Taxes per head of population in 1913 = £2 5s. 8d.

The National Debt in 1915 was 1,140,272,000 fl. = £95,022,666; the annual interest in in 1915 was 38,568,000 fl. = £3,214,000. Between 1850 and 1914 375,430,000 fl. have been devoted to the reduction of the debt, and the Sinking Fund in 1915 was 6,346,000 fl. There is no general income-tax in Holland. There is a tax on capital and a tax on professional incomes. Capital is held to give a profit of 4 per cent., and on this the tax is charged. There is, for instance, no income-tax on the earnings of agriculture. The value of the land is assessed as capital, and the income is supposed to be 4 per cent. on this capital value, and the tax on this is divided in a certain proportion between the owner and the occupier.

Direct taxation (personeele belasting) is based on the rental value of house lived in-the number of fireplaces, the furniture, servants, horses, carriages, motor-cars, &c., being taken into account. Another peculiarity of Dutch taxation is that in respect of this item (personeele belasting) the towns are divided into nine different classes, with varying rates.

There is no poor rate in Holland. The relief of the poor is entirely carried on by private charity, mostly administered by religious associations. The State does not interfere. If private charity be not forthcoming, an indigent person must be supported by the commune

in which he lives.

Such cases are rare. tramping are punishable as crimes.

(4) PUBLIC EDUCATION

(i) Primary Schools

Begging and

The subject of religious teaching in primary schools was for many years the cause of political struggles in the constituencies and in the States-General. The law of 1878, which is still in force, separated the teaching of religion in the official State primary schools from the secular teaching; in other words, they were made

neutral" schools. This led to the coalition of the Orthodox Calvinists with the Roman Catholics; and by their efforts Baron Mackay effected a revision of this law in 1889.1 By this Mackay law private schools supported by a recognised religious body have the same title to a subvention from the State as the official "neutral" schools. But all schools alike are subject to Government and also to communal inspection, and all teachers must qualify for their profession by obtaining certain certificates through examination. It was not till 1900 that attendance was made compulsory from the age of six to that of thirteen.

(ii) Intermediate Instruction

Between primary education and the higher education of the "gymnasia and the universities comes the middelbaar onderwijs, i.e., intermediate instruction. This is represented by burgher night-schools" and "higher burgher schools." The first-named are intended for those engaged in industrial or agricultural work; a small fee is payable, and the course extends from two to four years. In the higher burgher schools the instruction is largely technical, and has special reference to local industries. These schools are supported partly by the communes in which

1 See ante, p. 62.

they are situated, partly by the State.

Scholars can

enter at twelve years of age, and the courses last from three to five years. An entrance examination must be passed, and every teacher must possess university diplomas The subjects taught are those of the "modern side" of an English public school, but much stress is laid upon the study of languages, the vier talen, French, English, German, and Dutch, being a necessary part of the curriculum. The The expense is very moderate, varying according to the number of courses taken, but not, in any case, exceeding 200 fl. per annum.

In connection with the middelbaar onderwijs must be mentioned the School of Agriculture, Horticulture, and Forestry at Wageningen, in Gelderland, with courses of two to four years, and the branch establishments which have been recently started at Groningen and Deventer, the first for scientific agricultural training for the home country, the second as a school of special preparation for colonial life. The fees are

very moderate.

(iii) Gymnasia

These are intended
Pupils cannot

Above these are the gymnasia. as preparatory to the universities. enter before the age of twelve, and the course lasts six years. In addition to modern languages, the study of Latin and Greek is compulsory, and Hebrew may be added. At the end of the fifth year the pupils are divided into two classes: (1) students of theology, letters, philosophy, and law; (2) students of the mathematical sciences, of physics, chemistry, and medicine.

A gymnasium is to be found in every large town, and is supported by the municipality with a grant from the State. In the gymnasia and burgher schools girls are admitted as students, and have access to special courses and classes additional to the usual curriculum.

(iv) Universities

There are universities at Leyden, Utrecht, Groningen, and Amsterdam. The first three are known as

State universities, and were founded respectively in 1575, 1624, and 1636. In 1877 the city of Amsterdam transformed its Athenæum into a municipal university.

The universities are alike in constitution and methods, the subjects to be taught and the examinations to be held in the various faculties being laid down by statute. Instruction of the most thorough and upto-date character is given by professors, who are mostly men distinguished for their learning and attainments. The system is non-residential, and there is no pretence of discipline of any kind. The student can attend any or all of the courses of lectures by paying the small fees, but he need not attend any. No student can obtain the degree of "doctor," however, unless he has first passed the final examination at a gymnasium and obtained a certificate from a State jury composed of professors of faculties. The course is a long one, varying from four to six years. A "doctorate" in law may be obtained in four years, a "doctorate" in medicine rarely under seven or eight years. The possession of this degree is necessary for magistrates, advocates, physicians, and for teachers' posts in the gymnasia and higher burgher schools.

III.

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

(i) Period from 1814 to 1839

Holland, when the country regained its independence in 1814, was burdened with a very heavy debt. During the half-century before the French conquest the United Provinces, by maladministration, longcontinued civil discord, and the war with England, had been continually adding to an indebtedness which already in 1747-8 was threatening the Republic with bankruptcy. Such was the financial condition of the country that Napoleon in 1810 had decreed the suppression of two-thirds of the debt. William I on his accession considered it a point of honour not to repudiate the national liabilities. He was an able financier. He divided the total obligations, amounting to two milliards of florins, into two categories 800 million florins of active, 1,200 million florins of deferred debt. This deferred portion was to be converted gradually into active stock by a series of annual drawings. The Dutch Budget of 1814 showed a deficit of 16 million florins, that of 1815 (after Waterloo) of 40 million florins. One of the objections raised by the Belgians to the VIII Articles accepted by the Allied Sovereigns in the Protocol of June 21, 1814, as the basis of union between Holland and Belgium, was that by Article VI the latter country, whose debt only amounted to 32 million florins, had to bear half the joint liabilities' of the newly created kingdom of the Netherlands. Its unfairness was, however, to a considerable degree com

1About 1,800 million florins.