Images de page
PDF
ePub

752

DEMURRAGE

DENBIGHSHIRE

EREBNY
ROMA

Denarius of the earliest kind, actual size;
weight, 60.6 grains.

period about 74d. From denarius come the Persian dinar and the English slang deaner, 'a shilling.' Denary Scale. See NOTATION.

Demurrage is an allowance made to a ship- was thus rather more than 84d., and of the later owner by the freighter, for the detention of the ship in port beyond the specified time of sailing. The demurrage is properly the delay itself, but the term is generally used to signify the compensation due for the delay. A certain number of days, called lay-days or lie-days, are allowed for receiving and discharging cargo, and it is usually stipulated in charter-parties that the freighter may detain the vessel, either for a specified time, or as long as he pleases, after the expiration of these days, on paying so much per diem for overtime. Whether the days for which demurrage is due are working days (i.e. with Sundays and holidays excepted) or running days will, in the absence of special agreement, depend upon the custom of the port. All the ordi nary causes of detention, such as port-regulations, the crowded state of the harbour, and the like, are at the risk of the freighter, and demurrage must be paid, though it be proved that the delay was inevitable. But demurrage is not due where the delay arose from detention of the ship by a public enemy, or from hostile occupation of the port; and it cannot, of course, be claimed where the fault lay with the owners themselves, or the master or crew of the vessel. The demurrage ceases as soon as the vessel is cleared for sailing, though she should be prevented from actually doing so by adverse winds. When the days of demurrage are limited by special contract, and the ship is detained beyond them, the sum due as demurrage of the loss for the further time which may be claimed in the form of damages. It will be open, however, to both parties to show that the rate thus fixed per diem is either too high or too low. When the time allowed for loading and discharging expires, including the extra days if such be stipulated, the master will be entitled either to sail or to claim damage for detention.

under the contract will be taken as the measure

The allowance of 14d. per oz. claimed by the Bank of England for giving gold coin in exchange for bullion is also called demurrage.

Demurrer, in English law, is a form of pleading whereby a party, admitting, for the sake of argument, his opponent's allegations, says they are not sufficient in law to support his opponent's case. A demurrer must be argued in court before the pleadings can proceed further. Demurrer to evidence and demurrer to a criminal indictment are now obsolete. If a prisoner wishes to object to the sufficiency in law of an indictment, his best course is to plead to the indictment, and, if convicted, to move in arrest of judgment.

Demy', a particular size of paper. In that of printing paper, each sheet measures 22 inches by 171; drawing-paper, 22 by 17; and writing-paper, 20 by 15.

Demy (i.e. half-fellow), the name borne by the scholars of Magdalen College, Oxford.

Denain, a town in the French department of Nord, near the Scheldt and Selle rivers, 20 miles NNE. of Cambrai by rail. It lies in the centre of an extensive coalfield, and has important ironworks, and with manufactures of beetroot sugar and brandy. An obelisk marks the scene of Marshal Villars' victory over the allies under Prince Eugene, 27th July 1712. Pop. (1872) 10,442; (1886) 16,115.

Dena'rius (deni, 'ten each'), the principal silver coin among the Romans, was equal to ten ases, but upon the reduction of the weight of the as, the denarius equalled sixteen of it. It was first coined 269 B.C. Its weight at the end of the Roman commonwealth is estimated at 60 grains, while under the empire the weight was 52.5 grains of silver. The value of the denarius under the republic

[ocr errors]

