The Bessemer indicator., 1893-04-22
BELGIUM woRkMEh WIN,
The Chamber OF Dsputiss Feels the
Pressure and GrsnSs Universal
QuHrn~~

I
The lnboring classes of Belgium have won
their point and the Chamber of Deputies on
the 18th passed the bill granting universal
manhood suffrage.
! To enforce this demand the workingmen'
I unions have caused the men to strike during
the last few weeks and very few men remain.
at work while large bodies met, parsded,
threw stones, exploded dynamite, and sue
ceeded in making the middle and upper
classes very nervous, 1t WAS feared that an
other French revolution would be brough,
about, and tho Chamber of Deputies found
Itself unable 10 resist the pressure.
In the Chamber of Deputies on the 18th NJ.
Bernaert, the premier, congratulated the gen
darmes and the civic guards on their success
In coping with disorder. The government
would guarantee, VI. Bernaert declared, tC
maintain order The premier intlmated that
the report on the proposals for the revision OF
the constitution would be debated W edncsday
NJ. Demon at once arose and proposed thai
the chamber should not walt until Wednes-
day, but should suspend its sitting in order
that the reports should be made ready for
| immediate presentation and then assemble
/ again ut once In order 10 discuss the reports.
To this proposition the chamber agreed.
| The agreement appeared TO be FASTENED By
[ the presence OF an enormous throng Of peo-
pie, who crowded the precincts Of the cham
Der, evidently very much excited on the sub
ieet of universal suffrage and resolute that
there should be no delay in considering that
subject. The approaches to the chamber
were strongly guarded TO prevent violence
from being done to obnoxious members.
The Chamber OF Deputies reassenIbled after
the reports OF the revision of the constitution
and by a vote OF ll9 to Il, with fourteen alb
stentlons from voting, adopted universal SUI
!rage, with provision for the the plural yot-
ing by the classes owning property, according
to the amount and situation of the property.
Cheers within the chamber we're followed
by prodglous acclRmations from the enormous
crowd that awaited the result of the voting
outside the chamber. The greatest enthu-
siasm was displayed everywhere and the peo-
pie Joined in jubilee in honor OF the great
triumph which they had achieved 1t Is ex-
pected that the decision In favor of universal
suffrage will have an allaying effect upon the
popular excitement and the agitation, which
had been rapidly assuming the dimensions OF
general insurrection.
In view Of the action OF the deputies, the
labor leaders resolved to advise the abandon
nient OF the general strike. At the same time
they decided to Issue to the people manites-
to against the Nysscn bill, which proposes the
combination OF plural voting and universal
suffrage The leaders OF the bill urge the
people to follow up their victory by agitatlng
increasingly for universal suffrage pure aud
simple.
The night was passed far more quietly than
the authorities expected but nevertheless the
outlook Is stlll threatening. Dispatches from
all parts of the kingdom Inhabited by the
working people bring dsquietlng news
Disturbances occurred In several places dur
ing the night, but there was no concerted at
tempt TO rebel against the king. The move
ment Is directed entirely against the chambe
OF deputies and the ministers who oppose the
workinsmen's demands for the right TO vote
when they reach legal age, without any prop
erty qualification whatsoever. The king, 1t
is known. is in favor OF = wide extension OF
the suffrage. and the crowds Of excited work
ingmen who are now demanding what they
believe to be their right have nothing against
him personally Impartial observers OF the
situation readily find sympathy with the
strikers. Belgium IS, with the exception of
Russia, perhaps, the only country where
there Is absolutely no Law protecting the
workingman from the rapaclty and greed OF
his employer
The Belgian worlilngmen have seen within
the past ten years their brethren in other
countries placed under the protection of
special law. enacted for their benefit, and
have seen employers held toa strict liability
when these laws were violated The Belgians
have had nothing, and the bourgeolsc class,
which rules the country, evidently intend
that they shall have nothing II they can pre-
vent, Hence, in their desire to assert their
manhood and secure their rights, the specta-
Gle presents Itself Of a gigantic strike to Oh
t9ln tho right to elect representatives among
the lawmakers, We're the strikers armed
and disciplined, there Is no question that the
Industrial revolution now shaking the coun-
try would quickly become bloody contest.