaken only so far as was necessary in order to place Belgium in its true perspective. In the matter of mineral resources, and, to a certain extent, of agriculture, the treatment of the area is equally detailed throughout ; in social and pohtical questions, except so far as they are raised in the chapter on history, Belgium alone has been considered. In the majority of chapters, sections will be found on Belgium followed by similar, but less exhaustive, sections on other parts of the area concerned. The parts of southern Holland which are included in our area have been much less fully treated than the other marginal districts. The broad belt of sparsely- inhabited plain which lies between the Belgian towns of the Scheldt basin and the Dutch towns of the Maas — the Campine or Kempenland — presents few features of interest, and forms something like a geographical frontier to Belgium on the north-east. Indeed, so complete is the division which it makes between the main population-centres of Holland and Belgium, that a study of the latter country can afford to ignore Breda and 'sHertogenbosch to an extent to which it cannot ignore Lille, Valenciennes, Aachen, or Cologne. On the other hand, the mineral resources of southern Holland, and its historical relations with Belgium, have been fully described. CONTENTS Note ..... Chapter I, Physical Geography. Introduction Geology River-systems Physical Regions 1. The Chalk Downs 2. The Plains - 3. The Ardennes-Eifel Massif 4. The Lorraine Plateau Climate . ... Chapter II. Population. Races Density of the Population 1. In Belgium 2. In France 3. In Luxemburg . 4. In Germany Birth-rate and Death-rate in Belgium PAGE 5 13-58 13 15 19 29 30 33 4752 55 59-78 5965657072 73 75 Chapter III. Languages and their Distribution. 79-105 Introduction . . . . . . .79 Distribution of Languages in Belgium . . .81 The French-speaking ElementinFlemish Belgium 81 TheFlemish-speakingElementinFrenchBelgium 83 The German-speaking Element in Belgium . 85 (a) The German-speaking Areas in Belgium 85 (fe) The German-speaking Element in the rest of Belgium ..... 88 General Linguistic Survey of Belgium . . 90 History of the Franco-Flemish Language-frontier 100 Distribution of Languages in the adjacent Territories 101 French Flanders 101 The Walloon District of Malmedy . . .103 TheFrench-speakingDistrict of German Lorraine 104 8 CONTENTS PAGE Chapter IV. History. 106-247 Introduction ....... 106 Early History of the whole area . . . .108 Belgium : 1. The Small Feudal States in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries . . .115 2. The Burgundian Period and the Unification of the Netherlands (1363-1477) . . 119 3. The First Period of Habsburg Rule (1477- 1555) 122 4. Spanish Rule: the Revolt of the Netherlands (1555-1609) 126 5. The Spanish Netherlands (1609-1714) : the Origin of the Barrier System . .129 6. Austrian Rule and the Revolt of the Belgians against Joseph II (1714-90) . . .133 7. The Southern Netherlands under French Rule (1792-1814) . . . .136 8, Belgium joined to Holland (1814-30) . . 139 9. The Creation of the Kingdom of Belgium (1830-9) 143 10. Outline of the Belgian Constitution and Local Government . . . .150 11. Note on Belgian Parties, 1831-1914 (Internal Policy) 156 12. The Political Position of Belgium in Europe, 1839-1914 162 13. The Formation of the Belgian Frontiers . 169 a. The Southern (Franco-Belgian) Frontier 169 b. The Northern (Belgo-Dutch) Frontier . 175 c. The Eastern Frontier of Belgium . . 178 The Grand Duchy of Luxemburg : 1. Luxemburg before the Creation of the Grand Duchy (963-1814) . . . .181 2. The Origins of the Grand Duchy (1814-39) . 184 3. The Grand Duchy (1839-66) . . .187 4. The Luxemburg Crisis (1866-7) . . .189 CONTENTS 9 page 5. The Political Position of Luxemburg in Europe, 1867-1914 . . . .195 6. The Formation of the Frontiers of the Grand Duchy 199 7 > The Constitution of Luxemburg. . . 200 The Rhineland .: 1. From the Thirteenth Century to the French Revolution ...... 204 a. The Imperial States of the Rhineland . 204 b. The French Monarchy and the Rhineland 208 2. The French Conquest and the Prussian Annexation (1789-1815) . . .217 a. The Rhinelanders of the Left Bank at the beginning of the French Revolution . 217 b. The French Conquest and Annexation (1792-1815) 221 c. The Settlement of 1815 . . .229 3. The Rhineland since 1815 . . . .233 a. Boundaries ..... 233 6. Political History to 1850 . . . 234 c. Political History since 1850 . . . 236 d. Economic History . . . .238 e. National Sentiment in the Rhineland . 240 /. France and the Rhineland since 1815 . 242 Note : The Neutral Territory of Moresnet . . 244 Chapter V. Social Conditions in Belgium. 248-71 Introduction ....... 248 The Agricultural Population ... 249 The Industrial Population ... . 253 Housing ...... . 258 Elementary Education ...... 263 Pauperism ........ 268 Chapter VI. The Flemish Question. 272-301 History of the Flemish Movement .... 272 The Present State of the Flemish Problem . 286 International Relations of the Movement . 290 The Relation of Flemish to Dutch . 296 The Dialects of Flemish 298 10 CONTENTS Chapter VII. Agriculture. Part I. Belgium .... General .... The Land . Woods and Forests Agricultural Survey of Belgium Part II. France . Part III. Luxemburg General Viticulture Live stock Part I V. Germany General Viticulture Agriculture in the Eifel page 302-49 302302307 314 315323 335 335338 338339 339 344346 Chapter VIII. Mineral Resources. 350-419 Parti. Coal 351 Introduction . . . . . . .351 A. The Coal Resources of Belgium . . , 355 a. The Sambre-Meuse Field . . .357 fe. The Campine Field . . . .361 B. The Coal Resources of France . . . 365 a. The Valenciennes Field . . . 367 fe. The Boulonnais Basin . . . 369 c. The Pont-a-Mousson Basin . . . 370 C. The Coal Resources of Germany . . . 372 a. The Saar Field 373 The North Crefeld Field . . .378 The Briiggen-Erkelenz Field . . 379 The Wurm-Inde Field . . .379 The Lower Rhine (right bank) Field . 380 /. Brown Coal (Lignite) in Germany . 384 D. The Coal Resources of Holland . . . 386 a. The South Limburg Field . . . 388 6. The South Peel Field . . . ,388 fe.c. d.e. CONTENTS 11 PAGE Part II. Iron-ore ...... . 389 Introduction ...... . 389 A. The Minette Field .... . 390 a. In France . 397 1. The Nancy Basin . . 400 2. Basins of Briey, Crusne, and Longw; j 401 6. In Germany .... . 404 c. In Luxemburg .... . 406 d. In Belgium .... . 407 B. Iron-ores other than Minette . 408 a. In Belgium .... 408 1 . Sedimentary Formations . 409 2. Fissure Veins . 410 3. Bog-ore .... . 411 fe. In Germany .... 412 Part III. Other Metals . 413 A. The Aachen Zinc-mines . 413 B. The Mechernich Lead-mines . 417 C. Silver and Copper .... . 419 bapter IX. Industry. 420-516 Introduction .... 420 Part I. Belgium ...... 422 Industry and Coal-supply .... 422 Coal-mining ...... 424 Quarries ....... 428 Metallurgy ....... 432 Mechanical Construction 436 Spinning ....... 447 Weaving ....... 451 Chemical Works ... . 455 Pottery and Kindred Industries . 463 Glass ........ 472 Paper-mills ....... 476 The Diamond Industry of Antwerp 480 Home Industries ...... 482 History of Belgian Industry . . . . 484 12 CONTENTS PAGE Part II. France ...... . 492 Industrial Survey of the French Area . . 492 Part III. Luxemburg ..... . 507 Part IV. Germany . . 510 Industry in the Rhine Province . 510 General Distribution of Industries . . 511 Statistics of Hands employed. . 514 Wages in the Rhine Province . . 515 Chapter X. Communications. 517^8 Introduction : Geographical Considerations . 517 Railways ....... . 521 Main Lines ...... . 521 The Belgian Railway System . 524 Belgian Light Railways .... . 529 Waterways ....... . 535 1. The River-systems .... 537 2. The Watersheds . 540 Summary ... . . . 542 Seaports .... . . . 543 Chapter XI. Belgian Commerce. 549-73 Foreign Commerce ..... 549 Customs ....... . 559 The Commercial Policy of Belgium . 560 History ...... . 560 Economic Results of the Present Policy . . 564 Commercial Law ... . 570 Patents, &c. ...... . 570 Company Law ..... . 571 Currency, Weights, and Measures . . 572 Appendix A. Bibliography .... . 574 Appendix B. Table op Chief Treaties . 583 Appendix C. List op Maps in the Atlas . . 585 Index : ... 586 CHAPTER I PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Introduction On the western frontier of Germany, between the plains of Westphalia to the north and the trough of the upper Rhine valley to the south, lies a hill-district which falls partly in Germany itself, partly in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. This district is dissected by the deep valleys of the lower Moselle and middle Rhine into three parts. East of the Rhine, and falling entirely in Germany, are the Sauerland, Westerwald, and Taunus. West of the Rhine and south of the Moselle is the Hunsriick, also falling entirely in Germany. North-west of the Moselle are the Ardennes and Eifel. These six mountain-districts, three on each side of the Rhine, form geographically a single unit, known collectively in Germany as the Schiefergebirge, or slate mountains. They are the remnants of an ancient mountain-group, worn down by denudation into a plateau, here comparatively level, there more or less broken by hills, but preserving little trace of its original mountainous form. A new form has, however, been imparted to it by the erosion of its numerous rivers, which have everywhere cut their beds down into deep gorges, and so given rise to a new set of features. The whole of the Schiefergebirge may there fore be described as a high rolling plateau, here and there showing real hills, but everywhere scored and dissected by deep and steep-sided river-valleys, of which those of the Rhine and Moselle are the chief. 14 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY This volume is concerned only with the districts west of the Rhine and north-west of the Moselle ; that is to say, the only parts of the Schiefergebirge with which it deals are the Ardennes and Eifel. It is, however, important to reahze that the Rhine and Moselle valleys are, so to speak, mere accidents in the geography of the Schiefergebirge as a whole ; they do not form physical boundaries, and the character of the hill-districts does not change very much from one bank to the other. The Ardennes-Eifel massif then is physically con tinuous with the country to east and south-east of it. In the other directions three well-marked changes occur. To the south it merges into the plateau of Lorraine, a bridge of high country running north and south to connect the Ardennes-Eifel hills with those of the Vosges, and forming the watershed between the French and German rivers. To the west the high ground of the Ardennes sinks gradually, crosses the gorge of the middle Meuse — again a mere ' accident ' in the general structure of the district — and finally sends out a long spur, the chalk downs of the Cambresis and Artois, which maintain a fairly uniform height till cut off abruptly by the Straits of Dover at Caps Gris-nez and Blanc-nez. To the north the plateau falls abruptly in the east, less abruptly in the centre and west, into the great alluvial plain of Belgium, southern Holland, and the German Rhine Province. Of these physical divisions — the Ardennes-Eifel massif, the Lorraine plateau, the Artois ridge, and the Belgian plain — this volume treats the whole of the first, the second down to an arbitrary line drawn from Verdun to Metz, the north-eastern slope of the third, and the whole of the fourth up to the left bank of INTRODUCTION 15 the lower Rhine. In other words, our boundaries are a line approximately following the main watersheds from Cap Gris-nez to Verdun, thence to Metz, thence down the Moselle to Coblenz, and down the Rhine to the sea. Geology The Schiefergebirge of which the Ardennes-Eifel massif forms part are, as has been said, the worn-down remains of an ancient mountain-system. In the centre of the massif, therefore, rocks of an early period come to the surface, to disappear towards its edges under uccessive later formations ; while in the plains of the north only comparatively modern rocks appear. The Ardennes-Eifel massif thus contains two large areas of Cambrian, in the Hohe Venn district and astride of the Meuse respectively. The former outcrop extends north-east nearly to Diiren, and runs south west, becoming wider, past Spa and Malmedy to Vieil- Salm, and almost to the valley of the upper Ourthe ; the latter occupies the Meuse valley from Chateau- Regnault down to below Fumay, and extends west ward to Hirson. These areas represent the points where the original elevation and consequent denuda tion of the mountain-mass have been greatest. The rest of the massif is composed of Devonian formations, chiefly the slates and shales from which the district derives its German name, with limestones in the Upper Devonian. One large area, the low-lying district astride of the Meuse at Dinant, is composed of carboni ferous limestone ; here the upheaval has been less, and the limestone in consequence is still to be found. It reappears in the trough of the Sambre-Meuse valley, separated from the Dinant district by a strip of Devonian formations known as the Condroz crest, and forming the relic of a sharp ridge, a lateral crest of the 16 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Ardennes, which once stood between the Dinant and Sambre-Meuse depressions. North of the Sambre-Meuse valley was once another mountain-system, not unlike that of the Ardennes, and known to geologists as the ' Anglo-Belgian plateau'. It extended northwards to Antwerp, and terminated eastward in a point somewhere near Liege ; its extent may roughly be seen in the Atlas, Map 6, in the barren area intervening between the Campine and Franco-Belgian coalfields. This ancient mountain- district has been even more thoroughly denuded than the Ardennes, and it is now almost entirely covered by later rocks. Here and there, however, its old rocks come to the surface, as on the hills north of Namur, which are composed of Silurian formations, and in most of the river-valleys of southern Brabant and northern Hainaut, where the streams have cut through the later rocks and laid bare the Silurian, Carboni ferous, and other formations of the Anglo-Belgian plateau. Farther north they disappear entirely beneath the strata — mostly clays and sands — of the Tertiary, and finally the Quaternary periods. Westward the two old mountain-systems — the Ar dennes and the Anglo-Belgian plateau — disappear beneath later accumulations. The latter disappears entirely ; but the former is continued by the ' anti clinal ' or elevated axis of the Cambresis-Artois downs. Here the cretaceous formation comes to the surface, and the result is a strip of characteristic chalk country reaching from the sources of the Oise through Cambrai, Bapaume, and Arras to the Straits of Dover. Here, in the Boulonnais, a slight fresh upheaval has taken place which has brought the Jurassic limestones to the surface, and corresponds with the greater elevation of the summit of the downs above Boulogne, where alone they surpass 200 metres. GEOLOGY 17 Southward from the central massif of the Ardennes- Eifel system lies Lorraine, geologically distinguished by its secondary formations. The lowest of these is the Trias, which thrusts down the Moselle valley between the Devonian plateaux of the Eifel and Hunsriick in a tongue of country known as the Triassic gulf of Luxemburg, and occupying, roughly, those southern districts of the Eifel which fall below the 400 metre contour-line. The Trias also extends across the Moselle between Trier and Sierck, in a belt running up the Saar valley. South-west of the Trias three successive series of Jurassic formations — lower, middle, and upper — form the plateau of Lorraine strictly so called. The outcrop of this formation is bounded by a line from the head waters of the Oise to Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxemburg, thence turning southward and skirting the height west of the Moselle, above Thionville and Metz. The portion of this line which begins at Longwy and ends about Nancy is of supreme importance in connexion with the iron-mining industry (see further, Chap. VIII). On the west the Jurassic district extends across the Meuse to include the Argonne forest, where it gives way successively to a strip of Gault and to the chalks of the Champagne. Chalk (Cretaceous) occurs in a continuous belt running from the Straits of Dover south-eastward through the Artois and Cambresis to the river Aisne, south of which it forms the Champagne Pouilleuse. From the main axis of the Artois two projections of chalk run north-eastward into the Belgian plain ; one from Arras to Lille, forming the Melantois district, a peninsula of typical chalk-country jutting into the heart of Flanders, and another from Cambrai and Landrecies towards Mons and the Haine valley. Another Cretaceous area is to be found astride of i8 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY the Meuse below Vise, extending on the east into the Herve district and almost to Aachen, and on the west into the Hesbaye, forming a strip of chalk-country running parallel to the Meuse almost as far as Namur. This area, however, is so much overlaid with clays and loams that the characteristics of a chalk-country hardly appear. The bulk of the Belgian plain is composed of Ter- tiaries, chiefly clays and sands. In general, clays prevail in the north-west and form the central Flemish plain ; sands form a belt from north-east to south-west through northern Flanders, the Campine and Brabant ; and clays reappear in the south-east to form the Hesbaye. Geologically the Flanders clays are the oldest of these three series, and the Hesbaye clays the most recent. The whole Tertiary area is bounded by a line drawn — very roughly— from Aachen through Turnhout, the mouth of the Scheldt, St. Nicolas, Eecloo, Bruges, and Watten to Calais. On the south it is limited by the older formations already described. Outside this again comes a district composed of Quaternary formations — sands, peat, alluvions, &c. This includes the Flemish ' maritime plain ' and prac tically the whole of the lower Rhine and Meuse basins, up to about Bonn and Maeseyck respectively. The same formations, it need hardly be said, occur freely all over the area in the form of gravel, peat, &c; the largest continuous deposit of the kind being in the Moselle valley between Metz and Sierck. Eruptive rocks are conspicuously infrequent in the Schiefergebirge, if that mountain-system is compared with the similar systems of Brittany and these islands. In the eastern Eifel, basalt occurs freely in small isolated patches, and eruptive tufas are found over a large continuous area round Laach and Plaidt west and south of Andernach on the Rhine, as well'as in GEOLOGY 19 scattered patches- near Gerolstein and Daun. In the Ardennes, porphyritic granites and diorites occur in the outcrop of Cambrian astride of the Meuse, and granite occurs west of Mont joie and Lommersdorf in the Hohe Venn outcrop. Porphyritic granites are also found along the axis of the ' Anglo-Belgian plateau ', where they are associated with small outcrops of primary rocks appearing in the river- valleys of southern Brabant and northern Hainaut. The chief outcrops of granite are at Gembloux, Nivelles, Tubize, Enghien, and Lessines. River- systems From the hydrographical point of view our area may be defined as consisting of the basins of the Scheldt and lower Meuse, with the left banks of the lower Moselle and Rhine basins. The subject, therefore, may be divided into three heads : the Scheldt system, the Meuse system, and the Moselle-Rhine system, to which must be added the rivers of the Flemish littoral and the head-waters of one or two west-flowing French rivers whose basins may be regarded as trenching on our area. The Scheldt basin consists essentially of an east- and-west trough some 60 miles long from Ghent to Diest, through Termonde, Malines, and Aerschot, known successively as the Escaut, Rupel, Dyle, and Demer, into which a series of parallel rivers run from the south. More accurately, these rivers radiate slightly so that the western ones come in from the south-west, the eastern from south-south-west. From the transverse trough the water escapes through the defile of Rupelmonde to Antwerp and the Scheldt estuary. The whole system may thus be represented roughly by a fork or rake with six prongs, the handle B2 20 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY being the lower Scheldt, and the prongs, from west to east, the Lys, Escaut, Dendre, Senne, Dyle, and Jette. Originally it is probable that the outlet to the sea occurred at Ghent, where in fact the land is lowest ; a spur of almost imperceptible hills, revealed by the 20-metre contour line, intervening between .the east- and-west trough and Antwerp. Taking the members of this system — the prongs of the fork — in the order given above, the Lys rises in the chalk downs at the extreme south-western edge of our area, and falls rapidly at first, joined by numerous chalk-stream tributaries, into the very flat and low- lying plain, by nature a mere swamp, which extends from Aire to Armentieres. It is in this basin that the Lys receives most of its tributaries — the Lacque, Clarence, and Lawe on the right bank, and the Melde and Bourre on the left, being the chief. Not far below Armentieres the Lys receives its chief tributary, the Deule, which after rising in the chalk downs of the Artois emerges into the plains at Souchez, under the hill of Notre-Dame de Lorette, passes Lens and flows through a peaty valley in the chalk plain of the Melan- tois to Lille, whence it turns north-west to join the Lys. After Armentieres the plain narrows, hemmed in by the low hills of the Ferrain district on the right and of Ploegsteert and Messines on the left ; but after Courtrai the country is again very flat. Finally, at Ghent, the Lys debouches on the left bank of the Escaut. The Escaut is in every way the chief river of this system. It is no mere prong of the fork ; its upper waters form a somewhat complicated river-system on their own account. Like the Lys, it rises as a chalk- stream in the south-western downs. Its source is at Le Catelet, 282 ft. above the sea, where it emerges from the chalk already a small river. It flows in a deep-cut valley through the downs of the Cambresis to Cambrai, RIVER-SYSTEMS 21 receiving water from various springs and torrents. Below Cambrai it is joined by the Sensee, a sluggish river flowing eastwards in a very marshy valley from the direction of Arras. At one time indeed the upper Scarpe, on which Arras stands, constituted the head-waters of the Sensee ; but it was diverted into its present course by canalization many centuries ago, and the Sensee now derives its water entirely from the plateau immediately north of Bapaume. The next considerable tributaries of the Escaut are the Selle, flowing north from Le Cateau and Solesmes ; the Ecaillon and Rhonelle from the neighbourhood of Le Quesnoy, the latter debouching at Valenciennes ; and the Haine, which drains the broad swampy valley between Mons and Conde and a considerable basin east of Mons. Geologically the Haine valley is the continua tion of the great Sambre-Meuse valley, from Liege to Charleroi. These are right-bank tributaries. The next, the Scarpe, is a left-bank tributary of some importance ; it rises in a number of chalk-streams meeting at Arras (which once, as has been said, flowed not into the Scarpe but into the Sensee) and flows by Douai and St. Amand to join the Escaut halfway between Conde and Tournai. The Escaut now flows between the Ferrain hills on the left and Mont St. Aubert on the right, turns north east to pass close below the hills of Renaix, and con tinues by Audenarde to meet the Lys at Ghent. The Dendre, which joins the Escaut at Termonde (Dendermonde), is the only river of the Scheldt system which can compare at all in size and importance with the Lys and Escaut ; for though it is much smaller than either, it is navigable and forms a commercial artery of some importance. It is formed at Ath of two streams — the eastern and western Dendre — both rising in the hills north of the Haine valley. At Lessines it receives on the left bank the waters of the Ancre; on 22 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY the right bank the Sille, the Marcq, and various small streams debouch. The Dendre and the three following rivers may be described as the rivers of Brabant ; they form a series of parallel streams, more or less alike in general character, which together drain the district sloping northwards from the Haine-Sambre-Meuse valley. All alike run at first in deeply-cut valleys through the plateau, emerging northward into flat open country. The Senne is formed by the union of three streams, the Senne, Sennette, and Samme, the third forming its true upper course. Its left-bank tributaries are in significant ; those of the right bank drain the plateau of Waterloo. It flows past Brussels to join the Dyle near Malines. The Dyle is formed by the union of five small streams flowing out of the Hesbaye : the Dyle, Thile, Gentenne, Orme, and Nil. It receives two considerable tributaries, the Lasne on the left bank and the Train on the right, and flows past Wavre and Louvain to receive the waters of the Demer. The Jette (Geete) runs out of the Hesbaye, past Tirlemont, to join the Demer at Diest, a point to which a number of rivers radiate from all surrounding districts. After the Jette the chief of these are the Herck flowing north-west from the direction of Tongres, and the Demer flowing west from Hasselt. The Nethe system constitutes, as it were, an appendix to the Scheldt system. It drains the Campine plain south of Turnhout, and debouches into the Dyle below Malines almost opposite the mouth of the Senne, below which the Dyle takes the name of Rupel. The Grande Nethe is the largest and most southerly member of this system ; it rises in the longitude of Hasselt and flows west, picking up great numbers of tributaries as it traverses the wet sandy plain of the Campine. Chief of RIVER-SYSTEMS 23 these are the Moll Nethe, the Laek, and the Wimpe. The Petite Nethe, which joins the Grande Nethe at Lierre, drains the country between Turnhout on the north and Gheel and Moll on the south ; its chief tributary is the Aa, coming from beyond Turnhout. The Scheldt basin as a whole is bounded to north west by the Flemish watershed, a hardy perceptible ridge separating it from the rivers of the littoral ; to south-west by the summit of the Artois-Cambresis downs ; to south-east by the long straight watershed from Le Catelet skirting the Sambre-Meuse valley to Maastricht ; and to north-east by the watershed of the Campine plain, an imperceptible line very roughly corresponding with the Belgian-Dutch frontier. The name Scheldt, being the Flemish version of Escaut, is strictly its equivalent ; but its application is usually confined to the estuary and lower reaches of the river, the name Escaut being generally used for the river above Ghent. There is, however, no fixed usage. In comparison with the symmetry of the Scheldt basin, the Meuse system is highly irregular. We are here concerned only with the lower half of the system, northwards from Verdun. Here we find the Meuse running between high and steep hills of coral-rag belonging to the Jurassic series, which the river has chosen to penetrate rather than force a path through the lower but more tenacious Oxford clays of the Woevre plateau farther east. The result is that the river runs in a trough from whose edges the slopes fall away east and west ; so that the watersheds on either hand run close to the river, and it receives no tributaries except small torrents. These conditions hold good till Dun, where the river emerges on a comparatively open clay plain, marshy in character, and farther on, at Remilly above Sedan, receives a large right-bank tribu tary in the shape of the Chiers, which together with its 24 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY tributaries the Crusne, Othain, and Loison drains the northern part of the Woevre and of the Briey plateau. The Chiers is a fair-sized river flowing in a deeply-cut bed and rising in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, north-east of Longwy. The next tributary is the Bar, which flows in on the left bank below Sedan. It rises at Buzancy in the latitude of Dun ; but formerly drained a trough-like valley 75 miles long and parallel to that of the Meuse, the upper three-quarters of which have been stolen by the Aire, a tributary of the Aisne. The banks of the Meuse now close in and become steeper, till about Mezieres it enters the Devonian plateau of the Ardennes through which it cuts its way in a deep and tortuous couloir. In this region the only large tributary is the Semois, rising near Arlon and flowing past Bouillon in a gorge of increasing depth and intricacy. Between Bouillon and its mouth at Mon- therme the Semois travels in a continuous series of close ' hair-pin ' bends, always at the bottom of a deep gorge and forming rapids from time to time. Below the mouth of the Semois the course of the Meuse is extremely tortuous. Between Fumay and Givet it emerges from the Devonian into the Carboni ferous formation, a change marked by limestone cliffs and scars replacing the steep monotonous banks of the earlier section. It is now traversing the Famenne, a comparatively low-lying and fertile plain in the heart of the Ardennes, where it picks up the Viroin and Hermeton on the left bank and the Lesse on the right ; but has again to enter the Devonian formation below Dinant, and to escape through another gorge into the trough of the Sambre-Meuse valley at Namur. This is a straight, somewhat deep and steep-sided, valley running north-north-east and south-south-west roughly from Landrecies through Maubeuge, Charleroi, RIVER-SYSTEMS 25 and Namur to Liege. On the south it is bounded by the Ardennes massif, whose northern slope drains into it ; on the north it rises quickly to a crest, beyond which the land falls away gently into the basin of the Scheldt system. The Sambre and Meuse have in consequence practically no left-bank tributaries during their course in this trough ; the watershed is almost everywhere within a very few miles of their left bank. The only exception is the Mehaigne, debouching opposite Huy, which has cut through the watershed of the Hesbaye and stolen the head-waters of some of its streams. The Sambre rises a little north of Le Nouvion, flowing westward as a small stream out of the hills of the Thierache till it comes down on the col between the Thierache to east and the Cambresis to west, where it turns north and then north-east, picking up a series of similar streams out of the Thierache as right-bank tributaries : the Rivierette, Petite Helpe, Grande Helpe, and R. de Tarsy. Already it shows the characteristic above mentioned of having no left-bank tributaries ; the watershed on that bank is generally only 2 miles or so from the river. It proceeds in a very sinuous but otherwise direct course past Landrecies, Maubeuge, and Charleroi, always gathering right-bank tributaries from the hill district, till it joins the Meuse at Namur. The next important tributary of the Meuse is the Ourthe, which debouches on the right bank at Liege. Close to its mouth, at Angleur, it divides into two rivers, the Vesdre flowing from the east and the Ourthe flowing from the south. These, with their various tributaries, are characteristic streams of the Ardennes-Eifel massif ; shallow, rapid, and enclosed in deeply-cut and tortuous gorges. Only their head-waters lie out on the open plateau, generally in the marshes of the Hohe Venn and the Hautes Fagnes. The Vesdre comes from beyond Eupen in Germany, and passes successively Limbourg 26 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY (where it is joined by the Gileppe, a mountain-stream which has been dammed into a great reservoir), Ver- viers, and Pepinster (where the Noigne comes in flowing from Spa and Theux). The other main tributaries of the Ourthe are the Ambleve, which receives the waters of the Warche on its right bank and the Salm and Lienne on its left, and the Aisne. The Ourthe itself divides above Laroche into two streams both called Ourthe, one of which rises near the meeting-point of Belgium, Germany, and Luxemburg, close to the source of the Salm, while the other flows north-east from the neigh bourhood of Neuf chateau. The Ourthe thus drains the whole northern central district of the Ardennes-Eifel massif. After Liege the Meuse turns northward away from the hills to cross the plains in a great sickle-shaped sweep to its mouth. It receives very few tributaries of any size ; the only important ones are the Roer, which drains part of the northern Eifel and the plains round Aachen, one of whose feeders is the Urft, a hill-stream which now feeds one of the greatest reservoirs in the world, and the Niers, which drains the flat country about Geldern, Crefeld, and Munchen Gladbach. Farther down, on its left bank, the Meuse receives the numerous small streams fed by the Peel marshes and the northern slope of the Campine. Of the Rhine-Moselle system only the left bank is considered here, and that only as far south as Metz. Here the Moselle is a good deal like the Meuse at Verdun. It is enclosed, though less decidedly, by oolite escarpments, and runs sluggishly in great loops over a bed of alluvion. Towards Thionville it is joined by the Orne, a left-bank tributary which with its innumerable little feeders drains the Woevre and the southern Briey plateau. It is an intensely sluggish river, flowing over clay, and subject, as is the whole RIVER-SYSTEMS 27 Woevre district, to great floods in wet weather ; before reaching the Moselle it forces its way in a deep gorge through the oolite range which bounds the river-valley on the west. The Moselle here flows over an open alluvial plain, the hills on either hand receding. Below Sierck they approach the river again, and its valley becomes more and more constricted between high and steep banks, the summit of which forms fairly continuous and level terraces. These terraces are a characteristic feature of the whole lower Moselle valley. The first important tributary is the Sauer, which forms a complex httle river-system draining the whole Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, as well as part of the German Eifel. It consists of a trough running east and west from Ettelbriick to Echternach, where it turns sharp south to join the Moselle — in all some 25-30 miles long. Into this trough tributary streams flow from all direc tions : the Alzette from the south, the Attert, Sure, and Wiltz from the west, and the Woltz, Our, and Priim from the north. The last three form the first members of a series of south-flowing parallel rivers which drain the southern slope of the Eifel, and of which the re mainder run direct into the Moselle, becoming shorter and shorter as the Eifel watershed converges with the Moselle at Coblenz. AU these rivers of the southern Eifel run in deep valleys several hundred feet below the general level of the plateau. From Trier to Cochem, that is for the greater part of its lower course, the Moselle pursues an extremely tortuous course, running in great irregular loops which make its valley a bad line even of land communications ; the railway is compelled to cut off the loops by a con tinuous series of tunnels. For the same reason, and because of the shallowness of the stream, the Moselle is a bad line for water transport. 28 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY The Rhine from Coblenz to the sea is a magnificent waterway, flowing at first through a gorge in the Schiefergebirge between the Westerwald on the right and the Eifel on the left. The only considerable left- bank tributary in this section is the Ahr, one of the chief rivers of the Eifel. A few miles above Bonn the Rhine emerges into the plain, which it traverses in a curve not unlike that of the Meuse, gradually con verging with that river till at their mouths they unite. In this section the only large left-bank tributary is the Erft, flowing in almost opposite Diisseldorf and formed by the union of a large number of hill-streams draining the north-east slope of the Eifel facing toward Cologne. Of the rivers of the Flemish littoral only the Aa and the Yser have any importance. The Aa rises in the chalk down-country east of Etaples, and after flowing east for a time, turns north-east parallel to, and only 3 miles distant from, the upper waters of the Lys. It emerges from the chalk country and descends into a flat and swampy plain at St. Omer, much as the Lys does farther south into the plain of Aire ; and the resemblance is increased by the fact that the plain of St. Omer, like that of Aire, has a ' bottle-neck ', where hills close in on each side at Watten and then open out again into the Flemish maritime plain which the Aa traverses to its mouth at Gravelines. The Yser is exclusively a Flemish river. It rises a little east of Watten, its source being separated from the plain of St. Omer by a hardly perceptible watershed, and, flowing east-north-east, it receives on its right bank various tributaries, draining in turn the hill of Cassel, the Mont des Cats, and the neighbourhood of Poperinghe and Ypres. After receiving the last, the Yperlee, it bends round to north and north-west in a semicircle to flow into the sea at Nieuport. RIVER-SYSTEMS 29 With the French rivers of the south-west we are hardly concerned. It is enough to enumerate them. The south-west slope of the chalk country is drained successively by the Liane, with its mouth at Boulogne ; the Canche, lying opposite the sources of the Aa and Lys, and entering the sea at Etaples ; the Authie, whose sources lie opposite those of the Scarpe ; and (most important) the Somme, which corresponds with the Escaut and shows the same main characteristics. These four run more or less parallel to the Picard coast ; the remainder all belong to the Seine system. The Oise, rising in a number of clay-streams of the Thierache and thence flowing out into chalk country, is opposite the Sambre ; and finally the Aisne, flowing at first north out of the Lorraine plateau, corresponds with the Meuse. There is thus a curious symmetry between the two groups of rivers. The Meuse and Aisne, at first parallel and then abruptly diverging at right angles ; the Sambre and Oise, both rising in the Thierache and flowing parallel till on the saddle between the Thierache and the Cambresis they turn in opposite directions to join the Meuse and Aisne at Namur and Compiegne respectively ; these form symmetrical groups, draining into the lower Meuse and the Seine. Secondly, the Escaut system is in many ways symmetrical with the Picardy series — the Escaut and its tributary the Sensee with the Somme and its tributary the Ancre, the Scarpe with the Authie, and the Lys with the Canche. The question of water transport over these rivers is dealt with in Chapter X. Physical Regions The purpose of this section is to expand the outline given in the introduction to this chapter and to describe briefly, from the physical point of view only, 30 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY the natural regions into which our area falls. The simplest possible division is into four regions : the chalk downs, the plain, the central plateaux, and the southern or Lorraine plateau. These we shall describe in the order given. 1. The Chalk Downs From Cap Gris-nez it is 105 miles south-east to the summit of the col which separates the Sambre from the Oise and marks the division between the Cambresis and the Thierache. This straight line passes through Arras and Cambrai, and falls almost entirely north east of the watershed, which runs in a gentle curve to south-west, joining the straight line at each end. The watershed of the down-country is thus con stituted by a strip of chalk plateau, 5 or 10 miles wide and over 100 miles long, passing immediately east of St. Pol and through Bapaume. This is level, undulat ing, open country, little broken by any features. Though' it varies in height from place to place, its passes are never lower than 100 metres and its summits never above 200 metres, except in the extreme north east, where in the Boulonnais the chalk gives place to an upthrust of Jurassic limestone which has offered more resistance to .denudation. Here a number of ridges and summits about ( the head-waters of the Liane and Aa reach heights of 205, 207, 211 metres, but the ridge nowhere again rises above the 200-metre line. It sinks gradually to 170 metres north of St. Pol, and thence drops to a pass — the only decided gap in the whole ridge — of 130 metres between St. Pol and Arras ; rises again to 180 metres, and remains above 160 metres for a long stretch, till near Bapaume it drops to 120 metres, and maintains that level for several miles. In the Cambresis it attains heights of 140-50 metres, and finally the col between the Sambre THE CHALK DOWNS 31 and Oise is about 130 metres. The ridge is thus nowhere very high, but on the other hand its height is remark ably uniform and unbroken by hills and gaps. The places most suitable for a crossing by railway or canal are undoubtedly St. Pol, the Bapaume district, and the line Guise-Landrecies. The superiority of these over other regions is indeed very slight ; but the map shows that Guise, Bohain, and Le Cateau in the east,. Bapaume in the centre, and St. Pol in the west, are all road-centres of some importance, while all the three passes are used by railways and the easternmost ' by a canal. While the summit of the plateau is level and un- accidented, its sides are deeply scored by ravines and river-valleys. The permanent rivers have their sources in springs, and are therefore in most cases fairly copious ; their valleys, generally peaty and marshy at the bottom, are cut down in many cases to a water bearing stratum, which produces a series of springs all along the valley-bottom or a little way up the sides. This is true only of the larger rivers ; the smaller are mere torrents, flowing after rain in ravines and soon drying up. The water-supply of the plateau is almost entirely confined to wells, often very deep. The larger river- valleys — Somme, Escaut, &c. — are wide enough to contain towns like Peronne, Cambrai, and so forth, watered by the river and its adjacent springs ; but the smaller valleys are too narrow to contain the big villages of the down-country, and moreover seldom have permanent water. The villages accordingly stand on the open plateau and depend on wells. This con dition is modified only where there are small deposits of tertiary clays on the summit of the chalk hills. Deposits of this kind collect water, and where over laid by sand cause springs whose water is absorbed 32 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY as soon as it leaves the clay and reaches the porous chalk. Such springs have, owing to the small extent of the deposits, a precarious yield of rather inferior water, but it serves for drinking-troughs and supple ments usefully the supply from wells. Accordingly, these patches of clay are often chosen as the site for a farm or village. The level, uninterrupted summit of the plateau is, as has been said, only about 5 miles wide. On each side of this strip it begins to be intersected by deep ravines and river-valleys. Between these valleys however the plateau continues, and its total breadth is 30 miles in the north-west between Etaples and St. Omer. This may be taken as the average minimum breadth, but the north-eastward limit is very hard to define. The high chalk country, or downs proper, may be defined as limited by a straight line from Calais to Landrecies, but there are two important promontories of low chalk country beyond this hmit. The first begins on the line Bethune-Vermelles, forming a kind of isthmus, and runs north-east, widen ing to touch Carvin on the south and Lille on the north, and reaching to a point half-way between Lille and Tournai. This is the Melantois, a typical chalk dis trict, though low-lying, and possessing in the Deule a river-valley which, though not deep, reproduces in its peaty and swampy nature the character of the larger rivers of the down-country. The second low-lying extension of the chalk country includes the southern edge of the Ostrevant, north of the Sensee, and running down the left bank of the Escaut to Valenciennes, after which it extends north eastward to include most of the Haine valley as far as Mons and a little beyond. This district, roughly bounded by Valenciennes, Conde, Mons, Thuin, and Maubeuge, may be conveniently described as Southern THE CHALK DOWNS 33 Hainaut. It is a plateau running down in a regular slope from the high downs of the Cambresis to the low swampy Haine valley and from the Sambre-Escaut watershed to the Escaut, in which direction its rather deeply-cut river-valleys run. There is no well-marked division of any kind between it and the Cambresis, of which it is simply the north-eastern extension, gradually losing its character of chalk plateau and taking on that of a low-lying river-basin. 2. The Plains The physical geography of the Belgian plain is much more complex than appears at first sight. It is neces sary to distinguish the maritime plain, a strip of peaty land along the coast, largely below sea-level : Flanders, the low clayey plain of the north-west ; Brabant, the high sandy plain of the centre ; the Campine, the low sandy plain of the north-east ; the Hesbaye, the high clay-district south of Brabant and the Campine ; and a number of smaller divisions. The maritime plain. — Beginning near Calais, the maritime plain runs eastward along the coast to Antwerp and extends inland for between 5 and 10 miles. Beyond the Scheldt it may be said to include the islands of the Scheldt-Meuse-Rhine estuary and the Dutch coast in the same estuary. It consists first of a mile or a mile and a half of dunes, intersected by strips of grass and subject to frequent fluctuations in strong sea-breezes ; behind these the plain consists of peat lying on waterlogged sand and covered with a surface-soil of a sandy or clayey nature, sandy as a rule inland andu clayey towards the sea. The whole is drained by canals (waterings, whence the French name for the whole district, ' watteringues '), which are kept full of fresh water, and thereby keep down the level of the salt water which would destroy the 34 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY agricultural value of the land. The sections of land between the canals are called folders, and in Flemish or Dutch this name is given to the district as a whole. Parts of the maritime plain are below sea-level. The most conspicuous case is that of the Moeres, two large depressions on the Franco-Belgian frontier near Hondschoote, 8 square miles and 43 acres respectively in extent, and lying between 6 and 13 ft. below the level of ordinary high tides. Here the only means of drainage is pumping, which is done by means of Archimedean screws operated by wind or steam power. The whole maritime plain has been formed by the sea, which in eroding the clay plain of Flanders has here deposited the successive strata of clay and sand. The district has sunk since the beginning of our era, but on the other hand a number of ports which were open till after the Middle Ages — e.g. Bruges, Sluys — are now silted up. As would be expected, the maritime plain runs up the rivers some way inland ; thus it extends up the Aa to Watten and up the Yser to Dixmude. The coast from Calais to the estuary of the Scheldt has no inlets and no ports, except those which, like Gravelines and Dunkirk, are created by improving the mouths of the rivers. Flanders. — In the pohtical sense Flanders has at various times included very various extents of terri tory ; but geographers are agreed that it may be used in a physical sense for the country bounded by the maritime plain, the Lys and the lower Escaut, and extending from Antwerp to St. Omer. It is also generally agreed that a considerable belt of country, bounded roughly by a line running "through Boom, Alost, Tournai, Lille, Bethune, Lillers, and Ardres, may be treated as semi-Flemish and described as ' marginal Flanders '. THE PLAINS 35 The main characteristic of all this country is that it forms a flat plain composed of tertiary clays. In parts, notably the Maggesland and Waes of the north, between Bruges and Antwerp, this character is obscured by the presence of sands, which connect these districts rather with the Campine than with Flanders, and they are accordingly treated under the Campine. We may, however, distinguish a ' true Flanders ' falling between Watten, Aire, Armentieres, Courtrai, Ghent, and Bruges. This is a homogeneous district of blue, grey, or yellow clay, sometimes sandy and over 300 ft. thick. Quaternary surface-deposits are almost entirely lacking, and the soil is everywhere heavy and wet. The sandy character of the upper strata in the east and west of the region does not produce a drier soil, owing to the presence of the impermeable clay immediately beneath. Flanders is by no means devoid of relief, and is in fact much more varied and picturesque than the plateaux of Artois and Cambresis. It contains two types of hills, one about 200 ft. high, the other about 500 ft. ; the former are fairly numerous, while the latter are confined to one small area between Ypres and St. Omer. Here are, from west to east, the hill of Cassel, an isolated hill, about 150 metres high, with the town of Cassel on its summit, and further east the Mont des Cats (158 metres), crowned by a Trappist monastery ; Mont Noir (131 metres), Mont Vidaigne (135 metres), and Mont Rouge (140 metres), a group of which the first falls in France and the others in Belgium ; and Mont Kemmel (150 metres), also in Belgium. The Messines-Wytschaete ridge, 3 miles east of Mont Kemmel, belongs to the lower group of hills, and only reaches a height of 80 metres. Above the clay of Flanders once lay a stratum of tertiary sand, which has been removed by erosion 02 36 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY from Flanders though not from Brabant. It still, however, remains in these hills, the summits of which are composed of it and consist of steep and barren slopes. The general dip of the strata being towards the north-east, the lower hills of central Flanders are almost entirely of sand ; and in the north-east, beyond the line Bruges-Ghent, the sand appears at the general level of the plain. In the hill of Cassel the sand is intersected by a stratum of clay a little below the summit ; this forms springs, and thus makes it possible for the town to exist on the hill. Among the lower hills of Flanders the most remark able is the range, about 240 ft. high, which is pierced by the Aa at the defile of Watten. It falls steeply towards the maritime plain and gently towards Flanders, and forms a miniature wooded massif, inter sected by deep ravines. Outside Flanders proper lie the Waes and Magges- land districts above mentioned as consisting of a wet sandy plain, and also the belt of country described as ' marginal Flanders ', which must now be described. Near Antwerp this is mostly composed of the stiff clays (brick-earth) of Boom. These clays are quite distinct in character and geological horizon from those of Flanders. Beyond Termonde, and extending up the Dendre to Grammont and thence across to Tournai and Audenarde, lies a district whose vaUeys are Flemish in character, while the hiUs are sandy and resemble Brabant. It is thus a transition area between the two districts. It is more accidented than Flanders proper, and in particular contains the hill system of Renaix, an east-and-west line of hiUs extending from the Escaut at Avelghem past Renaix almost to the Dendre at Grammont, with summits of about 140 and 150 metres. Spurs run out to north and south, form- THE PLAINS 37 ing altogether a hill district about 10 or 12 miles square. A number of more or less isolated hills, notably Mont St. Aubert, north of Tournai (149 metres), are scattered over this region. West of Tournai lies the Ferrain, a little district between the Lys and Escaut and north of Lille, which, like the district last described, is characterized by small hills. None of these, however, reach the 100- metre line, and the Ferrain differs in character very little from Flanders proper. The valley of the Lys, between the Melantois (or Lille chalk district) and Flanders proper, is a low and flat meadow country, and the same description applies to the plain of St. Omer through which the Aa runs. The districts lying south of Lille, as far as Valen ciennes and the Sensee, are sometimes loosely described as forming part of French Flanders ('Walloon Flanders' la Flandre wallone), and they are in fact physically in closer relation with Flanders than with any other region ; they may accordingly be described here as a kind of extension of Flanders. The country round Lille is traditionally divided into a perplexing number of little pays, each with its own name and individuality. The origin of these names is in general political, and though they are often used by geographers to indicate small natural regions, these usages vary from one geographer to another, and, even if justifiable, are seldom exact. We have so used the term Melantois for the Lille chalk country, and Ferrain for the little district round Roubaix and Tourcoing. The Pays de Weppes is that portion of the Lys valley lying round and especially just east of Armentieres ; the Carembault lies south of this and between Lille and La Bassee ; the Pevele extends from the southern edge of the Melantois to the river Scarpe, and is succeeded by the Ostrevant, 38 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY between the Scarpe and the Sensee ; east of the Pevele and Melantois is the Tournaisis, and west of the Pevele, with its centre at Lens, is the Gohelle. The district immediately round Douai "is the Escrebieu, and the Baroeul is a tiny district between LiUe and Tourcoing. These names are often useful from the purely geographical point of view, and will be used as required in this and other chapters. The Melantois has been aheady described as an extension of the chalk country. The Pevele is a clay district. The clay overlies a stratum of sand, which forms a synclinal basin, so that the sand appears round the edge of the district (especiaUy on the south west) and underlies the clay in the middle. This sand, as would be expected from its structure, is permanently waterlogged, and forms a great reservoir of stagnant water. For this reason the soU, at those places where the sand appears, is not much drier than the impermeable clay. The whole district is there fore intersected by little streams, and is always very wet. The Pevele is a plain averaging 40-50 metres above sea-level. It contains various hills, of which the highest are formed, like those of Flanders proper, of sand. These are Mons-en-Pevele (113 metres), Mont de Moncheaux (100 metres), and Mont de Bachy (72 metres). With these exceptions the country is very flat. The sands of Mons-en-Pevele contain sand stones, which have been extensively worked for building and road-making ; the hill as a whole is barren and uncultivated, like the summits of the higher Flemish hills, and inhabited only by rabbits. South of the broad and swampy valley of the Scarpe lies the Ostrevant. This, like southern Hainaut, which adjoins it across the Escaut, is really a transitional district. In the west, between St. Amand and Valen- THE PLAINS 39 ciennes, it is flat, sandy, and clayey, and almost entirely covered with forest ; in the west, towards Douai, it becomes more hilly, various ridges rising to 80 and 90 metres, and the subsoil is chalky. The hills are sandy and arid, some wooded and others bare, with rushes and bents, and were once crowned with a stratum of sandstone. They contrast strongly with the plain, which is covered with a fertile loamy soil like that- of the Cambresis. Below the sand of the hills come a stratum of tuffs, clayey sand and plastic clay, which gives rise to small springs. On the whole the soil of the Ostrevant is permeable and streams are absent. In the east the sand contains water, but this is stagnant ; further west the chalk absorbs the water and supplies springs in the deeper valleys (e. g. the Scarpe near Marchiennes), but not elsewhere. The water-supply in the western Ostrevant therefore depends on wells. The Marchiennes springs however are very abundant, and supply Roubaix and Tourcoing with 3,300,000 gallons daily. St. Amand has sulphur springs, which become mineralized in the lower coal-measures underlying the Ostrevant, and mud-baths, consisting of alluvial sand containing vegetable debris which condenses the sulphur. The Ostrevant practically coincides with the coal field of the Nord department. The coal-measures lie too deep to affect the surface features, but the industrial conditions set up by coal-mining affect the whole district. The same is true of the Gohelle, or district round Lens. This is a transitional district between the Pevele and the chalk downs of the Artois ; essentially it is a rolling plain intersected by the valley of the upper Deule, and overlooked from the south by the Artois escarpment, broken into the Notre-Dame de 40 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Lorette ridge on the west and that of Vimy on the east by the ravine of Souchez. Brabant. — The political province of Brabant corre sponds very tolerably with a physical region to which we may apply the term Brabant in a geographical sense. This region is a plateau sloping northwards into the east-and-west trough of the Scheldt river- system, drained by a series of parallel rivers and dis tinguished by its sandy soil. It is thus clearly marked off from the clay plain of Flanders and the low sandy plain of the Campine on the north, and almost equally so from the loam-covered plateaux of the Hesbaye and northern Hainaut on the south. The sand of Brabant is geologically the next series above the Flemish clay, and islands of it may stiU be seen, left in situ, on the hills of Flanders. East of the Escaut, as the ground rises, they become more frequent, and in parts continuous ; this district, characterized by the Renaix hill-system, we have aheady described as ' marginal Flanders ' and intermediate between Flanders proper and Brabant. The southern portion of the district, namely the triangle Tournai-Grammont- Ath, might even be defined as completely Brabancon in character. With the exception of this triangle, however, Brabant in the geographical sense, as in the pohtical, begins at the Dendre. The hills of the marginal district disappear except in a few isolated specimens to the north ; there is merely a wide undulating plain lying 40-50 metres above sea-level, with a sand subsoil covered by 4 or 5 metres of loam. Across the rather deep valley of the Senne lies another strip of the Brabancon plateau. Here the general level rises to 100 metres in the centre and 120 metres towards the south, and the plain is inter sected by deep valleys and ravines. The sand crops THE PLAINS 41 out on the slopes and even forms the soil of the plain, which is in consequence somewhat barren and much overgrown with timber. East of the Dyle valley the sandy plain narrows to a mere tongue in the north, bounded by a line from Wavre to Diest, south of which lies the Hesbaye. North of this line is the Hageland, a low-lying sandy plain bounded on the north by the Demer. The sandy character of Brabant is thus most pro nounced in the east and north. The loamy soil which characterizes the Hesbaye and northern Hainaut is indeed to be found, but chiefly in the west of Brabant proper, and the whole of the north is formed by a sandy plain not unlike the Campine. The valleys are mostly shallow near their source (in the case of the larger rivers the sources fail outside the limits we have assigned to Brabant), but fall more rapidly than the general level of the plain, so that they become progressively deeper as they advance. Their sides are formed in the upper parts of sand ; below this is clay. Springs occur freely at the junction of the two formations. The sand offers little resis tance to erosion, and in consequence the central plateau, where the loamy soil is absent, is much intersected by ravines, which generally reach down to the water bearing clay. These ravines are the cause of the hilly character of the country round Brussels. Farther west the surface-loam resists erosion better, and carries the water on its surface in the form of streams, so that the district between the Dendre and the Senne is little accidented. The valley-bottoms, especially those of the Senne and Dyle, contrast strikingly with the arid plateau. They are fresh and green, and the villages cluster round the springs which they contain. Round Louvain these valleys are cut down to a depth of 50 metres below the 42 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY plain, whose escarpments look from below like real hills, and are known locally as ' montagnes '. In southern Brabant the valleys penetrate down to the primary rocks of the ' Anglo-Belgian plateau ' , and in consequence the rivers run over and through schists, quartzites, porphyries, &c. This phenomenon is most marked in the upper courses of the rivers, falling in northern Hainaut, where it gives rise to extensive and valuable quarries ; but it is also present further north, in Brabant properly so called, and in the Senne and Dyle vaUeys only disappears a few miles south of Brussels and Louvain. In the north of Brabant the rivers emerge into a level sandy plain and have practicaUy no vaUeys at all. Northern Hainaut. — Brabant is roughly bounded on the south-west by a line passing through Tournai and Tubize. South of this the ground continues to rise to the watershed, beyond which it runs down to the east- and-west valley of the Haine, passing through Mons. This watershed-district is distinguished by its loamy soil, covering a subsoil mainly of carboniferous lime stone, which (with other formations appearing here and there) is quarried in the valleys aU over the area. It is sometimes called the Tournaisis by geographers, since Tournai is its chief town ; but historically that name belongs rather to a section of the left bank of the Escaut which geographically forms part of the Pevele ; and in consequence the name northern Hainaut is here preferred. Northern Hainaut is bounded on the north by the sandy plateau of Brabant ; on the west by the clay plains of the Pevele ; on the south by the Haine vaUey and the chalk plain of southern Hainaut, and on the east by the Hesbaye. At its western extremity the Pevele clay appears at high points, the plain in general being here composed of tertiary sand covered with THE PLAINS 43 loam. Towards the east the clay disappears and nothing intervenes between the loam soil and the limestone. At its eastern end, in the longitude of La Louviere and Charleroi, the plain enters the tertiary region, and clays and sands intervene between the loam and the limestone ; small streams and springs become more frequent and the country bears some resemblance to Flanders. The general level of the district is 50 metres in the west, rising to 100 in the east. The carboniferous strata dip to the south. The Dendre and Senne both rise in this district. The Dendre is formed by a large number of little streams draining the loam of the northern region and cutting their valleys down to the carboni ferous limestone, where they drain numerous springs and water numbers of viUages. The Senne, with its affluents Sennette and Samme, draws its water chiefly from the springs of the limestone. The Hesbaye. — South of a line passing roughly through Braine-rAUeud, Wavre, and Tubize, Brabant passes into the Hesbaye. This district is sometimes reckoned as a subdivision of Brabarit ; but falling as it does mostly in the provinces of Liege and Namur, and con taining only a slice of south-eastern Brabant province, it is best considered as a separate division. Its physical character, moreover, is clearly distinguished from that of the sandy Brabancon plateau. The Hesbaye is a flat rolling plain sloping away from a central watershed to the Sambre-Meuse valley on the south and Brabant and the Diest river-basin on the north. Its character is given by the thick stratum of loam which here overlies the Brabancon sands in the north and the chalk in the south ; this loam produces an admirable soil and makes all the Hesbaye a fertile agri cultural district, as well as supplying local brickworks and causing certain physical characteristics. Thus the Hesbaye is weU watered with surface-streams, which 44 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY do not for the most part cut deep valleys. The few exceptions are larger rivers which have eroded their beds down to the underlying subsoil. The district is therefore little accidented, and is monotonous in appear ance. It lies higher than any other part of the Belgian plain ; most of it is over 100 metres, and the ridge over looking the Meuse valley is very largely over 200. To the west the Hesbaye merges into northern Hainaut. To the north-east it sinks gradually till it passes into the sandy plain of the Campine. Its other boundaries are sufficiently defined by the valleys of the Sambre and Meuse. The Herve country. — The corner of Belgium between Liege, Vise, Aachen, and Verviers forms a httle natural region by itself, its characteristic features extending a little way both into Germany and into Holland. The Hesbaye country comes down to the Meuse between Liege and Vise, and a strip on the right bank of the river is of a similar character ; the ground then rises and the plateau of Herve begins. Geologically the structure of this plateau is ex tremely complicated, the predominant formation being chalk, together with Wealden sands. But this and all other formations are on the Herve plateau proper covered with a thick layer of clay, generally flinty, and it is this clay that gives its physical and agricultural character to the district. The Herve plateau stands above the 200-metre line, and its highest central region is a little over 300 metres ; but it is deeply scored by river-valleys which carry off the drainage-water of its numerous small streams. The Campine. — The whole of the north-east of Belgium, north of a line from Malines to Maastricht, falls in this region, which also includes the adjoining part of Holland, where it is known as Kempenland. It is a vast plain, absolutely without relief or incident THE PLAINS 45 except for its innumerable streams, which diverge from a watershed beginning near Maastricht at about 100 metres above sea-level and running close to Genck (alt. 79 metres), Lommel (50 metres), Turnhout (25 metres), and Oostmalle (24 metres), and passing the Dutch frontier at Starbroeck (12 metres) close to the mouth of the Scheldt. From this very low ridge the streams run north into the lower Meuse (Maas) and south into the Scheldt basin, the northern slope — if that word can be used — falling mostly in Holland. The physical character of the Campine is given by its sandy soil. Waterlogged and barren, this gives rise to great stretches of woodland and waste and little else. The population is scanty ; cultivation is difficult and unremunerative. Communications are however fairly good, owing to the Escaut-Meuse canal, and this fact has permitted the formation of a group of factories in the Lommel neighbourhood. In the future the indus trial life of the Campine will certainly develop, owing to the presence of a hitherto unexploited coalfield (see pp. 361-5). Agriculture will also develop by the appli cation of intensive cultivation and chemical manure, as it has already done in the similar districts of northern Flanders and the Hageland. In the north-east of this plain lie the great marshes of the Peel extending south to Weest, west to Eindhoven, and north to Grave on the lower Meuse. Certain districts may be considered as physically belonging to the Campine, though usually treated as falling within other regions. Such are the northern margin of Brabant, with the Hageland near Diest and Aerschot, and the districts of Waes and Maggesland in northern Flanders. The latter region has not been described and may therefore be considered here. It is a wet, sandy plain, even wetter than the true Campine, because clay here lies at no great distance beneath the 46 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY surface and prevents the water from draining away. The whole plain is therefore cut up into sections of two to five acres by drainage-ditches. It is also traversed by numerous canals which serve for drainage and navigation. The clay is connected more with the Boom than with the Flemish series, and consists of two strata, an upper in the Waes, exploited by the brick works of St. Nicolas, and a lower in the Maggesland. Where this clay comes near the surface its presence gives rise to a moderately fertile soU, but the pure sand is barren. Trees grow everywhere, and by evaporating the superfluous moisture serve in a sense as a drainage- system. In the Maggesland farms are less numerous than in the Waes, woods and uncultivated ground more frequent. Thus from an economic point of view Maggesland is more like the Campine than the comparatively pros perous Waes district. The gulf of the Rhine. — The northern portion of Germany falling in our area, namely the left bank of the Rhine from Crefeld to Cleves, may be considered as physically an annexe of the Campine, except for a line of hills rising in places to 100 metres, which begins at Crefeld and follows the curve of the river to Cleves. South of this lies a triangle whose corners are roughly at Essen, Aachen, and Bonn, where the plain of the lower Rhine runs up in a gulf into the Schiefergebirge. This gulf, whose geographical centre is Cologne, is drained in the centre and east by the Rhine and its tributary the Erft, and in the west by the Roer which debouches into the Meuse at Roermond. The plain is divided by a range of low hUls known as the Vorgebirge, which, following the right bank of the Erft, bisects the angle between the southern and eastern edges of the plain. These hills belong to the tertiary period, and are economically important as containing THE PLAINS 47 the great deposit of lignite which supplies cheap fuel to Cologne and the neighbourhood (pp. 384-5). The whole of this area is valuable agricultural land, passing on the south, through a transitional zone of well-watered pasture-country resembling the Herve plateau (see p. 44), into the barren hill-district of the Eifel. 3. The Ardennes-Eifel massif The high plateau of the Ardennes-Eifel is reached from the north and west through various transitional regions. The plateau of Herve, with its continuation south of Aachen and Diiren, has already been described : farther west are the Condroz, Famenne, and Thierache. The Condroz is the hill-district immediately south of the Meuse between Liege and Namur. It is composed of many narrow and steep ridges, running paraUel to the Meuse valley and enclosing narrow straight vaUeys in the Carboniferous and upper Devonian series. On its northern edge the lower Devonian and Silurian suddenly come to the surface in a narrow belt. The whole character of the district, geological and physical, is that of a system of parallel ridges and furrows, broken across by one or two transverse valleys, of which the Hoyoux valley is the chief, draining into the Meuse. The summits of the ridges average about 300 metres in altitude. West of the Meuse and south of the Sambre the same structure is prolonged into the little region sometimes caUed Marlagne and forming the extremity of the district known as ' l'entre-Sambre-et-Meuse '. Here, however, the ridge-and-furrow scheme is less regular and more broken by transverse valleys. To the south of this small region a belt of heavily-wooded plateau country stretches from the Meuse at Dinant through Philippeville to the French frontier. 48 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY South of this wooded strip in the west and of the Condroz in the east lies the Famenne, a long depression running through Chimay, Givet, Rochefort, and Marche parallel with the Sambre-Meuse valley and separating the lower Condroz country on the north from the true Ardennes on the south. Geologically it is composed of the schists and shales ofthe upper Devonian, intervening between the Cambrian and lower Devonian to the south and the Carboniferous to the north. Its milder climate and comparatively fertile soil make it a fair agricul tural country, and the land is in consequence free from timber except on the characteristic ' buttes ' or small isolated hills with which it is studded. West of the Famenne, and covering a large area astride of the upper Oise, is the Thierache, a district which lies entirely in France but can hardly be omitted. The left bank of the Oise from Guise to La Fere is politically part of the Thierache, but geographers prefer to attach this area for physical purposes to the Vermandois, the chalk plateau which lies back to back with the Cambresis and centres round St. Quentin and Peronne ; restricting the term Thierache to the clay district which extends from Hirson to Guise and from Landrecies to Rozoy on the upper Serre. The Thierache, thus defined, is a transitional district between the Ardennes and the French plain, in many ways similar to the Herve plateau which connects the Ardennes with the Belgian plain. It is a roUing clay plateau — the clay here belonging mostly to the Jurassic series — well wooded and watered, and intersected by the deep ravines of its many rivers. Like Herve, it is a pastoral district, and much of the plateau lies above the 200-metre line. South-east of the Thierache is the Porcien, another marginal district of the Ardennes : an oolite plain sloping down from the Meuse watershed west and south THE ARDENNES-EIFEL MASSIF 49 of Mezieres to the Aisne, cut up by deep river- valleys and consisting partly of forest and partly of agricultural land. The central plateau of the true Ardennes runs out westward in a wedge-shaped district, the point of the wedge lying at Hirson, its northern edge being defined by the Famenne and its southern by a line passing through Hirson, Mezieres, and perhaps Arlon. In this south-eastern part the natural boundary is somewhat indefinite. The base of the wedge is formed by the Belgian frontier. This again falls into two main regions, the Cambrian district in the west, forming the point of the wedge and centring at Rocroi, and the Devonian district — the Hautes Fagnes — in the east. Each alike is a high plateau, ill-drained in spite of its deep gorges, covered with clay and peat and mostly overgrown by forest ; the land has extremely little agricultural value. The marshy character of the plateau is further accentuated in the other Cambrian district which extends from the Salm and Ambleve across the German frontier in a north-easterly direction to the edge of the plateau and constitutes the Hohe Venn, a district which will be further mentioned under the Eifel. The Eifel is a triangular district which is generally regarded as including all the German country north of the Moselle and south of a line roughly joining Aachen, Euskirchen, and Coblenz. It falls into a large number of natural divisions, which are described below. Taken as a whole, the district consists of a plateau bisected by a single east-and-west watershed which runs up from Coblenz to a central point between Dahlem and Biitgenbach, namely the Weisserstein (690 metres). This point is the hydrographical centre of the Eifel, lying as it does at the head-waters of the Ambleve, the Urft, the Kyll, and the Our ; indeed most of the chief BELG. D 50 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY rivers of the Eifel radiate from this point and rise within a few miles of it. It is, however, not the highest point. There are three higher districts : the Hohe Venn to north-west, the Schneifel to south, and the Hocheifel some distance to the east and containing the highest summits of all. Like the Ardennes, the Eifel is not a true hill-district but a high plateau dissected by deep river-gorges. Only one small area, the Hocheifel, shows the character of a hill region. Everywhere else the summits are merely undulating plains rising into ridges and sinking into hollows, but nowhere showing anything in the nature of peaks or crests. These plateaux give very poor agri cultural land, and consist largely of faUow or waste moorland ; in some cases, notably on the Hohe Venn (whence its name), they are mere swamps. The swamps of the Venn lie 2,000 ft. above sea-level in a long ridge of Cambrian rocks running from the neighbourhood of Stavelot in Belgium north-east towards Diiren, and then falling abruptly into the plains. Its summit, at Botranche near the frontier, is 2,280 ft. East of this lie similar ridges, almost level on the top and at first boggy, but gradually becoming more and more wooded. The Weisserstein above mentioned is the centre of this region. Further south hes the Schneifel, a ridge resembhng the Venn, whose summit, the Schwarzer Mann, is 2,287 ft. Eastward from the Weisserstein the country remains well wooded ; the heights progressively diminish to a saddle (1,500- 1,800 ft.) traversed by the raUway from Cologne to Trier and forming the main pass in the Eifel watershed. East of this saddle the ground again rises to a ridge whose north-eastern part is generally called the Hoch eifel and its south-west part the Salmwald. The Ahr and Kyll rivers drain the north-west slope of this ridge at its respective ends. The summit of the Hocheifel, THE ARDENNES-EIFEL MASSIF 51 the Hohe Acht, a basalt peak 2,468 ft. above sea-level, is the highest point in the whole district. Here the landscape has more the character of a hill-district than that of a plateau, and is finely wooded with deciduous trees. Farther east is the volcanic district which centres round the Laacher See, a crater-lake ; and south of this lie the Pellenz valley and Maifeld plateau, small districts close to Andernach and Coblenz. The southern slope of the main watershed is scored by very deep and rocky river-valleys lying more or less paraUel. The western rivers, draining a vaguely- defined district called the O sling, do not flow into the Moselle till they have been collected by the Sauer, the main river of Luxemburg. The rest — the Kyll, Salm, Lieser, Alf , Uss, Endert, and Elz — flow direct into the Moselle. The lower course of these rivers, except the most easterly three or four, passes out of the Devonian high plateau into Triassic country, a characteristic region for which the name Moselvoreifel has been suggested. Finally, between the Triassic ' Wittlich depression ' and the Moselle valley from Schweich to Alf, stand the ' Moselberge ', a range of barren Devonian hills belonging geologically and physically not to the Moselvoreifel but to the Hunsriick. Parts of the Eifel show noticeable traces of volcanic activity, which has produced important results in the economic life of the districts affected. One such district lies near Daun and Gerolstein, between the Uss and the Kyll. Here a great number of volcanic craters may be seen, many of which are flooded and form the lakes or Maare characteristic of this district. Some of these craters have emitted lava-streams which give rise to beds of basalt, now in places quarried for building stone and millstones ; and the volcanic soil favours agriculture. The other volcanic district lies in the hills above Andernach, and is sometimes called the Rhein- D2 52 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY voreifel. It is a good deal smaller than the other, but in every way more remarkable. Its largest crater, the Laacher See, is a lake \\ miles in diameter, the largest sheet of water in our area ; and the lava-streams have given rise to very important quarrying industries dating at least from the Roman period. Volcanic minerals are also here worked for use in glass-making, concrete, and manure ; and of the mineral springs, of which there are at least 300 in the two districts taken together, several — notably the Apollinaris spring in the Ahr valley — have acquired a considerable fame. Here again the volcanic soil is fertile. 4. The Lorraine Plateau South of the Hautes Fagnes, the characteristic region of the central Ardennes, lies a transitional area, a zone passing through Mezieres and Arlon. This is largely Triassic in origin, and may therefore be connected with the Moselvoreifel, the low Triassic plateau of the southern Eifel ; it includes the southern hah of Luxem burg, whose northern half lies in the Osling district of the high plateau. This Arlon belt is for the most part fair agricultural land. Its calcareous rocks yield a tolerably good soil : there is little swamp and not much forest, and the plateau hardly anywhere rises to 400 metres, whereas the Hautes Fagnes hardly ever sink below that altitude. South of this transitional belt we come to Lorraine proper. It is geologically characterized by the Jurassic series, including the lower Jurassic in the east (Bath stone), middle (Oxford and Kimmeridge clays) in the centre, and upper (Portland beds) on the west. These three belts are in the latitude bf Verdun and Metz clearly distinguished and parallel. The upper Jurassic oolites form the barren, heavily-wooded heights on each side of the Meuse valley ; the middle Jurassic THE LORRAINE PLATEAU 53 clays form the Woevre plain further east ; and the lower Jurassic oohtes form the wooded heights of the Haye which line the Moselle valley. Here the arrange ment of districts is symmetrical ; but farther north all the strata bend round to the west and begin to converge till they reach a vanishing-point in the neighbourhood of Hirson. The Woevre accordingly narrows as it trends north-westward and actually reaches the Meuse where the oolite hills stop short in the neighbourhood of Dun ; the oolite Haye spreads out into the Jarnisy and the Briey plateau, which runs north and north-west to Longwy and Montmedy, beyond which the Triassic Arlon belt begins. The Briey plateau, with its annexe the Jarnisy south of the Orne, consists of Bath stone (oolite) and clays. Its limestone character is most marked on the east, where the oolite crops out in fantastically shaped rocks and is quarried in several places, especially at Jaumont near Metz, under the name of Jaumont oolite ; the clayey character more prominent on the west, where the boundary between the Briey plain and the Woevre is not always very clearly marked. The whole plateau is unified by a surface-deposit of gravel and mud con taining iron hydroxide, which masks the character of the subsoil. The rivers run in deep and tortuous valleys winding among oolite hills, and in general too narrow to admit villages. They have a very slight fall, and are in consequence liable to violent floods, though in dry weather they contain little water. Thus the Orne rises in wet weather 10 ft. above its normal banks and floods the neighbouring pastures for miles round. The smaller streams are comparatively torrential, except in the clayey west where they are sluggish. The northern rivers, Crusne and Chiers, are low in dry weather and violent in wet ; but they have sufficient fall to be utilized as sources of power for numerous mUls. 54 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Longwy and Luxemburg are thus supplied with power by these and other streams. The plateau of Briey owes its immense importance to the presence of minette iron-ore, for which see Chap. VIII, pp. 390 seqq. The Woevre (pronounce ' Wavre ') is a plateau com posed of Oxford clay and extending from the edge of the Briey plateau (a Somewhat ill-defined hmit, as above noted) to the Cotes de Meuse, by whose escarpment it is abruptly overlooked. It begins in a narrow strip north of Dun and broadens as it travels south-eastward to a greatest width of 12 miles between Verdun and Conflans, where it passes out of our area. West of the Meuse the Oxford clay continues north-westward from Dun and runs unbroken to the Thierache ; but this area, though geologically continuous with the Woevre, is geographically distinct from it. The Woevre is a plain studded with limestone hiUs, outliers of the Cotes de Meuse. It is composed of a heavy bluish clay, remarkably uniform over the whole plateau except where its surface is enriched by calca reous deposits brought down from the Cotes de Meuse. The whole plain is extremely wet, dotted with large marshes and pools, and traversed by innumerable smaU streams, most of which feed the Orne. These streams in general rise in springs at the junction of the oolite and clay, and run eastward ; a few flow west, penetrat ing the Cotes de Meuse in deep ravines and reaching the Meuse. These streams are valuable fertilizing agents, bringing down oolite soil ; but this is insufficient to affect the general character of the plain, which remains always too wet, clayey, and cold to have much agricultural value. The Cotes de Meuse form the outcrop of the upper Jurassic (Portland) oolites. On the east this outcrop THE LORRAINE PLATEAU 55 stands in abrupt escarpment, penetrated by a few defiles at the mouth of which a village usually stands. North of Verdun the wall is very little broken and extends in this shape as far as Dun, where the range of hills dis appears. To west the Cotes de Meuse fall steeply into the Meuse valley, forming the right-hand or eastern side of a gorge through which the Meuse escapes from the Lorraine plateau into the low clayey plain north of Dun. The side of the gorge is broken here and there by ravines bringing down torrential water, more rarely by regular defiles carrying regular streams flowing westward from the Woevre. This line of hills — long; narrow, and steep — is agri culturally barren but heavily timbered, and its forests give rise to various local industries in the Meuse valley and in the vUlages of the "Cotes themselves. It has from time immemorial been a defensible place of refuge against invasions rather than a district with any economic value of its own. Climate The climate of our area presents few remarkable features. It is a temperate climate, resembling in general that of south-eastern England, but somewhat colder in winter and hotter in summer. Up the Rhine valley and south-east of the Artois-Cambresis downs a drier and warmer climate than that of Belgium is found. Along the coast the rainfall is fairly low and the temperature equable, owing to the presence of the sea, but as soon as the sea-coast is left behind the rainfall rises sharply and the changes of temperature become marked. The rise of rainfall is most abrupt in the west, where on the coast at Boulogne the yearly figure is below 27 inches, but rises a few mUes east to 56 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY over 40. All the north-western extremity of the chalk downs is in fact an area of high rainfall, having on one hand the lower rainfall-area of the Escaut basin and on the other the dry Paris basin, and con nected with the wet Ardennes region by an isthmus consisting of the Artois-Cambresis watershed. Even in the polders region the climate is severe, and all over Flanders the winters are cold, foggy, and dull, with much frost ; the summers are inchned to be sultry. These extremes of temperature are most marked in the sandy regions, especiaUy where, as in the Campine, the natural lightness of the soil has not yet been modified by agricultural improvements. All over these plains violent changes of temperature are common ; the rainfall,1 on the other hand, is not high, and is uniformly distributed over Flanders, Brabant, and the Campine, except for two areas where it rises above 27-5 inches ; namely a part of Campine itself, from Antwerp to Diest, and in the district between Ghent and Mons, where the Brabancon plateau rising out of the Flemish plain arrests the moisture-laden west winds. Further south the rainfall increases rapidly. In the Hesbaye, Condroz, and Famenne it is over 27-5 inches ; in the Herve plateau, eastern Condroz, and Charleroi neighbourhood, over 31 inches. It now rises rapidly to the summit of the Ardennes in the south and Hohe Venn in the east, both of which have a rainfall of well over 40 inches, and then declines again. The southern and eastern slopes of the Eifel, sheltered as they are by the heights just mentioned, have a low rainfall; that of the Rhine valley is as low as that of the Aisne valley. The Grand Duchy of Luxemburg has likewise a fairly low average, dechning from about 30 inches 1 See Atlas, Map 1 a. CLIMATE 57 in the west to 25 inches in the east. The Lorraine plateau is rainy in the west, where the Argonne rises out of the plains of Champagne, but becomes pro gressively drier towards the coast. The Hunsriick and Westerwald repeat the high rainfall-figures of the Boulonnais, Ardennes, and Hohe Venn. In general the summits and western slopes of all these hills are characterized by a high rainfall, more markedly so as they lie farther west and so nearer to the sea ; the eastern slopes are always com paratively dry, even, when they lie at a considerable elevation. It is especially noticeable that the ridge of the Hohe Venn shelters the whole of the Eifel, and produces a rainfall-figure on the summit of the Schneifel (for instance) no higher than that of the Sambre valley at Charleroi. The prevailing weather in Belgium is rainy, but the rainfall is not high ; the moisture-laden west winds are mostly intercepted by the Artois and Boulonnais hills, and the Belgian plain is characterized more by fog, drizzle, and an overcast sky than by heavy rains. The same is true of the Nord department of France, which is physicaUy part of the Belgian plain. All over the country the late summer and the autumn are the normal wet season, the late winter and spring the dry. The summer rains are short and sharp, and produce little effect on the country gene rally ; the autumn rains, on the other hand, are heavy and continuous, and at times so saturate the soil, especiaUy in the clayey and loamy districts, as to stop agricultural work and to cause a general rise in the river-levels, often attended by floods. The winds from north to south-east are all dry, and the small spring rainfall is due to the prevalence at that season of north-easterly winds. The worst storms 58 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY are from the west and north-west ; they occur especiaUy in November, and are often accompanied by disastrous inundations from the sea. In general, westerly winds. decidedly prevail ; but all over the country the wind is very variable. The climate of the Ardennes-Eifel massif is inclement. The rainfall is high, the winds violent, and frosts severe. Snow is frequent, and often falls or drifts to great depths. The main characteristic of the climate of the area as a whole is its inconstancy. Unbroken speUs of weather, good or bad, are rare ; the climate of Belgium has indeed been described as uniformly changeable. On the whole, it is a good climate for agriculture. The sandy and clayey soils require a good deal of moisture, and it is necessary that this should be evenly distributed if the soil is to be kept from drying up or cracking in dry spells and flooding in wet ; thus the natural disadvantages of the soil are to some extent corrected by the climate. The moisture is largely responsible for the vigour of the vegetation ; it has also a marked effect on the population, whose ' Flemish stoves ' and cleanly habits are a reaction against the fog and mud by which they are sur rounded. CHAPTER II POPULATION Races Belgium is inhabited by two races, Flemings and WaUoons. The Flemings are generally described as a Teutonic, the Walloons as a Celtic race ; but these names are misleading unless used with caution. The true Flemings belong to the so-called ' Nordic ' or Scandinavian race which inhabits the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, and is well known in the east of England ; the type is tall, fair, and powerfully built, with grey eyes and a long, narrow skull. This race is predominant in the extreme north of Germany, but absent in the centre and south, so that it cannot reasonably be called Teutonic. The Walloons belong to the 'Alpine race ', which is found all over central Europe in a belt from east to west, hardly ever pene trating to the coast-lands of either the Baltic on the north or the Mediterranean on the south. It is charac teristic of central and southern Germany, Switzerland, and the greater part of France. The type is somewhat short and heavily built, dark in colouring, and having a short, broad skull. Linguistic distinctions and racial distinctions seldom exactly correspond, and this is the case in Belgium. Roughly, it may be true to say that a Teutonic language is native to the Fleming and a Romance to the Walloon ; but in point of fact the Nordic type is by no means so prevalent in the Flemish provinces as is the Teutonic language. Large numbers of Flemings by language are WaUoons by race. The Flemish racial type is only dominant in the maritime plain ; in Flanders 60 .POPULATION itself the bulk of the population belongs to the Alpine race, i. e. consists of Walloons, crossed and overlaid with the Flemings, whose language they have learnt. In the Walloon provinces, on the other hand, the type is comparatively pure ; the Nordic or racial Flemish element hardly occurs* at all. The 'Flemish question', therefore, is primarily not a racial question but a linguistic one. The barrier between the two halves of Belgium is not a distmction of blood and racial type so much as a distinction of language. Such a distinction of racial type does certainly exist, and is very striking, but it does not coincide with the political distinction — which is the linguistic distinction — -between Fleming and WaUoon. The ethnological position of Belgium is in some respects parallel to that of this country. In each case a branch of the Nordic race invaded and partially colonized the country, imposing its Teutonic language — Flemish in the one case, Anglo-Saxon in the other — upon the part so colonized ; but (i) leaving a con siderable area of the country untouched and still talking its old language, Welsh or WaUoon, and (ii) even in the Teutonized part never forming more than a fraction of the population, which has ever since been mainly composed, in England, of the dark, long-headed ' Iberian ' race, and, in Belgium, of the short, dark, broad-headed ' Alpine ' race. And just as the distinction between an Englishman and a Welshman is primarily one not of race but of language, so the cleavage between Flemings and Walloons is linguistic rather than racial. The distinction is however, in each case alike, more than merely linguistic. The Welshman differs more or less in temperament, traditions, and ideals from the Englishman, and similar differences exist between the Walloon and the Fleming (using the terms hence- RACES 61 forward in the linguistic sense). These differences are due much less to an original diversity of stock than to the influence of a distinct environment and manner of life, emphasized by the linguistic distinction, which preserves the traditions of the group and hinders the exchange of ideas with its neighbours. * Thus the Flemings have always been inhabitants of a plain, laborious agriculturists, city-dwellers and traders. Intensive cultivation, architecture, civic life, commerce and industry have been their distinctive marks ever since they first developed a life of their own. In temper they are marked, and always have been marked, by extreme tenacity and conservatism ; their laborious disposition is evident in all their activities — in the cultivation which has transformed the sterile soil of Flanders into one of the richest countries of Europe ; in the slow building-up and jealous preservation of their civic liberties ; in the patient work of the Flemish painters and the intro spective thought of the Flemish mystics — and appears on its worse side as a certain dullness and intolerance of new ideas, a slowness and heaviness of mind which makes all progress, except what is attained by the most gradual stages, impossible. Where, however, such slow development has been given free play the genius of the Flemings has produced remarkable and original results in a great number of different fields. While distinguished from the Walloon by his greater laboriousness and conservatism, the Fleming differs no less strikingly, in spite of a close linguistic affinity, from the Dutchman. The artistic gifts, the mysticism, the conviviality of the Flemings are foreign to the more austere and materially-minded Dutch. Holland has produced great artists, but there is much more of the artist and craftsman, much less of the mere trader, in the average Fleming than in the average Dutchman. 62 POPULATION It has been observed that even their national drinks differ ; the Fleming — a hard eater and a hard drinker — is a beer-drinker who has only lately taken to gin, the Dutch drink, to his own great detriment. This wide difference may be in part a difference of blood ; for the 'Alpine ' or racial Walloon element which is so strong in Flanders is relatively feeble in Holland, and this element may have infused into the Fleming a certain strain of Celtic character which the Dutchman does not share; But the difference has been accentuated for generations by the history of the two countries, dating at least from the time when HoUand became Protestant, while Flanders remained Catholic, and culminating in the intensely unpopular Dutch rule over Belgium between 1815 and 1830. The Walloon, on the other hand, is descended from a race of foresters and hill-dweUers. The Teutonic invasion which resulted in the formation of the Flem ings was checked by the great forest-belt running across the country from east to west. North of this line — the modern language-frontier — lay sandy and clayey plains and great rivers, suitable for agriculture, city life, and trade ; to south the country was mostly forest, whose riches consisted of timber, pastures, and minerals. The primitive WaUoon was therefore a shepherd or a hunter ; his industries were charcoal- burning, quarrying, digging and smelting iron-ore. City life was almost unknown ; - textile industries and commercial organization never existed, and the popula tion was always, in comparison with the Flemings, wild and uncivilized. In temperament, therefore, it is not surprising to find that where the Fleming is conservative the Walloon is revolutionary. He has little respect for institutions and little patience with slow and laborious tasks ; in politics he is inclined towards socialism and RACES 63 anti-clericalism, and his sympathies and affinities are on the whole with France. He is more original and spontaneous than the Fleming, and when the Walloon race produces a supreme artist, like ' Orlando di Lasso ' (Roland de Lassus of Mons) in the sixteenth, or Constantin Meunier in the nineteenth century, his work reaches a level which the more plodding Flemish mind, for aU its artistic gifts, can never attain. The Walloon country is now thoroughly industrial ized, but with a few notable exceptions, such as the great woollen district of Verviers and the smaller wooUen centres of Beaumont, Dinant, &c, the basis of its industry is still mineral. The Walloon industrial population still mainly — though on a vastly increased scale — quarries stone, mines coal, and works in iron. Textile industries, with the exceptions above noted, remain the monopoly of the Flemings. So far the ancient division of character remains, and it must further be noted that the Walloon has never really taken to town life, living as he does for the most part in vast semi-rural areas, where cottages, each with its garden or tiny plot of ground, are thickly scattered over the country-side. As contrasted with Flanders, the Walloon provinces are almost devoid of real towns. The contrast between the two races of Belgium may, however, easUy be exaggerated. To a Frenchman both appear stolid and lacking in vivacity and camaraderie ; to an Enghshman, apathetic and devoid of enterprise or initiative (e. g. in such matters as emigration or trade unionism) ; to a German, uneducated and without intellectual interests. Both Flemings and Walloons are indefatigable workmen and agriculturists, working long hours for small remuneration, and bringing to their task a high degree of physical strength and a certain amount of technical ability, though but little originality or inventive skill. Low wages and 64 POPULATION bad education impair the efficiency of each alike, and are probably responsible for many of the shortcomings which are sometimes ascribed to racial character. Though the Flemings and Dutch may be described as a Teutonic stock, they are not Germans. Our area includes both High and Low German populations, the former in the Eifel and the latter in the Rhine plain ; but the Dutch-Flemish stock must be distinguished from the Low German. The Dutch, Low German, and English languages are derived respectively from Old Dutch, Old Low German, and Anglo-Saxon, which together formed the Saxon as opposed to the Frisian group of Low German languages ; the cleavage between Dutch and Low German is thus as old-established and as complete as that which separates both from Enghsh. In many respects indeed Dutch is more akin to EngHsh than to ' Platt-Deutsch ', and in temperament and customs the Dutchman finds himself in closer relation with his English than with his German neighbours. The frontier between the Dutch and Low German races may be said to correspond roughly with the German-Dutch frontier, though 2 per cent, of the population of Dutch Limburg are said to be Low Germans. Similarly, farther south, the German ele ment penetrates within the Belgian border between Aachen and Liege (see further in detaU, p. 85), and at Beho, -while the Walloon enters Prussia at and near Malmedy. The population of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg is Middle German, though the state is officially bilingual and relations with France have in general been close and friendly. Finally in the west, south-west, and south of our area the true French, as opposed to the Walloon, stock occurs. Walloon, it should be observed, is not a mere dialect of French x any more than Flemish is a mere 1 In Chap. HI we have not distinguished between Walloon and RACES 65 dialect of Low German ; it is an independent language on much the same footing as Provencal, and occupies not only the Walloon provinces of Belgium (with the Malmedy enclave in Prussia), but also a considerable portion of France, including la Flandre wallone (see p. 37), south of Lille, with most of the Cambresis, and also the Meuse valley up to Mezieres. To west, Walloon marches with the French of Picardy ; to south, with that of Lorraine. Density of the Population 1. In Belgium With an area of 11,373 square miles and a popula tion (December 1910) of 7,423,784, Belgium has on average 662 inhabitants to the square mile, and is thus the most densely-populated country in Europe. This density is due not (as in Germany) to an ex ceptionaUy high birth-rate, but to a low birth-rate combined with an extremely small emigration-rate and a rather high percentage of immigrations. Within Belgium itself, however, the density is by no means uniform. The following table gives the density of the population in the nine provinces : 1,260 per square mile 970 890 860 800 700 295 260 135 French in considering the distribution of languages. This is because, though philologically they are distinct languages, Walloon speakers almost invariably know French, and there is no such political and social cleavage between the two languages as there is between French and Flemish, or between either and German. BBLG. E Brabant . East Flanders Antwerp . Hainaut . Liege West Flanders Limbourg . NamurLuxembourg 66 POPULATION If we take the individual arrondissements the diver gence is still more marked ; • thus at one end of the scale Brussels has 2,400 inhabitants per square mile, Charleroi, 1,950; Liege, 1,830; Antwerp, 1,650; and Courtrai, Ghent, Alost, Mons, and Malines aU over 1,000 ; while at the other end Neuf chateau has 103, Bastogne, 111 ; Marche, 121 ; and Dinant, 150. The most populous arrondissement is thus twenty times as densely populated as the least. The map x (Atlas, Map 3) shows that, apart from certain very dense agglomerations which will be men tioned below, Belgium falls into two main districts — the densely-populated north and centre, where over a large area the population never falls below 250 to the square mile in the country districts, and the thinly populated south, where it hardly ever rises as high as that figure. The dividing line between these two districts is (very roughly) the Sambre-Meuse vaUey; so that the area of thin population is equivalent to the Ardennes and the area of dense population to the central and northern plains. It must be observed, however, that the plains contain certain areas of low population, viz. the Campine, the Maggesland, and the extreme west of Flanders, while the hills contain some densely-populated regions adjoin ing Liege, Verviers, and Arlon. No part of the Campine exceeds 250 per square mile except Turnhout and a district south of it running down to Lierre and Herenthals, which has 390 in the east, in the Nethe valley, and 650 to 750 farther west towards Lierre. 