The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-07-06
ECHOES OF | GREAT BATTLE.
CATHOLICS VICTORIOUS IN BEL
GIAN ELECTIONS S-PoLITIcAL'
SYSTEM AND PARTlES-WHAT
THE VICTORY MEANS.
(Written for The Catholic RulIetin.)

gium on June 2, to renew the legisla-
tive bodies of that country. Owing
to the fact that both the Chamber
and the Senate had been dissolved
the election was of more than usual
interest as it included the whole
country. Beyond the fact that the
Catholic Party carried the day and
increased it's majority in the chamber
from six to sixteen, little has been
said thus far to give our people an
insight into the conditions under
which this greatest of all electoral
contests since 1881 was fought in
Belgium. A brief account of the polit-1
ical situation in Belgium may not
be uninteresting.
The Constitution and Its Provisions.
Belgium became an independent
nation in 1881. AS soon as it sue
ceeded in casting off the domination
of Holland it set about framing con-
stitution to safeguard it's freedom.
This Constitution vests the legislative
powers in the King, the House of
Representatives, and the Senate. 1t
allows one representative for every
10000 of the population, and one
senator for every $4,000. A general
election for the House of Representa-
tives must take place every four
years, and for the Senate every eight
years. Half the Representatives are
to be elected every two years after
a general election, and half the Sena-
tors every four Years. The present
electoral system embodies three great
principles: Universal Suffrage, Plural
Suffrage, and Proportional Represen-
tation.
Universal Suffrage is provided for
in the law which reads: "One vote
for every Belgium on reaching the
age of twenty-five years who has re-
sided for period of one year in the
same commune.
Plural Suffrage grants an extra
vote for every elector on reaching
the age of thirty-fve who is married,
or who, if widower, has legitimate
descendants, provided he pays di-
rect tax of five francs Zone dollar), or
shows that he is exempt therefrom.
Two extra votes are allowed to every
elector who owns real estate produc-
ing a minimum revenue of forty-eight
francs (about ten dollars), or who
shows that he derives the sum of
one hundred francs (twenty dollars)
yearly from investment in State
stocks or Saving Banks. If he he
cannot qualify under this head, he
can, nevertheless, cast two extra votes
if he holds diploma attesting higher
education. The maximum number
of votes for every elector is three.
To insure Proportional Representa-
ton Belgium is divided into fixed
number of electoral districts each
one of which has the number of it's
representatives apportioned to the
total strength of each party in it. By
this system the smallest minority is
certain of at least one seat.
Under the provisions of the origin
al Constitution of 1881 the number
of voters was extremely limited.
When Universal Suffrage was granted
in 1893, they numbered only 10000
in a population of six and half mil
lions. The franchise of that year in
creased their number to 1854, 1871,
and Plural Suffrage brought the num-
Der of votes up to about two millions.
Three Political Parties.
The political chart of Belgium
would not be complete did we omit
mention of the fact that there are
three big political parties in the arena,
namely, the Catholic Party, the Liber-
al Party and the Socialist Party. The
Christian Democrats may be said to
be the left wing of the Catholic Party.
To understand the Belgium politi-
cal situation it must also be remem-
bered that, in addition to the Sena-
tors spoken of above, there is yet
another class of Senators, called Pro-
vincial Senators, who are delegated
by the different provincial councils
of the Provinces into which Belgium
is divided Their number depends
on the population; and at present
there are twenty-seven of them.
1t may be remarked, in passing,
that the whole of Belgium's elector-
al legislation is the outcome of long
years of struggle between the differ
ent parties during which the Catho-
lie Party always stood for progress
and the true spirit of Belgian nation
ality. Universal and Plural Suffrage
were granted in 1898; and Proper
tional Representation became the Law
in 1899.
Before June 2, 1912, the Catholic
Party had majority of six in the
Chamber and of sixteen in the Sen
ate. After the election its majority
in the former rose to sixteen, and in
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