The charters of medieval provinces formed the basis of the Belgian
Constitution, which, with the exception of the Dutch, is the most
ancient written constitution still in force on the Continent.
The makers of this most excellently devised code of fundamental
laws decreed that as an independent state Belgium should be a
constitutional, representative and hereditary Government, and
that a King should rule, supported by a Senate and a Chamber of
Representatives elected by the people. The ministries of War; Interior;
Finance; Foreign Affairs, Science and Art; Justice; Agriculture and
Public Works; Railways; Marine, Posts and Telegraphs; Industry and
Labor; Colonies are appointed to act for the King in relation to his
subjects. Though a majority of the seven and a half millions of people
adhere to the Roman Catholic Church, there is no State religion. The
chief political parties are the Catholic, the Liberal, the Socialist,
and the Catholic-Democrat.
Originally, only those men of the monarchy that owned a certain amount
of property had the vote. Since 1894, every male citizen twenty-five
years of age has been permitted to vote if he has lived at least a
year in the same commune. As a result, the number of the enfranchised
has increased ten-fold. By the “plural-voting system,” extra votes are
allowed to heads of families, to tax-payers who receive a stipulated
sum from Belgian sources, and to certain men of learning. The limit of
votes that can be cast by one man is three. The clergy, professional
men and peasant landowners have a voting advantage over the laboring
class, many of whose members belong to the Socialist Party.
The political affiliations of the Belgian people very intimately affect
their daily lives. As an English writer observes, “Politics enter into
almost every phase of social activity and philanthropic effort. Thus
in one town there will be a Catholic, a Liberal, and a Socialist trade
union, a Catholic, a Liberal, and a Socialist co-operative bakery, a
Catholic, a Liberal, and a Socialist thrift society, each catering for
similar people, but each confining its attention to members of its own
political party. The separation extends to cafés, gymnasiums, choral,
temperance and literary societies; indeed it cuts right through life.
It often happens that one of the parties in a particular town is not
strong enough to maintain an organization. In such cases its members
must dispense with its benefits or leave their party in order to enjoy
them elsewhere.” In a village near Bruges the writer knew an adherent
of the Liberal Party who for days suffered grave need of a physician
because the only one of his own political leanings was absent from town
on a vacation. A Socialist blacksmith has only Socialist horses to
shoe; the flour of a Catholic miller is baked only in ovens owned by a
Catholic.
When the French ruled Belgium, before the Fall of the Empire, early in
the nineteenth century, they introduced the Napoleonic Code--a system
of laws partially observed in the kingdom today. The _Codes Belges_
also comprise sundry ancient laws of the original nine provinces.
The Court of Cassation, the highest court in the land, has but one
judge. It is his duty to examine every judgment passed by lower courts,
and to determine whether or not it shall be annulled. The Courts of
Appeal are three, and their judges are appointed by the King for life.
Civil suits are commenced in the Courts of First Instance, which are
supplemented by Tribunals of Commerce, held in Antwerp, Ghent, and
other cities, to decide disputes that arise between persons having
business relations. The equivalent of the Anglo-Saxon Criminal and
Police Courts are the courts of Assizes and Justice of the Peace.
Trial by a jury of twelve men is required by law. Capital punishment
is provided for those found guilty of murder, but, though sentenced
formally to death, the prisoner is actually consigned to live out his
span of years in solitary confinement in the great prison at Louvain.
The kingdom of Belgium is divided into nine provinces--Antwerp,
Brabant, West Flanders, East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège, Limburg, Namur,
and Luxemburg (not to be confused with the adjoining political state of
the same name). Each province is subdivided into cantons and communes,
presided over by a governor nominated by the King.
The children of Belgian subjects are educated at the expense of the
State, unless their parents are able to pay a modest fee. The Minister
of Instruction regularly receives reports from inspectors who make
a tour of all the schools in each province, and, in the grammar
schools, the Government has the right to name the teaching staff.
State universities are maintained at Ghent and Liège; at Brussels and
Louvain there are institutions that afford free instruction in advanced
subjects and in law and medicine. There are also many schools that are
maintained by the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. As a result of
compulsory education laws, about ninety per cent. of the population are
able to read and write.
WRITTEN FOR THE MENTOR BY RUTH KEDZIE WOOD
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR. VOL. 8, No. 3, SERIAL No. 199
COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION. INC.
[Illustration: FROM A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BEFORE THE BOMBARDMENT OF AUGUST
1914