1 For the Belgian portion this map is compiled from the separate figures for each commune, and the same applies to Luxemburg and Holland. The French and German portions are in the main (except e.g. in the departement du Nord and the Coblenz-Trier region) compiled from figures for Kreise and cantons, and therefore do not enter into such detail. BELGIUM 67 South of this lie eastern Brabant and the Hesbaye, where the country districts have about 500 and 800 per square mile respectively ; the rural population of the Hesbaye, as might be expected from the rich character of its soU, being decidedly high. Western Brabant and northern Hainaut have about 650-750 per square mile. Flanders has a fairly uniform population except that (as above mentioned) it falls below 250 to the square mile in the Maggesland, near the Dutch frontier north of Eecloo, and most of the Maggesland is below 500. The Waes is about 500-750, and from Bruges to the French frontier the same figures prevail. South of the Lys the population is a trifle denser, and goes up to 900 per square mile. South of the Sambre-Meuse valley the population figures are very much lower. Even the rich Herve dairy-country has only about 500 ; the Condroz and Famenne have about 150, and the high plateau of the Ardennes falls in many communes below 120, and hardly anywhere touches 150. The foregoing figures concern the rural population only. A high percentage of the whole population lives in certain definite industrial areas which we must now enumerate. In all these areas the average popula tion rises well over 1,000 per square mile ; in many districts it exceeds 2,000 or 2,500 for many square mUes together. The largest of these districts extends from about Auvelais, on the Sambre below Charleroi, westward to the French frontier beyond Mons. This belt of coal mining country, 45 miles long and 5 to 10 miles broad, has everywhere a population-density of over 1,000, and in three large areas — the basins of Charleroi, the Centre, and the Couchant de Mons, each 25 to 50 square miles «in area — it never falls below 2,600. E2 68 POPULATION Average figures of density for individual communes are 8,000, 11,500, or even 100,000 per square mile. The highest figures are reached in the Charleroi basin; in the Centre basin figures of 2,600-6,500 prevau, and in the Couchant de Mons 5,000-9,000. It must be further remembered that these are for the most part not strictly urban districts; the population of this belt is spread out over large areas of country in small houses, each having its own garden or smaU plot of agricultural land.1 Hence the large extent of ground covered by a population which could be concentrated into one town the size of Manchester. The districts of Brussels and Antwerp come next in order of size. That of Brussels is 20 mUes long from north to south by 10„across, and within this elongated area, lying in the Senne valley, the population is everywhere over 1,000, and in a large central area (12 by 6 miles) over 2,600 to the square mUe. Here, however, the concentration is much greater than in the Walloon coal-mining area just described ; in the suburbs of Brussels densities of over 100,000 are the rule, and figures of 250,000, 300,000, and even more are common. This must accordingly be considered a true urban district, while the marginal portions (with density-figures of 10,000, 18,000, 20,000, or the hke) more resembles the Charleroi district. The Antwerp district is about 20 by 12 mUes in extent, and its population is over 2,600 to the square mile in a continuous belt from Antwerp through Hoboken and Boom to Malines; 3,300, 4,000, and 1 Allowing an average of five persons per house — a low figure for Belgium as a whole, but perhaps not for a Walloon district — one house per acre would mean a population of 3,200 per square mile. Allowing therefore for roads, railways, canals, and factories, a figure of. 5,000 per square mile means that every family, has on average half an acre of cultivated ground. BELGIUM 69 upwards are here the prevailing densities, so that in spite of its extent the district, except for the great city of Antwerp, supports a smaller population than those already described. The Liege district, which is the next in size, again shows the characteristic features of a Walloon indus trial region, i. e. the population not living under urban conditions but in densely-scattered cottages. Thus the communes immediately round Liege have density-figures of 3,800, 4,000, 6,500, or 7,500, declining in the marginal areas up and down the river to 2,300 and 2,000. Like Antwerp and Brussels, however, and unlike the south-western coalfield, the Liege district has a real urban nucleus in the city of Liege (popula tion, 165,000). Ghent is the centre of an agglomeration resembling in extent that of Liege, but (characteristically of a Flemish district) differing in being sharply divided into an urban centre — the city of Ghent, with a popula tion about the same as that of Liege — and a relatively thinly-populated margin, with a density of little over 1,000; this being mostly inhabited, not, as in the WaUoon districts, by factory hands hving in semi- rural conditions, but by market and nursery gardeners. There are two other main belts of dense population in Belgium. The first extends all up the Dendre valley from Termonde through Alost, Ninove, Gram mont, and Lessines, all considerable manufacturing towns, to Ath. Here the prevalent population, due to industrial villages, is about 1,600 per square mile, rising sharply in the towns. The second extends for some distance along the middle Lys, with populations of 1,600-2,500 per square mile, and has its centre at Courtrai. This district is continuous, through Mouscron, with the very densely-populated region about LiUe, Roubaix, and Tourcoing in France. 70 POPULATION These seven districts are the chief centres of popula tion in Belgium. There are many minor centres, such as Verviers, Louvain, Ostende, and Namur, but these and others are comparatively unimportant. 2. In France The industrial region round Lille and the coal fields of the Ostrevant and the Gohelle are in point of population comparable with the denser parts of Belgium, but otherwise the whole of our French area has a somewhat low population. Almost aU the Nord department has indeed a population of over 1,000 per square mile ; this is accounted for partly by industry, partly by the agricultural value of much of la Flandre wallonne. In la Flandre flamingante, how ever, north and east of St. Omer, the population sinks below this figure, only to rise in the neighbourhood of Dunkirk and Gravelines ; so that the population of French Flanders is perceptibly lower than that of Belgian Flanders. The density again faUs off to the south-east, where much of southern Hainaut and all the Thierache have figures well below 1,000, except in the industrial region immediately west of Maubeuge. Thus in the Nord department the north-western and south-eastern arrondissements, Dunkirk and Avesnes, have general densities of only 520 and 380, while Hazebrouck has only 400, a figure that may be com pared with the 700 which is a fair average for corre sponding parts of Belgian Flanders. The centre of the department is densely populated ; the arrondissement of Lille has an average of 2,400, including the great agglomerations of LiUe, Roubaix-Tourcoing, and Armen tieres ; that of Douai, 820, including various coal mining districts and parts of the Pevele and other agricultural regions ; and that of Valenciennes, includ- FRANCE 71 ing the Ostrevant industrial area and adjacent agricul tural districts, 1,000. The down country is thinly populated ; its large and prosperous farms do not demand for their working a dense population, especially as labour at harvest- time is supplied by temporarily immigrant Belgians. Here accordingly the figure per square mile in the arrondissement of Arras — counting in the population of that town — is only 330 ; in St. Pol it goes down to 160. On the other hand, the Boulonnais and Cambresis are comparatively well populated. The arrondissement of Boulogne has a figure of 520 ; that of Cambrai is brought up by the prevalence of viUage industries to 560. The population now becomes progressively more scanty. In the belt of country running through Laon and Hirson it is about 160, 180, or 120 ; farther on, in the Porcien and upper Aisne valley, it drops to 100 over large areas, and never reaches 130 in a district of any size. The Meuse valley, on the other hatid, supports a comparatively dense population. The arrondissement of Mezieres has an average figure of about 270, which, since the heights are largely uninhabited, implies a much denser population for the iron-working villages all down the river from Mezieres to Givet. The same allowance must be made in considering the average figures of 220 for the arrondissement of Sedan and 140 for that of Verdun. On the Lorraine plateau the population is every where very low and indeed decreasing, except where the rise of iron-mining has in recent years led to a great increase, as at Briey, or in old-established mining-towns like Longwy. Otherwise the density seldom rises to 100 per square mile. A characteristic arrondissement, that of Montmedy, had a density of 132 in 1851 ; in 72 POPULATION 1876 this had gone down to 112 and in 1906 to 92. It is said that this decline, which is general throughout the rural districts, especiaUy affects the small but prosperous farmer, whose holding of two or three acres will not support, and does not require the labour of, a large family, while his position as a bachelor or childless man is too comfortable to be sacrificed. 3. In Luxemburg The area of the Grand Duchy being 999 square miles, and its population 246,000, the average density is 246 per square mUe. Roughly speaking the main valleys, the centre, and the south west are more densely inhabited, with over 130 to the square mile, while the plateaux of the north and of the eastern centre have a density almost every where lower than that, and in some communes going down to about 90. The population is, however, nowhere really dense except in the iron-mining (minette) district of the south-west, at and near Esch-sur- Alzette. The commune of Esch has a density of 3,000, and .the neighbouring communes have 2,000, 1,600, 1,300, &c, per square mile. These communes only form a narrow belt across the south-western corner, between which and the capital intervenes a strip of agricultural land — part of the ' Gutland ' which com poses the south-western and central region of the Grand Duchy — with a density of 150, rising in parts to over 200 or falling to 130. The prevaUing figure in the Gutland is about 150. Towards Arlon and near the capital the population is more dense, rising to 380 in the former instance, and 320-60 in the latter. In the suburbs of the capital it is 700-1,000. The main river-valleys have a fairly dense popula tion ; in the Moselle valley the density seldom falls LUXEMBURG 73 below 370, and goes up in places to 440. In the Sauer valley it varies from 180 to 250. At places like Remich and Echternach it is, of course, higher, and there is an area of fairly dense population (740-820 per square mile) up and down-stream from Diekirch. The plateau adjoining these rivers and east of the capital, however, is thinly populated (80-130), and so is the whole of the Osling or northern plateau (90-120), except in the immediate neighbourhood of Clervaux (170-200) and Wiltz (420 per square mile in the commune of that name). 4. In Germany With an area of 10,425 square miles and a popu lation (1905) of 6,436,377, the Rhine Province as a whole has a density of 617-6 to the square mile. Its density is thus 93 per cent, of that . of Belgium. We are here only concerned with those districts which lie west of the Rhine-Moselle valley, and here the very high densities of the Ruhr coalfield on the right bank of the Rhine (e. g. Landkreis of Essen, 5,137 per square mile, while the urban Kreise go up to 23,000) are never attained. As there is no geographical frontier between Belgium and Germany, the distribution of population in the Rhine Province is on the same lines as that in Belgium. In each case the agricultural-industrial plain to the north has a fairly uniform population of 250-1,000 per square mile in the rural districts, rising to much higher figures near the manufacturing towns ; in each case, again, the Ardennes-Eifel massif to the south has a density of below 250, dropping in parts as low as 100, and only exceeding 250 in the river-valleys. In short, the principles which govern the distribution of popula tion in Belgium apply unchanged to the Rhine Pro vince ; whereas, with the exception of a belt from 74 POPULATION Dunkirk through LUle to Maubeuge, they do not apply at all to France where the average density is every where much lower, nor yet to HoUand. The plain of the Rhineland has an average rural population of about 350 or 400 per square mUe. This, it should be noticed, is distinctly lower than the density of Brabant and the Hesbaye, and we shall generally find that the population of a German area is slightly less dense than that of a corresponding district in Belgium. In comparison with the adjoin ing parts of Holland, however, the population of the Rhine plain is decidedly high. It is lowest in the north, about Cleves and Gelders (330 and 260), increasing rapidly towards Crefeld and Miinchen-Gladbach, and then dropping again to about 340 in the triangle between the three great agglomerations of Miinchen- Gladbach, Cologne, and Aachen. Up the Rhine as far as Bonn it is always dense, and even above that point a narrow strip of dense population accompanies the Rhine and Moselle to Metz, sending out arms up the main tributary valleys such as the Ahr vaUey, the Pellenz, the Wittlich depression, the Kyll vaUey, &c. These river-valleys have a general average of over 500 to the square mile. The Eifel, as a whole, has a very low population. It is lowest on the Hocheifel (Kreis Adenau, average density, 108), Schneifel (Kreis Priim, 98), and Hohe Venn (Montjoie, 134, Malmedy, 103), and since these figures include the towns it will be seen that the rural districts have a very low population indeed. Thus the rural population of Malmedy is only 85 per square mile, instead of 103 ; that of Eupen, on the slope of the Eifel above Aachen, is only 180 instead of 365, and so on. This low population on the Eifel plateau is maintained in equihbrium by a high rate of emigration, especially to the industrial GERMANY 75 districts of the Rhineland and Westphalia; for the birth-rate is high and the country cannot support a higher population without a degree of agricultural im provement which up till now has never been attempted and hardly even proposed. In the southern and eastern Eifel the density is higher than on these central plateaux. The triassic Moselvoreifel has general averages of 150 in the Kreis of Bitburg, 168 in Wittlich, and 207 in Cochem. There are few towns of any size to raise these averages, which are chiefly due to the high population of the Moselle vaUey and its tributaries. In the east the averages are higher still. The rural Kreis of Coblenz has 670 inhabitants per square mile ; that of Mayen, with its important quarries at Mayen, Niedermendig, and Plaidt, has 316, and that of AhrweUer, with the vineyards and watering-places of the Ahr valley, 300. In smaller districts the differences in density are remarkable. The quarrying district of the PeUenz, as a whole, has about 420 inhabitants to the square mile, and in a small area round Niedermendig a figure of 630 is reached. In the Ahr valley itself the density figure is 1,190, while on the heights of the Hocheifel close by it goes down to 75. The Laach district or Rheinvoreifel has the fairly high figure of 240, while in the Maifeld the average population varies from 390 near Coblenz to 200 on the southern slopes. Birth-rate and Death-rate in Belgium The Belgian birth-rate, like that of most west European countries, is falling rapidly. Between 1830 and 1884 it never fell below 30 per thousand of the population, except during the great period of distress and scarcity (1846-56). From 1885 to 1900 it stood between 28 and 30, but since 1902 it has faUen rapidly 76 POPULATION and steadily. In 1902 it was 28-4 ; in 1906, 25-7 ; in 1911, 22-9 ; and during the same period the number of births showed a parallel decline from 196,000 to 172,000. If this rate be compared with other European figures for the same year (e. g. Prussia, 29-4 ; Austria, 30-7 ; England and Wales, 24-4 ; France, 18-7), it will be seen that Belgium has a smaller birth-rate than any European country excepting only France, where, however, the yearly decline in the birth-rate is slightly less rapid than in Belgium. In forming conclusions from birth-rate figures it must not be forgotten that methods of registration differ in different countries. Thus a child dying within a few minutes or hours of birth is in HoUand, Belgium, and France registered as a stiU-birth, and not included in the birth-rate, which only includes legitimate children alive at the time of registration. In other countries a child in this situation would be registered as born alive and its death would sweU the figures of infantile mortality. Thus in France, HoUand, and Belgium both the birth-rate and the infantile death-rate are lower than they would be were the registration carried out according to our method. The birth-rate of the Flemish provinces is about 20 per cent, higher than that of the Walloon. Thus in 1907 the former had a figure of 29-9, the latter 24- 8. Contri buting causes of this may be sought in the Cathohcism of Flanders, an influence everywhere opposed to the restriction of families ; in the Socialist advocation of such restriction, which has naturally made especial headway in the Walloon districts ; in the tendency of the Walloons to be affected by French manners and ideas ; and no doubt also in the poverty, ill education, low wages, and general bad conditions of the Flemish working classes ; such conditions being generally found to induce a higher birth-rate. In figures per BIRTH-RATE AND DEATH-RATE 77 thousand married women, the difference between the Flemish and Walloon provinces is even more striking. The average birth-rate for 1899-1901, so reckoned, comes to 267 per thousand for the Flemish population and 161 for the WaUoon, a difference of 40 per cent. This shows that the low Walloon birth-rate is not due to a low marriage-rate. Indeed the marriage-rate is — though slowly — increasing, and so is the proportion of early marriages. It may also be observed that the country districts have everywhere a slightly higher birth-rate than the towns. The rate of infantile mortality in Belgium is decidedly high, and is only exceeded in Europe by Austria, Prussia, and Italy. This rate is highest in the towns and lowest in the rural districts ; it is also very much higher in the Flemish than in the WaUoon districts. (The following figures apply to the average for the years 1899-1901.) For the whole country the rate is 161 per thousand births. Flemish provinces . 198-5 Walloon provinces . 133-9 Towns . . .181 Country . . . 141 In certain Flemish towns the rate is enormous ; Roulers, 312, or nearly one-third of all children born ; Ostende, 290 ; St. Nicolas, 277. In the Walloon towns the highest figures are Jemeppe (181), Jumet (163), and Dampremy (159). This very remarkable difference between the Flemish and Walloon districts is doubtless due to the low wages, the prevalence of slum life and of married women's work in factories, and in general to the lower standard of life in the Flemish districts. It will be observed that the higher Flemish infantile death-rate practically neutralizes the higher birth-rate, so that the average number of chUdren1 who reach maturity is hardly higher in a 1 The actual figures work out as follows. In the Flemish districts 78 POPULATION Flemish district than in a Walloon. On the other hand, the Walloon family is smaUer than the Flemish because the Walloon marriage-rate is higher. The same broad facts are shown by analysing the figures for the mortality among children between one and five years old ; we need not enter into these in detail. The general death-rate of Belgium (17-3 in 1902, 16-4 in 1911) shows a fairly steady decline, and is distinctly lower than that of France (19-6 in 1911) or any part of Germany, while slightly in excess of the United Kingdom, and a good deal higher than Sweden, Norway, or Denmark. On the whole the death-rate is not as high as would be expected from the density of the population and the trying character of its industrial employment. Nor again is the urban death- rate much higher than the rural ; this is certainly due to the large numbers of industrial workers who five (and therefore die) in the country, though they work in the towns. The general death-rate for the Flemish area — especially the Flemish towns — is higher than that for the WaUoon ; in some of the former it rises to 25 or even more, whUe in the WaUoon towns it never reaches 20, and very seldom 18. The textile districts — Ghent, Courtrai, &c. — seem in general to have the highest death-rates ; the rates for Antwerp and Brussels are in comparison low. 30 children are born annually (1907) per 1,000 of the population ; of these 24 survive their first year and 23-4 their fifth. In the Walloon districts 25 are born per 1,000; of these 21-6 survive their first year and 21 their fifth. CHAPTER III LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION x Introduction The languages with which we are concerned are, in order of their extent within the area, (1) French, (2) Flemish and Dutch, (3) German. It is possible to enter into distinctions (see p. 64 and note) between French and Walloon, High and Low German, and a number of more or less varying dialects of DutGh and Flemish ; but these distinctions have little if any importance for our purpose. For this purpose Walloon is best treated as a dialect of French ; and Dutch and Flemish, in spite of local variations, are regarded as one homogeneous language. The same applies to the various dialects of German. 1. French, including Walloon, is spoken over the whole of the French territory falling in our area, except for the Flemish enclave adjoining the western frontier of Belgium and bounded roughly by the line Merville — Aire — St. Omer— Gravelines. It is also spoken in part of German Lorraine and over the southern half of Belgium, south of a hne running east from Menin through Renaix and Tubize to the Meuse a httle north of Vise. This is the Franco-Flemish ' language-frontier ' of Belgium. In this southern part of Belgium are, however, a few districts with a slight preponderance of German. Finally, French is widely spoken in the Flemish area of Belgium, and in Brussels may almost be said to predominate. 1 Atlas, Map 4. This chapter deals, so far as Belgium is con cerned, with statistical and geographical facts only ; the political bearing of the distribution of languages in Belgium is dealt with in Chapter VI. 80 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION 2. Flemish is the name applied collectively to a number of dialects spoken in the Belgian provinces of Flanders, Antwerp, Limbourg, and northern Brabant and in the Flemish enclave of northern France. These dialects do not form a single well-marked language distinct from Dutch ; their differences from Dutch, as well as from each other, are dialectical only. For the relations between Flemish and its dialects on the one hand and Dutch on the other see pp. 296-301. There is a slight Flemish infiltration into the French- speaking areas of Belgium and northern France ; but this is very much smaller than the reciprocal infiltra tion of French into the Flemish areas. 3. The whole eastern part of our area is German- speaking. The language frontier between Dutch in the north and French in the south corresponds only very roughly with the political frontier between Holland, Belgium, and France on the one hand, and Germany and Luxemburg on the other. Thus in the north a considerable Dutch-speaking area projects into the Kreis of Cleves in Germany; farther south German predominates in a few communes of Belgium between Liege and Aachen, again in the commune of Beho, at the meeting-place of the Belgian, German, and Luxemburg frontiers, and over a great part of the arrondissement of Arlon. At Malmedy, on the other hand, a solid block of almost entirely French- speaking communes projects into Germany ; and German Lorraine contains large districts contiguous to the frontier which are predominantly French- speaking. Details of the distribution of these languages may best be seen from the maps in the accompanying atlas. The following observations will, -however, serve to explain certain important principles which regulate this distribution. DISTRIBUTION IN BELGIUM 81 Distribution oe Languages in Belgium The French-speaking element in Flemish Belgium. — Languages are least mixed in rural districts, where the population is grouped in smaU villages, occupied in agricultural work and stationary over long periods. Industry, towns, and much-frequented fines of com munication tend to increase the admixture of other languages not only absolutely, but relatively to the total local population. Thus, in the Flemish area of Belgium, the Campine presents a uniformly .low figure for French-speaking persons. It is a country which has very httle industrial development ; the hfe is rural, the population thin, and the villages mostly small and isolated. On the other hand central Flanders, with its much thicker population and high industrial development, has a French-speaking percentage three or four times that of the Campine. Within each one of these districts, again, the highest French figures are found in manu facturing places such as the Overpelt district of the Campine, while the figure increases with the size of the towns, till at places like Ghent it is quite three times the average of the surrounding country. With the development of the Campine coalfield it may safely be predicted that the French-speaking percentage in the arrondissements of Hasselt and Maeseyck will be doubled. Almost aU the considerable towns of Flemish Belgium will be seen to have a French-speaking percentage higher than that of the surrounding country. In most cases this local rise of the French figure is entirely restricted to the town itseK ; small villages immediately outside it are uninfluenced. Thus Ostende, as a large town with a great number of foreign visitors, has 29 per cent, of French speakers ; the immediately 82 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION adjoining villages of Steene and Zandvoorde have only 2 per cent, and 4 per cent, respectively. Some large towns, however, seem to have an influence on the country for some distance round. This is the case at Antwerp, where the villages lying north of the town have, as a rule, 8 or 9 per cent, of French speakers, and notably at Brussels, where in addition to the suburbs (whose figures are included in those of the town itself) the country for several mUes round presents an abnormally high French figure. The foregoing influences tending to raise the pro portion of French speakers apply, it need hardly be said, more strongly as the edge of the Flemish area is approached. The intensely industrial area on the Scheldt and Rupel between Antwerp and Lierre, including large places like Hoboken, Hemixem, Niel, Boom, and Duffel, has only 9 per cent, of French speakers, sinking at Duffel to 5-6 per cent. This area lies about 25-30 miles from the language-frontier. On the other hand, towns lying nearer the language- frontier have a higher French figure even when their size and industrial development is less considerable. Finally, the proportion of French is highest in the west and lowest in the east. This factor is doubtless connected with the preceding ones ; for the east is both more rural than the .west and also more removed from the neighbourhood and predominance of French influences. The province of Limbourg, like that of western Flanders, touches the language-frontier on the south, and yet its French speakers form only 14 per cent., instead of nearly 20 per cent, of the population. This difference is due in part to the greater industrial development of Flanders, in part to the natural connexion of Limbourg with Holland, which surrounds it on two sides, whUe Flanders hes between France and the sea. DISTRIBUTION IN BELGIUM 83 Throughout Flemish Belgium the proportion of French speakers seldom, even in the smallest villages, falls below 2 per cent., and hardly ever below 1 per cent. This contrasts strongly with the Flemish- speaking percentage in French Belgium, which in the small rural communes very seldom rises above 1 per cent. On the other hand, this French-speaking population is almost all bilingual. The proportion in Flemish Belgium of persons who speak no Flemish hardly anywhere rises to 1 per cent, (excluding, of course, infants who form 3-5 per cent, of the whole). It must be observed that the infiltration of French in the Flemish area shows a slight decrease in recent years. The proportion speaking Flemish only tends to increase, and also that speaking German ; while that speaking French and Flemish indifferently decreases. The Flemish-speaking element in French Belgium. — The preponderance of French to the south of the language-frontier is much more complete than that of Flemish to the north. This is very largely due to such historical facts as the Gallicism of the mediaeval Flemish nobility and the use of French as the official language throughout Belgium in the nineteenth century (cf. pp. 100, 117, 237, 279). Whatever the cause, it is in general true that , the transition from the language-frontier to an area of practically pure Flemish is everywhere more gradual than that from the same line to an area of practically pure French. To similar causes is due the encroachment of French on German within the last few centuries, which is very marked in Lorraine and in the extreme south of Belgium. This phenomenon is observed again below, p. 110, note. The same conditions which govern the distribution of French on one side of the language-line govern those of Flemish on the other. Thus there is least Flemish P2 84 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION in the rural districts ; the agricultural communes of the Hesbaye, within a few miles of the language-fine in Nivelles and Waremme arrondissements, aheady show a Flemish percentage of less than 1, often sinking to zero. All over the south of Belgium these low figures are maintained by the rural communes. The towns, on the other hand, have almost always a Flemish percentage rising to 2 or 3, often (in the case of the largest towns) rising above 5, and in three or four cases above 10. But even a town like Mons has only 7 per cent, of Flemish speakers, contrasting with the 27 per cent. French figure of Ghent, a Flemish industrial centre about equidistant from the language-frontier. Secondly, industry attracts a higher percentage of Flemish speakers than agricultural life. Thus the semi- rural districts round Liege, Charleroi, and La Louviere, which cannot be described as urban, but support a dense industrial population, have a Flemish-speaking figure rising above 5 per cent., but not, except in the three towns themselves, above 10 per cent. (Liege 12 per cent., Charleroi 10 per cent., La Louviere 11 per cent.). Considering the intense industrial de velopment of these districts, however, their Flemish figures cannot be considered high. Thirdly, the preponderance of French is most com plete in the west, inversely to that of Flemish, which is complete in the east. This is curiously iUustrated by the three great coal-mining districts of Charleroi, the Centre, and the Couchant de Mons. The mining villages of the Charleroi basin have 9 per cent, of Flemish speakers ; those of the Centre basin have an average about 6 per cent. ; those of the Couchant de Mons are almost exclusively French, and their Flemish figure falls below 1 per cent. In the same way, travel ling from Charleroi along the Sambre-Meuse hne, DISTRIBUTION IN BELGIUM 85 the proportion of Flemish shows a general tendency to rise till it reaches its highest at Liege. This rule no longer operates in the hill districts south of the Sambre-Meuse valley ; here the Flemish figure is almost always below 1 per cent, in the rural districts and below 3 per cent, in the towns. The only towns with a high Flemish figure are Spa (22 per cent.) and Stavelot (9 per cent.) ; Arlon (5 per cent.), Bouillon (5 per cent.), and Philippe ville (8 per cent.) are the only other towns which exceed 3 per cent. In a few cases a. single Flemish family gives a high percentage to a small village, but these make no difference to the general average. The high figure at Spa is due to visitors, not to industry ; the neighbouring industrial town of Verviers has only 1-9 per cent. In general, French is spoken by very nearly all the inhabitants of French Belgium ; the Flemish speakers are practically always bilingual. The German-speaking element in Belgium. — Here we have to deal (a) with the areas in the east where German is the predominant language, (b) with the infiltration of German in Belgium at large. (a) The German-speaking areas in Belgium. — The meeting-point of three language-frontiers falls on Belgian territory, near Hombourg, a village directly between Liege and Aachen. The arrondissement of Verviers, in which Hombourg lies, is predominantly -French-speaking ; but it contains small districts where Flemish and German preponderate. The German- speaking area includes the communes of Gemmenich, Hombourg, Moresnet, Montzen, Henri-Chapelle, Wel- kenraedt, Baelen, and Membach. None of these communes can be unequivocally described as German- speaking, since in none does the whole population speak German, whether with or without another language. The nearest approach to this state of things 86 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION is at Gemmenich, in the extreme north of the area, only about three miles from Aachen. Here 92 per cent. of the population speak German, leaving about 3 per cent, of adults who do not ; 67 per cent, speak German only, as against 22 per cent, who speak French and 1-2 per cent, who speak nothing else. Gemmenich, then, might not unfairly be described as a German- speaking commune, with a considerable percentage of bilinguals. There is also a little Flemish. At Moresnet, the next commune, the proportion of French is twice as great ; 84 per cent, speak German, 48 per cent. German only ; 48 per cent, speak French, 2-8 per cent. French only. Here, then, about 10-12 per cent, speak no German. At Hombourg, immediately west of Moresnet, the figures are almost identical; 87 per cent, speak German, 45 per cent. German only ; 47 per cent. French, 3 per cent. French only. Aubel, the next commune to the west, lies entirely outside the German area, and only 7 per cent, speak German at all. It is, however, the hordev-commune between the Flemish and French areas, French pre ponderating. Montzen, south of Hombourg, resembles it and Moresnet ; 89 per cent, speak German, 42 per cent. German only ; 53 per cent. French, 6 per cent. French only. The remaining four communes of the group are decidedly less German. At Henri-Chapelle 82 per cent. speak German and 79 per cent. French ; and one-third of the population uses French habitually. At Welken- raedt 80 per cent, speak German and 61 per cent. French; German is here again rather more predomi nant. At Baelen 79 per cent, speak German and 77 per cent. French; the numbers are almost equal, and though most of the bflinguals habitually speak German, one-third, as at Henri-Chapelle, use French. DISTRIBUTION IN BELGIUM 87 Finally, in the large, sparsely-populated commune of Membach 68 per cent, speak French and 86 per cent. German. Here only 22 per cent, use French habitually. The eight German communes are thus not by any means purely German. Modern German writers have represented their inclusion in Belgium as a piece of ' land-grabbing ' in defiance of linguistic divisions ; but they are, with the exception of Gemmenich and Moresnet, more than 50 per cent, bilingual or French- speaking only. In all the eight communes the bilinguals use German more often than French, and German is the current language ; but there is no such exclusive predominance of German as would be implied by claiming that language alone demands their inclusion in Germany. The second German-speaking area is the commune of Beho, immediately adjoining the northern extremity of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. This is an extremely small area, about two by four miles, with a population of 1,500 ; of these 75 per cent, speak German, 30 per cent. German only, 65 per cent. French, and 20 per cent. French only. Here also, then, we have a bilingual commune with a slight German pre ponderance. The third area is the arrondissement of Arlon, with the exception of five communes in the south and the addition of a little territory to the north. Arlon has been described as a German town. In fact it is 56 per cent, bilingual, and of the rest the majority speak French ; 22 per cent, speak French only, as against 13 per cent, who speak German only. The preponder ance is thus decidedly in favour of French, though it is true that the majority of the bilinguals use German more than French. This fact, however, does not warrant the description of Arlon as a German town. In everyday life it is entirely bilingual. 88 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION The same characteristic is found, though to a less degree, in the whole arrondissement of Arlon. Even the communes on its eastern border, where the French element is smallest, have 56 per cent. (Attert), 81 per cent. (Bonnert), and 43 per cent. (Selange) of French speakers, as against 85, 91, and 80 per cent. German. Here therefore, as weU as in Arlon itself, the popula tion is predominantly bilingual, though in these rural communes more than in the capital German is the commoner language. The five communes of Meix-le- Tige, Rachecourt, Halanzy, Aubange, and Athus in the south and south-east of the district faU on the French side of the hne. To this German-speaking area must be added the commune of Tintange and a part of FauviUers in the arrondissement of Bastogne. Here the conditions are very much like those in the rural communes of Arlon ; 53 per cent, of the inhabitants are bilingual, but use German more than French ; 15 per cent, speak French only, and 26 per cent. German only. The part of FauviUers is only the extreme east of the commune, about a quarter of the whole ; in the remainder French predominates. (6) The German-speaking element in the restof Belgium. — The distribution of German speakers in Belgium at large is governed by the same main principles which we found operative in the case of the other languages. First, large towns have a higher percentage than smaUer towns ; secondly, industrial areas than agricultural ; thirdly, the proportion is higher in the east, near Germany, than in the west. In the rural communes there is remarkably httle German spoken even quite close to the eastern frontier. The communes immediately within the language-line have only 10 (rare), 5, 4, or 2 per cent, who speak German as well as their own language. A few isolated DISTRIBUTION IN BELGIUM 89 cases have a higher figure where the language-frontier does not he exactly along the commune boundary ; in others there is a real admixture. This is found chiefly in the south of Arlon, where the five communes of Meix-le-Tige, Rachecourt, Halanzy, Aubange, and Athus are really bihngual with a predominance of French, just as their northern and eastern neighbours are bihngual with a predominance of German. But this bilingualism is confined within very narrow limits. Musson, the western neighbour of Halanzy, and like it an industrial commune with old-established iron works, has only 4 per cent. German speakers. At Limbourg, again, a considerable town only a mile or two from the German-speaking Baelen, the whole population speaks French, and 68 per cent, speak nothing else. Farther west the proportion of German speakers in the rural communes quickly dwindles to below 1 per cent., and never again touches that figure. In very small numbers, generally one or two per thousand, they persist with fair uniformity over the whole country, and are absent over considerable areas only in the west. In the towns of the eastern frontier German is common. In Verviers 10 per cent, of the population speak it ; in Spa 45 per cent. ; in Stavelot 24 per cent. The smaller towns farther south have smaller figures ; Bastogne, within very few miles of the frontier, 4-8 per cent. ; Neuf chateau 3-4 per cent. ; Virion 4 per cent. Westward these figures shrink rapidly. The country towns of the south have almost always below 1 per cent. ; even Dinant has only 0-9 per cent. The great industrial region of the Sambre-Meuse vaUey has higher figures, diminishing to the westward ; Liege 5-5 per cent., Huy 1-6 per cent., Namur 2-2 per cent., Charleroi 0-5 per cent., Mons 0-1 per cent. The 90 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION towns of the Flemish area do not, as might be expected, show a higher proportion of German speakers than do those of the French. Maeseyck, in the extreme east, has only 2 per cent. ; Hasselt 2-8 per cent., Diest 0-7 per cent., Louvain 0-2 per cent., Malines, Termonde, Ninove, 1 per cent. ; west of this the figures are still smaller, as the French figures increase. At Audenarde the German figure is zero ; at Courtrai 0-5 per cent., at Eecloo 0-2 per cent., at Ypres 1 per cent. These small figures represent, almost without exception, educated persons, knowing as a rule three languages, if not more. The only large German figures in the west are in the great cosmopolitan towns of Brussels (3-4 per cent.), Antwerp (7 per cent.), and Ostende (2-6 per cent.). It thus appears on the whole that German is very widespread throughout the country, but in extremely small quantities. Even in large towns a figure of over 1 per cent, is exceptional, and denotes either a town quite close to the German frontier, or one of exceptional education and social development ; indus trial development by itself does not raise the per centage so high as this. General linguistic survey of Belgium by arrondisse ments. — Beginning at the north-west, and dealing first with the Flemish area, we start with Bruges. Bruges has 15 per cent, who speak French, 1 per cent. German ; 79 per cent, speak Flemish only (the remaining 4-5 per cent, are infants ; so throughout). The French figure is high owing to the town of Bruges, 27 per cent. French speakers, and to the seaside places of which Blankenberghe (20 per cent. French speakers) is the chief. The whole of the coast-strip has a high figure for French. Otherwise, in the bulk of the arrondissement, the figure is under 5 per cent. This indicates an agricultural area ; industrial Flanders DISTRIBUTION IN BELGIUM 91 to the south and east has over 5 per cent. French speakers. The rather high German figure is also due to Bruges (1-7 per cent.) and the coast-towns. Ostende has 18 per cent. French, 1-3 per cent. German, 76 per cent, speaking nothing but Flemish. Here the whole area is below 5 per cent. French, except the coastal belt ; Ostende, a large town of 42,000 inhabitants, has 29 per cent, of French and 2-6 per cent, of German speakers, which raise the figures abnormally for the whole arrondissement. In Furnes, the coastal arrondissement adjoining French territory, 80 per cent, speak Flemish only ; 17 per cent, speak French and 0-3 per cent. German. The town of Furnes contains 30 per cent, of French speakers, and the rural communes, with very few excep tions, over 10 per cent. French is thus widespread, even among the agricultural population. Dixmude has 86 per cent, who speak Flemish only ; 8-5 per cent. French speakers ; 0-1 per cent. German speakers. The capital has 29 per cent, of French speakers — almost the same as Furnes — but the rural population, which has a high French figure (12 per cent.) in the south-west, is almost exclusively Flemish- speaking in the north-east. In Ypres the conditions resemble those of Furnes ; 78 per cent?, speak Flemish only, 26 per cent. French, and 0-1 per cent. German. The high French figure is due to the fact that the language-frontier passes through the south of the arrondissement, where Ploegsteert, Warneton, and Houthem are predominantly French- speaking. Zandvoorde, in the south, was in 1890 a bilingual commune with 31 per cent, who spoke French only ; now 91 per cent, speak Flemish only (compare Reckem, arrondissement Courtrai). In Ypres town 27 per cent, speak French. Roulers has 87 per cent, who speak Flemish only, 92 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION 8 per cent. French speakers, and 0-2 per cent. German speakers. The capital has 1 3 per cent. French speakers — a small figure considering that it is a town of 25,000, and due to the increasing distance eastward from French Flanders — and the rural population in general between 5 and 10 per cent. Thielt much resembles Roulers, but aU the French figures are slightly lower ; 5-5 per cent, in the whole arrondissement speak French ; in Thielt itseh 10 per cent., in the rural communes 1 to 5 per cent, in the north and 5-8 per cent, in the centre and south. In Courtrai we come again to the language-frontier. The southern communes are French-speaking (Mous- cron, Luigne, Dottignies, Espierres, Helchin), and there is a strong French infiltration in the south and centre of the arrondissement. In Courtrai itseU 20 per cent. speak French ; in the rural communes the figure faUs to 4 per cent, only in the extreme north. Flemish has encroached since 1890 in the commune of Reckem, near Menin. This was then a predominantly French commune : it is now predominantly Flemish. Such changes are exceptional. In the whole arrondissement 28 per cent, speak French, 67 per cent. Flemish only ; 0-22 per cent, speak German. Passing into Eastern Flanders, Eecloo is the most purely Flemish district in Belgium, with 90 per cent. speaking Flemish only, and no more than 6 per cent. of French speakers. These averages for the whole district are, unusually, also the figures for the capital. In the rural districts the proportion of French speakers varies from 7 per cent, in the west to 2 per cent, in the east. Ghent has a high French figure (17 per cent. ; 78 per cent. Flemish only, 1 per cent. German), owing to the great industrial town of Ghent, where 27 per cent, speak French. The country districts have 2-9 DISTRIBUTION IN BELGIUM 93 per cent. ; the figure is highest in the west and lowest in the east. Audenarde (71 per cent. Flemish only, 11 per cent. French, 0-06 per cent. German) again touches the language-frontier. Orron, Amongies, and Russeignies are French-speaking communes in the extreme south west ; Renaix is a Flemish town with 18 per cent, of French speakers. The infiltration into the rural areas is not very marked except in the south ; some communes in the north have as few French speakers as 1 or 2 per cent., and Audenarde itself has only 9 per cent. Alost just touches the language-frontier, which affects the French figures of its southern end. In the rural districts of the north and centre, however, the figure is always below 5 per cent. The chief towns are Alost with 9-7 per cent., Ninove with 15 per cent., and Grammont with 15 per cent. French speakers. In the whole district 87 per cent, speak Flemish only, 8 per cent. French, and 0-3 per cent. German. Termonde (88 per cent. Flemish only, 6 per cent. French, 0-3 per cent. German) is more industrial than Alost, but this is compensated by its position farther north. In Termonde itself 22 per cent, speak French. St. Nicolas (88 per cent. Flemish only, 7 per cent. French, 0-3 per cent. German) is much like Termonde. The rural population of the north has 2 to 5 per cent. French speakers, and even St. Nicolas itself only 12 per cent. Here we reach a part of Belgium where the great industrial populations are almost entirely Flemish-speaking, and French is little more spoken in the towns than in the country. Of the province of Antwerp, the arrondissement of the same name (75 per cent. Flemish only, 19 per cent. French, 5 per cent. German) has a high French figure. This is due to the influence of Antwerp itself, a cosmo politan town with 24 per cent, of French speakers and 94 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION 7 per cent, of German. Otherwise the French figure is not high ; the great industrial centres of Hoboken, Hemixem, Boom, &c, with engineering and ship building works, brickworks, &c, have only about 9 per cent., and the rural communes, except for a certain sphere of influence round Antwerp itself, seldom have over 5 per cent. The German figure for the arrondisse ment is also noteworthy, and is likewise due to Antwerp. In Malines also (84 per cent. Flemish only, 11 per cent. French, 0-5 per cent. German) the French element is chiefly contributed by the capital with 21 per cent. French speakers. The industrial towns along the Rupel have 5-13 per cent., highest at Lierre ; the rural communes 2-4 per cent. Turnhout (88 per cent. Flemish only, French 6 per cent., German 0-3 per cent.) lies in the agricultural Campine district, httle touched by foreign influences. The only considerable centres, Turnhout, Herenthals, and Moll, have 10, 11, and 9 per cent. French speakers ; the rest between 2 and 5 per cent. Of the province of Brabant, the arrondissements of Brussels and Louvain fall within the Flemish area. Brussels (38-5 per cent. Flemish only, 57 per cent. French, 3-3 per cent. German) is the most polyglot of aU the arrondissements, even Arlon not excepted. The capital is often described as a French-speaking town. This is not strictly correct ; 66-3 per cent, of its inhabitants speak Flemish, 73-8 per cent. French, and 3-4 per cent. German; the fact that these figures add up to 143-5 instead of 100 show how strong is the bihngual element. Now of these bilinguals, amounting in aU to 40 per cent, of the population, three-fifths speak Flemish habitually and only use French in case of necessity. It foUows that of the total population exactly 50 per cent. habituaUy speaks French and 50 per cent, habitually Flemish. In this DISTRIBUTION IN BELGIUM 95 computation the commune of Brussels is taken in connexion with thirteen other communes contiguous with it and constituting its inner ring of suburbs. The percentage of French in the commune of Brussels is no higher than in these adjacent communes. Out side this ring the French figure declines, though slowly. Brussels is one of the very few towns whose linguistic influence is widely felt in the surrounding country ; 25-50 per cent. French speakers are found in several communes south and south-east of the town, and in any direction it is necessary to travel some miles before coming to a lower figure than 10 per cent. Only on the fringe of the arrondissement, in the north and west, have the rural communes less than 8 per cent. of French speakers. In the south the French figure is raised by the presence of the language-frontier, which on the east almost corresponds with the boundary of the arrondissement ; two French-speaking communes, Saintes and Bierghes, faU within it. Louvain (78 per cent. Flemish only, 17 per cent. French, 0-7 per cent. German) also hes adjacent to the language-frontier, the effect of which is consider able in the west, but decreases to the east. In the meridian of Tirlemont the rural communes are almost exclusively Flemish-speaking within five or six miles of the language-line. Four communes, Bas-Heylissem, Haut-Heylissem, Zetrud-Lumay, and L'Ecluse, he across the line and are French-speaking. Of the urban communes Louvain has a fairly high French figure (38 per cent.) and Tirlemont 36 per cent. The towns of the north, Aerschot and Diest, have 11 and 15 per cent. The whole of Limbourg province is strongly Flemish ; except close to the language-line in the south the French-speaking element is practicaUy confined to places with over 3,000 inhabitants, like Overpelt (14 96 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION per cent.) with its factories, Maeseyck (15 per cent.), Genck (9-2 per cent.), Hasselt (22 per cent.), St. Trond (21 per cent.), and Tongres (30 per cent.). The rural communes in Tongres and the south of Hasselt have about 12, 10, and 8 per cent. ; this figure rapidly drops to 5, 4, and 2, percentages which remain fairly constant throughout northern Hasselt and Maeseyck arrondissements. German (Maeseyck arrondissement 0-8 per cent., Hasselt 0-8 per cent., Tongres 0-6 per cent.) is very low, considering the proximity of the German frontier, and even in the towns hardly ever reaches 2 per cent. The southern or French-speaking region of Belgium is far more homogeneous and constant in language. Tournai (in Hainaut, 92 per cent. French only, 5 per cent. Flemish, 0-4 per cent. German) adjoins but does not cross the language-frontier on the north. In the capital the Flemish figure is 7-7 per cent. ; otherwise, except in some communes in the extreme north, it hardly reaches 5 per cent, anywhere. In Ath (90 per cent. French only, 6-7 per cent. Flemish, 0-2 per cent. German) one northern commune lies across the language-line, and in the capital 6 per cent, speak Flemish ; otherwise the Flemish figure is negligible. Soignies (83 per cent. French only, 12 per cent. Flemish, 0-2 per cent. German) has five Flemish communes in the north, and Enghien, its northernmost town, is 59 per cent, bilingual. In the south it includes a portion of the Centre coalfield and industrial area, where the communes have a Flemish figure rising at La Louviere to 11-7 per cent. Otherwise the arrondisse ment is practically unmixed French. Mons (93 per cent. French only, 1-4 per cent. Flemish, 0-3 per cent. German) is far enough from the language- frontier to draw its industrial population from French- DISTRIBUTION IN BELGIUM 97 speaking sources only. Apart from the capital, whose Flemish figure is 7 per cent., the Flemish is practically nil. It may also be observed that no industrial area has so low a German figure. In Charleroi (90 per cent. French only, 6-7 per cent. Flemish, 0-4 per cent. German) the high Flemish figure is entirely due to the coal-mining and industrial area known as the ' Bassin de Charleroi ', and extend ing from Monceau-sur-Sambre on the west to Chatelet on the east. Here the Flemish figure is 9 per cent. ; elsewhere it is hardly anywhere above 2 per cent. Thuin (94 per cent. French only, 2-4 per cent. Flemish, 0-3 per cent. German) owes its Flemish figure to the small portion of the ' Bassin du Centre ' lying at its northern end. Apart from this the Flemish figure rises in the larger towns to about 1-5 per cent., the country being almost pure French. Nivelles (Brabant, 91 per cent. French only, 5 per cent. Flemish, 0-4 per cent. German) is a chiefly rural arrondissement adjoining the language-frontier. Apart from the communes of its extreme north, the Flemish figure is only about 2 or 3 per cent, in the towns, sinking to zero in many of the agricultural Brabancon villages. The whole province of Namur is almost exclusively French. In the arrondissement of Namur (94 per cent. French only, 2 per cent. Flemish, 0-6 per cent. German) the capital has 5-1 per cent, and Tamines 5 per cent. of Flemish speakers ; otherwise the large places have about 1 or 2 per cent., and the small communes under 1 per cent, of Flemish speakers. The capital has 2-2 per cent. German. In Dinant (95 per cent. French only, 1 per cent. Flemish, 0-5 per cent. German) and Philippeville (95 per cent. French only, 1-5 per cent. Flemish, 0-3 per cent. German) the German and Flemish figures are 98 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION both extremely low. Flemish is fairly constant, even in small places, but generally below 1 per cent.; even in Dinant it only reaches 1-8 per cent. There is more Flemish and less German than in the similar, chiefly forest and agricultural, districts of Luxembourg province. , The province of Liege is more mixed than any other. On the south-west it is very pure French (arrondissement Huy, French only, 95 per cent., Flemish 1-5 per cent., German 0-6 per cent. ; very httle Flemish and German indeed except in the industrial centres of the Meuse valley) ; on the north the language- frontier brings in a certain amount of Flemish (arron dissement Waremme, 78 per cent. French only, 18 per cent. Flemish, chiefly accounted for by the hah- dozen Flemish communes in the' extreme north-west, 0-3 per cent. German), and in the east Verviers contains large quantities both of Flemish and German. The arrondissement of Liege (85 per cent. French only, 11 per cent. Flemish, 2-7 per cent. German) owes its Flemish figure partly to the language-frontier on its northern boundary, partly to the Flemish element in the industrial population (Liege 12 per cent., Seraing 5-5 per cent.) ; the rural communes, except near the language-frontier, have practically none. The German figure is also due to the large towns (Liege 5-5 per cent., Seraing 3-3 per cent.), but small German ele ments exist, even in the country districts, east of Liege itself. The agricultural villages of the Hesbaye, in Liege, Huy, and Waremme, are very free from Flemish admixture as soon as the language-frontier is left behind. The arrondissement of Verviers (78 per cent. French only, 13 per cent. Flemish, 14 per cent. German) owes its Flemish figure to a few communes, Fouron St. Pierre, Fouron St. Martin, Teuven, Remersdael, DISTRIBUTION IN BELGIUM 99 and to a less degree Aubel, where that language pre dominates ; these communes form a little triangle projecting into Belgium from Dutch territory across the frontier midway between Aachen and Vise. Else where the Flemish infiltration is very slight, being only 1-9 per cent, even at Limbourg ; Spa with 22 per cent, and Stavelot with 9 per cent, are quite excep tional. The German figure is due in the same way to a group of German-speaking communes, Gemmenich, Moresnet, Hombourg, Montzen, Henri-Chapelle, Wel- kenraedt, Baden, and Membach, lying between Aachen and Limbourg. There is also a considerable German infiltration in the large towns (Verviers 10 per cent., Spa 45 per cent., Stavelot 24 per cent.). In the south Flemish practically disappears ; but German persists at about 1-2 per cent, even in the country parts. The province of Luxembourg is almost exclusively French except for its eastern fringe, including especially the strongly German arrondissement of Arlon. Marche (93 per cent. French only, 0-4 per cent. Flemish, 0-5 per cent. German) and Neufchateau (94 per cent. French only, 0-9 per cent. Flemish, 0-9 per cent. German) are the purest French districts in Belgium. German only rises to 1-3 per cent, in their towns, which are few and small ; Flemish never passes 2 per cent, except at Bouillon on the Semois, where it reaches 5 per cent. Bastogne (87 per cent. French only, 6 per cent. German, 0- 6 per cent. Flemish)contains German-speaking elements in almost every commune, rising in the east to 10 per cent. in places, ignoring the communes of Beho and Tintange, where it predominates." Virton (93 per cent. French only, 0-5 per cent. Flemish, 2 per cent. German) has 4-9 per cent. German speakers in its eastern communes, but very few elsewhere. Finally, Arlon (69 per cent. French, 19 per cent. French only ; 77 per cent. German, 26 per cent. German only ; 2 per cent. Flemish) is G2 100 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION a bilingual arrondissement which has aheady been sufficiently described (pp. 87-8). History of the Franco-Flemish language-frontier. — When the Franks in the sixth century A. D. settled among the Romanized Belgae, they imposed their own Teutonic language over Flanders and northern Brabant down to a line determined apparently in part by the strongly fortified Roman road from Bavai to Cologne, and partly by the great forest known as the Silva Carbonaria, which stretched northwards from the Sambre-Meuse vaUey in a continuous mass tiU the thirteenth century. This kept the bulk of the Franks north of a line joining the upper Lys to the Meuse near Vise. , Later, especially under Clovis, they pene trated south into the Tournaisis, Artois, and Cam bresis ; but never in such numbers as to impose their language on the bulk of the population. In the Middle Ages Latin was the busirtess language throughout the Netherlands ; French and Flemish were secondary, and their users were unconscious of linguistic patriotism. Walloons and Flemings spoke each other's languages freely, and in this interchange French graduaUy gained the upper hand, even in Flanders, so that when Latin fell out of use in the thirteenth century French took its place. The nobUity were especially influenced in favour of French by the facts that the counts of Flanders and Artois were vassals of the French crown, and sometimes even French princes ; the court therefore naturaUy became Gallicized. During the fourteenth century, however, popular movements began to bring Flemish, always the language of the people, into prominence. Gradually, especially during the struggles with Burgundy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the f eeling grew up that French stood for tyranny and foreign domination, and Flemish DISTRIBUTION IN BELGIUM 101 became the rallying-point of national consciousness. Under Philip the Bold it gained an official status, and began to reconquer a part of its original area lost to French. Ypres was thus regained, and the language- line pushed almost to the Lys. From this time on, no government, even the Spanish, administered Flanders in any language but Flemish. The first retrograde step was taken by the French revolutionary government, which in the year III proclaimed French as the sole official language. This was maintained later by the Dutch Government, which was supported by the Flemish bourgeoisie ; but the ' mouvement flamand ' continued, with the results described in Chap. VI below. In French Flanders (see below), in the absence of this concession, Flemish has lost ground year by year. In the sixteenth century, as in the time of Clovis, the linguistic boundary coincided with the Lys ; since then French has advanced across the river and filtered freely into French Flanders and even into Belgian Flanders (see notes on the arrondissements of Furnes and Ypres), where it has conquered a few villages, Ploegsteert, Confines, Reckhem, Zandvoorde, Warneton, and Houthem. Since 1890, however, the movement has been reversed ; Zandvoorde, Reckhem, and Hou them have been reconquered by Flemish. Distribution oe Languages in the adjacent Territories The three most important facts to be considered here are the Flemish area in France and the Walloon (Malmedy) and French (Lorraine) areas in Germany. These are briefly treated below. French Flanders. — The original Germanic invasion of Belgium penetrated westwards along the coast as 102 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION far as Boulogne, and established a Teutonic language not only in Flanders, but all over the country north of a line joining Boulogne and Lille. These two towns themselves were never Teutonized, but they constituted the northern outposts of the French language in the earlier Middle Ages. Judging by the evidence of place-names, isolated Teutons penetrated south of the Boulogne-Lille line as far as the river Canche and the Artois, but these were soon swamped by the French population among which they settled. The French language soon began to reconquer the Boulonnais ; all through the Middle Ages the language- frontier was being pushed northward and north-east ward, and to-day it runs from the sea near Dunkirk to St. Omer and Aire,' and thence to the Belgian frontier near Bailleul. The district north and east of this line is still Flemish-speaking, though a very considerable proportion of the population — perhaps 25 per cent. — speak French either exclusively or as well as Flemish. It does not, indeed, appear that the position of the Flemish language here is very strong. The Flemings of Belgium have shown such vigour and tenacity in the defence of their language (see Chapter VI) that their kinsmen in France might have been expected at least to follow their example, and a Flemish movement has in fact been set on foot in French Flanders. But French policy does not as a rule admit that any other language should have equal rights with French, and the suspicion of Pan- Germanism, which attaches not without cause to the Belgian Flemish movement, must militate against the success of the parallel movement in France. In short, most observers consider that the use of Flemish in France is doomed to die out, and that the efforts of educated Flemings to revive and defend their language may arrest but cannot prevent its decay. WALLOON DISTRICT OF MALMEDY 103 ^ The Walloon district of Malmedy. — German authori ties complain that a tendency exists, manifested in German as well as in foreign writers, to confer a non- German colouring upon the frontier towns and districts of the Aachen Regierungsbezirk. Thus Mont joie is a purely German town, but its name has given rise to a false view that it is French, whereas the name arose in the Middle Ages on account of the Gallicizing fashions of the German nobility, which went so far as to give French names to places as far afield as the Rhine. Eupen and St. Vith are sometimes described as Walloon towns, whereas St. Vith is practically pure German, and German predominates at Eupen, where, however, there is a very decided Walloon element. On the other hand, Malmedy has a flourishing and old-established Walloon bourgeoisie, far in excess of the German elements which have filtered in since 1815. Malmedy itself is simply a Walloon town, containing a few officials and others who speak German. The rural Gemeinden in the immediate neighbourhood are also purely Walloon. Detailed statistics of the population of these villages are not available, but it is possible to arrive from the available data at an estimate whose margin of possible error is very small, and according to which 94 per cent, of the inhabitants of Malmedy and the surrounding villages speak Walloon or French, and 91 per cent, speak no German. The method by which this estimate is reached is given in the foot-note.1 1 According to the Statistik d. deutschen Reichs, vol. 150 (map), 28-7 per cent, of the population of the Kreis Malmedy are Walloon- speaking. This appears an inconsiderable percentage, and the German statistics enter no further into detail. Other sources, however, show that the Walloon dialect is not spread over the Kreis, but confined to an area 23-7 per cent, of the whole, and containing Malmedy, the Kreisstadt, a town of 4,575 inhabitants. What proportion of the total Kreis population is contained in the 104 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION German writers make no attempt to justify the inclusion of Malmedy in Prussia, and indeed there appears to be no argument in favour of it. In the converse cases of Arlon and the German-speaking communes near Limbourg the German preponderance is slight ; over 40 per cent, in both cases speak another language. But here the use of the Romance languages is universal, and the lingusitic frontier clearly and decisively marked. The French-speaking district of German Lorraine. — We shall not treat this area in detail, and are in any case only concerned with the northern extremity of it. From about Messancy, near Arlon, the language- frontier runs south-eastwards, touching Esch-sur- Alzette in Luxemburg and almost reaching Kanfen on the German frontier. Thence it proceeds somewhat irregularly in much the same direction, to cross the Moselle at Uckingen midway between the mouths of Walloon area it is impossible, in the absence of published German statistics concerning the population of individual Gemeinden, to state exactly, but the area in question is much more thickly popu lated than the rest of the Kreis, and probably contains more like one-third than one-quarter of its population of 31,402. The 28-7 per cent, of Walloon-speaking German subjects in the Kreis are the 9,134 persons who speak Walloon only. There are also 84 persons who speak French only. The Walloon and French- speaking population is thus a trifle over 29 per cent. Moreover, 305 are given as speaking French or Walloon as Muttersprache in addition to German ; that is to say, persons naturally bilingual. These raise the percentage of Romance:speaking persons to 30 per cent. It is possible that not all these are situated within the Romance area . Perhaps 300 Romance-speaking persons might live in German- speaking communes : the number could hardly be larger. This leaves 9,140 in the Romance area, whose total population is perhaps 10,000 in round numbers. From the latter figure the military population of about 250 must be deducted, when it will appear that about 94 per cent, of the population of this area are Romance- speaking, and about 91 per cent, speak no German at all. FRENCH-SPEAKING GERMAN LORRAINE 105 the Fensch and Orne. It then runs almost east for ten miles, after which it turns south-east once more, arid runs up the valley of the German Nied. . South and west of this line French is the language of the people. It has been considerably diluted by German official and military elements in Metz, but Metz is nevertheless still, as it always has been, a French town. In the iron-mining district on the left bank of the Meuse, where the population was almost entirely agricultural before the annexation, a very large non- French element has been imported for the work of the mines ; this element is largely Italian. Apart from these influences, the country is still purely French in language and life. CHAPTER IV HISTORY Introduction The country between the Lower Rhine on the east and north and the sea on the west has for centuries been of peculiar importance in European affairs. The attraction of its strategical, commercial, and industrial possibilities, its political incoherence, and the diversity of its populations have caused infinite trouble to it and its neighbours. Since the early days of the French monarchy, France has suffered from the insecurity of her northern and north-eastern borders. Reacting against the constant danger of invasion, she has laboured to improve her frontier and to establish herseh in better positions for attack or defence. In the past, the ideal goal of her effort has been the Rhine. French imagination has been stimulated by memories of Roman Gaul, or by the formula of ' the natural limits ', yet the essential driving force has been the hope to find security — security from invasion and for the exercise of French influence in Europe. But this movement, owing to the conditions imposed on it by the European situa tion, by the military and enterprising temper of the French nation, or by the character of individuals, has taken forms which have made it appear extremely menacing to governments and peoples beyond the Rhine and the Channel. And when France had reached the Lower Rhine at last, it did not give her security. Since the twelfth century England has had an interest in the Southern Low Countries. During the INTRODUCTION 107 Middle Ages it was a point of English policy to look in that direction for allies against the French monarchy. The mediaeval period of England's foreign policy — the period of wars for territory in France — was brought to a close in the sixteenth century, and there began the modern period of her wars of defence, commerce, and colonial expansion. England had now to think of the Southern Netherlands as a base from which a conti nental Power might threaten her safety or her trade. From here in the sixteenth century the great military power of Spain menaced both England and France ; in the seventeenth, when Spain had fallen into weakness, Great Britain and Holland fought to make the Belgian provinces .a barrier against a French advance towards the mouths of the Scheldt and the Rhine. Since then it has been a principle — upheld in the struggle with revolutionary and imperial France as in the present war — that Great Britain should not allow Belgium to fall under the control of any Power likely to use it to the detriment of British interests. ' The Holy Roman Empire of the German nation ' once included within its bounds all the country between the Lower Rhine and the Scheldt, as well as Lorraine. But it failed to make good its government here, and at the expense of its ancient claims France moved Rhinewards. In this advance French policy and warfare came to extend their operations to Germany east of the Rhine, and at last provoked there a violent national reaction. Modern Germany has returned in a counter-offensive against France, and not untouched by memories of the Mediaeval Empire has hoped to find in Lorraine and Belgium a position from which she might securely dominate her traditional enemy. And now her political and commercial ambitions in the world beyond the limits of Europe, and her consequent antagonism 108 HISTORY towards Great Britain, have aroused in her the desire for the possession or control of Antwerp and of the coast-line towards the Straits of Dover. The problems which this region now presents have their origins in the history of the country during the first thirteen centuries of our era. A very brief account of these origins will be given below. Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, and the Rhine Province will then be dealt with separately. The history of each area Will be sketched so far as may be needed to explain its position in European affairs. The forma tion of the boundaries of Belgium and Luxemburg will also be described in the present volume. The history of Lorraine and of the boundary between Lorraine and the Rhine Province wfil be given in the Manual of Alsace-Lorraine. Early History oe the whole Area First Century b. c. — Thirteenth Century a. d. (Origins of the Language-Frontier, and of the condition of the Country as Debatable Land) The country was conquered for Rome by Julius Caesar in the years 57-50 B. c. It was then the northern part of Gaul, and was inhabited mainly by Celtic tribes collectively known as Belgae, but the Germans from across the Rhine had aheady begun to push their way in. This German invasion was stopped, and then for long held in check, by the Roman Empire. The Imperial Government, after an unsuccessful attempt to advance to the Elbe, strongly organized the defence of the Lower Rhine, maintained a protectorate over the Germans in the country which is now Holland, and tried, chiefly by diplomatic means, to keep the EARLY HISTORY 109 other tribes living near the frontier under some measure of control. On the lands within the Rhine frontier the full Roman provincial administration was imposed. Civiliza tion followed the Roman conquest. Among other results, the Latin language, in the form of a Gallo- Roman dialect, became more and more widely used, spreading outwards from the" towns ; its advance in the rural districts was probably assisted by the coming of Christianity in the second, third, and fourth centuries. Of the Roman tradition the French have claimed to be the heirs, and that the Roman Empire made the Rhine its frontier has had great influence on French political ideals. In the course of the third century the German peril once more became serious, and gradually, between 350 and 450, the Imperial Government lost its hold on the Rhine. The Franks, a large association of German tribes from beyond the Lower Rhine, slowly made their way into Northern Gaul; sea-raiders, Saxons and Frisians, settled along the coast of Flanders and round Boulogne. Eventually a Frankish chief, Clovis (481-511), united under his rule all the Frankish tribes, and he and his successors conquered almost the whole of the Gallic lands (486-535). In the movements of the invading Germans during the fourth and fifth centuries are to be found the origins of that linguistic frontier between Teutonic and Romance which at the present day is drawn across Belgium and Eastern Lorraine.1 This language- 1 In the Middle Ages (say about the twelfth century) the linguistic frontier ran from Boulogne eastwards, in a fairly straight line, to a, point on the Meuse between Vise and Maestricht, thence south east to the neighbourhood of Malmedy, from there south by west to the Arlon district, and thence, in a general south-easterly direc tion, across the episcopal territory of Metz and Eastern Lorraine, to the Alsatian border near Mont Donon. Since the twelfth 110 HISTORY boundary seems to mark a difference between the earlier and later stages of the invasion. In Flanders and the Boulonnais, in the plains north of the Silva Carbonaria (the great forest which then stretched from the valley of the Meuse between Namur and Liege to the banks of the Scheldt), in the country between the Rhine and the Ardennes, and up the valley of the Moselle as far as the neighbourhood of Metz, the Germans settled in force. But the later Frankish conquests were not followed by any migration en masse. An advance about the year 431 to Tournai, Arras and Cambrai, and the great forward movement under Clovis, intro duced a Frankish element into the population of North-Central Gaul, and largely Germanized its social, legal, and political customs, but left the great mass of the inhabitants Gallo-Roman by descent and speech. Hence the division of our area between French and German, Walloon and Flemish. In the seventh century the house of Clovis (the so- called Merovingian dynasty) was losing authority throughout its territories, and the great landowners were usurping more and more of the rights of govern ment. But a family of East Frank nobles from the valley of the Meuse near Liege (afterwards known as the Carolingian dynasty) took the power of the Crown into its hands, restored order, and advanced the frontiers of the kingdom. Finally, in 754, one of this family, Pepin, seized the throne itself. His son Charles the GreaJ; (Charlemagne) claimed to revive the Roman imperial power in Western Europe ; he was crowned century the only considerable changes in this line have been at its eastern and western ends : (i) French has driven out Flemish from the triangle Boulogne— Dunkirk— St. Omer ; (ii) in Lorraine, German, after gaining some ground between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, subsequently retreated before French, which made a specially notable advance in the country between Chateau- Salins and Saarburg. EARLY HISTORY 111 Emperor at Rome in a. d. 800. The territories ruled by Charles in the last years of his life included not only the ancient Gaul within the Rhine, but all the country between Rhine and Elbe, Suabia and Bavaria, the lands along the Middle Danube, and Northern and Central Italy. His favourite residences were in the Meuse valley and the Rhineland*; here was the heart of the Empire, and in the early years of the ninth century this region enjoyed considerable prosperity. But in the course of the ninth century the Carolingian Empire broke up amid civil war, anarchy, and violently destructive barbarian invasions. The manner of its dissolution did much to make our area the debatable land which it still is. The Carolingian territories were by custom par titioned among members of the ruling house. In a. d. 843 three Carolingian brothers concluded a civil war by the Treaty of Verdun, in which it was agreed that the eldest, the Emperor Lothair, should have under his immediate rule a long strip of territory reaching from the mouth of the Rhine and the Frisian coast to the neighbourhood of Rome, and including in its northern part the lands between Rhine and Scheldt, as well as modern Lorraine. The German lands east of this ' Middle Kingdom ' went to the second brother Lewis, while the younger, Charles, took the western third of the Empire, including the lands between the Scheldt and the sea. Lothair died in a. d. 855. His son Lothair II received only the northern part of his father's king dom, from the North Sea to the Jura. From him this territory derived the name of Lotharingia, of which the modern forms, much restricted in their application, are Lorraine and Lothringen. Lothair II died without heirs in a. d. 869, and Lotharingia was long in dispute between the rulers of the western and eastern kingdoms 112 HISTORY — France and Germany. In a.d. 925 it was finally attached to the kingdom of Germany, though the claim of the French Crown was still put forward from time to time. In A. d. 962 Otto I, King of Germany, was crowned Roman Emperor, and thenceforth the German king ship was combined with the imperial authority. Thus almost the whole of our area, with the exception of Flanders west of the Scheldt, became part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. " The County of Flanders was a fief held of the kings of France, who were also the overlords of the episcopal territory of Tournai ; but higher up the Scheldt, south of Tournai, the lands of the Bishop of Cambrai were held of the Emperor. The frontier between France and the Empire reached the Meuse at Fumay, and then turned south. On the French side of this frontier were Teutonic-speaking Flemings, while, a Romance- speaking population occupied a broad belt of imperial territory from the upper Scheldt to the lands on the middle and upper Meuse and the upper MoseUe. This was quite natural ; the languages then embodied no separate political traditions or aspirations. But neither the " mediaeval French monarchy nor the new Roman Empire founded by Otto could incor porate its share of the country in a permanently strong State. The disruption of the Carolingian Empire had left both these Powers weak in organiza tion and the means of government, and had given rise to a feudal law and social custom which on the whole told heavily against them. The difference between them was that while the French monarchy, after a period of extreme weakness, gradually gathered strength, the Empire sank from a rather clumsy vigour towards constitutional paralysis. In the tenth and eleventh centuries the kings of EARLY HISTORY 113 France were unable to keep their greater vassals in control. Thus the Counts of Flanders were left to build up a strong and compact principality; till the end of the twelfth century they were completely masters in their own house, and made peace and war at their pleasure, though they continued to acknow ledge their allegiance to the French Crown. Meanwhile the commerce of Flanders was creating here populous and wealthy cities with an active political life, able to make an effective resistance when, in the thirteenth century, the French monarchy had grown powerful enough to try to absorb their country. In Lower Lotharingia, from the Scheldt to the Ardennes, the Emperors of the tenth and eleventh centuries, stronger than the contemporary French kings, made efforts to uphold their authority, and for a time hiad some partial success. But no adequate machinery of government was organized, and the personal energies of the Emperors were distracted by their interests elsewhere. The result was that by the middle of the twelfth century the sovereignty of the Emperor in the Imperial Netherlands was reduced to a quite ineffectual overlordship. There grew up in this region a number of States whose economic interests, culture, and policy connected them more with each other, with Flanders or with France, than with the Empire of which they were nominally a part. A simUar process took place in Upper Lotharingia (Lorraine). The population here was largely French- speaking, and was much open to French influences. After the eleventh century the Duke of Lorraine took less and less part in imperial affairs, and became absorbed in the local politics of the borderland. The Emperors lost control of the country, so that in the sixteenth century a Duke of Lorraine could claim that he was not subject to imperial charges or jurisdiction. 114 HISTORY The lands on the left bank of the Rhine southwards from Cleves had a somewhat different development ; for though they broke up into a number of ecclesias tical States, free cities, and lordships great and small, over which by the end of the thirteenth century the Emperors had little authority, they did not faU apart from the life of the Empire in the same way as the Netherlands and Lorraine. THE SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 1 1. The Small Feudal States in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries a. Internal History The origin of the small mediaeval States of the Southern Netherlands has been already described. By the fourteenth century the principal of these were the County of Flanders, the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Hainault, and the episcopal state of Liege. Commerce and industry flourished, especially in Flanders. The Southern Netherlands were able to profit by their position between England, France, and the northern continental lands, by their seaboard and inland waterways, and by their chief industry, the manufacture of cloth. In the thirteenth century Flanders became the principal mart and manufactur ing area of North- Western Europe. Its cloth industry was dependent on Enghsh wool. The rise of many towns accompanied this economic progress. Their citizens by purchase or pressure extracted from their lords various privileges and exemptions, and some rights of self-government. The administration of the cities fell into the hands of urban oligarchies, but the traders and artisans who were outside the governing class were not easily held in subjection, and there was much social unrest, break ing out at times in violent insurrections. By far the greatest number, and the most populous, of the chartered towns were in the County of Flanders ; and here Ghent, Bruges, and Ypres attained extra ordinary political importance. 1 Details regarding the formation of frontiers are given on pp. 169-80. H2 116 HISTORY In this period, and especially in the fourteenth century, are to be traced the origins of Belgian con stitutionalism, which has had a practically continuous life since the Middle Ages. In the Netherlands, as elsewhere in Mediaeval Europe, government depended largely on negotiation with the predominant interests in the community. These predominant interests were generally those of the noblesse (the privUeged land owners), the clergy, and the citizens of the towns. Thus grew up the assemblies, called Estates, represent ing these three classes. These bodies, as Provincial Estates, existed down to the French Revolution. The constitutional development of Flanders was peculiar, for here the cities of Ghent, Bruges, and Ypres were of such overwhelming importance that they came to be considered as representing the whole country. The Estates of Brabant obtained from their rulers a number of political charters, of which the most famous is the 'Joyous Entry', by which Wenceslas of Luxemburg purchased his recognition as duke in 1356. As late as 1789 the Joyous Entry provided the Brabancon revolt against Joseph II with a legal pretext and a rallying cry. b. Relations with France, England, and the Empire In the thirteenth century the French monarchy was a rising power, and in reacting against the menace of feudalism it had acquired a tradition of gradual centralization and expansion. It had experience of the danger which threatened it on its northern frontier. For instance, in 1214 it had to face a dangerous com bination formed against it by England, and including Flanders, Brabant, and the Emperor. This league was broken by the victory of Philip Augustus at Bouvines. The monarchy now set itself the task of absorbing Flanders and extending its influence over SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 117 the imperial Netherlands. In this it was to some extent indirectly aided by the predominance of French culture in the southern States ; even in the Teutonic districts the French language was commonly spoken by the upper classes. On the other hand, there was no wish to see local institutions replaced by the centralizing administration of the French kings. During this century it was to France rather than to the Empire that the imperial States looked for arbitra tion or intervention in their disputes. But French policy was chiefly directed towards Flanders, of all the Low Country States the one with which the monarchy had the closest connexion, and from which it had most to fear. Philip Augustus detached the Artois from Flanders (see p. 170), and after Bouvines the Counts were kept in close dependence on the mon archy. Towards the end of the century the social unrest in the Flemish cities produced complicated quarrels between the Count, the urban oligarchies, and the unprivileged masses. Philip IV intervened and declared Flanders annexed. But he took the side of the urban oligarchies, and this made the masses in the towns strongly anti-French. A rebellion broke out, and a complete victory of the Flemish citizens over a French army at Courtrai (1302) saved the independence of Flanders north of the Lys. The monarchy did indeed acquire the Walloon districts of the county south of that river, but this gain was not destined to be per manent. From the twelfth century English policy had sought to threaten France through the Netherlands. The league formed by John and broken at Bouvines has been aheady mentioned. Edward I tried to assist Flanders against Philip IV, but troubles at home obliged him to withdraw from the alliance. At the beginning of the Hundred Years' War (1336-7) 118 HISTORY Edward III created a great combination against France, including the Flemish cities, Brabant, Hainault, Gelders, and the Emperor. But this alliance was ineffective. The Emperor and the imperial States had no permanent interest in the conflict, and one after another withdrew from it. The Flemings had joined England (expelling their Francophil count) under pressure of an embargo placed by the English Government on the export of wool. Their natural inclination, in a quarrel between England and France, was towards neutrality ; there was little desire to engage deeply in the war or to submit to a permanent political connexion with England, such as their Anglo phil leader, Jacob van Arte velde, desired. In 1349 Louis de Male, son of the count expelled in 1337, was able to return to Flanders and there carried out a pohcy of keeping, so far as possible, on good terms with both Powers. The capture of Calais by England in 1347, by giving her a door of her own into Northern France, had made it less important to her that Flanders should participate in the war. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the Empire was much weakened by civil war and was undergoing a gradual process of disintegration. The Emperors on the whole counted for little in the affairs of the Netherlands. They might be induced by England to join with Low Country principahties in leagues against France ; but these alliances came to nothing. Yet there remained the possibUity that an imperial dynasty, by the arrangement of judicious marriages and by the appropriation of vacant imperial fiefs, might build up a considerable territorial power in the Netherlands. In the fourteenth century efforts to realize this possibility were made, but had no permanent results. SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 119 2. The Burgundian Period and the Unification of the Netherlands (1363-1477) a. Internal History In the- second half of the fourteenth century most of the old Netherland dynasties died out. The settle ment of the question who was to profit by their dis appearance depended chiefly on marriage-making and the accidents of birth and death. The inhabitants of each State were generally ready to accept any claimant who could show a reasonably good title, on condition that he would promise to respect established institu tions and liberties. Two families which at different times in the four teenth century were represented on the imperial throne — the Wittelsbachs of Bavaria and the House of Luxemburg — were in the field before the House of Burgundy. One acquired Holland and Hainault, the other Brabant and Limburg, but both were checked in their progress by the accidents of succession and the distraction of other interests in various parts of a disturbed and divided Empire. The House of Burgundy was a branch of the royal House of France. Its fortunes were founded by Philip the Bold, fourth son of that King John of France who fought at Poitiers. Between 1363 and 1385 Philip the Bold acquired by enfeofment or marriage the two Burgundies (a French duchy and an Imperial county) on the eastern frontier of France, and in the north the counties of Flanders and Artois, together with tfie Walloon districts which had been taken from Flanders by Philip IV. The succeeding Dukes of Bur gundy, John the Fearless (1404-19) and Philip the Good (1419-67), by marriage, diplomacy, and good fortune added one State after another to their posses- 120 HISTORY sions. By the middle of the fifteenth century the whole of the Southern Netherlands was Burgundian except the episcopal state of Liege and the smaller ecclesias tical territories of Stavelot, Tournai, and Cambrai.1 Moreover in 1435 Duke Philip the Good received in pledge from Charles VII of France the counties of Boulogne and Ponthieu and a large part of Picardy. The local institutions of the various States under Burgundian rule continued for the most part to exist, but their range of action was diminished by the central government, which was gradually elaborated by the Dukes. From 1463 onwards Estates General repre senting the whole of the Burgundian dominions were summoned from time to time, though the grants of taxation made by that body had to be confirmed by the Provincial Estates. The Dukes organized a number of executive councils, through which the administra tion of justice and finance became more and more centralized. The Burgundian Government was assist ing the growth of Belgian nationalism, but at the time its work was unpopular. The Netherlanders disliked the encroachments of the central government on theh local institutions and liberties. The particularist dis content was especially strong in Flanders, where it led to open, but unsuccessful, revolt. During this period the country as a whole remained extraordinarily wealthy, but in the fifteenth century the decay of the mediaeval economic system produced local crises and depressions which aggravated par ticularist feeling against the central government. There was a certain displacement of trade and industry. 1 The episcopal state of Liege, lying along the middle Meuse, was not brought under the same government as the rest of Belgium till 1795. (On Stavelot see p. 179.) The Tournaisis was incor porated in Hainault in 1595. The Cambresis was brought into close dependence on the government of Brussels by Charles V. SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 121 The process was beginning by which the commercial supremacy of Bruges (in the fourteenth century the greatest port in Northern Europe) was to pass to Ant werp. The Flemish cities were beginning to feel the competition of the rising English cloth-manufacture : on the other hand, new textile industries were being developed in East Flanders and Brabant. In the neighbourhood of Liege the exploitation of the local coalfields was accompanied by the rise of iron foundries. b. Relations with France, England, and the Empire The dynastic relationship between Burgundy and France could not long keep the peace between them. Profiting by a time of weakness in the monarchy, a new Great Power, commanding the resources of the Netherlands, was growing up on the northern frontier of France. That ran counter to all the traditions of French statecraft. The inevitable estrangement was precipitated by a vendetta between the House of Burgundy and the House of Orleans which won control of the French monarchy. Thus from 1419 to 1435 Burgundy was in alliance with the English, who were waging a war of conquest in France. In 1435 this alliance was broken for reasons of a temporary nature, and Burgundy took sides with France in return for territory in Picardy. But the interests of the Nether lands demanded the maintenance of trade with Eng land, and the Anglo-Burgundian entente was restored. Duke Charles the Bold (1467-77) found himself in need of English support against the French King Louis XI, for the Burgundian occupation of Picardy had only deepened the antagonism between Burgundy and France. The struggle between these powers was renewed, and the duel (embittered by personal anti pathy) between Charles the Bold and Louis XI was 122 HISTORY the principal factor in the European politics of this time. The Emperors were too weak to prevent the absorp tion of more and more imperial territory in the Bur gundian dominions, though they regarded that process with open or veiled dislike. Philip the Good hoped to have the Burgundian territorial aggregate converted into a formally independent kingdom by the Habsburg Emperor Frederick III. Charles the Bold tried to purchase the imperial consent to some such scheme by the betrothal of his daughter and heiress, Mary, to Frederick's son, Maximilian — the beginning of trouble for Europe. Meanwhile, Burgundian aggres sion in the Empire continued. Charles seized Gelders, overran Lorraine, bought Alsace from a Habsburg, and planned the conquest of the Rhineland. In 1477 Charles the Bold met his death at Nancy in battle against the Swiss. He left no male heirs. 3. The First Period of Habsburg Rule (1477-1555) a. Internal History The Netherlands passed under Habsburg rule, and became connected with Spain, through a series of marriages and dynastic partitions. Charles the Bold had left a daughter, Mary, as heiress of his dominions. In 1477 she married Maxi milian of Habsburg, son of the Emperor Frederick III. The son of Mary and Maximilian, Phihp the Fair, ruled in the Netherlands from 1493 to 1506, while his father became Emperor. PhUip married a Spanish princess, Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand, King of Aragon, and Isabella, Queen of Castile. Thus Charles, the son of Philip and Joanna, inherited the Burgundian lands (1506), Castile (1506) and Aragon (1516). By the death of his grandfather Maximilian (1519) he SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 123 acquired the Habsburg territories in Austria, but these he gave up to his brother Ferdinand. In 1519 he was elected Holy Roman Emperor as Charles V. In 1555 he abdicated. The Empire passed to Fer dinand, but Charles left to his own son PhUip the kingdom of Spain, the Spanish dominions in the New World and the Burgundian inheritance of which the Netherlands formed the principal part. In 1549 the political unity and individuality of the Habsburg Netherlands received formal expression in an Imperial Pragmatic Sanction, which laid down that their Seventeen Provinces 1 were to be indissolubly united, and that the succession to the sovereignty in each of them was to be by primogeniture. In this period the Netherlands came more and more to be used as instruments in a Habsburg policy which did not answer to their needs or desires. At first indeed the hold of the dynasty on the country was rather weak ; having gained a footing there chiefly because the Netherlands were afraid of French aggres sion, it had some difficulty in maintaining its authority at a reasonable strength. But the central administra tion was gradually elaborated and expanded, the particularist revolts in Flanders were overcome, a mixture of tact and pressure was applied to the Estates, and the Belgian aristocracy was attracted by the careers opened out to it in the Habsburg service. As the reign of Charles V proceeded, he became more and more able to use the resources of the Netherlands in order to meet the increasingly varied liabilities of 1 These were : in the Southern Netherlands, Flanders, Artois, Hainault, Brabant, Antwerp, Malines, Namur, Limburg, and Luxemburg ; in the Northern Netherlands, Zeeland, Holland, Utrecht, Gelders, Zutphen, Overyssel, Groningen, and Friesland. France had given up her claim to suzerainty over Flanders and Artois in 1526 and 1529. The six northern provinces last mentioned were acquired by Charles between 1517 and 1543. 