Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/530

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514
BEL—BEL

total area, are actually under cultivation. The last settle ment of the land revenue was made for a period of thirty years at various times between 1848 and 1864. The total imperial expenditure in the district amounts to 98,097. The following towns have a population of more than 5000 inhabitants: Belgaum, 26,947; Gohak, 12,612; Athani, 11,588; Nipani, 9371; Temkanmardi, 5296; Hougal, 9001; Sankeshwar, 8905; Sawadati, 8180; Murgod, 7181; Ketur, 7166; Sadalgi, 6863; Manoli, 6232; Chikadi, 6184; Nandighar, 5748; Hukeri, 5364; and Konganoli, 5143. Municipalities have been established in the first five of those towns, the necessary revenue being raised by octroi dues, except in the case of Temkanmardi where a house tax has been levied. The district contains 113 schools, with an attendance of 7624 pupils, or 8 of the entire population. Of the total number of schools, 2, with an attendance of 198 pupils, are private institutions, receiving Government aid. There is a stipendiary police of 684 men. The Kurirs, a wandering and thieving tribe, the Kamais, professional burglars, and the Baruds, cattle- stealers and highwaymen, are special criminal classes. Of these the Baruds are the most troublesome. The district of Belgam was ceded to the East India Company by the Peshwa, under the treaty of June 1817, for the maintenance

of a subsidiary force to be provided by the British Government.

BELGIUM

BELGIUM (Fr. Belgique, Ger. Belgien), is one of the smaller of the European states, among which it ranks 16th in point of area and 8th according to population. It lies between lat. 49 30 and 51 30 N., and long. 2 32 and 6 7 E. ; and is bounded on the N. by Holland, E. by Dutch Limbourg. Luxembourg, and Bhenish Prussia. S. and S.W. by France, and N.W. by the North Sea. It is somewhat triangular in form, the longest side that which adjoins Franco being 384 miles in length. The length of its other boundaries are, towards Holland 268 miles, Germany 59, Luxembourg 80, and the North Sea 41. Its greatest length from N.W. to S.E. (from Ostend to Arlon) is 174 miles, and its greatest breadth from N. to S. 105. It has an area of 2,945,593 hectares, equal to 7,278,968 English acres, or 11,373 square miles, being about one-eighth of the area of Great Britain. This country is divided into nine provinces, Antwerp in the N., West and Fast Flanders and Hainault in the W., Namur in the S., Luxembourg in the S.E., Liege and Limbourg in the E., and Brabant in the centre.


Sketch Map of Belgium.
Belgium is in general a very flat country having few P

elevations, and these rarely exceeding 2000 feet in height. & They are principally to be found in the E. and S.E., while the N. and N.W. parts of the country bear a considerable resemblance to Holland. The elevations of Belgium take

their rise in France, and extend generally in a N.E. direc-