Denbigh, a parliamentary and municipal borough, the county town of Denbighshire, 30 miles W. of Chester by rail. It stands near the middle of the vale of the Clwyd, on the sides and at the base of a rugged steep limestone-hill. The castle, whose imposing ruins crown this hill, was built in 1284 by Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, on the site of a fortress erected by William the Conqueror. The newer part of Denbigh was built at the bottom of the hill, after the destruction and desertion of a great part of the town on the top of shoes and leather; but it is more a place of genteel the hill, about 1550. Denbigh has manufactures of (1891) 6412. With Ruthin, Holt, and Wrexham, retirement than of commerce. Pop. (1851) 5498; Denbigh sends one member to parliament. In 1645 Charles I. took refuge in the castle after the battle of Rowton Heath. The garrison surrendered to the parliamentary forces after a siege of two months. It was shortly afterwards dismantled. The fortifications have an area of a square mile in extent. A lunatic asylum for the five counties of North Wales was erected near the town in 1848. A noble

institution for the maintenance and education of twenty-five orphan girls, and twenty-five day pupils, was built here in 1860, with funds in the hands of the Drapers' Company of London, from money left to theni in 1540 by one Thomas Howell, a Welshman.

coast.

Denbighshire, a county of North Wales, on the Irish Sea, and between the Dee and the Conway. With 8 miles of coast, it is 41 miles long, 17 broad on an average, and 603 sq. m. in area, being the sixth in size of the Welsh counties. The surface is partly rugged and mountainous, with some beautiful and fertile vales, as the vale of the Clwyd, 20 miles by 7. In the north is a horseshoe range of hills, 65 miles long, and convex to the feet; and many others rise above 1500 feet. The The highest hill is Cader Fromwen, 2563 rocks are chiefly Silurian clay and graywacke Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian strata. slates, with some granite and trap, and bands of There occur coal, iron, slates, flags, millstones, limestone, lead, and copper. The chief rivers are the Dee, Conway, Elwy, and Clwyd. The Rhaiadr waterfall is 200 feet high in two parts. Llangollen vale is famed for romantic beauty and verdure, amid hills of savage grandeur. The climate is mild in the lower parts, but cold and bleak among the hills, where small hardy sheep and ponies are reared. About two-thirds of Denbighshire are under cultivation; its corn, cheese, butter, and live-stock are greatly esteemed. It is also well timbered. Salmon are caught in the rivers. The chief towns are Denbigh, Wrexham, Ruthin, Holt, Llangollen, Llanrwst, Abergele, and Ruabon. Pop. (1841) 88,478; (1881) 108,931; (1891) 117,950. Denbighshire returns three members to parliament. It was anciently occupied by the Ordovices, a powerful tribe, not entirely subdued by the Romans till the

DENDERA

time of Agricola. Of British or pre-Roman remains there still exist tumuli, two kistvaens or stone cells, barrows, and forts. To the times of the Welsh and Saxon struggles are referable the Pillar of Eliseg, near Llangollen, and the dikes of Offa and Watt. The dike of Offa, king of Mercia, to keep out the Welsh, was a ditch, with small forts on mounds at intervals, and ran from Herefordshire to the estuary of the Dee; Watt's dike ran on the east side of Offa's dike, and parallel to it. Wrexham Church is one of the 'seven wonders of Wales.' Chirk Castle is a fine Edwardian stronghold, lately restored.

Dendera (Gr. Tentyra; Coptic Tentore, probably from Téi-n-Athor, the abode of Athor), a village of Upper Egypt, once a populous town, and the capital of the sixth nome of the southern kingdom,' situated near the left bank of the Nile, in 26° 13' N. lat., 32° 40′ E. long., is celebrated on account of its temple, one of the finest and best preserved structures of the kind in Egypt, dating from the period of Cleopatra and the earlier Roman emperors. The temple measures 220 feet in length by about 50 in breadth, and has a noble portico or hypostyle hall supported on twenty-four columns. The walls, columns, &c. are covered with figures and hieroglyphics, among which are still to be seen the contemporary portraits in profile of Cleopatra and her son; but the beauty of the Egyptian queen is not apparent in her portrait, which belongs to almost the most degraded period of conventional art in Egypt. On the ceiling of the portico is a zodiac, in which the crab is represented by a scarab. Beyond the portico are a hall of six columns and several rooms, which once contained altars, the sacred boats, perfumes, vestments for the religious ceremonies, and offerings of first-fruits, and the like (Mariette, The Monuments of Upper Egypt). There are several other sacred buildings at Dendera, including a temple of Isis. The temples stand within a wall of unbaked bricks, 1000 feet long on one side, and in some parts 35 feet high. The people of Tentyra were peculiar for their detestation of the crocodile, which led to a violent religious war with the city of Ombos, where the reptile was worshipped.