124 HISTORY Habsburg policy in Germany, Italy, and the Mediter ranean. The country was not wholly satisfied with its position, but the peace was kept through the great personal authority and popularity of Charles, who liked and understood the people of the land where he had been born and bred. The wealth of the Netherlands was a main prop of the new Habsburg ascendancy in Europe. Under Charles V their commercial and industrial prosperity was weU maintained. The economic processes which had been at work in the fifteenth century continued to develop. While nothing could save the old Flemish cloth-manu facture from decay due to English competition, the new textile and metal industries expanded and flourished ; and while the trade of Bruges was dying Antwerp became the greatest port in Europe, attract ing especially the new and rich commerce which had been created by Spanish and Portuguese enterprise in America, India, and the Far East. b. Relations with France, England, and the Empire The French monarchy had now recovered from the troubles of its English and Burgundian wars, and was pursuing an active and ambitious policy. It naturally viewed with profound jealousy the establishment of the Habsburgs on its northern, eastern, and southern borders. After a few preliminary passages of arms between the two Powers, Francis I took the offensive; against Charles V, and a long series of campaigns took ^ place between 1521 and 1559. The Netherlanders were ready to defend their country against French invasion, but they were anxious not to be involved in a war with France beyond the requirements of self- defence. At first they were able in this matter to exercise some influence on the policy of their rulers; SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 125 but later the tightening of the Habsburg grip on the country and the shifting of the main French offensive from Italy to the northern French frontier dragged them deeper into the conflict. To maintain good relations with England was on the whole in the interest both of the Netherlands and of the wider Habsburg policy. But it is significant that Philip the Fair, out of anxiety to secure his inheritance in Sjpain, signed a commercial agreement with England, which, as giving undue advantages to English trade, was very unpopular in the Low Coun tries. England, on her side, was generally still inclined to look on the rulers of the Low Countries as natural allies against France. The relation of the Netherlands to the Empire was formulated in the Transaction of Augsburg, an Act of the Imperial Diet in 1548. For some time past sugges tions had been made in the Diet that the imperial States of the Netherlands now under Habsburg govern ment should be made to contribute towards imperial taxation, but these proposals had met with emphatic opposition in the Netherlands. It was now enacted that the Seventeen Provinces were to form a Circle of the Empire (the Circle of Burgundy), and their sovereign was to be represented in the Diet ; they were to contribute a fixed quota to imperial subsidies, but the laws and decrees of the Empire were not to apply to them. Thus though the obligation to pay imperial taxes was verbally acknowledged, not only for the old imperial States of the Netherlands, but for Flanders and Artois as well, the Empire was left without the means to enforce that obligation, and in fact the Seventeen States never fulfilled it. 126 HISTORY 4. Spanish Rule : the Revolt of the Netherlands (1555-1609) a. Internal History The revolt of the Netherlands against Phihp of Spain was a desperate effort to loosen the hold of Habsburg rule, which was forcing them out of the path of their inclinations. When the movement of resistance began the principal causes of discontent were : the Government' s measures against heresy, which were generally unpopular, if for no other reason, at least as being dangerous to local rights and interests ; the presence in the country of Spanish troops, who were feared and hated both for their behaviour and because they might be used to crush opposition to the king's will ; the burden of taxation, which had been especially heavy in the French war of 1556-9 ; the distrust shown by the Government towards the Belgian nobles who claimed to share in the direction of its policy ; and pervading the whole situation, the undisguisedly unsympathetic, autocratic, and alien spirit of the king. The result of the long series of campaigns waged in the country between 1567 and 1609 was that whUe the northern provinces of HoUand, Zeeland, Utrecht, Overyssel, Groningen, Friesland, and North (or Lower) Gelders were permanently lost to Spain, the Southern Netherlands submitted on terms. It was chiefly religious feeling that caused this submission. The south was predominantly Cathohc : the rebellion in the north was inspired by a Calvinism which became more and more intolerant. In the south Protestantism was to be found mainly among the lower classes in the cities, and was liable to express itself in acts of mob violence repellent to the Catholics, and especially to SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 127 the aristocracy. Again, the southern nobles' were jealous of William of Orange, the leader of the north, and disliked his aUiance with Calvinism and democracy. Further, the military difficulties of resistance were on the whole greater in the south ; in the Northern Nether lands the country was better suited to defence against attack by land, and it was easier to take advantage of Spain's comparative weakness at sea. When Alexander of Parma, who came to the Nether lands as governor for Spain in 1578, showed himself inchned to be conciliatory, the Walloon provinces of Hainault and Artois, as well as French-speaking Flanders, soon came to terms : on the one hand, political privileges were to be respected ; on the other, heresy was to be proscribed (1579). Parma then reduced the rest of the Southern Netherlands, partly by diplomacy and partly by force. The fate of Antwerp and the Scheldt estuary was pf particular importance for the future. In 1572 Flushing was captured by the rebels, and thus the port of Antwerp, then in Spanish hands, was bottled. After the sack of Antwerp by mutinous Spanish soldiers (1576) the city joined the revolt, and thus her com munication with the sea was restored. But in 1585 she was captured by Parma, and, as the Dutch con tinued to hold Flushing, was again cut off from the sea. b. Relations with France and England In these years Spain tried to use its position in the southern provinces to establish its domination over France and England. Imminent danger from this quarter was familiar to France, but for England it was something new, and marks the beginning of the modern period of her relations with the Low Countries. The Spanish menace gave the Enghsh and French Governments a deep interest in the revolt of the 128 HISTORY Netherlands. For long, owing to their domestic troubles and weakness, they were not able to challenge Spain by open and formal interference, but each allowed the rebels to receive help from its territory. The situation was complicated by the English Govern ment's jealousy of French influence in the Low Countries. The Netherlanders, not confident of their power to stand alone, tried to arrange some kind of dynastic connexion with France or England. The French Government, involved in a complicated struggle. of religions and factions at home, was uncertain of its own mind, but it did not prevent the Duke of Anjou, a Valois prince, from accepting the advances first of the Catholic Walloons and then of William the SUent. But Anjou played his hand badly, and the English Govern ment did its best to thwart him. After Anjou's death the rebels offered the sovereignty of the Netherlands to the French King Henry III (1584), but Hemy refused, owing to pressure from the French Catholic League, which was looking to Philip for support. A similar offer was thereupon made to Elizabeth of England, who refused the sovereignty of the Nether lands because ' it bred a doubt of perpetual war ' ; but as the provinces still in revolt were now hard pressed by Parma, and a direct conflict between England and Spain was by this time unavoidable, she sent the Dutch rebels open military aid. But the English commander, Leicester, was a failure, and the Dutch were in great peril, when PhUip made up his mind that the war must be ended by a direct blow at England. The army of Parma, with a fleet of trans ports, was to be concentrated on the Flemish coast ; a Spanish fleet was to sail up the Channel, and under its protection Parma's troops were to make the crossing. But the English fleet broke the Armada in Calais Roads and off Gravelines, while Parma, who had no warships, SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 129 was blockaded by Dutch and English squadrons in Nieuport and Dunkirk (1588). England was saved, but Parma might still have conquered the Northern Netherlands if Philip had not ordered him to assist the Catholic League in France against Henry of Navarre, the leader of the Huguenot and Nationalist party, who in 1589 ascended the throne as Henry IV. The Spanish invasion of Northern France, though it had some temporary success, could not bring about a decision there, and meanwhile the Dutch made a great military recovery. In 1598 the Spanish effort was so far exhausted that the Treaty of Vervins was concluded with France. By the terms of this peace the sovereignty of the Netherlands was to pass to an Austrian Habsburg, the Archduke Albert, who was to marry the Spanish Infanta, but if they had no children the country was to revert to Spain — a contingency which was realized, as Philip had foreseen. In 1609 a Twelve Years' Truce was concluded with the Dutch, whose independence was practically, though not explicitly, recognized. 5. The Spanish Netherlands (1609-1714) : the. Origin of the Barrier System a. Internal History In 1626 the Austrian Archduke Albert died childless, and the provinces of the Southern Netherlands passed once more into the possession of the kings of Spain. The Government at Brussels, though it left in exis tence the provincial assemblies and other institutions of local seh-government, became within its own sphere increasingly autocratic and Spanish. It has been described as an absolutism tempered by local auto nomies. In 1632-3 a conspiracy against Spanish rule 130 HISTORY was formed by a number of Belgian nobles. Richelieu on the part of France fomented this movement, suggest ing that the Southern Netherlands should become a republic. But the conspiracy was betrayed .and crushed. The country resigned itself to the loss of control over its own destinies. The Estates General were not summoned after 1634. The noblesse, the clergy, and the higher bourgeoisie had to be content with their narrow provincial liberties, but round these there gathered a very deep sentiment of pride and loyalty. The thorough and intense Catholicization of the country during the early years of the seventeenth century had very important results in the later history of Belgium. After the revolt the Church bestirred itself to strengthen its hold on the Southern Nether lands. Protestantism disappeared almost completely, and the Catholicism of the Belgian people became peculiarly profound and rooted. The long war of the revolt had left the provinces in a state of acute economic depression and distress. They gradually revived, but from the outset they were debarred from reaching their former height of pros perity by the fact that the Dutch held the mouth of the Scheldt and closed that river to all but their own shipping. This closure of the Scheldt, which was main tained in practice even during the years of the Truce (1609-21), was recognized in a formal manner in the Treaty of Munster (1648). Amsterdam thus took the place of Antwerp, and the whole economic life of Belgium was affected by the change. Later in this period the new French protective tariffs and the wars which harried the country further depressed Belgian commerce and manufacture. Labour was diverted more and more to agriculture, which flourished so far as it was not affected by foreign invasion. The inten- SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 131 sive cultivation of Flanders began in the seventeenth eentury. It may be noticed that the life of the Belgian pro vinces in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, entirely different from, and in important respects antagonistic to, the life of the Northern Netherlands, was forming a Belgian nationality which was later to assert itself against Dutch rule in a way that com pletely upset the plans of Europe. b. Relations with France, Holland, and Great Britain The relations between the Southern Netherlands and neighbouring Powers fall during the period into two distinct stages. Between 1609 and 1659 both France and Holland were still feeling the pressure of the Spanish position here, and in alliance (1635-48) laboured to improve their respective frontiers on the northern and southern sides of the provinces. England had no longer to fear Spanish aggression from the Low Countries ; she was much taken up by her domestic troubles, and she was beginning to find her commercial interests in conflict with those of the Dutch. But under Cromwell the Elizabethan tradition was revived, and England took up a Spanish war (1655-9), partly religious and partly commercial, in the course of which she lent assistance to the French operations in Flanders. Between 1659 and 1714, the power of Spain having fallen into hopeless decay, the situation changed. France, emerging from a straitened and difficult defensive, was now carried forward by her success into an aggressive movement which threatened to establish her domination in Europe. Especially she seemed about to bring the lands on the Lower Rhine per manently under her rule or control. French aggression in the Southern Netherlands was strenuously resisted 12 132 HISTORY by the Dutch, who were threatened, not only in their political independence, but also in their commerce: for the French occupation of the Lower Scheldt would have certainly led to the opening of that river and the revival of Antwerp. Great Britain, after a period of hesitation due to the dynastic aims of the later Stuarts and to commercial rivalry with the Dutch, at last, having taken William of Orange for her king, definitely joined Holland. The object of the allies was to make of the Southern Low Countries a reliable barrier against the French offensive in this direction. Even tually they succeeded in checking and throwing back the French advance. In 1667 Louis XIV put forward a dynastic claim to Brabant. He was checked by the Triple Alhance, consisting of Holland, Great Britain, and Sweden, The English Government then deserted the Dutch, and Louis attacked Holland by way of the Meuse and Rhine (1672). The Dutch were saved by an obstinate defence under their stadtholder, WiUiam of Orange, and a series of wars followed between France and the Leagues which William formed against her. On the whole France was gaining ground in the Southern Netherlands (see p. 171, note), until in 1700, during an interval pf peace, Louis suddenly put forward a claim to the whole of the Spanish Empire, and his armies were able to overrun the provinces. They were gradually beaten out of the country by the Allies under Marlborough. By the settlement of 1713-14 (Treaties of Utrecht, Rastadt, and Baden) the Spanish Netherlands, con siderably reduced since 1609 on their northern and southern frontiers (see pp. 171-2), passed to the Austrian Habsburgs. By the so-called Barrier Treaties (1715, 1718) the Dutch were to have the right of placing garrisons in a certain number of fortresses on the SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 133 French frontier, and the Belgian provinces were to contribute towards the maintenance of these troops. Great Britain guaranteed the arrangement, and pro mised assistance if the barrier should be attacked. 6. Austrian Rule and the Revolt of the Belgians against Joseph II (1714-90) a. Internal History Between 1714 and 1781 the only serious disturbance of the peace in Belgium was the French invasion during the War of the Austrian Succession (1744-8). The Barrier Treaties at first aroused considerable indignation in the country as inflicting on it a humiliat ing expense, but there was no possibility of resisting the will of the Powers. The Habsburgs were bound by treaty to respect established liberties and privileges, and their government, after some initial severities in the assertion of its authority, long observed its promise. More particularly, Duke Charles of Lorraine, Governor- General under Maria Theresa, was scrupulous in respect ing Belgian susceptibilities. The industry and commerce of Belgium were still half-strangled by artificial restrictions. The Scheldt remained closed. The tariff-system could not be altered without the consent of Great Britain and Holland. When the first Austrian sovereign, Charles VI, tried to turn the barrier of the Scheldt by making Ostende a great port, and organized an Ostende East India Company (1722-3), the undertaking had to be dropped in face of British and Dutch opposition. Agriculture, on the other hand, was very prosperous, and in Western Belgium the development of intensive cultivation con tinued. When Joseph II introduced his reforms the country was singularly contented. There were no serious 134 HISTORY political or social grievances. There were no oppres sive remains of feudal custom. Landlords were resident, the clergy was in a condition that entitled it to respect. The new ideas which were stirring in Europe were accepted only by a very small group among the bourgeoisie. The great mass of Belgians only wished to be left alone in their traditional liberties and their religion. The aim of the Emperor- Joseph II (1780-90) was to level away the anomalies of local and class privUege, and introduce a centralized, uniform administration throughout his dominions. In Belgium he first attacked the power of the Church (1781-5) ; he suppressed some of the religious houses, forbade appeals to Rome, and tried to bring the education of priests under State control. Both clergy and laity were indignant, and disturbances broke out. The Emperor then swept away the old local magistracies and courts, and intro duced a new, uniform system of administration and judicature (1787). The Belgians were touched in their patriotic feelings and many of them in their vested interests. In 1789 the Government, finding itseh in conflict with the Provincial Estates, tried to treat them with a high hand. The Joyous Entry, the Charter of Brabant, was revoked. Then came a revolution. The Austrian troops were driven into Luxemburg. In January 1790 Estates General met at Brussels and voted into existence the United States of Belgium. The new republic perished the same year, but its rapid dissolution was principally due to the fact that the Emperor Leopold II, the successor of Joseph, promised to re-establish the old order. The revolution in Austrian Belgium was essentially religious and conservative. Its outbreak was, of course, made easier by the fact that insurgency against government was then in the air, but its aims were SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 135 wholly different from those of the revolution which had recently begun in France. The adherents of the new French ideas (the so-called Vonckist party) so provoked the wrath of the majority that they had to flee the country. There was naturally more anti-clericalism in the revolution which broke out at the same time in the episcopal state of Liege. Here the prince-bishop was restored by Austrian troops in 1790. b. External Relations After 1714 there was no further attack on the Nether lands until the French, in the War of the Austrian Succession, fell out with Great Britain, and invaded the Provinces (1744). The French arms were successful (for example, at Fontenoy, 1745). But France, in spite of her victories here, was not in a position to keep her gains, and abandoned them by the Treaty of Aix- la-Chapelle (1748). The alliance concluded in 1756 between France and the Habsburgs protected the Southern Netherlands from French invasion until the end of the old regime. Nevertheless, the idea that France might some day reach the mouths of the Scheldt and the Rhine was not dead, and needed only the provocation of danger to become violently active. And already Rousseau was preparing the way for the revo lutionary doctrine of the natural limits. (See further on this point p. 216. ) It was now the settled policy of Great Britain and Holland not only to maintain the Southern Netherlands as a barrier against France, but also to prevent Austria from so developing her position here as to enter into competition with British and Dutch sea-power and commerce. The suppression of the Ostende Company at the instance of the Maritime Powers has already been mentioned. After this check the Habsburgs did 136 HISTORY not set much store by their possessions in the Low Countries, which lay far away from their other terri tories, and suffered from Dutch and British fears and susceptibilities. Joseph II nearly brought on a general war in Germany by trying to exchange the Provinces for Bavaria. Having failed to get rid of them, he was anxious to improve their value, and almost went to war with the Dutch over the question of the Barrier Fortresses and the closure of the Scheldt. The matter was finally settled by a compromise: the barrier system was abolished, but the Scheldt remained closed (1785).. The outbreak of the Belgian Revolution gave some trouble to Europe. Prussia, hostile to Austria, lent the rebels underhand and ineffective support. France at first sympathized with the movement, then found that it was not like her own revolution at all, and in any case was too much taken up with her domestic affairs to intervene. Great Britain, anxious to main tain the status quo which gave her peace, persuaded Holland and Prussia to join her in guaranteeing to the Belgians their ancient liberties, thus making it easier for them to return to Austrian rule (Convention of Berlin, January 1790). 7. The Southern Netherlands under French Rule (1792-1814) The invasion of France by Austria and Prussia in 1792 led to a French counter-attack with a great force of national energy behind it. The traditions of the Rhine frontier were revived. France was to have her ' natural limits '. By their victory at Jemappes (November 1792) the French conquered the Austrian Netherlands. Dumou riez, commanding the army of invasion, recognized SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 137 that the general feeling of the country was not in sympathy with the French Revolution, and in order to avoid friction he wished to organize here a republic under the protection of France. But for urgent financial reasons, as well as in the spirit of acquisitive ness produced by victory and under the impulsion of national traditions, the Convention made up its mind to annex the country. It soon became clear that this would be done, and that the Scheldt would be opened for the profit of France. But Great Britain could not accept this, and the French designs on the Netherlands were the immediate cause of her entry into the war (January 1793). The French were beaten out of the country in 1793, but the next year they returned, and having defeated the Austrians at Fleurus, drove them beyond the Meuse and beyond the Rhine. On October 1, 1795, the Habsburg Netherlands and the episcopal territory of Liege were declared annexed to France.1 The country was divided into departments on the French model. These did not correspond to the old territorial divisions, but their lines can be traced in the existing provinces of Belgium (compare p. 177). The French administrative system was imposed, the local authorities being appointed at first by French Commissioners. The rule of the French Directory (1795-9) was on the whole very unpopular in Belgium. The personnel of the administration was not good : it was both corrupt and pedantic. Its principles were antagonistic to the spirit of the people. Its persecuting anti-clericahsm and the introduction of conscription were especially offensive to the Belgians. But it was useless to resist ; 1 They were definitely ceded by Francis II, as hereditary ruler of the Habsburg Netherlands and as Emperor, in the Treaties of Campo Formio (1797) and LuneviUe (1801). 138 HISTORY a rising of peasants against compulsory mihtary service was easily suppressed (1797). Under the Consulate (1799-1804) and the Empire (1804-14) things were much better. The administra tion was considerably improved ; the persecution of the clergy was gradually relaxed untU the Concordat between the Papacy and the French Government re established the Church (1801). But still there was little hking for French rule. Conscription remained a burden, and Napoleon's quarrel with the Papacy largely undid the good impression which had been made by the Concordat. In 1813, when the Empire was in defeat, the French Government in Belgium, no longer supported by arms, fell rapidly to pieces. Nevertheless, the years of French rule had a pro found influence in Belgium. The old framework of Belgian society — its legal and political institutions — had been swept away, and though national traditions were not lost, French law and French administration laid the foundations of a new social order. Napoleon had tried deliberately to Gallicize the Belgians. What ever may have been the success of his efforts, French influences were now very strong among the educated classes, and especially among the bourgeoisie. French ideas had spread, and had affected even their opponents. Many Belgians had formed personal connexions with France. Thus the way was prepared for the formation of a Liberal Party, French in its inspiration and sympathies, and far more powerful than the Vonckist group of 1789. By the Treaty of Amiens (1801) Great Britain acquiesced in the French annexation of Belgium, and it was not this question, but the question of the com mand of the Mediterranean, that broke the peace (1803). But the later prolongation of the struggle fixed the determination of Britain to reduce France, SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 139 here as elsewhere, to her former limits. Napoleon's intention to make Antwerp a naval base was noticed with alarm in this country. In 1809, while Napoleon was operating against Austria, the British Government attempted a diver sion at the mouth of the Scheldt-, with the hope of rallying the discontented elements in the Netherlands and North Germany, but the expedition was wasted on the island of Walcheren. 8. Belgium joined to Holland (1814-30) In 1814 the Allies had to consider the question what was to be done with Belgium. France was to be confined practically within her old frontiers (see p. 173), and a barrier was again to be erected on her northern flank. But Austria had no desire to take back her provinces in the Netherlands ; she wished to be free of the liabilities involved in direct contact with France. A new Lotharingia or ' Middle Kingdom ' was sug gested,1 but it was soon decided to join the Belgian provinces to Holland, so that Holland and Belgium (with the exception of Luxemburg) should form a single kingdom of the Netherlands, having one and the same political organization, in which Dutch and Belgians and the adherents of all creeds were to enjoy equal rights. Luxemburg, including the part of that country now in the kingdom of Belgium, was to be 1 In 1813 the Prussian Government, in its anxiety to obtain the alliance and subsidies of Great Britain, had thrown out the sug gestion of a kingdom which should extend ' from the Elbe perhaps to the Scheldt ' and should be given a Hanoverian prince for its sovereign. In 1796 the British Government, wishing to detach Prussia from France, had hinted that it would be willing to see Belgium in Prussian hands. But two years later it had already formed its scheme of uniting Belgium to Holland. 140 HISTORY a Grand Duchy and a member of the Germanic Con federation, but its Grand Duke was to be the sovereign of the Netherlands ; the fortress of Luxemburg was to be held by the kings of Prussia and the Netherlands in the name of the Germanic Confederation." It was thought that this arrangement would create a reasonably strong barrier. It was hoped that the Dutch and Belgians would easily coalesce through the racial and linguistic connexion between Dutch and Flemings. Moreover, the Belgians might be expected to appreciate the economic benefits of this union, which would secure them for the future against the restrictions on their commerce formerly imposed by Holland. Great Britain strongly supported the plan, not only because it seemed to give an adequate guarantee against French aggression, but also because it provided a means of compensating the Dutch for the loss of those of their colonies (in South Africa and elsewhere), which Great Britain, having occupied them while Holland was under French control, was now intending to keep. Two military conditions were made by the Powers. First, it was stipulated in 1815 that certain fortresses should be constructed along the southern Belgian frontier, to be paid for out of the war-indemnity imposed on France. Secondly, Napoleon's scheme for making Antwerp a naval base was never to be revived. Antwerp was to be a purely commercial port. The Powers neglected the fact that the Belgians showed no signs of wishing to be linked to Holland. In 1814 a council of notables at Brussels expressed their desire to return to Habsburg rule, either as subjects of the Emperor Francis, or as citizens of an independent kingdom under an Austrian archduke. The first alternative was impossible owing to the refusal of the Emperor of Austria to take up his former posses- SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 141 sions in the Netherlands ; the second did not seem to provide for a strong enough barrier against France. Within sixteen years of its erection the new barrier collapsed of itself. The Dutch and Belgians came into the Union as two very different and far from sym pathetic nationalities. Both sides were prejudiced by traditional antagonisms. The mere community, or similarity, of race and language was powerless to reconcile Dutch and Flemings. The process of coales cence, which would have been difficult enough in any case, was made impossible by the stiffly obstinate and autocratic character of the Dutch ruler of the new kingdom, William I. The Belgians and the Dutch quarrelled immediately over the details of the Union, and especially over the question of representation, and the Belgian opposition to the fundamental law of the Constitution was over come only by arbitrary action on the part of the King. From 1815 to 1830 the Belgians, notwithstanding the economic progress which the Union enabled them to make, were growing more and more discontented. The administration of the kingdom was practically Dutch. The King, who was a Dutchman, had very wide powers ; almost all the ministers, the higher grades of the civil service, and the commands in the army were in Dutch hands, yet the Belgians of the kingdom outnumbered the Dutch by nearly a third. In the chamber the two nationalities had equal representation, but the Belgians frequently had the annoyance of being outvoted by very small margins, due to the adherence of a few Belgian officials to the solid Dutch vote. The King was a Calvinist, and his Government was obviously suspicious of the Catholic clergy. An attempt was made to bring the education both of laymen and 142 HISTORY priests more under State control. The Belgian clergy, which from the first had disliked the complete indiffer ence to creed professed by the Constitution, turned all its great influence against the Government, and a very strong Catholic party arose to fight its battle. There were financial grievances. The Belgians were angry at being assigned a full share of the very heavy burden of debt with which Holland had entered the Union. Further, certain forms of taxation introduced by the Government were very unpopular : thus a tax on ground corn was said to be especiaUy hard on the Belgian poor. By a decree of 1822 Dutch was made the only official language, to the indignation of the WaUoons. The Flemings were little better for the change, since in pronunciation Dutch and Flemish had diverged very widely. The opposition of the Belgian press was lively, and irritated the King. A Press Decree issued during the Napoleonic invasion of 1815 was permanently maintained, and was used against Belgian jour nalists in a way that proved both ineffectual and exasperating. By 1828 the King's pohcy had succeeded in uniting the two parties among the Belgians. The Liberals and the Catholics, in spite of wide differences of principle, made a formal alhance against the Government. The French Revolution of July 1830 provoked in Brussels a street-riot, which in a very short time expanded into a national rebeUion. By the end of October 1830 the insurgents held all the southern provinces of the kingdom. They occupied not only the present territory of Belgium, but all Luxemburg, Limburg, and Dutch Flanders. Only the citadels of Maestricht and Antwerp were still occupied by Dutch garrisons ; while the fortress of Luxemburg remained SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 143 in the hands of the Prussian garrison which here repre sented the Germanic Confederation. 9. The Creation of the Kingdom of Belgium (1830-9) The Belgian Revolution reopened the Barrier Ques tion for Europe. Its peaceful solution was immediately endangered from three directions. First, the Tsar and the King of Prussia were inclined to give uncom promising support to the King of the Netherlands, partly from dislike of revolution in general and partly out of fear lest France, having lately overthrown her legitimist government, might break out into a revolu tionary and aggressive war. Secondly, in France, where for many years there had been a growing desire to upset the Treaties of 1815, and the Revolution of July had caused a dangerous restlessness, there was a feeling that the creation of the Kingdom of the Nether lands had been essentially an act of hostility towards the French nation, and there was a party at Paris which would have been glad to seize the opportunity to reassert French domination in the Low Countries.1 Thirdly, in Belgium there was a section of the Liberals, small in numbers, but active and influential, which would have welcomed a close connexion, or even complete union, with France. 1 In 1829 Polignac, Charles X's Minister for Foreign Affairs, had formed a plan by which France was to re-establish her position in Europe by annexing Belgium. Polignac counted mainly on Russian assistance ; for Russia was then engaged in a successful war with Turkey, and it was hoped that she would consent to the aggran dizement of France in the West as the price of French support for Russian aggrandizement in the Near East. Polignac had also pro vided ' compensation ' for the other Powers, and had taken into account the Belgians' hatred of Dutch rule. But the plan came to nothing. Prussia came forward to help the Tsar in his Turkish business in order to relieve him of the temptation to strike a bargain with France. 144 HISTORY The situation was saved, partly perhaps by the Polish rebellion which broke out at the end of November 1830, and prevented the Tsar from undertaking in the Netherlands a resolute championship of the monarchical principle, but still more by the pacific intentions of the British and French Governments, and especially by the diplomacy of Talleyrand, then French Ambas sador in London. The British Government recognized that its kingdom of the Netherlands was hopeless. It tried to find a solution containing three elements : the Belgians were to be released from the Union which they detested ; the King of the Netherlands was not to be treated too hardly (for after all he had assumed the sovereignty of Belgium at the request of the Powers, and in exchange for colonies withheld by Great Britain) ; and the barrier against France was to be reconstructed in a reliable form. On the other hand, Louis Philippe and Talleyrand were strongly of the opinion that Belgium was not worth a general European war with the odds heavily against France ; they were willing to act in harmony with the British Government, only they wished to maintain the dignity of France and to give as little opening as possible to French nationalist criticism. A conference of the Powers met in London on November 4, 1830, and by the end of the month had imposed an armistice in the Netherlands (protocols of November 10 and 17). A protocol of December 20 recognized in principle the independence of Belgium. On January 20, 1831, another protocol declared that the King of the Netherlands should retain the terri tories of the former Dutch Republic as they had been constituted in 1790 (subject to an exchange of enclaves), and that he should continue to hold the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. This territorial arrangement was due, first, to a con- SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 145 sideration of the claims which the King of the Nether lands had upon the Powers, and secondly by the fact that the Powers which feared French influence in or attacks on Belgium wished the mouth of the Scheldt, the fortress of Maestricht, and the still more important fortress of Luxemburg to be kept in reliable hands (see p. 186). Further, as a measure of precaution against any aggression in Belgium (it was of course from France that such aggression was then generally feared), a clause of the same protocol of January 20 contained the provision that Belgium was to be a neutral State. But the Belgians were indignant. They were being asked to surrender Dutch Flanders, a large part of the province of Limburg, and the whole of Luxemburg, yet the people of these districts had joined in the Revolution, and their deputies were sitting in the national congress at Brussels. Again, the imposi tion of neutrality on Belgium deprived her of the hope of winning back these territories in the future. The terms of the protocol were rejected by the Belgian Congress. The Belgians then tried to divide the Powers, and to force France on to their side by their choice of a king. The Gallophil Liberals had aheady proposed the Due de Nemours, a son of Louis Philippe. Another candidate, whose election would have been a source of great anxiety to the French monarchy, was the Due de Leuchtenberg, of the Napoleonic connexion.1 Early in January 1831 the Due de Leuchtenberg had seemed the stronger candidate, but after learning the decision of the Powers on the boundaries and neutrality of Belgium the Congress elected the Due de Nemours (February 3, 1831). It was known that England would rather go to war than allow a French prince to 1 He was the son of Eugene Beauharnais. EELO. ]J 146 HISTORY sit on the throne of Belgium, and it was hoped that France would take up the challenge. But the intrigue failed. Louis Philippe refused to accept the Belgian offer (February 17), and the Conference of London issued another protocol declaring that the arrange ment of January 20 was final. The Powers now worked to obtain the throne for Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, a German who was the widower of an English princess and was resident in England. France was reconciled to the scheme, partly by a promise of the Powers (April 17) that certain Belgian fortresses near the French frontier should be demolished, and also by the prospect of a marriage between Leopold and a daughter of Louis Philippe. The Belgians, repulsed by France, were ready to take Leopold on condition that he should secure some modification in their favour of the protocol of January 20. On June 4 he was elected King of the Belgians. The Powers were wining to encourage Belgian hopes, and the Eighteen Articles of June 24 promised a reconsideration of the question of Luxem burg and Limburg, and an equitable arrangement as to the navigation of the Scheldt. Leopold announced that he would accept the crown which had been offered to him if the Belgians would assent to the Eighteen Articles, and this condition the Belgian Congress fulfilled on July 9. But the King of the Netherlands, supported by the Dutch, would not accept the Eighteen Articles. He, like the Belgians, had hoped that the Powers would not be able to settle the problem peaceably and that a war might give him back what he had lost. Now he tried to embroil Europe by a sudden invasion of Belgium, which was successful (August 2-12). The Belgians were badly beaten, and, as the only possible remedy, a French Army appeared in the country' SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 147 The Dutch troops retired, leaving a garrison in Antwerp. Opinion in England then grew uneasy at this French invasion. France wished to use this opportunity to have the fortresses on the southern Belgian frontier destroyed at once. She was told that the Powers would not be pressed. Franco-British relations were becoming strained when the French troops were recalled (September 15, 1831). On October 14, 1831, the Conference of London published the Act known as the Twenty -Four Articles. This assigned to Belgium the south-west part of Limburg and the western part of Luxemburg, leaving to the King of the Netherlands the fortress of Maes- tricht and the eastern part of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, within which lay the town of Luxemburg and the fortress of the Germanic confederation. Dutch Flanders was to return to Holland. The Scheldt was to be opened to navigation, but Holland was to have the right to impose tolls at the mouth of the river. The Belgians were angry ; it was not all that they had hoped for since the Eighteen Arti cles had left open the matters in dispute. But their proved inability to resist a Dutch invasion by their own strength had shown the majority of their deputies that they must accept the will of the Powers. They agreed to the Twenty-Four Articles (Treaty of November 15, 1831, between the Five Powers and Belgium). The King of the Netherlands held out. His troops still occupied the citadel of Antwerp, and after dilatory negotiations it at last became necessary for British and French fleets to blockade his coasts and for a French Army to take Antwerp by siege (November 1832). On May 21, 1833, he promised not to attack the Belgians, but he refused to accept the Twenty- Four Articles. The result was that for the next few K2 148 HISTORY years the whole of Limburg and the whole of Luxem burg were included in Belgium. At last the Dutch, who had loyally supported their Government throughout the Belgian trouble, began to be restive under the burden of keeping their army on a war footing, and their king was obhged to come to terms. In 1838 he suddenly gave his adhesion to the Twenty-Four Articles. The Belgians were furious ; they had hoped that the obstinacy of the king would leave them permanently in possession of all Limburg and Luxemburg. They tried to obtain some alteration of the Articles, offering to purchase the territories which they were being required to surrender ; but the Powers, and especially Great Britain and Prussia, were determined that the territorial arrangements must stand. Thus eastern Luxemburg and northern and eastern Limburg reverted to the King of the Nether lands. The final treaty between Belgium and HoUand was signed on April 19, 1839. Article VII laid down that ' Belgium, within the limits specified in Articles I, II and IV, shall form an independent and perpetually neutral State. It shall be bound to observe such Neutrality to all other States '. (This Article was a textual repetition of the clause in the Treaty of November 15, 1831.) On the same day a treaty signed in London by the five Great Powers — Great Britain, France, Russia, Austria, and Prussia — declared that the Articles of the Belgo-Dutch Treaty ' are con sidered as having the same force and validity as if they were textually inserted in the present Act ', and that ' they are thus placed under the guarantee of their said Majesties ' (the sovereigns of the five Powers). The Treaty of November 15, 1831, was abrogated, but has been considered to keep an interpretative value. As regards the Belgian fortresses, while certain of SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 149 them were demolished in accordance with the promise of the Powers to the French Government, a Conven tion of December 14, .1831, imposed on Belgium the maintenance of certain others, which should form a system of defence against France. At the same time a secret clause (signed by Leopold I, but not confirmed by the Belgian Parliament) undertook that in case of danger Belgium should concert measures for the safety of these fortresses with the other Four Powers. But this clause itself contained a reservation limiting its scope by ' the obligations which the perpetual neutrality of Belgium shall impose on His Majesty the King of the Belgians and the Four Courts them selves '. Further, on January 23, 1832, an interpreta tive Act was signed by the plenipotentiaries of the Four Powers at the request of the French Government, declaring that the provisions of the Convention ' cannot and ought not to be understood except as reserving the full and entire sovereignty of His Majesty the King of the Belgians over the fortresses indicated in the said Convention, and also as reserving the neutrality and independence of Belgium, an inde pendence and a neutrality which, guaranteed on the ground of the same rights by all Five Powers, should estabhsh a link of an identical nature between each of these Powers and Belgium '. It was also declared that this interpretative Act placed beyond doubt ' that all the clauses of the Convention of December 14th are in perfect harmony with the character of a neutral and independent Power, which the Five Powers recog nize to be the status of Belgium '. It is obvious that while at the time the neutrality of Belgium was expected to be useful as an obstacle to French aggression, which was then most to be feared, there is nothing in the Treaty of 1839, or in the circumstances under which it was framed, that 150 HISTORY can give ground for claiming that any of the other Powers did not bind itself with regard to that neutrality in exactly the same way as France. 10. Outline of the Belgian Constitution and Local Government Belgium has a written constitution dating in the main from 1831, but containing certain later modifica tions with regard to the franchise. Under the constitution the executive power belongs to the Crown acting through responsible Ministers, by one of whom every act of the king must be counter signed ; the legislature is composed of the king, a Senate, and a Chamber of Representatives. There are now eleven Ministries, namely, for war ; the interior ; finance ; foreign affairs ; science and art ; justice ; agriculture and public works ; raUways ; marine, posts and telegraphs ; industry and labour ; colonies. Ministers without portfoho may be members of the Cabinet. The king convokes the Chambers, and has the power to summon them for extraordinary sessions in addition to their regular annual meeting in November, when they must sit for at least forty days. The king also prorogues the Chambers, and can dissolve both or either of them. Ministers can demand to be heard, and their presence can be required, in either chamber, but a Minister may not vote, nor take part in debate in an ordinary way, except in a Chamber of which he is a member. Legislation may be initiated by any branch of the legislative body, but Bills relating to finance and to the annual contingent of the army must be first voted on in the Chamber of Representatives. Legislation may not contravene the Constitution, which can be altered only by a special procedure. To SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 151 this end both the Senate and the Chamber of Repre sentatives must pass a resolution to the effect that there is reason for a change. Thereby both Chambers are automatically dissolved. The Parliament next elected may alter the part of the Constitution indicated by the resolution of its predecessors, but the change must be debated by a quorum of two-thirds, and must be voted by a two-thirds majority of those present. Representatives are paid a salary of 4,000 francs (£160). Senators are unpaid. Members of either Chamber are immune from prosecution for votes or speeches. Any citizen having a vote for the Chamber of Representatives is himself eligible to it. Candidates for the Senate must be at least forty years of age and pay 1,200 francs (£48) in direct taxes or own immov able property of 12,000 francs ' cadastral revenue ' (i. e. letting value according to an assessment of land and buildings originally made in 1858 for the purposes of land-taxation), with the exception that in provinces where this rule would make the number of persons eligible to the Senate less than one in 5,000 of the population the number is made up to this proportion by the admission of the most highly taxed. Elections for the Chamber of Representatives are held in half the constituencies every two years, unless a total dissolution intervenes. For the Senate elections are held in half the constituencies every four years. Thus half the Chamber of Representatives is renewed biennially, half the Senate quadrennially. Total dis solutions are very rare. There are twenty-nine large constituencies for the Chamber of Representatives, each returning several members. Each member must represent not less than 40,000 inhabitants. The total number of members is now (since 1912) 186. 152 HISTORY Out of 120 senators, 93 (half the number of repre sentatives) are directly elected. For this part of the Senate there are twenty-one large constituencies, in which each senator must represent not less than 80,000 inhabitants. The remainder of the Senate is elected by the provincial councils, which are each represented by two senators, if the population of the province is less than 500,000 ; by three, if the popula tion is between 500,000 and 1,000,000 ; by four, if it is over 1,000,000. The sons or the heir-apparent of the king become full members of the Senate at the age of twenty-five. The franchise has been widened from very narrow original limits. Its principle is now universal male .suffrage, modified by a system of plural voting. By the Franchise Law of 1893 every male citizen of twenty-five years or upwards, on condition of having been domiciled for one year in the same commune, and of being free from legal disqualifications, has at least one vote for the Chamber of Representatives. An additional vote is given to every father of a famUy aged 35 or more, paying 5 francs in direct taxes, and also to every man over 25 drawing 100 francs' income from the Belgian funds or owning immovable property with a cadastral revenue of 48 francs. Two additional votes are given to those who hold diplomas of higher education, or fill or have filled offices, or practise professions, which imply such an education. But no one citizen can use more than three votes. The franchise for the Senate is limited to male citizens of 30 years or upwards, otherwise its con ditions are the same as for the Chamber of Repre sentatives. The following table gives the distribution of votes for the Senate and Chamber among the electorate of the year 1912-13. Senate. Chamber. . 1,483,994 1,745,666 761,864 1,005,094 402,444 412,721 319,686 327,851 2,525,810 2,814,089 . 1,941,816 1,068,423 70 61 SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 153 Number of voters Number with one vote . Number with two votes Number with three votes Total number of votes . Excess of votes over voters Excess per cent." . The propertyless single voters in 1912-13 were almost 59 per cent, of the whole electorate, but had less than 30 per cent, of the total number of votes for both Chambers taken together. Thus the plural voting system works against the urban labouring classes, while it favours the peasant landowners. The register is annually revised by the communal authorities. Voting is compulsory. Polls are held on the same day in all constituencies taking part in an election. There are no by-elections, vacancies being provided for at regular or general elections by com bining with the ' titular ' candidates to be immediately returned a number of candidates known as ' supple mentary '. Since 1899 a form of proportional representation has been in use. In each constituency either each party makes out a list of titular or supplementary candidates, or certain parties combine to issue a common list. A voter may either accept a list as it stands, leaving the names in the order suggested by the party-organization, or he may modify that order. The system has worked for slowness in the increase or decrease of party-strengths, and also towards the fusion of parties or party-wings, as these find it advan tageous to combine for the purpose of issuing joint lists. There are nine provinces in the kingdom. Each has a governor, an elected council, and a permanent deputation of that council. The governor is appointed 154 HISTORY by the central government. He is the head of the provincial administration, has the duty of maintaining order, and presides over the permanent deputation. The franchise for the provincial council is the same as that for the Senate, but elections to it are decided by ordinary majority votes, and councillors need not be more than 25 years of age. Elections are held for half the council once in every four years. • Full meetings of the provincial council are held fifteen days each year. The continuous work of pro vincial administration is carried on by the council's permanent deputation, composed of six members, three of whom are elected by the council every four years. Except in certain specified cases, all provincial taxes must be voted by the full council. The provinces are divided into communes, of which there are 2,632 in the kingdom. Communes with less than 5,000 inhabitants are grouped in arrondissements, each of which is supervised by a commissioner acting under the direction of the governor and permanent deputation. Communes with upwards of 5,000 in habitants have a considerable measure of autonomy. The communal council is elected on the same franchise as the Senate, except that voters must have been domiciled for three years in the commune, and may have additional votes according to the amounts which they pay in taxation or the cadastral revenue of their land. No one may use more than four votes in communal elections. Supplementary councillors represent capital and labour respectively in communes with over 20,000 inhabitants. The communal council elects a college of echevins, numbering from two to five, and nominates a burgo master, whose appointment must be approved by the king. The burgomaster is responsible for the pohce, and he and the echevins, besides administering com- SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 155 munal affairs, are entrusted with the execution of laws and decrees of the central government. Communal taxes (with certain exceptions) must be voted by the whole council, which also appoints municipal servants. The approval of the Crown is needed for provincial and communal expenditure. The provincial and municipal administration of Belgium is partly modelled on the French Napoleonic system, and partly embodies a national tradition.1 In France, the centralizing monarchy, whose work was completed by the Revolution and Napoleon, was essentially national ; in Belgium, up to the end of the eighteenth century, the national life was in the provinces and towns, while the central government was imposed from without, and was, on the whole, most popular when its action was most restricted. The result of this difference in development is that the modern Belgian State is less centralized than the French. The larger Belgian communes, especially, have a vigorous life of their own, enjoying in practice wide powers of self-government. The echevins and the communal councils have a much more important share in municipal administration than the corresponding bodies in France. On the other hand, the burgo master, though not holding the autocratic position of the French maires, may derive considerable influence from the traditions of their municipalities and the strength of municipal feeling. The burgomasters of Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, and Liege have acted together as mediators in serious crises of national politics. 1 Apart from the actual working of Belgian local government, it may be noticed that its terminology contains reminiscences of the old order. There were ' Governors ' and ' Permanent Deputa tions ' (of the estates) in the old Austrian provinces. The echevins have their predecessors of that name in the cities of mediaeval Belgium : indeed the name goes back to the local government of Frankish times. 156 HISTORY 11. Note on Belgian Parties, 1831-1914 (Internal Policy) From 1831 to 1885 political power in Belgium was divided between the Liberal and Catholic parties. Since 1885 the Belgian Labour Party has formed a third important element in the politics of the kingdom. The early Liberals drew their strength mainly from the upper bourgeoisie and especially from the WaUoon towns. Their political thought and their sympathies connected them closely with France. For the most part they were moderates ; they wished to reduce the pohtical and social influence of the Church, but they had carried through the Revolu tion in aUiance with the Catholics and were ready for compromise. Coalition Cabinets were in power till 1847, and one of these, in 1842, settled the question of primary education in a way that proved very favourable to the clergy. Even after 1847 the moderate Liberals prevailed in the party counsels tUl 1868. The predominant section of the Liberal Party in these years was decidedly undemocratic. Having extended the franchise in 1848 so as to increase the urban electorate, Liberal Governments were content to leave it on such a narrow basis that just before the Catholics carried their franchise law of 1893 the electorate of the kingdom numbered only 137,772 voters. The Liberals were in fact a not very large minority of the nation, and it was on a narrow fran chise, specially favourable to the bourgeoisie, that their power depended. It may be said that in general the Liberal Party was inclined to uphold the power of the State as against other corporate interests (local, ecclesiastical, &c), and that in economics it leaned to the doctrine of laisser-faire. About 1868 there came into prominence a more SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 157 Radical and anti-clerical section of the party. In 1878 the influence of this section had become so strong that the Liberal Cabinet of Frere-Orban upset the educa tional compromise of 1842. That compromise, while enforcing the principle of State-education, had in effect given the Catholic clergy all the control they wanted over the education which the State provided. The law of 1878 made that education strictly un denominational. The result was a most bitter political and social conflict which lasted till 1884 (see pp. 263-4). In that year the Catholics came into power with a large majority, and the Liberals have not since held office. The Liberals at this time had two powerful forces against them. On the one hand, in the struggle over the Education Act their opponents had raised against them all the strength of popular Catholic feeling, which was especially great in the Flemish-speaking rural districts. On the other hand, the social unrest which was becoming intense in the Walloon industrial areas could find no adequate representation through a party which disapproved of State intervention in economic matters and was largely composed of Walloon employers ; thus industrial discontent sought expres sion through a new Socialist Labour Party. The Liberal Party was further weakened by its own internal disputes over the suffrage question, with Whig Doctrinaires on the one side and Radical Pro- gressistes on the other. The Franchise Law of 1893, which introduced man hood suffrage tempered by a plural voting system that was almost as favourable to the peasantry as to the bourgeoisie, was a severe blow to the Liberals ; in the elections to the Chamber of 1894 they won only 19 seats out of 152. Since 1894 the Liberals have somewhat increased 158 HISTORY their power, largely owing to the introduction of proportional representation (1899), which the more advanced section of the party obtained in alliance with the Socialists. Yet they remained weak. Thus, though the influence of the Radical section has grown, the party has still suffered from internal divisions. For example, in the elections of 1912, the experiment was tried of an alliance with the Socialists to overthrow the plural voting system. But this manoeuvre led moderate Liberals to vote for the Catholics, and proved a failure. Again, as an anti-clerical and predominantly WaUoon party, they have had against them the vehemence of the Flemish movement, which has been strongly Catholic in its spirit, whUe the Sociahsts have diverted from them much of the Walloon and anti-clerical elements in the electorate. Thirdly, the Liberals have not succeeded to the same degree as their adversaries in extending and strengthening their influence through popular associa tions for mutual benefits (co-operative societies, &c). Such work has been on the whole uncongenial to their social and political outlook. They have had, indeed, their anti-clerical Freemasons' lodges, and lately tried to develop these and other societies in the party interest, yet they have remained a long way behind the Socialists and Catholics in this respect. In 1914 there were 45 Liberals in the Chamber of Representatives out of a total of 186 members ; in the Senate there were 35 Liberals out of a total of 120. The Belgian Catholic Party, under the early narrow franchise, represented primarily the aristocracy and the Church, and therefore contained strongly conser vative and undemocratic elements. Nevertheless, it was aware that it had behind it the Catholic sentiment SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 159 of the masses, which had been proved in the Revolu tion against Joseph II, in the time of the French Directory, and again under Dutch rule. Moreover the party had a certain traditional interest in the social and economic life of the people, more especially of the rural classes, for both the aristocracy and the Church were landowning orders and were accustomed to the active discharge of landlords' duties ; there was no agrarian discontent in Belgium when the French Revolution broke out. Again, there was a democratic tendency in the Flemish movement which began towards the middle of the nineteenth century, for it was an attempt to revive or create a Flemish culture as against the French culture of the upper classes, and as the French spirit was represented especially by anti-clerical Walloons an alliance between Flam- ingantisme and the Catholic Party was natural. The opposition to the Liberal Education Act of 1879 strengthened the connexion between the party and the mass of the people, especially the Flemish-speaking peasantry. Priests and politicians urged the people not to send their children to the new State schools. Catholic schools, supported by voluntary contributions, sprang up everywhere, and in Flanders these were attended by eight children out of ten. The Catholics, having decisively beaten the Liberals in the elections of 1884, have since then remained in power. The attention of the Catholic Party was drawn to the need of urban social reform by the great riots that broke out in the Walloon industrial region in 1886, and by the strikes, accompanied by more or less violence, in the following years. The party was the better able to apply here its traditional paternalism as the Walloon employers were for the most part Liberals. Besides, the Catholics recognized that the continuance of existing conditions in the industrial 160 HISTORY areas was favourable to the growth of an anti-clerical Socialism that was more dangerous to their party than Liberalism. In its tenure of power during the last thirty years the Catholic Party has been active in legislating for the welfare both of the peasantry and of the urban working classes. It has also shown great energy in creating, developing, and directing popular associa tions of all sorts, some of them (for example the Raiffeisen banks) of considerable economic impor tance. It has besides done much for the claims put forward by the Flamingants on behalf of their language (for the history of these claims see pp. 280-5) ; but this did not stop the Flemish movement from continuing to take a very vigorous offensive against the French language and culture. Meanwhile there have been conflicts between demo cratic and anti-democratic tendencies within the Catholic Party. An attempt to unite Cathohcism with Socialism in a Christian Democratic Party was opposed by the ecclesiastical authorities, and suffered further from the Belgian system of proportional representation, so that though the movement seems to have been suited to conditions in the Flemish cities, it was represented in the Chamber of 1914 by only two members. But the less extreme democratic elements in the Catholic Party itself have had more success. When the Socialists set on foot a great agita tion for universal suffrage (1891-2) the majority of the Catholics showed themselves ready for some widening of the franchise, and the law of 1893 has in fact proved extremely advantageous to them. And though from 1894 to about 1907 the Conservative forces in the party did much to check the develop ment of its democratic side, this Conservative influence was weakening in the last few years before the war, and SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 161 in the Cabinet of Baron de Broqueville (1911-14) more or less democratic tendencies were predominant. In its social and pohtical work the party has derived much assistance from the ecclesiastical authorities throughout the country. The main strength of the Catholic electorate has continued to lie in the Flemish- speaking rural population. In 1913 the Catholics in the Senate numbered 70 out of 120, and in the Chamber of Representatives 101 out of 186. In 1914 there were 99 Catholics in the Chamber. The present Belgian Labour Party was organized in 1885 on the basis of Socialist principles. The conditions of life and labour in the Walloon industrial areas were such as to provoke discontent, and Socialist propaganda reinforced by an economic crisis made that discontent break out in the great strikes of 1886. The Socialist Party made rapid progress in the towns, strengthening its influence through co-operative stores and other associations. By political strikes it brought the franchise question into prominence, and it replied with strikes to Conservative opposition in the Chambers. In the first elections under the Franchise Law of 1893 the Socialists, though formerly unrepresented, won 29 seats out of 152. But the Catholics under the new system steadily kept up their majority, and the Socialists claimed that this was due to the plural ' voting system. They agitated for the single- vote suffrage, and again organized political strikes. But that of 1899 only led to the introduction of propor tional representation, which was more favourable to the Liberals than to the Socialists, and that of 1902 had no result. In April 1913 there was a general strike for the equal suffrage, and by this time a group among the Catholics favoured the dropping of the plural voting system. Yet all that the Socialists obtained was the Government's consent to appoint a commission 162 HISTORY on the system of voting for provincial and communal elections, and a promise that if the commission made a suggestion applicable to electors for the Chambers, the Government would allow it to be discussed. Since 1894 the Socialists have hardly increased their strength in the Chambers. In 1914 they had 40 representatives out of 186, or nearly 22 per cent., whereas in 1894 they formed about 19 per cent, of the Chamber. Their leaders have set themselves to attain their ends gradually and by way of parliamentary action. But their political strikes, their anti-clericahsm (although this has been fairly moderate), the activity of the Catholic Party in social work, and the plural voting-system have apparently contributed towards keeping down their numbers. Their main strength has lain in the Walloon manufacturing and mining districts. They have not had the fuU support of trade- unionism in the country owing to the competition of Catholic and Liberal unions, but they have done much work in organizing associations for mutual benefit, and especially co-operative stores (e.g. the Vooruit at Ghent and the Maison du Peuple at Brussels) which help to maintain various workmen's clubs for educa tional and social purposes. 12. The Political Position of Belgium in Europe, 1839-1914 From 1839 to 1870 Belgium was stiU for Europe primarily a barrier against France. Several incidents illustrate this. In 1842 the French Government welcomed a Belgian proposal for a customs union. But Great Britain, regarding the scheme as a menace to Belgian inde pendence, insisted that it should be dropped. The danger from France continued to exist so long as SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 163 French pohcy was directed by Napoleon III, who had a tendency towards misapplying national traditions. As Prince-President in 1852 he entertained the thought of annexing Belgium, and the British Government sent him a warning on the subject. In 1866 he reverted to the idea. Bismarck, in making preparations for his war with Austria, had done his best to keep the French Government quiet by offering it the prospect of terri torial ' compensations '. He had indicated Belgium and Luxemburg as countries in which France might find her account. The hopes of the Emperor were floating uncertainly over the middle Rhineland, Belgium and Luxemburg, when Prussia won her decisive victory over Austria at Sadowa (July 3rd, 1866). The rapidity and completeness of the Prussian success had not been expected in France. The idea of a Germany united under Prussian leadership irritated and alarmed French opinion. Napoleon made haste to seek compensation for France. In July he demanded, and was refused, the cession of Mainz and a portion of the middle Rhineland. In August he caused his ambassador Benedetti to lay before Bismarck the drafts of two conventions — one of them permitting France to take Luxemburg, the other, very secret, arranging for a French occupation of Belgium with Prussia's support. Napoleon wished to take his stand ' boldly ' on the ground of the principle of nationality. ' A Belgian nationality does not exist.' Bismarck kept the draft of this proposed convention, but answered evasively. Then, as Prussia's position in Germany became consolidated, he let the matter drop. In 1870, after war had broken out between France and Prussia, Bismarck published the draft of 1866. Thereupon Mr. Gladstone's Government concluded separate treaties with France and Prussia, in which each of the beUigerent governments affirmed its inten- L 2 164 HISTORY tion to respect Belgian neutrality, and pledged itself to join Great Britain in defending that neutrality in case it should be violated by the other belligerent power (treaties of August 9 and 11). It may be observed that these parallel treaties do not supersede the treaty of 1839, but specially insure its observance for a particular period, namely, the duration of the war and twelve months after the conclusion of peace. The preamble to each of the treaties of 1870 declares that this agreement, ' "without impairing or invalidating the conditions of the said Quintuple Treaty (of 1839), shaU be subsidiary and accessory to it ', and by Article 3 it is arranged that, at the end of the period for which this special agreement is to hold good, ' the Independence and Neutrality of JBelgium wfil, so far as the High Contracting Parties are respectively concerned, con tinue to rest as heretofore on Article 1 of the Quintuple Treaty of 19th April, 1839 '. The issue of the Franco-German War (1870-71), in changing the relations between the Great Powers, changed also the position of Belgium in Europe. German policy now regarded France as an irre concilable enemy to be kept down only by the threat or the use of force. So long as the French were not helpless before Germany the future of Germany seemed insecure. But that France should be reduced to helplessness was clearly not to the* interest either of Great Britain or of Russia. In 1875 a German threat to force a quarrel on France, and estabhsh by another war a decisive predominance over her, caused the British and Russian Governments to send to Berlin warnings by which ' peace was assured '. After some years of uncertainty, the attitude of Russia became fixed. From 1887 onwards there was a Franco-Russian entente ; in 1893 there was a formal Franco-Russian alliance. Thus the Germans came to reckon on war SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 165 with Russia at first as a probable, and then as a prac tically certain, accompaniment to war with France. This settled the fate of Belgium. Russia had great potential military strength, but she would be slow in developing it. It seemed necessary, therefore, that Germany should first crush France completely by a very rapid blow, while Austria-Hungary (the ally of Germany from 1879 onwards) kept Russia in play till the German offensive, having finished its business in the West, could be diverted eastwards. In this plan it appeared essential that the German attack on France should be delivered and pushed home with all possible speed. The German armies would be in great numerical superiority to the French. But France very strongly fortified her eastern frontier between Verdun and Belfort. Therefore the Germans decided to realize the advantage of their numbers and their power of rapid movement by a sweep round through the Belgian plain on to the French northern flank.1 The violation of Belgian neutrality might indeed bring Great Britain into the war, but in the first place it was hoped that German diplomacy might keep her out of it, and at any rate, owing to the smallness of her army, her intervention could not seriously hinder the defeat of France. On the other hand it was to the interest of France, her forces being numerically inferior to those of her enemy, that the fighting front should be as much restricted as possible. It was clearly not to her advantage that Belgian neutrality should be violated. The earlier development of the German plan of campaign seems to have been marked by a change in . 1 Herr von Jagow, the German Secretary for Foreign Affairs, put this calculation quite simply before the British Ambassador at Berlin on the afternoon of August 4th, 1914. British Blue-Book, no. 160. 166 HISTORY the attitude of the German General Staff towards the fortification of the line of the Meuse in Belgian territory. For about twenty years from 1855 onwards the Prussian military authorities had urged the Belgian Government to fortify that line in view of a possible French offensive against North Germany. But when, in 1887, the forti fication of the Meuse crossings at Liege and Namur was actually carried out, the German Higher Command showed itself very little pleased that its former advice had been followed. At the beginning of the present century the construction of strategical railways on the German side of the eastern Belgian frontier gave another indication of Germany's intentions. By 1906 those intentions had been so far revealed as to lead, in that year and again in 1912, to communications between the British and Belgian staffs with regard to the military situation that would result from a German invasion of Belgium. This precaution was justified by Belgium's obligation to defend her neutrahty — the same obligation which covered the definite mihtary convention secretly concluded in 1831 between the Government of Leopold I and four of the Great Powers (among them Prussia) in view of the danger then apprehended from France (see p. 149). The problem of national defence in Belgium had for long been a difficult one. The Belgians were a people without national military traditions. The neutrahty of their State encouraged among them the idea that any high degree of preparedness was unnecessary. Further, the objection could easily be raised, both within and without the kingdom, that the Govern ment's proposals for an increase of military strength were imperilling Belgian neutrality or were even being made in an unneutral spirit. The Socialists were generally anti-militarist, and the question of military service caused internal dissensions in the Catholic and SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 167 Liberal parties. A group of Catholic Conservatives, who admired Germany as an authoritarian State, and disliked French anti-clericalism, resisted action which seemed grounded on a fear of German intentions. Meanwhile, the German Government from time to time made public professions of innocence. Thus Belgian Cabinets for long found themselves obliged to keep the army at low strength. Voluntary recruit ment was encouraged in order to lessen as far as possible the need for compulsion. The military law of 1912, however, provided for an increase in the numbers of the army. Still, in 1914, the German Staff was justified in considering that Belgium could not be a serious barrier to a German invasion of northern France. From the last years of the nineteenth century the situation was complicated by the growth in Germany of so-called Pan-German ideals of aggression. It is obvious what military and naval, commercial and industrial advantages the Germans might hope to derive from the permanent control or annexation of the southern Netherlands. It cannot be told how far the Imperial Government's intentions with regard to Belgium were infected by Pan-Germanism before the war. It seems likely that the authorities in Berlin were ready to go as far in this direction as they could, and by such steps as circumstances might make advisable. German references to the southern Netherlands as long-lost parts of the Holy Roman Empire are, of course, mere appeals to German sentimentality, which is easily roused by such rhetorical devices. More interesting is the relation of the Flemish movement to German ambitions. The Flemish movement (for details see Chap. VI) dates from the thirties and forties of the last century. In earlier times, a certain vague and generally latent antipathy between Flemings and Walloons had ex- 168 HISTORY pressed itself in uncomplimentary proverbs, and may have occasionally stimulated actions due primarily to quite different causes. But there was no sustained, self-conscious feud between the two peoples, and they had found no difficulty in living together within the same political unit. By 1830 the culture of the upper classes in Belgium had long been French, and Flemish was little more than a patois in use among the masses in the northern half of the country. But then, as with the growth of democratic feeling the populations of Europe were acquiring greater self-consciousness and pride in their peculiarities, the Flemings began to take an interest in their language and their distinctive characteristics. It has been aheady mentioned (p. 159) that the Flemish movement received an impetus from rehgious and social antagonism to French influences. This antagonism grew continually deeper with the embitterment of religious and social strife in Belgium, and was not weakened by the concessions made to demands for the official and educational recognition of the Flemish language. Indeed, there seemed to be some danger that Belgian nationality might not stand the strain that was being put upon it. On the other hand, there was no appreciable movement on the part either of the Flemings or of the Walloons towards political union with other states. The Flemings had no wish to join the Dutch, from whom they were divided by religious and other moral barriers. And if flamingant writers sometimes referred to Germany as the Greater Fatherland, and so forth, such expressions seem to have had no political significance. The Flemings had really no traditions attaching them to modern Germany, and they were fighting their own battle. On the other hand, the way in which the Germans have patronized the Flemings since 1914 suggests that before the war German diplomacy had SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 169 regarded flamingantisme with approval, as dividing the Belgian people, as fostering anti-Gallicism and developing in the Flemings their Teutonic affinities, and as affording an excuse for bringing at least northern Belgium (including Antwerp, a principal centre of Flemish feeling) under German control. But in the past the Flemings have shown themselves bitterly resentful of foreign interference with their interests and their established liberties, and their experience of Germany during the past three years seems to have turned them definitely against her. The account of the distribution of languages in Belgium, given in Chap. Ill, shows that the mass of Flemings live apart from the Walloons, and that only in certain cities such as Brussels are to be found the special problems that arise from the interspersion of races in the same area. Thus the Germans have been able to introduce their new administrative divisions designed to separate Flemings from Walloons. 13. The Formation of the Belgian Frontiers a. The Southern (Franco-Belgian) Frontier 1000-1635. — In the eleventh century the territory of the Counts of Flanders reached as far south as the Canche and Bapaume. Farther east, the frontier of the empire ran along or near the present southern limit of the Department of the Nord and touched the Meuse near Fumay. In the valley of the Meuse from Fumay to Stenay there was a debatable borderland which later gradually defined itself in favour of France. It has been mentioned above that when in the thirteenth century, the French monarchy extended its power in the Netherlands, its main effort was directed against its own fief, Flanders. By 1305 the hmits of the county had been pushed 170 HISTORY back to the Lys ; Arras and the Artois and the French- speaking districts of Lille, Douai, and Orchies had been taken from it, and it had lost the homage of the county of Boulogne. But this French progress was followed by a disastrous retreat. At the end of the fourteenth century the House of Burgundy held the Artois and the French- speaking Flanders, and in 1435 acquired the counties of Boulogne and Ponthieu, and the greater part of Picardy, including the towns on the Somme (Abbeville, Amiens, Peronne, and St. Quentin), and the lordships of Montdidier and Roye farther south. The Bur gundian power now reached to the southern limit of the present department of the Somme. The situation was intolerable for the monarchy. After the death of Charles the Bold it won back the lands in Picardy as well as Ponthieu and the Boulonnais, but did not establish its hold on Artois and French- speaking Flanders. The Habsburgs now occupied the Netherlands, and France attacked them, but in the sixteenth century she made no headway in this direc tion. In 1526 and 1529 (by the Treaties of Madrid and Cambrai) she gave up her claims to feudal superiority over Flanders, Artois, and the former French enclave of the Tournaisis. On the other hand, PhUip II of Spain, in spite of his invasions and victories hi northern France, would not or could not extend his territory here, and no serious change was made in this quarter till the great French advance in the seventeenth century under Richelieu, Mazarin, and Louis XIV. 1635-1714. — When the French advance began the southern boundary of the Netherlands was as follows : from Gravelines on the coast (Spanish) it ran south wards, leaving St. Omer and Hesdin to east. Near Hesdin it turned eastwards, and leaving Bapaume, Le Cateau-Cambresis, and Landrecies to north, and SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 171 Le Catelet and Rocroi to the south, it reached and crossed the Meuse at Fumay. Thence it bore south east, and ran, much as it does at present, a few miles east of the Meuse, till at Mouzon near Sedan it met the northern extremity of Lorraine. In this part of the Meuse valley the principality of Sedan had lost the independence it formerly claimed, and in 1642 escheated to the French Crown. Moreover, on the other side of the frontier, the Duchy of Bouillon was held by the French owners of Sedan from 1591 to 1642, and was later in dispute. In the various treaties which altered this frontier between 1635 and 1713 the main object of the French was to obtain good positions for the defence of France or for future offensives in the Netherlands. Part of the territory which they acquired consisted of mere enclaves in the Netherlands, each containing a fortress with a rayon calculated to the artillery of the period. At the end of the long series of wars x which closed 1 The* details of the French gains and losses in this period are as follows : By the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 Spain ceded to France Gravelines, Bourbourg, and St. Venant in Flanders ; the greater part of Artois (including Arras, Bapaume, St. Pol, Hesdin, Therouanne, and Bethune, but not including St. Omer and Aire) ; Le Quesnoy, Landrecies, and Avesnes in Hainault ; the Spanish for tresses of Mariembourg and Philippeville within the Bishopric of Liege ; and Montmedy and Thionyjlle in Luxemburg. In the neighbourhood of Montmedy France acquired Stenay and Jametz in Lorraine. To England at this time Spain ceded Dunkirk ; it was purchased by France in 1661. By the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668 .France won a large number of towns in Flanders and Hainault ; in Flanders, Bergues St. Winoc, Furnes, Armentieres, Lille, Courtrai, Douai, Tournai, and Audenarde ; in Hainault, Conde, Ath, Binche, and Charleroi In Lorraine she took Longwy. By the Treaty of Nimwegen in 1678 France surrendered her 172 HISTORY in 1713 and 1714 with the Treaties of Utrecht, Rastadt, and Baden, France stood on practically the same frontier as now divides her territory from that -of Belgium. She had won Artois and much of southern Flanders and Hainault ; she had advanced down the Meuse valley from Fumay to Givet. Higher up that river she had acquired Stenay in Lorraine and pushed eastwards to Montmedy and Philippeville. Further, in what is now Belgian territory she held the fortresses of Mariembourg and Philippeville as enclaves, and east of the Meuse she was in possession of the Duchy of Bouillon. It was much, but it left her a frontier in the middle of the Belgian plain, and it was not all that Vauban had thought essential. He had insisted that for the minimum of security Ypres, Courtrai, and Mons must be in French hands. But such as the frontier was, its defence was elaborately organized by Vauban and his successors. A great barrier of. French fortresses stretched from the sea to the Ardennes. On the other hand the late opponents of France were anxious to take precautions against her breaking out again. The Dutch Barrier fortresses in the now Austrian Netherlands (see p. 132) were Furnes, Fort de Knocke, advanced positions of Courtrai, Audenarde, Ath, Binche, and Charleroi. But she received St. Omer and Aire, thus completing the conquest of Artois, and also gained Cassel, Poperinghe, Ypres, Bailleul, and Warneton in Flanders, Cambrai, Valenciennes, Bavai, Maubeuge in Hainault, and Charlemont (Givet) on the Meuse in the county of Namur. Further, the Duchy of Bouillon had in 1676 again passed into French hands, and was thenceforward reckoned as a French possession. By the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 France had to agree once more to the cession of Courtrai which she had recovered in defiance of the Treaty of Mmwegen, and to surrender Luxemburg and Chiny which she had occupied. By the Treaties of Utrecht, Rastadt, and Baden in 1713 and 1714 France gave up some of the places won in 1668 and 1678 : Furnes, Ypres, Poperinghe, Warneton, and Tournai. SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 173 Ypres, Warneton, Menin, Tournai, and Namur, while there was to be a Dutch contingent in the garrison of Termonde. Other places, such as Mons, were left to be defended by the Austrians. Great Britain insisted that at Dunkirk (which had been a nest of commerce- raiders during the recent wars) the French should demolish their fortifications and fill up their harbour. This clause of the Treaty of Utrecht remained in force till 1783. From 1714. — The successful French campaigns in the Belgian provinces during the War of the Austrian Succession (1744-8) did not lead to any changes in this frontier. But the French Revolution swept it away altogether, and it did not re-appear till 1814. In the discussions on the Treaty of Paris of 1814, between the Allies and the restored French monarchy, this French commissioner was instructed by his Govern ment ' to procure for France the points necessary to complete her system of defence '. This meant a line from the North Sea at Nieuport passing by Dixmude, Ypres, Courtrai, Tournai, Ath, Mons, Namur, Dinant, Givet, Neuf chateau, Arlon, and continued to the Rhine by Luxemburg, Saarlouis, and Kaiserslautern. But the Allies were anxious to make their new kingdom of the Netherlands a reliable barrier against another French advance towards Antwerp and the Rhine, and the result was that the old eighteenth-century frontier was restored from the sea to Quievrain (near Valen ciennes), while between Quievrain and Bouillon a line was to be drawn which should pass south of Mons and Charleroi, but should leave Philippeville and Mariem bourg to France, and east of the Meuse should include the northern part of the Bouillon Duchy.1 On the rest 1 This line was to leave to France the cantons of Dour, Merles, Beaumont, Chimay, Walcotirt, and Florennes west of the Meuse, and those of Beauraing and Gedinnes east of the Meuse. 174 HISTORY of the Duchy, the succession to which was in dispute, the Allies would adjudicate later. The return of Napoleon and the campaign of Waterloo brought the Allies back to Paris in 1815. The Prussians now rancorously demanded considerable cessions of French territory as penalties and as guarantees. In this they were followed by the smaller German States. Austria took the same line, but half-heartedly. The British plenipotentiaries, Castlereagh and Welhngton, were very anxious that France should neither be use lessly exasperated, nor so weakened as to cease to be a Great Power. The Tsar, Alexander I, agreed with this view, and Great Britain and Russia prevailed. As regards this frontier the Prussians proposed that France should cede her fortresses in French Flanders and at other points. In the end, however, by the Treaty of Paris, of November 20, 1815, the old frontier was restored, without the modifications which had been made in favour of France in 1814, and with the surrender by France of her former enclaves of Philippe ville and Mariembourg, which were incorporated in the kingdom of the Netherlands and are now Belgian. The Duchy of Bouillon was joined to Luxemburg and is now Belgian territory. Part of the indemnity imposed on France was assigned to the kingdom of the Netherlands, to be spent in the construction of fortresses under the direction of the Powers. The line of the frontier, as fixed by the Treaty of Paris of 1815, was not affected by the creation of the kingdom of Belgium in 1831, and has remained unaltered. France in 1831 succeeded in obtaining from the Powers the demolition of certain Belgian fortresses, but others Belgium agreed to maintain so far as might be in accordance with the obligations of her neutrality. In 1855, on military grounds, this defensive system was given up by the Belgian Government. SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 175 b. The Northern (Belgo-Dutch) Frontier 1609. — When the revolt of the Netherlands came to an end in 1609 with the Twelve Years' Truce, the Spaniards were holding all Flanders up to the southern side of the Scheldt estuary, nearly all Northern Brabant between the mouth of the Scheldt and the lower Meuse, and southern (or upper) Gelders on the line of the lower Meuse above Grave. Higher up that river they were in possession of all the Duchy of Limburg, with the important fortress of Maestricht. In face of this Spanish frontier the Dutch felt them selves insecure. In their campaigns between 1621 and 1648 they pushed it back all along the line, and in the Treaty of Munster (1648) they consolidated their gain. 1648-1714.— By the Treaty of Munster the Dutch gained ground on the Scheldt, in North Brabant, and on the lower Meuse. South of the Scheldt they acquired a strip of the North Flemish coast, including Sluys, Sas van Gent, Philippine, Axel, and Hulst, and known as Dutch Flanders. They held the fort of Lillo on the right bank of the Scheldt, only a few miles below Antwerp, and the fort of Lief-kinshoek opposite Lillo was ceded to them in 1664. The Treaty of Munster declared the closing of the Scheldt to all but Dutch shipping. On the line of the Meuse most of southern Gelders was left to Spain, but her power of offence on this side was ** much weakened by the Dutch acquisition of Maestricht, together with a considerable part of Limburg. The territories acquired by Holland between 1621 and 1648 (with the exception of Dutch Flanders) were, and still are, inhabited by a predominantly Catholic popula tion. They were not admitted to the position of States within the Union, but under the name of Lands of the 176 HISTORY Generality were administered as the common possession of the whole Union. The history of this frontier since 1648 has turned principally on the questions of the Scheldt and the line of the Meuse. 1714-95. — With the transference of the southern Netherlands to Austria in 1714, southern Gelders was broken up. The larger and northern part, including the town of Gelders, went to Prussia, which was in possession of the neighbouring territory of Cleves. , The Dutch took Venlo, and Austria an enclave at Roermonde. In 1784 Joseph II tried to force the Dutch both to open the Scheldt and to acknowledge his sovereignty over Maestricht which they had promised in 1673 to cede to Spain in return for help against France, but had nevertheless retained. In the end the Scheldt remained closed, but the Dutch gave up the forts of LUlo and Liefkinshoek ; and the Emperor gave up his claim to Maestricht in return for a monetary compensation (Treaty of Fontainebleau, 1785). 1795-1814. — On the annexation of the Austrian Netherlands to France the French made some altera tions on this frontier. In 1795 they obtained from Holland (then the Bata- vian Republic and under French protection) the whole of Dutch Flanders and also the right to garrison Flushing. Further, the Scheldt was to be opened. On the line of the Meuse France received Venlo, Maestricht, and Dutch Limburg ; these, together with the northern part of the old episcopal state of Liege, went to make up the new French department of Meuse Inferieure. In 1810 the annexation of southern Holland to France destroyed this frontier, the line of which was only partially N preserved in the new' departmental boundaries. SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 177 In 1814 the kingdom of the Netherlands was created, comprising both Holland and Belgium. It was divided into a number of province^, of which the northern corresponded to the provinces of the old Dutch Republic, or, as North Brabant, to a part of the old Generality. But the southern provinces of the new kingdom simply reproduced the French departments, except where they were affected by the restoration of the old boundary lines of Holland. Thus while Dutch Flanders reappeared as a part of Zeeland, and North Brabant was revived in the form of a province, what was now the new province of Limburg was the department of Meuse Inferieure under another name. The definition of the present frontier. — On the out break of the Belgian revolution in 1830 the leaders of the movement would have hked to see the new Belgium in possession of all the territory that lay between the lower Meuse and the coast of Flanders. At any rate, they could put forward a strong claim to Dutch Flanders and Limburg, for here (though a Dutch garri son still held out in Maestricht citadel) the revolution had already been successful and had been generally approved and supported by the inhabitants, when the Powers imposed an armistice (November 1830). But the conference of the Powers at London declared for the Dutch Frontier of 1790 as the basis for a settlement, and on this basis, in spite of Belgian protests (see p. 147) a definite arrangement was made. This, embodied in the Twenty-Four Articles of October 1831, the Belgians were forced with much reluctance to accept (Novem ber 15, 1831). By this arrangement Dutch Flanders was to go to Holland, and the Dutch were empowered to levy dues on the navigation of the Scheldt estuary. Limburg was divided between Holland and Belgium ; Holland received the northern part of the province as far south BELQ. M 178 HISTORY as Stevensweert, the southern part east of the Meuse, and the town and fortress of Maestricht; Belgium received the southern part west of the Meuse with the ¦ exception of Maestricht. Thus the south side of the Scheldt estuary and the fortress of Maestricht were to go to the State which was the less accessible to French influence. The refusal of the King of the Netherlands to give his adherence to the Twenty- Four Articles left all Limburg to Belgium until 1838. The king then accepted the conditions to which Belgium had already agreed seven years before. The Treaty of April 19, 1839, between Belgium and Holland conformed to the Twenty-Four Articles in the definition of the frontier. Details were arranged by the Treaty between Belgium and HoUand of November 5, 1842, and by the Boundary Convention of August 8, 1843. The Belgians were very sore at having to carry out the surrender of Limburg (see further, p. 148). In 1863 the Dutch right of levying dues on shipping at the mouth of the Scheldt was bought out by the Belgian Government and the Powers interested in the navigation of that river. The Belgians have wished to make the lower Meuse an outlet for the industrial districts lying on their part of that river : but the Dutch, by refusing to canalize the stream between the Belgian frontier and Venlo, have prevented Liege from becoming a port for sea-going steamers. The Belgian Government has offered to bear the cost of canalization from Vise to Venlo, but the offer was rejected. c. The Eastern Frontier of Belgium Northern section : the frontier between Belgium and Germany. — Until 1795, parts of the Duchies of Limburg and Luxemburg lay some distance beyond the present SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 179 Belgian frontier, among various imperial territories not in Habsburg possession. To the east their most impor tant neighbours were the Duchy of Julich and the archiepiscopal State of Treves, which, in the eighteenth century, included the abbey-lands of Prum. To the west, the territory of Stavelot, ruled by prince-abbots, included Malmedy. On the annexation of the southern Netherlands by France (1795) the department of Ourthe was organized here. Its eastern boundary foUowed approximately the old borders of Limburg and Luxemburg, taking in Eupen, and farther south Schleiden, Cronenburg, and St. Vith. . The line of this boundary was very irregular, forming long salients eastwards. In 1815, by the final Act of Vienna, Prussia, which was being placed in occupation of all the country between the new kingdom of the Netherlands and the Rhine, was here assigned the eastern portion of the late French department of Ourthe. She was to have the following cantons of that department : St. Vith, Malmedy, Cronenburg, Schleiden, Eupen ; and she was also to receive in the canton of Aubel the advanced portion of that district lying south of Aachen. In this way her frontier was straightened out into its present shape. The arrangement gave her some thousands of Walloons in the district of Malmedy. Since 1876 the Prussian authorities have done their best to stamp out the French language in and round Malmedy, but they have not yet succeeded. There are also a few German-speaking groups on the Belgian side of the frontier ; for details see pp. 103-104, 85-88. In the delimitation of the frontier the claims of Prussia and the Netherlands in ' the advanced portion ' of the canton of Aubel could not be completely ad justed. Here an area of somewhat less than 1,400 acres in extent, containing zinc-mines, was left as M 2 180 HISTORY neutral ground. From 1816 to 1841 this territory of neutral Moresnet was under the joint administration at first of Prussia and the Netherlands, and then of Prussia and Belgium. In 1841 the territory was given self-government ; for details see note at the end of this chapter. The profits of the customs were divided between Belgium and Germany, to the advantage, it is said, of the latter. Southern section : frontier between Belgium and Luxemburg. — The circumstances under which, at the time of the creation of the kingdom of Belgium (1831-9), the western part of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, as constituted in 1815, was assigned to Belgium, while the eastern part remained as before a member of the Germanic Confederation with the King of the Netherlands as its Grand Duke, have been described above (pp. 144-8). The division was a compromise. An attempt was made on the one hand to show consideration for Belgian claims to a country which had long been connected with the southern Netherlands and now wished to become a part of the new Belgian State, and on the other hand to recognize the dynastic interests of the House of Nassau and to keep the fortress of the Germanic Confederation at Luxemburg as secure as possible against French aggression. Further, it may be noticed that the inclusion of Bouillon in the kingdom of Belgium by this same division was partly the result of the French Govern ment's desire that, as a concession to public opinion in France, this former French possession (see pp. 171, 172 note, and 174) should not remain in obviously anti-French hands. The conference of the Powers in London, by Article II in the Act of the Twenty-four Articles (October 1831) defined the present frontier by the course of roads and SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM) 181 streams and by the mention of places to be left to west or east of the line. The delimitation commissioners were to adjust details to meet local needs. The kingdom of Belgium and the King of the Nether lands as Grand Duke of Luxemburg finally accepted this hne in the Treaty of April 19, 1839, which was recognized and guaranteed by the five Great Powers in the Treaty of London of the same date. Details of the boundary on the Bastogne- Arlon road were arranged by the Treaty between Belgium and Holland of November 5, 1842. THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 1. Luxemburg before the Creation of the Grand Duchy (963-1814) Mediaeval Luxemburg was a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. Between the tenth and the fourteenth cen turies its Counts acquired in the Ardennes a territory of considerable size, though poor and thinly populated. In 1308 a Count Henry of Luxemburg was elected emperor as Henry VII. During the fourteenth century and the early years of the fifteenth, the Luxemburg famUy was one of the most powerful in the Empire : several of its members occupied the imperial throne, and the kingdom of Bohemia and other territories feU into its possession. In 1354 the Emperor Charles IV, who belonged to this family, raised the county of Luxemburg to the rank of a duchy. But the Luxem burg interest in the Netherlands was gradually ousted by the House of Burgundy. In the fifteenth century PhUip the Good of Burgundy, partly by purchase and partly by force, fastened his hold on the duchy (1443). 