The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-04-20

Belgium. which has Just been rescued
from revolution b. the concession Of uni
versal suffrage. has IN area Of but ll,s73
square miles, and . population Of about
100000. Its. Ike Switzerland. . small
country with . guaranteed neutrality,
which leaves It at liberty to cul-
tivats the arts Of peace. 1t was
not always 20, for from the twelfth
century to Waterloo Belgium was the bat
tisground OF Europe, where England, Ger.
many, Austria, France and Spain shed
their blood like water. Belgium was coded
TO the French republic by Austria
In l79i and shared the fortunes Of
France until the downfall Of Napoleon in
1914 and 70 this day the civil and crimi-
nal codes. the machinery of civil admins
tsation and the arrangements and pro-
csdure Of judicial tribunals are essentially
those introduced from France in the Ma
poleonic period. To Belgium tho French
revolution Of 1859 was q blessing. for.
while she had no taste Of the reign of
terror. the benedcent and Just principles
Of the new gospel Of constitutional free
dom had FREQ course and acceptance
there. BY tho treaty OF Paris of
1914 and the congress Of Vienna of 1915
Belgium was united with Holland to form
the kingdom of the Netherlands. The
Belgians talked French and disliked Dutch
~ the official tongue. Holland was Prot
essant and Belgium was intensely Catho-
lie. A revolution broke out at Brussels
August Is. isS0. which ended in the indie.
pendence Of Belgium and the election of
Prince Leopold of SAKE Coburg Go,hs
(uncle:of Queen Victoria). A. king in July,
isSL His son, Leopold. born in 1885. is
tho present monarch, succeeding his
father in 1854 The trainers Of the Belgian
constitution of 1880 declared for the SOW
eresgn,y Of the people and made the new
government hereditary cons,itu-
tional monarchy with ministerial re-
sponsibility. Under this constitu.
tion. which has kept its place with
out change. until the recent outbreak.
Belgium enjoyed for moro than sixty
years greater freedom of worship, Of In.
struetion. of the press and theater, of
assembly and association, of petition, of
language. together with individual right Of
perfect equality before the law and in
volatility OF domicils and property. than
any one Of the larger powers Of continental
Europe has yet attained. Both houses are
elective. and the suffrage has hitherto been
limited By only . ANAL tsx-paying aualifi.
cation, which II suspended In favor Of mem.
bsrs Of the liberal professions. and In favor
Of thoss Who pass . successful electoral ex.
animation. The small tAxpaying aaalif-
cations were SUFFICIENT, however, to limit
greatly the suffrage. 20 that out of q popu-
!ssion OF 60oo 600 there we're only about
lDooo people qualified TO vote. or one
thirteenth Of the whole population.
Without this extremely limited suffrage
liberalism in Belgium would be showed
under BY the Catholic Conservative party,
for In Belgium. A. in Italy. Austria
and France, the vast najorisy OF the work
ing classes are Catholics. And yet IL 10
this Catholic Conservative party that has
always resissed universal suffrage in Bel
eiam. while the Liberals have favored il,
although knowing that the enlarged
suffrage meant an enormous and
cverrowersng increase in the CAtho-
lie vote. The Catholic Conservative
party have opposed universal suffrage
% political grounds. being anti-sspus-