Dendermonde (Fr. Termonde), a town of Belgium, in the province of East Flanders, situated at the confluence of the Dender and the Scheldt, 18 miles E. of Ghent by rail. The principal buildings are the town-house and the church of Notre Dame, containing two pictures by Van Dyck. The manufactures are linens, cottons, and beer. Louis XIV. besieged it in vain in 1667, but Marlborough succeeded in taking it in 1706. Its fortifications, destroyed in 1784, were restored in 1822. Pop. 8883.

Dendrerpeton, a small lizard-like carboniferous amphibian, found by Lyell and Dawson in the interior of the hollow trunk of an upright sigillaria in Nova Scotia. It belongs to the wholly extinct order of Stegocephala or Labyrinthodonts (q.v.)

Dendrites, the name given to thin films of mineral matter which assume branching shapes that resemble moss or seaweed. These films occur as coatings on the faces of fissures and joints in rocks or on the surfaces of bedding-planes, and have often been mistaken for fossils. The hydrous oxide of manganese is the mineral that generally assumes this form.

Dendrolites (Gr. dendron, 'tree;' lithos, 'stone'), a general term sometimes applied to fossil stems, branches, or other fragments of trees. Dendrology is that department of botany which deals with the natural history of trees and shrubs. See ARBORICULTURE, TREES.

[blocks in formation]

Dendrophis (Gr., 'tree-snake'), a genus of nonvenomous snakes in the sub-order Colubriformes. They are tropical, and especially oriental, in their distribution; diurnal, active, and arboreal in habit; and feed chiefly on tree-lizards. The head is long and distinct from the neck, the gape is wide, the body and tail are very slender, the colours are vivid and like their surroundings. D'Enghien. See ENGHIEN.

Dengue, or BREAK-BONE FEVER, also called DANDY and BUCKET FEVER, is a disease first certainly known to have occurred in 1779-80 in Egypt, parts of the East Indies, and probably in Philadelphia. Since that time there have been great epidemics in India and Further India (182425), America and West Indies (1826-28), Southern United States (1850), East Africa, Arabia, India, and China (1870-73), besides numerous minor outbreaks. The disease occurs almost exclusively in the tropics, in hot weather, and in towns either near the sea-coast or on large rivers. It is characterised by sudden onset, with high fever, and extremely violent pains in the bones, muscles, and joints; by a remission, usually at the end of one or two days, during which the patient feels almost well; and after one or two days more by a second period of fever, less severe than the first, which lasts for two or three days. Each attack of fever is often accompanied by a well-marked skineruption. Though often followed by much emaciation and loss of strength, it is very rarely fatal or succeeded by serious after-effects. It occurs almost always in well-marked epidemics; but observers are much divided upon the question whether it is communicable directly from the sick to the healthy. See Hirsch, Geographical and Historical Pathology, vol. i.

Denham, SIR JOHN, a Caroline poet, was the only son of an Irish judge, himself of English birth, and was born at Dublin in 1615. He was educated in London and at Trinity College, Oxford, where Wood tells us he was 'a slow dreaming young man, and more addicted to gaming than study'-a taste from which his own essay against gaming (1651) did not cure him. In 1634 he married and went to live with his father at Egham in Surrey, an estate to which he succeeded four years later. At the outbreak of the Civil War he was high-sheriff of Surrey, and he immediately joined the king. He fell into Waller's hands on the capture of Farnham Castle, and was sent prisoner to London, but soon permitted to repair to Oxford. In 1641 he produced Sophy, a feeble tragedy which was acted with great applause at Blackfriars. Next year was issued his long poem, Cooper's Hill, a poetical description of the scenery around Egham, itself still read, but more famous in the merits of its greater successors, Pope's Windsor Forest, avowedly an imitation, and Garth's Claremont. The final form of the poem is that published in 1655, all the changes in which, according to Pope, were made with admirable judgment. Here first appeared its finest lines-the famous apostrophe to the Thames :

O could I flow like thee, and make thy stream
My great example, as it is my theme!