182 HISTORY Thenceforward Luxemburg formed a part of that aggregate of territory in the Netherlands which passed from the House of Burgundy to the House of Habsburg, and in 1714 from the Spanish Habsburgs to the Habs burgs of Austria. The Province of Luxemburg as constituted in the first half of the seventeenth century was of far greater extent than the present Grand Duchy. On the west it included the main part of the area covered by the modern Belgian province of Luxemburg. On the south it took in Montmedy, and on the south-east Thionville and some territory on the right bank of the Moselle. Eastwards it reached across the vaUeys of the Prum and Kyll. To the north it comprised St. Vith. The western part of this old province was inhabited by Walloons, the eastern by a population speaking a middle-German dialect. Social development was slower in this forest-country than in other provinces of the Netherlands (thus serfdom lingered on here for some time after it had died out elsewhere in the Low Countries), and the political sense was less keen (for example, Luxemburg took no part in the rising of the Netherlands against Philip II of Spain). By the beginning of the fourteenth century Luxem burg was much open to French influence. The Count Henry who was elected emperor in 1308 had a close connexion with the court of Philip the Fair of France, and the French Government sought to use the county as a channel through which to extend its power in the Empire, and especially in the MoseUe vaUey and Lower Rhineland. But under Burgundian and Habs burg rule Luxemburg was a part of that mass of hostile territory which in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries menaced France on her northern and eastern frontiers. In the seventeenth century it became a principal object of French attack in the great counter-offensive THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 183 directed against the Habsburg power by Richelieu, Mazarin, and Louis XIV. For the direct passage of armies between North- Eastern France and the Lower Rhineland there were two lines of advance, the line of the Middle Meuse west and north of the Ardennes barrier, and the line of the Moselle between the Ardennes and the heights of the Hunsriick. The southern part of Luxemburg Province, with the fortresses of Montmedy, Thionville, and above all Luxemburg itself, covered the line of the Moselle, as well as the approach to that line through the ' Gap of the Meuse ' between Verdun and Mezieres. Moreover, these fortresses were on the flank of any advance to or from the Middle Rhine along the line Metz-Kaiserslautern-Mainz. Montmedy and Thionville were ceded to France in 1659. But the French were particularly anxious to win Luxemburg, which lay in a position of great natural strength at the meeting-point of a number of important roads. In 1684 they took it, and Vauban fortified it elaborately. It was surrendered by the terms of the Treaty of Ryswick (1697), was again occupied by France during the war of the Spanish Succession, and again given up at the close of that war (1714). But though France failed tp keep her hold on it, French military opinion bore emphatic witness to its importance. Vauban wrote in 1684, ' It is the finest and most glorious conquest the king has ever made, and wilr*place our frontier in such a state that the Germans will never be able to attack the kingdom from that side.' He regarded it as one of the positions essential to the security of France. In 1795 the duchy of Luxemburg, with the rest of the Austrian Netherlands, was annexed by the French Republic. The fortress of Luxemburg was taken after a siege of several months. 184 HISTORY In the reorganization of the country introduced by the French, the main part of the duchy became the Department of Forets. Its northern districts of St. Vith, Cronenburg, and Schleiden, were included in the Department of Ourthe. The rule of the French Directory was quite as unpopular here as in other parts of the Southern Netherlands, and for the same reasons. For some time the peasants of the Ardennes kept up a gueriUa warfare against the new order. But here as elsewhere the administration improved under the Consulate and Empire, and in the end the French occupation of the country greatly strengthened French influences, especially among the upper and middle classes of the population. 2. The Origins of the Grand Duchy (1814-39) When in 1814-15 the Allied Powers constructed their new barrier against France by uniting the former Austrian Netherlands to Holland, a special position was given to Luxemburg. A Grand Duchy of Luxem burg was formed, comprising both the present Grand Ducal territory and what is now the Belgian Province of the same name. This state was to be a member of the Germanic Confederation, but its Grand Duke was to be the King of the Netherlands, WUham I, who belonged to the Orange branch of the House of Nassau. The succession to the Grand-Ducal sovereignty was to conform to the Nassau family compact ; that is, in case of a failure of male heirs in the line of Orange- Nassau, the Grand Duchy would pass to the elder, 'Walramian' branch. (Treaty of May 31, 1815, between Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and the Netherlands : Vienna Act, June 9, 1815.) THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 185 There were two reasons for- this arrangement. The less important reason was the one explicitly stated : namely, that the Grand Duchy was to compensate the House of Nassau for the loss of four small German principahties, which were being ceded by the King of the Netherlands to Prussia. The more important reason was that the inclusion of the Luxemburg territory in the Germanic Confederation enabled the Powers to declare the stronghold of Luxemburg a fortress of that Confederation, and in this way, in effect, to hand it over to the keeping of Prussia as a point d'appui against France. By the Convention of Nov. 8, 1816, between Prussia and the King of the Netherlands, Prussian troops were to form three-quarters of the garrison in the fortress of Luxemburg, and the remaining fourth was to be provided by the Netherlands. (As a matter of fact, the Government of the Netherlands did not furnish its quota, and the garrison was wholly Prussian.) The appointment of the military governor and commandant of the fortress was reserved to the King of Prussia, but the military command was not, in peace time, to restrict the sovereign rights of the King of the Nether lands in regard to justice, finance, &c. Although the new Grand Duchy was thus in inter national law separated from the kingdom of the Netherlands, it was practically a part of that State between 1815 and 1830. In administration no dis tinction was made between Luxemburg and the rest of the Netherlands, and the Luxemburgers sent deputies to the Legislative Assembly of the kingdom. The inhabitants of the Grand Duchy shared in the Belgian opposition to the government of William I. The great majority of Luxemburgers joined in the Belgian Revolution of 1830. Only .the Prussian garrison prevented the capital from taking part in 186 HISTORY the movement. Delegates from the Grand Duchy sat in the Belgian National Congress, which declared Luxemburg to be a part of the Belgian State, without prejudice to the rights of the Germanic Confederation over the fortress. William I appealed to the Diet of the Confederation to uphold the Government in the Grand Duchy. But Austria and Prussia, the two States which controlled the Diet, found it necessary to take up the whole Belgian question in common with Great Britain, Russia, and France, and the fate of Luxemburg was thus left to the Conference of the Powers in London. An account has already been given of the compromise effected by the Conference of London, by which the western part of Luxemburg was joined to Belgium, the eastern (including the capital and fortress) remained a part of the Germanic Confederation under the rule of WiUiam I as Grand Duke. Prussia retained the right to garrison the fortress. In order to compensate the Germanic Con federation for the loss of western Luxemburg, the Dutch province of Limburg, while remaining under the sovereignty of William I, was brought into the Confederation. The division of Luxemburg, as made by the Act of the Twenty-Four Articles of October 15, 1831, and ratified by the Treaty of London, AprU 19, 1839, attributed to the new, reduced Grand Duchy a territory whose inhabitants were all qf German speech, except in two Walloon communes, while Belgian Luxemburg was wholly Walloon, with the exception of the smaU town of Arlon and a few vUlages where German was spoken. The partition, while it aroused great anger in the rest of Belgium, did not at the time correspond to the wishes of the Luxemburgers. It appears that the great majority of the German-speaking inhabitants of the country had no desire to remain either under THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 187 the rule of William I or within the Germanic Con federation ; they would have been content to be incorporated in Belgium, with which they had tradi tional associations. Their wishes were overridden by the Great Powers, chiefly in order that eastern Luxem burg might be kept in safe hands as a part of the defences of Germany against France. 3. The Grand Duchy, 1839-66 From 1839 onwards the Grand Duchy had its own administration, distinct from that of the Netherlands. In 1841 it received a much restricted constitution from William II, the son and successor of William I. In 1848, the year of revolution in Europe, a more liberal constitution, on the Belgian model, was granted, and in 1850 the King of the Netherlands, William III, appointed his brother, Prince Henry, to be his lieu tenant in the Grand Duchy — a measure which yet further loosened the connexion between Luxemburg and the Dutch Government. The general political reaction which followed on the events of 1848 affected the Grand Duchy ; in 1856, in conformity with resolu tions of the Germanic Confederation, the Luxemburg Constitution was revised, and the powers granted to the Legislative Assembly in 1848 were much reduced. This revised Constitution remained in force so long as the Grand Duchy was a member of the Germanic Confederation. As regards its position in international politics, the Grand Duchy gave no serious trouble to Europe for over twenty years. Prussia continued to occupy the fortress of Luxemburg, and by an agreement of 1856 the Government of the Netherlands surrendered the right, which it had in fact never exercised, to furnish a fourth part of the garrison. Of great importance 188 HISTORY was the entry of the Grand Duchy into the German Customs Union (February 8, 1842) ; thus began that close economic connexion with Germany which has been the making of the commerce and industry of modern Luxemburg. On the other hand, French influence became predominant in the Luxemburg rail way system. In 1857 the Guillaume-Luxembourg Railway Company concluded an agreement with the Eastern Railway Company of France, by which the French Company was to take over the working of the GuUlaume-Luxembourg lines. This agreement, how ever, was not ratified by the Luxemburg Government till 1865. During this period the population of the Grand Duchy was on the whole content with its position. The Government of Prince Henry identified itself with the interests of the country, and was popular. The wish to be united to Belgium seems graduaUy to have weakened, though there were still Luxemburgers who fostered it. Since 1815 there had grown up in the country a very strong dislike of Prussia. In 1830-9 the Prussian troops in the capital had displayed their sympathy with the Dutch Government and their antagonism to the Revolution. Even the economic benefits which the garrison brought to the town of Luxemburg, though these helped to make the Prussians endurable, did not make them popular. Nor did the great majority of Luxemburgers feel any German patriotism : they had been too long separated from the life of the German people. The obvious advantages of the German Customs Union, though they came to be recognized, did not create that patriotism. Some sentiment for German speech and local traditions, as against French influences, was encouraged at this time by the clerical (Catholic) party in opposition to the pro-French Liberals. But it remains true that the THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 189 Luxemburgers did not share in the political enthusiasms of the German people. The Slesvig-Holstein question, for instance, aroused in the country only a fear that Luxemburg too might be successfully claimed by German patriots as a part of the Fatherland. French influences remained very strong. The French language predominated in the administration ; the forms of that administration were largely French (dating from 1795-1814) ; French culture prevailed among the educated classes. There was much political sympathy with France among the Liberals, some of whom would gladly have seen their country united to the French State. Yet the majority of Luxemburgers had no wish to be absorbed by France. They were satisfied with their quiet backwater in Europe. The Luxemburg national song, composed in 1859, summed up the general feeling of the people, ' Mir welle bleiwe wat mer sin ' (We wish to remain what we are). 4. The Luxemburg Crisis (1866-7) In 1867 a dispute arose over Luxemburg between France and Prussia, which nearly led to war and ended in the neutralization of the Grand Duchy under the guarantee of the Great Powers. The French Imperial Government wished to obtain eompensation for the aggrandizement of Prussia in Germany and for the unification of that country under Prussian leadership, Before the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 Napoleon III was encouraged by Bismarck to believe that Prussia would help France to get what she wanted. But since the defeat of Austria at Sadowa (July 3), Bismarck had definitely refused a French demand for Mainz and a part of the Middle Rhineland, and had shelved Napoleon's scheme of annexing Bel gium. Since, however, he wished for time to consohdate 190 HISTORY Prussia's new position in Germany, he still kept alive French hopes of obtaining Luxemburg. The situation was complicated by the relation of Luxemburg to Germany on the one hand and the Netherlands on the other. Luxemburg and Limburg had been parts of the Germanic Confederation. That confederation was dis solved by the Austro-Prussian war, and there was formed, under Prussian leadership, a new Confedera tion of Northern Germany, the southern boundary of which was to be the Main. The question arose, what was now to be the position of Luxemburg and Limburg ? In the former, the Prussian garrison remained, repre senting a Confederation which no longer existed, and the demarches of the Luxemburg Government faUed to elicit Prussia's consent to the withdrawal of her troops. Limburg since 1839 had remained, in its administration and in so far as concerned the political rights of its inhabitants, a part of the kingdom of the Netherlands. The Dutch Government was in great anxiety lest Prussia should now wish to detach Limburg from Holland, and incorporate it in the new Confederation of the North. On the other hand, the Dutch had no interest in Luxemburg, which was practically autonomous and connected with HoUand only through the person of the King-Grand Duke. They were quite ready to let Luxemburg go, if they might thereby save Limburg. The Dutch made inquiries of Prussia with regard to these two territories (October 1866). Bismarck refused to declare himself. In February 1867, there began a campaign in the German press to prove that the union of Holland to Germany was just, inevitable, and advantageous to the interests of both countries. The Dutch Government, seriously alarmed, applied to Paris in order to discover what support it would be likely to obtain from that THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 191 quarter. The French Government, counting on Bis marck's willingness to see it annex Luxemburg, replied that it was ready to obtain the renunciation by Prussia of all claims to Limburg, in return for the cession of Luxemburg to France. For that cession, moreover, France was ready to pay a monetary compensation. Meanwhile, the French Government, prompted by Bismarck, had already set on foot a movement in the Grand Duchy in favour of the French annexation. The general feeling in the Grand Duchy was one of perplexity and alarm. Union with France was not desired by the majority of the inhabitants, but most of them seem to have regarded it as a lesser evil than absorption in the German Confederation of the North.1 But now the German press began to protest against the rumoured intentions of France with regard to Luxemburg. .German national feeling became excited ; Luxemburg was claimed as a part of Germany. The King of the Netherlands began to wish to have the express sanction of the Prussian Government to his bargain with France ; otherwise, he feared, the trans action might lead to a war in which Holland would be involved. The King of Prussia, in answer to inquiries on the subject from the Hague, replied that before expressing his opinion he must know the views of the other Powers which had signed the treaties relating to Luxemburg. Though this answer was indecisive, the Dutch Government seems to have nearly conquered its fears, when an outbreak of feeling in Germany wrecked the whole affair. On April 1 Bismarck was questioned (at his own instigation) in the Parliament of the Confederation of the North with regard to the affair of Luxemburg. 1 About this time the Luxemburgers adopted the habit of singing the line of the national song quoted above (' Mirwelle bleiwe wat mer sin ') as, ' Mir welle jo keng Preise [Preussen] sin '. 192 HISTORY He replied that the Government would not insist on the entry of Luxemburg into the Confederation ; he informed the House of the answer given by the King of Prussia to the question which had been put to him with regard to the cession of Luxemburg to France ; he concluded by expressing the hope that no foreign Power would disregard the rights of a German State and a German people. In the course of this debate the German parhament, though it passed no resolu tion, showed clearly its hostility to the Franco-Dutch bargain. Bismarck's last words were eagerly caught up. In both Germany and France pubhc opinion was dangerously inflamed. Napoleon III complained bitterly that Bismarck had duped him. But the French Govern ment believed that its army was not at the moment in a fit state to encounter Prussia and her Confederation single-handed. On the other hand, Bismarck did not think that the time had yet come for his French war. The French Government declared its willingness to leave the matter in the hands of the neutral Powers. The latter were ready to mediate. The British Govern ment would not have opposed the annexation of Luxemburg by France if this could have been managed without provoking war, and it was now anxious that the affair should be settled peaceably. Austria made a proposal by which Belgium should receive Luxem burg in return for the cession of a part of Belgian territory (including Philippeville and Mariembourg) to France. But Prussia received this suggestion coldly, and the Belgian Government cautiously refused the dangerous present, though some Belgian pohticians were in favour of acceptance. Opinion in Luxemburg had so far changed since 1830 that the idea found there little support. It was felt that union with Belgium, while destroying the autonomy of Luxemburg, to which its inhabitants had become attached, would THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 193 not give the country that security which it might hope to enjoy as a part of France. Eventually, after great activity in favour of peace on the part of the neutral Powers, and especially of Great Britain, a conference met in London. The result was that the Grand Duchy was constituted a neutral State under the collective guarantee of the Powers. The Grand-Ducal sovereignty was to remain hereditary in the House of Nassau, under the same conditions with regard to the succession as had been laid down in 1815 and 1839. The Prussian garrison was to evacuate the fortress ^of Luxemburg, and the fortress was to be destroyed and was never to be restored. Limburg, released from the Germanic Con federation by the dissolution of that body, was to continue to be an integral part of the kingdom of the Netherlands. The treaty containing these provisions was signed on May 11, 1867. The Powers guaranteeing the neutrality of the Grand Duchy were Great Britain, France, Prussia, Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands. There had been some reluctance on the part of the British Government to guarantee an arrangement which did not touch British interests so directly as the neutrahty of Belgium. It was for this reason that the guarantee of Luxemburg was made ' collective ', whereas the guarantee of Belgian neutrality had not been qualified by any epithet. On June 14, 1867, Lord Stanley, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, thus interpreted the obligation of Great Britain with regard to Luxemburg : ' The guarantee now given is collective only. That is an important dis tinction. It means this, that in the event of a violation of neutrality all the Powers who have signed the Treaty may be called upon for their collective action. No one of these Powers is liable to be called upon to act singly or separately. It is a case, so to speak, of " limited BELG. JT 194 HISTORY liability". We are bound in honour — you cannot place a legal construction upon it — to see in concert with others that these arrangements are maintained. But if the other Powers join with us, it is certain that there will be no violation of neutrality. If they, situated exactly as we are, decline to join, we are not bound single-handed to make up for the deficiencies of the rest. Such a guarantee has obviously rather the character of a moral sanction to the arrangements which it defends, than that of a contingent liability to make war. It would, no doubt, give the right to make war, but it would not impose the obligation. That would be a question to consider when the occasion rose.' On July 4, 1867, the Prime Minister, Lord Derby, said in the House of Lords : ' I can give no further interpretation of the Treaty than this — that as far as the honour of England is concerned, she wUl be bound to respect the neutrahty of Luxemburg ; and I expect that all the other Powers will equaUy respect it ; but she is not bound to take upon herself the Quixotic duty, in case of a violation of the neutrality of Luxem burg by one of the other Powers, of interfering to prevent its violation — because we have only under taken to guarantee it in common with aU the other Great Powers of Europe. The integrity of the neu trality of Luxemburg must not rest upon the force of arms of any one of the guaranteeing Powers, but upon the honour of aU the guaranteeing Powers together, upon the general obligation taken in the face of all Europe by all the signatory Powers ; and if this neu trality should be violated by any one of them, then I say it is not a case of obligation, but a case of discre tion with each of the other signatory Powers as to how far they should singly or collectively take upon them selves to vindicate the neutrality guaranteed.' THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 195 This interpretation was referred to by Sir Edward Grey in 1914 as giving the British Government's view of its engagements on behalf of the neutrality of Luxemburg. But in 1867 this doctrine was sharply criticized both at home and abroad as making the guarantee illusory. This criticism was especially lively in Prussia, which was then interested in the mainten ance of Luxemburg's neutrality. Many continental publicists have regarded the ' collective ' guarantee as indicating concerted action as the proper method of procedure, but as obliging each signatory Power to separate action if concerted intervention should be found impossible. This theory has never been recog nized by the British Government. 5. The Political Position of Luxemburg in Europe, 1867-1914 The position of the Grand Duchy in Europe was profoundly affected by the Franco-German War of 1870, though no formal alterations were made in its status. On the outbreak of the war both sides pledged themselves to respect the neutrality of Luxemburg. Strong French sympathies were displayed by the inhabitants of the Grand Duchy. The Luxemburg authorities were reported to have permitted French soldiers to pass through the Grand Duchy in order to rejoin the French forces. The French railway employes in the country succeeded in organizing trains to carry supplies from Luxemburg territory to Thionville, then besieged by the Germans. The German press com plained loudly. Bismarck issued a Note (Dec. 3, 1870) charging the Luxemburg Government with unneutral conduct and declaring that ' the premises with which the Royal Government was obliged to connect the N 2 196 HISTORY neutrality of the Grand Duchy no longer exist '. This Note seemed to foreshadow a German occupation of Luxemburg. It was followed by a demand for the surrender of the Luxemburg posts, telegraphs, and railways to Germany, and for the expulsion of the French vice-consul. The Luxemburg Government refused to concede the first point, but granted the second. To inquiries made by Great Britain as to Prussia's intentions — inquiries which were accompanied by a reminder that the neutrality of Luxemburg should, according to treaty, be dealt with by the common action of fhe signatory Powers — Bismarck replied that he did not intend to denounce the Treaty of 1867. The incident was closed. But Germany used her victory over France to weaken French influence in the Grand Duchy, and to strengthen her own position there. She obtained the cession of French territory on the southern Luxemburg frontier, with the result that thenceforward France touched the Grand Duchy on a front only about six miles wide in the neighbourhood of Longwy. At the same time the Germans took from the French and transferred to themselves the right to work the Guillaume-Luxembourg railway line. Even after the Luxemburg Government had in 1865 (see p. 188) approved the agreement by which the French Eastern Company was to take over the working of this line, the unsatisfactory financial position of the Guillaume- Luxembourg Company had caused hesitation on the French side. But when in 1867 the Directors of the Guillaume-Luxembourg opened negotiations at Berlin, the French hurriedly came to terms, and a Convention of 1868 had settled the rights and obligations of the Eastern Company. The Germans now insisted that the French Company should surrender its rights (Treaty of Frank- THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 197 fort, Additional Article I), and a Convention between Luxemburg and Germany (1872 ; renewed in 1902) placed the Guillaume-Luxembourg line under German control, as part of the Alsace-Lorraine railway system, managed by an administrative commission at Stras burg.1 Not till after the destruction of the fortress of Luxemburg had been declared complete by the Govern ment of the Grand Duchy (1883) did Germany consent to the construction of a line giving direct communica tion between Luxemburg and Longwy (see p. 199). The German Government had pledged itself by the Railway Convention of 1872 (Art. II) not to use Luxemburg railway lines for the transport of troops or munitions in time of war.' But in the plan of the German General Staff for turning the French eastern frontier from the north, the occupation of the Grand Duchy, in order to use its means of communica tion, was bound to be an essential element. Only by the violation of Luxemburg's neutrality could connexion be maintained with the German armies which were to invade northern France by way of Belgium : and through Luxemburg lay the line of advance to the Gap of the Meuse, north of the Verdun-Toul defensive system. Like Belgium, there fore, Luxemburg, after being for long the object of French plans or campaigns, became, subsequently to the war of 1870, the destined road of German armies moving to attack France. Between 1870 and 1914 the Grand Duchy prospered, 1 The Guillaume-Luxembourg line comprises the two principal tracks in the Grand Duchy ; one of these runs from north to south, connecting with Spa, Liege, and Aachen in the north, and Thionville and Metz in the south ; the other passes from east to west, con necting with Trier on the east and Arlon and Namur on the west. Both these tracks pass by Luxemburg. Of the secondary lines in the Luxemburg railway system the most important were those of a Belgian company (Prince Henri). 198 HISTORY especially from the development of its iron mines. The basis of its economic life was its membership of the German Customs Union. As regards the attitude of the Luxemburgers towards their neighbours, the wish to be left as they were still prevailed. Strong French sympathies were still displayed by a section of the population, chiefly belonging to the middle classes. But the spread of a belief in the military weakness of France made the prospect of union with that country seem very remote and the number of Luxemburgers who hoped for this union appears to have declined. Though the Kulturkampf in Germany (1874-1885) 'stimulated dislike of the German Government among the clericals, who had considerable influence in the rural districts, the subse quent political ascendancy of anti-clericals in France was yet more offensive to them. Desire for union with Belgium seems in this period to have been confined to quite a small group, largely drawn from the official class. There have been attempts on the part of pro-German Luxemburgers to develop German feeling in the country (especially through the Deutsche Schulverein), but these propagandists seem generally to have avoided declaring themselves in favour of political union with the Empire. The commercial element in the population could not but be sensible of the benefits which it derived from the economic connexion with Germany. But the great majority of Luxemburgers had still no political sympathy with the Empire, and Germans of the Empire were on the whole unpopular. Dislike of Prussianism remained strong. THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 199 6. The Formation of the Frontiers of the Grand Duchy a. The Southern Frontier of Luxemburg The French conquests of the seventeenth century, by which France acquired Thionville from Luxemburg and Longwy from Lorraine, resulted in the drawing of the present Luxemburg frontier line from the neighbourhood of Longwy to the Moselle. This frontier, obliterated by the French annexation of Luxemburg in 1795, reappeared in the settlements of 1814 and 1815 (First Treaty of Paris, May 30, 1814 ; Second Treaty of Paris, Nov. 20, 1815). The subse quent treaties relating to the Grand Duchy of Luxem burg (April 19, 1839, and May 11, 1867) left this line unaltered. The southern side of this frontier-line remained wholly French territory until 1871. By the Treaty of Frankfort (May 10, 1871) the Franco-German frontier was carried westwards, so as to start from a point on the Luxemburg frontier between Hussigny (French) and Redingen (German), so that henceforth the Grand Duchy marched on the south with the German Empire, except for a stretch about six miles long, in the neigh bourhood of Longwy, between Hussigny and the Belgian village of Athus. The events which led up to this change belong to the history of Alsace-Lorraine. For some years after the Treaty of Frankfort there was no railway communication between Longwy and Luxemburg except by lines passing through Belgian or German territory. In 1877 Germany objected to a project for a line directly connecting Longwy with Luxemburg, on the ground that the Luxemburg fortifications had not yet been completely destroyed (compare pp. 193, 197). After this ground of objection 200 HISTORY had been removed, a single-track line was laid between these two places, crossing the French frontier north of Saulnes. 6. The Eastern Frontier of Luxemburg Up to 1795 the Austrian province of Luxemburg included a strip of territory on the right bank of the Moselle between Perle and the mouth of the Saar : east of the Sauer and the Our it took in the districts of Neuerburg and Bitburg : and to the north it com prised St. Vith, Cronenburg, and Schleiden. Its boundary between the Moselle and Schleiden ran in a very irregular line. During the French occupation (1795-1814) the eastern borders of the Departments of Forets and Ourthe preserved the trace of the old boundary of the province. The Neuerburg and Bitburg districts were included in Forets, the St. Vith, Schleiden, and Cronen burg districts went to Ourthe. When Prussia acquired the Rhineland in 1814, the frontier was here straightened out to her advantage. She took all the former Luxemburg territory east of the Moselle, the Sauer and the Our. The present frontier was laid down by the treaty of May 31, 1815, between Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and the Netherlands, and by the Vienna Act of June 9, 1815. The line was not altered by the subsequent treaties regulating the status of the Grand Duchy (1839, 1867). c. The Western Frontier of Luxemburg The formation of this frontier has been described on p. 180. 7. The Constitution of Luxemburg The Luxemburg Constitution of 1856 (see p. 187) had its origin in the movement of reaction which took THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 201 place within the Germanic Confederation, as the result of the events of 1848-9. When the Confederation was dissolved in 1866, this constitution lost its raison d'etre, and in 1868 was replaced by a more liberal one, which was maintained down to the outbreak of the present war. The grand ducal office and the order of succession thereto are not derived from the will of the people. It has been mentioned above that in 1815 the Powers which then created the Grand Duchy declared the succession to the grand ducal sovereignty to be subject to the Family Succession Act of the House of Nassau : that is, in the case of failure of males in the Orange branch of that House, the succession would pass to the males of the elder ' Walramian ' branch. Thus in 1890, when King William III of Holland died without leaving male heirs, the Grand Duchy went to Adolphus of Nassau-Weilburg, the representative of the elder branch, whose principality on the further side of the Rhine (the Duchy of Nassau, capital Wiesbaden) had been annexed by Prussia after the war of 1866. The successor of Adolphus in Luxemburg, the Grand Duke William, promulgated in 1907 a Family Succession Act, by which, in the case of his death without male issue, his eldest daughter Marie Adelheid was to succeed him as Grand Duchess, and was to be followed by her male descendants, or failing these, by her sisters and theh male descendants, in order of primogeniture. The present sovereign is the Grand Duchess Marie Adelheid, born June 14, 1894. By the constitution the legislative power resides with the Grand Duke and an elected Chamber of Deputies. The executive power is in the hands of the Grand Duke, who appoints the Ministry. The Council of State, appointed by the Grand Duke, has consider able influence over legislation and administration. 202 HISTORY Both the Chamber and the Grand Duke have the right of initiative in legislation. All laws must be passed by the Chamber, and the budget of the State is submitted to it. The State finances are audited by a Chamber of Accounts, which is practically a com mittee of the Chamber of Deputies. In practice, though not in theory, the general support of the Chamber of Deputies is necessary to the Ministry. The Chamber meets every year in a session which is not dependent on a summons from the Grand Duke. The sovereign can, however, prorogue or dissolve the Chamber, and can also summon it for extraordinary sessions. Deputies are directly elected, their number being proportionate to the population ; before the war there were fifty seats. Elections for hah the Chamber are held every three years. Every citizen over twenty-five years of age, residing in the Grand Duchy, paying 10 francs in direct taxes to the State, and not under the ordinary legal disqualifications, has a vote for the Chamber. By a law of 1906 the voter must have been assessed at the required amount of taxation a year before his name can be entered on the voting register. A revision of the register takes place every year. Any citizen over twenty-five, residing in the Grand Duchy and not under legal disqualifications, is eligible for the Chamber. The Council of State consists of not more than fifteen members appointed by the Grand Duke. It discusses all proposals for legislation and can exercise over them a suspensive veto of six months' duration. It can suggest to the Ministry legislative or adminis trative measures, and the Ministry can consult it on any administrative question. A committee of seven of its members, appointed every six years partly by the Grand Duke and partly by the Chamber, is the final judicial court in all ca-ses touching the powers of THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG 203 the administration or any part thereof. The Council of State has acquired a position of great influence in the political life of the Grand Duchy. The Ministry consists of a President (Minister of State) and Directors-General of Departments. There are four Directories-General, one of which is usually held by the Minister of State : (i) Foreign Affairs, together with Justice, Commerce, Agriculture, and some other matters ; (ii) Interior, comprising Local Government, Primary Education, Forests and Mines ; (iii) Public Works (Railways, &c.) ; (iv) Finance. Ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Grand Duke. They can be impeached before the Supreme Court of Justice by the Chamber. The system of local government is modelled on that of Belgium. The unit of local self-government is the commune. The communal authorities both adminis trate local affairs within their competence and are an organ of the Central Government. The Communal Government consists of a council, elected on a franchise which is almost the same as that for the Chamber of Deputies, and of a burgomaster and two echevins, who are appointed by the Central Government, the echevins being selected from the Council, but thereby losing their position as councillors. The Council determines policy, controls finance, and appoints communal officials. The burgomaster, assisted by the echevins, is the executive authority in purely communal matters, and is also responsible to the Central Government for the maintenance of order and the execution of laws and ordinances. The communes are subject to a general control by the Central Government. In practice they enjoy a considerable amount of independence. The administra tion of communal property and finance, the undertaking and management of local 'works of public utility, the 204 . HISTORY control of the police, the care of public health are within their province. Two or more communes may, with the permission of the Central Government, com bine in a ' syndicate ' (formed for an undetermined or a limited period of time), in order to carry out any work that is in their common interest. The communes are grouped in districts, and the district commissioners are the connecting links between them and the Central Government. In general it may be said that law and administra tion in Luxemburg are derived principally from French sources (in part directly, and in part through Belgium), but they also show the influence of traditions of the old provincial era, and of the later connexion of the country with Germany. THE RHINELAND 1. From the Thirteenth Century to the French Revolution a. The Imperial States of the Rhineland Between Meuse and Rhine, and east of those lands which were ruled by the Burgundians and the Habs burgs, there lay a number of imperial states and territories whose connexion with the Holy Roman Empire was much more real than that of the Nether lands. The Empire in the later centuries of its existence has been described as a ' loose confederation ' of princes and cities, under the presidency of the Emperor. The amount of control which the Emperors were able to exercise over this ' confederation ' varied from time to time, but they never established an effective regular government. Any serious attempt to strengthen the imperial power broke on the opposition of the princes THE RHINELAND 205 of the Empire — an opposition likely to be stimulated and supported by foreign powers. In the eighteenth century the imperial authority was a shadow. The Habsburg emperors were powerful in Germany, not as emperors, but in virtue of the great territorial possessions under their immediate rule. The members of the imperial ' confederation ' were represented in a Diet (Reichstag), and from the sixteenth century onwards they were grouped in areas called circles (Kreise) for imperial, financial,. and executive purposes. But the whole machinery of the Empire worked, at best, clumsily and feebly, and by the eighteenth century the Diet had become in effect little more than a diplomatic conference. The principal States of the Rhineland, enumerated in order from north to south, were the following : The Duchy (originally County) of Cleves, on both sides of the Rhine, about the towns of Cleves and Wesel. The archiepiscopal Electorate of Cologne, the main part of which lay along the left bank of the Rhine from below Neuss to above Bonn. The Duchy (originally County) of Berg, on the right bank of the Rhine opposite the Electorate of Cologne, including Diisseldorf, Solingen, Elberfeld, and Barmen. The Duchy (originally County) of Julich (French, Juliers) between the Electorate of Cologne on the east and southern Gelderland and Limburg on the west. It included the towns of Julich, Duren, Remagen, and Sinzig. The archiepiscopal Electorate of Trier (French, Treves), along the lower Moselle down to Coblenz, and extending to the right bank of the Rhine opposite Coblenz. The country between the Electorate of Trier on the north-west, Lorraine on the south-west, Alsace on the 206 HISTORY south, and the Rhine on the east does not faU within the area dealt with in this book. But it will be con venient to notice that the chief state here -was the Electoral Palatinate, which extended also to the right bank of the Rhine." The archiepiscopal Electorate of Mainz (French, Mayence) lay principally east of the Rhine along the Main valley. The secular states above mentioned had a history complicated by the vicissitudes of succession, by family partitions, by dynastic disputes and their consequences. The ecclesiastical electorates were ruled by their archbishops, who were elected by the cathedral chapters. In practice these elections were generaUy decided by extraneous political influences ; their occupants usually belonged to German famUies of princely rank. From 1583 to 1761 the see of Cologne was monopolized by Bavarian Wittelsbachs. Besides the principal States there were many smaUer territories (down to estates comprising perhaps a viUage or two), whose rulers, secular or ecclesiastical — dukes, prmces, abbots, counts, imperial knights — had no lord but the Emperor. Direct dependence on the Emperor came to mean practically independence, and was there fore a condition generally coveted and readUy claimed by the smaller feudatories. The towns in the Middle Ages fought and bargained with their lords for their autonomy, and they were the scenes of the usual mediaeval conflicts between urban oligarchies and the less privileged classes. By the eighteenth century the older towns had acquired different degrees of local self-government, but only two cities in the lower Rhineland — Aachen and Cologne — had successfully asserted and maintained an inde pendent position as ' imperial ' towns, subject only to the nominal authority of the Emperor. In the mediaeval period some of the principal THE RHINELAND 207 currents of European trade flowed through the towns of the Rhineland. Cologne, especially, was a great commercial and industrial centre. In the thirteenth century the Rhine cities formed a league which was of considerable importance in the- politics of the Empire. But this combination failed to maintain itself, and as at the close of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern period the territorial authority of the greater princes became better organized and con solidated, the cities were more and more overshadowed, and sank at last into political insignificance. Further, the diversion of European commerce to new main routes, ill-considered acts of commercial jealousy on the part of the civic authorities, the ruin of the trade and industry of the southern Netherlands in the latter part of the sixteenth century, the Thirty Years' War, the wars of the age of Louis XIV and of the eighteenth century, all contributed to the decline of the towns of the lower Rhineland. In 1794, the greatest of them, Cologne, had only about 40,000 inhabitants, of whom 6,000 possessed civic rights. In the Rhenish principalities the nobles, the clergy, and the citizens of the towns — at least two out of these three classes — were represented in Estates which on the whole exercised a considerable influence on the governments : especially, 'these assemblies had the right of granting taxation. Not only did the Rhinelanders remain a part of the German people (in contrast to the Teutonic-speaking population of the Netherlands), but German civiliza tion was at its strongest along the Rhine down to Cologne and Aachen, or at least it was nowhere stronger. Yet this was because the Rhenish Germans had since the fifth century been deeply imbued with Latin traditions and culture ; and left in disunion by the decay of the Empire, exposed to French influences, 208 HISTORY and within the scope of French ambitions, they might all, in easily imaginable circumstances, have gone the way of the Alsatians. b. The French Monarchy and the Rhineland That the kings of France were the legitimate heirs of Charlemagne was a commonplace of French pat riotism in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries ; at least the country on this side of the Rhine clearly belonged to the French Crown, for against the Crown there was no prescription, and the old Carolingian claims to Lotharingia were still valid. At the end of the thirteenth century the expanding force of the French monarchy seemed to have the power and the will to restore the Carolingian tradition to practical politics. Philip IV pushed French influence in Germany, and especially in the Rhineland. He had his chents among the German princes, for example the Arch bishops of Trier, Cologne, and Mainz ; he hoped (as other kings of France hoped after him) to acquire the imperial crown. The rumour ran among his subjects that he was about to resume French sovereignty over all the imperial lands up to the Rhine, and even that the Emperor had signed a treaty ceding these lands to France. After the death of Philip IV (1314), the feudal reaction and the English wars checked the expansion of France. Edward III of England tried to bring the Lower Rhineland into the great league which under his command was to attack France from the north, but, as has been already noticed (p. 118), this aUiance proved ineffective. By the time that the English danger had been repelled, the House of Burgundy was threatening France on her northern and eastern frontiers. The Burgundian dukes of the fifteenth century, Philip the THE RHINELAND 209 Good and Charles the Bold, looked forward to the inclusion of the whole Rhineland in the Burgundian territorial aggregate. The French monarchy, on its side, still on occasion alleging the ancient rights of the Crown of France to the territories en deca la riviere du Rein, gave open or covert support to the princes of the Empire who were menaced by Burgundian ambitions. These ambitions came to nothing. Charles the Bold, though he occupied Gelders, failed in an attack on the electorate of Cologne (1474), and was then diverted to his adventures in Lorraine, in Alsace, and against the Swiss — the adventures which proved his ruin. The place of the House of Burgundy was taken by the House of Habsburg. In France the dangers on the frontiers became yet more formidable, and the pressure of this danger stimulated the French Government and people to a strong reaction. In the conflict with the Habsburgs the claims of France to imperial territory on this side the Rhine were continually urged by French publicists. While mediaeval history and legend were still used to support these claims, the classical culture of the age made especially popular the idea of restoring the boundaries of ancient Gaul as described by Caesar and maintained by the Roman Empire. The ideal of the Rhine frontier was accepted both by public opinion and by statesmen. It was at the back of all French action in the direction of the Rhine during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the religious debate of the period the German Protestant princes were placed in antagonism to the Habsburgs, the champions of Catholicism. But the opposition to the Habsburgs in Germany did not arise only from the quarrel of the creeds. The difference of religion was usually the occasion or the pretext of disputes in which -the dynastic ambitions of the princes or their fears of Habsburg imperialism were 210 HISTORY also involved : and, on the other hand, jealousy of the Habsburg power showed itself at times among Catholics as well as among Protestants. This situation gave France her opportunities. She was the natural ally of the anti-Habsburg forces in the Empire, and especially therefore of the Protestants. For example, in 1540, in the course of the duel between Francis I and Charles V, the French Government formed an alliance with the Protestant Duke of Cleves, who tried to dispute the possession of Gelders with the Emperor. Twelve years later it was on the invitation of the princes of the Empire that the Government of Henry II undertook the expedition into Alsace and Lorraine which resulted in the acquisition by France of Metz, Toul, and Verdun (1552). The development of this success was impossible during the French Wars of Religion (1560-98) ; but in the first years of the seventeenth century a renewal of the advance to the Rhine was prepared by Henry IV, and then, after another period of delay, it was carried out by Richeheu and Mazarin. In the first half of the seventeenth century the Austrian and Spanish branches of the Habsburg interest were standing together against the Protestants of Germany, to whose support there came, at one time and another, France, Holland, Denmark, and Sweden. If in this prolonged European crisis the House of Habsburg was to beat down "the alliances formed against it and secure its supremacy in Europe, it was necessary that it should control the line of the Rhine ; for only by that means could the resources of Spain in the Netherlands, in Franche Comte, and in Northern Italy, and those -of Austria and her Bavarian ally on the Upper Danube, be used in effective combination against the enemy Powers. On the other hand, when France was able to act in Germany, her principal THE RHINELAND 211 objects were to prevent the Habsburgs from extending their influence in the Rhinelands, to break up their positions here, and to establish her own supremacy in these countries. Henry IV, at the end of his reign, prepared to set this movement on foot. He followed the traditional French policy of encouraging the forces of disunion in Germany : he set the princes of the Empire against the Emperor in the name of ' German liberties '. In 1609 a succession-dispute in the Lower Rhineland gave him an opening. The Ardennes family of La Marck had acquired by marriages -the Duchies of Cleves, Julich, and Berg. The last prince of this house died childless in 1609. There were many claimants to the succession — among •them the Hohenzollern Elector of Brandenburg and the Count Palatine of Neuburg, who belonged to a branch of the Wittelsbachs. These two princes, both of whom were Protestants, came to a provisional agreement by which they took possession of a part of the disputed territory, pending a final arrangement. But the Emperor, insisting on his right to dispose of the duchies and to keep them in his own hand until he had decided between the claimants, ordered both tbe Elector and the Count Palatine to withdraw and sent a force to occupy Julich. It seemed that Austria meant to bring the duchies under her own control ; but if the Habsburgs should establish themselves in this compact group of states on the Lower Rhine, their position here would be a menace both to the Dutch on the one side and to the German Protestants on the other, and would hinder co-operation between these two groups of their natural enemies. Henry IV tried to make the affair the occasion for a general attack on the Habsburgs. His preparations for war were far advanced when he was assassinated o 2 212 HISTORY (1610). His great project fell to pieces, but he had so far committed France that after his death the French Government was bound to see that a compromise was reached in favour of Brandenburg and Neuburg. A French force dislodged the Austrians from Julich, and the question was now limited to the adjustment of the Brandenburg and Neuburg claims. Then the Count of Neuburg turned Catholic to win the support of the Habsburgs, and the Hohenzollern advanced from Lutheranism to Calvinism in order to attract the Dutch to his side. The Treaty of Xanten (1614) assigned Julich and Berg to the Count Palatine, and Cleves to the Elector. But the governments of the Habsburg Netherlands and of the United Provinces had sent troops to occupy different parts of the duchies, ostensibly in support of their respective chents, and long refused to evacuate the positions which they had seized. The Brandenburg-Neuburg dispute was re newed, and the matter was not finally settled tiU 1666, when the Treaty of Xanten was confirmed. The Dutch did not give up their fortresses in Cleves tiU 1672. Thus did the Hohenzollern make their first appearance in the Lower Rhineland. In France the death of Henry IV was foUowed by a period of internal trouble and weakness, and it was not till 1633 that the French Government (directed by Richelieu) was sufficiently strong at home to be ready for a vigorous offensive against Austria and Spain combined. The Thirty- Years' War had then run half its course. The struggle which had begun with the Protestant, anti-Habsburg rising in Bohemia, and the Elector Palatine's acceptance of the crown offered him by the Bohemian rebels (1618), had resulted by 1629 not only in the defeat of the Bohemian movement, but in the almost complete control of the Rhinelands by the Habsburg forces and in the ascendancy of the THE, RHINELAND 213 Habsburg interest throughout Germany. But the Habsburg successes had alarmed even the Catholic princes of the Empire. It seemed to be the aim of Wallenstein, the Emperor's general, to make his master an Emperor indeed. The Catholic princes protested and obtained Wallenstein's dismissal (1630). Then came the intervention of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. Richelieu hoped to make Gustavus work for the King of France, and tried to combine Catholics and Protestants in Germany in an anti-imperialist league. But the victory of the Swedes at Breitenfeld, which was followed by their appearance on the Middle Rhine (1631), was a check to French policy. The King of Sweden now showed himself disinclined to submit to French direction, and it became clear that he and the German Catholics could not work together. Richelieu, however, was able to prepare the way for future action. The Elector of Trier, distrusting the Habsburgs and unwilling to surrender to the Protestant Swedes, was induced to place himself under the protection of the King of France, and granted the French the right of garrisoning the Rhine fortresses of Coblenz, Ehren- breitstein, and Philippsburg. An attempt to bring the Elector of Cologne into a similar position of dependence on France was made and failed. After the death of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632 the war went against the Swedes and their German alhes, and France was able to take advantage of theh distress to join in the conflict on her own terms. The French declared war in 1635. At first they were not fortu nate, and the Electorate of Trier was occupied by the Spaniards, who sent the Elector himself a prisoner to Vienna. But the military power of France gradually developed. By the time of Richelieu's death (1642) the French Government had a firm hold on Alsace. By the end of 1645 the French armies were masters of the 214 HISTORY Middle Rhine. The Emperor came to terms in 1648, and by the Peace of Westphalia the imperial rights in Alsace were transferred to the French Crown. The settlement in Germany was such as to confirm the defeat of Habsburg centralizing imperialism. The influence of France was predominant in the Middle and Lower Rhineland. Ten years after the Peace of Westphalia the French policy of bringing the German princes under French control by making them see their interest in sup porting the interests of France achieved a great success. In 1658, when it was apprehended that Austria might renew the war against France in alliance with Spain, Mazarin was able to bring about the formation of a league of imperial states, known as the League of the Rhine, to which France pledged her support. The object of this alliance, which included both. Catholic and Protestant princes, was to prevent the Emperor from troubling the peace or encroaching upon ' German liberties '. The League of the Rhine was maintained after the war between France and Spain had been brought to an end (1659). But the aggressive policy of Louis XIV broke up the League and drove most of its members on to the Habsburg side. France seemed no longer to protect but to threaten their ' liberties '. The French Govern ment, on the other hand, in attacking Holland or the Emperor, tried to bribe or bully the small states west of the Rhine into taking the side of France or at least into giving passage to French troops. It generally had an ally in the Elector of Cologne, whose territories gave the French a convenient foothold on the Lower Rhine. The Elector of Trier, who was unfriendly to France, had to submit to the overrunning of his lands by French armies. The Palatinate was invaded and harried when its Elector refused to join France against Austria, and THE RHINELAND 215 the French forces passed through it to operate on the Middle Rhine (1673-9). When the French were not strong enough to maintain themselves against the imperialists on the Rhine, they devastated the Pala tinate as a measure of defence (1689). Moreover, Louis XIV was intent on claiming what he could of the Rhineland under form of law. His Chamber of Re union at Metz decided that certain lands held by the Elector of Trier, the Duke of Zweibriicken, and others belonged of right to the Crown of France. In 1685, on the failure of male heirs in that branch of the Wittels- bachs which had held the Palatinate since 1559, Louis claimed a part of this principality in the name of his Wittelsbach sister-in-law, the Duchess of Orleans. But at the Peace of Ryswick (1697) this claim had to be dropped, and at the end of Louis XIV's wars (1714) the gains of France towards the Middle Rhine amounted only to further progress in the absorption of Lorraine, an advance in the valley of the Moselle at the expense of Luxemburg, and the acquisition between Moselle and Rhine of a few patches of territory, the most important of which were those containing the fortresses of Saarlouis and Landau. But as the Empire was no stronger than before France still dominated the Rhineland. She was in a position to throw her troops into this country before Austria or any other Power could come to defend it. The prmces here looked to France with a mixture of dread and hope, dread of invasion and hope of subsidies. Meanwhile the French had come to look on this imperial territory as their ' doormat ', to use the metaphor which Catherine II of Russia applied in a somewhat analogous sense to Poland. In the reign of Louis XV France was able to exploit the political condition of the Rhineland. Thus in the War of the Polish Succession the Electors of the Palatinate and Cologne stood out of the conflict, 216 HISTORY although the Imperial Diet had voted for joining Austria against France : the French were able to engage the enemy on the Middle Rhine. In the war of the Austrian Succession the Rhine Electors, acting under French instigation, partly bribed and partly intimi dated, voted the Empire away from Austria to Bavaria. In the Seven Years' War they sided with France and Austria against Prussia. French armies were able to pass freely through the country on their way to the Rhine or Central Germany. In the last years of the old regime the comparative security of France on her eastern frontier, and the obvious advantages which she derived from the status quo in the Rhineland, had suspended the traditional French forward policy on the side of the Empire. (The annexation of Lorraine in 1766 was merely the automatic result of the Treaty of Vienna of 1738, which again had only arranged for the winding up of an affair that the French Monarchy had long had in hand.) Rousseau might declare that the Rhine was the natural frontier of France : but Vergennes, the Foreign Minister of Louis XVI, disliked the idea of any further French advance northwards or eastwards. Such an advance would involve the upsetting of the status quo throughout Germany (for it would certainly be accom panied by compensatory annexations on the part of Austria and Prussia), and that in the end would not be to the interest of France. Yet it is noticeable that Vergennes admitted that if, unfortunately, France should be obliged to make annexations (if, that is, she should ever be forced to compensate herself for the aggrandizement of Austria), then the Middle Rhineland would be the country best for her to take. The forward policy was in suspense ; but it would be revived if France should again believe herseh to be menaced seriously from the direction of the Rhine. THE RHINELAND 217 2. The French Conquest and the Prussian Annexation (1789-1815) a. The Rhinelanders of the Left Bank at the beginning of the French Revolution When the French Revolution broke out the Rhine landers were in a condition that made their absorption by revolutionary France quite possible — the rest of Europe being left out of account. The Rhinelanders were Germans, but of all the Germans they were the most West-European in theh origins and in the develop ment of theh society and culture. Their German patriotic sentiment scarcely amounted to more than a sentimentality ; the political condition of Germany kept it languid and ineffectual. On the other hand, the Rhineland had long been penetrated by French policy and French arms. In the service of the French State — and especially in the German regiments of the royal army — many Rhinelanders had found theh careers. French thought and art and manners had spread among the upper classes. Indeed, for the past hundred years France had been exercising on the Rhinelanders that attractive force which a great nation, organized in a powerful State, and possessing a culture adapted to serve as a model and inspiration to other peoples, naturally exercises on neighbours who are politically weak and divided, and have the intelligence and the traditions needed in order to appreciate and assimilate the stronger civilization. At the same time, the Rhinelanders were suffering from the social and political conditions which — in a less acute form — provoked the Revolution in France. Their ' enlightened ' classes criticized these conditions by the standard of cosmopolitan ideals and universal social and political principles which were the ideals and principles of the French enlightenment. The 218 HISTORY Catholic religion was the only part of the old order that had strong roots in the loyalty of the masses. Thus the Rhinelanders were capable of appreciating the advantages of French rule if it swept away the old order but favoured Catholicism, and if it proved reasonable and beneficial where the old regime had been irrational and oppressive ; on the other hand, they had at this time no intense national feeling which would be likely to make them profoundly and per manently resentful of such a rule in spite of its advan tages ; they were capable of learning to be French — on the middle Rhine perhaps more quickly than on the lower. Ultimately they were to acquhe a strong German patriotism, because French rule was too short lived to complete their conversion to the sentiment of French citizenship, and because when they returned to German rule they found themselves in a new Germany where their national self-consciousness was to be immensely stimulated. It is indeed possible that, even if France had been allowed to keep her Rhine frontier, the infection of the new Germany would have so spread among the Rhinelanders west of the river as to defeat the French attempt to assimilate them. Nevertheless, between 1789 and 1815, Germanism on the left bank of the Rhine was put in peril. In 1789 Cleves, the neighbouring county of Mors, and a part of Gelders were Prussian. But since Frederick II's day Prussia had showed herseh little interested in these outlying territories, widely separated from the main body of the Hohenzollern dominions. As the event proved, she was not prepared to go to extremes to keep them, especially if she could hope to be compensated for their loss. Julich, Berg, and the Palatinate were under the rule of Charles Theodore, a Wittelsbach ; in 1777 he had become Elector of Bavaria on the failure of the old Bavarian THE RHINELAND 219 Wittelsbach line. A cadet branch of the Wittelsbachs held the Duchy of Zweibrucken. Of the ecclesiastical electorates, Cologne was ruled by an Austrian archduke, Trier by a Saxon prince who had been an officer in the Austrian service ; but the House of Saxony had close relations with France, and it may be recalled in this connexion that France and Austria were at the time officially, though not cordially, allied. There were still a great number of smaller states and lord ships, amounting to almost a hundred, in the area now occupied by the Prussian Rhine province. In the ecclesiastical electorates the governments were on the whole well-meaning and mild ; some of the secular administrations were reasonably con scientious, many indifferent, a few very oppressive. All the states and territories were more or less encum bered with time-honoured abuses, or with institutions that had long ceased to correspond to the real needs of the population. Attempts at reform were made by several ' enlightened ' rulers (for instance, the Electors of Trier and Mainz), but these acts of benevolence, while encouraging a desire for change among the people, were quite inadequate to the situation. The old Estates, which retained theh right of voting taxes, embodied a certain tradition of constitutionalism, but, representing privilege, they could not be the organs of serious reform. The ties between the governments and their subjects were weak. The ecclesiastical princes lacked the advantage of local dynastic traditions (the quasi- dynastic position of the House of Bavaria in Cologne had come to an end in 1761) ; archbishops and abbots were merely officials with a life tenure, owing their rank generally to extraneous political or family in fluences. The secular territories were properties that not infrequently passed from one house to another, or 220 HISTORY from one branch of a family to its distant cousins, by transactions, or in accordance with rules of succession, which the inhabitants could not control. Very many of the secular lords of the land were absentees. In general, the established authorities were so petty and so little in touch with the people, that, whUe theh existence fostered particularism and atrophied German national sentiment, it was impossible for them to attract any strong feeling of loyalty. Only the subjects of Prussia could take any pride in the power and achieve ments of the- government to which they belonged. The people of Cleves fed their souls on admhation of Frederick the Great, but their goodwUl received httle encouragement. The ' enlightenment ' was to be found among the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, and in an element of the clergy that was drawn from these two orders. It was made up of principles and sentimentalities which were quite irreconcilable with the existing order. It was the bourgeois revolutionary idealists who were most in earnest, but all who shared in the feeling that the political and social conditions of Germany were fuU of harmful irrationalities and unjust inequahties were helping to undermine those conditions. The unrest took strange forms, as in the secret societies of illuminati with theh programme of universal liberty, equality, and fraternity. The peasants generally held theh land by servUe tenures, but were almost everywhere personaUy free. They were more or less burdened with feudal dues and services, and generally also with an unfairly heavy share of taxation. On the whole the Rhenish aris tocracy had not gained a firm hold on its peasantry by energetic and careful administration. The peasants were in a condition to accept with satisfaction a rule that enfranchised their land and destroyed privUege. THE RHINELAND 221 The great majority of Germans west of the Rhine were Catholics, and the enlightenment had not dis turbed the mass of the people in their attachment to their religion, but there was less militant ardour in Rhenish Catholicism than in Belgian. Gallicanism had its counterpart (' Febronianism ') among the Rhenish clergy. The Protestants were, grouped mainly in Cleves, Mors, the Palatinate, and in a few towns or districts elsewhere ; their condition varied from State to State, but generally they were under disabilities of one kind or another. The Jews were cramped by various restrictions. b. The French Conquest and Annexation (1792- 1815) War broke out between France and the Austro- Prussian coalition in 1792. A principal ground of dispute had been the French claim to apply the reforms of the Revolution to Alsatian lands held by German — chiefly Rhenish — princes, whose seignorial rights in Alsace were guaranteed by treaty. But the French had been impelled into war by theh excited hopes and fears : the fear that the monarchies of Europe, and especially Austria, the hereditary enemy and hated ally, were plotting with each other, with the emigres and with the enemies of the people in France to destroy the Revolution; the hope of propagating the Revolution and the glory of the new France in Europe ; and, in the minds of Girondist politicians, the hope that war would establish the republic. At first there was no definite intention of annexing the Rhineland ; it was indeed to be revolutionized, but the Assembly solemnly repudiated the idea of conquest. In 1792 France was invaded by the Austrians and Prussians. The enemy was repulsed at Valmy, and retiring left the Upper Rhineland open to the French, 222 HISTORY who overran it. In 1793 the allies returned, and the French were driven out. This was the year of extreme peril for France ; the main attack on her was from the Netherlands, but the menace came from all the country between the French frontier and the Rhine. In 1794 the French counter-offensive was victorious, and by the end of the year the French armies had occupied practically all the country west of the Rhine from Alsace to the North Sea. In the Rhineland the only footing that the Austrians retained was at Mainz. The French occupied the country till it was definitely ceded to them by the Emperor in the Treaty of LuneviUe (1801). The outbreak of the French Revolution had been' welcomed enthusiastically by ' enlightened ' Germans, and especially by the enlightened bourgeoisie in the towns of the Rhineland. But the welcome was given to the beginning of a new era for humanity. Only a very few Rhinelanders desired that theh country should be annexed by France, and most of those who had acclaimed the first stages of the Revolution were in the end shocked by the fierce and extravagant violence of the French. In theh first occupation of the Upper Rhineland during the winter of 1792-3 the French had tried to spread the revolutionary faith, but even in Mainz, where revolutionary and pro-French feeling was strongest, the organization of a republic was the work of a small group of enthusiasts, and was made possible only by the presence of the French army. The mass of the population remained inert, and the contributions levied by the invaders did not make the conversion of the people easier. At the beginning of 1793 the French, passing by easy stages from their renunciation of conquests to a very different policy, summoned a Rhenish convention which, elected by popular vote, should declare in favour of union THE RHINELAND 223 with France. But the return of the Allies interrupted the French authorities and their partisans in the work of ' making ' the elections. The majority of Rhine landers were glad to see the French go ; on the other hand the conduct of the Austrians and Prussians, when they reoccupied the country, made the French seem in retrospect not so bad after all. With the conquest of the Rhineland by the French armies in 1794 there began a miserable time for the country, which suffered under the extortionate, corrupt, and fanatical tyranny of the French commissioners representing the Directory. For the three years during which this oppression was at its worst the Rhinelanders remained almost wholly passive. Here and there were displayed feeble signs of regret for the old governments under which life had been easier, but these demonstrations came chiefly from those who had profited, or had suffered least, by the old regime. A few individuals declaimed against French oppression of a German people. Much more general was a rather timid show of discontent with French anti-clericalism. On the whole, it seems that the mass of the popula tion, though it may have wanted to Jbe rid of the French, had no desire to return to the old regime, and disliked French rule because it was oppressive rather than because it was foreign. The Jews were the one considerable section of the community that were definitely in favour of French annexation. They had been emancipated by the invasion, and they were profiting financially by the presence of the French armies, the confiscations of property, and the general confusion of the times. They at least had no sort of prejudice against French rule, in which they saw the only security against a return of the old order. During these years the fate of the Rhinelanders was in suspense. The perils through which France had 224 HISTORY passed in 1792 and 1793 had led French public opinion to demand the annexation of the Rhineland as a measure of self-defence. There was a widely held assumption that if France could establish herseh on the line of the Rhine she would be safe. There was also the feeling, characteristic of the age, that the Rhine was the ' natural ' frontier of France, and therefore a frontier which an enlightened France, organized in accordance with the principles of nature, ought to acquire, a frontier, moreover, which by its reasonable ness would command the respect of Europe. Lastly, there was the argument that this gain of territory was only just compensation to France for the acquisitions which her continental enemies were making in Poland. On the other hand, there was a minority which for various reasons doubted the wisdom of claiming or taking the Rhineland. France needed peace ; her enemies were powerful, and the consequences of pro longing the war by insisting on the Rhine frontier might be disastrous. There were financiers who had private reasons for wishing the war to end as soon as possible ; there were moderates and royahsts of various shades who looked forward to an early and not too successful peace as a condition of destroying the Direc tory ; there were a few men like Carnot and Barthelemy who feared that a French conquest of the Rhineland would prove' only the beginning of new and ruinous conflicts ; and from the military point of view it was urged .by some that France had better be content with the line of the Meuse and Luxemburg. At times when the war was not going well these doubts gathered strength, and temporarily affected the policy of the Government. But although neither Prussia nor Austria wished to see France expand to the middle and lower Rhine, both these states were preoccupied with hopes of THE RHINELAND 225 territorial gains elsewhere. Prussia, indeed, soon with drew from the war agamst France in order to have her hands free for a partition of Poland. By the Treaty of Bale (1795) she acquiesced in the French occupation of the country on the left bank of the Rhine until a general peace should be concluded between France and the whole Empire. It was also agreed, secretly, that if in this general peace the left bank of the Rhine should be ceded to France, Prussia should receive compensation for her Rhenish provinces elsewhere in Germany. It remained to bring Austria to terms, and in the end it was Bonaparte who, partly by his victories and partly by his diplomacy, won the Rhine frontier for France. His conquest of North Italy (1796-7) and the appearance of his army at Leoben, threatening Vienna, together with a change of rulers in Russia which deprived the Austrian Government of the hope of Russian support, forced the Emperor to negotiate. Bonaparte's policy was to buy the left bank of the Rhine at the price of allowing Austria to take Venetian territory in Italy and Dalmatia. By the published articles of the Treaty of Campo Formio (October 1797) the Emperor stipulated that a congress of imperial states should be summoned to negotiate the terms of a general peace in Germany on the basis of the integrity •of the Empire, but by secret clauses Austria promised to use her influence at this congress to obtain for France the Rhine frontier, and also agreed to withdraw her troops from Mainz. The congress met at Rastadt. A deputation of ten imperial states — not including either Austria or Prussia — had been appointed to negotiate peace in the name of the Empire. To this deputation the representatives of France presented a demand for the cession to the Republic of all imperial territory on the left bank of the Rhine. The deputa tion at first resisted, secretly encouraged by Austria 226 HISTORY and Prussia, but the French stood to theh terms; the deputation soon found that it could not rely on support from the two great German powers, and finaUy it agreed to the French demand (March 1798), and there began a general scramble among the Germans for compensations. These were found in the ecclesias tical territories and free cities east of the Rhine, which, secularized and mediatized, were to be portioned out among the lay princes dispossessed by France. The Congress of Rastadt, however, did not bring its work to a conclusion. The Russian Government changed its policy, and Russia and Great Britain pressed Austria to renew the war. Austria, assured of Russian support, encouraged by Bonaparte's absence in Egypt, and hoping to get a better peace than at Campo Formio, again took up arms. The Allies talked of pushing France back from the Rhine. The Russians and Austrians were victorious in 1799, till in the autumn they were checked in Switzerland. Bonaparte returned from Egypt, overthrew the Directory, and beat the Austrians at Marengo (1800). Austria sued for peace. In the Treaty of LuneviUe (1801) the Emperor hi his own name and in the name of the Empire (the consent of which was taken as having been aheady given at Rastadt) ceded to France all imperial territory west of the Rhine. In 1802-3 the compensatory seculariza tions were carried out under French auspices. Prussia and Bavaria, as well as Wurtemberg, Baden, and Hesse in their degree, profited greatly by this transac tion. By receiving the episcopal territories of Munster, Paderborn, and Hildesheim, and the abbatial lands of Elten, Essen, and Verden, Prussia acquired in West phalia much more than she had lost on the left bank of the Rhine. In this way France was trying to make herself the head of a grateful German clientele which should entertain lively expectations of favours to come, THE RHINELAND 227 and should be a counterpoise under French control to Austria. The Rhineland meanwhile had been organized as a part of the French State. Before the Peace of Campo Formio had been concluded, Hoche, who had been placed in command of the French army on the lower Rhine, had done his best to improve the administra tion of the occupied country. At the same time the example of the republics which Bonaparte had recently created in Italy had encouraged a movement among the Liberals of the Rhenish towns in favour of a Cisrhenane Republic, autonomous, but allied with and protected by France. This suggestion probably ex pressed a very general feeling among the Rhinelanders, a desire to be left to themselves to enjoy in indepen dence the advantages which could be derived from the principles of the Revolution. But the proposal was, in the circumstances, impracticable ; the movement was quashed by the French Government. After the Treaty of Campo Formio the country was divided into four departments : the Department of Roer, capital Aachen ; the Department of Rhine and Moselle, capital Coblenz ; the Department of Sarre, capital Trier ; the Department of Mont-Tonnerre (Donnersberg), capital Mainz. The Rhinelanders hoped that now that they were finally recognized as citizens of the French Republic there would be an end to the oppression which they had suffered since the conquest. But so long as the Directory lasted oppression con tinued, and for a time the disappointment of the people only increased their discontent. Nevertheless the Republic had enfranchised the land of feudal dues and services, had freed industry by the dissolution of the old guilds, had unified the country by the abolition of the old political structures, and had shaken the mass of the inhabitants out of the stagna- P2 228 HISTORY tion of their Kleinstaaterei. The secularizing of the enormous states of the Church had enriched the laity ; the dissolution of religious corporations and the per secution of the priesthood in the end, perhaps, put new life into the Catholicism of the Rhineland. The ground had been cleared, and the positive work of building up the new order was vigorously taken in hand under the Consulate and the Empire. The country was no longer harassed by its rulers. As the result of the concordat between the French Govern ment and the Papacy the mass of the population recovered its religious freedom. The new French Codes introduced a system of law based on civil equality and incomparably better than the old legal institutions. The Napoleonic administrative machine contrasted extraordinarily in its simplicity, uniformity, and efficiency, with the diverse administrations of the past. It was, moreover, well worked by able and conscientious prefects. The material prosperity of the country was fostered. Industry was encouraged by protective tariffs, by a reasonable code of com mercial law, by the improvement of communications, by the organization of chambers of commerce, and other measures. Napoleon's wars meant heavy con scription, but it had always been easy to put Germans under arms to fight in quarrels not theh own, and the Rhineland conscripts of the Napoleonic period seem to have been good material. Meanwhile the Rhineland itself was protected from war, and its industry and agriculture profited by the supply of the armies. The Rhinelanders were encouraged by the Govern ment to consider themselves French ; they were Franks of Austrasia ; theh country had been the centre of Charlemagne's empire ; that empire was Frankish, therefore French, and it had now been revived by Napoleon. Such appeals to history or THE RHINELAND 229 legend do not seem to have aroused much response. The people had not ceased to feel themselves Germans, but they were Germans who were now finding in French rule little to irritate them and much to admhe and be thankful for. Yet since they had not had time to learn to be French, the general outburst of German national feeling in 1813 had its effect on the Rhinelanders, especially as German patriotism and liberalism were at the time united ; and in the end the greater part of the bourgeoisie, at least, was ready enough to return to a Germany which it hoped to find liberal and progressive. c. The Settlement of 1815 None of the great European Powers was content to see France on the middle and lower Rhine, and the aggressions of Napoleon did not allow Europe to become reconciled to this extension of French territory. When the Napoleonic Empire fell the Allies were agreed on the principle of reducing France practically to her ante bellum limits. In 1814, by the First Treaty of Paris, the French frontier was pushed back from the middle and lower Rhine to the Saar country. The new frontier was to be slightly different from that of 1792. France was allowed to keep Saarbrucken and Arneval ; the fortress of Landau, which remained French, was not, as in the eighteenth century, to be an isolated enclave, the frontier-line being now drawn from south of Obersteinbach to Landau, and thence along the Queich to the Rhine. After Waterloo, the Germans were inclined to demand Lorraine and Alsace, but owing to the opposition of Great Britain and Russia to this policy (see p. 174) the losses of France between Moselle and Rhine by the Second Treaty of Paris (1815) comprised only Saarlouis, the Saarbrxicken- Arneval district (so that France lost all hold on the line of the Saar), and Landau, with the country between 230 HISTORY the Queich and the Lauter. It was at the mouth of the Lauter the French frontier now met the Rhine. Meanwhile the fate of the Rhineland had been settled. Prussia was to take the greater part of the German territory west of the Rhine, and, posted here, was to contain the ambitions of France. The Prussians, though they were willing to keep certain strategic points in this region (for example, Mainz and Luxem burg), were not particularly anxious to find theh main share of the spoils on the Rhine, where theh territory, exposed to French attack, would be separated by Hanover from the main body of the kingdom ; where, too, the inhabitants were far from sympathetic with the Prussian spirit. It was Saxony that Prussia coveted ; the possession of Saxony would give Prussia a solid block of territory in North Central Germany which would immensely strengthen her position as a German power. But though the Tsar, in his anxiety to obtain Posen for a reconstituted Polish kingdom of which he was to be the sovereign, was willing to faU in with Prussian views, Austria and Great Britain opposed the Russo-Prussian scheme, Austria mainly because she feared the aggrandizement of Prussia in Germany, Great Britain mainly because she feared the aggrandize ment of Russia. Talleyrand supported the Austro- British combination, and Prussia was forced to accept her lot in the Rhineland Westphalia. By the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna (June 9, 1815) Prussia received her ' Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine '. On the left bank this included the territory between the Rhine on the east from the Dutch frontier up to Bingen, and on the west the frontiers of the Netherlands, Luxemburg, and France. In 1822 this area, together with the former Duchy of Berg and some smaller districts on the right bank, became the 'Rhine Pro vince'. THE RHINELAND 231 For history of the frontier between the Rhine Pro vince and Belgium see pp. 178-80 : for the frontier between the Province and Luxemburg see p. 200 : for the boundary between the Province and Lorraine see the Manual of Alsace-Lorraine. The southern end of the modern Rhine Province has undergone various territorial changes since the Congress of Vienna. By the Final Act of the Congress the southern boundary of Prussian territory left the Gian below Lauterecken and passed westwards to the Saar between Saarburg and Conz, crossing the present Oldenburg Principality of Birkenfeld. The part of the present Rhine Province that lies south of this line was at first partly French (in accordance with the First Treaty of Paris of 1814) and partly Austrian (for though Austria had no intention of remaining here, the territory west of the Rhine that had been taken from France and not assigned to Prussia had been handed over to her keeping, while the rearrangement of Southern Germany, a thorny business in which she was specially interested, was being carried out). After Waterloo it was agreed by the Protocol of Nov. 3, 1815, that Prussia should obtain the territory in the Saar country which was to be detached from France in' the Second Treaty of Paris (the Saarlouis and Saarbriicken dis tricts) : and by the same Protocol and by the Treaty of July 1, 1816, Prussia received from Austria the land between the Lauterecken-Conz line and the present border of the Province towards the Bavarian Palati nate and Lorraine. She did not, however, retain all the territory so acquired in her own hands, for by the Final Act of Vienna it had been agreed that in the former French Department of Sarre there should be reserved a district in which the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and the Duke of Oldenburg should receive territories comprising 20,000 inhabitants each, and the Duke of 232 HISTORY Mecklenburg-Strelitz and the Landgrave of Hesse- Homburg should each acquire a territory with 10,000 inhabitants. Of these princes the Duke of Mecklen burg-Strelitz was assigned by a Treaty of Sept. 18, 1816, a territory, not in the Saar country, but near the border of the Netherlands in the districts of Reiffen- scheid, Cronenburg, and Schleiden : this, however, was surrendered again to Prussia by Mecklenburg- Strelitz in a Treaty of May 21, 1819. To the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg was given Meisenheim on the Gian ; on the extinction of the male line of Hesse-Homburg this small territory passed with the Hesse-Homburg Landgraviate to Hesse-Darmstadt (March 1866), but almost immediately afterwards, as a result of the Austro-Prussian War, it was ceded by HesseJDarmstadt to Prussia (Treaty of Sept. 3, 1866). To Saxe-Coburg went the Principality of Lichtenberg lying between the Oldenburg territory of Birkenfeld and the Bavarian Palatinate : it was sold by Saxe-Coburg to Prussia by an agreement of May 31, 1834. Finally, Oldenburg received the Principality of Birkenfeld, which it still holds. The present Bavarian Palatinate had been handed over to Austria in 1815, and was then ceded by Austria to Bavaria (Treaty of Frankfort, July 20, 1819) in return for the retrocession by Bavaria to Austria of Salzburg and other formerly Austrian territories which had been transferred to Bavaria by Napoleon. Hesse-Darmstadt obtained its lands west of the Rhine (including Mainz) by a Treaty with Austria and Prussia of June 30, 1816. The limits of these various territories were settled in the Treaty of Frankfort (1819). THE RHINELAND 233 3. The Rhineland since 1815 a. Boundaries Little change has taken place in the boundaries of the Rhineland since 1815. The two areas in which the country was at first administered, viz. the provinces of Julich-Cleves-Berg and that of the Lower Rhine, were amalgamated in 1822. The Principality of Lichtenberg, which was bought from Saxe-Coburg in 1834, is now the Kreis St. Wendel. The territory acquired from Hesse- Darmstadt in 1866 is now the Kreis Meisenheim. The Birkenfeld territory belonging to Oldenburg has become an enclave in the province. By the incorporation of Nassau in Prussia in 1866 the territory by which the outlying Kreis Wetzlar was separated from the province ceased to be in the hands of another State, The boundary of the province is nowhere a rigidly defined physical frontier, except where it follows rivers or streams, as from Bingen to the mouth of the Lahn and for the greater part of the Luxemburg border. It is, however, rather more definite on the west, where it coincides with the frontier of the German Empire, than on the east, where it is only an accidental line of division between provinces or states. On the west it starts in the north by running across the plain parallel to and about five miles away from the Meuse, to Roermond ; then, irregularly, past neutral Moresnet (where the Belgian frontier begins) to the Luxemburg border. The Belgian frontier gives to Prussia the Walloon-speaking communes round Mal medy (see under 'Distribution of Languages ', p. 103) ; • it runs alternately along streams or watersheds, or dia- gonaUy across them ; but the country is barren and sparsely inhabited ; and the line in part corresponds to the Teutonic-Romance linguistic boundary. For its 234 HISTORY exact relation to this boundary see pp. 80, 85-8, 103-4, and Atlas, Map 4. This and the Dutch frontier form the only section in which the boundary coincides with a linguistic frontier, as the German dialects run, like the mountain ridges, north-east and south-west, and cut across the boundaries of States. b. Political History to 1850 The history of the Rhineland from 1815 to 1871 is not one of territorial change. It is rather the story of the process by which Prussia evolved into a national German State ; a process as yet incomplete. To the Rhinelanders it was a case of putting up with, whUe gradually educating, their masters ; to the Prussian the most important task seemed that of maintaining the strength of Prussia even at the cost of postponing the union of Germany. The first years after 1815 were a period of increasing reaction, and brought bitter disappointment to those who had hoped for a free and united nation. The Rhineland had been spared the disasters which the rest of Germany had suffered under Napoleonic rule, and had shared in its benefits. Now it found that the burdens of heavy taxation and conscription remained, and that it had exchanged the rule of the French for that of a state that was less enlightened and even more foreign in its views. Prussian officials were everywhere installed ; the promised constitution was indefinitely postponed ; and a vigorous censorship of university teaching and the press checked all expression of the national asphations. To King Frederick Wilham, as to his mentor Metternich, the desire for national unity and the desire for constitutional liberty seemed alike indistinguishable from anarchy and atheism ; and the national aspirations of the Rhinelanders were actually THE RHINELAND 235 branded as Franzosenfreundlichkeit. The climax was the suppression in 1816 of Gorres' Rheinische Merkur, which had done more than any other journal to rouse the national feeling in the years 1813-15. Its offence had been that it demanded a German policy from Prussia. Gradually, however, the tenacity of the Rhinelanders asserted itseU, and they came to take the lead in the nineteenth century in the spheres of constitutional progress, industry, and religion. The first Rhenish Diet was held in 1826. It had been postponed for eleven years ; it was elected almost entirely on the basis of ownership of land ; and the privileges conferred upon it amounted in sum to con siderably less than any of the local Estates in this part of Germany had enjoyed before 1790. Yet it none the less expressed the national feeling of the province, and the experience gained by its members in days of greater liberty gave it a statesmanlike tone which placed it in front of all other provincial Diets. It was principally occupied, during its first seven sessions, with Government proposals for alterations in local administration, which it politely but persistently rejected. In the meantime it developed a definite con stitutional programme, which was to have a deciding influence at the first joint meeting of the Prussian Diets in 1847. The Liberal ministry of 1848 had two Rhinelanders — Camphausen and Hansemann — at its head ; and the Prussian constitution of 1850 was mainly based on the Rhenish proposals as redrafted by another Rhinelander, Peter Reichensperger. The Rhenish constitutionalists thus assisted the Prussian Government to save itself from the consequences of the summoning of a constituent assembly which, like others of its kind, spent many weeks in discussing single articles without arriving at any satisfactory result. Its 236 HISTORY formula, as expressed in the Rhenish Diet, was the gradual evolution of a constitution as in Great Britain from the existing institutions of the State. In local government the persistent exertions of the Rhenish Diet secured the retention of some special features inherited from French rule. The Rhineland shares with the other main districts west of the Rhine (viz. Alsace-Lorraine and the Palatinate) the ' mayoral ' urban constitution as opposed to the ' magisterial '. The municipal government consists of the mayor and his subordinates on the one hand, and the town council on the other. This was a privUege which the Diet fought for until it was conceded in the Local Government Act of 1846, and subsequent modifications have not removed it. It has two great advantages over the Prussian ' magisterial ' system, where there is an inter mediate body, the ' Magistrat ', between the mayor and the council ; it leads to greater expedition ; and it avoids the jealousy that appears to be universal between the ' Magistrat ' (where it exists) and the councU. The Rhineland also enjoyed the advantage of the Napo leonic code civil until the general codification of the law after the formation of the Empire. c. Political History since 1850 On the adoption of the constitution in 1850 the provinces as such ceased to be concerned with other than local interests. National parties took the place of provincial ; and in this connexion the question of Church and State became a decisive factor. The Rhineland had been in the hands of Catholic princes, lay and ecclesiastical, at the time of theReforma- tion, and had remained Catholic. Sixty-nine per cent. of the population were Catholic in 1910. This was one of the reasons which made Prussia reluctant to take the THE RHINELAND 237 province in 1815 ; and it proved a source of constant friction in the nineteenth century. In 1815 the State found the Church weak ; until 1824 the sees of Cologne and Trier were vacant ; and the Government was then able to impose terms on the bishops. But in 1835 the new Archbishop of Cologne refused to abide by the agreement, according to which mixed marriages were to be unconditionally recognized. The ensuing conflict was not only ended by the grant of full liberty to the Churches in the constitution of 1850, but the years of struggle had brought a great access of vigour and power to the Catholics; schools had been founded; monasteries and convents had spread; new orders had been founded; and a number of laymen's societies had been formed, especially in the years 1840-50. The first meeting of German Catholic bishops had taken place in 1848 ; and the Church had learnt the advantage of national com bination. The Pope significantly conferred the dignity of Cardinal on the Archbishop of Cologne in 1850. Both Churches had been since 1815 dependent on State sub ventions ; but the Catholics were now in a far stronger position than the Protestant Church, whose supreme overlord was the king. Accordingly when, after 1871, Bismarck felt himself in a strong position, thanks to the incorporation of the Protestant Hanover and Hesse- Cassel, and the wresting of the leadership from Catholic Austria, he proceeded to take measures to reduce the Catholic power within constitutional limits. The ' May Laws ' of 1874 were issued, providing for State approval of the appointments of clergy, and State- prescribed limits to ecclesiastical discipline. The con sequence was, however, an enormous growth of the Cathohc party, or ' Centrum '. Bismarck fought it for a few years, but without success ; and in the meantime he wished to throw over the National Liberals. Accord ingly he was forced to obtain the support of the Centrum 238 HISTORY for his programme, and conceded virtually all the eccle siastical privileges that the ' May Laws ' had withdrawn. His concessions have since been extended. In the past thirty years there has been no acute conflict between Church and State in the Rhineland. But the Centre Party is still dominant there. Apart from the fact that it has behind it the support of the Cathohc clergy and societies, it well represents middle class views by its restricted poUtical liberalism, its fundamental respect for law, order, and property, and its expansive patriotism. On the other hand, it has patronized social reform and Catholic trade unionism with such success as to delay the spread of Socialism among the working classes of the Rhineland. WhUe it is stUl more or less opposed to the Prussian theory of the State and to the dominance of Junkerdom, it cannot be regarded as a separatist force, or in any serious sense Reichsfeindlich. The Centre now includes 46 out of the 63 Rhenish members of the Prussian Abgeordnetenhaus, and 27 out of the 36 Rhenish members of the Imperial Reichstag. Forty-nine per cent, of the votes polled in the province at the Reichstag elections of 1912 (664,000 votes) were given to the Centre Party. The other members elected were: Social Democrats ... 5 (323,000 votes) National Liberals ... 4 (216,200) Wirtschaftliche Vereinigung, &c. 1 (35,900) Freisinnige Volkspartei . . 0 (49,200) Conservatives . . . .0 (38,000) 27 out of the 91 members of the Centre Party were elected in the Rhineland. d. Economic History The constitutional and religious differences were aggravated in the first few decades after 1815 by the THE RHINELAND 239 Government's failure to understand the economic needs of the province. At that time there were no canals in the province, and traffic on the Rhine was still subject to dues, including a levy on all goods passing Cologne or Mainz. It is true that Prussia extended the system of macadamized roads begun by Napoleon ; but until 1830 the increase was at a slower rate than under French rule ; while at best the cost of road-borne traffic was very high. Coal transport cost Sd. per ton per mile, as against less than \d. to-day by rail, and less than |^. to-day by water. The competition of France and Holland, and especially of Great Britain, was severe, and actually ruined some industries that had grown up under Napoleon's continental blockade. But the great need was for capital. The law restricted the formation of limited companies. These could not be formed except by special sanction, which was rarely granted, and only on special terms. Industry had to rely on private capital, assisted by foreign borrowings ; and the early history of the firms of Krupp, Haniel, Stinnes, and others is one of continual struggles to keep clear of bankruptcy. The rapidity of Prussia's recent economic expansion may be said to be due to its having been held up by State restrictions during the half-century after 1815. The following are the chief steps in the economic development of the Rhineland : The formation of chambers of commerce and building of roads under Napoleon. The Rheinschiffahrtsakte of 1831, by which traffic on the river was freed from dues. The Zollverein (Customs Union) which was built up among the German states between 1828 and 1854. The law of 1843 permitting the formation of a certain type of limited liability companies (Aktiengesell- schaften). 