Mines.— The mineral riches of Belgium are great and, after agriculture, form the most important of her national interests. They. are almost entirely confined to the four provinces of Hainaut, Liege, Namur and Luxemburg, and consist of lead, manganese, calamine or zinc, iron and coal. The lead is wrought to some extent at Vedrin, in Liege; but the quantity obtained forms only a small part of the actual consumption. Manganese, well lcnown for its important bleaching properties, is obtained both in Liege and Namur. The principal field of calamine is at Liege, where it is worked to an extent which not only supplies the home de mand, but leaves a large surplus for export. All these minerals, however, are insignificant compared with those of iron and coal. The former has its seat in the country between the Sambre and the Meuse and also in the province of Liege. The largest quantity of ore is mined in that of Namur. The coal field, already de scribed, has an area of above 500 square miles. The export is about 5,000,000 tons, forming one of the largest and most valuable of all the Belgian exports. Nearly the whole of the coal thus exported is taken by France. There cannot be a doubt that this export adds largely to the national wealth; but a question has been raised as to the policy of thus lavishly dis posing of a raw material which is absolutely essential to the existence of a manufacturing community, and the quantity of which, though great, is by no means inexhaustible. One ob vious effect of the great foreign demand is to raise the price and thus place some of the most important manufacturing interests of the coun try in an unfavorable position for competing successfully with so formidable a rival as Great Britain. Besides minerals, properly so called. Belgium is abundantly supplied with building stone, pavement, limestone, roofing slate and marble. Of the last, the black marble of Dinant is the most celebrated.
Manufactures.— The industrial products of Belgium are very numerous and the superiority of many of them to those of most other coun tries is confessed. The fine linens of Flanders and lace of Brabant are of European reputa tion. Scarcely less celebrated are the carpets and porcelain of Tournay, the cloth of Ver viers, the extensive foundries, machine works and other iron and steel establishments of Liege. Seraing and other places. The cotton and woolen manufactures, confined chiefly to Flan ders and the province of Antwerp, have ad vanced greatly. Other manufactures include sillcs, glass and glassware, hosiery, paper, beet sugar, beer. There were 17 pig-iron worlcs operation in 1912; 39 iron maimfactories; 29 steel works; besides 89 sugar factories; 21 re fineries and 125 distilleries. There were also over 600 fishing vessels.
Trade and Commerce.— The geographical position, the admirable facilities of transport and the indefatigable industry of the inhabitants early combined to place Belgium at the very head of the trading countries of Europe. The gradual rise of competitors still more highly favored has deprived her of this pre-eminence, and with the limited extent of her seacoast it is not to be expected that she can ever take high rank as a naval state; but her trade is still of great importance and within recent years has made a rapid advance. Her coal and iron and
the numerous products of her manufactures furnish in themselves the materials of exten sive traffic; while the possession of one of the best harbors in the world (Antwerp), situated on a magnificent river, which directly, or by canals, stretches its arms into every part of the kingdom, and now made accessible by a system of railways with every kingdom of central Europe, naturally renders Belgium the seat of a transit trade even more important than that which it monopolized during the Middle Ages. This she owes chiefly to the admirable system of railway communication which, in the exer cise of an enlightened policy, was early estab lished throughout the kingdom. This system has its centre at Malines, from which a line proceeds north to Antwerp; another west to Ostend; another southwest through Mons and on to the Northern Railroad of France, which communicates directly with Paris, and another southeast to Liege, and on into Prussia, where it first communicates with the Rhine at Co logne, and thence by that river and by rail gains access both east and south to all the countries of central Europe. In addition to these great trunks, one important branch con nects Liege with Namur and Mons; and an other from Antwerp, after crossing the west trunk at Ghent, passes Courtrai, and proceeds directly toward Lille. The ramification is thus complete; and there is not a town in Belgium of any importance which may not now, with the utmost facility, convey the products of its industry by the safest and speediest of all means of transport. The railways have a length of 5,401 miles, of which 2,708 are state owned; private lines, 190 miles, and 2,503 miles of light railways. In 1911 the navigable rivers and canals had a total length of 1,238 miles.
The value of the general commerce in 1913 was $1,632,090,000, of which sum $916,725,000 represented imports and $715,365,000 exports.
Germany, France and Great Britain respec tively were Belgium's best customers.
The articles of import for home consump tion include grain and flour, raw cotton, wool, hides, coffee, tobacco, chemicals, oil-seeds, yarn, timber, petroleum, etc. The exports are principally coal, yarn (chiefly linen and wool en), cereals, machinery, flax, woolens and cot tons, chemicals, steel and iron, glass and glass ware, sugar (raw and refined), zinc, manure, eggs, etc. The trade with Great Britain has grown considerably of late years, the chief ex ports being silks, woolen yarn, cottons, flax, glass, eggs; the chief imports cottons, woolens, raw cotton, metals and machinery. The exter nal trade is chiefly carried on by means of for eign (British) vessels and the great bulk of the shipping enters and clears from the port of Antwerp. The total burden of the Belgian mercantile marine is over 180,000 tons. Im portant results are expected from the Associa tion an international asso ciation of Belgian and Dutch manufacturers and business men founded in 1903 to effect a closer commercial union between the two coun tries. The trade with the United States is im portant, Belgium being classed as fifth in the value of its imports from this country and sev enth in the exports it sends hither.