Though deep yet clear, though gentle yet not dull,
Strong without rage, without o'erflowing full.

In 1647 Denham was engaged in the performance of secret services for Charles I., but these being discovered, was obliged to flee to Holland and France. In 1650 he collected money for the young king from the Scots resident in Poland, and he made several journeys into England on secret service. At the Restoration he was appointed surveyor-general of works, and created Knight of the Bath. He was a better poet than architect,

[graphic]
[blocks in formation]

but he had Christopher Wren to his deputy. In 1665 he married a young girl, who soon showed such open favour to the Duke of York that the poor poet became crazy for a few months. Soon after his recovery his wife died suddenly, not without suspicion of poison-a charge which Pepys evidently believed. Denham's last years were miserable betwixt poverty and the satires of Marvell, Butler, and others. He died early in 1669, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His Elegy on Cowley, written in the short interval between recovery from frenzy and his death, is one of his most successful poems, and is much less obscure and laboured, ungrammatical, and overladen with tedious moralising, than usual. His other works, as the Destruction of Troy, a paraphrase of part of the Eneid, and especially his satirical doggerel verses, are comparatively worthless. Nothing,' says Dr Johnson, 'is less exhilarating than the ludicrousness of Denham; he does not fail for want of efforts; he is familiar, he is gross; but he is never merry.' His fame rests securely on Cooper's Hill, but more securely still on the commendations of Dryden, Pope, Swift, and Johnson. He is especially eulogised for his strength, as Waller is for his sweetness; indeed, Dryden's critical judgment stands expressed in the words that Cooper's Hill 'for the majesty of its style is and ever will be the standard of exact writing.'

Denia, a port on the coast of the Spanish province of Alicante, near Cape St Martin. It exports grapes, raisins, and fruit, and has a population of 8623.

Denina, CARLO GIOVANNI MARIA, an Italian author, was born 28th February 1731, at Revello, in Piedmont, studied at Turin, and in 1756 became professor of Rhetoric in the university of Turin. In 1777 he published anonymously at Florence his Discorso sull' Impiego delle Persone, in which he sought to show how monks might be transformed into useful members of society. This cost him his chair, and caused his banishment. In 1782 he went to Berlin on the invitation of Frederick the Great. Here he lived for many years, and wrote many historical works. In 1804 he dedicated to Napoleon his Clef des Langues (1804), and was in consequence appointed imperial librarian at Paris, where he died 5th December 1813.-Denina's principal works are Delle Rivoluzioni d'Italia (3 vols. 1770) and Storia dell' Italia Occidentale (6 vols. 1810), besides works on ancient Greece, Frederick the Great, and Prussia.

Denis, ST, the traditional apostle of France and first Bishop of Paris, who suffered martyrdom in the 3d century. He was sent from Rome about 250 to preach the gospel to the Gauls. After various detentions at Arles and other places, he arrived in Paris, where he made numerous proselytes. The Roman governor of this part of Gaul ordered Denis to be brought before him, along with other two Christians. As they continued firm in their faith, in spite of threats, they were cruelly tortured, and afterwards beheaded, in 272 or in 290. Gregory of Tours, Fortunatus, and the Latin martyrologists, state that the bodies of the three martyrs were thrown into the Seine, but were recovered and buried by a Christian woman.

At a

later period, a chapel was built over their tomb. In 636 King Dagobert founded on the spot an abbey, called St Denis, which soon grew to be one of the richest and most important in the_whole kingdom, and was long the sepulchre of the French kings. The collection entitled the Acts of St Denis, written about the end of the 7th or beginning of the 8th century, has no historical value. The Greek Church identifies St Denis with Dionysius

DENMARK

the Areopagite, first Bishop of Athens. Western Church celebrates his memory on the 9th of October. For a long period his name was the war-cry of the French soldiers, who charged or rallied to the words 'Montjoye Saint-Denys !'