240 HISTORY The sanctioning of the first joint stock bank (at Cologne) in 1850. The commercial code of 1861, extending the uses of limited liability. The commercial law of 1870 by which limited com panies were finally absolved from the necessity of State approval. (There were theh 235 in existence ; in the years 1870-3 843 new ones were formed.) Since 1871 the Government has pursued a vigorous policy (initiated by Bismarck) of encouraging economic development. In 1879 Bismarck introduced protective tariffs. The nationalization of railways (1880-6) was used to reduce freights, especially in assistance of export trade. The building of canals (the Dortmund-Ems canal, 1892-9, and its extension to the Rhine in 1914) and improvement of the Rhine (especially 1880-91) have also cheapened transport. A land credit bank was formed in 1888, since when capital has been increasingly used in agriculture, and the crop grown per acre has steadily increased. e. National Sentiment in the Rhineland National feeling in the Rhineland dates from 1813. There had been nothing to give rise to it before 1790, as the only national institution, the Empire, had become a symbol of all that was obsolete and effete. Under Napoleon the benefits of unity, liberty, and an admini strative efficiency that had previously been undreamt of, found universal recognition ; and even the idealists, though they withdrew from politics, submitted to Napoleon's enlightened despotism with a good grace. Yet however great theh pleasure at the enhghtened government and its advantages, there was now one thing lacking — the national union with Germany. National feeling was called into existence here, as in THE RHINELAND 241 the rest pf Germany and in Italy, by foreign domination. The reunion with Germany in 1815 was welcomed, at least by some sections of the population, with the same enthusiasm as the passing of the Kleinstaaterei had been in 1793. The awakening to the stern facts of Prussian rule in 1815 was perhaps even ruder than the disappointment of the idealists had been with the realities of the republic. It was also longer-lived, and for a generation or more the dominant attitude was one of resentment towards the cold northern military State which had broken its constitutional promises and obstinately refused to take the lead in uniting Germany. The liberties of the press and university were swept aside, and the views of the population less consulted than at any period in the two preceding centuries. Finally, the desires for constitutional and national unity were treated as Jacobinism. The striking feature of the consequent anti-Prussian feeling is that it appears in no case to have been anti- German ; it was the Prussian who was un-German ; and both the constitutional question (notably at the Frankfort Parliament of 1848) and the Catholic question largely helped the growth of a solidarity between the Rhineland and the South German States which is expressed in modern times in the fact that the Catholic and National Liberal parties have their main strength in these areas. It is noteworthy that there appears to have been no bitterness against France in the Rhineland : the earlier excesses had been obliterated by the blessings of the Napoleonic Empire. On the other hand there has never been any doubt that, great as those blessings were, the Rhinelanders would have preferred to enjoy them even then as members of a German State, and since 1815 they have unquestionably placed German unity 242 HISTORY before even the question of constitutional liberties. Only this fact explains the considerable popularity locally enjoyed even by Frederick William IV and WUliam I in the province. It is true that the present Emperor has been decidedly unpopular there, but this is not a peculiarity of the Rhineland, and is in its case partly the result of his irresponsible utterances and misguided interference in local matters (such as strikes and the coal syndicate), and partly owing to his treatment of Bismarck, who was immensely esteemed in the province. Indeed, it is the successful national pohcy of Bismarck which finally welded the province to Prussia, and, while not diminishing its constitutional asphations, put an end to any desire there may have been for exis tence as a separate state within the empire. The educa tion of their masters by the Rhineland began -with Gorres' summons to the State in 1816, in which he called upon it ' in all respects to make itself a German Power, and not drag Germany down to the level of a Prussian Power '. Bismarck in addressing a Conserva tive party meeting in his later years used almost identical words. /. France and ihe Rhineland since 1815 The Treaties of 1815 were odious to the French, and as their country recovered its strength they desired more and more to regain their former supremacy in Europe, and of this national aspiration the Rhine was the symbol. Moreover, the hatred of Prussia which undoubtedly existed among the Rhinelanders encour aged in France a widespread belief that these Germans wished to return to their French citizenship. The difficulty — for French Governments — was to find a favourable opportunity for recovering the lost terri tory. In 1829 Polignac was inclined to direct the THE RHINELAND 243 French effort towards Belgium, on the ground that an attempt on the Rhineland would provoke the implacable hostility of the German Powers. But French public opinion continued to cherish the hope of regaining the natural limits, and in 1840 an acute European crisis, which had its origin in the Near East, provoked among the French a strong popular demand for a war that should restore to France something at least of what she had surrendered in 1815. The agitation in France was answered by a furious outburst of German patriotism, of which the most memorable expression was the famous Rheinlied of Becker — ' They shall not have it, the free German Rhine.' War was averted, but the termination of the crisis seemed to the French public inglorious for France, and thereby the Orleanist Monarchy received a jar which permanently weakened it. In the earlier part of the reign of Napoleon III France gained a position in Europe that satisfied the national sentiment, and the Rhine ceased to be the great symbol of national regrets and hopes. But it was not forgotten, and when Bismarck set to work to make Prussia dominant in Germany the French Government conceived the idea that it might take advantage of the impending Austro-Prussian conflict in order to gain territory on the Middle Rhine. Bis marck was careful not to undeceive Napoleon on this point, until after Sadowa a definite French demand for Mainz was put to him. Then he succeeded in diverting French hopes to Luxemburg, with the consequences related above (pp. 191-2). After 1871 French aspirations were dhected towards the recovery of Alsace and Lorraine ; and meanwhile the lands on the Middle and Lower Rhine were being welded more and more closely to Germany by their economic development as well as by the intensification Q 2 244 HISTORY of German national sentiment and ambitions. But, whatever the right or the expediency of the matter may be, it is hardly surprising, in the light of French' history and tradition, that in the last three years, since France has again been put in mortal peril by an attack from the East and North, there should have been a revival, in some sections of French opinion, of the ancient dogma that France ought to possess or control all the German lands on this side of the Rhine. NOTE TO CHAPTER IV THE NEUTRAL TERRITORY OF MORESNET The neutral territory of Moresnet (or, as it is known in Germany, the neutral territory of Altenberg) lies immediately south of the point at which Belgium, Holland, and Germany meet, and north of the Liege- Aachen main road. ' It does not form a State ; and although placed under the joint administration of Prussia and Belgium, it is not subject to a simple condominium. It falls into no category recognized in the history of neutralities ; its neutrality is neither a general not a partial neutrahty. If we may offer a definition, it might be called a provisional and accidental neutrality. The territory of Moresnet owes its origin at once to the obscurity of a diplomatic document and to the inaccuracy of a map, and its existence appeared to be ephemeral, yet it dates from 1815, and each attempt to suppress it has but left it more firmly established ' (M. Rene Dollot, in Ann. des Sciences politiques, 1901, p. 620). Article 25 of the Treaty of Vienna (June 19, 1815) assigns to Prussia the five cantons of St. Vith, Malmedy, Cronenburg, Schleiden, and Eupen, and also the pro jecting corner of the canton of Aubel, included in the NEUTRAL TERRITORY OF MORESNET 245 former departement of the Ourthe, the frontier follow ing the boundaries of these cantons, so that a line drawn from south to north should cut the corner of Aubel canton and continue to the meeting-point of the three former departements of Ourthe, Meuse-inferieure, and Roer. The phrasing of this article contradicted that of Article 66, and both were obscure, but Holland insisted upon the literal interpretation of Article 25. The result was a dispute concerning the disposal of a triangle of territory,1 containing in its single village of Kalmis (now also known as Neutral Moresnet) 250 inhabitants. It was a district of no military value, but contained valuable calamine (zinc-ore) workings belonging to the Compagnie de la Vieille Montagne. The importance of these mines was doubtless a primary cause of the original dispute, and has been the chief obstacle to. any later settlement. At the convention of Aachen (June 26, 1816) it was resolved that the zone should be administered in common by Holland and Prussia, but should not be liable to military occupation by the forces of either State. Two commissioners were appointed, one by each party, to govern the neutral territory, but this was found an impossible method, and in 1841 it was decided to transfer the executive power to local authorities. The ' Union commimale de Moresnet ' was accordingly formed, comprising the three villages of Belgian, Neutral, and Prussian Moresnet (with the Revolution 1 The curiously divergent estimates of the area of the territory may be partly accounted for by the ' Union communale de Moresnet ' in 1841 and its abolition in 1890. Thus Hoch gives 1,360 acres, the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911, quoting Hoch), 1,400 ; a careful measurement of the area, as given in several large-scale maps, gives the writer 880 acres. An estimate (Bull. Soc. Geogr. Rochefort, 1901) of 395 acres is clearly an error. Lersch gives 6,425 ; this would about fit the three communes of Belgian, Neutral, and Prussian Moresnet. 246 HISTORY of 1830 and the rise of an independent Belgium- that State acquired the Dutch rights over the neutral territory). This second arrangement, however, was little better, and decayed by degrees from 1856 onwards to its abolition in 1890. Since 1890 Moresnet has been administered by a burgomaster, two deputies, and a municipal council of ten members. The burgomaster is nominated by Belgium and Prussia alternately ; of the two deputies, one is the director of the mines and holds the position of deputy ex officio, the other is elected. The communal funds are supplied by taxes (income-tax, tax on Catho lics for the upkeep of school and priest, inn-licence, and licence for draught-dogs), supplemented by a sub sidy from the Vieille Montagne Company. All other taxes are collected by Prussian collectors, and shared equally by Prussia and Belgium. Customs are shared in the same way ; they are only levied on imports re-exported into a State other than that from which they came. It is said that Prussia has been in the habit of securing the larger share of these revenues. The administration of justice also is shared between Prussia and Belgium. All cases are tried in the first instance before the magistrate at Aachen, in the second by the Court of Appeal at Liege. Moresnet has conserved the Code Napoleon, which causes com plications when e. g. a German thief tried at Aachen gets, according to the law of his own country, a few months, while the Code Napoleon specifies five years. The inhabitants have no nationality. They are neither Prussians nor Belgians, and as Moresnet is not a State they are reckoned as having no State at all. They are thus exempt from military service, and for this reason a large immigration at one time set in. This was checked by an agreement as between Germany, Belgium, and Holland that only inhabitants of the NEUTRAL TERRITORY OF MORESNET 247 district at the time of its neutralization, together with theh descendants, should be regarded as natives and have no nationality ; all subsequent immigrants, with theh descendants, preserve their former nationality and its obligations. At present the population is 3,038 ; 1,380 are Prussians, 918 Belgians, 308 Dutch, and 432 are natives with no nationality. They speak a Teutonic dialect related to Dutch, and containing words from all the surrounding languages ; but both French and German are generally understood. It appears to be certain that Neutral Moresnet has gradually inclined more and more towards Germany, and that the Belgian connexion has weakened. The largest element in the population is the Prussian ; it is said that Germany has for long had more than her share of the taxes and customs duties, and there is evidence that during the war the Vieille Montagne, though a Belgian company, has shown itself more favourable to Germany than other Belgian mining and metallurgical concerns. It seems indeed to have acted almost as a German agent for the purchase of zinc-ores and zinc in Belgium. The evidence, coming as it does from other Belgian firms which bitterly resent this action, must be accepted with caution ; but it seems highly probable that the Vieille Montagne has passed actually, if not nominally, into German hands, and that accordingly the neutral territory of Moresnet — which is practicaUy owned by the Vieille Montagne — has become predominantly German. CHAPTER V SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to state as briefly as possible the chief facts concerning the life of the Belgian working-class. The main heads of these facts may be summarized as follows. The population is very dense, but is, com pared to that of England, France, or Germany, much spread out over country or suburban districts and comparatively little crowded into great towns. The land is much subdivided, and one in ten of the popula tion owns some land ; the practice of agriculture on a small scale is the rule rather than the exception among all the poorer classes. The agricultural labourer thus hardly exists. The system of farming results in an exceedingly high yield per acre, and the price and rent of land is very high. House rents are, on the contrary, low, and the standard of housing is good. Education and poor-relief are both in a most un satisfactory condition ; 20 per cent, of the adult population are illiterate, and rehef is almost com pletely lacking in organization. PracticaUy any one may sell alcohol, and a great number do so ; drunken ness is very prevalent, one-sixth of the income of the working-class being spent in drink. The effects of this are especially bad, as beer, the old national drink of Belgium, is gradually being ousted by gin. The scale of wages is very low ; hours of work in factories are long, and the tendency is for the quality of work to fall below that attained in other countries. INTRODUCTION . 249 There is a large amount of home industries which, while not by any means always sweated, form an unsatisfactory element in the industrial life of the country. We shall now describe in outline the condition of the agricultural population, the industrial population, housing, education, and poor-relief. The Agricultural Population1 It is difficult to get exact information as to the number of Belgians habitually employed in agriculture. The figure 1,200,000 (agricultural census of 1895) includes large numbers of industrial workmen and theh wives, who cultivate small plots of ground and can hardly be described as anything more than allotment- holders. But the figure 697,000 (general census of 1900) is too low, since it omits many of the women who help their husbands with the work of the farm. In a country of small holdings, where the agricultural labourer is almost unknown, the work of these women is an important element in the agricultural life of the people. As, however, no more exact figures are avail able, the estimate of the 1900 census is accepted for the purposes of this chapter. The agricultural population, so estimated, represents 23-1 per cent, of the occupied persons of the country, and an agricultural population of 95 per square mile of cultivated land. The proportion of this population to the industrial has been decreasing considerably during the last fifty years, but its absolute numbers have been increasing all the time.2 1 See further, Chap. VII on Agriculture. 2 A French author (Charriaut, La Belgique moderne, p. 300) makes the serious mistake of inferring, from the proportional decrease of the agricultural population, an absolute decrease, and of dilating in consequence on a totally imaginary rural exodus. A shortage of labour there is ; but its causes lie elsewhere. 250 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM The type of work done by the women varies a good deal. It is universal for the farmer's wife to take a considerable share of the work, and an unmarried man can hardly run a farm at all ; but it is only in the case of very well-to-do farmers that the wife restricts herself to the housework and the dahy. In general she also undertakes the poultry and the calves, and such field-work as thinning, weeding, hoeing, tying corn into sheaves, &c. ; or, in the case of market- gardens, cleaning and tying up vegetables, taking them to market and selling them. Sometimes they do heavier work, such as spreading manure and lifting turnips; occasionally even ploughing. In Flanders and Hainaut, from which districts about 50,000 men leave every spring to work in the fields in France,1 the women have to do practicaUy aU the work of the small farms. Women's field-work in Belgium is thus not an indication of poverty among the agricultural classes, but is an essential of the system of smaU holdings. Only 35 per cent, of the agricultural workers are in the position of paid labourers. The remaining 65 per cent, are either owners or tenants, or members of their famUies. Moreover the status of agricultural labourer is not, as it is in England, a permanent one. The great majority of such men are aheady cultivat ing small plots on theh own account, and on the way to become independent farmers. Thus the sons of small farmers often begin by working for wages, investing their savings in land, either bought or rented, and cultivating it in their off time, generaUy with implements lent by theh employers. In time they gradually drop theh connexion with the employer and support themselves entirely on theh own land. 1 The local name for these men is Francsmannen. See further, p. 251. THE AGRICULTURAL POPULATION 251 Wages vary a good deal from one district to another. The average for the whole country is Is. Id. a day without food, or Is. a day with food. For women these averages are Is. and Id. respectively. The lowest wages are in Limbourg province (Is. 2d. and Id. for men), the highest in Namur (Is. lid and Is. 3d.). These low wages are supplemented by such perquisites as the free use, or use at a very low rent, of a small allotment and the free loan of horses and implements for its • cultivation. Piece-work during the summer often yields a better wage. In some parts harvesters are paid in kind, e.g. in a share, varying according to the district, from one-eleventh to one-nineteenth of the harvest. Labourers working for these wages would be unable to support a family but for their own plots of land, which yield potatoes, and the goats and fowls which these plots generally support. It is also usual for the farmer to help his labourers towards a state of independence by advancing money for the purchase of stock or land. Some labourers, especially horsemen and cowmen, live in ; these receive wages varying from 16s. a month in the Campine to 48s. in the Ardennes. The wages of labourers have risen somewhat in recent years. This is partly due to the increased facilities for people living in the country to go into the towns for daily or weekly work ; a certain shortage of labourers has thus been produced. The institution of Francsmannen, mentioned above, increases this scarcity in the west. These men go to France in gangs of about a dozen or more, and work on piece-work of one kind or another, according to the season, aU through the summer, often making on average 8s. a day each and bringing back £20 or £30 in the autumn. The peasant-farmer or smaU-holder has in most cases developed out of a labourer. His standard of 252 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM living is not high, but it is adequate ; by hard work he can always make a decent living, and his position is distinctly better than that of the English labourer to whom he roughly corresponds. The Flemish small holder works harder and saves more than the Walloon, whose enterprise and initiative go far to make up for his somewhat lower standard of diligence. The worst feature of the hfe of this class is the high figure of rents (for details see p. 312) which tend to increase with every improvement to the land, and as two-thirds of these small-holders are tenants the class, as a whole, suffers a good deal, and its general standard of life is cut down to the minimum by this fact. The large farmers are a prosperous but diminishing class in life and character, very much like the large farmers of other countries. They are fairly intelhgent and progressive in their methods, especially in the Walloon districts ; in many parts they work along with their labourers, though in some districts this is not done. The reason for the diminution of the large farmers as a class seems to be that, as the demand for small holdings increases, large farms are from time to time cut up into small plots, whereas the reverse very rarely happens. The number of the agricultural population relatively to the whole is three times in Belgium what it is in England, and the Belgian rate of decline in this pro portion is only half the English. The main conditions on which this great comparative vitality of agricultural hfe seem to depend are, first, the system of land- tenure, and secondly, the development of cheap means of communication. Such things as agricultural co operation, education, &c, must be regarded as secon dary to these two chief factors. THE INDUSTRIAL POPULATION 253 The Industrial Population 1 Of the total occupied population of Belgium 39 per cent., or 1,130,000, are engaged on industrial work. The condition of this industrial class has improved considerably since Karl Marx described Belgium as ' the capitalist's heaven and the working-man's hell ' ; but the Belgian factory hand is still on average the hardest worked and the worst paid in Europe. The questions which we shall here briefly treat are the distribution of this industrial population, its wages, the length of the working day, and the general efficiency of labour. The majority (about three-fifths) of the industrial class live in the Walloon districts, especially along and near the coalfield which runs from Liege to Mons and the frontier. The main agglomerations are round Liege, the Charleroi-Centre district from Auvelais on the Sambre to La Louviere, and the Couchant de Mons district. Here population-figures of over 1,000 per square kilometre are almost continuous, and are made up entirely of industrial workers. In the Flemish districts the industrial population is mainly con centrated in and round Antwerp, Brussels, and Ghent. But great numbers of Flemish towns have a certain number of industrial inhabitants. The Flemish worker is on the whole inclined to be a town-dweller. He lives near his work, and very often — especially if he is a home-worker — in a slum. The Walloon districts, on the other hand, are remark ably devoid of large towns. Charleroi and Mons are not at all large ; no Walloon town but Liege (164,000) has a population of over 50,000, and only four others rise above 30,000. The Walloon factory-hand lives in 1 See further, Chap. IX on Industries, especially the sections on HomeIndustries{pA82)a,iidtheHistoryofIndustryinBelgium(pA84:). 254 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM semi-urban districts of vast extent, mostly in isolated houses, each having its plot of land, diligently culti vated and constituting a substantial addition to the occupier's wealth. This ' garden-city ' life is made possible by the cheap and easy means of communica tion. This subject is discussed further in Chap. X (pp. 527-9), but it is necessary here to refer to the system and its effects. Workmen are allowed cheap tickets for any distance up to 62 miles daily, the fare being reduced in pro portion to the length of the journey. Thus a weekly season (six days) for a three miles' journey costs 9d. (id. per mile); for 12 miles ±d. per mUe (Is. 2\d.) ; for 25 miles ~d. per mile (Is. Id.) ; and for 62 mUes Y^d. per mile (2s. 6d.). These fares are actuaUy lower than the single third-class return for the same distance, and are in consequence very widely used. Large pro portions of the hands employed travel in by train every day ; most of these come in from about six to nine miles away, but several come 15 miles and more, and in every large town there are some — perhaps 1 per cent. — who come over 30 miles. These, the latest figures available, date from 1896. In many cases over half the men employed at a given factory five outside the town in which it stands, and it is estimated that one- sixth of the whole working-class population use work men's tickets in going to and from theh daUy work. The social results of this habit are striking. In the first place, it tends to equalize wages in the town and country. Between 1846 and 1895 agricultural wages have doubled ; this is certainly due in part to the competition of the factory for the labour of the country- dweller. Agricultural labour thus grows scarcer, and the result is a decline in the number of large farms, which are cut up into small holdings, so that the process of subdivision of the land is aided by the THE INDUSTRIAL POPULATION 255 cheap tickets, which also enable these holdings to be taken by men whose work lies partly in the town. Besides rendering labour extremely mobile, cheap traveUing keeps urban rents down, by permitting country-dweUers to take up factory work without moving into the towns and by encouraging town- dwellers to move farther out. The same cause clearly tends to check the flow of population to the town, to preserve country life and so to stimulate agriculture. The practice of living in the country and travelhng to work in the town adds a good deal to the physical fatigue of the average working-man, when taken in connexion with the long hours that prevail in Belgian factories. This is the worst feature of the system, which is on the other hand beneficial to the health of his wife and children. The average wage per hour of the Belgian working- men is barely over half that of the English (actually 52 per cent.). In the building and engineering trades the Belgian wage is about 50 per cent, of the English ; in the textile industries apparently about 62 per cent., and in coal-mining 66 per cent. (These figures are reached by averaging from a very extensive survey, but must only be taken as giving a rough indication of the conditions.) In railway work the weekly Belgian rates are between 50 and 75 per cent, of the English, though the Belgian works more hours in the week. Thus drivers get 25s. as against 45s., firemen 17s., against 30s., platelayers, 14s. Qd., against 22s., signal men, 15s., against 26s., and so on, the bulk of the labourers getting 12s. 6d. as against 19s. All the foregoing figures date from 1910, and Belgian wages had been then rising for some time, but they cannot have risen since then enough to distort the main points of the comparison between Belgian and English wages. 256 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM The low wage per hour is to a certain extent com pensated (from the point of view of the workman's income) by a long working-day. The average Belgian working-day is 121 per cent, the length of the English, and in .consequence the average Belgian worker's weekly income (time, 121 per cent., wage per hour, 52 per cent.) is 63 per cent, of the average English worker's. A table of the average day's work is given below : 3-79 per cent. work 8 hours or less 6-88 ,, 8 to 9 hours 34-09 ) „ 9 to 10 hours 15-44 > 10 to 10J hours 17-48 > ,, 10 J to 11 hours 14-08 5 „ 11 to 11 \ hours 6-15 J ,, \\\ to 12 hours 2-09 ) „ more than 12 hours This longer working-day (while it has a certain effect on the quality of the work done ; see p. 257) is thus not nearly long enough to compensate for the lowness of the hourly wage. The deficit is made up to some extent by the work of other members of the family. Many of the wives of Belgian workmen work in factories ; in East Flanders the number who do so is very high (one in three at Ghent, as against one in twenty at Liege ; the infantile death-rate being 23-1 per cent, in Ghent as against 12-9 in Liege). Apart from factory-work the wife very frequently does home-work (lace, corsets, or gloves) or charing, or keeps a small shop or cabaret, so that of all the wives of Belgian workmen one in eight has an occupation of some sort. Another addition to the income is the almost universal piece of ground, which whether a mere town garden, an allotment, or a very small holding is worked at little expense and supplies a certain amount of food. It should also be observed that Belgium is a cheap country, prices being about 94 per cent. — to THE INDUSTRIAL POPULATION 257 take a very broad average — of those normally current in England. The actual expenses of a Belgian family are, however, nothing like 94 per cent, of those of an English, because the Belgian has a much lower standard of comfort in such matters as warm and ' best ' clothes, food, &c, and his wife is a conspicuously good house wife. A French student of Belgian society remarks that she is a much better menagere than the French woman, and, a fortiori, better than the Englishwoman. Altogether, it seems safe to say that whereas the English minimum cost of living for a family of five in normal years is (again taking a broad average) 22s. 9d. per week, in Belgium it is 16s. 4d., or 28-2 per cent. lower. But it must be remembered that this lower Belgian figure implies a standard of living which an English working-man would not consider tolerable. Finally, another method of supplementing low wages in Belgium is poor-relief, for which see below, under Pauperism (p. 269). Low wages and long hours are related partly as cause, partly as effect, to a somewhat low standard of efficiency. The Belgian workman is ill-educated (see below, under Education) and does not read ; he is less inteUigent and alert than the workmen of neighbouring countries, more enslaved by routine, and more mechani cal in his operations of mind and body. This is especially the case in the Flemish provinces, where the standard of education is much lower than in the Walloon. This is not due to any racial defect, as becomes clear when the Belgian is moved into a more favourable environ ment. Thus low wages, malnutrition, illiteracy, and low industrial efficiency work in a vicious circle, and to these must be added — also as simultaneously cause and effect — the fact that Belgian workmen do not combine to improve their position. The trade union movement is still in its infancy. This backwardness BELG. R 258 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM on the part of. the men to assert their claims (which, like the other evils mentioned, is most marked by far in the Flemish provinces) is often ascribed to the activity of the Church in opposing the anti-clerical Socialist party and in encouraging a contented and resigned habit of mind. Housing Although there are half a miUion workers in the Walloon provinces, the only large towns are Liege, Verviers, Seraing, Tournai, and Namur ; no other has as many as 30,000 inhabitants. The industrial popula tion is not in fact concentrated in great towns, but distributed over wide areas. This is characteristic of the whole life of the Belgian (especiaUy the WaUoon) lower classes. It enables a large proportion of them to have gardens, and though theh houses are in many cases poor and smaU they are not crowded into slums. It is the general custom in Belgium for each famUy to Uve in a separate house. Large tenement buildings are practicaUy confined to a few large towns, such as Brussels and Antwerp, and even here they accom modate an inconsiderable fraction of the population: For the whole country the average number of persons living in a house is five. Urban houses may be conveniently divided into three classes ; the best, inhabited by 10 to 15 per cent. of the working population, namely the best-paid work men, and by clerks and petty officials, fetch rents of between 2s. Qd. per week and 10s., this figure being reached in the expensive suburbs of Brussels and Antwerp. The second class of house, inhabited by skUled workmen or by unskilled workmen whose income is augmented by the earnings of theh families, accounts for 30 to 35 per cent, of the working popula- HOUSING 259 tion ; the rents vary from Is. 8d. to 6s. per week. The third class contains 50 to 60 per cent, of the working population, namely the great bulk of the unskUled labourers and poorest classes. The rents vary from Is. 3d. to 3s. 6d. per week. This third class includes the slums. The houses of Class I have, as a rule, a street-frontage of 16 to 18 ft., and a depth of 25 or 30 ft., and almost always have a well-cultivated garden. They are generally three-storey buildings, not counting the almost universal cellar, which enables good stocks of coal, potatoes, &c, to be kept. Most houses share a single tap between three or four households, and closets are often shared by two or more houses. A house of this type, including about 140 square yards of land, costs £160 to £240. Houses of Class II are imitations on a smaller and cheaper scale of Class I, and need not be separately described. They are generally only two storeys high. Class III varies greatly in type and character. Generally speaking there are two rooms, a ground-floor living-room and a bedroom, possibly also an attic. Most houses have a cellar and a rain-water cistern, but few have a private water-supply or closet. Sometimes one tap or pump serves 50, 100, or even 200 houses, and one closet is shared by as many as ten families. The furniture is very scanty, but there is generally a garden containing perhaps a fruit-tree or two and a poultry- run, as well as a good stock of vegetables. Houses of this type are usually built in narrow streets or courts, but the almost universal gardens make these districts much less monotonous than the corresponding quarters of an Enghsh town. Slums are, of course, to be found in every considerable town, but houses of Class III are for the most part cleanly and respectable, often occurring in great numbers in those suburban tracts R 2 260 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM which surround the industrial centres of the Walloon country. The lowness of rents is striking. Except in Brussels and Antwerp, a three-roomed Class I house may be had for 2s. 4^d. a week in the Flemish, 2s. lid. in the Walloon towns ; a four-roomed house of the same class costs about 2s. Id. in the Flemish towns, 3s. 4eZ. in the Walloon. The customary attic and cellar give these houses a much larger accommodation than is suggested by the number of rooms, and houses of the other classes are even cheaper. Moreover, these houses have, as a general rule, gardens, and the tenant pays no rates or taxes. The standard of wages is certainly very low in Belgium (see p. 255), but the rents are in proportion still lower. Thus a Belgian famUy earning 20s. to 30s. a week will spend 10 per cent, of its income in rent, whereas an English family with the same income will spend 16 per cent, of it in rent. A careful comparison of building expenses in Belgium and England shows that the same house which in Belgium costs say £250 will in England cost £345 (37 per cent, higher) ; one costing £140 in Belgium will cost in England £250 (80 per cent, higher) ; one costing £80 wiU cost in England £185 (130 per cent, higher). In general English prices seem to be nearly twice as high as Belgian ; very seldom less than half as much again. The causes of this cheapness are various, but the most important are : (1) very low wages in the building trade ; (2) cheap bricks ; (3) cheap means of transport. These three factors are clearly connected ; bricks can be had cheap because transport is cheap, and the cheapness of labour in general affects both these. But other factors exist. Building land is probably cheaper in Belgium than in England, though agricultural land is far more expensive. This is partly due to the ease HOUSING 261 with which workmen travel to and from their work, and consequently live in semi-rural districts to an extent impossible in England. In part it is also due to the fact that building land is much subdivided, each workman tending to own his house whenever possible.1 This tendency raises the price of agricul tural land, owing to the competition of buyers, but it seems to lower that of building land, owing perhaps to the elimination of the speculative builder. In spite of the cheapness of housing in Belgium overcrowding is frequent. In houses of Class I it is rare except in the Flemish towns and the Centre district ; in Class II the proportion of overcrowded houses rises 30 per cent, in the small Walloon and Flemish towns and over 20 per cent, in the Liege and Charleroi districts. In Class III the percentage is nowhere below 30, and in the smaller industrial towns rises to 75. 2 The rural houses of the labourers and smallest peasant cultivators are, as a rule, single-storey build ings, generaUy with an attic. A single bedroom is the rule ; if there is another it is generally used for storing implements or food for the live stock, the latter being kept in outhouses. Overcrowding is therefore not infrequent in rural cottages. These houses were formerly made of laths and clay, with thatched roof, but this type is being superseded by brick (or in quarrying districts stone) buildings. The older houses are damp and insanitary, the floor being generally of beaten earth and the water-supply seldom pure. Few Belgian vUlages have any sort of proper sewage system. 1 Of Class I houses, 20 per cent, are owned by their occupiers ; of Class II, 4-74 per cent. ; of Class III, 1-24 per cent. 2 A house is technically overcrowded when it contains more than two inhabitants per room. 262 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM Gardens are almost universal ; their size varies greatly, but 600 square yards is a common figure. Rents also vary widely, but a cottage with 120-1,200 square yards of land seems to average £4 to £6 a year (Is. 6d.-2s. 3d. a week), which includes outbuUdings. In some regions, however, rents are a good deal lower than this. They are, as a rule, higher in the Walloon than in the Flemish provinces. Housing legislation may be said to begin with the Act of 1889, which provides for (a) a number of local committees to endeavour to improve housing con ditions ; (b) the reduction by one-hah, in the case of working-men, of the Government duties on the sale or mortgage of property ; (c) arrangements by which a workman can borrow nine-tenths of the money required to build his house (including the cost of the land) at a low rate. The local committees are meant to encourage the building of workmen's houses, to study health conditions, and to promote thrift. Theh efficiency depends largely on theh personnel. The loans advanced to workmen intending to build come ultimately from the National Savings Bank, through the mediation of local associations whose shareholders act as guarantors for the sums lent. The rate of interest paid by the borrower in no case exceeds 4 per cent., and the capital is- repaid in instalments spread over not more than twenty-five years. This transaction is usually combined with a scheme of hfe insurance. The result of this legislation is that practically any work man who desires to do so can become the owner of his house, and that ' cornering ' of town land is hardly possible, nor is it easy to charge unduly high rents when the tenant is assisted by the State to buy his own house. The condemnation of insanitary houses is left in the hands of the local burgomaster. The main features of Belgian housing are thus the HOUSING 263 general cheapness of rent and the high proportion of houses owned by theh occupiers ; the absence of extreme concentration and the general diffusion of gardens ; and the high standard of housing — higher than for instance in England — among the well-to-do artisan class. Elementary Education One-fifth of the adult population of Belgium can neither read nor write. This enormous number of illiterates is naturally contributed chiefly by the work ing-classes, of which 21J per cent. — one man in five, and one woman in four — are illiterate. Taking the working-classes of the country as a whole, of those over 40 years of age 40 per cent, are illiterate ; between 21 and 40, 18 per cent. ; between 10 and 20, 13 per cent. These figures point to a steady improvement in the standard of education, but that standard remains even to-day surprisingly low. The distribution of illiteracy is also remarkable. It affects 11-75 per cent. of the working population of the four largest towns (Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, and Liege) ; 17-34 per cent, in the Walloon provinces, excluding Liege ; and 34-69 per cent, in the Flemish provinces, excluding Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent. Illiteracy is thus just twice as common in the Flemish-speaking as in the French-speaking area. This state of things is due in part to the lutte scolaire, the long-standing educational war between the Catholics and Liberals. The law of 1842 enforced the teaching of religion in aU schools and placed it in the sole charge of the clergy, who were also allowed to control moral teaching and to veto the use of particular books. In 1879 the Liberals, who had come into power the year before, passed an Education Act by which the schools passed entirely under secular control ; grants 264 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM were only given to ¦ schools which conformed to certain conditions ; and religious education in school hours was abolished altogether, though ministers of religion were permitted to give it in the school buUdings, to scholars of theh own communion, at other times. This Act aroused the whole Catholic population to unanimous and organized opposition. The Catholics boycotted the State schools, and made great efforts to establish schools of their own in every vUlage. A general campaign was instituted against all persons with Liberal views, and was followed by a counter-cam paign of the Liberals against the Catholics; so that Catholic employers systematicaUy discharged Liberal workmen, Catholic landlords evicted Liberal tenants, Catholic charitable organizations refused assistance to poor Liberals, and vice versa. In this struggle education suffered severely. AU teachers over whom the Catholics had any sort of influence left the State schools, creating thousands of vacancies, which were filled by unqualified persons ; while the new Catholic schools, of which 2,000 were founded in twelve months, were staffed largely by sacristans, choirmen, Sunday school teachers, and even domestic servants. After five years of chaos the Liberals were finaUy overthrown in 1884. . The Catholics immediately reversed the policy of 1879, and henceforth the teaching of religion, though not compulsory, was everywhere permitted in school hours, with the proviso that children might be exempted from attending these classes on the written application of theh parents. Grants were made to Catholic schools which submitted to Government inspection, and most of the State training coUeges were superseded by others controlled by the Church. This new position was and still is violently opposed by the Liberals, and feeling on the education question (as on the Flemish question) runs ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 265 so high that it is difficult to discover what the facts are. The Catholics maintain that the standard of education is the highest which can be reached in the circumstances ; the Liberals declare that it is not only admittedly low, but that the official statistics present it as much better than it really is ; an allega tion which is not borne out by extensive private investigations. So far as the facts can be ascertained they are summarized below. Elementary education is free, and not compulsory. Belgium is the only European country, except Russia, which has no compulsory system of education ; such a system is advocated by the Liberals but opposed by the Catholics as hostile to the Belgian spirit of liberty and likely to lead to Government control in the schools. The proportion of children who never go to school is officially estimated at 10 per cent. ; the Liberals estimate it at 16 per cent. It is certainly highest in the Flemish provinces, lower in the Walloon, and lowest of all in Luxembourg. In large towns atten dance is almost universal ; in the country districts, especially in Flanders, it is alleged that about half the children hardly attend at all, and it is certain that those who do attend do so with long intervals for helping at home and in the fields, and that the average number of days' attendance in the year is well below 200. Education in the country also ' suffers because, whereas labour in factories is forbidden in the case of children under twelve years old, there is no such restriction for agricultural labour. Consequently the average town child stays at school till he is eleven or twelve, whUe the country child leaves as a rule earlier than this. Only 10 per cent, of the total scholars are over ten years old, as opposed to 16 per cent, in England. There are three main types of school. Each commune 266 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM must have at least one school (with certain exceptions); the number of teachers, the methods, hours, holidays, appointments and dismissals, &c, are controlled entirely by the commune. AU teachers must be certificated and paid a minimum salary, and the Government issues a list of subjects which must be taught, but this list may be added to. The result is that the ' communal ' schools vary greatly in number and efficiency. Where the communal authorities are interested, as in Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussels, the standard is high ; in many places it is very low. The second type is the ' adopted ' school, which is a school officially authorized by the commune to supplement the work of the communal school. It undertakes to provide free education, the commune being responsible for the salaries of the teachers. Government inspection excepted, the adopted school is an autonomous institution, and exists as such in virtue of a contract, the ' contract of adoption ', made between it and the commune. These schools are Catholic institutions. The thhd type is the ' adoptable ' school, i. e. a Catholic school identical with the ' adopted ' except that it has no contract with the commune, and in con sequence receives no payment from it ; but aU three types receive the same grants from the provinces and the State. Of the total number of scholars, 57 per cent, attend communal, 24 per cent, adopted, and 19 per cent. adoptable schools. The attendances at communal schools are, however, declining, owing partly to the influence of the Catholics and partly to the economy which local taxpayers effect by encouraging the Catholic schools. The cost of education is very low, working out at £1 13s. Id. per child, as opposed to £3 7s. 2d. in England ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 267 and Wales. This is partly due to the large amount — perhaps 25 per cent, of the whole expense — contributed by private money, but it is much more due to the small number of teachers (the average size of a class is forty-nine children) and the very small salaries they receive, generaUy not enough to live upon, a fact which results from the prevalence of unsalaried teach ing by members of rehgious orders, and from the low standard of the training colleges. In general it must be said that the primary education of Belgium is much below the European average. The whole of education suffers severely from being made a question of party politics, and even more from being made the field for a religious battle. Cathohc and Liberal teachers alternate in trying to undermine the partisan principles inculcated by the other, and the children remain untaught. But much of the teaching is good, and the very high percentage of Uliteracy is due not so much to deficient teaching as to mere non- attendance. There is a large class of schools known as ecoles gardiennes, and in type intermediate between a kinder garten and an infant school. These are a Catholic enterprise ; the teaching is mostly done by nuns for a nominal salary, and theh success is largely due to the general feeling that the necessary minimum of instruction can be gained by theh means without attending the ordinary schools at all. Continuation schools exist chiefly to give the rudi ments of education to those who have not received them in the elementary schools. But technical instruc tion (e. g. in domestic economy, agriculture and industry) is also given, as it is more fully by the technical schools. The latter are well organized and flexible ; they vary from commercial colleges with a three years' course to simple courses of lectures. 268 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM These technical schools would be very valuable but for the very low initial state of education prevailing among the pupils. There are also numerous private schools for training apprentices in various trades; these are subject to no control, and may easily degenerate into a means of employing chUd-labour. Pauperism Official charity in Belgium is controUed for the most part by the communal councils, and as it is practicaUy undirected by any central policy it is impossible to generalize about the methods and effects of its adminis tration. This lack of co-ordination applies not only to the individual communes but to the various types of body nominated by them, viz. the Commissions des Hospices which deal with indoor relief, and the Bureaux de Bienfaisance, which deal with outdoor relief. Any given case comes under one of six authorities : the local Commission des Hospices ; the local Bureau de Bienfaisance ; the communal councU itself, U the fore going bodies have not sufficient funds in hand to meet the case ; the common fund of the communes, whose purpose is to distribute the burden of rehef equaUy among rich and poor communes ; the province ; and the State. The relative liabUity of these bodies depends upon how the case is classified (e. g. pauper-lunatic, aged and infirm, foundling, &c), and this results in constant disputes as to the classification of cases and the authority responsible for them. To this source of confusion must be added the fact that each commune may have its own policy, customs, or ideals with respect to the administration of relief. It foUows that the state of Belgian poor-relief is as difficult to describe as it is unsatisfactory in practice. The sharp distinction between paupers and the rest PAUPERISM 269 of the population which is the basis of English poor- relief is not drawn in Belgium, where relief is given, often in very small amounts, to persons who though poor cannot be described as destitute. It is often given to families in receipt of low wages, especiaUy where the famUies are large. Thus in Ghent in 1906, a prosperous year, nearly a quarter of the relief given was to supplement low wages ; and the same is true of many other towns. The doles so given are so small and so irregularly given that they have no visible effect on the general level of wages, but they have local effects, and it is certain that in the towns where this custom prevails the rate of wages tends on that account to sink. Some account must be given of the various bodies charged with the administration of relief. Bureaux de Bienfaisance exist in all the communes and where there is no Commission des Hospices (i. e. in all but about 300) are responsible for all public relief. These give relief to about 6 per cent, of the total population, but the amount given in each case is on average very small. The total amount spent per head of the popu lation is highest in East Flanders, and lowest in Luxembourg : in general the Flemish provinces show a larger expenditure in charity than the Walloon, though the sum paid per person relieved is higher in the Walloon districts, so that the number of paupers per cent, of the population is much lower in the latter (e. g. 2-08 per cent, in Luxembourg as against 9-04 in West Flanders). The Commissions des Hospices, of which there are 334, confine their attention to indoor relief ; their small numbers make them greatly inferior in impor tance to the Bureaux de Bienfaisance. Their income is derived from endowments, and they spend it in main taining poor-houses which are run for the most part 270 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN BELGIUM by sisters of religious orders at a very cheap rate, so that the cost per head of the inmates is extraordinarily low. These inmates are occupied in lace-making, knitting, gardening, &c, the produce being sold for theh benefit. They are admitted on the communes paying the necessary charge for their maintenance, a charge whose smaUness makes the communes often prefer this method of disposing of theh paupers to the system of outdoor relief. Lunatic asylums, now almost entirely controUed by the Freres de la Charite, are worked on very much the same, system. There is also a lunatic colony at Gheel, where the patients are boarded out with the peasants. There are two State labour colonies of a semi-penal. kind. That of Merxplas is called a Depot de Mendicite, and its inmates are either confirmed beggars (a penal offence in Belgium) or bad characters. There are some 5,000 of them, consisting of the lowest types of the population ; they are governed by military discipline and guarded by soldiers, and a man who has once been detained there very seldom returns to a decent place in society. The number of inmates has doubled since 1898. The Hoogstraeten colony is caUed a Maison de Refuge, and chiefly harbours the old and incapable. In this case the number of inmates, about 3,000, seems to be fairly constant. They are recruited from beggars, but only from those who are considered to be destitute through no fault of theh own. There is also an enormous amount of charity under the control of the Church, which provides for almost every stage of the existence of a poor family and is administered by the religious orders. Institutions of this kind are most widespread in the Flemish provinces. A great deal of charity is organized by laymen under the auspices of the Church or of a political party. Relief proceeding from all institutions of this type has PAUPERISM 271 an avowedly partisan character, and is intended to attach the recipient to the Church or to a party. The main weaknesses of poor-relief in Belgium are : (1) its entire lack of centralization or co-ordination. This not only causes friction between innumerable different bodies, but it results in the richer communes having more to spend in relief, and therefore doing much more than the poorer, a state of things which reverses the proper position. In a rich commune some times 40 per cent, of the population receive doles. (2) The fact that much of it is administered with ulterior motives, political or religious ; and (3) the fact that it is largely given in relief of low wages. These two faults are responsible for the failure of Belgian poor-relief to put a check on poverty, or indeed to do anything but augment it while palliating it, and while at the same time undermining the inde pendence of the recipients. CHAPTER VI THE FLEMISH QUESTION The fundamental problem of Belgian internal politics is a direct result of its division into two racially or rather linguistically distinct areas : the Flemish country in the north, and the Walloon (French) country in the south. The problem consists, primarily at least, in the conflicting claims of the two languages. On the one hand, it would appear that unity of language is, if not essential to national life, at least an object worth almost any sacrifice ; on the other, the Flemings have nowhere more clearly shown their innate conservatism than in their refusal to fall in with such a programme by adopting French. The history of this graduaUy em phasized refusal is the history of the Mouvement flamand, the movement by which the Flemish portion of the Belgian State has arrived at a seh-consciousness often exaggerated, but perfectly genuine and demand ing a treatment no less respectful than any other spon taneous expression of national consciousness. This chapter outlines the earlier history of the movement and indicates some of the main features of the problems raised by it ; but the whole subject is much too complicated for exhaustive treatment in so small a space. History of the Flemish Movement The germs of the Flemish movement can be traced back as far as the last fifteen years of the eighteenth century, in a work by an advocate of note, named Verlooi, on the neglect of the mother tongue in the HISTORY OF THE FLEMISH MOVEMENT 273 Netherlands (Verhandeling op d'onacht der moederlyke tael in de Nederlanden, 1788). The author deplores the GaUicism which had since the sixteenth century occu pied the whole attention of the upper classes : he calls attention to the present poverty of the Netherlands in aU. the arts, which he ascribes very largely to this Galhcism and to the blighting effect of an uncongenial and foreign education on the youthful mind ; and he joins hands with the anti-French reaction which was taking place in Germany and Scandinavia, desiring that the Flemings should become conscious of their position as a member of the Teutonic family of nations. In this work the leading ideas of Flamingantisme are clearly expressed : anti-Gallic feeling, the deshe to make Flemish the literary and official language, as well as the more popular dialect of its native country, and a distinct, though as yet undeveloped, Pan-Germanist tendency (for which, however, see below, pp. 290-6). The development of these ideas was checked by the French Revolution and the conquest of Belgium by the French. Revolutionary France, true to her doctrinaire character, declared war on all dialects, with a view to making Parisian French the universal lan guage, to be imposed forcibly where necessary. Low German and Flemish, as well as Walloon, came under the rubric of dialects,' and the imposition of French, begun in 1794, was clinched in 1803 by an edict ordering that all official documents, even those recording trans actions between private persons, should be written in French. Education in the now French Netherlands, when it was reconstituted after the chaos of the French in vasions, was also arranged on the basis of the French language, and to the end of the French occupation Flemish was confined to the primary schools. The publication of Flemish journals was forbidden tiU 274 THE FLEMISH QUESTION 1812, when they were permitted to appear with a French translation ; and books in Flemish seem not to have been published at all, owing to the inability of the French censors to discover whether they were inoffensive. The effect of these measures appears to have been a deepening cleavage between an educated class, recruited from the upper strata of society and the bourgeoisie, speaking French and enjoying a monopoly of the press, and an uneducated peasantry, speaking Flemish and debarred from literature in almost every form. With the latter class, however, the Catholic priesthood threw in its lot : devotional literature kept alive the germs of a literary Flemish, and various smaU societies main tained ' chambers of rhetoric ' for the performance of plays and competitions in declamation on set themes. In this cleavage between the French- and Flemish- speaking classes, directly due to the policy of revolu tionary France, is to be sought the origin of the distinction between Walloon Liberalism and Flemish Catholicism, as the conflicting political ideas of nine teenth-century Belgium. The union with Holland occasioned a lively out break of linguistic controversy. Dutch writers pro posed that Dutch and Flemish should be fused into one language and made into the national idiom, whose use should be obligatory for all official purposes. Thus for the first time flamingantisme appeared as a conquering and intolerant movement, an appearance easily ex plained by the pohtical function of the new united Netherlands as a barrier against France. WaUoon writers replied with pleas for toleration, insisting on the importance of the Gallicism of the Belgian upper classes as a fait accompli. The Government compro mised by yielding to the fait accompli in the matter of administration, and reintroducing Flemish so far as HISTORY OF THE FLEMISH MOVEMENT 275 possible in education. Thus a normal school founded at Lierre in 1817 was entirely Dutch and is still a centre of the Flemish movement. In the same year secondary education was reorganized and Flemish adopted as the medium of instruction in ancient languages. Private colleges directed by the clergy, however, continued to use French, and female education and the world of fashion clung to that language throughout. The universities founded in 1816 at Ghent, Louvain, and Liege adopted Latin as the language of instruction and examination ; but at each alike a centre of Dutch- or Flemish-speaking instruction gradually arose, in spite of local opposition, through the efforts of individual professors, encouraged by the Government. The position of the Dutch language with regard to popular feelings was in general not good. It made any real headway only in the towns of Antwerp and Ghent, which had gained in prosperity by the annexation, and here it was mostly popularized by a handful of Belgian Catholics, while the manufacturers, who wel comed the liberal and Protestant policy of the king, and regarded the union as the foundation of their fortunes, despised Dutch and retained French. As heretics the Dutch were disliked by the Flemish Catholics ; but they were still more disliked for their political energy and passion for reform, coupled espe cially as this was with a deep-seated contempt for the Belgians as an inferior race. The clergy were for all these reasons peculiarly hostile to the Dutch and their language, and the growing dislike of all things Dutch seems to have had a detrimental effect even on the use of Flemish ; thus certain journals, in order to emphasize their anti-Dutch sentiments, gave up pub lishing articles in Flemish. At the same time there was a powerful body of French Republicans living in exile in Belgium and keeping ahve the French S 2 276 THE FLEMISH QUESTION tradition among the now thoroughly Gallicized upper classes. In this confused state of things the ' father of the Flemish movement', John Franc is WiUems, was occupy ing the position of keeper of the city archives at Antwerp, and devoting himseh to the study of lan guages and history. He had aheady acquired a certain reputation in these studies, and as a literary man before the revolution of 1830. It is the fashion among Pan-German propagandists to represent the Revolution as a WaUoon movement, backed by France, and culminating in the re-enslave ment of the Flemings to a regime hardly distinguishable from the tyranny of the revolutionary French govern ment. Just as the defeat of Varus and the Battle of Courtrai are regarded by Pan-Germanists as precursors of Sedan, incidents in an eternal Franco-German war whose essence never changes, so the quarrel between Belgium and Holland must, according to the Pan- German philosophy of history, be made into a conflict between Pan-Germanism and Pan-Gallicism. German writers therefore maintain that the moving spirits in the Revolution were Walloons, and that they carried the Flemings with them by force. Antwerp was be sieged by the revolutionary forces : and Antwerp stands for flamingantisme. It follows that flamingan- tisme was against the Revolution and remained pro- Dutch to the end. The defect in this argument is that the forces be sieged in Antwerp were not the Flemings, risen to resist the Walloons, but the troops of the King of Holland ; and they were besieged chiefly by the Flemings them selves. In point of fact the Revolution, which began in Brussels, was taken up with at least equal enthu siasm in the Flemish provinces : indeed it spread to the provinces of Dutch Flanders and Dutch Limburg, HISTORY OF THE FLEMISH MOVEMENT 277 which entirely severed their connexion with Holland and were only returned to that country by the Powers in order not to humiliate the King (see p. 144). Lin guistic patriotism had indeed little if anything to do with the Revolution, which was very largely caused by the rehgious feeling of the Catholic Flemings against the Protestant Dutch. The importance of this religious feeling is recognized even by some of the Pan-German propagandists, who accordingly proclaim the necessity of ' setting the Flemings free ' from the church of which they are the ' dupes '. In connexion with the same subject it may be recalled that a decree of 1823, the culmination of the linguistic policy of the Dutch government, established a complete dualism between the Flemish and Walloon districts. The ' national language ' (i. e. Dutch, differ ing only dialectically from Flemish) was to be the sole recognized and legal language for public business in Limburg, Flanders, and Antwerp, and in the arron dissements of Brussels and Louvain : persons ignorant of the national language were not to become candidates for any public office in these districts and could only stand for office in the Walloon districts. Exactly the same regulations applied, mutatis mutandis, to the French-speaking provinces of the south. This artificial and violent attempt to propagate Flemish (for such was the aim of the decree : its effect in the Walloon area was negligible, since that area never has contained any considerable number of Flemings) met, as was natural, with great opposition. It ruined all the advocates at Brussels who were unable to speak Flemish ; it put the Gallicized upper classes of Belgium in the position of aliens in a country whose administration now for the first time passed entirely out of their hands. Even those who knew Flemish knew it as a local dialect only, and found the literary Dutch of the law-court almost 278 THE FLEMISH QUESTION a foreign language. It was only in the north (Antwerp, Malines) that the local dialect could pass as tolerable Dutch. This linguistic policy of the Dutch government un doubtedly did much to cause the Revolution. ' Free dom of language ' was one of the chief catchwords of the period 1825-30 ; and freedom of language meant primarily the liberty to use one's own language in court. Naturally this was most urgently demanded by the French-speaking professional classes in Flanders. The Walloon provinces contribute comparatively few to the long list of protests against the Dutch policy. It is highly instructive to compare this proposal and its results with the proposals mooted by modern flamingants (cf. p. 289). These modern proposals have, of course, the whole history of the Flemish movement behind them, which makes a very great difference to their feasibility. The historian of the Flemish movement (M. Paul Hamelius : Histoire du Mouvement flamand, 1894, p. 56) sums up the situation in these years as follows : ' Theh aim was to announce their dissatisfaction, to obtain the discharge of ministers, parliamentary govern ment and religious peace. The language-question had no appreciable influence on public feeling or on the petitions ; but the malcontents were glad to find in it an additional argument against the regime they detested. Hence the French language was more eagerly defended by the Flemings — who did not speak it— than by the Walloons.' At the same time the supercilious attitude of the Dutch Parliament towards French-speaking members certainly did alienate the Walloon provinces. In 1829-30 the Dutch king's linguistic policy underwent a certain modification in deference to these protests. A decree of June 4, 1830, permitted pleas to be made in French when the judges understood that HISTORY OF THE FLEMISH MOVEMENT 279 language. 'This decree ', says M. Hamelius, 'removed all grievances. Three months later, Belgium revolted.' This is the conclusive proof that the question at issue was not simply that of ' freedom of language '. The provisional government of 1830 declared French the sole official language. This extreme course was defended by the argument that Flemish (and German) varied so much from place to place that no uniformity was possible except in French. In point of fact it was certainly due to the hatred of aU things Dutch, which was now given full scope. Dutch professors were practically expelled from the universities ; the normal school at Lierre was in effect suppressed ; the reaction in favour of French, regarded as the national language expressing Belgian liberty as against Dutch domination, was complete. The respective situation of the languages was defined by Art. 23 of the Belgian Constitution as follows : Uemploi des langages usitees en Belgique est facultatif ; il ne peut etre regie que par la loi et seulement pour les actes de Vautorite publique et pour les affaires judiciaires. This article gives to the legislative, power to choose one or more official languages ; to the execu tive, power to impose this choice upon its agents ; to private individuals, the right to use whatever language they please ; while upon the administrative as a whole it lays the obligation of adapting itself to any one of the three languages which may be demanded. Civil servants of all kinds, teachers and officers of the army, must use the language dictated by their departmental superiors. These chaotic liberties and obligations have naturally come into continual conflict, and produced a state of things described not unjustly as linguistic anarchy, the effect of which did little to diminish that mutual intolerance of French and Flemish which was already in the air by 1830. But at the time it was felt 280 THE^FLEMISH QUESTION that complete uniformity of language was the one possible basis of the State ; and that, if three languages were spoken within the State, the only solution was a legal fiction to the effect that all three were indiffer ently spoken by every member of the State. This fiction could not be maintained, and aheady in 1834 Charles Rogier took up the view that French must be the language of Belgium, and that the army, the administrative and the judiciary must be supphed from the Walloons and Luxembourgeois : Flemings must learn French. This view gradually gained ground, and Flemish, which had never, since it refused to assimilate itself to literary Dutch, become a standard ized uniform and hterary language, seemed bound to sink into the position of a mere lower-class dialect or group of dialects. The event was precisely the opposite. The Dutch rule had not produced a Flemish literature, but it had stirred the waters ; interest in Flemish had sunk deep into the generation which grew up under the Dutch regime, and the results began to appear almost im mediately after the Revolution. 1834 saw the initia tion of the Flemish Movement by Blommaert and Willems, the latter having now embarked seriously on the philological study of Flemish, a study initiated in 1821 by Hoffmann von Fallersleben, who, under the influence of Jacob Grimm, had come to Leyden and collected a vast quantity of old Dutch poems, proverbs, plays, &c. In 1834 Willems, who was aheady in correspondence with Grimm, published a modern version of the old Flemish fable, Reynard the Fox (Reinaert de Vos), with a preface urging the necessity of keeping alive the original language in which the tale was composed. An annual was founded for the publi cation of studies in Flemish literature, and a society was formed with the motto De taal is gansch het volk HISTORY OF THE FLEMISH MOVEMENT 281 (language is the whole of nationality) and an organ, in the form of a supplement to the Ghent Gazette. Willems now energetically continued his philological researches, which he regarded as a means to the education of public opinion and the establishment of a Flemish national consciousness. Friends and pupils gathered round Willems at Ghent, which thus became the centre of the Flemish Movement ; and in 1837 the first number of his review, the Belgisch Museum, appeared. Ten years later Willems died. The same year saw the death of Ledeganck, the disciple of Willems, who did more than any other one man to create the new Flemish literature which Willems first conceived. Among the leading enterprises of Willems and his party were the reform of the spelling and the abortive movement for the recognition of Flemish as an official language. Two hundred and forty petitions, thanks to the organization of Willems, were sent in from different communes, dealing with the latter question, in 1840. There was little popular feeling on the subject ; the agitation was almost entirely due to the activity of a handful of philologists ; but it met with a considerable degree of success, and a great congress in Brussels in 1844 fairly launched the movement in the eyes of the world. But for eleven years more, though it never ceased to gather strength, the movement was actually no more than a literary, almost a dilettante, concern, producing a considerable literature but never becoming a political force. It entered the field of politics, for which it had so long been preparing itself, only in 1855, with the manifesto of John Van Rijswijk, a poet of Antwerp. This intemperate document, which exhorted the Flemings to aspire to a higher status than that of ' negroes on a plantation or Indians in an English colony ', at last touched public opinion and induced 282 THE FLEMISH. QUESTION De Decker, the flamingant minister, to attempt a reform in favour of Flemish. A commission to con sider such reforms was accordingly appointed in 1856 ; unfortunately it consisted entirely of literary men, unversed in practical politics and fanatical adherents of the Fleming party. The reports of the commission were violent and unpractical, and De Decker, in spite of his entire goodwill towards the cause of Flemish, was unable to support them or to use them as a basis for legislative proposals. The result was a decided em- bitterment of feeling on both sides ; and the men who were engaged in administering the new Belgium, the regime of 1830, felt that the Flemish Movement was a retrocession towards the exploded principles of the 1815 settlement. The only practical outcome was a literary convention (1858) with Holland, protecting the rights of authors and establishing the free exchange of printed matter. About 1860 the heightened feeling found expression in an official controversy arising out of the reports of the commission. The minister, Rogier, refused con cessions to Flemish, mainly on the ground that the Flemings themselves had abandoned the use of their language. His arguments were very severely handled by the Flemish party, and in fact he quite failed to gauge the deepening impression made year by year by the Flemish renaissance. In 1860 a proposal was made to substitute a German for a Dutch orientation of the Flemish Movement, to introduce German, as a language of wider value and more cosmopolitan possibilities, among the Flemings much as French had been introduced among the Walloons. In the abstract the principle seemed reasonable ; but the separation between Flemings and Germans had for centuries been complete, and this political and religious separation cut much deeper in reality than HISTORY OF THE FLEMISH MOVEMENT 283 the linguistic separation between Flemings and Wal loons. The Flemings, in short, felt German to be a tongue no less alien than French, and they had at least grown accustomed to French, since the fourteenth century, as they had never grown accustomed to German. In the early sixties a project was mooted for uniting all the Low German dialects into one large confedera tion as against High German on the one hand and French on the other. This was the nearest approach to Pan-Germanism on the part of ihe flamingants of the period ; but it naturally collapsed after the wars of 1866. It never seems to have been taken very seriously. A second commission on the Flemish question pre sented its report in 1866, ten years after the first. This, like the earlier document, accused the present regime of violating Article 23 of the Constitution, and showed a distinct leaning towards the Dutch regime of 1815. It argued that the practical unity of language in Belgium delayed the formation of a true nationality by keeping the Flemings outside public life, and thus reduced Belgium to a parasite of France, a state with no character of her own, that it created in Flanders two mutually hostile social strata, and that the present state of affairs, besides being inexpedient, was uncon stitutional. The failure of this report was only the signal for further efforts on the part of the Flemish party. Two causes celebres brought into prominence the question of the rights of languages in the courts. In 1863 Karsman, a journalist of Antwerp, appealed against a fine of 5 francs to the court of Brussels, where he claimed under Article 23 the right of pleading in Flemish. The claim was rejected under an interpre tation of certain decrees of 1830, and violent protests were made by Flemish journals and the leaders of the 284 THE FLEMISH QUESTION movement. A more serious case arose in 1866, when two alleged murderers, Coucke and Goethals, were unable to communicate with their counsel, owing to theh ignorance of French and his of Flemish, except through a Dutch interpreter, and were condemned and executed on the strength of a remark in Flemish over heard — it was alleged, incorrectly — by a WaUoon policeman. The Flemish party proposed in conse quence an amendment to the law controlling the administration of justice to the effect that in the Flemish-speaking area no person ignorant of Flemish should be appointed to judicial functions. The Govern ment maintained that this was a rule aheady foUowed in practice, and the amendment was thrown out. If 1830-55, the period of literary and philological work, is regarded as the first phase of the Flemish Movement, and that beginning in 1855, the period of unsuccessful political efforts, as the second, then the third phase, the period of political successes, may be said to begin about 1870, when the Catholics came into power.1 This third period opened with two leading events. In 1869 the representative for Ghent called the atten- - tion of the Chamber to the social, moral, and inteUectual backwardness of the Flemish provinces. In birth-rate, in literacy, and in the absence of criminality the Walloons were greatly superior. This he attributed to the absence of an education and public life open to the Flemings in theh own tongue, and he concluded ' the Flemish question is neither a literary nor a pohtical question ; it is a social question'. 1 The connexion between the Flemish Movement, in its later phases, and Catholicism has always been very close, and is likely to remain so in the future. An antithesis is often expressed between the Liberal party as socialist, international, anti-clerical and frans- quillon, and the Catholic party as conservative, nationalist, religious and flamingant. HISTORY OF THE FLEMISH MOVEMENT 285 Secondly in 1872 another sensational trial occurred. A man wished to register the bhth of his child in Flemish. The registrar refused, and the man was fined 50 francs for failing to register. This was clearly against the text of the constitution, and he appealed ; but his appeal faUed because he insisted on its being made in Flemish. Both these events provoked great numbers of petitions, and aroused much feeling. The result was the judicial reform of 1873. An accused party, according to this law, could claim the right to engage a counsel speaking his own language, and the case must be conducted in this language within certain hmits. These reforms, though very meagre, were accepted as the earnest of more to come. In 1878 a new law secured further rights for Flemish in the administrative sphere (proclamations, police- court cases, &c), but its application was hindered by the general ignorance of written Flemish, which made it equally difficult to write or to read a Flemish pro clamation correctly. Reforms of education were ac cordingly demanded, and were secured by a law of 1883, followed by the foundation of a Flemish Academy at Ghent in 1886 ; and a second judicial reform was passed in 1889, which made the use of Flemish practi cally universal for judicial purposes in the Flemish area. Since that date further legislation (1897) has strictly equalized the position of the languages in the schools ; but Flemings claim that they are still at a disadvantage in the courts. Here French still apparently prevails by the force of inertia, owing to the fact that advocates have studied the law in French ; and the Flemings demand that Flemish should be made the obligatory language of civil procedure within its own territory. This reform, again, would require the institution of law studies in Flemish in the universities. 286 THE FLEMISH QUESTION The Present State of the Flemish Problem The French geographer Onesime Reclus predicted that the rising tide of French would one day submerge the Flemish portion of Belgium. This can never now happen. The Flemish Movement has gone too far and has entered too deeply into the consciousness of the northern Belgians to permit of any such solution. The ' one-language ' solution of the Belgian problem seemed quite possible to Charles Rogier in 1834 ; no serious statesman of later generations has regarded it as con ceivable. An alternative would seem to be the ' bilingual ' solution, that is, the adoption of the two languages as equally official on the understanding that the bulk of the population should speak both, thus creating a bilingual Belgium. Flanders is to some extent aheady bilingual, though the extent is small, amounting to between 1-7 and 5-25 per cent, in different provinces. The Walloon provinces, on the other hand, are only bilingual to the negligible extent of 0-03 to 0-5 per cent. To convert the Walloons to bilingualism would be an absurd proposal, though it has often been seriously entertained. Within very narrow limits something has been done already, and more may be done in the future, to spread the knowledge of Flemish among educated Walloons ; but it is quite certain that such a movement can never really affect the body of the population. Belgium will never be a bilingual country. A third alternative is the sharp and complete separa tion between the two geographical divisions of the country, such that all state and other officials in the north should speak Flemish and that all business in this division should be transacted in that language, while French occupied the same position in the south. ' In Vlaanderen Vlaamsch ' has been a catchword of the PRESENT STATE OF FLEMISH PROBLEM 287 flamingants, and appears to indicate some such ideal. It is, however, clear that this separatist policy would tend to make all intercourse between the two districts impossible, and would exaggerate all the worst features of the racial cleavage. The Walloon colonies in the north and the Flemish colonies in the south would become more than ever aliens in a foreign land, unable even to obtain justice in their own language, except by an elaborate system of safeguards which would entirely destroy the attractive simplicity of the arrange ment. The most reasonable proposal seems to be a re stricted bihngualism which should make a knowledge of both languages obligatory for all officials. ' This is the only practical end at which we can aim, the only means of which we can hope to effect a union between the two races ' (Daumont). According to this concep tion, knowledge of Flemish should be obligatory, and its employment universal, throughout the Flemish provinces, in schools, universities, and hospitals, by officials of all ranks, barristers and solicitors, judges and jurymen, engineers and technical experts ; all official publications should be in Flemish, and Flemish should be used as much and as completely by the upper and middle classes as by the lower. On the other hand, the officials concerned should be acquainted with French so as to safeguard the interests of persons ignorant of Flemish. This programme seems to be adopted by the present leaders of the flamingants. It involved the same supremacy for Flemish in the north which is now enjoyed by French in the south ; and it would clearly, for that reason, bear hard upon the fransquillons, the French-speaking residents in Flanders, whom it will frankly place in a position of inferiority. Signs are not wanting that the Flemish Movement, which has 288 THE FLEMISH QUESTION developed a more and more fanatical spirit, is willing to take up an attitude of forcible propagandism and persecution, and to demand, not legal equality, but actual privUeges, for Flemish. Such an attitude is not mitigated by the language of French and Walloon writers. Such men as Maeter linck 1 have set themselves deliberately to ridicule the movement, and have obtained the ear of the French, and in great part of the Walloon, press ; and in spite of the provocative attitude of the flamingants, it is impossible, in. studying the literature of the move ment, to escape the conviction that the fransquillons are responsible for most of the high feeling and bad blood which exist between the two parties. The hostility of the Flemish party to Fransquillon- isme, i. e. the use of French by the bourgeoisie of Flanders, may be called a trait of excessive propa gandism and even persecution, but it is, from the Flemish point of view, reasonable and necessary. Per sonal relations and some degree of intelligent sympathy between upper and lower classes are, they argue, in dispensable to the social weU-being of a country. But such relations are impossible if these classes speak different languages. Now in Flanders the working- 1 Maeterlinck's notorious article in the Figaro described the move ment in the following terms : ' This party consists of a handful of agitators whose obscure bucolic origin and belated education has made them incapable of learning French. Ignorance, in natures naturally envious, has turned to rancour ; and in their loathing for a language which, when they try to write or talk it, renders them ridiculous, they have patched up a kind of artificial or academic jargon out of scraps of their lower classes' heterogeneous dialects, as a vehicle for the expression of their mutual admiration ; a pompous, grotesque, still-born production incomprehensible to the people upon whom it is foisted as their mother-tongue, and the butt of well-deserved sarcasm at the hands of really literary Flemings — for there are some — and Dutchmen.' And so on. PRESENT STATE OF FLEMISH PROBLEM 289 classes — perhaps 95 per cent. — speak nothing but Flemish ; the upper classes are in general bilingual, but a large number still regard it as undignified to speak Flemish, which they consider a vulgar and impolite dialect. At home and in society they speak French as theh families have done for centuries ; they learn it in theh schools and colleges and regard it as the hall mark of their social position. This attitude of mind is Fransquillonisme. In aU the Flemish towns, with the sole exception of Antwerp, society is still more or less fransquillon. Ghent and Bruges have in especial clung obstinately to the use of French. The result is said to be a serious impediment to all understanding between the classes. Social work among the poor is impossible as long as the rich consider it a disgrace to talk Flemish ; masters and men speak different languages, to the detriment of the interests of both. In order to put a stop to these conditions the Flemish party wish to make it im possible to get a French education in the Flemish- speaking provinces, while demanding full liberty for education in Flemish in the French-speaking provinces. It is desirable here to quote in full a statement of the flamingant demands as they were formulated shortly before the war. ' The Flemish movement demands the full execution of the laws dealing with justice, administration and education, espe cially as regards the arrondissement of Brussels and the cantons of Enghien in Hainaut and Landen in Liege, where Flemish populations are subject to the Walloon regime. ' Primary education to be compulsory ; the teaching of the French language is not to appear in the curriculum.1 1 It must be noticed that this and the two following clauses, enforcing education in Flemish and restricting French to the status of a foreign language, apply only to the Flemish-speaking area (which, however, is to include Brussels) and are designed,as explained above, to exterminate Fransquillonisme. 290 THE FLEMISH QUESTION ' Middle schools (moyennes) and royal Athenees to be Fle- mingised, i. e. Flemish to be the language in which all teaching is carried on (langue vehiculaire) ; French to be compulsorily taught but only as a secondary subject, and the teaching to occupy one course only. ' Normal, primary and middle schools of agriculture and horticulture, industrial, commercial and maritime schools, the mercantile marine, the royal conservatoires and other musical schools of the Flemish districts are to be made essentially Flemish. ' Officers and medical officers of the army to be obliged to know and to speak regularly the language of the great majority of their men ; the gendarmerie and the douanes on the Dutch frontier to be Flemingised. ' Diplomats, and consuls of Belgian nationality, to be obliged to know Flemish. ' Twenty-one communes wrongly described as Walloon, and therefore evading the Flemish legislation, to be transferred to the list of Flemish communes : viz., Brussels, Schaerbeek, St. Gilles, St. Josse-ten-Noode, Aubel, &c. ' The use of Flemish to be made regular in the civil and com mercial courts of the Flemish districts, and in the supreme Court of Appeal at Brussels. ' The linguistic rights of the Flemings settled in the Walloon territory to be protected in the same manner as those of Walloons in Flemish territory. ' As to the spheres in which legislation is not proposed, the Flemish party will work unceasingly to Flemingise the free schools and colleges, commerce, agriculture, industry and fisheries. By improving the economic situation of the Flemish population they will attempt to check emigration.' International Relations of the Movement Apart from the obvious and unchaUenged anti- Gallicism of the Flemish Movement, its most important international relations are with Holland and Germany. In its inception the movement was certainly Orangist ; it aimed at closer relations, possibly even at political union, with the Netherlands. Down to the present INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 291 time the flamingants have encouraged close relations with the Dutch, and have shown the liveliest pleasure at such events as the Dutch participation in the exhibition at Brussels in 1910, and the subsequent visit of the King of the Belgians to the Queen of the Netherlands. These facts cannot be used as proofs of Orangism : they merely indicate a desire for friendly international relations with a country already con nected by language, though such relations are hindered on the one hand by difference in religion and on the other by political prejudices on both sides which are the heritage of the years 1815-30. But other facts do indicate a certain degree of Orangism : the phrase ' Greater Netherlands ' has come into use among a certain class of writers to indicate the political idea of a union between Holland and Flanders ; some of the less temperate flamingants openly regret the period when Belgium was under Dutch rule, and the Algemeen Nederlandsch Verbond, a society whose seat is at Dor drecht, seems to some writers — possibly without justice — to propagate Orangist notions among the Flemish- speaking Belgians. But the Orangism of the flamingants is faced by several serious obstacles. Holland is protestant, and Flanders is strongly and definitely catholic. But the acquisition of Flemish-speaking Belgium by Holland would, by uniting the Belgian catholics with those of Holland — who are fairly numerous throughout, and preponderate in the south — put the Dutch protestants in the minority in. their own chamber. Again, such a union would bring the great ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam under one government, and the Dutch would probably not welcome such an arrangement. It seems to be generally felt in Dutch commercial circles that one such port is enough for a country of the size of Holland. In fact, the merchants of Rotterdam are t 2 292 THE FLEMISH QUESTION jealous of Antwerp, and the feeling appears to be mutual. Some writers, again, lay great stress on a difference of temperament between Flemings and Dutch, the latter being, according to these authorities, of a Calvinistic grimness and seriousness in contrast with which the Flemings might almost be called mercurial. In short, the Orangism of the modern flamingants is a matter of sentiment and international friendship. So far as it extends to practical politics, so far as it involves the proposal to unite Holland and Flanders, it is definitely opposed by the Dutch and disowned by the more responsible members of the Flemish Move ment itself. The question whether and how far Flamingantisme implies Pan-Germanism is a difficult question to decide on account of the wide differences of programme which the Flemish Movement includes, and even more on account of the violent feelings evoked on both sides whenever the question is raised. On the one hand may be taken the opinion of M. Charriaut (La Belgique moderne, une terre d' 'experiences, 1910), an acute French observer who writes with a decided bias against Flamin gantisme.- No good Belgian, he admits, would wish to be anything but a Belgian ; but small nations, however tenaciously they cling to their own nationality, are necessarily drawn into the orbit of theh larger neigh bours. Neutral zones, he argues, are an Ulusion. A buffer-state must always incline to one or other of the great nations between which it is supposed to mediate. Now the Flemings are definitely and exphcitly anti- French : it follows, therefore, by the above law that they must be (consciously or unconsciously) pro- German. ' So far as concerns Belgium, every loss to France is a gain to Germany.' M. Charriaut clinches this argument by quoting INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 293 statements of prominent flamingants, expressing their admhation of German achievements or more definite sentiments, e. g. that Flemings could acquire High German as easily as Rhinelanders and other Platt- deutscher, and that this would unite them with the civilization of the greatest European nation, even that Belgium ought to be regarded by Germany as her shield against France (a prominent flamingant, M. Pol de Mont, speaking at Dresden) ; and frequent allusions to ' our mother Germany ' , Germany as ' the great Fatherland ', and so on. This language ought, perhaps, not to be pressed ; but it does clearly prove that the Orangist orientation of the Flemish Movement in the thhties and forties has been replaced by a Pan-German orientation, and that closer relations with Germany were felt by many leaders of the movement to be desirable. It is not intended here to gauge the extent to which Pan-German propaganda deliberately set out to capture the Flemish Movement before the war ; but it is certain that attempts of this kind were made, e. g. in the movement for making the University of Ghent a purely Flemish university, which was zealously advertised by Pan-German organs in the first decade of the twentieth century. Again, M. Charriaut points out, a great outcry was raised, when a French secondary school was founded at Brussels, by the Vlaamsche Volksraad society, on the ground that foreign influences and hybrid culture were at all costs to be resisted ; but the German schools at Brussels and Liege caused no such tumult. ' The Flemish movement ', concludes our author, ' is really nothing but a Pan-German movement in dis guise. The culture which it has in mind when it seeks to defend the individuality of the race is altogether Teutonic in character. And this is logical, since the 294 THE FLEMISH QUESTION Flemish race and the Flemish language are equally Teutonic' According to this writer, then, Flamingantisme was in 1910 a movement which, while it aimed at an independent Belgium, aimed also at placing Belgium on the German side in the already inevitable conflict between Germany and France, a movement which accepted with complacency the penetration of Belgium by German capital and influence, and was ready to play into the hands of those who saw in Antwerp the German-controlled port of the Rhineland. M. Charriaut' s views are violently opposed by members of the Flemish Movement itseh. ' M. Char riaut ', writes a prominent flamingant, ' knows much more than I do about the pro-German pohcy of the movement.' Another (M. Daumont) deals at length with M. Charriaut. There is, he says, a pro-German movement among the flamingants of Belgium. But the question is whether this movement originates with German propagandists, who have wrested Flamingan tisme to their own advantage, or whether it depends upon the anxiety of Belgian flamingants to secure the help of Germany in furthering the interests of theh party. He concludes that the former answer is the true one. The Pan-Germans have found in the Flemish Movement an effective means of propaganda, while the flamingants have seen in the German Empire only a centre of civilization, of scientific and hterary energy, with which they were anxious to be on good terms. Germany was in the commercial sphere one of Belgium's best customers, and this made the task of the Pan-Germans much easier. At one time the Pan- German scheme involved the grafting of High German upon the Flemings ; but this scheme was soon seen to be impracticable, and the Pan-Germans ^resolved to accept the Flemish Movement as it stood, and to use INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 295 theh influence to strengthen it. This rapprochement was successful. An official congress of flamingants passed in 1902 a resolution expressing a desire to unite the Flemish Movement with the literary movements of ' Germany, which has been called the land of Science and Art'. German suggestions hinting at the annexa tion of Flanders to Germany were, however, indignantly rejected by the party. Again and again the Flemish Movement has been accused of receiving subsidies from Germany ; but the accusations have never been supported and have always been indignantly rejected. The leading Flemings fully grant that they are anti- French in sentiment and policy. They consider the French language as ' contaminated by the moral corruption of Paris, the modern Babylon ' ; they desire to preserve — or rather to restore — Flemish speech and literature, Flemish manners and habits of thought, as typical of the country to which they belong. And all these are no doubt Teutonic, so that in a sense the flamingants are working for a Germanic ideal. But this must be distinguished from a Pan-German ideal. Pan-Germanism means the political union of all Teutonic peoples under the regime of the German Empire, and to that fate there never has been reason forbeheving that the Flemings would submit. Through out her history, the keynote of Flanders has been her individualism and particularism ; domination, whether it came from north or south, was equally offensive and intolerable. The battle of Courtrai was fought not for Teutonism against Gallicism, as the Pan-Germans affect to believe, but for a free Flanders. German pamphleteers, describing the growth of the Flemish Movement, are compelled to admit that in 1914 the Flemings were no more friendly to Germany than the Walloons. The vexed question ' Is there a Belgian soul ? ' was at last answered in the affirmative. 