36
BELGIUM.
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Infantry Cavalry. Artillery Engineers and train
Total, without officers
Men
Horses
Guns
74,000
7,903
14,513
2,::.">i
6,572
4,050
152
98,770
10,622
152
The actual number of soldiers under arms, on the let of June, 1869, amounted to 37,391 rank and file, comprising 24,409 infantry, 5,114 cavalry, 6,331 artillery, 667 engineers, and 570 train.
Besides the standing army, there is a Civic Militia — Garde Nationale — organised, under laws dated May 1848, and July 13, 1853, to maintain liberty and order in times of peace, and to defend the independence of the country in time of war. The Civic Militia, numbering 125,000 men without, and 400,000 men with the reserve, is composed of all citizens between 21 and 40, able to bear arms; but is in active service only in towns having more than 10,000 inhabi- tants, and in fortresses. The men elect their own officers, up to the rank of colonel. In time of peace, the Civic Militia is under the direction of the ministry of the interior ; but in time of war under that of the ministry of war, and subject to military discipline. — (Re- port of the Royal government to the Statesman's Year-book.)
Area and Population.
Belgium has an area of 536^ geographical square miles, or 11,267 English square miles. The kingdom is divided into nine provinces, the area and population of which were as follows in the two official enumerations, of Dec. 31, 1856, and Dec. 31, 1866 : —
Provinces
Area
Population
1856
1866
Geo. Sq. Miles
Antwerp
51-582
434,485
474,145
Brabant
59-800
748,840
820,179
™ , fWest Flanders | ^
58923
624,912
639,709
54-645
776,960
801,872
Hainault
67-794
769,065
847,775
Liege .
52-714
503,662
556,666
Limburg
43-943
191,708
199,856
Luxemburg .
80-469
193,753
196,173
Namur
66-673
286,175
302,719
r
536543
1
Total . <
Eng. Sq. Mile 11,267
[ 4,529,560
4,839,094
It will be seen that Belgium had, at the end of 1866, a population