Denison, JOHN EVELYN, for fourteen years Speaker of the House of Commons, and afterwards Viscount Ossington, was born 27th January 1800, and Christ Church, Oxford, he entered parliament at Ossington, Nottinghamshire. Educated at Eton in 1823, and was a Lord of the Admiralty 1827-28. In 1872 he retired from the Speaker's chair, and shortly after was created Viscount Ossington. He was a D.C.L. of Oxford; and it was on his sugges tion that the Speaker's Commentary to the Bible was undertaken. He died 7th March 1873.-His brother, GEORGE ANTHONY DENISON, Archdeacon of Taunton, was born in 1805, and educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, in 1828 being elected a Fellow of Oriel. In 1843 he became Vicar of East Brent, Somerset; in 1851 Archdeacon of Taunton. In 1854 proceedings were taken against him for heresy, contained in three sermons on the Real Presence, and he was condemned to be deprived of all ecclesiastical preferments; but on appeal to the Court of Arches and the Privy-council, this judgment was quashed. He has been a leader of the High Church party, a strenuous opponent of secular education, and an advocate of the restoration of the confessional. He was chairman of the Committee of Convocation which condemned Essays and Reviews and Bishop Colenso's works. See his delightful Notes of my Life (1878).-Other brothers were Edward, Bishop of Salisbury (180154), and Sir William Thomas, Governor of New South Wales and Madras (1804-71).

Denman, THOMAS, BARON, was born in London, 23d February 1779, graduated at Cambridge, and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1806. He was associated with Brougham in the courageous defence of Queen Caroline (1820), and shared his consequent popularity. He sat in parliament from 1818-26, and was Attorney-general in Earl Grey's administration in 1830-32; he succeeded Lord Tenterden as Lord Chief-justice of England in 1832, and was raised to the peerage in 1834. He retired from the bench in 1850, and died 22d September 1854. See Memoir by Sir Joseph Arnould (2 vols. 1873).-His fourth son, the RIGHT HON. SIR GEORGE DENMAN, was born 23d December 1819, studied at Cambridge, and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1846. He represented Tiverton in parliament in 1859-65 and 1866-72; in the last year he was raised to the bench of the Court of Common Pleas, receiving the customary honour of knighthood, and in 1873 he became a judge of the High Court of Judica

ture.

Denmark (Dan. Danmark), the smallest of the three Scandinavian kingdoms, consists of the peninsula of Jutland and a group of islands in the Baltic, and is situated between 54° 33′ and 57° 45′ N. lat., and 8° 4' and 12° 34' E. long., excepting the small island of Bornholm, which lies in 15° 10 E. long. Denmark is bounded on the N. by the Skagerrak; on the E. by the Cattegat, the Sound, and the Baltic; on the S. by the Baltic, Little Belt, and Sleswick; and on the W. by the North Sea. The area of Denmark Proper is a little less, the population a little more, than half that of Scotland. The population of Denmark Proper in 1870 was 1,784,741; in 1890 (including the Faroe Islands) it was returned at 2,185, 159. In 1887 the population of Copenhagen had reached 289,900. In 1890 there were five towns in Denmark, besides the capital, with over 10,000 inhabitants-viz. Aarhuus (33,308), Odense (30,277), Aalborg (19,503), Horsens (17,290), and Randers (16,617).