296 THE FLEMISH QUESTION The old quarrel was dropped, and Walloon and Fleming alike took up arms against the Germans. Nor has the course of the German occupation done anything to relax the first feeling of hostility. At the outbreak of war Germany counted on the Flemings, and they faUed her. She now counts on them again, hoping by sedu lous encouragement of the Flemish Movement to deepen the gulf between the two races and to force the Flemings into her arms. There is every reason to believe that this hope is as vain as the other. It is, however, certain that a small party in Belgium would welcome the closest relations with Germany, even to the extent of inclusion in the German Empire. Members of this party are to be found among the Catholic Flemings, especially those belonging to the upper stratum of the population. They feel, appa rently, a leaning towards Germany as an authori tarian state whose political outlook presents certain resemblances with that of the Roman Church. Such persons, however, even though in general friendly to the Flemish Movement, are not among its leaders. They rather represent that aristocratic element of the Flemish population which has often in the past entered into relations with foreign powers, while the bulk of the population preserves, as it always has preserved, its spirit of particularism and independence. The Relation of Flemish to Dutch The question has often been raised, whether Flemish is truly a distinct language from Dutch. Certain Flemings like to maintain that the two languages are entirely different ; and in a criminal case at Ghent, in which a Dutchman was concerned, an interpreter was provided to translate Dutch into Flemish. In 1835 an agitation was raised in the press for ' substituting Flemish for Dutch ' in the schools, and a pamphlet of RELATION OF FLEMISH TO DUTCH 297 1845 declares it to be a well-ascertained fact that the two are separate languages, each with a grammar of its own. Even in 1910 a reporter in a Belgian paper de scribed the Queen Wilhelmina as speaking to King Albert (on the occasion of his visit to Amsterdam) in Dutch, while the King replied in Flemish. On the other hand, the literary convention of 1858 between Belgium and Holland provided that ' the re printing of a Flemish book in Dutch or vice versa was a violation of copyright ' (Article 3, § 2). The Brussels Academie Royale in 1851 awarded a prize to a Rotter dam poet ' as Flemish or Dutch poet. The limit ' (so the award proceeds) ' which separates these two languages is in fact so vague that to determine it is the task of scholars only.' And since 1864, when the Belgian spelling was reformed, the most noticeable difference between the ' two languages ' — that of ortho graphy — has ceased to exist. In point of fact certain words and phrases are peculiar either to the northern or southern idiom ; but apart from this the two languages, in spite of local variations, are substantially identical. Flemish works are pub lished at Amsterdam and Leyden ; Dutch reviews and papers are to be found in most Belgian reading-rooms ; Flemish actors perform at Amsterdam and the Hague, as do Dutch actors at Antwerp and Ghent. All Flemish anthologies include passages from Dutch authors. Flemings and Dutchmen contribute to each other's periodicals. At the literary congress which is held alternately in Belgium and Holland, no difficulty is found in the way of complete understanding, by the deputies from one nation, of speeches delivered by those of the other. In general the fact seems to be that while there are certainly dialectical distinctions between various dis tricts of Holland and Flanders (see below) which may, 298 THE FLEMISH QUESTION like the various dialects of Enghsh, render their re spective users almost or quite unintelligible to each other when they are uneducated — as an uneducated Berkshire man and an uneducated Yorkshire man are unintelligible to one another — yet, on the other hand, the language as it is spoken by educated people differs very little ; apparently no more than that of an edu cated Englishman from that of an educated Scot. Some writers express this relation by saying that just as WaUoons speak (in addition to theh own dialect) French, but bad French, so Flemings speak Dutch, but bad Dutch. The Dialects of Flemish The provisional Government of 1830 did not recog nize the existence of Flemish as a language of hterature and educated speech, but only (a) a group of related but strongly divergent local dialects, collectively known as Flemish, and (b) a literary and polite language re lated to them all, namely Dutch. The ' oppression ' of Flemish by the revolutionary Government is largely explained by this fact. Coming in as it did on a wave of anti-Dutch feeling, it was. bound to reject Dutch as the language of administration and society ; and it was left with no alternative but to adopt French through out or to lose itself in a labyrinth of mutually incom prehensible Flemish dialects. It has been said above that polite Flemish and polite Dutch are substantially identical ; but this language is more remote from the local patois of the average Fleming than from that of the average Dutchman. The dialects, as opposed to the polite language, have a far stronger hold in Flanders than in Holland. ' In Flanders', writes a Flemish man of letters in 1910, ' dialect is everywhere supreme, except in a few circles ; Dutch [i. e. the polite language] is circumscribed by THE DIALECTS OF FLEMISH 299 the walls of the school-house.' A Fleming travelling in HoUand finds the people speaking the language — or something very hke it — which he knows as literary Flemish ; travelling in Flanders he only finds dialects, and these so different from his own that he and his interlocutor may be compelled to faU back on French. Not only is there an individual dialect in each Flemish province of Belgium, but each considerable town has its own. These dialects have recently been made the object of a close study. Glossaries have been published for the dialects of Antwerp, East Flanders, West Flanders, South-East Flanders, Hageland, Lim burg, &c. Many of them are extraordinarily rich and flexible. Thus the standard glossary of the Antwerp vernacular extends to 2,272 pp. and embraces over 13,000 words. It is, in consequence, hardly surprising that some, at least, are now asserting theh independence against the levelling policy of the Flemish Movement. Thus a West-Flemish movement now exists, in frank opposition to the flamingant crusade ; but it seems to have declined in strength, and in fact to be almost extinct. The orthodox flamingant looks for a day when the dialects of Flemish shall have disappeared. Mean while he is willing to spend time and trouble in theh study, in order that their vocabularies may be tapped for the enrichment of the polite language, much as the French of the Ile-de-France, in the hands of Ronsard and the Pleiade, borrowed words from the various dialects which as a literary language it was destined to supersede. One of the most moderate and reasonable supporters of the Flemish Movement (M. Daumont, Le Mouvement flamand, 1911) writes : ' It is a general law of racial history, a language is nothing but a victory over dialects. The regional dialects must give way to the Flemish language. They have their beauties 300 THE FLEMISH QUESTION and their value, which must not be ignored ; but of two evils, the lesser must be chosen, and the lesser evU is the weakening of regional idioms in favour of the Netherlandish tongue. ... I feel bound to declare it : too little — practically nothing — is being done to smother the dialects. The flamingant students at Louvain speak them continuously. In provincial clubs, presidential address, discussion and conversation are all carried on in the dialect of the country.' M. Daumont thus declares, at one and the same time, that the dialects must be stamped out, and that this is not being done. At Louvain they are perpetuated by the vicious custom which brings students into con tact only with their own countrymen, while at Ghent, where men from all parts of the Flemish area mingle, polite language naturally tends to supersede the patois. But, as he further remarks, the country schoolmaster teaches in dialect ; the vUlage priest preaches in dialect ; and the result is that the local idioms were never more strongly rooted. Particularism has always been a leading character istic of the Fleming. He is intensely hostUe to anything which touches his local autonomy, which blurs his differentiation from his neighbours. It was, therefore, to be expected that the propagation of a uniform lan guage and the implied war of extermination against local dialects should meet with very strong opposition from all the instincts of the people. This fact may be deplored by the militant flamingant, but it cannot be ignored, and he does not improve his position by de scribing dialects as the ' enemies of civUization ' and their retention as the result of ' intellectual sloth '. It is, in short, not to be expected that the Flemish dialects will disappear ; and in spite of the flamingant propa ganda it may be doubted whether their disappearance is even desirable. The dialect of a district reflects and THE DIALECTS OF FLEMISH 301 expresses the conditions of its individual life. It may be despised as barbarous by strangers, but that is no test of its value. Flemish was despised by the French, and yet it has an undoubted value and right to survive ; and the same right attaches to the dialects into which it is divided. CHAPTER VII AGRICULTURE . PART I : IN BELGIUM General Only 30 per cent, of the population of Belgium is entirely or chiefly dependent upon agriculture.1 The total income derived from agriculture is nevertheless a national asset of the highest importance, and amounts to 1,000 million francs yearly. Of this 70 per cent, is accounted for by the annual harvest, the remaining 30 per cent, by the yield of gardens, orchards, and c attle-br eeding. The arable land in Belgium amounts to about 7,900 square miles. Of this total about 2,950 are devoted to cereals. Wheat occupies about 620. square mUes, and the average yield per acre is the highest in the world. The seed-corn is imported almost exclusively from Sweden, Germany, England, and France, but the Government experimental farms hope before long to produce a seed-corn peculiarly adapted to the soil and climate of the country, which will thus become inde pendent of foreign supplies. The total wheat crop supplies about 22 per cent, of the demand for flour ; the remaining 78 per cent, is imported. Rye occupies 1,020 square miles, chiefly in the poorer agricultural districts ; it is mostly used for feeding cattle, and has to be considerably augmented by imports from Ger many and elsewhere. Barley is principally grown in 1 For the numbers of the Belgian agricultural population see Chap. V, p. 249. BELGIUM 303 the maritime plain and alluvial districts generally. The yield does not nearly meet the requirements of the extensive brewing industry, and malt is imported to the extent of some 12,500 tons annually, besides about 300,000 tons of barley from Russia and the Danube basin. Oats are much grown in the Ardennes, and their cultivation is encouraged by a protective duty of 3 francs per 100 kilogrammes. The home production accordingly amounts to 85 per cent, of the consump tion. The remainder is imported in the main from Russia. The demand for oats is large, owing to the development of horse-breeding. Of industrial crops Belgium grows 600 square miles of flax, 25 of rape, 150 of tobacco, 70 of hops, 230 of chicory, and 2,200 of sugar-beet. Most of these are grown by preference on loamy soils. Flax is also grown in the sandy part of Flanders, in the Condroz, and in a small part of the Ardennes. Rape is prin cipally grown in Flanders and consumed locaUy by oil-mills. Tobacco is grown in Flanders, Hainaut, and the Semois valley of the Ardennes. It is supplemented by an annual import of 10,000 tons. Hops are grown in two districts round Alost and Poperinghe respec tively, and chicory for the most part in Flanders and Hainaut ; 50,000 tons of chicory are exported yearly. Sugar-beet is grown wherever there is a good heavy soU, with the help of natural and artificial manures freely used ; and this crop forms the staple output of the larger peasant proprietors. The home produce, with 3,000 tons of imported roots, is treated in 92 sugar-factories up and down the country. Potatoes occupy 540 square miles, principally in the sandy districts, but also in the Ardennes. The import and export of potatoes are fairly equal ; the export consists partly of new potatoes from near Malines, exported to Germany. 304 AGRICULTURE About half the total area of agricultural land is devoted to forage crops, hay, and pastures. The crops obtained do not, however, satisfy half the demand, and a million tons of forage of various kinds is annually imported to supplement the food-stuffs grown in the country. Stock-breeding holds a very high place in Belgian agriculture. Its main branch is the breeding of horses, especially of the heavy Brabant cart-horse. This is an extremely powerful animal, at once heavily and com pactly built. It reaches maturity at an early age, and is in addition long-lived, docile, and adaptable. Its original home seems to have been the Condroz, from which district two strains proceeded : the lighter and smaller horse of the Ardennes and the heavier Brabancon type. The former was almost exterminated in the early nineteenth century, owing to the Napo leonic wars and the subsequent poverty of the district which it inhabits. The Flemish horse, in contradistinc tion to the Brabancon, is a mixed breed, influenced by crossing with Frisian, Andalusian, and other stocks. Horse-breeding is regulated by law and encouraged by a national system of shows and prizes, and by the efforts of a large society. Local societies also exist for the same objects. The national society, known as 'The Belgian Cart-horse', instituted in 1886 a stud- book, which contains by now a description of 32,600 staUions and 80,000 mares. The Belgian breed has been introduced with great success into the Rhine province, and the prices fetched by a good stallion or mare have increased tenfold since 1876. Belgium is practically self-supporting in horses, except as concerns animals for slaughter, which are imported in large numbers from the United Kingdom. Other imports from the same source are army remounts and light riding or carriage horses. On the other hand, BELGIUM 305 Belgium exports large numbers of cart-horses, two- thirds of which go to Germany. There are seven distinct breeds of cattle in Belgium The Polders breed is heavy, spotted red and white and suitable for fattening. The red Flemish (or Cassel) breed is solid but less heavily built, and makes excel lent milch-cows. It is adaptable, and succeeds well in the most diverse climatic conditions. The ' Belgian breed is good for fattening, but less so for milking The Condroz breed is rather like the last, but a better milker. The Campine cattle are small, and do not fatten well, but are good milkers ; the Herve or Lim bourg black-spotted breed is rather like the Campine, but more valuable. Finally, there is the smaU and unimportant Ardennes, breed. Cattle-breeding is much less important in Belgium than horse-breeding. Little interest is taken in pedigree and the purity or possible development of a stock ; and though government officials have tried to educate public opinion on these questions, they have done so hitherto without success, and farmers are unwilling to make the immediate sacrifices necessary to secure ultimate improvements. This is largely due to the fact that stock-breeding in Belgium is less profitable than either horse-breeding or agriculture properly so called ; the prices fetched by cereals increase out of proportion to those of fat cattle, and the price of fodder increases in proportion to that of cereals. Instead, therefore, of exporting cattle, as she does horses, Belgium is compelled to import them, as well as dahy produce, for her own consumption. HoUand supplies great quantities of cattle, butter, and cheese, which are also imported from France and Switzerland. Margarine, on the other hand, is largely made in Belgium. Cattle are usually imported for slaughter ; the import of slaughtered meat is small. BELG. IJ 306 AGRICULTURE Pig-breeding, like cattle-breeding, is not a very flourishing industry in Belgium, though Flanders exports a certain quantity of pork to England. The imports of pork, bacon, lard, &c, are very consider able. Poultry farming is an important and widespread industry. Eggs and chickens for the table are produced in very large quantities ; in addition to the home consumption of the latter there is a considerable ex port, but eggs are imported to the extent of 8p,000,000 a year. Orchards occupy 250 square miles of the surface. Apples, pears, and cherries are chiefly grown in northern Liege province and southern Limbourg, a district which exports largely to Germany and England. East Flanders, Brabant, Antwerp, and Liege have great gooseberry and raspberry gardens, the produce of which goes mostly to England. A special industry is the growing of grapes under glass. This is carried on chiefly round Brussels, where the villages are often completely surrounded by glass houses. The grapes are produced all the year round, but the chief crop is at the end of the summer. There is a large export to England, Germany, HoUand, United States of America, &c. Strawberries and tomatoes are grown under glass on a large scale in the Louvain and Malines districts. Certain communes near Brussels have specialized in chicory. In general, vegetables and fruit form a very important series of products. Theh development, due partly to the increased pur chasing power of the artisan classes, partly to the development of preserved vegetables and fruit, and partly to the growing demand in neighbouring coun tries, is for the most part in the hands of small-holders. Round Louvain, however, there are larger vegetable- farms, going up to 40 acres, of which sometimes BELGIUM » 307 25 acres are planted with cauliflowers alone. In general the profit of fruit- and vegetable-growing is 3-4,000 francs per hectare (£50-70 per acre) ; in the best parts of Liege province it may rise to 10,000 francs (£170 per acre). Flower gardens are concentrated round Ghent, where there are 700 of them. The export of flowers, plants, &c, is very considerable, and there is a large trade in cut flowers near most of the great towns, especially Antwerp and Brussels. The Land Belgium is a country of small proprietors. One in ten of the population owns land. Three-quarters of the landowners have less than 5 acres each, and 95 per cent, have less than 25 acres. Of 700,000 proprietors only 146 have more than 2,500 acres each ; and on the average each proprietor owns 9-5 acres. Thus over a quarter of the land is owned by men each of whom has less than 25 acres, and nearly half by men each of whom has less than 100 acres. The subdivision of properties is, however, much more minute than the above figures suggest, because most owners possess a large number of plots in different communes. Thus in a single typical commune of 1,739 acres the 801 proprietors own on average 2-16 acres each ; four-fifths own less than an acre each, and only one over 62 acres. On average, therefore, each of these proprietors, besides owning 2 acres in this com mune, owns over 7 acres in other communes in order to reach the national average of 9-5 acres. Estates in a ring-fence are thus very rare ; in fact they are practically never found at all, except in the case of the most minute holdings. There are no large landowners, in the British sense of the term, in Belgium. The two largest only possess U2 308 AGRICULTURE 30,000 acres between them, whereas in the United Kingdom many hundreds own over 20,000 each, and several over 200,000 acres. In Belgium it is the ideal of every man to possess a plot of ground, possibly no more than a house and small garden, but preferably also a piece of agricultural land, however small. Again, one-tenth of the whole country seems to be jointly held by two or more owners ; this is due to a partner ship between heirs, among whom the estate must (with the exception of one share) be equally divided. This custom tends to check the excessive subdivision which such a law might be expected to cause. One effect of the minute subdivision of land is to- be seen in its high price. This is due partly to the competition for the purchase of smaU plots, partly to their intensive cultivation, which yields large rents, and, when practised by the tenant single-handed on a small plot, requires no margin for labourers' wages. It is generally maintained that a country of smaU holdings must necessarily be a country of mortgages. Reliable information is fortunately at hand on this point, and shows that 31 per cent, of the owners have the whole or some part of their land mortgaged. Of the very small owners (those possessing less than jt acre) only 7|- per cent, have mortgages. The pro portion of mortgaged proprietors rises steadUy tUl, in the case of proprietors of 37 to 62 acres, it is 40 per cent. It then drops again till proprietors of 247-370 acres are reached, after which the numbers are too small to serve as basis for generalization. The figures, however, show distinctly that the largest proportion of mortgages exists among holders of 7 \ to 86 J acres; and with these the amounts vary from an average of £9 12s. 5d. per acre on farms from 37 to 62 acres each, to £21 10s. Id. on those with from 1\ to 12£ acres. As the average price of agricultural land is about £60 BELGIUM 309 an acre, the value of the mortgage, where it exists, averages less than one-sixth of the value of the farm. In the case of smaller properties the average mortgage represents a much higher fraction— one-third to five- sixths — of the value. This is explained by the higher comparative value of the buildings on a smaller plot. It may therefore safely be asserted that Belgian land is not by any means severely burdened by mortgage. The average mortgage debt for the whole country is only £2 16s. 5d., or, if mortgaged land alone is con sidered, £8 Os. 10d., per acre ; in either case a very small fraction of its average value of £60 per acre. In all matters connected with the inheritance and transfer of land the liberty of the Belgian is severely curtailed by law. The testator is forbidden to dis inherit certain persons, — his children, and in certain cases his parents, — who are known as heritiers reserva- taires. Thus, if there is only one child, the minimum which may be left to him is one-half the estate ; if there are two, two-thirds of the estate, equally divided ; and so on. The remaining portion of the estate is left at the disposition of the testator, who is, however, under no obligation to leave anything to his widow. Entail is specifically forbidden, and the portion of the estate left to heritiers reservataires must be left free of any charge upon it. Thus primogeniture is as far from being encouraged by the law of Belgium as it is ahen to the sentiment of the people. The whole tendency of the Belgian system is to subdivide land among a large number of proprietors ; that these proprietors tend to be members of the former owner's family is due in part to sentiment, in part to the law of intestacy, in part to the sliding-scale by which death duties, are low in direct proportion to the close ness of the relationship between the deceased and the 310 AGRICULTURE heir. Where no such relationship exists the death duties are extremely high. The duty on sales of land is also extremely high, amounting to over thirteen times the Enghsh duty ; and this acts as a severe check on the purchase of land. For very small properties the duty has in con sequence now been reduced. The proportion between owners, tenants, and labourers is an important factor in Belgian agriculture. Labourers form only one-third of the agricultural population ; and of these a large percentage become in time small-holders. The agricultural labourer is there fore not, as in England, a numerous class presenting peculiar and important problems. On the other hand, though Belgium is a land of small-holders, two- thirds of its soil is farmed by tenants. A much smaUer proportion of the land is cultivated by the owner than is the case in France, Germany, or Denmark. (The percentages of land cultivated by the owner are as follows : Denmark, 88 ; Germany, 86 ; France, 47 ; Great Britain, 12.) Tenant-farming prevaUs most strongly in the west, least in the Ardennes and Cam pine. In Neufchateau and Arlon arrondissements the proportion * of land farmed by the owners actually rises to over 75 per cent. In general, however, tenant- farming is the rule, and shows a tendency to increase. This is not owing to any preference for the status of tenant-farmer. The Belgian tenant is not in a very enviable condition ; his rent is high, and he gets no compensation whatever for improvements, unexhausted manure, &c. ; and, though the average level of efficiency and prosperity is very little lower among tenants than among owners farming theh own land, there is a strong sentiment in favour of ownership. The real reason for the prevalence of tenant-farming is the very high price of land, which makes it difficult for a tenant BELGIUM 311 with a high rent to save enough to buy a plot. The high price of land thus renders the life of the tenant more difficult, while it does not benefit the owner except in the very rare event of his wishing to sell. On the whole, the rent of agricultural land in Belgium is 75 per cent, higher than in England ; and the tenant cannot pay it without a certain degree of continual hardship, only made endurable by cheap and rapid means of transit, good agricultural education, co operative societies of all kinds, and an excellent system of cheap insurance. Nor does it appear that the owner farming his own land is much more comfortably situated. One serious disadvantage in the agricultural system of Belgium is the subdivision of almost every farm into a number — often fifty or more — of small plots scattered over many square miles of country. This is a natural result of the system of inheritance, and leads to a great waste of time and labour. In the Rhine province of Germany the same difficulty has been mitigated by the systematic redistribution of land. Of the whole area of the country 8 per cent, is owned by the communes. This common land is almost exclusively situated in the Campine and Ardennes. In the early nineteenth century it was far more extensive, but enormous areas were sold or given away in the belief that it could only be- profitably employed under private ownership. This theory was strongly advocated by the Government in the forties, and the result was that the communes parted with most of theh land at one-sixth or oneTeighth of its present value. It is now realized that this policy was a very grave mistake, and the alienation of common lands has been made so difficult as to be now practically unknown. The land at present owned by the communes is usuaUy 312 AGRICULTURE poor in quality. Four-fifths of it are afforested ; some is still used as common pasture-land ; 'one-tenth is let out to the common-right holders for a term of years and by them cultivated. The price and rent of land doubled between 1830 and 1880, after which it dropped 25-30 per cent, in 1895, owing to the opening up of the American corn fields. After 1895 it began to recover, as the methods of farming adapted themselves to the new conditions : co-operation, intensive cultivation, live stock and garden produce acquired new importance, and by 1908 prices and rents had risen again to nearly the figures of 1880. The following table gives the figures prevailing in 1908 for various regions : Pasture. Arable. Price. Rent. Price. Rent (per acre). Hesbaye . £78 10 0 £2 5 7 £77 18 0 £2 6 0 Flanders . 65 13 0 1 17 6 70 0 0 2 0 6 Campine . 49 11 0 1 10 5 41 18 0 12 5 Polders . 95 11 0 2 16 8 63 5 0 2 4 4 Arlon region 41 4 0 1 7 10 31 18 0 1 4 11 Brabant . 59 11 0 2 4 8 56 17 0 1 16 7 Ardennes .51 80 206 30 20 0 19 1 Condroz . 51 13 0 1 15 0 34 1 0 10 9 The tendency to rise still continues. These high prices and rents, it must be clearly realized, are not due to the natural fertility of the soU. The soil of Flanders does not yield a single crop without one or two thorough and scientific manurings ; there is no soil in Europe naturally more sterile than that of northern Belgium. The agricultural prosperity of Flanders is enthely the result of human labour ; if this were remitted for a few years, Flanders would be a waste like the Campine. In the Hesbaye alone is to be found a soil of any considerable natural fertility. The high prices of land in Belgium are primarily due to the BELGIUM 313 strong and continual demand for land among all but the very poorest classes, and secondly to the determina tion and skill with which the land is farmed. In a country where all prices are very low, however, it requhes to be explained how these high prices and rents — 80 to 100 per cent, higher than those current in England — can be paid at all. Roughly speaking, the explanation consists in various efforts on the part of the Government to assist the farmer, and in efforts on the part of the farmers themselves to co-operate for common ends. We may note the extraordinary development of light railways all over the country, which supply universal and very cheap means of transport for produce ; the high standard of agricul tural education, which results in the judicious use of artificial manures and the careful selection of seeds, and the enormous development of the co-operative system, aided in part by the Government. Protective tariffs have been adopted only to a very limited extent. All cereals are imported free, with the excep tion of oats ; potatoes and beet-root are also free ; a few other vegetable products are taxed, but these do not form important items of Belgian agricultural produce. Cattle, sheep, and meat are dutiable, and this fact has raised prices and served to maintain the high price and rent of pasture-land. This question is further discussed in Chap. XI. FinaUy, the competition of town life with that of the country is less severe in Belgium, where industrial wages are low and the condition of the artisan class bad, than in England. Consequently, even apart from the ' land- hunger ' which seems to be an innate characteristic of the Belgian, there is no rival attraction to draw him away from an agricultural existence. The lowness of wages in the town thus raises rents in the country. 314 AGRICULTURE Woods and Forests Of the total area of Belgium about 18 per cent, is afforested ; this being over four times the percentage of Great Britain. The most densely wooded region is the Ardennes, which comprises nearly one third of the total woods of the country. Next comes the Campine ; these two regions contain nearly half the Belgian forest area. In 1905, 62 per cent, of the Belgian forests were owned by private persons, 31 per cent, by communes, 5f per cent, by the State, and IJ by other pubhc bodies-. During the ten or twelve years preceding 1908 the Belgian State-owned forests increased by 25 per cent. This policy of increasing the State ownership of forests dates from about 1870, when it was found that the privately-owned forests were being wastefuUy and reck lessly exploited and were rapidly returning to waste. The view was accordingly adopted that national capital must be used in planting so as to facilitate a far-sighted and consistent policy. At the same time the State Forestry Department carries on a great amount of educational work both as to the necessity and the methods of planting. This work has met with much opposition, especially from large farmers who used the common lands for grazing ; but these objections are by now being steadily overcome. The Department of Woods and Forests is under the control of the Minister of Agriculture, who recognizes eleven inspectoral districts, each controUed by an inspector promoted from the ranks of the forestry experts. These are trained by a course of four years at Gembloux or Louvain, and in addition courses of pubhc winter lectures are given in the various districts. Beside these courses, a large number of lectures are arranged for gamekeepers, farmers, &c, in courses of three, in- BELGIUM 315 eluding practical demonstrations. For the latter purpose the State has acquired considerable areas of land for demonstration grounds, State nurseries, &c. The State also pays as a rule half the cost of all planting undertaken by a commune, and looks after the plantation free of charge for the first ten years, during which it is free from taxation. Advice is given to communes or private persons as to the selection and treatment of trees. Formerly the forests of Belgium consisted mostly of beech and oak, and other slow-growing trees. These are still in the majority, but the newer plantations consist mostly of conifers, especially in the poor soils of the Ardennes and Campine. Experience has now shown that the State can count on the equivalent of 4J to 5J per cent, interest on the capital expended in forestry work, so that the State Department of Forestry, in spite of the amount of gratui tous help it gives to communes and private individuals, is a profitable concern. Moreover, a large home-grown timber-supply is thus assured, and a useful occupation is provided for the agricultural population which, while not requhing a high degree of skill, relieves them from unemployment during the winter months. Agricultural Survey of Belgium In the present section an account will be given of the agricultural conditions prevalent over each natural region contained in Belgium. For the definition and physical characteristics of the various regions reference should be made to Chap. I. The Maritime Plain. — The mUe-broad belt' of dunes which borders the maritime plain to seaward has very little agricultural value. The ranges of dunes are separated by hollows known as pannes, grown with 316 AGRICULTURE coarse grass and watered by springs. Small patches of pasture-land thus arise, which are grazed by sheep — where they are appropriate for cultivation they are used by the fishermen and villagers of the coast for growing a few cereals and vegetables. Inland the maritime plain takes the form of polders lying at about the sea-level, elaborately drained by canals, and preserved from flooding by dykes. The canals serve not only to draw off the superfluous water, but to keep the surface layer of water fresh. The sand which underlies the peaty and clayey soU being perma nently waterlogged by sea water, it is necessary to keep down the level of the salt water by means of an artifi cially-maintained stratum of fresh ; otherwise the polders would revert to salt marshes. The canals of the maritime plain thus maintain a ' hydrostatic equili brium ', whose perfection is essential to the pursuit of agriculture in the polders. The soil is deep and loamy, heavy to work, and rich in organic matter. Manure is for the most part conse quently not used, as the soil is already sufficiently rich ; but it is so heavy that powerful teams are necessary for ploughing. Farms tend to be large, going up to 150 acres, and the houses are scattered over the country each in the centre of its own land, isolated from its neighbours, and often surrounded by a moat. Most crops may be profitably grown in the polders : cereals, especially barley, and beet are the favourites, but pulse, flax, and other crops are common. Pastures are com monest in the district of Furnes and about the Franco- Flemish frontier. Cattle are bred in this district, derived from a cross between the Durham and red Flemish strains ; cart-horses are also bred. Eastward from this region, along the Belgian coast, the polders are comparatively thinly inhabited and a good deal of land is devoted to grazing ; westward, in France, the BELGIUM 317 population is thicker and there is more arable. The Moeres, the two lowest depressions in the maritime plain, which lie just on the frontier and were finally drained only in 1828, now form rich agricultural land, scattered with prosperous farms. The smaller of the two is predominantly peaty and best adapted for grazing. Flanders. — Taking French and Belgian Flanders together and regarding it as reaching from St. Omer to Antwerp, we may distinguish within it two regions — the clay of the west and the sand of the east. The clay plain of Flanders includes French Flanders and the Belgian districts round Ypres and Roulers ; the sandy plain includes the Waes and Maggesland from Bruges to Antwerp. The clay district is agriculturally much superior to the sand. Even here, however, great skill and care are necessary in order to produce good results. There are few trees, as these would shade the crops ; every avail able piece of ground is occupied by cereals, especially wheat, industrial plants such as colza, flax, hops and beet, and vegetables. Stock-breeding is also important, and forms one of the principal resources of the country. There are many cattle, but very few sheep. The farms are scattered singly over the country, generally lying in hollows and often surrounded by moats ; the nine teenth century saw a certain tendency towards the development of villages, but the isolated farmhouse is still usual. An important local branch of agriculture is the culti vation of hops on the low hills round Poperinghe and Bailleul, which offer a suitable soil and protect the plants from the north winds. The only other regions in France where these plants are grown on any scale are the Cambresis and the Cote-d'Or. A line roughly passing through Deynze on the Lys, 318 AGRICULTURE Thielt, and Thourout, divides the clayey Flanders of the south-west from the sandy Flanders of the north east. Here, in the Maggesland and the Waes, the houses are grouped in villages which line the main roads, and never stand far out in the fields as in south-western Flanders ; the population is high, but concentrated in these large villages, which are separated by broad expanses of cultivated land. The farms are very small and the soil by nature very poor ; but it yields large and frequent crops, one-third to one-haK yielding two crops a year. This is due to the care and dUigence with which it is cultivated, and especially to the lavish and scientific use of manure. Almost all the work is done by the spade, as it cannot be done thoroughly enough by the plough. The main crops are wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, flax, hemp, colza, fodder plants, and beet, but many others are grown in small quantities ; the culti vation is, with the exception of the market-gardens round Paris, the most intensive in Europe, and rotation of crops has been brought to an enormous pitch of perfection. Stock-breeding is practically unknown, but rabbits are bred on a large scale and sent to the industrial districts of Belgium, to France, and to England. This sandy part of Flanders is much grown with trees. Orchards are seen everywhere ; the roads are lined with trees and the ditches with hedges, which serve to bind the sandy soil together and to evaporate part of its superfluous moisture. In the Maggesland there are many woods and coppices, consisting of pines, oaks, and ' beeches. The north of this region is the most barren part. Here farms become rarer and pinewoods more common ; there is a good deal of uncultivated land, and even small dunes. Brabant. — The sandy plateau of Brabant, inclining in the north-west to Flemish clay country and in the BELGIUM 319 south-east to the loamy Hesbaye, is comparatively barren in the centre, where the sand is poorest, and is here largely given up to forests ; but its marginal zones are fairly fertile. Thus between the Dendre and the Senne the sand is covered with 15-20 ft. of loam, which gives a good agricultural soil ; east of the Senne this loam disappears, and the sand comes to the surface ; farther east again fhe Hesbaye begins on the south, and the sandy plain of the Hageland in the north, which was very barren and almost entirely waste land till the introduction of chemical manure's. Brabant contains, therefore, considerable areas of fairly good land. Crops of many different kinds are grown, especially beet, flax, hops, and chicory, and there is much stock-breeding. Hesbaye. — The transition from Brabant to the Hesbaye is very gradual, and the conditions described below as prevailing in the latter district are also found to a considerable extent in the former. The soil is heavy and loamy, and requires strong teams ; the farms tend to be large, often up to 250 or 500 acres, though small farms are also common. The character of the soil favours stock-raising and the cultivation of cereals on a large scale. It is especially suited to sugar-beet, which is grown regularly every other year without any perceptible deterioration of the crop. It is a crop which requires a good deal of capital, both for the beet itself and for the purchase of animals to eat the vinasses or refuse pulp, which is returned to the farmers from the distilleries. The introduction of beet has greatly increased the prosperity and agricultural importance of this region. Northern Hainaut. — This district is closely related to the Hesbaye. It is composed of carboniferous rocks covered with loam, and contains for the most part fairly large farms growing beet and cereals and breeding 320 AGRICULTURE stock. The beet-leaves are used in the autumn for fattening sheep. Campine.— This great sandy plain, everywhere very wet, and composed, in its lower-lying parts, of marshes and peat-bogs, is the poorest part of Belgium. The population is low and poverty-stricken ; agriculture is everywhere at a low ebb. In fact, the Campine is what northern Flanders would be without the immense expenditure of skill, time, and money which has ferti lized the Flemish plain. But conditions are improving ; dairy-farming is already practised to some extent and with some success, and potatoes, oats, and rye are grown. With the more systematic adoption of chemical manures the Campine will certainly in time become at least a tolerable agricultural district. The development of the coalfield is sure to affect agriculture. The farms are small, mostly between 5 and 15 acres ; a farm of 40 or 60 acres being regarded as large. There is much common land, a great proportion of which is now afforested. Herve. — The Herve plateau is the home of Belgian stock-breeding. Its clayey soil, its comparatively high elevation — up to over 1,000 ft. — and its moist climate make it an excellent grass-country, and it is almost exclusively devoted to grazing. Farms are small, not as a rule over 25-45 acres, and maintain up to 15 or 20 cows. In summer the cows are kept in the fields ; in winter they are fed on hay, oil-cake, linseed, or cottonseed, &c. They are chiefly valued as milkers, and the dairy is the most important part of the Herve farm. Butter and cheese are the chief produce and are sold in large quantities. These, like milk, are mostly sold through co-operative societies. Horses are not much used, but a farmer who possesses one uses it for taking his own and his neighbours' pro duce to the town, as well as hiring it out when required. BELGIUM 321 The horse has never been adopted for any kind of draught-work. Pig-keeping is highly developed ; every farm fattens pigs on its buttermilk, and they form an important source of income, being exported annually by thousands to Germany. They are not much bred, being chiefly imported for fattening from Limbourg province. Poultry are also extensively kept. Herve contains many orchards, chiefly consisting of apple-trees ; the apples are boiled down for syrup, which is exported in large quantities. The apple-harvest is a regular festival. The fruit is also made into cider at Thiminster and exported for the same purpose in great quantities to Germany ; the best fruit is exported to Germany and England for eating. The peasants of Herve are prosperous and comfortable people, leading an easier life than most Belgian agri culturists. This is especially true of the men, since the dairy work is all done by the women ; the men confine themselves to hedging and haymaking, taking produce to market, &c. Condroz. — This is a district of large farms, going up to 250 acres and more, though there are, of course, many small plots of 2 to 7 acres cultivated by peasants, and a great number of still smaller plots cultivated in their leisure time by industrial workmen. The chief crops are rye, wheat, spelt, oats, and (above all) winter barley, as well as potatoes and various roots to serve as food for the cattle. Every farm of any size has ex tensive pastures, and these have increased in the last twenty years at the expense of arable, since in this region, where the soil is not rich, stock-raising pays better than agriculture. Horse-breeding takes a pro minent place, and a very good breed of Brabant horse is produced. Cattle are more extensively bred in the Condroz than anywhere else in Belgium. Every farmer, 322 AGRICULTURE large or small, buys calves and fattens them, a distinc tive breed of cattle being characteristic of this district. The peasant population is possessed of great agricultural ability and is well educated, and in consequence the average level of agriculture is high. The soU is clayey, being produced by the decomposition of carbomferous and Devonian rocks, and chiefly needs phosphates, whose use has been attended by remarkable improve ments. Famenne. — Here the conditions are hardly to be dis tinguished from those of the Condroz. On the whole there is more arable, especially barley and rye fields, and rather less live stock ; otherwise the above descrip tion applies to this region also. Ardennes. — The high plateaux of the central Ardennes have for the most part an impermeable clay soU which gives rise to numerous marshes (the ' Hautes Fagnes ') and supports extensive forests, the latter covering two-fifths of the area and in most cases belongmg to the communes, which possess in them an important source of income. Besides these forests there is much waste land. Twenty years ago sheep-farming was the principal occupation of the peasant, and tUlage only existed near the villages ; in many districts land was burnt off and ploughed once in ten or fifteen years and then left to lie fallow. The introduction of chemical manures has, however, aheady created enormous changes and vastly increased the extent of land at any given moment under crops. The chief crops are rye, oats, potatoes, and fodder. Tobacco is also grown in the neighbourhood of the Semois. Stock-farming has correspondingly increased, but systematic breeding is, as yet, unknown. Co-operative societies have almost everywhere taken over the preparation and distribution of dahy produce, and pigs are extensively kept, the hams and sausages of BELGIUM 323 the Ardennes being known throughout Belgium. The Ardennes horses, which are small and hardy, are also well known and highly valued. The size of the farms is variable ; those between 7 and 75 acres are considered small, those over 150 acres large. There are many small proprietors, and it is the rule for a man to farm his own land, tenant-farming being comparatively rare in this district. On the whole, in spite of the poverty of the district, the people of the Ardennes are well-to-do. Wages are high, and rents have not yet risen to the point which they have attained in the rest of Belgium. Moreover, the population is intelligent and well-educated, and is famous for providing recruits to the civil services. The Arlon belt. — This southernmost belt of Belgium, sometimes called Belgian Lorraine, has a clayey soil, sandy in parts, and in parts containing a chalky loam. The hill-tops are wooded, the valley-bottoms used as pasture and the hill-sides cultivated. Small farms are the rule, and methods are primitive ; the old-fashioned triennial rotation is still almost universal. The climate is milder than in the Ardennes and the produce more varied; the population is comparatively prosperous, though hardly wealthy. Dairy-farming is much prac tised, most of the peasants keeping cattle and making butter. PART II : IN FRANCE For those portions of France which are included in our area it will be enough to give a brief survey of the agricultural conditions prevailing in each natural region in turn. It is not possible to make general statements applying to all these regions, owing to their diversity. The chalk region. — The Boulonnais forms a Jurassic island in the chalk-down region which extends from x 2 324 AGRICULTURE Cap Gris-nez to the head-waters of the Sambre. Its physical and geological character give it an individuality of its own as an agricultural district. The Jurassic sub soil gives it a clayey soil, more suited to pasture-land than to arable ; and in consequence the Boulonnais, near Cap Gris-nez especially, is a pastoral country, hilly and picturesque, containing many apple-orchards. It is famous for its horses, the Boulonnais breed being a very powerful type of cart-horse much in demand throughout the neighbouring districts for heavy agri cultural work. Fairs at which these horses are sold exist in all the Boulonnais vUlages, as weU as farther east and south at St. Omer, Therouanne, LUlers, Bethune, St. Pol, Hesdin, MontreuU, and even as far afield as Arras and Bapaume. Roughly the whole region between the Belgian frontier and the Somme uses these animals, of which there are some 80,000 in the Pas-de-Calais alone, not counting those exported for artillery and omnibus horses, quarry work, &c. The Artois and Cambresis may be taken together as typical of the true chalk-down country. Here the bulk of the area is loam overlying chalk and producing a f ertUe soil, well suited to cereals, hops and beet. Conse quently in spite of the great dearth of water the district is agriculturally among the richest in France. Wheat, barley, and oats are grown in large farms, and yield excellent harvests. For some years past beet has been steadily gaining ground at the expense of other crops, and seems likely to occupy in time the great majority of the land, which is aheady studded with sugar- factories and distilleries. Chicory and oil-yielding plants, especially colza, are also grown. The Cam bresis was once a great flax country, but this crop has now much less importance than formerly. On the higher parts of the plain a stratum of tertiary FRANCE 325 sand or clay is sometimes, especially in the Cambresis, found between the surface-soil and the chalk. Such patches are of comparatively little value ; the clays are indeed good for nothing but to grow wood and to feed small springs round which the houses tend to con centrate. The houses rarely stand singly ; they are grouped in compact villages scattered over the country at fairly regular intervals, either at these springs of the tertiary clay or on the bank of a torrent. .Each village contains a large population — up to 2,000 and over — employed on their little plots of land during the summer and in home industries during the winter. Those who have no land migrate for the summer to the neighbour ing plains and hire themselves out as labourers ; some travel for this purpose as far as Brie or Beauce. The deeper river- valleys are well watered by springs and frequently flooded by the rivers when in wet weather the torrents of the plateau are in spate. On these occa sions the fields by the river are covered with a deposit of mud which fertilizes them and makes them valuable for growing cereals and beet. This country is, on the whole, a district of large farms ; but small plots are not unknown, and are devoted to the same crops as the large farms. The natural centres of the chalk plateau are Arras and Cambrai ; here are especially concentrated the sugar-works of which the district is full, and from these points its produce is dispatched in all directions. The Melantois, or low chalk plateau lying imme diately south of Lille, resembles the above-mentioned district geologically and agriculturally if not physically. It is remarkably fertile and consists chiefly of large farms ; though the density of the population — since the district lies between the black countries of Lille to the north-east and Lens to the south-west, and these towns are only 17 miles apart — is somewhat prejudicial to 326 AGRICULTURE successful farming. The crops, as in Artois and the Cambresis, consist mainly of beet and cereals. The valley of the Deule, where it flows through the Melantois, forms an agricultural district with charac teristics of its own, resembling the river-vaUeys of the down country. The soil is partly peaty and partly clayey ; the springs which once made it marshy are now tapped to supply Lille with water, and the valley is well drained. The peaty soil is mostly devoted to beet and chicory, and the. clayey to cereals (wheat and oats) ; very few other crops are grown at aU. Both types of soil are intensively cultivated and require a good deal of artificial manures, among which the waste vinasses of a large local distillery, pumped into the fields through pipes, is one of the most satisfactory. After one such manuring tobacco, chicory, beet-root, and wheat are grown in rotation for four years, and then vinasses are again applied. Distilleries and sugar- factories are common in the valley, as in the vaUeys of the down country ; they consume beet from the Cambresis and Flanders, as weU as local produce. Cattle are also, bred, being fed almost entirely on waste pulp from the sugar-works. A large dairying industry has thus arisen, milk and butter being supplied to LUle, Carvin, and other towns of the neighbourhood. The district has, in fact, become a centre of trade in dahy produce. Butter is imported from Holland, Normandy, Siberia, Denmark, and Australia to the Deule vaUey, and thence sold to Lille and the other towns by large speculative dealers ; and a simUar trade exists in margarine (largely made at Bethune) and eggs. The centre of this dairy-produce trade is Sainghin, whose immense prosperity is chiefly due to it. Small properties are common in the Deule vaUey : at Sainghin, and in several other places, more- than three-quarters of the families own a plot of land. FRANCE 327 Properties of 200 acres are exceptional; those of 60 to 100 are reckoned as large farms ; and four-fifths of the proprietors own about an acre or less. In several parishes the institution of portions menageres still exists. These plots belong to the commune, but are given to married couples in usufruct, to revert to the commune when both husband and wife are dead. Most farmers own some land, but very few own all they farm ; a largish farmer may own 15 to 25 acres and rent 45 to 70 more. A farm of 25 to 30 acres is generally worked by the farmer and his family, with 2 horses and without the help of labourers. South Hainaut (see Chap. I) has a mixed subsoil, but may, on the whole, be regarded as a chalk district. The south-west is a transition to the Cambresis ; here the chalky character is most explicit, and the country is mostly under wheat. The south-east, towards the Sambre, is occupied by the great forest of Mormal, 30 square miles in extent. The north, towards the Belgian frontier, is for the most part a grazing and stock- breeding country. The Plains. — The maritime plain from Calais to the Belgian frontier, and the Flemish regions round St. Omer and Hazebrouck, have been considered in a former section as part of the Belgian maritime and Flemish plains (see pp. 315-18) ; of the districts round Lille, we have above described the Melantois. The Weppes, or valley of the Lys and lower Deule round Armentieres, is a country of rich meadow-land with much live stock and a large population living in villages strung out along all the main roads. The Ferrain, round Roubaix and Tourcoing, is a fairly good agricultural district whose clayey and sandy soil grows wheat, as well as a certain quantity of oats, beet, potatoes, and flax. There is some pasture-land, and a fair number of cattle, horses, and sheep are kept ; the animals are mostly fed on hay 328 AGRICULTURE and refuse pulp from the distUleries. The land is much subdivided and largely owned by manufacturers in Lille, Roubaix, and Tourcoing and farmed by tenants. The Pevele has a clayey soil much resembling that of Flanders ; it is well adapted to grazing, but is httle used for that purpose, being mostly arable and devoted to cereals and industrial plants. An important develop ment of agriculture in the Pevele is the growth of beet for seed, the trade in which, for the whole of France, centres round Orchies. This enterprise was begun in the seventies at Cappelle, and beet-seed of the best quality is now produced to suit every kind of soU and for every purpose. The beet-pulp is extensively used for feeding cattle, which are in consequence numerous and profitable in spite of the absence of pastures. The Gohelle and the Ostrevant are primarily to-day not agricultural districts at all, but black countries dotted with collieries and factories, whose whole energy is devoted to industry. The loamy portion of Ostrevant is fertile, and contains large farms, chiefly devoted to cereals and beet, on the higher ground and smaU farms in the valleys ; where (as between Arleux and Bou- chain, and between Somain and Valenciennes) this loam is absent, the harvest is very poor. The sandy hills of the west are agriculturally worthless and grow nothing but bents. In the east of Ostrevant are con siderable forests. The Ardennes region.— The surface of the high Ardennes plateau has aheady been described under Belgium. The French portion has the same character : it is thickly wooded, and its soil, which is poor and clayey, becomes peaty in the hollows. It is thinly scattered with little villages, each in its own clearing ; and there is very little agriculture of any khid. The gorge of the Meuse is too narrow and abrupt to en- FRANCE 329 courage agricultural development. Fields of oats or rye are occasionally seen in the clearings of the forest ; otherwise there is little but timber and, in the valley, industry! The Thierache is distinguished by its clay soil and undulating character, which make it an excellent country for pastures and orchards. It is rich in timber and contains several forests ; its agricultural value in the strict sense of the word is low. The soil is too wet for cereals ; but beet grows fairly well wherever chalk appears near the surface. With this exception agri culture has given place to stock-farming. The pastures of the Nouvion canton support cattle from Normandy, Brittany, and the Morvan, which they sell to the large towns of the north. The Picardy breed, a cross between the Norman and Flemish, is kept for dairy-farming, which is practised on a large scale at Buironfosse, Eglancourt, Chigny, Crupilly, Lavague- resse, Esqueheries, &c. Butter is exported in every direction from Nouvion, and Maroilles cheese goes to England and elsewhere. The vine is still cultivated farther south in thePorcien and Laonnais, but in the Thierache it has been replaced by apples grown for cider, of which the annual produce is valued at about a million francs. Cider is thus one of the leading industries of the Thierache. Properties are extremely small ; thus at Marf ontaine (canton of Sains) 985 acres are divided into 1,352 lots held by 212 proprietors. The general level of prosperity, however, depending partly on stock-farming and partly on industries, is fairly high ; and thatched timber and clay cottages are gradually giving way to well-built houses of stone or brick. The development of stock-farming has led to a decrease of the population, which is scattered in smaU villages and hamlets hidden among gardens and 330 AGRICULTURE orchards and traversed by streams. The Thierache supplies a large number of agricultural labourers to the Ile-de-France, whither they migrate in the spring and return in the course of the autumn. Theh good physique makes them valuable casual labourers, and the resources of their own country are too scanty to support them without this supplement. The strip of country between the Aisne vaUey and the Ardennes which prolongs the Thierache south eastward resembles it in its clayey character and its agricultural poverty. The oolitic hills and plains between Rethel and Mezieres have some rye-fields ; otherwise the country consists largely of woods, orchards, and pastures, with water-meadows down in the Meuse valley where that river flows over the clayey plain extending upstream from Mezieres past Sedan to Dun. Down towards the Aisne the soU becomes better and agriculture more prosperous. Lorraine. — The upper Meuse valley, above Dun, consists entirely of agricultural land, fertUized or devastated by the river according to its caprices. The most important agricultural product and export con sists of forage for animals. In order to improve agri cultural conditions considerable works are necessary in order to suppress the summer floods while utilizing those of the winter season for fertilizing the land ; to prevent the river from altering its course and eating away the fields ; to drain the fields ; and to' reclaim portions of the shallows and bed of the river for agri cultural purposes. In the meantime both drought and flood are liable to cause complete faUure of crops over large areas. These dangers are largely responsible for emigration and growing depopulation. The Cotes de Meuse form an extremely poor agri cultural district. Corn is grown here and there on the slopes, but the only crop of any importance is sain- FRANCE 331 foin, which yields a good return even on the stoniest soils. But the country cannot support a large agricul tural population, and its forests are its most valuable asset. The Woevre is not good agricultural land. In winter the whole surface of the plateau becomes water-logged and great portions of it disappear under the swamps. In summer it bakes hard and cracks, so that agriculture is extremely laborious, and four or five horses are neces sary to draw the heavy plough of the country. The necessary agricultural improvements consist first in the use of lime as a f ertihzer to counteract the clayey nature of the soil, and secondly in systematic drainage. Material for both these operations can be cheaply procured on the spot ; limestone is everywhere to be found, and the Oxford clay, which makes good tiles, is equaUy serviceable for drain-pipes. The difficulty in the way of both improvements consists in the multi plication of small properties and the consequent short age of capital in -the hands of the individual proprietor. The formation of associations or syndicates seems to be undertaken with great reluctance. Agricultural methods are still somewhat primitive ; a three-year rotation of crops, including one year fallow, is universal. It is said that the practice of leaving land fallow is suited to the heavy soils of the Woevre, but a five- or seven-year rotation would undoubtedly produce better results. The chief crop is wheat ; no other crop is nearly so much cultivated. Potatoes, beet-root, and industrial plants are grown on a small scale. The pastures occupy narrow strips of land along the banks of streams ; forage, with the exception of clover, is hardly grown at all. Lucerne wUl not grow. There is very little live stock, as would be expected from the restricted area of the pastures. Horses for farm-work are the only animals found in any numbers, 332 AGRICULTURE with the exception of pigs, which are kept everywhere. The land is ill adapted to cattle and unhealthy for sheep. There is little timber on the Woevre, and what there is grows only on the outcrops of pure clay where there is no arable surface-soil. The timber industry which is carried on in a few villages derives its material mostly from the forests of neighbouring areas. The vine, which is cultivated on the limestone hUls of the surrounding districts, is found also on the plain. The wine which it here supplies is abundant, but acid and of inferior quality. This could, like other crops, be improved by drainage ; the roots of the vine suffer from an excess of moisture in the subsoil. On the lower slopes of the heights of the Meuse the soU is more suitable to the vine, but the chmate is said to be too cold to admit of good results. The limestone hUls which are scattered over the plain are rather more favourable ; their slopes are protected from hail, and frost is the only serious enemy. In the southern Woevre the vine is a good deal grown, but the work is all done with the hoe and is very laborious. Wine is the only article of export from the northern Woevre, where it is exchanged for corn from the Barrois and Argonne. On the Briey plateau hon-mining has everywhere taken precedence of agriculture, which, however, profits by the large and cheap supply of phosphates (in the form of basic slag) for manure. In the entire district about 74 per cent, of the whole cultivable land is devoted to cereals : wheat occupies 47 per cent. These figures do not include the smallest holdings. The southern part of the district (Jarnisy) is the most agricultural - in character, and yields the best results. At Chambley wheat yields 22 bushels per acre, oats 33 ; at Charency-Vezin on the Chiers wheat FRANCE 333 yields 14, oats 27. In the immediate neighbourhood of Conflans, and in general on the borders of the Woevre, the yield is inferior to that of the Hussigny, Briey, and Avril districts. The high yield of the Jarnisy seems to be due to the fact that its somewhat heavy and clayey soil is not claimed by the iron industry and can be farmed on the large scale which the soil demands. In the canton of Conflans more than hah the total area is divided among farms of over 50 acres. These farms, which are large in comparison with the average of Lorraine and include several of over 250 acres, are old seigneurial estates and are mostly at a distance from the villages. In general, however, the clay soils are less fertile than the limestones of the eastern part of the plateau. As in the Woevre, pasture-land is found chiefly along the banks of the streams, where it is fertilized by the mud brought down by winter spates. These natural pastures occupy about 7 to 8 per cent, of the land ; artificial pastures, which are spreading in the limestone district around Longuyon and Longwy, occupied in 1893 10 per cent. Industrial crops could no doubt be grown, but at present, owing to the absence of factories, there is Uo local demand. Beet-root was grown, and a sugar-factory established, at Jarny some time ago, but did not meet with success. In the mining district agriculture is declining, owing to the superior attraction of the ironworks. Even here, however, agriculture is by no means unsuccessful, largely owing to the steady demand for food-stuffs among the industrial population. The Briey plateau is wooded wherever the soil is too thin or poor for agriculture. Timber grows especially on the steeper slopes, the levels above and below being cultivated. A good deal of deforestation has taken 334 AGRICULTURE place in the past to satisfy the demands of the iron works ; at present this is no longer going on ; the woods are preserved and theh exploitation is properly con troUed. The Moselle valley in the neighbourhood of Metz and ThionvUle belongs to Germany, but is treated here for the sake of geographical convenience. The MoseUe vaUey itseh is a strip of sands, gravels, conglomerates, and other alluvial deposits traversing the liassic district of Lorraine from south to north. These alluvions are as a rule covered by a deposit of yellow or brown mud, coloured by iron-ore and resem bling the red soil of the Haie. It forms a light graveUy soil, sometimes as much as 6 ft. thick, absorbing water and producing springs where it is superimposed on beds of clay. This lias district is the richest part of Lorraine from an agricultural point of view. Metz and Nancy are important agricultural centres and theh neighbour hood contains numbers of large farms, chateaux, and country houses. The yield of grain is high, 16-22 bushels per acre for wheat and more for oats. Pasturage and hay exists along the streams, and is f ertUized by the mud deposited in their winter spates ; it is sometimes' damaged by the same agency. It is rich enough to support a good deal of five stock. Owing to the richness of the land woods are rare. They grow only on clayey patches of soil too heavy for agriculture. The plain is mostly under cereals ; the hUl-sides support vineyards. The whole of the MoseUe vaUey grows wine on both banks ; it is of a somewhat acid flavour, and is produced at the average rate of about 440 gallons per acre. This wine is locally consumed or exported to the Vosges. Grapes are largely sent to Germany for the FRANCE 335 manufacture of imitation champagne. The pros perity of the vineyards has at times been somewhat impahed by disease of the vine and scarcity of labour. PART III : IN LUXEMBURG Luxemburg falls physically into two main divisions. The northern half belongs to the high plateau of the Ardennes-Eifel massif, or rather to that district of it which is known as the Osling. This part is bleak and barren. The southern (the so-called Gutland) belongs to the Trias-Jurassic region, which, in the case of Bel gium, we have called the ' Arlon belt ' ; here the soil, though not rich, is better and the chmate more mild. Of a total area of 998-3 square miles, the Grand Duchy devotes 597-5 to agriculture. This, with aU the following figures, applies to 1913. The total agricul tural area shows a fairly steady though smaU increase for several years past. Of this cultivated area the proportions grown with various crops are as foUows : Cereals PulseRootsHay and forage . Total arable Pasture Vineyards . Fallow, &c. 45 per cent., slightly increasing. 1-6 per cent., declining, 14 per cent., slightly increasing. 13 per cent. 73-6 18-6 1 5-8 990 per cent., increasing. per cent., increasing. per cent. per cent., decreasing. Cereals, as this table shows, are largely grown over the whole country. Wheat is very little grown in the north ; but in the southern cantons, Esch, Luxemburg, Mersch, Grevenmacher, and Remich, a good deal is grown. It is almost exclusively winter wheat ; only 336 AGRICULTURE in Mersch and Diekirch is more than about 75 acres of summer wheat grown. Rye and oats are grown in the parts where wheat is least cultivated, i. e. especially in the north and west : Clervaux, Vianden, Wiltz, Redange, and CapeUen. In these rather high-lying plateau districts, with a severe climate, these are the only suitable cereals. PracticaUy all the rye is a winter crop. Oats are by far the most important cereal crop, accounting for nearly hah the total grain-crop of the Grand Duchy, and in Clervaux, Wiltz, Vianden, Diekirch, andRedange — all the northern cantons — greatly predominating over other cereals. Buckwheat is grown in Clervaux, but not much else where. Barley is only really much grown in Esch-sur-Alzette and Remich; but it is also grown in moderate quantities in other southern cantons, Echternach and Mersch chiefly. Peas and beans, like barley, are little grown except in the south, where Esch, Grevenmacher, and Remich are the chief districts for pulse. Echternach, Diekirch, Redange, and CapeUen also produce a fah quantity, but the northern cantons grow hardly any. Potatoes are an important crop, especiaUy in the north ; Clervaux grows them in larger quantities than any other canton. Diekirch, Redange, WUtz, and Luxemburg also grow a good deal. On the other hand beet grows most where potatoes are least cultivated ; most of all in Echternach and Remich, a good deal in Luxemburg, Esch, and Mersch, and very little in Clervaux. Of forage plants, clover and hay are grown most in the north and lucerne most in the south-east ; the latter commonest in Echternach and Remich, the former in Clervaux. Pastures are commonest in the south-east, in CapeUen, Esch, and Redange. LUXEMBURG 337 Thus the characteristic features of agriculture in the various cantons may be summed up as follows. Beginning in the north, Clervaux grows mostly oats and potatoes ; rye and clover are also much grown, and there is a fah extent of pasture-land. WUtz has a higher percentage of pasture and less arable land ; what there is grows the same crops as Clervaux. Vianden has about the same proportion of pasture to arable as Clervaux ; in proportion to its size it grows less oats and rye, more wheat, and considerably more beet. In Diekirch the quantity of wheat exceeds that of rye, and oats are less grown ; there are fewer potatoes and more beet (though here, as indeed in every canton, the potatoes still exceed the beet) ; and a good deal of pulse and lucerne. Redange shows much the same character, but it lies higher, and so approxi mates more to Wiltz, having less wheat and lucerne, and more rye, oats, and clover than Diekirch. Capellen closely resembles Redange, but grows- much less rye. Mersch grows large quantities of wheat and a fair quantity of barley ; a good deal of lucerne and pulse ; more beet and fewer potatoes than the average. The same characteristics are seen in Echternach, which, however, grows less wheat and more oats, and a very large quantity of lucerne. Grevenmacher grows much wheat and little rye, and large quantities of pulse, beet, and lucerne. The same is true of Remich, which in proportion to its small size grows even more beet. Luxemburg grows very much the same crops as Mersch. Esch has a high proportion of pasture-land — the highest in the Grand Duchy — and also grows much hay, in which it is second only to Clervaux ; otherwise it is unusual chiefly by the quantity of pulse which it grows. In respect of fertility the yields of wheat, barley, and rye are smallest in Clervaux and largest in the 338 AGRICULTURE eastern cantons ; oats, on the other hand, yield best in Esch, Clervaux, Luxemburg, and Capellen, and worst in the east. Potatoes yield best in Esch and Luxemburg, and poorly in the north and east ; beet nowhere very well, but Esch and Luxemburg are, on the whole, best for root-crops. Viticulture The Moselle valley in Luxemburg does not differ very widely from its German continuation north eastward, and hke that continuation it grows a con siderable quantity of wine. All the communes of the valley contain vineyards of greater or less extent, especially, Wormeldingen, WeUenstein, and Remer- schen, in all of which the vineyards amount to 500- 750 acres. The lateral valleys have a few vineyards, but these never penetrate far from the MoseUe except up the Sauer valley, where they reach in very smaU quantities to Echternach and even to Vianden. Considerable quantities of fruit are grown in the valleys. By far the commonest species are apples, pears, and plums ; cherries are also a good deal grown. Live stock The whole of our area has a smaU figure for sheep. The figure for Luxemburg, however, is lower than that for any other part. In order to compare different countries it is best to reduce the stock-census figures to a figure per square kilometre ( = 100 hectares or 247 acres) of agricultural land. At this rate Luxem burg has only 3-6 sheep per square kilometre ; the Rhine province of Germany, 6-5 ; Belgium, 8-0 ; Meurthe-et-Moselle, the only considerable sheep-farm ing district in our area, 15-3. All these figures are very low compared with 22-0 for aU Germany, 46-5 for all France, 81-5 for Italy, &c. LUXEMBURG 339 For horses, Luxemburg has 12-1; Belgium, 13-2; the Rhine province, 12-7; German Lorraine, 16-9; Meurthe- et-MoseUe, 9-8. These are fair average figures. For cattle, Luxemburg has 61-0; Belgium, 97-1; Rhine province, 70-7 ; German Lorraine, 45- 1 ; Meurthe- et-Moselle, 15-8. Luxemburg's figure is highest for pigs, which run 82-9 to the 100 hectares (Belgium, 60-6 ; Rhine pro vince, 66-4 ; German Lorraine, 58-6 ; Meurthe-et- MoseUe, 17-8). In the various cantons of Luxemburg horses are by far commonest in Esch ; they are also common in Luxemburg, Capellen, Grevenmacher, and Redange, and rarest in Clervaux, Wiltz, and Vianden. Cattle are commonest in Clervaux and Redange ; also common in Diekirch, Esch, and Capellen. They are everywhere fahly common, and average about five for every horse. Sheep are common only in Clervaux, WUtz, Diekirch, and Esch ; pigs everywhere, especially in Esch. Bees are most kept in the south, especially in Esch ; otherwise most in Dhkhch and Redange. The number of cattle and pigs shows an increase throughout the last fifty years. The number of horses shows a decline for the same period, though not a large one ; that of sheep declined by 90 per cent. between 1860 and 1910. Sheep-farming in Luxem burg may, therefore, be said to be rapidly vanishing. PART IV: IN GERMANY The German region included in our area falls sharply into the plain of the north and the hills of the south. The basin of the upper Moselle, from Sierck up to Metz, f-orms a third division, but such a small one that we have for the sake of convenience treated it with French Lorraine, of which it geographically forms a part. Y2 340 AGRICULTURE Roughly speaking the agricultural value of the plain is high, that of the hills (Eifel) very low. Thus the Kreise of Cologne and Bonn contain land valued for the land income-tax at 30 marks per morgen (£2 10s. per acre) ; the best land in the Kreis of Prum is valued at 9 marks per morgen (14s. per acre). Further, a much smaller proportion of the hill-districts is used for agricultural purposes. In the Regierungsbezirk of Diisseldorf 70- 7 per cent, is so employed ; in that of Aachen, 62-6 ; in that of Cologne, 62-4 ; in that of Trier, 58-1 ; and in that of Coblenz, 52-1. Average for the whole Rhine province, 60-6 per cent. Vine yards account for 0-5 per cent., and meadows and pastures 14-2 per cent, of the whole district. Arable occupies 52-8 per cent, of the Regierungsbezirk of Diisseldorf, 53-3 of that of Cologne, 42-2 of Aachen, 40-8 of Trier, and 38-4 of Coblenz. Over the whole area 53-9 is devoted to cereals. This figure analyses as follows : rye, 20-0 ; oats, 19-2 ; wheat, 9-8 ; barley, 3-1 ; mixed grains, 1-8. Other crops are leguminous plants (3-36 per cent.), roots (20-9 ; including sugar- beet, 1-3 ; potatoes, 13-7 ; mangolds, 2-5), and forage plants (12-1). The number of horses in the whole Rhine province (162,357) and that of cattle (1,076,945) is high; that of sheep decidedly low (249,238) and decreasing. This, however, is compensated by a rise in the number of cattle, and by the very high number of goats. The land is mostly in the hands of smaU-holders. Two-thhds of the landowners have under 5 hectares (12-36 acres) ; this accounts for 26 per cent, of the whole area ; 96 per cent, have under 20 hectares (50 acres), and account for 74 per cent, of the area. Only 3-94 per cent, possess over 20 hectares, and these account for 26 per cent, of the area. The Rhine province is thus emphatically a country of smaU holdings. GERMANY 341 In recent years a tendency towards an increase in the size of holdings has become apparent. The official statistics distinguish five types of holding : small plots (up to 5 acres), small peasant farms (5-12 acres), medium peasant farms (12-50 acres), large peasant farms (50-250 acres), and large* estates (over 250 acres). Of these five classes the first showed a distinct decrease over the whole Rhine province in the years 1895- 1907. In the Regierungsbezirk of Coblenz, where their predominance was most complete, this decline was most noteworthy ; theh numbers fell from 19,849 to 16,568. In the same district the small peasant farms increased by 200, the medium decreased by 240, and the large" remained stationary ; while the large estates, of which there are exceedingly few, increased from 14 to 15. Thus in the Coblenz district the decline in the number of small plots was the only remarkable feature. In the Regierungsbezirk of Trier the small plots declined by 2,000 ; the small and medium peasant farms rose by 40P each ; the large peasant farms declined by 100, and the large estates by 5 (27 to 22). Here, then, the decline of properties under 5 acres is more than balanced by a growth in those between 5 and 50 acres. In Aachen Regierungs bezirk the large estates alone rose (44 to 51) ; every other type declined, the small plots by 2,000. In Cologne the large estates rose from 108 to 139 ; all others declined, the small plots by 3,200. In Diisseldorf again the large estates rose (67 to 69), and all others showed a decline, large in the case of the small plots (1,500) and small peasant farms (1,400), small in the others. In general, therefore, it may be said that the smallest holdings (up to 5 acres) are dwindling over the whole Rhine province with very pronounced rapidity ; in the twelve years we are considering they feU from 342 AGRICULTURE 67,000 to 55,000, a decline of close on 18 per cent. This rate is tolerably uniform for the whole province. On the other hand, while the large estates are increas ing in the plains of the north at the expense of all other types of holding, in the hiU districts of the south the small peasant proprietors with 5 to 50 acres are holding their own, and indeed, in the district of Trier, increasing at the expense of large proprietors. These statistics conclusively disprove the view that the farms of the Rhineland are doomed by the custom and law of the land to perpetually increasing subdivision. As in Belgium, however, each holding is often or generally divided into a large number of separate plots, so that the farmer who owns no more than a few acres may find his property scattered, in plots of a few acres, over several square mUes of country. This, as in Belgium, has proved a serious drawback, and a society was formed about 1845 to combat it by ' rounding-up ' the land in each Gemeinde into con tinuous farms. This work has been carried out with special energy since 1886, between which date and 1906, 213 Gemeinden have been thrown together and redistributed systemati cally among the members, four old lots being on average incorporated in one new, and the average size of the new lots being one-thhd of an acre. At the same time drainage and irrigation works were undertaken, Raif- feisen banks established, and . a register of owners instituted. These improvements chiefly affect the richer district.1 1 One authority writes that ' the prosperity of communes (in the Rhineland) which have redistributed their land is markedly greater than that of others which have not done so '. The suggestion that their prosperity is the effect of this redistribution does not neces sarily contradict the view taken in the text ; since prosperity stimulates improvements and the effects are cumulative. GERMANY 343 In the poorer districts of the Eifel conditions are still very bad, and farming very unprofitable. The poorness of the soil may be judged from the fact that in many parts the land is sown with oats for perhaps three years and then left to lie fallow for fifteen years. In the richer districts clover is usually foUowed by oats ; sugar-beet and wurzels by autumn-sown grain. Catch crops are very generally sown in these districts. Cattle are generally kept for doing all the draught- work of the farm ; these also give tolerably good mUk. Near the towns there are extensive dairy farms, which, as a rule, do not breed their own cattle, but import cows in calf from Denmark and elsewhere. Horse-breeding is carefully regulated, and is of con siderable importance ; the staUions are mostly State property, and are all inspected from year to year, and only licensed for breeding purposes if perfectly sound. There are eight horse-breeding associations in the province, all heavily subsidized by Government. Practically aU farmers are members of one or more associations, and thus obtain agricultural literature, free analysis of soils, manures, &c, and help to support bacteriological and chemical research work. Other important institutions are the agricultural schools, of which there are about forty in the province, where the masters teach in the winter and tour the country lecturing in the summer ; the Raiffeisen banks above mentioned ; farmers' co-operative clubs for the pur chase of implements ; machinery, chemical manures, seeds, &c, and insurance societies dealing with fire, haU, life, and employers' liability, and cattle diseases. Co-operation thus plays an extremely important part in the agricultural life of the province, and is found to solve many of the problems due to the system of small holdings. A great deal of help is given to farmers by the 344 AGRICULTURE Government, chiefly through the provincial Chamber of Agriculture, which represents the farmers' interests and attempts to influence legislation in theh favour. Thus the Chamber of Agriculture has strongly resisted the attempts of the industrial party to allow the free import of live stock and meat, on the ground that this would damage the German stock-breeder. In contra distinction to the Belgian practice, the theory of pro tective tariffs to -benefit the agriculturist is generally accepted. The Chamber and the Government are endeavouring to promote poultry and bee-keeping, the latter of which is becoming an important source of income to small-holders ; the Chamber is encourag ing the growth of sugar-beet by advocating low import duties for sugar in other countries and high import duties into Germany, as weU as by getting freights reduced for beet and sugar ; forestry is being similarly stimulated by financial help, prizes and advice and seedlings given free. Every branch of agriculture in fact is assisted by the Chamber, and through it by the Government. Viticulture The wines of the Rhine and MoseUe are well known, and constitute the chief product of the districts which make them. The Rhine province as a whole has about 30,000 acres of vineyards, of which hah are in the MoseUe valley, a third in that of the Rhine, and the remainder on the Nahe and the Ahr. The best Rhine wines are produced outside the Rhine province, and the only vineyards which faU within our area are those of the left bank of the Moselle, the right bank of the Rhine below Coblenz, and the Ahr valley. Of these the Moselle vineyards are by far the most important. They occupy all the south-facing slopes of the vaUey up to the level of the terraces which terminate GERMANY 345 the lower slopes ; the rest of these slopes being occupied by fruit-trees. These vineyards produce a great variety of the well-known MoseUe wines. The banks of the Rhine are also covered, wherever theh slopes face the south, with vineyards ; and the tributary valleys of both streams contain vineyards penetrating as far up into the Eifel as possible. The vine thus grows up the Sauer to Echternach and up the Our to Vianden, and in the lower valleys of the Salm, Lieser, and Alf. In the eastern valleys it grows up the Brohl as far as Oberzissen and up the Ahr to Honningen. In the northern valleys of the Eifel the vine only occurs at Maubach in the Roer valley. North of this and the Ahr vaUey it does not grow. The vines of the Moselle are almost exclusively white, the only exceptions being in a very few vine yards low down the valley. In the Ahr valley, on the other hand, red wine takes precedence of the white Rhine and Moselle wines, which require a warmer climate. Consequently the southern portions of the vineyard area produce more white wines, the northern more red. Thus in 1913 the Moselle valley (including the vineyards of both banks and those of the tributary streams) produced 3,600,000 gallons of white wine worth £646,000, as against 418 gallons of red worth £50 ; whereas the Ahr valley produced only 420 gallons of white worth £52, against 52,000 gallons of red worth £7,150. These figures may be taken as typical, though the yield varies widely from year to year. The upward limit of vineyards is dictated by the danger of late frosts ; but. most of the existing vineyards are really subject to this danger, which in some years does immense damage to the vintage. 346 AGRICULTURE Agriculture in the Eifel The agricultural character of the northern plains may be sufficiently gathered from the general note given above. In the hill district conditions are more varied, and consequently a rather more detaUed survey of the Eifel massif from the agricultural point of view is desirable. The chief resources of the Eifel, since the ironworks fell into decay, are agriculture and stock-farming, together with fruit-trees in the valleys and lower parts generally and vines (already described) on the lowest slopes of all. The great central plateaux, Hohe Venn, Schneifel, Osling, Hocheifel, are bleak and barren ; theh climate is severe and theh soil for the most part extremely poor. The Rheinvoreifel and Moselvoreifel are rather milder and more fertile ; and the PeUenz and Maifeld districts near Coblenz are quite good country for crops and fruit-trees. The aUuvial vaUey- bottoms also afford good land and a favourable climate ; but they are so very narrow and so much occupied by houses that they are little used for this purpose, arable land being usually sought on the plateau itself. The valley-bottoms are also liable to extremely violent floods, which are always attended by great damage to property and often by much loss of life. The main plateau is mostly composed of shaly Devo nian rocks and greywacke. The latter produces a soU tolerably suited to rye and oats ; the Devonian shales mostly weather to an impermeable clay, producing cold, wet soUs which on the heights turn to the swamps and peat-mosses of the Venn and Schneifel ; but the same clays are extensively found farther south and east and can with care be converted into arable, even U perhaps not into good agricultural land. Calcareous soils are found in the central Eifel locally, GERMANY 347 and on a more extensive scale farther south, where the Triassic formation extends in a belt some 20 miles wide between Trier and Diekhch, embracing the lower valleys of the Sauer, Prum, Kyll, &c, and composing the district which we have caUed the Moselvoreifel. Here wheat and spelt can be grown as well as rye. The agricultural value of the Moselvoreifel is only relative ; its soil is in parts too cold and clayey, in parts too dry for real fertility. A large part of the district is taken up by vaUeys with theh steep, densely-wooded sides. The plateau itself is fairly clear of timber. The Wittlich depression, in the south of this area, is more fertUe ; its sandstones weather to a light soil, easUy tilled and well adapted to potatoes, turnips, cabbages, and tobacco. Finally the Moselberge, the range of low hills intervening between the Wittlich depression and the Moselle itself, are barren and wooded. In the Kyll vaUey, near Kyllburg and St. Thomas, hops are grown on the sandstone slopes of the valley. On the high central plateaux the proportion of waste is very high, and that of arable low. The harvest often fails owing to the severity of the climate and the barren ness of the soil ; and as the very small proprietors of the plateau cannot afford a faUure of this kind, the tendency is to reduce cereals to a minimum and to throw an in creasing emphasis on stock-breeding, reinforced by the cultivation of forage plants. Large herds cannot be grazed on the restricted fields of the valley bottoms, and the upper slopes are nowhere suitable for pasture except in the north and on the slopes running down to the plains of Aachen and Bonn, where the high rainfall ensures a good supply of grass and there are rich meadows almost everywhere. Over the greater part of the plateau, therefore, the herds depend for existence on the cultivation of forage. Few attempts have been made to bring into cultivation the waste lands of the 348 AGRICULTURE Eifel. Certain areas have been afforested ; others, which are at present only second-rate pasture-land, might be brought under cereals. Many parts, too, which are now afforested have a good soil, and if cleared would be of value as agricultural land. This is espe cially the case in the Hocheifel, where the plateau is broken by basalt cones and the soU is in part volcanic ; this region, now almost uninhabited and heavUy tim bered, might be brought under cultivation wherever the severity of the climate permits. The same is perhaps true of a great part of the northern slopes. The Maifeld, the plateau south-west of Coblenz and standing above the left bank of the lower Moselle, is a fairly rich district. The main plateau is almost entirely given up to fruit-trees (cherries, apples, &c.) ; the slopes down towards Coblenz are also largely grown with cherry-trees. The lower, or north-eastern, end of the plateau is agriculturally the best ; the soil is a fertile loess mixed with pumice, and there is a good deal of fertile arable. But the whole plateau has a good soil and a fahiy good climate ; it is sheltered from north and north-west winds by the Hocheifel hills, and good harvests of wheat, barley, and potatoes, as well as of fruit, can everywhere be obtained. The value of the land is shown by the fact that rents are nearly as high as in the low-lying tract of rich country which hes on both sides of the Rhine immediately below Coblenz. There is practically no timber : firewood is brought from the Hocheifel and Hunsriick, where the Maheld Gemeinden own woods. There are no pastures ; and in consequence about half the arable is devoted to forage plants, the remainder being mostly given over to cereals. North of the Maheld is the Pellenz, a broad valley running down from the interior of the Eifel to the Rhine at Andernach. Its agricultural value is considerable. GERMANY 349 It lies only about 300-650 ft. above the sea, and its- pumice soil, in fairly level fields almost entirely free from timber, yields good harvests of wheat and barley, potatoes and fodder. This is especially the case with the southern slopes, leading gently up to the Maifeld. Agri culture in the Pellenz is gradually giving way to industry in the shape of stone-quarrying ; but it still retains a considerable importance owing to the natural fertility of the district, and already supported a dense popula tion before the great modern development of the quarries. The Rheinvoreifel extends from the Pellenz on the south across the Brohl to the Ahr valley on the north. It is characteristically a volcanic district, containing basalt cones, craters (of which the Laacher See fills the largest), and a great deal of lava, tuff, pumice, &c. Its soil is therefore fertile, and as its elevation above the sea is not excessive it is for the most part good agri cultural land. CHAPTER VIII MINERAL RESOURCES The area with which we are concerned is extremely rich in certain minerals. In the north, centre, and south there are extensive coalfields, some of which have long been worked while others remain at present untouched ; the development of the latter wiU doubtless have a great influence on the future distribution of industry and population. In the south is an ironfield of im mense importance, sometimes described as the most valuable in the world, and undoubtedly the most important in Europe, whose position on the frontiers of France, Germany, Belgium and Luxemburg gives rise to complex international problems. Minor iron deposits scattered over the southern region have practicaUy no commercial importance. These two minerals have given rise to vast hon and steel industry, whose chief centres are in Belgium, Lorraine, and Westphaha. A limited district on the Belgo-German frontier is rich in zinc ores, which are mostly treated in eastern Belgium. These zinc-mines, though the area which they cover is of no great extent, are an important factor in the zinc production of Europe. Further east is a group of lead-mines. Finally, the whole district is rich in quarries pro ducing building stone, road-metal, marble, slates, and a great variety of other stones, as weU as vast quanti ties of clay, upon which depend the important and widespread potteries and brickworks of the district. These minerals, with the exception of those obtained from quarries, which are described in the following MINERAL RESOURCES 351 chapter, are treated below in detaU ; for theh indus trial apphcation the chapter on Industries should be consulted (Chapter IX). 1 PART I : COAL Introduction The intense industrial development of Belgium and the surrounding countries is due in great part, though not by any means entirely, to the existence of enormous coal reserves in these countries. The great coalfields of Westphalia and the Saar vaUey faU just outside our area, but are described below, in theh place, because of their influence on the economic conditions within it. Apart from these the coalfields to be described are : (1) most important of all, the great Franco- Belgian coalfield, extending from Herve and Liege westward along the Meuse and Sambre to Valenciennes, Douai, Bethune and beyond, with its appendages the Boulonnais and Theux fields ; (2) the Campine field, running from the neighbourhood of Aix (where it is known as the Wurm-Inde field) through Dutch Limburg into and across the Campine, the sandy plain of north eastern Belgium ; (3) the Peel field, one end of which lies in Holland and the other across the Meuse at Erkelenz in Germany ; (4) less important, the numerous little coalfields in Belgium south of the Meuse, to which we shall refer as the Dinant basins. FinaUy, there are coalfields north of Crefeld on the left bank of the Rhine and on the upper Moselle at Pont-a-Mousson, which are properly treated as extensions of the Westphafian and Saar fields respectively. The geological facts governing the distribution of these coalfields are of some importance for the practical 1 See Atlas, Maps 6-11. 352 MINERAL RESOURCES purpose of determining in what dhection extensions may be looked for, and must therefore be briefly described. The great massif of the Ardennes, EUel, and Huns- riick, on the left bank of the Rhine, and the Sauerland, Westerwald, and Taunus on the right bank, is composed of rocks older than the coal-bearing strata, and was aheady elevated when the carboniferous limestone was deposited in the surrounding sea. Over this area, therefore, it would be useless to look for coal. On the northern and southern flanks, however, great quantities of coal were formed. The southern slope of the massif bears the coal of the Saar vaUey, extending longitudinally for an unknown distance but only within reach for a short section of its total probable length. Southward, too, it extends in all probability for a considerable distance beyond the limit of present working. On the northern slope a similar deposit of coal was laid down. This was the great Franco-Belgian coal field in the west, and the Westphalian and Crefeld field in the east. Like the Saar field these are bounded on one side (in their case the south) by the older rocks of the Ardennes massif. The southern edge of the West phalian field is quite sharply defined by the outcrop of these older rocks ; in the case of the Franco-Belgian field the southern limit is obscured by a longitudinal fault caused by pressure from the south, which has 'telescoped' the strata, forcing the older Devonian rocks up and over the coal-measures, and thus burying the southern edge of the latter. The northern edge, how ever, which in Westphalia dips graduaUy lower and lower tiU it passes out of reach, is in the Franco-Belgian field marked by the rise of another massif of older rocks, the 'Anglo-Belgian plateau', which in the Car boniferous period formed an island including roughly COAL 353 Brabant and Flanders and reaching across the North Sea to England. The Franco-Belgian coalfield, hemmed in between this and the Ardennes massif, is in conse quence a mere trough, narrow and somewhat sinuous, whose limits are (apart from the 'overlap' on the south) well defined and admit of no extension. The Anglo-Belgian plateau is now worn down and almost enthely covered by formations of a much later date ; but its shape can be traced. Between Maastricht and Liege it terminated in a narrow end ; westward it broadened, extending from about Antwerp in the north nearly to Mons in the south, and its southern limit cuts the modern coast about Calais. Within this area, therefore, there is no coal ; but on the northern edge of the plateau, again, a coalfield is found. This is the Campine coalfield, which, beginning at the northern edge of the Anglo-Belgian plateau, stretches away for an unknown distance northward. The district between the Campine and Westphalia was probably at one time covered by a continuous coalfield. It has, however, been subjected to very violent faulting ; this has broken it up into blocks, some of which have subsided so far as to carry the coal down out of reach, whUe others, rising, have forced it up to a level at which denudation has carried it away. A few blocks alone, such as the Peel-Erkelenz field, bring the coal to a position where it can con veniently be worked. Further exploration may pos sibly reveal other blocks or 'horsts' of the same kind, but in the present state of our knowledge this must be considered extremely doubtful. The Dinant basins alone remain to be accounted for. These are conditioned by a depression within the Ar dennes massif itself, between the central hills south of Givet and the abruptly-upstanding ridge (now enthely worn away) of the Condroz. This depression consists 354 MINERAL RESOURCES of a number of parallel troughs fiUed with carboniferous limestone, in some of which coal-measures are present. The industrial significance of these is negligible. In the foUowing detailed description of the coalfields it has been found convenient to group them not physically but politically ; that is, to divide (e. g.) the Franco-Belgian field and treat one part under France and one under Belgium. A certain amount of repeti tion is inevitable in this as in any other method of division. In estimating the coal resources we have adopted the current distinction between ' actual ', ' probable ', and ' possible ' reserves. Actual reserves consist of seams which have been so thoroughly opened up and surveyed in the course of mining operations that a fairly accurate estimate of theh contents can be offered. Probable reserves have been proved by mining or boring, but the correlation of the seams in different pits has not been fuUy established. Possible reserves have been proved by experimental boring, but the extent of the field cannot be exactly laid down. The German method of estimating reserves cannot be exactly brought into line with this ; they distinguish reserves in mined areas, reserves in areas sampled by boring, and reserves conjectured to exist in unex plored areas. The two last are much less certain than ' probable ' and ' possible ' reserves respectively. In deed the second German class corresponds roughly to ' possible ' reserves, and the third consists of deposits with which the international method, designed espe cially to avoid the danger of over-estimation, does not attempt to deal. The very high German figures must therefore be discounted. The depth to which coal can be worked is at present a controversial subject. In general the Belgian and French authorities regard 4,000 ft. as theh working COAL 355 limit, and base their estimates on that assumption. German authorities ©onsider it worth while to estimate the amount of coal to a considerably greater depth (generally 6,600 ft.), but no workings of this depth actually exist. This, it should be observed, is an additional reason why the high figures of the German estimates must be discounted in proportion* to the Belgian and French figures. A. The Coal Resources of Belgium Although Belgium is well supplied with coal of her own, her position would be unsatisfactory but for the large coalfields occurring in the countries by which she is surrounded. Since 1909 her consumption has in creasingly exceeded her production, and since 1906 her imports of coal have been greater than her exports. The kinds of coal which Belgium requires to import are especially those with a high percentage of volatile matter, viz. gas and coking coals and long-flame coals for use in forges, rolling-mills, &c. With ordinary steam and domestic coals Belgium is excellently sup plied, and exports a large quantity of the latter to France. The Belgian coals are of all kinds from anthra cite with 16 per cent, of volatile matter to long-flame coals with 37 or even 40 per cent, volatile matter. The stratigraphical disposition of these various kinds is fahiy constant. It has only been ascertained in the case of the Sambre-Meuse coalfield, the Campine field not having yet been sufficiently explored. Thus : (i) the percentage of volatile matter is higher in the upper strata and lower in the lower ; (ii) within the same stratum, the proportion of volatile matter is highest in the neighbourhood of certain points (at Flenu near Mons and a little west of Seraing near Liege) which seem to coincide with the greatest depths z 2 356 MINERAL RESOURCES of the basin ; (iii) the proportion of volatUe matter is regularly higher on the south side of the field than on the north ; (iv) finally, irrespective of stratification and any other considerations, the proportion of volatUe matter decreases as the depth below the present surface increases. Of these laws it is known that (i) apphes to the Campine basin also. The reserves of coal in Belgium cannot be very exactly estimated. The Campine field may contain about 10,000 mUlion metric tons, and the Sambre-Meuse field about 3,000, mostly in Hainaut. The Belgian coal-measures belong enthely to the Carboniferous series, and are found immediately above the carboniferous limestones wherever that series occurs. They fall therefore into three groups. (a) The Sambre-Meuse field. — The trough occupied successively from east to west by the vaUeys of the Meuse, Sambre, and Haine carries an almost continuous belt of coal-measures from the German frontier between Vise and Eupen through Liege, Namur, Charleroi, and Mons to the French frontier and beyond. This is the only field of importance in the past and present ; it accounts for almost the whole output of Belgian coal up to the present time. It is divided into a number of ' basins ', of which the most important are the Liege, Charleroi, Centre, and Couchant de Mons. (b) Campine field. — Separated from this by the 'Anglo- Belgian plateau', and occupying another depression of the same kind, is the recently-discovered Campine field. This runs from the Meuse below Maestricht west- north-west in the dhection of. Antwerp. It contains large reserves of coal and wiU certainly develop great importance in the future, but up to now it is practicaUy untouched. (c) The Dinant fields. — A third depression, whose axis crosses the Meuse at Dinant, contains a number of more COAL RESOURCES OF BELGIUM 357 or less isolated patches of carboniferous limestone, with which are associated coal-measures. The result is a group of small isolated coalfields lying south of the Sambre-Meuse field, of which the largest lies astride of the Meuse below Dinant. In these little fields denudation has everywhere brought the coal-measures to the surface, producing small basins or pockets of exposed coal. The industrial value of these has never been great, and they are not likely to be exploited in the future. It wUl therefore be unnecessary to mention the Dinant basins again. a. The Sambre-Meuse Coalfield The Sambre-Meuse coalfield (see Atlas, Maps 8 and 9) is the Belgian portion of the great Franco-Belgian field. It stretches right across the centre of Belgium, passing through Mons, Charleroi, Namur, and Liege. The coal-measures are continuous all along this line except at Samson (Namur province), where theh car boniferous floor rises up and breaks theh continuity. The total length of the field in Belgium is 115 miles, of which 40 lie in Hainaut, 31 in Namur, and 44 in Liege province. Its width varies considerably ; but the maximum reached between Dalhem and Olne, and approached farther west between Erbisoeul and Genly, is about 9 miles. The central part, between these two points, is from 3£ to 4J miles across. The depth of the deposit varies. Greatest in the west in the ' Cou chant de Mons ' basin, where it is said to attain 8,000- 10,000 ft., it diminishes east of Mons to increase again to 4,500 ft. 2 miles west of Charleroi. East of Charleroi the bottom again rises rapidly, and 6 miles beyond Namur, near the Samson, a tributary of the Meuse, the carboniferous floor rises to the surface, the coal- measures being enthely interrupted. 358 MINERAL RESOURCES Beyond the Samson the floor sinks again to attain the depth of 4,600-5,000 ft. between Seraing and Liege. Finally, it rises east of this tiU near the German frontier it comes close to the surface-level. It is nowhere necessary to penetrate any great thickness of other rocks before reaching the Sambre- Meuse coal-measures, except in boring through the ' Devonian overlap ' on the south of the field (pp. 352, 360). The coal-measures actuaUy reach the surface almost everywhere in the Liege basin, continuously thence up the Sambre-Meuse vaUey to above Charleroi, and here and there in the Haine valley. In the Centre and Couchant de Mons basins a certain amount of Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks must generaUy be penetrated, but never so much as in the adjoining French field, or as in the Campine field. The number of seams varies according to the total depth of the deposit. In the so-caUed Borinage or Couchant de Mons basin there are 122 seams worth working, at Charleroi 65, in the Liege basin 47. In the shallower district (Basse-Sambre basin) about Namur the number is comparatively small. There are four main types of coal. These are distinguished as follows. 1. Long-flame coals (known from the viUage at which they occur as charbons Flenu). These occupy the uppermost seams, and are in consequence only present in the Mons basin. These coals are specially in demand for industrial purposes where a long flame is required, e. g. for puddling-furnaces and gas-works. Percentage of volatile matter 28-35. 2. Semi-bituminous coals. These, occupying the seams below those of the Flenu coals, are chiefly used for steam, in glass-works, in gas-works, for domestic purposes, and in the manufacture of metallurgical coke. 3. Bituminous coal or houille marechale, with about COAL RESOURCES OF BELGIUM 359 22 per cent, volatile matter. Most of this is taken up by coke-furnaces ; it produces a heavy, hard coke, much valued for metallurgical purposes. It is also used by blacksmiths. Below this is another stratum of semi- bituminous coal with a smaUer percentage of volatile matter. 4. Dry or short-flame coal. The larger pieces are used for domestic burning ; the smaller coal is used for brick and lime kilns, for baking pyrites or reducing zinc-ore, and for the manufacture of briquettes. The volatUe matter is about 11 per cent. These four classes of coal merge imperceptibly into one another, and various intermediate stages are dis tinguished in the trade. Five basins altogether are distinguished in the Sambre-Meuse coalfield. The Borinage or Couchant de Mons basin, as its name indicates, occupies that part of the province which lies west of Mons ; the Centre comprises the collieries east of Mons and west of the meridian of Landelies and Courcelles; while the Charleroi basin reaches from Courcelles to Tamines. The collieries in the immediate neighbourhood of Tamines and extending thence into the Namur province are known as the Basse-Sambre group. Finally, those of the Liege province are known as the Liege basin. The Couchant de Mons basin contains all the known varieties of Belgian coal, from the Flenu at the top to the dry short-flame coals at the bottom. Eastward of Mons the upper strata disappear, bringing to the sur face along the axis of the field successively the upper semi-bituminous, bituminous, and (about Charleroi) the lower semi-bituminous strata. Beyond Charleroi the dry coal is the only formation present as far as^the end of the western field at the Samson. In the Liege basin the coal with the highest per centage of volatile matter occurs at Seraing and TUleur, 360 MINERAL RESOURCES where the total deposit is thickest. This is, however, not identical with the Flenu series, having a shorter flame ; the Flenu strata are absent in the Liege basin. The rest of the basin produces all varieties of dry coal. It should be noted that the east-and-west fault known in the west as the ' faille du Midi ' and in the east as the ' faille eifelienne ', which limits the Sambre-Meuse coalfield on the south, slopes strongly towards the south, from which direction the Devonian series has been forced over the Carbomf erous. Shafts sunk into the Devonian south of the fault, therefore, penetrate through it to the underlying coal-measures. Consequently in the area between Mons and the Sambre coal-mines can be opened to the south of the ' faille du Midi '. The same prmciple may be applicable to other parts of the district im mediately south of the coalfield. This overlap of the Devonian over the Carboniferous has been worn through by denudation in the neighbour hood of Theux, where the ' massif of Theux ' represents the same coalfield as that of the Herve plateau imme diately to the north, appearing as it were through the hole in the overlying formation. The coalfield of Theux belongs therefore not to the comparatively worthless Dinant basin but to the Sambre-Meuse system. Unfortunately, however, it is almost enthely barren. The coals with high percentages of volatUe matter contain much inflammable gas, which gives serious trouble in mining operations, especially in the southern part of the Sambre-Meuse field. This is a serious objection to extending the exploitation of these extreme souther^ portions of the field. The foUowing table shows the comparative produc tivity of the various basins of the Sambre-Meuse field in 1906. This may be taken as a typical year, the COAL RESOURCES OF BELGIUM 361 various figures not varying greatly in other years and the total remaining approximately constant till 1913. Number of Pits. Produc Number Work Construct tion in District. of ing or in Metric Collieries. ing. Reserve. Tons. Couchant de Mons 22 63 9 4,895,240 Centre 10 39 2 3,609,410 Charleroi 37 99 19 8,202,350 Basse-Sambre 11 17 5 857,160 Liege . 42 78 8 6,045,430 Total . 122 296 43~ 23,609,590 The most important movements since about 1900 are a decline in the production of the Basse-Sambre (though not in the number of pits working) and a very con siderable increase in that of the Liege basin. b. The Campine Coalfield A great quantity of coal has since 1902 been found to exist in the north-east* of Belgium, in the Limbourg and Antwerp provinces, underlying the low, sandy, and often swampy plain known as the Campine. The value of this deposit, containing as it does more than three times the reserves of the Sambre-Meuse field and having a high proportion of the long-flame and gas coals in which Belgium is otherwise poor, is very great ; but it is somewhat discounted by the fact that the whole field is deeply buried under an accumulation of later formations, which moreover contain immense quantities of water. Shafts would therefore have both to be very deep and to be constructed with special precautions against flooding during construction and afterwards ; a trustworthy estimate reckons the cost of sinking a double shaft to the surface of the coalfield at nearly half a mUlion sterling. It seems to be the case, how ever, that in spite of these difficulties the Campine field 362 MINERAL RESOURCES would amply repay working. Its practical limits and the character of the coal have been more or less estab lished by experimental soundings, and its commercial importance may be estimated from the fact that even ten years ago applications had been made for conces sions extending over the enthe explored area. It may therefore be confidently asserted that the Campine field will be extensively worked in future years. Mining began some time ago, but no workings have yet begun to produce results. When the field is fully developed, which (granted the necessary capital) may be in another ten or twenty years, it wUl be one of the most important economic factors in Belgium. The Campine district, extending from Antwerp to the Meuse between Maastricht and Maeseyck, wiU become one of the chief industrial districts of Belgium, if not the chief ; the lines of communication, aheady good, will doubtless undergo great development, and in dustries of all kinds, especiaUy perhaps metaUurgical industries, will gravitate to the new coalfield. This development would naturally begin at the eastern end of the Campine, west of the Meuse, where the coal is nearest to the surface ; hence it may be expected to spread westward as the coalpits increase in depth. The Campine coalfield is thus of crucial importance for the future of Belgium. The coalfield, like the other Belgian fields, belongs to the Carboniferous series. This series occurs in a strip running roughly from Antwerp to Maastricht ; bounded on the south by the older rocks of the ' Anglo-Belgian plateau ', and dipping northwards deeper and deeper towards the Dutch frontier. Over this formation he the coal-measures, forming a parallel strip, the strata similarly dipping to the north. On the south, therefore, the oldest strata alone are present ; farther north the upper strata appear above them one by one. The full COAL RESOURCES OF BELGIUM 363 series of coal-measures therefore exists in the north of the field only, and it is here alone that the upper seams can be found. The whole surface of the field is however buried beneath a deposit of Tertiary and Quaternary forma tions, thinnest in the south and east of the field and thickest in the north and west. In the extreme east the thickness varies from about 1,000 ft. in the south at Opgrimby to about 1,800 ft. at Berkeinde ; in the west it varies from about 2,200 at Sandhoven to 2,800 at Vlimmeren. The lower strata, therefore, can be reached nearer the surface than the upper ; the former, from Genck to the Meuse at Vucht, lie about 1,200 ft. down, whUe the latter, where they appear a few miles farther north, are 1,500-1,800 ft. below the surface. Five main strata or groups of seams are distinguished, represented by the broken red lines on the map (Atlas, Map 10). No. I, in the north, contains 37-42 per cent. volatile matter ; that is to say, it supplies a valuable long-flame coal for use in gas-works, rolling-mills, forges, &c. No. II, underlying I and appearing on the map south of it, also gives a long-flame coal suitable for the same purpose and averaging about 37 per cent. volatile matter. These percentages are considerably superior to'that of Flenu coal (28-35 per cent.), which is the highest hitherto found in Belgium. No. Ill gives a bituminous coal with 25-27 per cent, volatile matter in that portion which hes east of the meridian of Hasselt ; west of this the proportion of volatile matter is 28-38 per cent., so that the coal can be classed as long-flame, closely resembling the Flenu product. No. IV gives a bituminous coal with about 22-24 per cent, volatile matter. No. V gives semi-bituminous and dry coals (12-20 per cent. volatUe matter) in the district east of the meridian of Hasselt ; west of this the coal is bitu minous, with 19-24 per cent, volatile matter. 364 MINERAL RESOURCES From this summary of the types of coal in the Cam pine field it appears that the most important deposits are those of long-flame and bituminous coals. These being precisely the quahties of which Belgium's con sumption is most in excess of her production, the working of the Campine deposits is bound to exercise a great influence on the future of Belgian industry. The limits of the Campine field are more or less accurately determined on the south, where the coal- measures definitely come to an end ; on the other sides the field is limited rather by increasing difficulties of working than by definite natural boundaries. To the east a fault, obliquely crossing the Meuse near Urmond, throws the coalfield down to a depth of below 4,000 ft., or too far down for mining purposes (see above, p. 354) ; later it rises again to the Dutch Limburg coalfield. On the north the strata apparently dip with fah regularity at about 8° towards the Dutch frontier. Soundings have not yet determined whether this is the case, or whether there is a longitudinal fault throwing down to northward. If the dip is regularly maintained the uppermost strata would aheady reach a depth of 4,000 ft. at Neerglabbeek and Meeuwen: that is to say, the mining zone would extend only 3 mUes north of the southern hmit of stratum I in the neighbour hood of Opglabbeek. Farther west the angle of dip is much less, averaging west of Hasselt about 4° or 5° ; this would extend the area of possible mining operations to a line running from Wychmael in the direction of Turnhout. This northern limit of possible mining operations, however, must be regarded as conjectural (see Atlas, Map 10). On the west the hmit of the field is determined by the increasing thickness of the Tertiary and Quaternary formations. This increase seems to be fairly regular, and would, if this regularity continued, produce a COAL RESOURCES OF BELGIUM 365 thickness of 4,000 ft. in 50 miles beyond the Sandhoven- Vlimmeren line, i.e. about the mouth of the Eastern Scheldt. It is therefore possible, unless the slope increases or is interrupted by faults, that the Campine field may extend at accessible depths right across the Dutch frontier north of Antwerp and for a considerable distance beyond. Some engineers consider that mining in this area would never be profitable, and that even the Antwerp province contains few sites that would repay the cost of sinking shafts. The average quality of coal-seams in the whole depth of the coal-measures varies from 1-2 to 4 per cent. In parts, especiaUy between strata IV and V, there are considerable thicknesses of barren ground. The reserves of the Campine field in its explored area only, which must be classed entirely as ' possible ' reserves, are estimated at 10,000 million metric tons. B. The Coal Resources of France (within and bordering on the area) In the period immediately preceding the war France consumed annually about 63 mUlion metric tons of coal. Her total output was only 40-4 million tons ; she had therefore to import an annual quantity of about 22 million tons. Of this, over hah came from England, and half the remainder from Belgium ; Ger many contributed only about 3 per cent, of the total French import. (a) Of the 40 mUlion tons mined in France, 27-73 million tons are produced in our area, the rest of France contributing 12-67 mUlion tons. Over two-thirds of France's total output, that is to say, comes from the one great coalfield of north-eastern France, the so- caUed Valenciennes field in the departements of the Pas-de-Calais and the Nord. 366 MINERAL RESOURCES (b) A continuation of this field is to be found in the Boulonnais basin, supplying a link between the Valen ciennes and Kent fields. Its industrial value does not appear likely to be very great. (c) A third field, faUing just outside our area but described below on account of its possible relation to the minette ironfield, is the Pont-a-Mousson basin south of Metz. Geologically this is a prolongation of the Saar field, as the Boulonnais basin is of the Franco- Belgian. The industrial value of this basin too must be set down as very problematical. The French supply of coal is in fact quite insufficient to meet even her present needs — which needs would increase vastly were she to regain the German portion of the minette field — and there seems to be little if any possibUity of developing fields at present untouched. The dependance of France on foreign countries for coal produces a series of complicated effects on her industrial development. Thus, French coal costs on an average 15-63 francs per ton at the pit's mouth, as against 16-56 in Belgium and 13- 15 in Germany ; but the insufficiency of her home production and the expense of importing coal from abroad raise the average price of coal to the French consumer to 19 francs. This price exceeds the_Belgian average' by 12 per cent., the German by 36 per cent., and the British by 60 per cent. The position with regard to coke is if anything still more unfavourable. Six million tons are consumed annually by the French iron and steel industry, and three-quarters of this comes from Germany, where the price is fixed by a syndicate. The effect of this on the iron industry is that French pig-iron is 7 francs per ton dearer than Belgian, 14 francs dearer than German, 21 francs dearer than British, and 25 francs dearer than American. These prices have far-reachhig effects COAL RESOURCES OF FRANCE 367 primarily upon French iron- and steel-works and secondly upon all French industry. a. The Valenciennes Coalfield The Valenciennes coalfield is the most important deposit of coal in France. This is the case whether it is considered from the point of view of area, output or reserves. This field is the continuation of the Sambre-Meuse coalfield in Belgium, and does not differ from it in structure. The main structural features repeat those of the Sambre-Meuse coalfield, and may be described as foUows : The coal-measures occur overlying the Carboniferous limestone in a trough running roughly east and west. This trough is completely fiUed with coal-bearing forma tions, varying from flaming bituminous coals in the upper seams to dry anthracitic coals in the lowest. The northern slope of the trough is comparatively gentle ; but on the south a disturbance has taken place, caused by a thrust from the south which has forced the older Devonian rocks of the Ardennes massif over the southern edge of the trough, crushing and folding the coal-measures in the process. The result is that whUe in the northern part of the basin the strata dip regularly southwards, in the southern part they are folded upon themselves and in part overlain by the older Devonian formations. This southern region is not fuUy explored, and is not included in the area shown on the map (Atlas, Map 6). Finally, the whole synclinal dips westward. While the Carboniferous series and the coal-measures crop out freely in the Belgian part of the field, in the French part they nowhere appear on the surface, but are hidden by a stratum of Cretaceous rocks whose thickness increases as it travels westward. 368 MINERAL RESOURCES The total length of the Valenciennes basin from the Belgian frontier to Flechinelle. is something over 60 miles. Its breadth is strictly speaking unknown, because that southern portion which has been overlain by the ' telescoped ' Devonian rocks has not been fuUy explored. The breadth is therefore calculated to the edge of the Devonian overlap, and it must be borne in mind that a considerable portion to southward is omitted in the following estimates. At the Belgian frontier the breadth of the basin, so defined, is 1\ miles. Westward it expands to 9| mUes in the longitude of Denain. In the neighbourhood of Aniche the breadth varies from 5 to 6 mUes, and at Auby a promontory of older rocks reduces it to 3 mUes. Thence it expands again to 7J mUes in the region of Lens, beyond which it narrows to a point at FlechineUe. The coal-seams are very numerous, but seldom of any great thickness. In general this is less than 3 ft., and it rarely exceeds 6 ft. The depth of shafts is of course smaU on the shaUow northern edge of the basin, and increases thence to the deepest part. It nowhere greatly exceeds 3,300 ft. The coalfield is divided into two basins, the Nord basin and the Pas-de-Calais basin respectively, the division being formed by the narrow passage above mentioned at Auby. The Nord basin is 28 miles long ; the Pas-de-Calais basin 36 mUes. The dip of the strata towards the bottom of the trough is more marked in the former than in the latter, where they are often horizontal or nearly so. Moreover, the Pas-de-Calais basin is dis tinctly the richer of the two, especially at medium depths, and in consequence workings have developed in this basin more rapidly. The annual output is about 21 million metric tons, as against 7 in the Nord basin. The richest deposits seem to occur in a strip about COAL RESOURCES OF FRANCE 369 3 mUes wide running east and west through Lens, between Auby (north of Douai) and Bruay (south west of Bethune). The basin is terminated westward by the rising of the carboruferous floor, the upper strata disappearing in consequence one by one. There is therefore no low-level continuation of this field to the west, as there probably is in the case of the Campine, and certainly in the case of the Saar, fields. As regards the southern low-level extension of the coalfield beneath the displaced Devonian strata, this is known to exist east of Valenciennes and over a large area south of Lens. In the latter section mines have been opened, notably at Lievin and Drocourt ; others have been begun S. of the Drocourt-Bruay area. The total area of the Valenciennes basin is 405 square mUes. The total production up to 1912 was 685 mil lion metric tons ; the reserves are estimated in millions of metric tons as foUows : — Certain. Probable. Possible. Anthracitic (7-12 per cent, v.m.) 520 580 570 Semi-bituminous (12-17 per cent, v.m.) Coking (17-26 per cent, v.m.) Flaming (26-32 per cent, v.m.) . Gas coal (over 32 per cent, v.m.) Total . . . 3,790 3,010 2,720 Total reserves of aU kinds, 9,520 mUlion metric tons. b. The Boulonnais Basin This must be considered as an extension of the great Franco-Belgian coalfield. That field terminates at Flechinelle ; but the formation reappears 25 miles to north-west near Hardighen. Here it forms the Bou lonnais coalfield, bounded by a complicated series of BELG. A a 580 550 1,070 1,010 980 700 1,010 560 360 670 340 20 370 MINERAL RESOURCES faults and covered for the most part by Jurassic and Cretaceous formations, and constituting a link between the Valenciennes coalfield and that of Kent. The Boulonnais basin is limited on the east by the outcrop of the underlying Carboniferous, and to north and south by faults ; westward it dips beneath the Cretaceous and can be traced by boring. But this underground continuation is of little value; the coal- measures are thin, and gradually disappear. Very roughly, the basin measures 5 mUes from east to west by 1£ mUes from north to south. The coal strata belong to the Westphalian series and are about 1,000 ft. thick. In about 350 ft. of ground 6-8 seams of coal have been found, containing 36-38 per cent, of volatile matter and having an aggregate thickness of 16-23 ft. A boring at Strouanne, on the coast between Wissant and Cap Blanc Nez, after penetrating 553 ft. of Secondary strata, found three veins of similar coal in 410 ft. of coal-measures before reaching the Carboni ferous. This lies directly opposite the Kent field. The Boulonnais basin is contorted and intricate in its structure, which is convex (anticlinal) in section. It does not seem to promise great results. With an area of 3,700 acres it had produced 2 miUion metric tons by 1912, and holds reserves estimated at 10 mUlion tons ' probable ' and 50 mUlion tons ' possible ', or 60 mUlion metric tons in all. c. The Pont-d-Mousson Basin1 This field lies enthely in the category of ' possible ' reserves. It is only known by borings, and has not yet been worked at all. EssentiaUy it is a continuation of the Saar coalfield, here covered by thick deposits of Lias, Trias, and in 1 Atlas, Map 7. COAL RESOURCES OF FRANCE 371 places Permian. These contain water-bearing strata whose penetration by pits would present serious and perhaps insuperable difficulties. It appears from a series of borings that the coal- measures form an anticlinal ridge running south-west across the frontier, whose axis passes through Eply and Atton, a little south of Pont-a-Mousson, and thence to Martincourt. The summit of this ridge was con siderably denuded before the formation of the Trias, so that along the upper part of its axis near the frontier the lower coal-seams alone remain. The area of workable coal-measures is 37,000 acres ; the richest part is east and north-east from Pont-a-Mousson. This area certainly does not exhaust the coalfield, which probably continues in every direction beneath an increasing thickness of Secondary rocks. It may be considered, however, to exhaust the area workable in the present conditions. If, as seems probable, the anticlinal continues towards Saarbriicken, the inter vening area may be considered as potential coalfield. See, however, below, under the Saar field, pp. 373-4. The Pont-a-Mousson field is distinctly less rich than that of the Saar valley. In view of the difficulty of procuring coal to satisfy the requirements of the French minette ironfield, it might be found worth while to exploit this deposit, which lies directly between the two great iron-mining centres Nancy and Briey. But if a readjustment of the Franco-German frontier in the future should throw open the Saar basin to French enterprise, the poorer and less accessible deposit of Pont-a-Mousson would no doubt be left for the time being untouched. The ' possible ' reserves of the Pont-a-Mousson field are estimated at 330 million metric, tons. a a 2 372 MINERAL RESOURCES C. The Coal Resources of Germany (within and bordering on the area) The German coalfields lying strictly within our area are of secondary importance only, with the possible exception of the Crefeld basin. Setting this aside, there remain the Erkelenz and Wurm-Inde or Aachen districts, both of comparatively small extent. The lignite deposits of the Cologne neighbourhood may for the present be ignored. These three basins, Crefeld, Erkelenz, and Aachen, are the converging ends of three important coalfields, those of Westphalia, the Peel, and the Campine respec tively. The second and thhd are described in detaU under Holland and Belgium, and theh German exten sions do not differ in any important respect from theh main body. Immediately outside our area, however, lie two coal fields of the very highest importance. The Westphalian field on the right bank of the Rhine, producing weU over half the total coal output of Germany, cannot be separated from the Crefeld basin on the left bank, and indeed cannot be ignored in any consideration of the economic factors of the lower Rhine vaUey. We shaU therefore describe this field and give some account of its value and importance, although it lies outside the strict limits of this work. Of even greater relative importance is the Saar coal field. Its importance comes not so much from its purposely restricted output, which is only one-sixth of the Westphalian field's, as from its position in close proximity to the minette ironfield, which it seems designed by nature to supply with coal. Saarbriicken and Briey, the centres of the two fields, are indeed only 45 miles apart, and at theh nearest point the coal and iron are separated by barely 15 miles. COAL RESOURCES OF GERMANY 373 We shall therefore take into consideration all the above fields, which in 1910 produced together 106-2 million metric tons, or over two-thirds of the total output of Germany. a. The Saar Field The limits of the Saar field1 are less accurately known than is the case with any other German coalfield. In German Lorraine 118,200 acres are at present conceded for mining purposes, and probably contain valuable seams to a depth of over 6,500 ft. In Prussia about 277,000 acres are probably workable, and in the Bavarian Palatinate 124,000 acres have been conceded, of which, however, only about 13,500 are sufficiently known to allow of an estimate of theh resources. The coalfield lies in a depression running- north-east and south-west and extending transversely in the centre from about DiUingen in the north-west to Saarbriicken in the south-east. It is bounded on the south-east by a long and fairly straight fault, beyond which the coal can still in places (as at St. Ingbert) be reached at a greater depth. The north-eastern and south-western extremities of the field dip downwards, and the extent to which they may ultimately be workable is not yet known. The dip to south-west is, however, interrupted by a transverse fault running through Soigne and Achatel, which hfts the coalfield again to within a little of the surface, to dip again past the French frontier. This south-western section, extending from the Soigne fault to Martincourt beyond the MoseUe, falls mostly in France, and constitutes the Pont-a-Mousson coalfield described above. Between the Soigne fault and the south-western edge of the hitherto worked area at HemiUy and MaiweUer lies an unexplored district about 12 mUes long, in which coal probably exists but hes 1 Atlas, Map 7. 374 MINERAL RESOURCES in any case at a very considerable depth. German authorities state that the depth appears to be such as to put working out of the question. Longitudinally the field extends north-eastward to near the confluence of the Nahe and Gian, i. e. nearly 50 miles north-east of Saarbriicken. This extension has, however, only been worked in a district 10 by 3 miles in extent in the Palatinate, at the Potzberg, Hermanns- berg, and Konigsberg mines. Here the upper strata of the coalfield, the so-called Ottweiler beds, are worked. Boring has touched the deeper strata at about 3,300 ft. down, but no galleries have been driven, and it is doubtful whether these strata can be profitably ex ploited. North-eastwards, beyond the Konigsberg mine to the edge of the Rhine vaUey trough, it is extremely doubtful whether further workings are practicable. The transverse extent of the field (from north-west to south-east) is also doubtful. In the north-west the probable boundary is the Nied valley, continued south- westward by the French Nied and north-eastward by a line through Duppenweiler. This, however, is a purely theoretical boundary, and accessible and valuable seams are not known to extend so far. The boundary of the known area must be placed on a line running from Dillingen, 3 miles north of Saarlouis, south-westward through Ottendorf (Otton ville) to about Bienville on the German Nied and thence south-south east for 6 or 7 miles by Hemilly to MaiweUer, from the neighbourhood of which it runs fairly straight to Saarbriicken and beyond, following the line of a great fault. To south-east of this fault it is probable that seams of considerable value run, at a depth of 6,000- 7,000 ft., for some distance. At St. Ingbert this low-level field is reached by mines. The system of coal-seams in the Saar field may be briefly described as follows. There are four main COAL RESOURCES OF GERMANY 375 groups. The lowest are the bituminous coals (Fett- kohlen) which fill the bottom of the basin and rise to the surface on its southern edge from Saarbriicken to Neun- kerchen. These are altogether some 4,200 ft. thick, containing about twenty-three seams with an aggregate thickness of 100 ft., about 2-2 per cent, of the whole stratum. This series is by far the most important element in the Saar basin, and its position at the bottom of the deposit detracts greatly from the easy and profitable exploitation of the deeply buried por tions of the field. It is worked in many places in the parts nearest Saarbriicken, but in Lorraine only at HeUigenbronn and Kleinrosseln. Its lowest seams are not worked at all except near Saarbriicken, and are said to lie too low to be worked anywhere in Lorraine. On the other hand, they are thicker and richer in the south-west generaUy than in the north-east. Above this series lie the lower flaming coals (liegende Flammkohlen). These crop out along an irregular belt parallel to and north-west of the outcrop of Fettkohlen, and passing a few miles to the north of Saarbriicken. The total thickness of the deposit varies from about 40 ft. in the north-east to 800 in the south-west, and the coal-seams, whose aggregate thickness varies from 30 to 92 ft., occupy on an average 8 per cent, of the total depth. But of this total thickness much is accounted for by seams too thin to be worked. The workable seams alone vary between 105 per cent, of the whole in the south-west to 3-36 in the north-east. The entire deposit is sharply delimited above and below by strata of clayey shale. It is extensively worked in the Saar valley ; in Lorraine it is worked at two sites (Kleinrosseln and Spittel or l'Hopital). The third series consists of the upper flaming coals (hangende Flammkohlen). In general character these re semble the series last described, and crop out along a line 376 MINERAL RESOURCES which crosses the Saar half-way between Saarbrucken and Saarlouis. The total thickness of this series also increases considerably from north-east to south-west, in proportion to the increasing total depth of the basin ; but the total amount of coal contained in it does not seem to increase correspondingly. It has not, however, been very extensively explored in Lorraine. Its total thickness varies from 2,700 ft. in the west (with 273 ft., or 102 per cent, of workable coal) to 1,250 ft. in the east (with 440 ft., or 3-61 per cent, of workable coal). The total thickness of this series is therefore about three times that of the lower flaming coal deposit, while the proportion of workable coal is about the same in the two series. Both absolutely and (still more) relatively to the total thickness of the series the thickness of coal is greater in the eastern and central districts than in the western. The uppermost of the four strata is the dry-coal series (Magerkohlen). This series is 800-1,000 ft. thick in the east, increasing to 2,000 ft. on the left bank of the Saar. Whether the thickness increases further to the south-west does not seem to be known. , The whole of the Saar coal appears to be of somewhat inferior quality, and its exploitation is not very actively pushed ; the yearly output could be greatly increased U desired, but it is restricted to avoid competition with the Westphalian coal, and the Saar ironworks are all old and have undergone no recent development. The reserves in the Saar field are calculated as foUows (in milhons of metric tons) : — Dry Flaming Bitu- Tnial Depth. Coals. Coals. minous. 0-4,000 ft. ... 717 4,966 4,086 9,769 4,000-6,600 ft. . . 216 2,350 4,213 6,779 All depths . . .933 7,316 8,299 16,548 COAL RESOURCES OF GERMANY 377 These reserves are all contained in seams that have been to some extent explored and worked.. The reserves contained in unexplored portions of the field are described as very considerable. b, c, d. The Lower Rhine (left bank) Coalfields In the immediate neighbourhood of Aachen coal has been known to exist ever since the Middle Ages. It was, however, only in the later nineteenth century that attempts were made to determine the relation between this field and that of Westphalia. A series of borings undertaken about the end of the century revealed the existence of considerable fields bridging the gap and occupying parts of the region between the Rhine and the Meuse. A continuous coalfield at one time covered the whole of this area. It has, however, been broken up by a complicated system of faults which depress and elevate alternate sections of the field. The depressed areas have subsided to such a depth that it seems useless to explore them for the purpose of extracting the coal they contain ; the elevated portions or 'horsts', on the other hand, bring the coal within a comparatively short distance from the modern surface. Some horsts have elevated the coalfield to such a height that denudation has carried away part or the whole of the coal-measures. The result is that three workable coalfields have been identified within the area under consideration. These are the North Crefeld, Bruggen-Erkelenz and Inde- Wurm fields, with areas of 317, 87, and 93 square miles respectively. All these coalfields, with the exception of a small area in the Wurm-Inde district, are covered by a greater or less depth of Tertiary formations. They are also in part overlain by older rocks, viz. Cretaceous and Permian. 378 MINERAL RESOURCES The following table gives the thickness of these super incumbent formations. N. Crefeld Brtiggen- Erkelenz Wurm-Inde Tertiary. 300-1,600 ft. 500-1,800 ft. 0-2,300 ft. Cretaceous. 0-490 ft. (only in W.) 0-260 ft. (only in E.) 0-400 ft. (only in SW.) Permian. 0-3,000 ft. (only in N. and E.) b. The North Crefeld Field This field extends from a little north of Crefeld down the left bank of the Rhine to Xanten. It is bounded on the south by the Crefeld horst, an elevated area of barren coal-measures. Four series are here distinguished. The lowest and richest is the dry coal (Magerkohle) with up to 17 or 20 per cent, of volatile matter ; this is about 4,000 ft. thick and contains 0-8 per cent, of workable coal in thirteen seams. Above this is a series of bituminous (Fettkohle, 20-30 per cent, v.m.) seams 800 ft. thick in all, the coal lying mostly in its upper half and consti tuting 2-7 per cent, of the whole. The third series is that of the gas coals, with over 30 per cent, of volatUe matter. Here again the workable seams, with few exceptions, lie in the upper half. The total thickness is 800 ft., and the percentage of workable coal is 20 per cent, of the whole. The fourth series, that of the flaming gas coals (Gasfiammkohle), also with over 30 per cent, of volatile matter, is not much worked. Its lower 330 ft. contains one seam, 1-2 per cent, of the whole. The resources of these four strata are calculated as follows in millions of metric tons to a depth of 4,000 ft. : Flaming gas coal . . . . 14 Gas coal ..... 338 Bituminous coal .... 3,200 Dry coal . . . ' . . 3,548 7,100 COAL RESOURCES OF GERMANY 379 c. The Bruggen-Erkelenz Field This field is bounded to north-east and south-west by depressions, known respectively as the Venlo and Roer valley depressions. To the north-west it is continuous with the Peel horst of Holland. The series here has not yet been exactly correlated with that of the north Crefeld field. In general the deposit hes much nearer the surface, and does not seem to extend more than 2,300 ft. below it. The lowest group of seams yields a semi-anthracitic coal with below 10 per cent, of volatile matter. This formation is found on the Wasserberg horst. It con tains only a few small seams. Above this lies the only really important formation of the Briiggen-Erkelenz field, a dry coal with 10-15 per cent, of volatile matter. The total thickness of workable seams is 26 ft. Above this come, in order, a dry coal with 15-17 per cent, of volatile matter and a coking coal with over 17 per cent. The amount of coal in these is quite small. The resources are calculated as follows : Coking coal \ Upper dry coal L 1,732 Lower dry coal j Semi-anthracitic 14 Total . . . 1,746 million metric tons. d. The Wurm-Inde Field This field consists of two basins separated by a horst (the so-called Saddle of Aachen running east-north-east from Aachen) from which the coal-measures have disap peared. The Wurm valley basin, north-west of this horst, is continuous with the Dutch Limburg and the Campine fields. The Inde basin is isolated, but appears to belong to the same series. The coal is distinguished as consisting of four varie- 380 MINERAL RESOURCES ties : dry coal, flaming coal, coking coal, and gas coal. The character of the coal and its content in volatUe matter appear to vary very considerably from place to place, and it is hardly possible to lay down general principles as to the relation of the seams found in different mines. So far as any conclusions have been reached they are as foUows. The dry coal, which hes lowest, is contained in a deposit altogether 1,250 ft. thick, of which coal-seams occupy in many places as much as 50 ft. The flaming coal occupies 10 ft. in a deposit 650 ft. thick, and the coking coal 18 ft. in 1,000 ft. of deposit. These two formations often merge into one, giving a total deposit of 1,650 ft. containing 28 ft. of coal. The gas coals occur in a deposit 800 ft. thick, coal-seams occupying 10 ft. of this. The resources of these two basins have been esti mated to a depth of 3,300 ft. The figure offered is 1,612 miUion metric tons. The amount altogether ex tracted by 1913 was smaU ; it consisted of about 15 million tons, almost exclusively dry coal. Total Reserves of the Lower Rhine (left bank) Fields (a) North Crefeld 7,110 » (b) Bruggen-Erkelenz 1,746 (c) Wurm-Inde 1,612 Total . . 10,468 million metric tons. Besides these reserves in areas explored by mining, there are said to be considerable reserves in areas not yet explored. e. The Lower Rhine (right bank) Field This, the great Rhenish- Westphalian field,1 is the most important source of coal on the Continent. It is immediately continuous with the north Crefeld coalfield, 1 Atlas, Map 11. COAL RESOURCES OF GERMANY 381 and, in a larger sense, with the Belgian and English fields. It consists of a series of coal-deposits sloping down wards to the north and cropping out at the surface to the south. This outcrop takes place in the Ruhr valley; south of this older rocks rise to the" surface and the coal ceases. Northwards, in the Lippe vaUey, the dip of the strata causes them to be overlaid by Permian, Cretaceous, and Tertiary formations, whose increasing thickness requires progressively deeper workings until, beyond the Lippe, it becomes practicaUy impossible to reach the coal at aU. Three zones are thus distinguished. First comes the zone of mines, hlcluding the Ruhr vaUey and supporting a large number of great industrial towns, Duisburg, Ruhrort, Mulheim, Essen, Gelsenkhchen, Bochum, Dort mund, &c. This zone extends eastward to Hamm and northward to Recklinghausen. North of this is the zone of borings, containing a few mines and a large number of experimental shafts, and including the vaUey of the Lippe as far north as Haltern and Liidinghausen. The third zone, further stUl to the north, is practicaUy unexplored : but German authorities consider it certain that the coal-measures continue to run at an increasing depth for a great distance northward. The coal is distinguished into four main varieties. Lowest and thickest is the deposit of dry coal ; above this come in order bituminous, gas and flaming gas coals. In the extreme south of the field the dry coal comes to the surface and is alone present ; further north the other strata appear in order, the dry coal being gradually buried by them. South of the line Essen- Bochum-Dortmund dry coal is almost exclusively found ; and the -same hne marks the southward limit of the overlying deposit of Cretaceous marls. The district south of this hne is therefore the best, especiaUy for dry- 382 MINERAL RESOURCES coal mining at moderate depths. About this line the other varieties appear, and the increasing depths soon place the dry coal almost or entirely out of reach. In addition to its general northward dip the field is affected by a folding process which has produced a series of alternate troughs and ridges in the coal- bearing strata. These troughs strike parallel to the strike of the field, i. e. east-north-east and west-south west. They are steeper and narrower on the south ; further north the folding is less violent, the troughs are broader and theh sides less steep. • The five troughs situated in the worked portion of the field are known (from south to north) as the Witten, Bochum, Essen, Emsch, and Lippe ' basins respec tively. The effect of this formation on practical mining is that in the bottom of the troughs the dry coal is inaccessible, except in the shallow troughs, of Witten and possibly Bochum ; whereas on the ridges the lower strata of coal come up to within a workable dis tance of the surface. In the same way, the basins further north introduce for the first time the upper strata ; so that in the Essen basin gas coal is chiefly worked, and in the Emsch and Lippe basins flaming gas coal ; whUe, on the ridge between the two last, the bituminous and dry coals appear immediately beneath the surface- formations. Other variations of level are due to faults. These are, however, relatively few and unimportant compared with the great faults of the coalfields across the Rhine. The four main qualities of coal may be described briefly as follows. The dry coals contain 5-20 per cent. of volatile matter and are used for household consump tion, industry, and the manufacture of briquettes. The formation is on average 3,600 ft. thick, and contains 36 ft. or 1 per cent, of coal, of which, however, only about hah is worth extracting. The bituminous coals, COAL RESOURCES OF GERMANY 383 with 20-33 per cent, of volatile matter, are used for industrial purposes and for coke. They comprise seams aggregating 86 ft. thick, or 4-9 per cent, of the total deposit of 2,000 ft. Of these seams 76 ft. are worth extracting. The gas coals have 33-37 per cent, of volatile matter, and are used solely in the manufacture of gas. The formation is 2,300 ft. thick ; the total seams aggregate 96 ft. or 41 per cent, of the whole, the workable seams nearly 69 ft. The flaming gas coals are used for industrial and household purposes ; they have 37-45 per cent, of volatile matter. The deposit is 1,740 ft. thick, and includes 38 ft. (11-6 per cent.) of coal, of which 22 ft. are comprised in workable seams. The total thickness of the coal-bearing strata is therefore 9,640 ft., and it follows that the lower strata are inaccessible except where denudation has removed a considerable proportion of the upper. The northward limit of exploitation is dictated by the thickness of the later formations which overlie the coal-measures in the north. About the latitude of Munster this is aheady 4,000 ft., and therefore mining can hardly be contemplated further north than here. Clearly, however, a large area north of the Lippe, extend ing perhaps a little way across the Dutch frontier, might be worked with deep pits, and must be considered a possible extension of the field as worked at present. The actual and probable reserve in this field, i. e. that included in the area already mined, is estimated at 56,344 million metric tons ; those in the bored and un explored areas at 157,222 mUlion tons. The latter includes more than is included in the category of ' pos sible ' reserves. No coal is here included which lies at a depth greater than 6,600 ft. 384 MINERAL RESOURCES /. Brown Coal (Lignite) in Germany In the neighbourhood of Cologne there are large deposits of brown coal belonging to the Miocene series. This mineral has acquired a certain commercial im portance within the last few decades, and has been. extensively worked, though the proximity of Cologne to the Westphalian and other coalfields makes it easy to obtain any quantity of true coal. The Cologne lignite has been worked on the left bank of the Rhine to the extent of 13 miUion tons per annum, this being the figure attained in 1910. There is a similar deposit on the opposite bank which has not as yet been worked. The left-bank deposit can therefore be regarded as ' actual reserves ', and is estimated to contain 3,800 million metric tons ; the right-bank deposit, which is explored but not yet mined, is esti mated at 3,525 miUion tons. It may be deshable to add a few observations on the uses of brown coal. Its heating power is reckoned at one-thhd that of medium-quality pit-coal, and in the form of compressed blocks or briquettes it can advan tageously be used in many industries, especiaUy sugar and chemical works and potteries, with speciaUy buUt or adapted furnaces ; it also affords a useful substitute for steam-coal, and can be used for domestic heating. Its great advantage is its cheapness. It is obtained by the very simplest surface-mhiing methods, from large and continuous deposits of f airly umf orm quahty, and since the introduction of presses can be transported cheaply in a compressed form by means of a network of light railways and wire-rope funiculars. Extraction, treatment, and transport are so cheap that the hgnite, which at the workings costs only about 2s. per ton, can be brought to the furnaces at factories in the Cologne district with little increase from this extremely low COAL RESOURCES OF GERMANY 385 figure. Nor is the price likely to rise greatly, because there is no danger of exhausting the deposit for some centuries at the present rate, and extraction is likely to become cheaper rather than more expensive. The only factor which might send the price up would be a very greatly increased demand. The left-bank deposit has its centre at Bruhl, on the slopes of the Vorgebhge, and reaches northwards to within 3 or 4 miles of Cologne. The lignite has been worked in small quantities ever since the middle of the sixteenth century, but the workings only obtained com mercial importance late in the nineteenth century when presses were introduced to convert it into an easily trans portable form, when the rise in the price of pit-coal gave a new impetus to the use of substitutes, and when the means of transport in the neighbourhood of the de posits underwent a considerable development. As a result of all this the lignite area has been for the last twenty years becoming more and more industrial ; new factories have sprung up all over it, often immediately connected with the lignite mines by their own funicular or hght raUways. The deposit of lignite on the western bank of the Rhine is 50-350 ft. thick, and lies on average 30-50 ft. below the present surface. The deposits to which it belongs contain also valuable clays (for pottery), as well as shale coal, formerly worked for mineral oil and paraffin, alum clay, and clay iron-ore, which are not now worked. The produce of the workings is partly consumed on the spot in the raw state, but for the most part it is compressed into large and small briquettes for factory and domestic use, and burnt within a radius of about 25 miles from the mines. Beyond this distance the cost of freightage puts lignite at a disadvantage as against the less bulky mineral coal ; but a quantity is exported, chiefly in the form of smaU briquettes, to HoUand, Switzerland, and other countries. BBLO. B fo 386 MINERAL RESOURCES D. The Coal Resources of Holland The whole of Holland apparently falls within the great Anglo-German coal basin ; and it is therefore probable that the coalfields are coextensive with Holland itself. But they lie for the most part at such a depth that theh greater portions can probably never be worked or even located. We are concerned with the southernmost portion of HoUand only, and it is here that the exploration of the coal-measures has been most successfully undertaken. The Anglo-German coalfield in the Lower Meuse plain is not only overlaid with a considerable thickness of Tertiary and Quaternary strata, but is intersected by an elaborate system of faults, the chief of which radiate north and north-westwards from the neighbourhood of Bonn. These, in combination with another series running about east and west, cut up the coalfield into a number of blocks lying at different levels, some subsiding and others standing high above theh neighbours in the form of ' horsts '. The higher horsts bring the coal-measures within a reasonable distance of the modern surface ; and consequently the coal is workable in such locahties. On the other hand, some horsts have been left standing at such a height that erosion has enthely removed the coal- bearing series. This has occurred near Venlo and Maastricht. The series of coal-bearing strata is as follows : A. Upper zone : sandstones, &c, with highly bitu minous coal. 1. A few seams of highly bituminous coal (long- flame). 2. A well-developed group with many seams of long- flame coals of considerable thickness: 1,000ft. 3. Barren, with a few intermittent seams. COAL RESOURCES OF HOLLAND 387 B. Middle zone : shales with a close sequence of thick coal-seams. 4. Seams of bituminous gas coals : 1,000 ft. 5. Barren: 300ft. 6. Close sequence of thick seams of bituminous coals: 2,000ft. 7. A poor zone, with good seams in South Limburg: 350 ft. 8. Two very persistent thick seams : 65-80 ft. C. Lower zone : grits and conglomerates, with few seams of coal. 9. Barren; one seam occasionaUy workable : 500 ft. 10. 3 or 4 seams of steam-coals : 100 ft. 11. Barren: 900ft. 12. Thin anthracite beds and underclays : 160 ft. 13. Large barren zone, little' explored. The following coalfields have so far been proved in the part of Holland under consideration : (a) South Limburg. — Proved to be workable over an area of 47,000 acres in the region of Kerkrade, Heerlen, Schinnen, Geleen, and Sittard. Sixteen thousand more acres east and south-east of Maastricht may contain workable seams. (b) South Peel District. — A horst 4-6 miles wide lies astride the Meuse and the German frontier between Roermond and Venlo, and extending altogether about 37 miles from north-west to south-east. The northern hah of this horst forms the Southern Peel coalfield. It covers about 40,000 acres of workable coal-measures, whUe another 25,000 may be found serviceable, though containing inferior seams or lying at a greater depth. (c) North Peel District. — A horst is known to exist about the villages of Oploo and Mill in the north of the Peel. It is not yet known whether the coal would repay working. b b 2 388 MINERAL RESOURCES a. The South Limburg Coalfield. This field is the direct eastward continuation of the Campine coalfield of Belgium, and is continued to the east by the German field of the Wurm basin north of Aachen. The whole region, in contradistinction from the Campine field, is strongly disturbed by faults which divide it into horsts and down-thrown blocks. In general the faults throw down to the east, and the coal-measures accordingly sink out of reach in the neighbourhood of Diiren and Julich in Germany. Northward also the tendency is to drop, so that the coal-measures, which come to the surface at Kerkrade, lie at Sittard under 1,600 ft. of Cretaceous and Tertiary formations. Here the bordering faults throw the coal- measures abruptly down to a depth of 6,500 ft. or more. The overlying Tertiaries contain much water, quick sands, &c, which necessitate special processes. Sixty thousand acres are reserved by the Government for State mines. The ' actual reserve ' of coal in this field, to a depth of 4,000 ft., consisting of dry and semi-bituminous coals, is estimated at 209 million metric tons. The ' probable ' and ' possible ' reserves to the same depth add 579 and 953 million tons respectively. The total reserve of South Limburg coal to this depth is therefore 1,741 million metric tons. b. The South Peel Coalfield Connected with the great Sittard fault, and radiating from the same centre near Bonn, is another fault run ning down the eastern bank of the Roer and across the Meuse towards Helmond. This.terminates the de pressed area above mentioned and marks the edge of of the S. Peel horst. Here the coal-measures are about 900 ft. below the surface. They have, however, not COAL RESOURCES OF HOLLAND 389 been long discovered, and no mines have been opened. Reserves must therefore be classified as 'probable' and ' possible '. Down to 4,000 ft. the probable reserve is estimated at 924 miUion metric tons, and the possible at 288. Total, 1,212 milhon metric tons. XPART II. IRON-ORE Introduction The hon-ore resources of our area are even more remarkable than its coal resources. They are not widely distributed, like the deposits of coal; they are, in fact, confined to one small district, which is in conse quence one of the most valuable in the world. The district in question is situated on the borders of French and German Lorraine, Belgium, and Luxemburg, and is known as the minette field, from the trade name of the ore which it contains. This field, over haU of which lies in France and most of the remainder in Germany, produces annually 48 million tons of ore, or three times as much as the United Kingdom, and supplies with three-quarters of its raw material the whole gigantic steel industry of Belgium and western Germany. It has influenced history in the past, namely in 1871, when Germany drew her new frontier so as to include those portions of it then known to exist on the Briey plateau, and it will be an important factor in the readjustment of frontiers and tariffs at the end of the war. Beside the minette field our area contains numerous minor deposits of iron ore. These may be summed up as foUows: (a) the trough of the Sambre-Meuse coal field in the neighbourhood of Namur is lined, as it were, 1 Atlas, Maps 6, 7. 390 MINERAL RESOURCES with an iron-ore stratum appearing at the surface north and south of the coal-measures and underlying theh centre. This has not been worked since 1873, and it is doubtful whether workings will ever be reopened. (b) There is a very large number of smaU deposits, mostly in fissure-veins, in central Belgium and up and down the Eifel. These, too, are at present unworked. (c) In the Campine district of north-eastern Belgium and in Belgian Luxembourg are large deposits of bog- ore, which are worked to a certain extent and might be exploited on a larger scale. These minor deposits are in no case of great moment, and whatever value they possess in themselves is com pletely overshadowed by that of the minette field. A. The Minette Field By far the most important iron-ore deposit in our area is the minette field, lying on the plateau between Verdun, Metz, and Luxemburg.1 This field is, indeed, the most important ironfield on the Continent, and has been described as the most important in the world. It is at any rate of overwhelming importance as regards the countries in and near which it lies. Thus France produced annually, just before the war, about 21-7 million tons (metric) of hon-ore, a figure which had been increasing with great rapidity for some 20 years. Of this 19-8 million tons came from Meurthe- et-Moselle, i. e. from the great minette field and its southern extension at Nancy, the latter accounting for about 2 millions. The whole of the rest of France therefore produces only 1-9 million tons of ore. Very nearly 90 per cent, of the total French output thus comes from the minette field ; and the French output of minette already exceeds the whole British production of iron-ore by 3-8 million tons per annum. 1 For its general position see Atlas, Map 6 ; for details, Map 7. IRON-ORE IN MINETTE FIELD 391 Germany, again, is a country poor in iron ore. Her total output in 1913 was 28-6 miUion tons ; but of this 21 1 came from the minette field, the whole of the rest of Germany producing 7-5 miUion. During the war 80 per cent, of the hon-ore treated in Germany is said to have been minette from German (including Luxem- bourgeois) or occupied French territory. Luxemburg is an important producer of pig-iron, and the ore treated in her blast-furnaces, which furnish raw material to Belgian and north-western German steel-works, comes enthely from the minette field. The Luxemburg portion of that field produces 7-3 miUion tons of ore per annum. The total annual production of the minette field is thus 48-2 miUion tons of ore, or three times the total British output of 16 mUhons, and nearly three-quarters of the United States total of 62 millions. The minette field supplies with three-quarters of its raw material an immense steel-working district whose corners he at Charleroi, Dortmund, and Nancy. This district absorbs about 60 million tons of ore annuaUy, made up of 45 million tons of minette plus about 15 million tons of Swedish ore ; and produces annually 25 million tons of steel, or two-thirds of the output of the United States. The great steel industry of Belgium and western Germany thus depends for its existence very largely on the minette field. The field covers in all an area of 463 square miles, of which 282 lie in France, 166 in Germany, 14 in Luxem burg, and a trifle over 1 in Belgium. Its total length from N. to S. is about 60 mUes, and its greatest breadth about 20. On the north and east the ore comes to the surface and is worked in levels and surface-workings ; westward it dips under the ground at increasing depths, the westward limit of mining being dictated partly by the thickness of the formations overlying the hon-ore 392 MINERAL RESOURCES and partly by the varying richness of the ore itself. It appears, however, that the hmits of the field in this direction, as laid down in the maps of the accompany ing atlas, do not admit of extension in the present state of the hon trade ; for though soundings have revealed the existence of the ore stratum at Etain and Verdun (at the latter place 1,900 ft. below the surface) no con cessions have been taken up west of the limit shown on the map. It is of course possible that future altera tions in the price of hon might make it profitable to extend operations beyond this line ; but for the present the area of 463 square mUes may be taken as covering the whole deposit of workable ore. The ore known as minette occurs in the so-caUed Dogger beds of the Jurassic oolite (limestone). It is a hydrated hematite of oohtic structure, composed, that is to say, of small grains, sometimes microscopic, sometimes as large as a pin's head or larger, and embedded in a paste which is sometimes argillaceous (clayey) and sometimes calcareous, i. e. containing a high percentage of lime. A high percentage of phos phorus (1-7-1-9 per cent.) is the chief chemical char acteristic of the ore ; the influence of this fact on the history of the minette field is explained below. The total thickness of the ore is 80-130 ft. Within this deposit a series of seven strata is distinguished, divided into three groups. f Ferruginous limestone. Upper series j Red straW ,...,,, . f YeUow stratum. Middle series -, , , ( Grey stratum. i Brown stratum. Lower series j Black stratum. ( Green stratum. Of these strata some are calcareous and some argUla- IRON-ORE IN MINETTE FIELD 393 ceous, but the same stratum does not preserve the same character throughout the field. On the whole, argiUaceous ores are commoner ; calcareous ores are found mostly in the Briey basin, in the French section of the field, and also in Luxemburg, but comparatively httle in the German section or the Longwy basin. The relation between these two main types of ore is important from the point of view of metallurgy. A calcareous ore is self -fluxing ; i. e. the lime unites with the slag to form a mixture which melts at the temperature of the blast-furnace and can be run off in liquid form. An argillaceous slag will not melt unless lime is added to it in the furnace. This lime is known as a ' flux '. It may take the form of ordinary lime stone, or else of a calcareous ore ; the latter is of course greatly preferable, as it yields iron as well as serving to flux the slag of the other ore. Blast-furnaces which smelt argiUaceous ores therefore find it profitable to mix calcareous ores with them in such a proportion as to produce a ' self -fluxing mixture '. The German minette blast-furnaces obtain theh fluxes chiefly in the form of calcareous ores from French mines in the Briey basin. In most cases they have actuaUy purchased these mines for the express purpose of securing the best self -fluxing mixture ; and this gives rise to various political problems in connexion with the minette field. The percentage of hon in the minette ores is low, seldom much above 40 per cent, and averaging perhaps 37 per cent. This is not a high percentage for an iron- ore ; the extremely profitable nature of the minette workings is due to other factors. The ores exist in great quantities and in continuous deposits ; extraction is cheap and easy ; the juxtaposition of different ores makes it everywhere easy to obtain a self-fluxing mixture ; the ores are soft and easUy reducible ; and the percentage of phosphorus renders the pig-iron which 394 MINERAL RESOURCES they yield highly suitable for treatment by the basic process. These advantages more than compensate for the comparatively low percentage of hon. The development of the minette. field is quite modern and depends on a technical advance in metaUurgy known as the basic (or Thomas-GUchrist) process. Lorraine has produced hon for centuries ; but the older workings were confined to superficial deposits of non-phosphoric iron, locally known as fer fort. Minette was a term of contempt applied to the phosphoric ores from which wrought hon could not be successfully pro duced because the phosphorus made it brittle. The same disadvantage attached, after the introduction of the Bessemer process, to mild steel made from phos phoric ores. These ores were known to exist in a line running east from Longwy to Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxemburg and beyond, then turning south past Kanf en and running up the MoseUe vaUey west of Thion vUle and Metz ; this line represented the outcrop of the Dogger formation. The Franco-German war resulted in the cession of this line in great part to Germany. France retained the Longwy section and the southern end of the line where, after an interruption about Pont-a-Mousson, it reappeared for a time in the neighbourhood of Nancy ; but the whole central portion, together with a ' hinter land ' extending westward over the Briey plateau and designed to include possibly valuable subterranean por tions of the ore deposit, was annexed by Germany. It seems to be beyond doubt that the exact line of the 1871 frontier west and north of Metz was decided primarily by geological considerations ; this part of the frontier has no strategic, linguistic, ethnological, or political merits. For the first few years after the treaty of Frankfurt the development of the Lorraine ironfield went on IRON-ORE IN MINETTE FIELD 395 slowly, the Germans exploiting the eleven mines in the annexed area and the French developing those parts of the outcrop, at Longwy in the north and from Pompey past Nancy to Pont-St. Vincent in the south, which remained in their hands. About 1880, however, the discovery of the basic process revolutionized the position of the minette ore. The same problem (an excess of phosphorus in the ore) had arisen in the Cleveland mines, which are geologically and chemically analogous to the minette ; here it was solved in 1878 by the addition of lime to the lining of the Bessemer converter in which cast-iron was rendered malleable by the burning-out of the carbon, sufficient carbon to harden it into steel being added later on. By this addi tion the superfluous phosphorus was removed as well ; and thus ores with a high percentage of phosphorus could for the first time be used to make good steel. This discovery gave a new impetus to the Lorraine iron-mines, where hitherto only the small deposits offer fort had been of value in the production alike of wrought hon and of mild steel. A series of researches was undertaken in order to discover the full extent of the field ; and this systematic exploration led to dis coveries hardly less important in their effects than that of the basic process itself. It was found that the minette field, instead of being confined to the outcrop on the north and east and perhaps to a narrow strip of ground adjoining it, extended 15 or 20 miles westward from this line at accessible depths, its practical western limit fluctuating about a line joining Longwy and Conflans. West of this the increasing depth, or the diminution in quantity or value of the ore, or both, hmited the area of profitable mining, though the stratum of ore was found to extend much further west. The new French field, so limited, began to develop in the early 90's. In 1893 the first mines in the Briey 396 MINERAL RESOURCES district began work, and the Briey basin has been steadily and rapidly developing and increasing its out put ever since. In 1911 it already produced more than one-tenth of the world's total output, and its produc tion was increasing yearly by about 1 to 2 miUion tons. The rapid development of iron-mines led to an equiva lent increase in the population and a complete change in the character of a hitherto agricultural district. The other portions of the field were also developing, though naturally with less rapidity. In the German district there were by 1914 twenty-four levels and nine shaft-mines, as against the eleven levels of 1871 ; the surface-workings and levels of the Luxemburg area multiphed in about the same proportion, and the httle Belgian area was worked till it was practically ex hausted. The future development of the minette field lies chiefly in the Briey basin. The more superficial deposits of Germany wUl certainly be exhausted before those of France ; the Luxemburg field has aheady lost two- fifths of its whole deposit. The reserves of ore esti mated as ' actual ', i. e. remunerative in the present state of the steel industry, are as foUows : France (including Nancy) . 3,000 million metric tons. Germany .... 1,830 „ „ Luxemburg . . . 270 „ „ Total . . . 5,100 To this may be added certain ' potential ' reserves, i. e. deposits which might under different conditions be profitable : France . . . 200 million metric tons. Germany . . . 500 „ „ Total . . 700 ' Actual ' reserves . 5,100 „ „ Grand total . 5,800 „ ,. IRON-ORE IN MINETTE FIELD 397 These estimates do not include the possible westward extension, in different conditions, of the mining area. It is clear that the minette field has ever since 1871 exercised an influence on the political relations between France and Germany. On the one hand, Germany, having in 1871 annexed all the minette then available, has derived immense advantages during the course of the war from holding the Briey plateau, and on the other, the recovery by France of the whole minette field would reduce Germany's reserves of hon ore by 75 per cent. A suggestion has appeared in the press from time to time that the minette field, or some part of it, should be internationalized like the zinc-mine of Moresnet on the Belgo-German frontier near Aachen. a. The Minette Field in France France possesses 282 square miles of the minette field, or 61 per cent, of the whole. Of this share- about a quarter (69-5 square miles) consists of the Nancy field ; the remaining three-quarters (212-4 square mUes) lie in the great northern minette field and are composed of the basins of Longwy, Crusne, and Briey. The general character and history of these basins have been described in the preceding section. It remains here only to describe them in detail. The estimated reserves of these French basins are given in the following table. The reserves are ' actual ', i. e. profitable for mining in the present state of the iron industry. The annual output of the entire French field is, according to the 1913 figures, 19-8 mUlion metric tons, but it must be borne in mind : (1) that the Briey basin has been steadily increasing its production, at the rate of 1-2 miUion tons annually, for several years ; (2) that the recently discovered Crusne basin may be expected shortly to begin producing ; (3) that the 398 MINERAL RESOURCES Longwy basin is becoming less important both rela tively and absolutely as its ferruginous limestones are superseded for use as fluxes by the calcareous ores of Briey. Basin. Reserves. Longwy .... Crusne .... Briey .... Total of northern field Nancy .... Grand Total 300 million metric tons. 500 2,000 2,800 200 3,000 Two problems must be noted in connexion with the French minette field, though these cannot be fully treated here. They are (i) the problem of coal-supply, (ii) the problem of German mine-owning. (i) The absence of a good and accessible coal-supply is the chief drawback to the development of the French minette field. Both for working the mines and equally for the blast-furnaces and steel-works which would naturally exist in their neighbourhood a large supply of coal is indispensable. This is not to be had. The possible sources are Valenciennes, Belgium, Westphalia, and Saarbrucken. Of these the first only can send coal duty free, and the cost of freight is too great to supply fuel at reasonable prices. Saarbrucken, the natural source of supply for all Lorraine, is practicaUy removed from the list by the deliberate restriction of its output (see p. 376), and by the fact that the canal, projected before 1870 to connect the Saar and Moselle valleys and under the terms of the Treaty of Frankfurt to be completed by Germany, has never been made. It has apparently been an article of German policy to prevent Saar coal from reaching French Lorraine. Actually French iron-masters get their coal partly from Valen ciennes and partly from Belgium and Westphalia, IRON-ORE IN MINETTE FIELD 399 where, in order to ensure a steady supply, they have invested about 100 million francs in the purchase of collieries. This, however, does not supply them with more than a part of the coal which they at present consume, and the balance is made up by purchase from the same source. There is thus a permanent scarcity of coal in the French minette field. This does not appear to have checked mining to any great extent, but it certainly has checked the building of blast-furnaces and steel works, which only exist in the extreme north about Longwy and in the extreme south about Dieulouard, Pompey, and Nancy, beside a small group near Briey. Even those which exist are unable, owing to the price of coal and coke, to compete with Belgian, Luxem- bourgeois and German establishments; and the result is that, broadly speaking, France tends to export instead of smelting her ore. (ii) The natural market for this surplus ore is in Germany and Belgium, where ore is in demand and coal is cheap. The tendency of France to export her ore, especially to Germany, which takes 40 per cent, of her total export, is confirmed by the acquisition of French mines by German owners in return for the acquisition of German collieries by French iron-masters. The French minette field is therefore scattered with conces sions to German iron-masters, who use the Briey calcareous ores to give a self-fluxing mixture with the German argiUaceous ores. This fact would have obvious effects upon any settlement of the frontier or of inter national trade-relations after the war. There is, in fact, a great deal of exchange between France, Germany, Belgium, and Luxemburg, of which this dispatch of French ore from German-owned mines is only a part. In' order to ensure the best possible mixture of ores in the furnace a regular system of such exchanges has 400 MINERAL RESOURCES arisen. Thus, in addition to the 4 miUion tons of ore which go annually from France to Germany, 0-8 mUlion go from Germany to France, 2-9 from France to Luxem burg, and 1-6 from Luxemburg to Belgium. Belgian and Luxembourgeois iron-masters, as weU as German, buy mines across the frontier and send the ore to theh own furnaces. The international relations of the minette field are thus highly complicated. 1. The Nancy Basin. This, the isolated southern extension of the field, has an area of nearly 70 square miles. The Dogger forma tion here crops out along the sides of the MoseUe and Meurthe valleys and those of their tributaries, and sinks to the west under the forest of the Haye region. In the extreme south an isolated portion of the bed is found upon the hill of Sion. The division into strata is simpler than is the case further north. The three main strata, upper, middle and lower, are alone distinguished ; they are worked by means of levels. The proportion of iron is 32-37 per cent., a low figure compared with the percentages of 35-42 found in the northern field ; the ore is for the most part strongly argiUaceous, but some strata are here and there calcareous, as for in stance the lowest stratum at Liverdun. The average production of the Nancy basin is be tween 1-5 and 2 million tons per annum ; the most im portant mine is Maron-Val-de-Fer, producing about 600,000 tons annually. The total reserves are esti mated at 200 million tons of ore ; this includes those portions of the field, underlying the Haye forest, which have not yet been conceded. IRON-ORE IN MINETTE .FIELD 401 2. The Northern Field (Basins of Briey, Crusne, and Longwy) Briey Basin. — This southernmost section of the northern field is divided into the Orne, Landres, and Tucquegnieux basins. The Orne basin underlies the Orne valley and terminates eastward in a series of rich outcrops along the Moselle valley in German Lorraine. Westward it extends as far as Brainville. West of this and south of Bruville the ore stratum gets thinner (under 8 ft.) and the yield of iron unprofitably low. In the southern part of the basin, south of the Orne fault, the grey stratum is 13-15 ft. thick and the percentage of hon is rarely below 36, often- 38 or 39. North of the fault the grey stratum varies between 8 and 1 1 ft. thick, with 36-40 per cent, of iron. Near Hatrize the ore gets poorer, and it is progressively so westward to the edge of the field. Northward from Hatrize lies a some what richer deposit, near Genaville. All these ores are calcareous. The grey stratum is throughout the best and easiest to work ; but others exist. At Homecourt and Moutiers a green stratum exists with a thickness of 7-14 ft. and 32 per cent, of iron. At Ghaumont the black stratum is 9 ft. thick and yields 40 per cent, of hon. The yellow stratum bears 35 per cent, of iron and is found at Moutiers, Valleroy, and Bellevue. These are all as a rule argillaceous. The red stratum is workable at Joeuf (8 ft. thick, 38 per cent, iron), Homecourt (10 ft., 37 per cent, iron), and Moutiers (5-11 ft., 37 per cent, iron), and is calcareous. The deepest shaft at present existing is at Auboue (413 ft.). Elsewhere shafts do not go below 330 ft. Deep workings are a good deal hampered by water. The basin of Landres lies north-north-west from that of the Orne valley, from which it is separated by a tract of barren ground about Ozerailles. It is bounded on the BELO. C C 402 MINERAL RESOURCES east by the fault of Norroy and Bon villers, which separate it from the Tucquegnieux basin (see below). The only workable stratum is the grey, which varies in thickness between 23 and 30 ft. In the extreme west about Dommary it diminishes to 10-13 ft. thick, and the percentage of iron decreases ; the same conditions limit the extent of the workable deposit on the south. On the north the proportion of iron decreases, but the thickness remains considerable. The average percent age of hon over the basin as a whole is 38-40. The basin of Tucquegnieux adjoins the two basins already described, and runs eastward thence across the German frontier. The grey stratum here takes the form of a synclinal trough running down to south-south-west. In its northern part, at Anderny and BazonvUle, the stratum is 6-16 ft. thick, with 36-40 per cent. hon. Further south, where the stratum lies at a greater depth, as at Tucquegnieux, the thickness is 20-23 ft. with about 36 per cent, iron ; at Mairy and Mainville 20 ft. with 39-41 per cent. South of this again, near Anoux, the stratum suddenly diminishes to about 4-5 ft. and becomes unworkable. In the south-east, at Avril and Saint-Pierremont, it is 13 ft. thick and contains 36-38 per cent. iron. Other strata exist here and there, being mostly argillaceous. At BazonvUle the black is 10- 11J ft. thick with 41 per cent. iron. The red appears in several places, e. g. at Murville, 19 ft. thick with an average iron percentage of only "28 ; but in the south (Anoux, Saint-Pierremont), where it is 5|— 9 ft. thick, the percentage of hon is 33-37. To this basin belongs a strip of country limited by parallel faults and lying between the Crusne river and Audun-le-Roman ; the grey stratum is here thin and poor in French territory, but over the frontier at Aumetz it is a valuable deposit. These three basins (Orne, Landres, Tucquegnieux) together make up the basin of Briey. Its general IRON-ORE IN MINETTE FIELD 403 characteristic is the predominant importance of the grey calcareous stratum, with occasional valuable deposits of other kinds. The reserves of the whole basin in French territory are calculated at 2,000 million metric tons of ore, all suitable for treatment by the Thomas-Gilchrist process. Longwy Basin. — The basin of Longwy occupies the northernmost position of the minette field, being situated on the frontiers of France, Belgium, Luxem burg, and Germany. It is intersected by two faults, at LonglaviUe (north of Longwy) and Hussigny respectively. In the region lying between these faults three strata are workable. The red, with the ferruginous limestone, is 26 ft. thick at Saulnes ; the yellow, 13 ft. lower, is 8 ft. thick, and is separated by 1£ ft. of barren from the grey. All these are strongly argillaceous except the ferruginous limestone. This carries 20-28 per cent, of hon ; the other strata 35-40 per cent. West of the LonglaviUe fault the grey alone is found. It is 6-10 ft. thick, and the ore,' which is strongly argillaceous, contains 35-41 per cent, of iron. East of the Hussigny-Godbrange fault, and extending thence to the Crusne valley, the red stratum occurs, diminish ing from 16 ft. at Hussigny to 10 at Villerupt (38 per cent, iron) ; the grey at the same sites yield 40 per cent. iron ; the black is workable at Hussigny, 8 ft. thick with 41 per cent. All these are strongly argillaceous. They are worked in open-air quarries, Hussigny being the chief centre of this type of working, and also in levels. The total production of the Longwy basin, 1904-8, was as follows : Surface workings. All workings. 1904 . 418,000 metric tons. 2,593,000 metric tons. 1905 . 345,000 2,333,000 1906 . 360,000 2,602,000 1907 . 499,000 2,713,000 1908 . 397,000 2,280,000 C C 2 404 MINERAL RESOURCES The fall of production in 1908 was due to the replace ment of the ferruginous limestones of the Longwy basin, for metallurgical purposes, by the richer cal careous ores of Briey, which owing to their higher per centage of iron are more economical when mixed with the argillaceous ores to make a self -fluxing mixture. Crusne Basin. — The basin of the Crusne between the Longwy and Tucquegnieux basins is of recent dis covery and not yet fully explored. It is, however, known that the grey stratum is 10-18 ft. thick and contains 34-39 per cent, of iron and is argillaceous, containing the very high figure of 20 per cent, or more of silica. This deposit extends from Mercy-le-bas to Morfontaine, and requhes shafts 300-500 ft. deep for working. Other strata are also present. The deposit resembles in character those of the Longwy basin, and probably contains 500 million metric tons of ore. b. The Minette Field in Germany The German minette field is contiguous with the French and Luxemburg fields, and lies on the left bank of the Moselle. It begins in the north at the Luxem burg frontier between Audun-le-Tiche (Deutsch-Oth) and Kanfen, and runs thence southward to the neigh bourhood of Metz. Its total area is 166 square mUes, or about 36 per cent, of the whole minette field. That a larger proportion of the field was not annexed in 1871 was due to the fact that the westward continuation of the deposit was then unknown. The frontier of 1871 was designed to include in Germany the whole of the French minette field except the Longwy and Nancy basins. The general character of the deposits closely resembles those of French Lorraine. The same series of seven strata is observed ; and of these the grey is usually IRON-ORE IN MINETTE FIELD 405 calcareous and self-fluxing, whUe the lower strata are argUlaceous. In the north the red stratum yields a good argillaceous ore (40 per cent. hon). The other strata are for the most part less rich. Extraction is, however, cheap, the ore here lying nearer the surface than in most of the French area ; it is in many places worked in open-air surface workings, and electric power derived from the waste gases of blast-furnaces contribute to the cheapness of the work. The field is divided by the vaUeys of the Fensch and Orne into three main sections, north, central, and south. The northern is considerably the most important. The reserves of ore are estimated as follows : 1. Plateau of Aumetz (north) . 1,125 million metric tons. 2. Between Fensch and Orne (central) . . . 383-5 3. South of the Orne (south) . 321-5 „ „ Total . . . 1,830 It has aheady been observed that annexed Lorraine is of capital importance for the German steel industry. Its annual output of 21 -1 mUlion metric tons amounts to three-quarters of Germany's total output (28-6 mUlion) and two-fifths of her total consumption (50 miUions). In addition to her own minette, Germany takes up about 4 million tons of French ore, and a con siderable proportion of the Luxemburg ore. This ore is mostly smelted in the Thionville area, in the blast furnaces of the Moselle, Fensch, and Orne valleys, which consume over half of it ; the rest is equally distributed between the Saar valley, where there is a group of old-established hon and steel-works, West phalia (which depends on the minette field for over half its hon), and Luxemburg ; while small quantities are exported to Belgium and France (1-7 and 0-8 mUlion tons respectively). In general, Germany does not 406 MINERAL RESOURCES export either much iron-ore or (except to Belgium) much pig ; but she imports annually 14 million tons of ore, excluding what she gets from Luxemburg. This importation of ore, together with the produce of the annexed Lorraine minette field, amounts to 70 per cent, of Germany's normal consumption. Germany's chief foreign ore supphes are : (1) Sweden, 4-5 mUlion tons ; (2) France, 4 mUlion tons ; and (3) Spain, 3-6 million tons. c. The Minette Field in Luxemburg In the extreme south of Luxemburg the iron-bearing Dogger formations occur overlying the marl of the upper Lias. They are a simple continuation of the Franco-German minette field. The Dogger plateau is here cut into by a series of streams, viz. the Dudelange stream, the Kayl, and the Alzette, which divide it into three sections. The iron-ore crops out on the banks of each of these streams and underlies the intervening hills. The whole Luxemburg minette field thus con sists of — 1. The Differdange-Rodange field. 2. The Esch-Rumelange field. 3. The Rumelange-Dudelange field. In the first field (1) the total thickness of the deposit is 84 ft., the ore being mostly argiUaceous and occurring in five strata. In the second field (2), at the site known as in der Hbhl, the deposit reaches its greatest thickness of 168 ft. Here are five well-marked strata. The two lowest are argillaceous, the remainder calcareous and reddish in colour. Towards the east and south-east the thickness and richness of the deposit rapidly decline. Between Esch and Schifflingen only the grey (argU laceous) and red (calcareous) are worth working. At IRON-ORE IN MINETTE FIELD 407 Rumelange the deposit is 123 \ ft. thick and contains three strata, of which two, the yellow and the grey, are worked. The red is present, but is only worked at a few isolated points. All are calcareous. In the third field (3) at Dudelange the deposit is only 75J ft. thick. The yellow, subdivided by a stratum of marl 8 ft. thick, is the best stratum. The grey is present but is not worked. Both are calcareous. The total area is 14 square miles, of which 5-4 have been completely worked out. The remaining 8-6 square miles are estimated to contain 270 million. metric tons of ore. Luxemburg smelts most of her own ore, apart from a certain quantity (about one-fifth) which she sends to Belgium. The Luxemburg blast-furnaces produce large quantities of pig, which is mostly sent to the Aachen district of Germany for remelting. d. The Minette Field in Belgium North of the Longwy basin a small portion of the minette field projects across the Belgian frontier in the neighbourhood of Musson and Halanzy. The ore here is at the surface, this being the westernmost portion of the northern outcrop of the Dogger formation. It has been actively worked in the past, and has given rise to a group of blast-furnaces and steel-works at Musson, Halanzy, and Athus. The total area of this ironfield within the Belgian frontier, however, is only 300 hec tares (about 1£ square mile), and in consequence the deposits have been almost entirely exhausted by now, and cannot be reckoned upon as a future source of ore. The ironworks of this district obtain theh ore from across the frontier. 408 MINERAL RESOURCES B. Iron-ores other than Minette These ores are in no case of any great commercial importance at the present moment. The oolite ores of Belgium form a large deposit which has been a good deal worked in the past, but is now neglected ; in the same way the very numerous minor deposits of ore in veins in Belgium and the Eifel have been the seats of important iron industries which are now enthely extinct. Some ore could no doubt be obtained at many, if not all, of these sites ; but it would not at present compete with minette. Only a real scarcity of ore could provoke the general reopening of these mines. They are, in the case of Belgium, fuUy described in various pubhcations ; the German mines have not received the same attention as ore-reserves, though their history is well known. FinaUy, the large and fast-renewed deposits of bog-ore in the Belgian Cam pine district have a certain commercial value which may increase in the future. a. Belgium : Iron-ores other than Minette These deposits have in the past had a considerable commercial value. Between 1854 and 1873, before the minette ores could be used, Belgium took an impor tant place as a producer of iron-ore. In the latter year, thanks to an industrial crisis, the total yield of Belgian ore fell from 778,000 metric tons to 200,000, and no considerable rise has ever taken place since then, the great Belgian steel industry depending now almost entirely on foreign ore. After. 1873 a very large number of old workings was abandoned. These must be considered, with a view to possible reopening, in a review of the resources of IRON-ORES OTHER THAN MINETTE 409 the country ; but an estimate of their potential yield under modern conditions is. necessarily rough. Their sites were often ill chosen and their methods of working already antiquated and unduly expensive, the exploi tation being undertaken by smaU iron-masters whose theoretical knowledge was as deficient as their capital. Steam-engines were either absent or under-powered ; the lack of pumping machinery often led to the abandonment of workings at a point where the ore was becoming free from surface impurities ; and good ores were often left untouched because, owing to their hardness, they could not be extracted without blasting. From such conditions it followed that the old workings were superficial and unproductive, and destroyed a con siderable area of agricultural land without giving a reaUy adequate return. These defects, aheady noticed by acute observers in 1856, were in great part respon sible for the collapse of iron-mining in Belgium after 1873. There are three types of deposit : sedimentary ores, fissure veins, and recent surface formations (bog-ore). 1. Sedimentary Formations These include by far the largest quantity of iron-ore. There are three groups : (i) Givetian oligist (middle Devonian oolite).- — This is a stratum occurring in connexion with the Givet lime stones. It consists of a very coarse oolite, the elements of which are embedded in a ferruginous paste con taining perhaps 29 per cent, of iron. Little is known in detail of its extent ; but it appears at a considerable number of places in the Namur and Liege provinces south of the Sambre-Meuse valley. (ii) Famenian oligist (upper Devonian oolite).- — This is the most important iron-ore deposit of Belgium. It 410 MINERAL RESOURCES forms a great trough or synclinal which encloses the Namur-Liege coalfield, and the northern and southern lines along which it crops out can be traced for a dis tance of about 60 miles by two parallel series of old workings, one on each side of the Sambre-Meuse vaUey. Deep workings, at a greater depth as they approach the bottom of the trough, could of course be made between these lines. The content of the ore varies from 52 per cent, to 29 per cent, of iron. It contains manganese almost everywhere, and phosphorus up to 0-5 per cent. The stratum of ore is generally about 4 ft. thick. (iii) Lithoid carbonate of iron. — This occurs in certain collieries of the Liege district, but is not worth working for its own sake. 2. Fissure Veins These occur principally in Carboniferous and Devo nian rocks. The ore which they contain is in general limonite ; hematite and siderite are rare. The average yield is 45 per cent, of hon. These ores contain httle phosphorus but a certain percentage of sulphur. In certain districts (e. g. on the banks of the Meuse and in the east of the Liege province) these veins are so rich in zinc and lead as to have been worked primarUy for those metals (see pp. 413-16). Fissure-vein mines have been worked in great num bers in middle and upper Belgium. In the province of Namur alone there are several hundred sites. Various workings however could, according to a recent authority, be profitably reopened. Such are a group of important veins about Ligny and Ton- grinne (lower Carbonherous series) ; another 2 miles further south, about Fleurus and Verlaine (upper Carbo niferous series) ; and a third at Rhisnes. The veins of IRON-ORES OTHER THAN MINETTE 411 Vedrin, Bonnine-Gelbresee, Champion, Beez, Nameches, Fraire, and Morialme in Namur, that of Theux in Liege, and those of the Ourthe valley, should also be noted as possible sources. 3. Recent Surface Formations (Bog-ore) The so-called ' Campine ', the marshy plain of Ant werp and Limbourg provinces, is formed of Quaternary sands, some of which contain ferruginous elements. These by their decomposition give rise to the bog-ore deposits known as Campine ore or minerai des prairies. It is a light porous formation which may attain a thick ness of over 3 ft. ; the minimum thickness usually worked.is 1 ft. 4 in., or a deposit of 2,400-3,200 metric tons per acre. It contains on average 30 to 35 per cent, of hon, sometimes rising to 50 per cent., and 1-2 per cent, of manganese. The ore forms with great rapidity. Twenty years is usually considered long enough for the formation of a stratum 1 ft. to 1 ft. 4 in. thick ; and certain localities have been com pletely worked out three times between 1846 and the present day. The same formation occurs here and there in the Luxembourg province, where also it is worked. A certain development of this form of mining occurred in the early years of the present century, the ore being exported chiefly to Germany. It is valuable for certain special purposes on account of its high per centage of phosphorus ; but so far there has been no steady demand on any large scale. Should such a de mand arise the ore could be obtained in considerable quantities. The following table gives the total output of hon-ore in Belgium, in thousands of metric tons, from 1900 to 1908 : 412 MINERAL RESOURCES Namur? Luxem bourg? Liege? Brabant,* Hainaut, Total Limbourg. 1900 . 31 70 37 110 248 1901 19 74 29 . 98 220 1902 1 87 25 54 167 1903 — 71 31 84 186 1904 — 92 27 88 207 1905 — 87 21 69 177 1906 4 84 19 126 233 1907 2 84 37 194 317 1908 — 74 35 80 189 In estimating the present quantity of hon-ore existing in Belgium, the Famenian deposit must be regarded as the most important and indeed as the only significant item in Class 1 above. In the case of the recently- formed Campine ore, it must be remembered that, as already observed, this deposit renews itself, so that the amount now existing does not exhaust the potential reserve. 1. Sedimentary deposits 2. Fissure veins . 3. Surface formations Total 50 57-5 ~6¥o million metric tons. b. Germany : Iron-ore other than Minette The Eifel has been in the past a considerable iron- producing country, owing to the presence of very pure ores in fissure veins, which were worked up and down the country and smelted locaUy. These mines and ironworks, are now completely extinct and need not be further described here. 1 Oligist and fissure veins. 2 Fissure veins and minette. 3 Fissure veins and oligist. 4 Surface formations. THE AACHEN ZINC-MINES 413 PART III. OTHER METALS Metallic ores of various kinds are widespread through out the massif of the Schiefergebirge. The iron fissure- vein deposits which form an important source of wealth for the country east of the Rhine are, as has been re marked above, now no longer worked west of that river. Certain other deposits in this region are still, however, actively exploited and produce valuable results. These are, first, the zinc-ores of Aachen, and secondly the lead-ores of the Mechernich district ; both situated on the northern slope of the Eifel massif where it begins to merge into the plain of the lower Rhine and Meuse. A. The Aachen Zinc-mines These mines x occur in a group lying chiefly between Liege and Aachen. They consist of metasomatic deposits of galena, zinc-blende, and iron pyrites, and all these minerals are worked; they seem to have been deposited in the order named, the galena being generally the lowest. Disturbances have, however, greatly affected the deposits, often producing a brecciated structure ; and oxidation and other chemical processes have altered the character of the original ores, so that a great mineralogical variety may now be observed in the ores. The most important product is calamine, a valuable ore of zinc. Lead-ore (galena) and hon-ore (pyrites, at Bleiberg hematite) are of minor importance. The deposits are found in the primary rocks of the Eifel massif, which are here affected by trough-like foldings running roughly ENE.-WSW. The crests of the anticlinals have been denuded away, exposing the Devonian rocks, which consequently alternate with carboniferous and, in the synclinal troughs, with the 1 Atlas, Map_12. 414 MINERAL RESOURCES coal-measures (Westphalian). Over this surface lies a stratum of cretaceous, covering the whole area and masking the underlying, structure. The ores are found in faults crossing, more or less at right angles, the ridges and troughs of the primary rocks. A second system of faults runs paraUel to these ridges and troughs, and the most important mines occur when these two systems of faults cross each other. The ore is associated with the Eifel limestone (middle and lower Devonian) and carboniferous hmestone, especially where these limestones have a dolomitic character. The Eifel and carboruferous limestones are separated by the sandy slates and shales of the Upper Devonian, the so-called Famenian beds. These seldom contain any ore, which is practically confined to the places where the faults above mentioned traverse the dolomitic or calcareous rocks of the carboniferous or Eifel series. Most of the deposits now being worked occur in the carboniferous limestone, especiaUy in its basal dolomite. This seems to have been the most favourable situation for the formation of the ores. With regard to distribution, these deposits occur primarily in a group between Aachen and Verviers, with outliers some distance to ENE. and WSW. In the central group we may distinguish the foUowing systems of deposits. 1. The Dolhain veins. These are the southernmost representatives of this group. At Dolhain, Heggen, Grimhaus, Bergenhagen, and elsewhere are faults of the kind described above containing pyrites, which is not now worked. Proceeding northwards lead and zinc-ores begin to appear, but only occur in payable quantities at — 2. Welkenraedt. Here two fissures, three-quarters of a mile apart, run side by side. The western contains the Welkenraedt deposit, which is a contact-deposit THE AACHEN ZINC-MINES 415 between the carboniferous and the shales of the West phalian coal-measures. The St. Paul mine at Welken raedt (lead and zinc) is one of the more important mines. Parallel to this and east of it is the Dicken- bosch fault running from Ruyff in the north-west to Herbesthal (on the German frontier) in the south-east. This contains a confused mixture of zinc-blende and calamine, the calamine passing in places under the blende. In consequence of this mixing the exploitation of the mine has involved trouble and litigation, since independent concessions were granted for the two ores. 3. The Lontzen belt runs parallel again to these two faults, and falls NE. of them in Prussian territory. It contains a series of mines. The Rudolf, south of Lontzen, is a fissure 600-700 yards long, striking N. 25° W., and containing calamine. Further north the Concordia has iron-ore and a little calamine, the Jaeger- haus has iron-ore, and finaUy Schmalgraf, near the frontier, is an important mine of blende, galena, and pyrites 430 ft. deep and 60 ft. across. The payable ore has been proved to 560 ft. below the surface. The deposits can be traced south of the Rudolf to the neighbourhood of Eupen. 4. The Vieille Montagne (or Altenberg) deposit lies in the neutral territory of Moresnet, close to that of Schmalgraf. It is the most important of all the zinc-ore deposits of the Aachen region. It consists of a series of masses of calamine with red clay, lying in a dolo mitic pocket of the carboniferous limestone. The chief mass has already produced over a miUion tons of calamine. 5. The Bleiberg (to be distinguished from the Mecher nich Bleiberg mentioned below) lies in Belgian territory south-west of Gemmenich. GeologicaUy it is to be considered a prolongation of the Lontzen-Schmalgraf fissure. It is one of a number of veins which contain 416 MINERAL RESOURCES in parts hematite, corresponding to the original pyrites, and in parts the original compound of galena, blende, and pyrites. The Bleiberg vein is about 3^ miles long and 3 ft. across. It is filled with a brecciated mixture of grits, shales, and limestones cemented by the ore. Its period of greatest activity was between 1833 and 1870, when it produced 60,000 metric tons of lead and 20,000 of zinc, this metal constituting 18 per cent, of the ore extracted. The working of the mine is seriously handi capped by its liability to floods. These five groups, most of which are owned and worked by the important Vieille Montagne Company (a concern in which German capital is largely interested), together compose the main central district of zinc- deposits. There remain two outlying districts to east and west respectively. 6. The Stolberg district, east of Aachen, contains numerous lode-hke deposits of httle importance in the Vichbach valley, centring round the Miinstergewand fault. Farther east, on the right bank of the Vicht, is the Sandgewand fault with more veins in the car boniferous and Eifel limestones. The latter system contains, south-east of Stolberg and associated with the carboniferous hmestone, the great Diepenlinchen mine, where payable ore has been proved to a depth of 820 ft. The Stolberg Company, which owns this site, is the second great zinc-mining concern of the Aachen district. 