[graphic]
[blocks in formation]

The following table gives the main divisions of 47° F. The transitions from winter to summer the kingdom, along with its dependencies:

[blocks in formation]

Except in Bornholm (q.v.), the surface of Denmark is very similar in every part of the kingdom, and is uniformly low, reaching its highest point in Eiers-Bavnehöj, in south-east Jutland, which is only 564 feet above sea-level. The country presents little variety, except in its low isolated hills, but does not leave an impression of monotony; in the islands and in the south-east of Jutland the landscape is broken by noble forests, green meadows, and fertile fields; and even in the west and north of the mainland the wide stretches of moorland are clothed with heather, and have a solemn beauty of their own. The coast seldom rises even to low cliffs; generally it is flat, skirted by sand-ridges and shallow lagoons, especially along the west side, where the dunes cover an area of nearly 225 sq. m. The east coast is much indented by bays, useful for navigation and valuable for their fisheries; and here and in the islands are many good harbours. Both the continental portion and the islands are penetrated deeply by numerous fjords, the largest being Limfjord, which intersects Jutland, and has insulated the northern extremity of the peninsula since 1825, when it broke through the narrow isthmus which had separated it from the North Sea. There are about seventy lighthouses along the shores of Denmark, and seven lightships (see SOUND). From its formation, the kingdom can have no rivers, properly so called; its streams, called Aa, are mostly large brooks. There are several important canals, however, including in Jutland works for the canalisation of the Guden-Aa, its largest stream, and of the Limfjord; and lakes abound in all parts of the kingdom, the most considerable being found in Zealand. centre and west of Jutland is nearly bare of wood, but in the other parts of the peninsula the forests cover about 215,000 acres, and in the islands over 291,000 acres. The beech, which flourishes more luxuriantly in Denmark than in any other land, is almost universally predominant, although three centuries ago the oak, now comparatively rare, was the characteristic Danish tree. Peat, which is got in abundance from the bogs, brown coal or lignite, and seaweed generally take the place of wood as fuel. In minerals Denmark is poor. Porcelain clay and some coal are found in Bornholm, and fuller's earth, potter's clay, saltpetre, chalk, and a poor marble occur several parts of the kingdom, while some amber is collected on the west coast of Jutland. The climate is modified by vicinity to the sea, and is considerably milder, and the air more humid, than in the more southern but continental Germany. Mists are frequent, as are also sea-fogs on the west coast; and rain, snow, or hail falls over the country on 150 days on an average in the year. The annual rainfall is 23 to 25 inches. Westerly winds prevail; in the spring a cold, dry wind, known as the skai, blows from the north-west, and whirls clouds of fine sand from the coast inland, frequently doing irreparable damage to the crops. The mean temperature ranges from 44° to

The

in

[ocr errors]

are rapid, and scarcely broken by the intervention of spring or of autumn. The climate is, however, not unhealthy, except in the low-lying islands, such as Laaland, where the short and sudden heat of the summer occasions fevers.

The soils of Jutland are generally light, but those in the south-east part and in the islands are stronger; about 80 per cent. of the area of Denmark is productive, and of the remainder about one-sixth is in peat-bogs. Nearly half the popu lation is engaged in agriculture; the land for the most part is parcelled out into small holdings, and this is encouraged by the laws, which since 1849 have prohibited the throwing of small farms into large estates. In 1888, of 223,892 tenancies not 2000 were over 144 acres in extent; there were 150,000 cottars and labourers cultivating land of from three to twelve acres; and the peasant farms,' varying from 12 to 144 acres the majority under 50-numbered close upon 72,000. A third of the whole kingdom is arable, while over twofifths is in meadow, pasture, or fallow land. Nearly four-fifths of the arable land is under oats, barley, or rye, and little over a twenty-third part under wheat. Flax, hemp, potatoes, and leguminous plants are also raised; lucerne has been introduced, and the cultivation of the beet-root has increased of late years. Barley is largely exported, but the imports of breadstuffs greatly exceed the exports. The raising of cattle is taking more and more the place of arable farming in Denmark, and has now become one of the chief sources of wealth. Much progress has of late been made in this direction owing to the efforts of government and of various institutions; bull and stallion shows have been promoted by royal grants, breeding farms have been similarly encouraged, and the farmers have been instructed by lectures on the various forms of cattle disease and other subjects. Dairy produce has largely developed, and the export of butter more than doubled in the years 1882-87-an increase attributed to improved methods and the co-operative dairy system, which is now very successfully worked in over 200 establishments (see DAIRY FACTORIES); in 1888 there were 2200 centrifugal cream separators (see CREAM) in daily use. Within the same period of six years the export of bacon was quintupled, that of cheese trebled, and of horses nearly doubled, while the export of cattle and sheep slightly decreased. 19,880,000 eggs were exported in 1877, and 72,480,000 in 1885, the great development of this trade being the direct result of the efforts of a company for improving the breed of Danish fowls. In 1888 there were 1,459,527 cattle of all kinds, 375,533 horses, 1,225,196 sheep, and 770,785 swine.

In 1880, 23 per cent. of the inhabitants were returned as engaged in manufacturing industries, which, although not yet of great importance, show a marked advance within recent years. Machinery, porcelain and delf wares, and bricks are leading manufactures; beet-root sugar refineries are increasing, and the distilleries, though declining, are still numerous; there are ironworks, over eighty tobacco-factories, and several paper-mills in Copenhagen, Silkeborg, and elsewhere; and there are many large steam corn-mills. Generally, in spite of the scarcity of fuel in the country, steam-mills are taking the place of the windmills, and though the peasants still continue to manufacture much of what they require within their own homes, linens and woollens, as well as wooden shoes, are now increasingly made in factories. The fisheries (including the lobster and oyster fisheries) and the mercantile marine employ less than 3 per cent. of the people.

[blocks in formation]

The principal articles of export are cattle, sheep, swine, butter, hams, hides, wool, grain, fish, eggs, meat, and wooden goods. Among the imports are textile fabrics, cereals, and flour, manufactures of metal and timber, coal, oil, salt, coffee, sugar, and tobacco. About two-thirds of the export trade is carried on in native vessels. The total value of the imports in 1880-85 ranged from £12,650,000 in 1880 to £16,028,602 in 1883; and of the exports in the same period from £9,014,520 in 1885 to £11,103,476 in 1883. The bulk of the foreign trade is with Germany, Great Britain, and Norway and Sweden. In 1887 the mercantile marine consisted of 3324 vessels, including 281 steam-ships; total tonnage, 272,500. In 1886 there were 1214 miles of railway open, of which about 1000 miles belonged to the state; in 1886 there were 2523 miles of state telegraph lines.

Elementary education is widely diffused, although in this regard Denmark is no longer so preeminent as formerly; it is compulsory for children between the ages of seven and fourteen years, poor parents paying only a nominal sum towards the government or parochial schools, of which there are about 3000. There are training colleges for teachers, and classical and other higher education is afforded by a large number of colleges in the more important towns, with the university of Copenhagen (1300 students) for the centre of the entire system. Denmark has also a theological seminary, a royal surgical college, a veterinary and agricultural school, and numerous military, technical, and commercial schools, while fifty 'people's high schools' provide instruction in agricultural subjects. There are three public libraries in Copenhagen, of which the Royal Library, with 500,000 volumes, is especially rich in oriental and Icelandic MSS. The established religion is Lutheran, to which the king must belong; but complete toleration is enjoyed in every part of the kingdom. The Reformation was introduced in 1536, when the church revenues were seized by the crown. Denmark is divided into seven dioceses, in which there were 1353 clergy in 1885. There were in 1880 only 17,526 persons not belonging to the Lutheran Church, of whom 3946 were Jews, 2985 Roman Catholics, 1363 Calvinists, 1722 Mormons, 3687 Baptists, and 1036 Irvingites.