7. A long series of deposits existed in the Meuse valley, from Sclaigneaux to Angleur. The sites of these are in some cases stiU marked by zinc-works, but with one exception the mines are shut down. The exception is Engis, where the Vieille Montagne Com pany has a mine consisting of a vertical pocket, enclosed by carbonherous shales and limestone and enclosing galena, zinc-blende, and pyrites. The mouth of the THE AACHEN ZINC-MINES 417 pocket is covered by Tertiary strata. This Meuse vaUey system is geologically connected with the Moresnet deposits. B. The Mechernich Lead-mines On the northern slope of the Eifel, in the valleys running up south-westerly from Euskirchen, lies the large lead ore-bed of Mechernich.1 This is a sedi mentary deposit belonging to the Bunter series of the Trias. Below the Bunter lie the contorted beds of the Devonian greywacke. Immediately above these comes a stratum of conglomerate ; then the ore-bed, consisting of conglomerates and sandstones ; then another bed of conglomerate, and then red sandstones. The conglomerates contain Devonian pebbles (greywacke, quartzite, sandstone, quartz, and limestone) in an argillaceous and more or less ferru ginous paste. Near the ore-bed this paste gradually changes to crystalline flaky galena, cerussite, and copper carbonates. Dolomite, calcite, pyrites, and barytes also occur. The sandstones which alternate , with these conglomerates are coarse-grained forma tions, containing ore-nodules 1-5 mUlimetres in dia meter, which consist of quartz grains cemented into nodules by galena, or more rarely by cerussite, azurite, or malachite. Thus the sandstones, and secondarily the allied conglomerates, form a continuous deposit of lead and copper-ore. The copper is, however, com paratively unimportant. The sandstones are most ex tensively worked, the conglomerates only in a few sites. The red sandstones are barren. The ore-bed extends up the valley of the Bleibach from Commern to Call, a distance of 7 miles, and is 1-2 miles broad. The whole is much interrupted by faults, mostly throwing down to north-east. At the 1 Atlas, Map 12. BEL8. J) (J 418 MINERAL RESOURCES northern end of the bed the ore is mostly galena, occurring in nodules as above described. This applies to the Commern neighbourhood, the Gottessegen mine between that vUlage and Mechernich, and generally to the lower portions of the Bleibach valley. Higher up the valley, at Keldenich, in the extreme south of the area, the ore consists of cerussite in thin beds alternating with a reddish clay. The conditions are very variable from place to place within the bed, and no general des cription can be given which wiU apply to the whole area. The ore-content of each bed varies continuaUy, and sandstone beds change into conglomerate and vice versa. At Bleiberg, on the right bank of the Bleibach, the ore occurs in nodules in a white bed, separated by a non-metalhferous conglomerate 6-150 ft. thick from an upper bed containing much hon. An outlying occurrence of the same plumbiferous Bunter conglomerates is to be found at Maubach, a few miles up the Roer above Diiren. The mines of this ore-bed date back to a remote antiquity. The pre-Roman Celts mined lead and silver at Keldenich, Mechernich, Commern, and west of the Bleiberg. The Roman road from Cologne to Trier goes through the area, between Calenberg and Strempt, passing west of the Bleiberg among the old workings, and a branch from Eicks to Enzen is stiU caUed the Bleistrasse. The Romans had a large group of workings aU the way from CaU to Mechernich, some on the heights and some at the foot of the slope. The largest are on the Tanzberg between Keldenich and Dottel ; others have been identified at Roggendorf, WaUental, Bleibuir, Wielsputz, and elsewhere. On the east side of the Bleiberg mining began in the thhd century A. D. This period of early activity gradually gave place to increasing stagnation, till about the end of the sixteenth century the last attempts to continue the old workings THE MECHERNICH LEAD-MINES 419 were abandoned. In the seventeenth century the nodular sandstone deposits were discovered, the pre vious work having been confined to the conglomerates ; but little was done till 1852, when the method of large surface-workings was introduced and mining was once more actively pursued. As these surface-workings in crease in depth they become less profitable, and from 1905 to 1911 the output of dressed ore from the work ings of the Mechernich Company fell from 22,000 metric tons to 13,300. C. Silver and Copper These are unimportant. Silver has long been a by product of the Rhineland lead-mines, especially those of the Mechernich bed. It occurs only in very small quantities in the Aachen deposits. Copper occurs in the Mechernich lead deposit, but not in any consider able quantities. There is a deposit of copper-ore in the Rheinvoreifel, an outlier of the important Mansfeld system of copper deposits farther east, but it is of little value. d d 2 CHAPTER IX INDUSTRY Introduction The most remarkable fact about Belgium and the adjoining portions of Germany and France is theh industrial development. This development is partly due to the presence of great mineral resources (see Chap. VIII), and partly to the favourable situation of our area with regard to lines of communication and inter national trade : a factor which brought it into promi nence as a manufacturing country before the mineral wealth was known or valued. A third factor is the agricultural value of the area from the point of view of industrial crops (flax, beet, &c, and also in some parts wool) ; a fourth, whether reckoned as a con tributing cause or as an effect of the others, is the industrial skill of the population. The distribution of the industrial establishments is very characteristic. 1. In the first place, an oval area containing parts of Flanders, Hainaut, and Brabant, and bounded by a line running through Antwerp, Ghent, LUle, Arras, Douai, Mons, Brussels, and Lierre, includes a vast number of factories whose existence depends partly on easy com munications, partly on agricultural and other products of the region (flax, clay), and partly on a long history of prosperity. This region, for instance, contains most of the great textile industries of Belgium and north France ; it also contains potteries, paper-miUs, chemi cal works, metallurgical and mechanical construction works, &c. Its central region is almost devoid of industries, which are distributed round its margin. INTRODUCTION ^ 421 2. A group of mixed industries of the same kind exists in the Aachen-Cologne-Crefeld area. Here the chief works are metallurgical, textile, &c. 3. The great coalfield of the Franco-Belgian basin has given rise to a belt of industries from Lens to Bethune through Mons and Charleroi to Liege. 4. The same conditions in Westphalia have produced a mass of great industrial towns on the right bank of the Rhine, between the Ruhr and the Lippe. The Saar coalfield has not given rise to any very intense industrial development. 5. The minette ironfield in Lorraine has caused a great growth of industry, chiefly metallurgical, centring round Longwy, Briey, Luxemburg, Thionville, Metz, and Nancy. Apart from these five great industrial districts there are certain scattered groups of industries, of which we can here only enumerate the most important. Such are the textile, metallurgical, and other industries of Bruges and other Flemish towns north-west of Ghent, Courtrai, and Lille ; the ironworks, &c, up the Meuse above Givet ; the textile and mechanical works of Verviers ; the zinc-works scattered in the Campine ; and the quarries of the eastern Eifel. On the whole, however, the regions outside those enumerated have very little in the way of industry. The coast from Boulogne to Antwerp, with the excep tion of such towns as Dunkirk and Bruges ; the great sparsely inhabited plain of the Campine and southern Holland; and the hill district of the Ardennes and EUel — these, whether predominantly agricultural, waste or forest land, are only very sparingly industrialized. A detailed survey of the industries of the whole area being out of the question, the first part of this chapter will be devoted to a short discussion, one by one, of the leading industries of Belgium itself. To what extent 422 INDUSTRY these industries have been impeded or destroyed by the German occupation will not' be asked, as the de tailed information on this subject is obscure and con tradictory, and would in any case be out of date before the war is likely to end. The position described is therefore that which obtained before the outbreak of war. Some conception can thus be formed of the rela tive importance of industries, and the advantages or disadvantages which they have encountered, which wUl be of value in relation to problems arising after the war. To supplement this sketch of Belgian industries a second, third, and fourth part wUl be added, in which the main industrial developments of the districts lying immediately outside Belgium wiU be indicated. PART I: BELGIUM Industry and Coal-supply Though facility of communications in the north has produced great concentrations of industry at Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussels, many types of industry stUl tend to localize themselves on or near the coalfields. This is true in proportion as the consumption of coal is high relatively to the bulk of other raw materials ; where the latter are very large (as in the case of cotton-mUls), or where cleanliness is essential (as in the case of paper- mills), or again where very bulky and heavy articles are made for export (boUer-works and other mechanical construction works) industries move away from theh coal-supply. It is, however, worth considering, in connexion with the distribution of industries in the present and future, the qualities of coal avaUable in any particular district and the industries for which they are suitable. Couchant de Mons basin. — The Flenu coals (long- COAL-SUPPLY 423 flame) are suitable for all industries which requhe a long flame. Rolling-mills, puddling-furnaces, and forges require such coals ; they are also valuable for glass-works, pottery-kilns, gas-works, breweries, and sugar-works, and in general for all industries which require steam to be got up rapidly, or a rapid develop ment of great heat. All these types of factories there fore would best be established, from the point of view of fuel, in the neighbourhood of Mons. A good deal of metaUurgical and other coke is produced here also. Other types of coal are worked in this area, but they can equally well be obtained further east. Centre basin. — Bituminous and semi-bituminous coals are worked here. These are suitable for raising steam in aU ordinary factories, and can also be used in glass works, forges, and sugar- works, as well as for gas-works and coking. A certain amount of metallurgical coke is made. This district, therefore, is unsuitable for rolling-mills and puddhng-f urnaces ; but glass, pottery, gas, and sugar- works can obtain useful fuel locally, and all factories requiring ordinary steam-power can be advantageously established. Blast-furnaces and steel-works can get coke on the spot. Charleroi basin. — Bituminous, semi-bituminous, and dry coals are worked, the latter chiefly in the east of the region. The bituminous coals of this region can be used in forges and rolling-mills and for coking ; but for the most part they are more suited to breweries, distilleries, brickworks, and lime-kilns, and especially for steam. (A very large proportion of the Charleroi coal is consumed in household use, or made into briquettes for the same purpose.) Very little coke is made, and the local coals are not in general well adapted for gas-works. There are, however, important coal-distiUing works at MarcineUe, where large quan tities of coal-tar products are made. 424 INDUSTRY From the fuel point of view, therefore, Charleroi is less suited than the districts of the west to support the gigantic iron and steel industry which exists there. The glass-works of the same area would also (again from the fuel point of view only) be better established near Mons or La Louviere. Breweries, distilleries, brickworks, and lime-kilns can get good fuel locally ; and ordinary steam-coal is obtainable in unhmited quantities. Basse-Sambre basin. — Semi-bituminous and dry coals are alone worked in this district. Good, steam coals are therefore avaUable locaUy, and also fuel for brick- and lime-kilns. Liege basin. — Here again a greater variety of qualities exists. The bituminous coals of TiUeur and Seraing can be used in forges, rolling-mills, glass works, breweries, gas-works and coke furnaces, the produce of the last being available for metaUurgical and other purposes. The Liege district is therefore well suited to the iron and steel industry in aU its branches. The semi-bituminous seams give good steam-coals for all purposes, and coals suitable for brick- and lime-kUns are also worked, though in smaUer quantities. Coal-mining The distribution, conditions, and prospects of coal mining in Belgium are considered in Chapter VIII (pp. 355-65; see also Atlas, Maps 6-10), but a few statistical facts may be recorded here. The total area of the exploitations in the Sambre- Meuse field and adjoining Belgian areas (e. g. the Herve plateau and the Dinant basins) was 53-74 square miles in 1902, and had by 1912 increased to 58-27 square miles, an increase of- 1-25 per cent. It is not likely to increase further, indeed a decrease may be expected as certain areas are progressively ex- COAL-MINING 425 hausted. This diminution may, however, be com pensated by the southern extensions of the Couchant de Mons and Centre fields. The production of coal, together with the fluctua tions in its value, may be seen from the following table : Year. 1904 190519061907 1908 190919101911 1912 Output(in mi llions Value (millions Value per ton of metric tons). of francs). (in francs). 22-76 286-6 12-59 21-77 275-2 12-64 23-57 353-5 15-00 23-70 399-7 16-86 23-56 380-6 1614 23-52 337-9 14-37 23-92 348-9 14-59 2305 3403 1476 22-97 380-4 16-56 The production of the various basins in 1912, and the mean value of the produce, was as follows : Value per ton (in francs). 16-2316-5116-49 15-21 17-08 The quantity and price of the various kinds of coal mined in 1912 was as foUows : Output (in miUions of metric tons) Couchant de Mons . 4-12 Centre .... 3-37 Charleroi 8-49 Namur : 0-80 Liege .... 6-18 Flenu ' or long - flame ( > 25 per cent, v.m.) . Bituminous (16-25 per cent, v.m.)* Semi -bituminous (11-16 per cent, v.m.) . Dry (< 11 per cent, v.m.) Quantity (in millions of metric tons). 2-105-69 1004 5-14 Value per ton (in francs). 16-01 17-51 16-9315-02 426 INDUSTRY A certain proportion, about 9-8 per cent, of the output, is consumed on the spot by the collieries them selves. This must be subtracted from the output in order to find the quantity of coal which reaches the market : 1912 Total production . . . 22-97 million tons 1912 Used by collieries . . . 2-25 „ 1912 Sold 20-51 „ Coke In 1912 there were thhty-eight coke-factories work ing. With three exceptions these were situated in . Hainaut and Liege ; 3-186 million metric tons of metallurgical coke. were produced, and 4-166 miUion tons of coal consumed, 36 per cent, of which came from abroad. The value of the product averages from 25 to 38 francs per ton. Briquettes Sixty-one briquette factories existed in 1912. These were mostly in Hainaut, with a few in Liege and Namur provinces ; they consumed 2-44 miUion tons of coal and produced 2-69 million tons of briquettes. These two industries absorbed in 1912 6-6 miUion tons of coal, i. e. 27 per cent: of the country's net output. Briquettes Coke . Coal . Importation(metric tons). 437,000955,000 8,132,000 Exportation(metric tons). 623,000 1,016,000 5,058,000 The importation figures show a great increase during recent years. The production remaining more or less stationary, the consumption has gone steadUy up. CM I— I o o 03o +3 +3 CD mflo © o 5 8 »5 •2 "g IflflOM^HLOtDOO fe | ©©©cprocpop §h-§ ¦i-*io»ococ©i>ab© 8 8 o s 0"#10O w, ©©©©©©©©i-H 1-H p.s iciot-oocDOi-HtNcq Oh X OCDI>00 0)OrHN 0©©©©©>"Hr-Hi-H©©©©©©©©© >H COCi)CU c3i ai 03 flo FhCD 02flO 8 SlNeSiCCCHMTiltOlO g i— I fH i— 1 i— l lOlO»CS«00'* OOHHHHNWil ©©©©©©©©© fHi— I fH CM 1. 2 Beet, seeds, wood-pulp, &c. 3 Half of this is flax. FOREIGN COMMERCE 551 Transit In millions Fraction of of francs. total. Total . . 2,299 Iron and steel 358 15-6 per cent Cottons 172 7-5 Machines and tools 142 6-2 Woollens 79 3-5 Wool . 75 3-4 From these tables it will be seen that one-fifth of the total imports are food-stuffs ; and the value of food-stuffs imported is nearly three times as great as that of food stuffs exported. The next import is raw materials for textiles ; but of this a large proportion is wool, much of which is only washed in Belgium and re-exported without being spun. This wool thus figures prominently among the exports, important among which are also metals (one-tenth) and spun and woven goods (one- twelfth). Of the transit trade, that in metals, textiles, and metal goods is by far the most important. With regard to the countries of origin and destination the following tables may be given for the same year. Imports n. Total . France Germany (Zollverein) United Kingdom . U.S.A.Russia Holland Argentine In millions Fraction of of francs. total. 4,508 738 16-4 per cent 602 13-3 436 9-7 341 7-6 318 7-0 298 6-6 272 6-0 552 BELGIAN COMMERCE Exports In millions Fraction of Destination. • of francs. total. Total . 3,580 Germany (Zollverein) 909 25-2 per cent France 695 19-5 United Kingdom 498 13-9 Holland 352 9-9 U.S.A. 114 3-2 Transit Entering In millions Fraction of Origin. of francs. total. Total . 2,299 Germany 973 42-4 per cent France 485 211 Holland 223 9-7 United Kingdom 219 9-5 Switzerland . 151 6-6 Transit : Leaving Destination. In miUions of francs. Fraction of total. Total . . 2,299 United Kingdom 438 18-9 per cent France 410 17-9 Germany 321 14-0 U.S.A. " 157 6-8 Holland 141 61 Argentine 122 5-3 From these figures it appears that Germany, France,. and this country are the countries with which Belgium is most closely connected. Germany takes a very high proportion — a quarter — of her total exports ; of her imports one-sixth come from France and one-eighth from Germany. The use made by Germany of the Belgian facilities for transit trade is enormous : over two-fifths of all the goods passing through Belgium in FOREIGN COMMERCE 553 transit come from Germany. The large import figure from the Argentine refers to grain and wool. We shall now examine in somewhat greater detail the trade in various kinds of goods, distinguishing live stock, food-stuffs, raw materials, and manufactured goods. Live stock. — The total import of cattle amounts to something like 80,000 head per annum, of which 65,000 come from Holland. This would be very much higher but for the high duties and severe sanitary regulations ; it is a very small total for a country with a population like that of Belgium, where cattle are little bred. There is practically no export. About 50,000 horses are imported yearly ; the over whelming majority from the United Kingdom, of which two-thhds are destined for slaughter. No other country contributes nearly as many as the remaining third of the English contribution. The export of horses (26,000 in 1912) is declining: 66 per cent, go to Germany. There is a very small trade in sheep ; no export, and a small import, 60 per cent, from Holland and 30 per cent, from the Argentine. Lambs are imported almost exclusively from Holland. Food-stuffs. — 985,000 tons of wheat are imported yearly, of which 29 per cent, comes from Rumania and 21 per cent, from the Argentine. Of the export (233,000 tons) 60 per cent, goes to the Congo. Rye is imported to the amount of 67,000 tons annually, 45 per cent, from Germany ; of the export (14,800 tons) 42 per cent, goes to France. Of the import of barley (241,000 tons) a large and rapidly increasing percentage comes from India ; the same is true of rice, which already sends 66 per cent, of the total import of 27,000 tons. 52,000 tons of barley are exported (65 per cent, of this to Germany) ; and of 21,000 tons 554 BELGIAN COMMERCE of rice exported 45 per cent, goes to Holland. The import of oats (70,000 tons) comes in a small (25 per cent.) but very rapidly increasing proportion from the United States. Maize is imported to the annual figure of 414,000 tons _(42 per cent, from the Argentine), and exported to the amount of 130,000 tons, 52 per cent, of which go to France. It will thus be seen that Belgium imports a great deal of grain, especially from Rumania, Argentine, and India, and also from Germany ; and exports a com paratively small quantity. There is practically no import of flour, and oiUy a small export to Holland. The annual import of butter is 3,500 tons : 80 per cent. comes from Holland ; 600 tons are exported, aU to France. Cheese is imported, also from HoUand almost exclusively, to the extent of 6,000 tons annually. 23,000 tons of fish are imported, mostly from HoUand and this country. There is a considerable export of vegetables, espe cially to this country — a rapidly increasing trade in both fresh and preserved produce — the United States, and France. Much chicory is exported to Germany, and 3,000 tons of prepared chicory imported, almost all from France. Of raw beet-sugar 25,000 tons are exported, hah to this country and half of the remainder to HoUand ; none is imported. 2,500 tons of cane-sugar are imported, 40 per cent, of which comes from India. Refined and granulated sugar is exported annually to the extent of 54,000 tons, two-thirds of which goes to the United Kingdom. There is a large import of salt (58,000 tons crude : 43 per cent, from Germany, 41 per cent, from France ; 36,000 tons refined : 41 per cent, from France) and a FOREIGN COMMERCE 555 small export which goes almost exclusively to the Congo. Wine is imported in large quantities : bottled, 850,000 gallons, all from France ; unbottled, 6,200,000 gallons, from France and Spain. There is a small export to Holland. 7,000,000 gallons of unbottled beer are imported, coming in equal quantities from Germany and the United Kingdom ; the export is only 166,000 gallons, half of which goes to the U.S.A. Of bottled beer, on the other hand, 88,000 gallons are exported (mostly to the Congo) and only 12,000 imported. There is a large import, but a still larger export, of spirits, the latter going almost entirely to Holland. It thus appears that the only food-stuffs exported in really considerable quantities are vegetables, sugar, and spirits. Of all other food-stuffs the import in general far exceeds the export, and Belgium depends almost entirely on foreign supplies. Holland, Germany, and France are Belgium's chief sources of food-stuffs other than grain. Raw materials.- — The export of coal remains fairly stationary at 4-8 to 5 million tons (avoirdupois). Four-fifths of this goes regularly to France ; about one-twentieth (a falling figure) to Germany. The import is increasing : 6-2 million tons in 1910, 7-9 million tons in 1912. Over half of this comes from Germany, a quarter from the United Kingdom, and about an eighth, from France. The same tendency is even more marked in the case of coke : the imports rose from 480,000 tons in 1910 to 930,000 in 1912, almost all from Germany ; the exports, which show a very slight decline (just over a million tons in 1910, and just under it in 1912), go 40 per cent, to France, 25 per cent, to Germany, and 20 per cent, to Luxemburg. Of briquettes 600,000 tons are exported, 50 per cent, to France; 400,000 imported, mostly from Germany. 556 BELGIAN COMMERCE The import of iron-ore is rising (5-1 million tons in 1910, 6-3 in 1912), and comes increasingly from France (57 per cent, in 1910, 69 per cent, in 1912) and decreas- ingly from Luxemburg (32 per cent, in 1910, 21 per cent. in 1912) ; other countries contribute only very smaU quantities. The export is about half a milhon tons, three-quarters of which goes to Germany. There is a very large trade in iron. About 400,000 tons of pig were imported in 1912, 44 per cent, from Germany, and considerable percentages from Luxem burg, France, and the United Kingdom ; the export, two-thirds of which goes to France, is only about 13,000 tons. Of scrap-iron 55,000 tons are imported, an increasing figure of which half comes from France ; 90,000 tons are exported, two-thirds of this going to Germany. Of all other kinds of iron and steel the import is diminishing (121 million tons in 1910, 88 million in 1912), while the average export is fahly steady at about 100 million tons. The steel comes chiefly from Germany and Luxemburg and is exported to this country ; the iron comes mostly from this country, except the pig-iron, of which a large proportion comes from Germany. Zinc is a valuable export (93,000 tons, 40 per cent, to the United Kingdom) and there is a considerable import of it also (15,000 tons, over half coming from France). 13,000 tons of copper are imported, 45 per cent, from the U.S.A., and 8,000 tons exported, 50 per cent, to Germany. Wool is a very important article of commerce. The 80,000 tons which are annually imported come chiefly from France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Argentine ; of the exports, which reach 57,000 tons, half goes to Germany and a quarter to France. The large import of. cotton (72,000 tons in 1912) comes mostly from the U.S.A. and India ; of the export FOREIGN COMMERCE 557 (26,000 tons) half goes to Germany and a quarter to France. The imports of flax are increasing rapidly (102,000 tons in 1912) ; Russia contributed a diminish ing percentage (54 per cent, in 1910, 43 per cent, in 1912) and France an increasing one (27 per cent, in 1910, 38 per cent, in 1912). The export (40,000 tons) goes mostly to France and this country. Among vegetable raw materials are beet, of which 200,000 tons are exported for making sugar, mostly to Holland; rubber, of which 6,600 tons are imported and 5,700 exported ; and wood-pulp, of which 75,000 tons are imported, mostly from Norway, Sweden, and Russia. In general, therefore, Belgium is a greater consumer than producer of raw materials. Practically all are exported on a much larger scale than that on which they are imported. The most notable exception, zinc, is only an apparent exception ; for zinc is smelted in the Belgian works from imported ore, and therefore counts, on export, rather as a manufactured article than as a raw material. Manufactured goods. — Thread and yarns are largely exported, chiefly to this country and Germany ; cotton thread 3,200 tons, linen thread 19,500 tons, woollen yarns 2,500 tons. The import, which is comparatively small (1,700 tons cotton thread, 6,600 tons linen thread, 500 tons woollen yarns) comes mostly from France. Linens and cottons are also exported on a considerable scale ; of the former 11,000 tons were exported in 1912, chiefly to this country and France, as against 1,400 im ported, mostly from France ; of the latter 39,000 tons were exported as against 10,000 imported. The United Kingdom and Germany are the chief sources of im ported cottons ; the Congo, U.S.A., and this country the chief markets for exports. Woollens, on the other hand, are exported to the amount of 5,000 tons only, 558 BELGIAN COMMERCE as against an import of 10,000 tons, mostly from the United Kingdom. Iron and steel goods (bars, plates, rails, girders, wire, pipes, &c.) are exported to the amount of 709,000 tons, and imported, mostly from Germany, to the amount of 111,000 ; in the case of ironmongery the import (value £1,274,000, half of which comes from Germany) exceeds the export (£822,500). Fire-arms have a very large export (£1,024,000, chiefly to France and Germany) ; the import (£114,000) is mostly from the United King dom. Machines are exported to the amount of 104,000 tons yearly, the imports, chiefly from Germany, being about half that amount. There is also a large export trade in motors, bicycles, and motor-cycles, and their parts ; these go especially to the United Kingdom. The export of paper is about 33,000 tons to the United Kingdom, France, and Japan ; the import 15,000, mostly from Germany. Pottery and tiles are exported at the rate of 18,000, and imported at the rate of 16,000 tons ; tUes come in large quantities from Holland, pottery comes from Germany and U.S.A., and is sent to Holland. There is a very large export (154,000 tons) of glass, as against a small import of 12,000 tons. AU kinds of plate-glass are exported in large quantities ; of window- glass there is also a very large export and hardly any import; table-glass is sent in great quantities to all countries, especially the United Kingdom ; only in the case of bottles does the import exceed the export. They come increasingly from Germany, which is taking the place of France and Holland as a producer of bottle- glass. These are the most important articles of commerce among manufactured goods ; and it will be seen that in every main group of articles the exports exceed— as a rule greatly exceed— the imports. The reverse is only FOREIGN COMMERCE 559 the case in a few subsections such as woollens and bottle-glass ; it also applies to paving-tiles and various other classes of goods. The general conclusion is therefore that Belgium's export trade consists almost entirely of manufactured goods produced in her own factories ; her imports are divisible into two main classes, viz. raw materials for use in these factories and food-stuffs for the maintenance of her dense population. This generalization must of course be taken as approximate only, and must be corrected by such facts as the export of vegetables and the import of woollens, but it expresses the main characteristics of Belgium's foreign commerce. Customs The general tariff policy of Belgium, with its history and its effect, as at present constituted, upon the econo mic condition of the country, is considered in the next section. Here the following remarks will be sufficient. All exports, and all goods in transit, are duty free. Import duties alone are levied, and those only in certain cases. By far the largest source of revenue consists in the duties on food-stuffs, which amount to 20 million francs annually (the figures given are throughout those for 1912). Next to these come duties on raw materials, especially tobacco (leaf) and timber: 15-5 million francs. Textiles contribute 12-4 million francs (woven goods 11-6, thread 0-8) and clothing 3-6 million. The next most important source of revenue is live stock (1-9 million francs) ; after this come paper (1-4), pottery (0-8), manufactured tobacco (0-7), and glass (0-5). It will be observed that, compared to the value of each actually consumed or produced in the country, food-stuffs contribute a very high and industrial pro ducts a very low percentage of the total. It will be 560 BELGIAN COMMERCE shown in the next section that the fiscal policy of Belgium represents a combination of two principles- free trade for industrial goods, and protection for agriculture. The Commercial Policy of Belgium History . Four main periods must be distinguished in the history of Belgian commerce, beginning with the establishment of the kingdom in 1830. (i) 1830^4 : Free trade. — After the separation be tween Holland and Belgium the latter at first clung to the prevaUing policy of free trade. (ii) 1834-7 : Protection. — The year 1834 inaugu rated a movement for protective tariffs in favour of native agriculture. In 1842-7 this was extended to industry as well : the duties e. g. for hon were 80 per cent., for cotton 50 per cent., for glass 83 per cent., for chemical products 100 per cent, of the value. (iii) 1847-81 : Free trade. — The third period dates from 1847. As the Liberal Party graduaUy regained power the pendulum swung back towards free trade. The practical consequences of this movement were seen in the commercial treaty concluded with France in 1861, on the Anglo-French model, and markedly under the influence of Napoleon. Later commercial treaties down to 1875 were all based on the principle of free trade. (iv) 1881-present day : Industrial free trade, agri cultural protection. — The fourth period began with 1881 (new treaty with France). In this period a partial reversion to a protective policy is apparent. The agriculturists in the country noted, in conse quence of Americanjcompetition in the corn-market, a drop in the price of corn, resulting in a fall in the rent THE COMMERCIAL POLICY OF BELGIUM 561 and price of land. As their interests were strongly represented among the predominant Catholic party, customs duties were reinstated (on cattle, .malt, and flour), along with other measures (impeding the entry of live cattle and foreign meat) designed for the pro tection of agriculture. As regards industry, however, the Liberal policy was adhered to. The principle of free trade, in textiles and machinery especially, was energetically maintained even at the cost of considerable sacrifices, and the same principle was applied to goods in transit. Wher ever possible the attempt was made to maintain the status quo of 1861. With the same intention the duties were taken off coke and coal (1892), and the textile and mechanical construction industries were favoured by the treaty with Germany and Austria-Hungary. ' The following are some of the chief landmarks in the development of the commercial policy of Belgium : 1842-4. Commercial treaties with France, Holland, and the Zollverein, of which the first, known as the convention liniere, gave mutual concessions to the French and Belgian textile industries, and represented the first appearance of free trade in the prevailing protectionism of the second period (1834-47). In 1844 the same mutual agreement was extended to Germany. In 1845 a similar understanding with France extended the principle to the mechanical construction industry. 1847. The Liberal Party came into power and began systematically to carry out the free trade policy which had been gradually appearing in the commercial treaties of recent years. 1851. Sweeping reduction of duties ; ' most favoured nation ' clause with Holland in relation to coke and coal. Commercial treaty with England, abandoning the protec tionist principle asserted in 1844. By 1859 the opinion BELS. y n 562 BELGIAN COMMERCE in favour of free trade was universal ; only the spinning and weaving industries were still protected by tariffs. 1860. Commercial treaty with France revised. All duties reduced and placed on an ad valorem basis ; ' most favoured nation ' clause. In 1862 came new agreements with England and Holland, having the same general character ; with the Zollverein in 1863. The same principles were further extended, especially with reference to iron and steel, in 1865. 1864. A law was passed by which goods coming for a short time into the country, to be industrially treated, should be free from import duty ; and at the same time goods leaving the country for a short time for the same purpose should re-enter duty free. This greatly facili tated the work of many industrial firms speciahzing in one or more processes. 1870-1. A large number of low tariffs on food-stuffs, imposed in 1861, were abolished (viz. on salt, fish, cattle, meat, grain, rice, flour) ; in 1873 the duties on butter and other food-stuffs were abolished. 1875. Duties on cotton, jute, and hemp thread abolished, in spite of opposition from the spinners. 1882. First symptoms of return to the pohcy of pro tection, in the new commercial treaty with France. The policy adopted by France in 1860 had originated solely in the personal wishes of the Emperor ; and the French nation, always protectionist at heart, reverted after 1871 to the policy from which it had been turned by the auto cratic will of Napoleon III. The new import duties, intended to assist French industries, were in 1882 imi tated to a certain extent by Belgium, especially with regard to coal, linen, and agricultural produce ; other wise the conditions established by the treaty of 1860 were not very seriously changed. 1887. Origin of the agricultural protection pohcy in Belgium. Bismarck's protective tariffs were now THE COMMERCIAL POLICY OF BELGIUM 563 in operation. The Cathohcs took up the cause of agricultural protection, and in consequence came into power in 1884. In 1887 Melot's law imposed duties on cattle, sheep, and meat greatly exceeding those removed in 1873. The intention of the Government was defi nitely to protect the Belgian farmer against the prevail ing agricultural depression ; and there was a good deal of opposition from the Liberals and a section of the Conservatives. 1892. Treaties with Germany and Austria-Hungary. The duties on horses, chictuy, fruit, stone, coal, and textiles were abolished or reduced ; transit trade was further facilitated, and the general tendencj^ was to emphasize the principle of free trade. The agricultural tariffs were, however, not lowered, and were indeed in creased in 1895, when oats, flour, malt, and margarine were also taxed. This event occasioned an open rupture between the agricultural and industrial interests. During the same period the sanitary regula tions controlling the importation of cattle were made much more stringent, and provided for various medical tests, the cost of which was to be borne by the importer. 1859-1902. L Most favoured nation ' treatment ex tended to Sweden, Norway, Greece, Rumania, and other countries. 1903. International Sugar Conference at Brussels. The export premium combined with import duties had resulted in high prices for beet-sugar at home ; in creating abnormal conditions in every country's market (except those of India and the U.S.A., which forbade the importation of any sugar assisted by a State bounty) ; and in a severe strain on the exchequer of the countries concerned. As a result of representations in this sense made at the. Brussels Conference (1902) the Belgian law of 1903 took the matter in hand, with the result that n n 2 564 BELGIAN COMMERCE the consumption of sugar at once increased very con siderably. 1904. Revision of the 1892 treaty with Germany. Belgian agriculture found itself damaged by Caprivi's tariff, which was modified by Biilow in 1902, when in creased duties were imposed on wheat, rye, oats, and agricultural produce generally. 1906-10. Sanitary regulations for the importation of cattle were again made more stringent. The import of cattle from France (1906), Holland (1907), U.S.A. (1908), Argentine and Denmark (1910), was forbidden. Economic Results of the Present Policy As we have seen, the commercial pohcy of the fourth or present period is characterized by an ambiguity of principle. On the one hand, in the case of industrial produce there is a tendency to maintain, or where it does not yet exist to establish, free trade, or at least to reduce tariffs to a minimum. On the other, there is a cry for heavy protective duties on foreign agricultural produce, with the exception of corn, a high duty on which was indeed demanded but has not yet been imposed. The law of 1895 plainly illustrates the different treat ment of industry and agriculture. This law reduced by 50-60 per cent, a number of duties, e. g. on cotton yarn and ordinary woollen yarn, on yarns woven from the hair of the various species of goats (chevre, alpaca, lama), as also on cast-iron and other metal goods, besides giving extra facilities for transit trade. This reduction of duties was confined to goods in which agricultural producers had no interest. On the other hand, the same law imposed new protective tariffs on malt, flour, and other manufactured agricultural products as well as on butter, margarine, and milk ; while the veterinary police-regulations controlling the THE COMMERCIAL POLICY OF BELGIUM 565 -import of foreign meat and cattle in every shape, which dated from 1887, were extended by quarantine and other sanitary preventive measures. Subsequent legislation tended in the same direction, viz. the reduction of industrial duties and the obstruc tion of the import of agricultural produce by such pro visions as the new tax on oats. During the same period were effected the removal of the duties on coffee and tea, the reduction of the excise and abolition of the sugar bounty after the Brussels Sugar Conference of 1903, besides reduction of tariffs on machines and tools (1894), hardware, and dry goods (1893), alcohol (1896), materials for building and out fitting ships (1899). All these measures were intended primarily to reduce prices for the consumer. In the two last decades the Catholic Government has consistently followed up the ideas of the Liberal policy as regards industry. The present duties on industrial products are low and must be considered only as moderate protective tariffs. The realization of this free-trade principle, notwithstanding the opposition of certain interested circles, has not only failed to arrest the vigorous development of the industries in question but has actually assisted it. Industrial free trade seems, as a whole, to have been entirely beneficial. It must next be asked whether the protective policy in the case of agricultural produce has had as good an effect on agriculture as the free-trade policy has upon industry. To this question the answer appears to be in the negative. It will be remembered that the agricul tural land of Belgium is parcelled out into extremely small plots, cultivated, and in many cases owned, by small farmers in conditions often resembling those of the market-garden rather than those of agriculture as practised on a large scale in other countries (see Chap. VII). 566 BELGIAN COMMERCE The crisis due to the flooding of the market with American grain was severely felt by the Belgian farmer, who tried to obtain a protective tariff on grain so as to maintain a virtual monopoly and so preserve his profits and avoid a fall in the rent and price of land. This attempt failed : protective tariffs were only im posed on oats and on certain manufactured products such as malt and flour. Following the example of England, the Belgian agriculturists now began to devote themselves to stock- farming. In this they were directly assisted by the State, which imposed protective tariffs on live stock and meat. Prices were thus kept up, rents were preserved from falling, and the tariff was sufficient to secure an additional profit. Agriculture as a whole, however, did not benefit by the rise of prices due to the protective tariffs. The smallest holdings, up to about 2\ acres, produce only for their own consumption ; stock-keeping, with but few exceptions, would be out of the question, at all events as regards breeding of horses, fat cattle, and milch cattle for the market. The same applies to a large class of farms running up to 7-8 acres. None of these small holdings are benefited by the rise of prices, because they do not produce for the market, but are frequently buyers themselves. Accor dingly those who profit by the policy of protective tariffs represent only the largest farmers (15-1 per cent.) who cultivate more than 8 acres. In fact the inclusion of all holdings of over 8 acres is stretching a point ; the profits of stock-farming are inconsiderable, as a rule, till a much higher figure is reached. Moreover, it is this class which frequently changes its holdings by sale or purchase, or cuts up its land to satisfy the ' land hunger ' of the small proprietor ; it desires high average rents and a high yield in order to THE COMMERCIAL POLICY OF BELGIUM 567 extort the maximum prices or rents from the small peasants. Thanks to speculation in land the price of land rose considerably after 1850-60 and reached its highest point about the year 1880. But immediately after the crisis of 1890 prices again rose in consequence of the protective tariff enactments at the beginning of the nineties, and climbed so high that at the present time prices and rents are again as high as in 1880. But these high prices do not benefit the small proprietors, who do not want to sell ; they only benefit the large farmers and speculators in land. The whole of the protective legislation thus benefits only large and medium holdings. This applies equally to stock-farming. The import regulations forbid the import of cows and steers below 4 years of age. If it were permissible to import younger and therefore cheaper stock, the small peasant would also be able to import young cattle for fattening from France, and cheap calves from Holland, without an excessive ex penditure. These young cattle could be fed at low cost, and thus provide cheap meat. But at present the small owner could only buy stock dear, owing to the import prohibitions or the high import duties. Consequently the profitable business of stock-fattening is confined to farmers with a good deal of capital. It must further be asked whether the Belgian popula tion at large benefits by the system of agricultural pro tection. When the question of erecting a tariff against imported meat and stock was raised, the Government argued that the exclusion of foreign produce would so stimulate home production as ultimately to lower prices. Belgian agriculturists supported this argument by guaranteeing for their part an increased production of cattle and reduction in the price of meat and other staple food commodities. 568 BELGIAN COMMERCE From the live stock censuses it appears that there has been an absolute increase of head, but this increase is so counterbalanced by the simultaneous increase of population and of the demand for meat that there can be no question of cheaper meat. On the contrary, prices, both wholesale and retaU, have risen. In the three years between 1908 and 1911 this rise averaged 5 per cent. The import statistics demonstrate the shortage of cattle even more clearly than the rise in the price of meat. The figures for cattle, meat, and commodities made of meat show a continual increase, despite the high duties and the sanitary regulations. The cause of this shortage was correctly ascribed to the protective tariffs, and their repeal was demanded. The Govern ment, however, declined to reverse its pohcy, and in consequence the country is compelled to meet a heavy annual loss for the benefit of a few large proprietors. It has been remarked above that Belgian industry has made vigorous progress under the influence of free trade. Year by year great quantities of raw materials and half- manufactured goods are imported from abroad, to leave the country again in a finished form after supplying an intermediate profit to the Belgian manufacturer. Part of this has to be applied to paying for the food-stuffs imported from abroad. It is thus a vital necessity for Belgium to compete in the world's industrial markets, in order to pay for the imported provisions. This she can only do by keeping down the cost of production, a point which shall enable"her definitely to undersell her rivals ; and thus cheap labour is absolutely essential. We have already remarked (pp. 255-7) on the lowness of wages in Belgium, with its consequences of malnutrition and a low standard of industrial efficiency ; these points need not be here further insisted upon. It is, however, necessary to remark that the malnutrition of the Belgian THE COMMERCIAL POLICY OF BELGIUM 569 industrial classes, in especial their deficient meat diet,1 is connected with the policy of agricultural protection in two ways : first, because the price of meat is kept up to an almost prohibitive figure (it is estimated that the tariffs and sanitary regulations are responsible for an increase of 50-70 francs per head in the price of cattle) ; and secondly because, as we have seen, agricultural proteqtion is at least a partial cause of low industrial wages, and these again of malnutrition especially in respect of the more costly articles of diet. The factors which place meat out of the poor man's reach produce, in a greater or less degree, the same result in the case of butter, milk, and margarine. The view that the agricultural tariff reacts unfavour ably on the general economic and commercial life of the nation is strongly expressed in the following terms by a memorial presented to Parliament by the Antwerp Chamber of Commerce, after its sitting of November 7, 1912: ' It is now undeniable that the obstacles to import bear so heavily on the price of sound meat that the supply is insufficient. The deficit of meat has entailed an enormous rise in prices. The consumer as a rule pays an excessive price ; and this is simply due to the errors of a legislation which is an economic heresy in a country Whose production never, either in normal times or in a crisis, suffices for its necessities in regard to food-stuffs. Evidence is universal, and the grievance crops up on every hand. Meat costs more than the people can pay for it ; it is too dear for the working man, and even beyond the purse of the middle class. It is to be hoped 1 The Fleming is by nature and inclination a large meat-eater. But in point of fact a number of careful investigations in the last fifteen years have demonstrated that the Belgian industrial worker eats about half as much meat as the English, and about half to one-third as much as the American working man. 570 BELGIAN COMMERCE that the Government and the People's Representatives will eventually adopt sounder views. . . . ' Unfortunately the echo raised by these protests in the commercial and economic world does not reach the ear of the Government. The people continue to pay much too high a price for meat.' The memorial ends, ' We have not said what should be proclaimed aloud, and what commercial chcles have reiterated for years : the only effective means of cheapening meat in Belgium is to permit the unob structed ingress of cattle from all countries and at all times, under strict but equitable control. That is the sole means of securing to Antwerp an adequate supply of meat at cheap and steady prices — the natural way of providing the people with abundant means of sub sistence.' Commercial Law Patents, &c. — Patents and trade-marks are in the hands of the Ministry of Industry and Labour. Patents are granted at the risk of the applicant, without prelimi nary examination of the alleged invention, and do not convey -any guarantee as to the novelty, genuineness, or utility of the invention. Questions relative to the validity of letters patent are dealt with by the civU courts, but the Government has the right to annul a patent on the ground that the invention concerned is not being exploited in Belgium. Patents are subject to an annual tax on a sliding scale ; the tax for the first year is uniformly 10 francs. The annual revenue from this tax is over half a million francs. Trade-marks are registered according to the same principle, viz. without examination or guarantee of any kind, disputes being settled in the civil courts. The first person or firm to use a mark is given, by registra tion, the sole right to use it. The registration costs COMMERCIAL LAW 571 in all about 31 francs, inclusive of the tax which is 10 francs. Designs for industrial machinery, &c, may be regis tered on the same principle, according to the provisions of a law of 1806. Drawings are sent in sealed, and only opened as evidence in case of litigation relating to the property of a design. A tax of 1 franc is paid on deposit, followed by a yearly payment of the same amount ; or a composition of 10 francs may be substituted for the yearly payment. Belgium is a member of the International Union for the protection of industrial proprietorship, constituted by the Convention of Paris in 1883, and was also a signatory of the agreement of April 14, 1891, providing for the international registration of trade-marks. Company Law. — Belgian company law is described as combining in the highest attainable degree liberty with publicity, the prevention of fraudulent undertakings being thrown upon the latter element rather than upon specific enactments. The law of 1873 recognizes five types of commercial association, as follows : The Societe en nom collectif is an association of which every member is responsible for every act of the com pany, and the company's title or designation contains the name of each member. The Societe en commandite simple consists, first, of one or more commandites, liable for every act of the company, whose name or names form the designation of the company ; and, secondly, of a number of com- manditaires, who contribute funds only. In the Societe en commandite par actions the commanditaires are shareholders with limited liability, the commandites having, as before, unlimited liability. The Societe anonyme corresponds more or less to our ordinary joint-stock limited liability company. Its 572 BELGIAN COMMERCE designation, which must be different from that of any other company, need not contain the name of any individual (hence the title anonyme) but may be simply descriptive. The Societe co-operative consists of members holding non-transferable shares ; its capital is not fixed, and may be indefinitely augmented by the issue of new shares as the demand arises. The law regulating the formation of companies is very simple. Its main provisions are that a company must consist of not less than seven members ; and that the nominal capital must be completely subscribed and 10 per cent, paid up. The names of promoters, the statutes of the company, and the annual statement of accounts must be made public ; and a list of all share holders who have not paid up in full must be pubhshed at least once a year, together with a statement of the amount each shareholder owes to the company. Currency, Weights, and Measures By the International Convention of 1865 and the sub sequent Act of 1885 Belgium belongs to the Monetary Union which includes France, Greece, Italy, and Switzerland. In point of fact notes are in general use for most denominations over 2 francs, but the silver 5-franc piece and the gold 10- and 20-franc pieces are legally current, though not now struck. The silver 2-franc, franc, and half-franc pieces, struck under the provisions of the International Convention, are legal tender up to 50 francs. By the terms of the Convention Belgium is compelled to keep these coins in circulation to the total face value of 46- 8 million francs. There are also nickel 5-, 10-, and 20-centime pieces, and copper 1- and 2-centime pieces. These are not con trolled by the Convention and are struck by the State CURRENCY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES 573 as demand arises. Nickel is legal tender up to 5 francs, copper up to 2 francs. In all foreign commerce Belgium employs a virtual monometallic gold standard, only her gold coinage (25-22 francs to the pound sterling at par) being legal tender for unlimited sums. The mint is in the hands of a contractor, who receives payment according to a tariff fixed by royal decree. With regard to weights and measures the metric system has been current in Belgium ever since the country was under French rule ; it was adopted by the Dutch Government in 1816 and taught in the schools by a law of 1817. But it was only in 1820 that it was made obligatory ; and the old units — the ell and the pound — remained firmly rooted in popular usage till declared iUegal by the law of 1855. All weights and measures and instruments for weighing and measuring (including gas-meters) are subjected to initial, and thereafter to periodical, testing by officials of the State. APPENDIX A BIBLIOGRAPHY The following list is not intended to supply a complete bibliography of the subject, but to indicate the main sources from which this volume has been compiled. A number of works which have been consulted are omitted, those alone being inserted whose information is either original or so put together as to .give them an independent value. The biblio graphy has been so arranged as to show separately the sources for each chapter, and an attempt has been made to distinguish authorities of first-rate importance (other than censuses and other official publications which hardly need to be so dis tinguished) by an asterisk (*). Maps This volume is accompanied by an Atlas designed to assist the reader in grasping the distribution of population, indus tries, minerals, &c, but not intended to supersede other maps. For use with this book the following maps are recom mended. Small scale, for general purposes : The Western Theatre of War (1915 : War Office, G.S.G.S. 3024) 1/1,000,000 (i.e. 15-78 miles to "an inch); or : Europe 1/1,000,000 (1915-16 : War Office, G.S.G.S. 2758) sheets Paris (North M 31) and Frankfort (North M 32). Larger scale, for topography : Belgium and France (War Office, G.S.G.S. 2364) 1/100,000 (i.e. 1-58 milesto the inch). Belgian official survey (1897-1903) 1/40,000 (i.e. about 0-63 mile to the inch). French official survey (edition of 1912) 1/200,000 (i.e. about 3-15 miles to the inch : a useful map covering almost the whole area). North-Western Europe (1916 : War Office, G.S.G.S. 2733) 1/250,000 (i. e. about 4 miles to the inch). BIBLIOGRAPHY 575 General Works 1. Belgium : Recensement general du 31 dec. 1910. Brussels, 1913. 2. France : Recensement general du 4 mars 1906. Paris, 1908. 3. Prussia : Volkszahlung vom 1. Dez. 1905 ( = Preuss. Statistik, Bd. 206.) Berlin, 1908. 4. Luxemburg : Recensement general, 1910 ( = Commission permanente de stat., vol. xxxvi). 5. Germany, Industrial census : Gewerbliche Betriebstatistik, Berufs- und Betriebszahling vom 12. Juni 1907 ( = Stat. d. d. Reichs, Bd. 215, 1909). 6. Luxemburg, Industrial census, 1907 ( = Commission perm, de stat., vol. xxiv). 7. Annuaire statistique de la Belgique. Yearly. 8. Annuaire statistique de la France. Yearly. 9. Statistisches Jahrbuch fiir das deutsche Reich. Yearly. 10. Stat. Jahrb. fiir den preussischen Staat. Yearly. 11. Stat. Jahrb. deutscher Stadte. Yearly. *12. La Belgique : institutions, industrie, commerce. Official, 1905. 13. Prost. La Belgique agricole, industrielle et commerciale. Liege and Paris, 1904. 14. Belgien : Land, Leute, Wirtschaftsleben. German official, 1915. *15. Belgien: Neun Abhandlungen. Nine essays (15 a-j) by various authors. Sekretariat sozialer Studentenarbeit, Miinchen-Gladbach, 1916. *16. Rowntree. Land and Labour : lessons from Belgium. 1910. *17. Ensok. Belgium. Williams & Norgate, 1915. 18. Boulger. Belgium of the Belgians. Pitman, 1911. 19. Scudamore. Belgium and the Belgians. Blackwood, 1901. 20. Charriaut. La Belgique moderne, terre d'experiences. Paris, 1914. 21. Baedeker's Belgium and Holland ; 15th ed. 22. Baedeker's Rhine ; 17th ed. 23. Baedeker's Northern France. 24. Handbook to Belgium. Ward, Lock, 1912. *25. Blanchard. La Flandre. Paris, 1906. *26. Ardouin-Dtjmazet. Voyage en France. Serie 18. Region du Nord. 1903. Serie 19. Flandre et Littoral. 1903. Serie 20. Haute-Picardie, Ardennes. 1904. 576 APPENDIX A *27. Demangeon. La Picardie et les regions voisines (Artois, Cambresis, Beauvaisis). Paris, 1905. 28. Renwick. Luxemburg : the Grand Duchy and its People. 1913. . *29. Follmann. Die Eifel (Land und Leute, Monographien zur Erdkunde 26). 1912. 30. Keep. Am Rhein (same series, 10). 1901. *31. Martiny. Kulturgeographische Wanderungen im Koblenzer Verkehrsgebiet. Forschungen d. Landes- und Volks- kunde, 1911. 32. La Hollande, geographique, &c. Various authors. Paris, n. d. 33. Blink. Nederland & sijne Bewoners. 3 vols. 34. Chisholm. Europe, vol. ii. Stanford's Compendium of Geography, 1902. Chapter I. Physical Geography *35. Auerbach. Le plateau lorrain. 1893. 36. Barre. L'architecture du sol de la France. 37. Bihot. Le pays de Herve (in Bull. Soc. R. Belg. Geogr., 1912, 1913). 38. Chantriot. La Thierache (in Ann. Geog., 1901). 39. Durieux. Fjtude sur le climat du littoral beige (in Ann. Observatoire Royal Beige, 1900). 40. Fevre et Hatjser. Regions et pays de France. 1909. 41. Fliegel. Zum Gebirgsbau der Eifel (nr Verh. naturhist. Ver. preuss. Rheinl., 1911). *42. Gosselet. Geographie physique du Nord de la France et de la Belgique (in Bull. Union Geog. Nord de la France, 1899). 43. Haron. Une excursion en Campine (in Bull. Soc. R. Belg. Geogr., 1892). 44. Lancaster. La pluie en Beige. Brussels, 1894. 45. Malotet. De la Scarpe a l'Escaut (in Bull. Soc. Geog. Lille, 1901). 46. Malotet. Le Cambresis (in Rev. Geogr., 1900). 47. Polis. Beitrage zur Kenntnis d. Niederschlagsverhaltnisse der Eifel (in Meteorol. Zeitsch. 15, 1898). 48. Polis. Die Warme- und Niederschlagsverhaltnisse d. Rhein- provinz (in Geogr. Anzeiger, Bd. 6, 1905). 49. Stessels. Description hydrographique de l'Escaut. Also : *25 Blanchard, * 26 Ardouin-Dumazet, * 27 Deman geon, 29 Follmann, 31 Martiny, 34 Chisholm. BIBLIOGRAPHY 577 Chapter II. Population *50. Blanchard. La population du Nord dans le xixe siecle (suppl. Bull. Soc. Geogr. Lille, 1906). 51. Die Bevolkerung des Nederlands (in Petermanns Mit- teilungen, 1910). *52. Kaart van de Dichtheid der Bevolking van N. (in Tijds. Nederl. Aardrijk. Genoots., 1892). 53. La population de la Belgique (in Mouvement Geogr., 1902). 54. Le mouvement de la population en Belgique (in Mouvement Geogr., 1911). 15 j. Schwering. Sprachen und Rassen in Belgien (in Belgien : Neun Abhandlungen, 1916). Also : 16 Rowntree, 17 Ensor, 20 Charriaut, 25 Blanchard, 34 Chisholm, 98 Daumont. And especially the following : 1 Belgian census, 2 French ditto, 3 Prussia ditto, 4 Luxemburg ditto, 7 Ann. Stat. de la Belgique. Chapter III. Languages and their Distribution 55. Bramer. Nationalitat und Sprache im Konigreiche Belgien (Forschungen zur deut. Landes- und Volkskunde, Bd. ii, Heft" 2; 1887). 56. Bremer. Sprachgrenzen in der nordl. Rheinprovinz (in Deutsche Erde, 1911). 57. De Coussemaker. Delimitation du flamand et du francais dans le Nord de la France (in Ann. du Comite flam. -franc., 1856-7). 58. Dominian. Linguistic areas in Europe (in Bull. Amer. G. S., 1915). 59. Kellen. Arel, eine deutsche Stadt in Belgien (in Globus, 1899). *60. Kurth. La frontiere linguistique en Belgique et dans le nord de la France. 1896-8. 61. Seelmann. Das Deutschtum in Artois (in Globus, 1896). 62. Touchard. Les langues parlees en Belgique (in Mouvement Geogr., 1913). Chapter IV. History Belgium 63. Beltjens et Godenne. La constitution beige. Brussels, 1880. *64. Bertrand. Histoire de la Democratie et du Socialisme en Belgique (2 vols.). Brussels, 1906-7. BELO. Q 0 578 APPENDIX A 65. Blok. History of the People ofthe Netherlands (English Translation from the Dutch), vol. iv. 66. Bourgeois. Manuel historique de Politique etrangere, 1610- 1878 (3 vols.). Paris, 1910. 67. Cambridge Modern History. *68. Deschamps. La Neutralite de la Belgique. Brussels, 1902. 69. Gerlache, de. Histoire du Royaume des Pays-Bas (3 vols.). Brussels, 1859. 70. Hertslet. Map of Europe by Treaty (4 vols.). London, 1875-91. *71. Himly. La Formation Territoriale des Fjtats de I'Europe centrale (2 vols.). 72. Juste. Histoire de Belgique (3 vols.). Brussels, 1895. 73. Lannoy, de. Les origines diplomatiques de I'lndependance beige. Louvain, 1903. 74. MacDonnell. Belgium : her Kings, Kingdom, and People. London, 1914. 75. Martens. Nouveau Recueil general de Traites (1808-1913). 76. Orban. Le Droit constitutionnel de la Belgique. Liege, 1906 *77. Pirenne. Histoire de Belgique (4 vols., to 1648). Brussels, 1900-11. *78. Sorel. L'Europe et la Revolution francaise (8 vols., 1789- 1815). Paris, 1907-10. 79. Woeste. Echos des Luttes contemporaines (2 vols., 1895- 1905). Brussels, 1906. 80. Woeste. Vingt ans de Polemique. Brussels, 1890. 81. Annales du Parlement beige. Belgian official. 82. State Papers. Also : *17 Ensor. Luxemburg 83. Eltz. Aus Luxemburgs Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Trier, 1891. 84. Eyschen. Das Staatsrecht des Grossherzogtums Luxem burg. Tubingen, 1910. 85, Matschoss. Die Kriegsgefahr von 1867. Breslau, 1912. *86. Wampach. Le Luxembourg neutre. Paris, 1900. Also : 70 Hertslet, 71 Himly, 75 Martens. The Rhine Province *87. Bachem. Zur Jahrhundertfeier der Vereinigung der Rhein- lande mit Preussen. Koln, 1915. 88. Hashagen. Das Rheinland und die franzosische Herrschaft. Bonn, 1908. BIBLIOGRAPHY 579 89, Hue de Grais. Handbuch der Verfassung ,und Verwaltung in Preussen und dem deutschen Reiche. Berlin, 1910. 90. Huret. En Allemagne : Rhin et Westphalie. Paris, 1907. 91. Kaufmann. Politische Geschichte Deutschlands im 19ten Jahrhundert. Berlin, 1900. 92. Rambaud. La domination francaise en Allemagne (2 vols.). |Paris, 1891. 93. ^Treitschke, v. Deutsche Geschichte im 19ten Jahrhundert. Leipzig, 1879-94. Also : 66 Bourgeois, 70 Hertslet, 71 Himly, 75 Martens, 78 [Sorel. Moresnet \ 94. Hoch. Un territoire oublie au centre de I'Europe. Berne, 1881. 95. Schroder. Das grenzstreitige Gebiet von Moresnet. Aachen, 1902. 96. Spandau. Zur Geschichte von Neutral-Moresnet. Aachen, 1904. 97. Un Condominium dans I'Europe centrale (in Bull. Soc. Geogr, Rochefort, 1901). Chapter |V. Social 'Conditions 15 g. Brauer. Die belgisehe Arbeiterbewegung (in Belgieni : |Neun Abhandlungen, 1916). Also|: *16 Rowntree, *17 Ensor, *20 Charriaut, *98 Daumont. Chapter VI. The Flemish .Question *98. Daumont. Le Mouvement flamand (2 vols.). Brussels and Paris, 1911. *99. Hamelius. Histoire du mouvement flamand. 1897. [100. Jostes. Die Vlamen im Kampf um ihre Sprache und ihr Volkstum. 101. Osswald. Zur belgischen Frage. 1915. 15 j. Schwerino. Sprachen und Rassen in Belgien (in Belgien : Neun Abhandlungen, 1916). |Also : 17 Ensor, 20 Charriaut. Chapter VII. Agriculture 102. Agriculture in Germany. F. O, Mscell. 645, 1906. 103. Agriculture in the Rhenish Province. F. O. Miscell. 652, 1906. BELG. O O 2 580 APPENDIX A 104. Lefebvre. La vie rurale en Pevele (in Bull. Soc. Geogr. Lille, 1913). 105. Luxemburg : Viehstand des Grossherzogtums', 1910 ( = vol. xxxviii of publications of Permanent Statistical Commission). 106. Luxemburg: Statistik der Landwirtschaft, 1913 ( = vol. xlof publications of Permanent Statistical Commission). 107. Oberlin. Der Weinbau in Elsass-Lothringen (in. Statist. Mittheilungen, fasc. xvi, 1880). 15/. Ritter, Die belgische Landwirtschaft (in Belgien : Neun Abhandlungen, 1916). 108. Statistiques agricoles de la France. 1910-11. Also : *16 Rowntree, *25 Blanchard, *26 Ardouin-Dumazet, *27Demangeon, 29 Follmann, *31 Martiny, *35 Auerbach, *37 Bihot, 43 Haron. Chapter 'VIII. Mineral Resources 109. Annales des mines de la Belgique. Yearly. *110. Beyschlag, Vogt, and Krusch. Ore deposits. Macmillan, 1916. 111. Bleicher. Minerai de fer de Lorraine (in Bull. Soc. Geol. de France, ser. iii, No. xii). 112. Minerai de fer de Meurthe et Moselle (in Bull. Soc. |industrieUe de l'Est, 1894). 113. Brown Coal Mining in the Rhineland. F. O. Miscell. 497 (1899). 114. Bruhns. Die nutzbaren Mineralien im deutschen Reiche. BerUn, 1906. 115. Coal Industry of the Rhenish Westphalian Provinces. F. O. Miscell. 454 (1898). 116. Coal Mining Industry in Belgium. F. O. Miscell. 664 (1907). *117. Coal Resources of the World. International Geological Congress, Toronto, 1913. 118. Dormal. Le Minerai de fer des plateaux de l'Ardenne (in Ann. Soc. Geol. Belg., 1893^). 119. Eckel. Iron Ores. New York, 1914. 120. Frech. Deutschlands Steinkohlenfelder und Steinkohlen- vorrate. 1912. 121. Freise. Zur Entwicklungsgeschichte des Erzbergbaues in den deutschen Rheinlanden (in Zeitsch. f . prakt. Geol., Jan. 1907). 122. Forir. Bassins houillers de WestphaUe, Aix-la-Chapelle, Belgique, &c. (in BuU. Soc. Geol. Belg., 1898-9). BIBLIOGRAPHY 581 123. Gilles. Le bassin houilUer du Nord (in Bull. Union Geog. du Nord de la France, 1894-5). 124. Hering. Die Kupfererzlagerstatten der Erde (in Zeitsch. f. Berg-, Hiitten- und Salinenwesen, 1897). *125. Heusler. Beschreibung des Bergreviers Briihl-Unkel. Bonn, 1897. 126. Industrie minerale, France et Algerie. 1912. *127. Iron Ore Resources of the World. International Geological Congress, Stockholm, 1910. *128. Launay, de. Gites mineraux et metaUiferes. 129. Laur. Le bassin houiUier de la Lorraine francaise (in Comptes Rendus, 1905). 130. Nicou. Les ressources de la France en minerai de fer (in La Geogr., Bull. Soc. Geogr. Paris, 1810). 131. Renard. Nouveau bassin charbonnier a la frontiere franco- beige (in A travers le monde, 1914), 132. Schott. Das Niederrheinische Braunkohlenvorkommen (in Festschr. zur Begriissung des 14ten deutschen Geographentages, Koln, 1903). *133. Soupart. Notice sur la coUectivite des charbonnages de la Belgique. Charleroi, 1904. 134. Statnier. Stratigraphie du bassin houiUier de Charleroi (in Bull. Soc. Geol. Beige, 1901). 135. Etat des recherches dans le bassin houUUer de la Cam pine (in Bull. Soc. Geol. Beige, 1902). 136. Jltudes sur le bassin houilUer du nord de la Belgique (in Mem. Soc. Beige Geogr., 1902). 137. Stelzner-Bergeat. Die Erzlagerstatten. Leipzig, 1904-6. 138. Tesch. Nederlandalsmijnbouwland(inTs. k. Ned. Aardrijks. Genoots., 1910). 139. Weed. ' The Copper Mines of the World. New York, 1908. Chapter IX. Industry 140. Annuaire du Commerce et de l'industrie de la Belgique. 141. Arms Industry of Liege. F. O. MisceU. 650 (1906). 142. Diamond Industry of Antwerp. F. O. MisceU. 634 (1905). *143. Lewinski. L'evolution industrieUe de la Belgique. Institut Solvay, 1911. 144. Monographies mdustrieUes (Belgian official series). 145. Morgenroth. Das Wirtschaftsgebiet der Rheinisch-west- falischen Grossindustrie (in Festschrift zur Begriissung des 14ten deutschen Geographentages, Koln, 1903). oo3 582 APPENDIX A 146. Steller. Die Kolner Industrie (in Festschrift zur Begriis sung des 14ten deutschen Geographentages, Koln, 1903). 147. Vogelstein. Die Industrie der Rheinprovinz 1888-1900 (Miinchener volkswirtschafthche Studien, 47, 1902). Also : 5 German industrial census, 6 Luxemburg industrial census, *12 La Belgique, *16 Rowntree, *26 Ardouin- Dumazet, 45 Malotet, 90 Huret. Chapter X. Communications, 148. Canals and Navigable Waterways of Belgium (F. O. MisceU., 604), 1904. 149. Chemins defer, postes, telegraphes, telephones et marine (Min. des Chemins de Fer : Belgian official yearly report), 150. Die Binnenschiffahrt (yearly reports : incorporated in the Statistik d. d. R.) Imperial Statistical Office. 151. Die Stromgebiete des deutschen Reichs : Teil ui A : Gebiet des Rheins (= Statistik d. d. R., Band 179, iu. A). Imperial Statistical Office. 15 c. Dresemann. Die Verkehrsentwicklung in Belgien (in Belgien : Neun Abhandlungen, 1916). 152. Dupont. Le Canal du Nord (in BuU. Soc. Geogr. LUle, 1912). 153. La Canalisation de la Meuse (in Mouvement geogr., 1913). 154. La Meuse canalisee (in A travers le Monde, 1913). 155. Memorandum on Co-operative RaUroads (Anon., n.d. : Eyre & Spottiswoode). 156. North-Eastern French and Belgian Waterways. W. O., 1915 : revised, 1916. 157. Praesent. Antwerpen (Kriegsgeographische ZeitbUder, Leipzig, 1915). 158. Shipping and Navigation of the Port of Antwerp (Diplomatic and Consular Reports, Annual Series, 4182 : 1910). 159. Wauters. Le port de BruxeUes (in Mouvement geogr., 1905). Also : *12 La Belgique, *16 Rowntree, 26 Ardouin-Dumazet. Chapter XI. Commerce 160. Bulletin mensuel du commerce special de la Belgique. *161, Cosoiu. Die belgische HandelspoUtik (Miinchener volks- wirtschaftliche Studien, 128). Stuttgart and Berlin, 1914. Also : 7 Annuaire Statistique de la Belgique, *12 La Belgique, 75 Martens. APPENDIX B TABLE OF CHIEF TREATIES * (a) Sovereignty " May 30, 1814. Treaty of Paris. Signatories :— Great Britain, Austria, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Spain, Sweden, France. Sub jects :— Sovereignty of the House of Orange; Rhine Provinces given to Prussia . June 30, 1815. Final Act of Congress of Vienna. Same signatories, with the exception of France ; same subjects. November 15, 1831. Convention of London. Signatories :— Great Britain, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Belgium. Subject :— Independence of Belgium. April 19, 1839. Treaty of London. Signatories : — Great Britain, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Netherlands. Same subject. May 11, 1867. Treaty of London. Signatories : — Great Britain, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Prussia, Russia. Subject : — Luxemburg and Limburg. (b) Boundaries May 30, 1814. Treaty of Paris. Signatories, see above. Subject: — Boundaries of France, Netherlands, Prussia, &c. June 9, 1815. Final Act of Congress of Vienna. Signatories, see above. Same subject as the foregoing. Jul j' 20, 1819. General Treaty of Frankfort. Signatories: — Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia. Subject : — DetaUs of above frontiers. July 2, 1824. Boundary Treaty of Meppen. Signatories :¦ — Hanover and the Netherlands. Subject : — Details of boundary. November 15, 1831. Convention of London. Signatories, see above. Subject : — Belgo- Dutch frontier. AprU 19, 1839. Treaty of London. Signatories, see above. Sub ject : — Limits of Belgium and division of Luxemburg. November 5, 1842. Boundary Treaty of The Hague. Signatories : — Belgium and the Netherlands. Subject : — Details of frontier. 1 Other than commercial treaties, for which see pp. 560-4. 584 APPENDIX B (c) [Union and ^Separation jof Belgium and Holland July 21, 1814. J Act of Acceptance of Sovereignty (the Treaty of the Eight Articles— Annex 10 of the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna) at The Hague. Signatory, Netherlands. Subject : — Union of Belgium and HoUand. , November 15, 1831. Convention of London. Signatories, see above. Subject : — Separation of Holland and Belgium. April 19, 1839. Treaty of London. Signatories, see above. Same subject as the foregoing. (d) The Scheldt and the Rhine May 30, 1814. Treaty of Paris. Signatories, see above. Subject: — Navigation of the rivers. June 9, 1815. Final Act of Congress of Vienna. Signatories, see above. Same subject as the foregoing. March 31, 1831. Convention of Mainz. Signatories: — the riverine States of the Rhine. Subject : — Navigation of the Rhine. November 15, 1831. Convention of London. Signatories, see above. Subject : — Navigation of the Rhine and Scheldt. April 19, 1839. Treaty of London. Signatories, see above. Same subject as the foregoing. July 16, 1863. Treaty of Brussels. Signatories : — Great Britain, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, France, Hanover, Italy, Oldenburg, Peru, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, - Spain, Sweden, and Norway, Turkey, Hanse towns, Belgium. Subject : — Redemption of Scheldt tolls. October 17, 1868. Convention of Mannheim. Signatories : — Baden, Bavaria, France, Hesse- Darmstadt, Netherlands, Prussia. Subject : — Navigation of the Rhine. (e) Neutrality of Belgium and Luxemburg November 15, 1831. Convention of London. Signatories, see above. Subject : — Neutrality of Belgium. April 19, 1839. Treaty of London. Signatories, see above. Same subject as foregoing. May 11, 1867. Treaty of London. Signatories, see above. Sub ject : — Neutrality of Luxemburg. July 17, 1870. Declarations made by France and Prussia. Sub ject : — Neutrality of Luxemburg, August 9, 1870. Treaty of London. Signatories: — Great Britain and Prussia. Subject : — Neutrality of Belgium. August 11, 1870. Treaty of London. Signatories : — Great Britain and France. Same subject as foregoing. APPENDIX C LIST OF MAPS IN THE ATLAS 1. Physical. 1 a. Rainfall. 2. Geology. 3. Density of Population. 4. Languages. 5. Woods and Forests. 6. Minerals. 7. The Lorraine-Saar Minefield. 8. The Western Coalfield of Belgium. 9. The Eastern Coalfield of Belgium. 10. The Campine Coalfield. 11. The Westphalian Coalfield. 12. The Aachen and Mechernich Minefields. 13. Density of Industries in Belgium. 14. Chemical Works in Belgium. 15. MetaUurgical Industries in Belgium. 16. Pottery Industries in Belgium. 17. Paper-mUls and Glass-works in Belgium. 18. RaUways. 19. Waterways. INDEX Note. — Subjects which can readily be found by means of the analytical Contents have not been indexed. Aa R. (Belgian), 23 Aa R. (French), 28, 535, 537, 540 Aachne : agriculture, 340, 341 communications, 52 1 , 522 industry, 436, 512, 516 mineral resources, 377, 413 Aachen, Convention of, 245 Abscon, 498 Achiet-le-Grand, 523 Acoz, 464 Adenau, 74 Adolphus of Nassau- Weil- burg, 201 Aerschot, 95 Ahr R., 28, 50 Ahr valley, 74, 75, 344,345 Ahrweiler, 75 Aire, 496, 540 Aire R., 24 Aiseau, 435 Aisne R. (Belgian), 26 Aisne R. (French), 29, 536, 540 Aisne valley, 71, 522, 542 Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, 135, 171 Albert, 501 Alexander I, 174 Alexander of Parma, 127 Alf R., 51 Alf valley, 345 Algeria : trade with Bel gium, 433, 457, 458 Alost, 93, 303, 452, 453 Alost arrondissement, 66, 93 Alpine race, 59 Altenberg : see Moresnet Alzette R., 27, 406 Ambleve R., 26 America : trade with Bel gium, 457 America : trade with France, 504 Amiens, 522, 523 Amiens, Treaty of, 138 Amongies : language, 93 Ancre R. (Belgian), 21 Ancre valley (French), 523 Andenne, 464, 465, 470, 478 Anderlecht, 454 Anderny, 402 Angleur, 436, 538 Anglo-Belgian plateau, 16 19 Aniche, 498 Anjou, Duke of, 128 Anor, 524 Anoux, 402 Ans, 468 Antwerp : communications, 521, 523, 537, 540-544 history, 121, 124, 127 industry, 437, 439, 440, 442, 443, 454, 462, 473, 480 language, 82, 90, 93 population, 68, 78 social conditions, 263 Antwerp arrondissement : language, 93 population, 66 Antwerp province : agriculture, 306 industry, 428, 449,452 mineral resources,361 population, 65 Anzin, 494, 498 Ardennes : agriculture, 303, 311, 312, 314, 315, 322, 323, 328 climate, 56, 58 communications, 522 539, 542 geology, 15, 19 industry, 431, 478 physical geography, 13, 14, 49 Ardennes, continued : population, 66, 67, 73, 323 social conditions, 251 canal, 540, 542 Argentine : trade with Belgium, 446, 462, 551- 554, 556 Arlon : communications, 522 language, 85, 87 Arlon arrondissement : agriculture, 310 language, 80,87,89,99 Arlon region : agriculture, 312, 323 physical geography, 52 Armada, 128 Armentieres, 493, 496 Arras, 325, 500, 523 Arras arrondissement, 71 Artevelde, Jacob van, ] IS Artois, 14, 324, 325, 542 Astenet, 435 Ath, 453, 537 Ath arrondissement, 96 Athus, 88, 89, 407, 433 Attert, 88 Attert R., 27 Aubange, 88, 89 Aubel, S8, 99 Auboue, 401 Audenarde, 90, 93 Audenarde arrondisse ment, 93 Augsburg, Transaction of, 125 Aumetz plateau, 405 Australia : trade with Belgium, 440 trade with France, 326, 504 Austria, trade with Bel gium, 468 Authie R., 29 Avesnes arrondissement, 70, 432 INDEX 587 Avesnes-le-sec, 502 Avesnes-les-Aubert, 502 Avril, 402 Axel, 525 • B •Bachy, Mont de, 38 Baden, 99 Baden, Treaty of, 132, 172 Baelen, 85, 86 Baelen-usines, 436 Bailleul, 317, .492 Bale, Treaty of, 225 Bapaume plateau, 501 Bar R., 24 Barmen, 513, 516 Baroeul district, 38 Barrier Treaties, 132 Barthelemy, 224 Bas-Heylissem, 95 Basse Sambre basin, 358, 359, 361, 424 Bassin de Charleroi : see Charleroi basin Bassin du Centre : see Centre district Bassins-Houillers rail way, 526 Bastogne, 89 Bastogne arrondissement, 66, 88, 99 Baudour, 458, 464, 465, 469, 472 Baune, 465 BazonvUle, 402 Beaumont, 451 Beauvois, 503 Beez, 411 Beho, 80, 87, 99 Belgian Plain, 14, 18 Belgian Revolution, 143 Bellevue, 401 Berchem, 454 Berg, Duchy of, 205 Berkeinde, 363 Berlin, Convention of, 136 Bertincourt, 541 Bertrix, 430 Bertry, 503 Bethencourt, 503 Bethune, 324, 494, 497 BevUlers, 502 Biache-St. Vaast, 501 Bierghes, 465 Bismarck, 163, 189, 190, 191, 195, 237, 240, 243 Bitburg, 75 Blankenberghe, 90, 544 Blaton— Ath canal, 541 Bleibach valley, 417, 418 Bleiberg (Belgian), 415, 435 Bleiberg (German), 418 Bleibuir, 418 Blommaert, 280 Bochum, 381 Bochum basin, 382 Bohain, 501, 502 Boheries, 504 Bonn, 340, 512, 516 Bonnert, 88 Bonnine-Gelbresee, 411 Boom, 82, 94, 437, 464, 466 Borinage : see Couchant de Mons Bouffioulx, 465, 470 Bouillon, 85, 99 Boulogne, 102, 522 Boulogne arrondissement, 71 Boulonnais, 30, 71, 323, 324, 369 Bourlers, 465 Bourre R., 20 Bouvines, battle of, 116 Brabant : agriculture, 306, 312, 318 climate, 56 industry, 447-449, 452, 454, 466 language, 94 mineral resources, 412 physical geography. 40 population, 65, 67 Brabant-Hesbaye water shed, 536, 541 Braine-i'AUeud, 451, 452 Braine-le-Comte-Ghent railway, 526 Brandenburg, elector of, 211 Brazil, trade with Bel gium, 481 Breda 522 Breitenfeld, battle of, 213 Briey, 436 Briey basin, 401 Briey plateau, 53, 332, 431, 524 Brohl valley, 345 Broqueville, Baron de, 161 Bruges : communications, 535, 540, 543, 544 history, 115, 121, 124 industry, 433, 437, 454, 470, 478 language, 90, 91 Bruges arrondissement : language, 90 Bruhl, 385 Brussels : communications,521- 523, 541, 543, 545 industry, 437, 439- 443, 452, 454, 456, 462, 466, 472, 473, 478, 480 language, 79, 82, 90, 94 population, 68, 78 social conditions, 263 Brussels arrondissement, 66,94 Brussels -Charleroi canal, 541 Brussels Ship Canal, 545 Brussels- Wi llebroeck canal, 535, 537 Budel, 436 Buironfosse, 329 BurgTindy, House of, 119, 170 208 Busigny, 502 C Calais, 492, 521-523,546, 547 Cambrai, 325, 501, 523, 537, 541 Cambrai arrondissement, 71 Cambrai, Treaty of, 170 Cambresis, 30, 71, 317, 324, 325, 501 Cambresis-Artois downs, 16 Camphausen, 235 Campine : agriculture, 311, 312, 314, 315, 320 climate, 56 communications, 525, 540 industry, 435, 437, 457, 459, 463-466 language, 81 mineral resources,411 physical geography, 44 population, 66 social conditions, 251 Campo Formio, Treaty of, 225 Canada, trade with Bel gium, 445, 471, 478 Canal de I'Est, 538 Canche R., 29 Capellen, 336-339 Carembault, 37 Carnot, 224 Carolingian dynasty, 110 Cassel, hill of, 35, 36 588 INDEX Castlereagh, 174 Catholic party, 156, 158, 161, 284 Caudry, 502, 503 Caullery, 503 Centre district : communications, 541 industry, 423, 425, 437, 439, 441-443, 465 language, 84, 96, 97 mineral resources, 358, 359, 361 population, 67, 68 social conditions, 261 Ceylon : trade with Bel gium, 468 Chalk downs, 14 Champagne, 522 Champion, 411 Charlemagne, 110 Charleroi : communications, 525, 538, 541 industry, 432, 433, 437, 439, 441-443, 456, 465, 468, 473 language, 84, 89 mineral resources, 357 social conditions, 261 Charleroi arrondissement, 66, 97 Charleroi basin : communications, 541 industry, 423, 425 language, 84, 97 mineral resources, 358, 359, 361 population, 67, 68 Charles V, 123, 210 Charles VI, 133 Charles of Lorraine, Duke 133 Charles the Bold, 209, 121 Charles Theodore, 218 Charleville, 506 Charriaut, 292, 294 Chateau-Regnault, 506 Chatelet, 464, 465, 470 Chiers R, 23, 53, 524 Chignv, 329 Chimay, 466 Chimay railway, 524 Chimay valley, 524 Christmas Island : trade with Belgium, 458 Clabecq, 433 Clarence R., 20 Clary, 503 Clervaux, 73, 336-339, 509 Cleves, 74, 80, 516 Cleves, Duchy of, 205 Clovis, 109 Coblenz, 522, 523, 539 Coblenz Kreis, 75 Coblenz Regierungsbezirk, 340, 341 Cochem, 75 Cologne : communications,52 1 - 523, 542, 546 history of, 207 industry, 512, 516 mineral resources, 384 Cologne Kreis, 340 Cologne Regierungsbezirk, 340 Cologne Electorate of, 205 Comines, 496, .537, -540 Commern, 418 Compiegne, 523, 540 Condroz : agriculture, 303, 312, 321 climate, 56 communications, 522 physical geography, 47 population, 67, 322 Conflans, 333, 524, 540 Congo : trade with Bel gium, 553, 555, 557 Co-operation, 162, 343 Cotes de Meuse, 54, 330, 431, 506 C6te-d'Or, 317 Couchant de Mons : industry, 422, 425, 437, 439, 442 language, 84 mineral resources, 357-359, 361 population, 67, 68 Coucke,284Couillet, 456 Courchelettes, 499 Courtrai : communications, 523 industry, 452, 453, 463, 465, 470 language, 90, 92 population, 78 Courtrai arrondissement, 66,92 Courtrai, battle of, 117 Cousolre, 432, 500 Crefeld, 378, 511, 516 Croix, 493 Cromwell, 131 Crops, 302, 303, 316-322, 324-338, 340, 343, 346- 348 Crupilly, 329 Crusne R., 24, 53 Crusne basin, 404 Cureghem, 448, 454 D Dampremy, 77 Daumont, 299 Death duties, 309 De Decker, 282 Deerlyck, 453 Demer R., 22, 535, 538 Denain, 494, 498 Dendre R., 21, 22, 43, 535, 537, 541 Dendre valley, 69, 478 Denmark : trade with France, 326 Derby, Lord, 194 de Tarsy R., 25 Deule R., 20 Deule valley, 326 Deynze, 453 Diekirch, 73, 336, 337, 339, 509 Differdange-Rodange mi nette field, 406 Diest, 90, 95, 538 Dinant, 89, 98, 452, 524 Dinant arrondissement, 66,97 Dison, 451 Dixmude, 91 Dixmude arrondissement, 91 Dolhain, 414 Donchery, 506 Dorignies, 499 Dortmund, 381 Dortmund-Ems canal, . 240, 539, 542 Dottignies, 92 Douai, 541 Douai arrondissement, 70 Doullens, 523 Drocourt, 369 Dudelange, 407 Duffel, 82, 451 Duisburg, 381, 515 Dumouriez, 136 Dunkirk, 492, 521, 522, 546 Dunkirk arrondissement, 70 Duren, 388 Diisseldorf, 513, 515, 523 Diisseldorf Regierungsbe zirk, 340, 341 Dutch language in Bel gium, 275, 277 Dyle R., 22, 538 Dyle valley, 428 INDEX 589 E East Indies : trade with Belgium, 451 EcaiUon R., 21 Ecaussines, 430 Echternach, 73, 336, 337 Echternach canton : agri culture, 336, 337 Edward I, 117 Edward III, 118, 208 Eecloo, 90, 451, 453 Eecloo arrondissement, 92 Eecloo-Bruges railway, 526 Effry, 504 Eglancourt, 329 Eifel : agriculture, 343, 346 climate, 56, 58 communications, 542 geology, 15 industry, 431, 516 mineral resources,412 physical geography, 13, 14, 49 population, 64, 73-75 Eifel watershed, 536, 542 Eighteen Articles, 146 Elberfeld : industry, 513, 516 Elincourt, 503 Elizabeth, 128 Elz R., 51 Emsch basin, 382 Endert R., 51 Enghien, 96 Engis, 416, 435 England : relations with Bel gium, 107 trade with Belgium, 306, 318, 321, 434, 440, 448, 450, 458- 462, 468, 471 trade with France, 329 Ensival, 451 Escaudoeuvres, 50 L Escaut R., 20, 22, 535, 540, 541, See also Scheldt R. Escaut valley, 56, 463, 464, 498 Escaut-Oise canal : see St. Quentin Canal Esch, 72, 335, 339, 509 Esch-Rumelange minette field, 406 Escrebieu, 38 Espierres, 92 Esqueheries, 329 Essen, 73, 381 Essen basin, 382 Estaires, 496 Etaples, 522 Etreux, 504 Eupen, 74, 103, 512 Euskirchen, 523 'Faille duMidi', 360 ' Faille eifelienne ', 360 Fallersleben, Hoffmann von, 280 Famenne, 48, 56, 67, 322 FauviUers, 88 Fensch valley, 405, 436, 512 Ferrain, 37, 327, 492, 494 Finland : trade with Bel gium, 478. Flanders : agriculture, 303, 312, 317 climate, 56 industry, 451, 466, 468, 492 language; 81, 101 physical geography, 34 population, 67, 66 Flanders province, East : agriculture, 306 industry, 447, 449, 450, 452, 453 population, 65 social conditions, 256 Flanders province, West : industry, 439, 447, 449, 451-453, 462 population, 65 Flemalle- Haute, 525 Flemings, 59, 61 Flemish language in Bel gium, 80, 83, 101, 102, 275 Flemish movement, 101, 167, 272 Flemish -speaking jiro vinces, birth-rate and death-rate, 77 Fleurus, 410, 461 Fleurus, battle of, 137 Floriculture, 307, 329, 330 Flushing, 127, 521, 522, 546, 547 Fontainebleau, Treaty of, 1785, 176 Fontenoy, battle of, 135 Forest, 453 Fourmies, 504, 524 Fouron St. Martin, 98 Fouron St. Pierre, 98 Fraire, 411 France : trade with Belgium, 305, 318, 399, 431, 434, 441, 450, 458- 461, 465, 468-472, 551-558 trade with Germany 405, 406 Franchise Law, Belgium, 152, 157 Franchise Law, Luxem burg, 202 Francis I, 124, 210 Franco - German War (1870), 164, 195 Francsmannen, 250, 251 Frankfort, Treaty of,lS19, 232 Frankfort, Treaty of, 1871, 199 Franks, the, 100, 109 Frederick III, Emperor, 122 Frederick William IV, 234, 242 French Consulate (1799- 1804), 138 French Empire (1804-14), 13S French language : in Belgium, 79, 81, 101,102, 273, 279, 289 in German Lorraine, 104 in Luxemburg, 189 in Malmedy, 103 French Revolution, 137, 222, 273 Frere- Orban, 157 Fruit cultivation. 306, 318, 321, 324, 338, 346, 348 Fumay, 431 Furnes, 91 Furnes arrondissement, 91 G Geete R. * see Jette R. Gelders, 74 Geleen, 387 Gelsenkirchen, 381 Gemmenich, 85, 86, 99 Genck, 45, 96, 525 Gentenne R., 22 German language : in Belgium, 80, 85, 282 ' in Malmedy, 103 590 INDEX Germany : relations with Fle mish movement, 290, 293 trade with Belgium, 302, 303, 306,321, 405, 431, 433, 434, 440, 450, 451, 454, 457-460, 462, 468- 472, 481, 551-558 trade with France, 334, 399 Gerolstein, 523 Gheel, 451 Ghent : agriculture, 307 communications, 521-524, 535, 537, 540, 543, 545 history, 115 industry, 437, 439- 443, 447-449, 451- 453, 466, 471, 478, 480, language, 84, 92 . population, 69, 78 social conditions, 256, 263 Ghent arrondissement, 66, 92 Ghent-Ostende canal, 540 Ghent-Terneuzen railway, 524 Gileppe R., 26 Giraumont, 401 Givet, 506, 524, 525 Gladstone, 163 Goethals, 284 Gohelle, 38, 39, 70, 328 Gorres, 242 Gottessegen, 418 Goutelle valley, 506 Gouzeaucourt, 503 Grammont, 93 Granite, 19 Gravelines, 70, 546, 547 Greece : trade with Bel gium, 476 Grevenmacher, 335, 337, 339 Grimlinghausen, 541 Grimm, Jacob, 280 Guillaume-Luxembourg railway, 197 Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, 213 'Gutland', 72, 335 H Habsburg, House of, 170, 209 Hageland plain, 41 Hainaut : agriculture, 303, 319, 327 physical geography, 32-33, 42 population, 67, 70 Hainaut province : industry, 426, 430, 439-441, 447-449, 452, 453 mineral resources, 357, 412 population, 65 Haine valley, 358, 465, 537 541 Halanzy, 89, 407, 433 Hal-Ath and Tournai- Frontier railway, 526 Halluin, 496 Hamelius, Paul, 278 Hamme, 450, 453, 454 Hamont, 436 Hansemann, 235 Hanzinelle, 464 Harly, 503 Hasselt, 96, 469, 540 Hasselt arrondissement, 96 Hasselt - Maeseyck rail way, 525 Hastiere, 524 ' Hautes Fagnes ', 49, 322 Haut-Heylissem, 95 Hautmont, 499 Hautrage, 465, 467 Hazebrouck, 522 Hazebrouck arrondisse ment, 70 Heerlen, 387 Heiligenbronn, 375 Helchin, 92 Hellemmes, 494 Helpe, R., Grande, 25 Helpe R., Petite, 25 Hemixem, 82, 94, 469 Herds, 465 Henri-Chapelle, 85, 86, 99 Henry, Prince of the Netherlands, 187 Henry II of France, 210 Henry IV of France. 129, 210, 211 Herbeumont, 430 Herck R„ 22 Herenthals, 94, 437, 523 Hermannsberg, 374 Hermeton R., 24 Herseaux, 454 Herstal, 443 Herve, 44, 56, 67, 320, 321 agriculture, 312, 319 Climate, 56 Hesbaye, continued : communications, 526, 541 language, 84, 98 physical- geography, 43 population, 67 Hesdin, 324 Hirson, 71, 504, 505, 522, 524 Hoboken, 82, 94, 437, 439 Hocheifel, 50, 74, 75, 346, 348, 516 Hodimont, 451 Hohe Acht, 51 Hohe Venn, 50, 56, 74, 346 HoUand : relations with Fle mish movement, 291 trade with Belgium, 305, 306, 431, 434, 448, 450, 458, 468, 470, 472, 551-555, 557, 558 trade with France, 326 Holy Roman Empire, 107 Hombourg, 85, 86, 99 Homecourt, 401 Honnechy, 503 Hook, The, 522 Houthem, 91 Hoyoux valley, 47, 433 Hulst, 525 Hundred Years' War, 117 Hunsriick, 13, 57, 516 Hussigny, 403 Huy, 89, 437, 478, 526 Huy arrondissement, 98 Inde basin, 379 India : trade with Bel gium, 434, 553, 554, 556 Ingelmunster, 454 Isebergues, 496 Iseghem, 453 Italy : trade with Bel gium, 441, 451, 461, 470 Jagow, Herr von, 165 Japan : trade with Belr gium, 458, 558 j » l Jarnisy plateau, 53, 332 Jemappes, 433 Jemappes, battle of, 136 Jemeppe, 77, 456, 468 Jette R., 22 Jette valley, 428 INDEX 591 Jeumont, 525 Joeuf, 401 John Cockerill Company, 438 John the Fearless, 119 Jonction belge-prussienne railway, 526 Joseph II, Emperor, 134, 176 ' Joyous Entry ', 116, 134 Julich, 388 Julich, Duchy of, 205 Jumet, 77 K Kaisersesch, 512 Karsman, 283 Kayl stream, 406 Keldenich, 418 Kemmel, Mont, 35 Kempenland, 44 Kerkrade, 387, 388 Kleinrosseln, 375 Konigsberg, 374 Kyll R., 50, 51 Kyll valley, 74, 347 For Koblenz, &c, see under C L Laach district, 75. See also Rheinvoreifel Laacher See, 52 La Capelle, 504 Lacque R., 20 Laek R., 23 La Gorgue, 496 La Louviere, 84, 96, 433, 469 La Madeleine, 493 La Marck, 211 Lainbres, 499 Landrecies, 538, 540-542 Landres basin, 401 Lands of the Generality, 175-176 Language-frontier, 79, 100, 108 Laon, 71, 522, 524 Lasne R., 22 Lavagueresse, 329 Lavaux, 524 La we R., 20 Le Cateau, 501, 502, 523 Le Catelet, 502 L'ficluse, 95 Ledeganck, 281 Lens, 494, 497, 523 ' L' entre Sambre et ¦ Meuse', 47 Leopold II, Emperor, 134 Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, 146- Lesse R., 24, 539 Leuchtenberg, Due de,145 Liane R., 29 LiberalParty, 156, 158,284 Liege : communications, 521-523, 525, 538, 540 history, 121 industry, 432, 433, 437, 439-446, 457, 458, 461, 465, 468, 473 language, 84, 98 population, 69, 253 social conditions, 256, 261, 263 Liege arrondissement, 66, 98, 357 Liege basin, 358, 359, 361, 410, 424, 425 Li6ge province : agriculture, 306, 307 mineral resources, 357, 409, 411, 412 population, 65 Liegeois - Limbourgeois railway, 526 Lienne R., 26 Lierre, 94 Lieser R., 51, 345 Lievin, 369 Ligne des Flandres rail way, 526 Ligny (Belgian), 410 Ligny (French), 503 Lille, 102, 436, 493, 494, 521-523 Lille arrondissement, 70 Lillers, 324 Limbourg, 89, 99 Limbourg province : language, 82, 95 mineral resources, 361, 412, 428, 439 population, 65 social conditions, 251 Lippe R., 539 Lippe basin, 381, 382 Loison R., 24 Lokeren, 450 Lommel, 45, 436 London, Convention of 1831, 146, 147 London, Treaty of, 1839, 181, 186, 199 London, Treaty of, 1867, 199 LonglaviUe, 403 Longwy, 436, 506, 524 Longwy basin, 403 Lontzen, 415, 435 Loos, 493 Lorraine plateau, 14, 17, 57, 71, 542 Lorraine, Belgian : see Arlon Lorraine, French, 330, 43 1 , 506 Lorraine, German, 80, 104, 373, 375, 401, 405 Lothair, 111 Lothair II, 111 Lotharingia, 111 Louis XI, 121 Louis XIV, 132, 170, 214, 215 Louis PhiUppe, 144, 146 Lourches, 498 Louvain, 90, 95, 306, 437, 439, 451, 522 ' Louvain arrondissement, 94,95 Louvain-'Dyle canal, 535, 537 Luigne, 92 Lunatic asylums, 270 LuneviUe, Treaty of, 222, 226 Luxembourg province : industry, 428, 430, 433, 439 language, 98, 99 mineral resources, 411, 412 population, 65 Luxembourg railway, 526 Luxemburg, Grand Duchy of : 56, 64, 119, 399, 433, 555, 556 Luxemburg (canton), 335- 339 Luxemburg (town) : in dustry, 436, 508, 521, 522, 524 Lys R., 20, 496, 535, 540 Lys valley, 37, 69 M Maas R. : see Meuse R. Maastricht, 436 Madrid, Treaty of, 170 Maeseyck, 90, 96 Maeseyck arrondissement, 96 Maeterlinck, 288 Maggesland, 45, 66, 67, 318 Maifeld plateau, 51, 346, 348 Mainville, 402 Mainz, Electorate of, 206 Mairy, 402 592 INDEX Maison Blanche mine, 436 Male, Louis de, 118 Malines : agriculture, 306 communications, 523, 538 industry, 437, 439, 451, 454 language, 90, 94 Malines arrondissement, 66,94 Malines-Terneuzen rail way, 525 Malmedy, 74, 80, 103 Manroy, 503 Marche arrondissement, 66, 99 Marchienne-au-Pont, 525 Marchiennes, 39, 499 Marcinelle, 423 Marcq R., 22 Marengo, battle'of, 226 Maretz, 503 Marfontaine, 329 Marie Adelheid, Grand Duchess of Luxemburg, 201 Market gardening, 306 Marlagne district, 47 Maron-Val-de-Fer mine, 400 Marquise, 500 Masnieres, 502 Maubach, 345, 418 Maubeuge, 499, 523 Maximilian, 122 Mayen, 75, 512 ,' May Laws ' of 1874, 237 Mazarin, 170, 210, 214 Mechernich, 413, 417, 418, 512- Mehaigne R., 25 Meix-le-Tige, 88, 89 Melantois, 32, 38, 325, 492 Melde R., 20 Membach, 85, 87, 99 Merovingian dynasty, 110 Meriville, 496 Mersch, 335-337 Messines - Wytschaete ridge, 35 Metz, 105, 334, 522, 523, 539, 542 Meurthe valley, 400 Meurthe-et-Moselle de partment, 338 Meuse R., 24, 26, communications, 535, 536, 538, 540-542 navigation, 538 Meuse river system, 23 Meuse valley : agriculture, 330 communications,522- 525 industry, 432, 435, 465, 505, 506 mineral resources, 357, 358, 386-388, 410, 416 population, 71 Meuse-Escaut canal, 540 Meuse-Rhine watershed, 536; 540. Mexico, trade with Bel gium, 446 Mezieres, 506 Mezieres arrondissement, 71 Mill, 387 Moeres 34 Moll, 540 Moll Nethe R., 23 Moncheaux, Mont de, 38 Mondrepuis, 504 Mons : communications, 523, 525 industry, 441, 458, 465, 466, 468 language, 84, 89, 97 Mons arrondissement, 66, 96, 357, 473 Mons-en-Pevele, 38 Mont des Cats, 35 Montjoie, 74, 103, 512 Montmedy arrondisse ment, 71 Mont Noir, 35 Montreuil, 324 Mont Ronge, 35 Mont-Tonnerre, Depart ment of, 227 Montzen, 85, 86, 99 Moresnet, 85, 86, 99, 244, 246, 415 435 Morialme, 411 Mormal forest, 327 Mortgages, 308, 309 Moselberge, 51, 347 Moselle R., 26, 27, 535, 536, 539, 542 Moselle valley : agriculture, 334, 338, 344, 345 communications, 523 geology, 18 industry, 436, 510, 512 mineral resources, 400, 401, 404 population, 72 Moselvoreifel, 75, 346, 347 Mouscron, 92, 451-454, 523 Moutiers, 401 Mulheim, 381 Miinchen-Gladbach, 512, 516 Munster, Treaty of, 130, 175 Murville, 402 Musson, 89, 407, 433 N Nahe valley, 344 Nam&ches, 411 Namur : communications,521- 523, 525, 526, 538 industry, 437, 442, 465 language, 89, 97 Namur arrondissement, 97, 357, 473 Namur basin, 425 Namur province : industry, 426, 433, 439 language, 97 mineral resources, 357, 409; 410, 412 population, 65 Boeial conditions, 251 Nancy, 334, 506, 522, 524 Nancy basin, 400 Napoleon, 138-140, 174, 225, 229 Napoleon III, 163, 189, 192 Nassau, House of, 180 Neerpelt, 436 Nemours, Due de, 145 Nethe R., 535 Nethe R., Grande, 22, 538 Nethe R., Petite, 23, 538 Nethe river system, 22 Nethe valley, 66, 464 Neuburg, Count Palatine of, 211 Neufchateau, 89, 522 Neufchateau arrondisse ment, 66, 99, 310 Neuf -fosse canal, 537, 540 Neuss, 516, 541 Neuwied plain, 513 Niedermendig, 431, 512 Niel, 82 Niers R., 26, 541 Nieuport, 467, 543, 545 Nil R., 22 Nimwegen, Treaty of, 171 Ninove, 90, 93 Nivelles arrondissement, 97,"_447 INDEX 593 Noigne R., 26 Nord basin, 368 Nord-Belge railway, 525 Nord Canal, 541 Nord departement, 365,522 ' Nordic ' race, 59 Norway ; trade with Bel gium, 433, 457, 472, 478, 557 Nouvion, 329, 504 Nouzon, 506 0 Oberhausen, 515 Oise R., 29, 536, 537, 540, 541 Oise valley, 504, 523 Oostmalle, 45 Opgrimby, 363 Oploo, 387 Opoeteren, 525 Orleans, House of, 121 Orme R., 22 Orne basin, 401 Orne R., 26, 53 Orne valley, 405, 436, 512 Orron, 93 Osling plateau, 73, 335, 346 Ostende : communications,521- 523, 543-545 history, 133 industry, 470 language, 81, 90 population, 77 Ostende arrondissement,91 Ostrevant district, 37, 38, 70, 328, 497 Othain R., 24 Otto I, 112 Ottweiler, 516 Ottweiler coal-beds, 374 Our R., 27 Ourthe R., 25, 26, 538 Ourthe valley, 411 Our valley, 345, 510 Overpelt, 95, 436 Palatinate, 206 Pan-Germanism, 167, 276, 283, 292, 294 pannes, 315 Paris, 523, 524, 542 Paris, Treaty of, 1814, 173, 199, 229 Paris, Treaty of, 1815, 174, 199, 229 Pas-de-Calais basin, 368 Pas-de-Calais departement, 324, 365 Peel marshes, 45 Pellenz valley, 51, 74, 75, 346, 348, 431 Penal settlements, 270 Pepin, 110 Pepinster, 451 Peronne, 523, 541 Pevele district, 37, 38, 328 Philip Augustus, 116 Philip the Bold, 119 Philip the Fair, 122 Philip IV, 117,208 Philip the Good, 119, 181, 208 Philip of Spain, 126 Philippeville, 85 Philippeville arrondisse ment, 97 Plaidt, 431, 512 Ploegsteert, 91 Pol de Mont, M., 293 polders, 34, 56, 312, 316 Polignac, 143, 242 Pont-a-Mousson, 524 Pont-a-Mousson basin, 370 Poor Relief, 269, 271 Poperinghe, 303, 317 Porcien district, 48, 71 portions menageres, 327 Portugal, trade with Bel gium, 457 Potzberg coal mines, 374 Poultry-farming, 321 Prayon, 436 Presle, 464 Proisy, 504 Prum Kreis, 74, 340 Prum R., 27 Prum valley, 347 Pyrenees, Treaty of the, 171 Quenast, 430 Quievy, 503 R Rachecourt, 88, 89 Rainfall, 55 Ramscapelle, 469 Rastadt, Treaty of, 132, 172 Reckem, 92 Reclus, Onesime, 286 Redange canton, 336, 337, 339 Reichensperger, 'Peter, 235 Reims, 522 Remerschen commune, 338 Remersdael, 98 Remich canton, 73, 335, 336, 337 Remscheid, 515 Renaix, 93, 451, 452 Renaix hills, 36 Rents, 258, 260, 262, 312 Revin, 506 Rhein voreifel, 51, 52, 75 346, 349, 419 Rhine R., 28, 535, 536, 539, 542 Rhine province, 73, 340, 344, 510, 514 Rhine valley, 46, 55, 56, 64, 74, 344, 345 Rhine-Moselle river sys tem, 26 Rhine and Moselle, de partment of, 227 Rhisnes, 410 Rhonelle R., 21 Richelieu, 130, 170, 210, 212 Rieux, 503 Rimogne, 506 Rivierette R., 25 Roer, department of, 227 Roermond, 523, 540 Roer R., 26 Roer valley, 345, 379, 388 Roggendorf, 418 Rogier, Charles, 280, 282, 286 Roisel, 503, 523 Roost-Warendin, 499 Rotterdam, 522, 523 Roubaix, 493, 495 Roulers, 77, 92, 453, 454 Roulers arrondissement,91 Rousseau, 135 Ruhrort, 381, 539, 542 Ruhr R., 539 Ruhr valley, 381 Rumania : trade with Belgium, 553, 554 Rumelange, 407 Rumelange-Dudelange minette field, 406 Rupel R., 464, 535, 538 Russeignies, 93 Russia : trade with Bel gium, 450, 451, 469, 478, 481, 551, 557 Ruysbroeck, 453 Ryswick, Treaty of, 172, 183, 215 Saarbrucken, 516, 542 Saarguemines, 539 Saarlouis, 516, 539 Saar R., 536, 539 Saar valley, 373, 405 Sadowa, battle of, 163 594 INDEX Sainghin, 326 St. Amand, 39, 499 St. Aubert, Mont, 37 St. Ghislain, 465 Saint-Hilaire-l&s-Cam- brai, 502 St. Ingbert, 374 St. Medard, 430 Saint-Michel, 504 St. Nicolas, 77, 93, 451- 453, 525 St. Nicolas arrondisse ment, 93 St. Nicolas - Termonde railway, 526 St. Omer, 324, 522, 523, 540 St. Omer plain, 37 Saint-Pierremont, 402 St. Pol, 71, 324, 523 St. Quentin, 503, 523, 537, 542 St. Quentin canal, 537, 540, 541 St. Vith, 103 Saintes, 95 Salm R. (Belgian), 26 Salm R. (German), 51 Salm valley, 345 Salmwald, 50 Sambre R., 25, 536, 538 Sambre valley : communications, 523, 525 industry, 432, 435, 443, 456, 465 mineral resources, 357, 358 Sambre-Meuse valley, 24 Sambre-Oise canal, 538, 540, 541 Samme R., 22 Sardinia, trade with Bel gium, 457 Sarre, department of, 227 Sauer R., 27, 51 Sauer valley, 73, 338, 345, 347 Sauerland, 13 Saventhem, 470 Scandinavian race, 59 Scarpe valley, 498 Scheldt R. : communications, 524, 535 navigation, 127, 130, 136, 145-147, 175, 178, 537 Scheldt, river system, 19, 23 Schiefergebirge, 13, 15, 18, 413 Schinnen, 387 Schmalgraf, 435 Schneifel, 50, 74, 346 Schools, 264, 266, 267, 343 Schwarzer Mann, 50 Sclaigneaux, 435 Sclessin, 451 Sedan, 524, 538, 540, 542 Sedan arrondissement, 71 Seine basin, 542 Selange, 88 Selle R., 21 Semois R., 24, 539 Semois valley, 303, 322, 506 Senne R., 22 Senne valley, 428, 477 SennetteR.,22 Sensee R., 21 Seraing, 98, 359, 448 Seventeen provinces, 123, 125 Seven Years' War, 216 's Hertogenbosch, 540 Siberia : trade with France, 326 Sicily : trade with Bel gium, 462 Sierck, 539 Sille R., 22 Sion, hill of, 400 Sirault 465 Sittard, 387, 388 Slesvig-Holstein question, 189 Socialism, 157, 160-162 Societe nationale des Che mins de Fer vicinaux, 530 Soignies, 430 Soignies arrondissement, 96 Soissons, 540 Solesmes, 502 Solvay, M. Ernest, 459 Somain, 498 Somme R., 29, 536, 539, 541 Somme valley, 523 South Africa : trade with Belgium, 481 Spa, 85, 89, 99 Spa-Luxemburg railway, 526 Spain : trade with Belgium, 433, 457, 462, 555 trade with Germany, 406 Spittel, 375 Stalle, 452 Stanley, Lord (1867), 193 Starbroeck, 45 Stassfurth, 461 ^Stavelot, 85, 89, 99 'Sterrebeck, 451 Stolberg district, 416 Strassburg, 522 Strouanne, 370 Sure R., 27 Sweden : trade with Belgium, 457, 472, 478, 557 trade with Germany, 406 Switzerland : trade with Belgium, 305, 448, 552 T Talleyrand, 144, 230 Tamines, 97 Tamise, 453, 525 Tanzberg, 418 Taunus, 13 Taviers - Embresin rail. way, 526 Termonde, 90, 93, 452, 537 Termonde arrondissement, 93 Terneuzen, 524, 525 Terneuzen canal, 540 Tertre, 465 Teuven, 98 Therouanne, 324 Theux, 360, 411 Thiant, 498 Thielt, 92, 453 Thielt arrondissement, 92 Thiepval, 523 Thierache district, 48, 70, 329, 330, 504, 522 Thile R., 22 Thirty Years' War, 207, 212 Thourout, 454, 470 Thuin arrondissement, 97 Tilleur, 359 Tintange, 88, 99 Tirlemont, 95, 437, 439, 442, 526 Tongres, 96 Tongrinne, 410 Tourcoing, 493-495 Tournai, 96, 437, 439 Tournai arrondisse mc n £,96 Tournai-Jurbise railway, 526 Tournaisis district, 38, 42 Train R., 22 Treaty of June 30, 1816, 232 Treaty of September 3, 1866, 232 Trier, 340, 341, 516, 523, 539 Trier, Electorate of, 205 Trith-St. L6ger, 498 Trond, 96 Tubize, 470 Tucquegnieux, 402 Tucquegnieux basin, 401, 402 Turkey : trade with Bel gium, 476, 481 Turnhout, 45, 94, 437, 453, 466 Turnhout arrondissement, 94 Turnhout canal, 540 Twelve Years' Truce, 129, 175 Twenty-four Articles, 147, 177, 180, 186 U U. K. : trade with Bel gium, 304, 441, 442. 472, 481, 551-585 U. S. A. : trade with Bel gium, 306, 445, 458,471, 481, 551, 552, 556-558 United States of Belgium, 134 Urft R., 26 Uss R., 51 Utrecht, Treaty of, 132 172, 173 Vadencourt, 540, 541 Valenciennes, 498, 522- 524 Valenciennes arrondisse ment, 70 Valenciennes coalfield, 367 Valleroy, 401 Valmy, battle of, 221 Van Rijswijk, John, 281 Varengeville, 459 Vedrin, 411, 435 Venlo, 379, 541, 542 Verdun, 522 Verdun arrondissement, 71 Verdun.Treaty of, 111 Vergennes, 216 Verlaine, 410 Verlooi, 272 Vermandois district, 48, 501, 503 Verviers : language, 85, 89, 98, 99 industry, 437, 441, 451, 452, 465 INDEX Verviers arrondissement, 85, 98 Vervins, Treaty of, 129 Vervins arrondissement, 504 Vesdre R., 25 Vesdre valley, 451, 452 Vianden, 336, 337, 339, 509 Vicht valley, 416 Vidaigne, Mont, 35 Vieil-Salm, 430 Vieille Montagne, 415 Vieille Montagne Com pany, 416, 436, 462 Vienna, Act of, 1815, 179, 184, 200, 230, 231, 244 Vienna, Treaty of, 1738, 216 Viesly, 503 Villers-en-Cauchies, 502 ViUers-Guislain, 503 Villers-Outreaux, 503 Villerupt, 403 Viroin R., 24 Virton, 89 Virton arrondissement, 99 Vise, 522 Viticulture, 332, 334, 335, 338, 340, 344 Vlimmeren, 363 Vonckist party, 135 Vorgebirge, 46 Voulpaix, 504 Vouziers, 540 W Waes district, 45, 67, 318 Walcheren, Island of, 139 Walincourt, 503 Wallenstein, 213 Wallental, 418 Walloon language, 64 Walloon provinces, birth rate and death-rate, 76, 77 Walloons, 59, 62 Wandignies-Hamage, 499 War of the Austrian Suc cession, 133, 135, 173, 216 War of the Polish Succes sion, 215 Warche R., 26 Waremme arrondissement, 98 Warmifontaine, 430 Warneton, 91 Watteringues, 33 Weisserstein, 49, 50 Welkenraedt, 85, 86, 99, 414, 436 595 Wellenstein, 338 Wellington, 174 Wenceslas of Luxemburg, 116 Weppes, Pays de, 37, 327, 492 Wervicq, 496 Wesel, 516 Westerwald, 13, 57 Westerwald - Sauerland massif, 542 West Flanders Railway Co., 526 West Indies : trade with Belgium, 458 Westphalia, 405, 542 Westphalia, Peace of, 214 Wielspiitz, 418 Willebroeck, 437, 439 Willems, John Francis, 276, 280 William, Grand Duke of Luxemburg, 201 William I (of Germany), 242 William I (of the Nether lands), 141, 184, 186 William III (of the Nether lands), 187 William of Orange, 127, 132 William the Silent, 128 Wiltz, 73, 336, 337, 339, 510 Wimpe R., 23 Wittelsbachs, 119 Witten basin, 382 WittUch, 75 Wittlich depression, 51, 74, 347 Woevre plateau, 54, 331, 332 Woltz R, 27 Woluwe-St. Etienne, 454 Wormeldingen, 338 Wupper basin, 513 Wurm valley, 379 X Xanten, Treaty of, 212 Y Ypres, 90, 91, 115 Ypres arrondissement, 91 Ypres canal, 537, 540 Yser R., 28, 535, 537, 540 Zandvoorde, 91 Zeebrugge, 543, 544, 546 Zetrud-Lumav, 95