The government of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, the king being assisted by a cabinet of seven ministers. The crown was elective until 1660, when the people and clergy, impelled by hatred towards the nobles, invested the sovereign (Frederick III.) with absolute power, and declared the succession to the throne hereditary. From that time the crown exercised absolute rule till 1831, when a constitution was granted. This proving unsatisfactory, was superseded in 1849 by the form of government which, with some alterations, Denmark now enjoys. The national assembly or Rigsdag consists of the Folkething and Landsthing, which meet annually, the members receiving a fixed allowance during their sittings. The Landsthing is composed of sixty-six members, of whom twelve are nominated for life by the king, while the remainder are elected for a term of eight years by certain bodies representing the large taxpayers of the kingdom. The members of the Folkething, whose number is fixed by statute in the proportion of one to every 16,000 of the population, are elected for three years by practically universal suffrage. To this body all budgets must first be submitted; but in the years 1877-87, when the government had a minority in the lower house, the king was induced to give the royal ratification to successive provisionary budgets,' which had never received the assent of the Rigsdag. Nevertheless the financial condition of Denmark is sound

and prosperous. The total revenue for the financial year 1885-86 was £2,981,534, and the expenditure £2,779,763. The budget estimates for 1887-88 and 1888-89 show slight deficits. Since the war of 1866, the government has maintained a comparatively large reserve fund, to meet any sudden emergency. That fund stood in 1887 at £990,000. In 1888 the national debt was £10,723,203, or over £5 per head of the population; but as the investments of the state (in telegraphs, &c.) amount to nearly £5,000,000, this proportion is reduced to less than £3. The decimal system was introduced in 1875, the unit being the krone, or crown, of 100 öre; the average rate of exchange is 18 kroner to the pound sterling. The Danish army in 1887 numbered 1495 officers and 58,067 men, inclusive of the landwehr; but only a sufficient establishment for garrison purposes is maintained, and the peace strength was 319 officers and 16,334 men. The total war strength is about 50,000 men, to which an extra reserve of 14,000 could be added on emergency. Conscription prevails, and the period of military service is divided into eight years in the line and reserve, and eight in the extra reserve. The navy is recruited by levies from the coast districts. The fleet was represented in 1887 by thirty-two steamers (of which nine were ironclads). The navy numbered in 1888, 134 officers and 1477 men. Besides Copenhagen (q.v.), the only fortresses are the coast defences at Helsingör (Elsinore), Fredericia, Korsör, Frederikshavn, and Hals. The arsenal is at Copenhagen.

History. The early history of Denmark is lost in the twilight of the saga-period, out of which loom dimly the figures of its heroes, their brave deeds, and daring voyages. Within its borders the Celts had first their home, and from its shores the Angles and Saxons sailed in the 5th century to the conquest of England; while in their place the Danes from Zealand settled on the deserted lands, extending their sway as far south as the Eider. One of their earliest kings, Harald Hildetand, fell in battle against the Swedes in 695; and shortly afterwards a branch of the Yng. linger occupied Jutland, where they held a footing for two centuries. One of their kings, Harald Klak, received baptism in 826 from Ansgar (q.v.); but the introduction of Christianity did not at once place any check on the long-accustomed inroads on Frankish territory, or on the piratical expeditions of the Vikings, although the country was soon torn by dissensions between the adherents of the old and new faiths. Gorm the Old, who drove the Ynglinger from the peninsula, and first united the mainland and islands under one rule, was the bitter enemy of Christianity; and although his death in 936 gave fresh vigour to the diffusion of the new faith, yet even its ultimate success was only insured by the zealous support it received from Gorm's grandson, Canute (q.v.). On his death in 1035 the three kingdoms of his Anglo-Scandinavian empire separated, and his sister's son, Svend Estridsen (1047-76), ascended the throne of Denmark, founding a princely line that flourished 400 years. Internal dissensions and external wars weakened the country, and the introduction of a feudal system raised up a powerful nobility, and ground down the once free people to a condition of serfdom. Waldemar I. (1157-82) added Rügen to the other Wendish districts of Mecklenburg and Pomerania, and extended his sway over Norway also. Under Waldemar II. the conquests of Denmark extended so far into German and Wendish lands, that the Baltic was little more than an inland Danish sea. The jealousy of the German princes and the treachery of his vassals combined to rob him, however, of these brilliant conquests, and his death in 1241 was followed by a century of

[graphic]
« PrécédentContinuer »