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DENMARK
The Danish Parliament, called the “Kigsdag,” consists of two chambers, the Folkething and the Landsthing, but the constitution contains no indication of any Govern- difference in their attributes. The Landsthing, meat ’ however, is evidently intended to form the conservative element in the constitutional machinery. Whilst the 114 members of the Folkething are elected in the usual way by universal suffrage, 12 out of the 66 members of the Landsthing are life members nominated by the Crown. The remaining 54 members of the Landsthing are returned according to a method of proportionate representation by a body of deputy electors. Of these latter one-half are elected in the same way as members of the Folkething, without any property qualification for the voters; the other half of the deputy electors are chosen in the towns by those who during the last preceding year were assessed on a certain minimum of income, or paid at least a certain amount in rates and taxes. In the rural districts the deputy electors returned by election are supplemented by an equal number of those who have paid the highest amounts in taxes and county rates together. In this manner a representation is secured for fairly large minorities, and what is considered a fair share of influence on public affairs given to those who contribute the most to the needs of the State. The Faroes, which form an integral part of the kingdom of Denmark in the wider sense, are represented in the Danish Parliament, but not the other dependencies of the Danish Crown. For administrative purposes the country is divided into 18 so-called “Amts,” or counties. The principal civil officer in each of them is the “Amtmand.” Local affairs are managed by “Amtsraad” and “Sogneraad,” corresponding to the English county council and parish council. These institutions date from 1841, but they have undergone several modifications since. The members of these councils are elected on a system similar to that applied to the elections for the Landsthing. The same is the case with the provincial town councils. That of Copenhagen is elected by those who are rated on an income of at least 400 crowns (£22). The burgomasters are appointed by the Crown, except in Copenhagen, where they are elected by the town council, subject to royal approbation. For the administration of justice Denmark is divided into “ Herreds ” or Hundreds; as, however, they are mostly of small exgenerallyare served by oneseparate judge, ‘ ‘ HerredsJustice. tent, f0geciseveral ” . theare townships likewise jurisdictions, each with a“Byfoged.” There are 126 such local judges, each of whom deals with all kinds of cases arising in his district, and is also at the head of the police. There are two intermediary Courts of Appeal, one in Copenhagen, another in Viborg ; the Supreme Court of Appeal sits at Copenhagen. In the capital the different functions are more divided. There is also a Court of Commerce and Navigation, on which leading members of the trading community serve as assessors. In the country, Land Commissions similarly constituted deal with many questions affecting agricultural holdings. A peculiarity of the Danish system is that, with few exceptions, no civil cause can be brought before a court until an attempt has been made at effecting an amicable settlement. This is mostly done by so-called Committees of Conciliation, but in some cases by the court itself before commencing formal judicial proceedings. In this manner three-fifths of all the causes are settled, and many which remain unsettled are abandoned by the plaintiffs. In 1897 the courts disposed of about 30,000 civil cases ; 3689 persons (2838 males and 851 females) were convicted of various crimes ; 3573 were punished for police offences ; whilst 33,005 police cases were disposed of without formal judgment, on the defendant agreeing to pay a fine. Sanitary matters are under the control of a Board of Health. The whole country is divided into districts, in each of which a medical man is appointed with a salary, who is under the obligation to attend to poor sick and assist the authorities in medical matters, inquests, &c. The relief of the poor is well organized, mostly on the system of out-door relief. Many workhouses have been established for indigent persons capable of work. There are many almshouses and similar institutions.
The National or State Church of Denmark is officially styled “Evangelically Reformed,” but is popularly described as Lutheran. In 1890 its members numbered 2,136,329, or 98’44 per „ .. on . cent, of the total population. 10,624 belonged to S free extra-parochial congregations of Lutherans. The members of other Christian communities numbered 14,502, of which 1252 were Calvinists, 137 Anglicans, 2301 Methodists, 4556 Baptists, 2609 Irvingites, and 3647 Roman Catholics. There were 4080 Jews, mostly in Copenhagen. 941 were returned as Mormons, and 2560 as not professing any positive religion. There are seven dioceses, the Primate being the Bishop of Sealand, who resides at Copenhagen, but his cathedral is at Roeskilde. There are 72 rural deaneries, and 988 pastorates, of which the greater part comprise more than one parish ; the number of parish churches is 1721. The benefices are almost without exception provided with good residences and glebes, and the tithes, &c., generally afford a comfortable income. The bishops have fixed salaries in lieu of tithes appropriated by the State. Every child is bound to attend the parish school at least from the 7th to the 13th year, unless the parents can prove that it receives suitable instruction in other ways. The schools are Educat!nn under the immediate control of school boards appointed by the parish councils, but of which the incumbent of the parish is ex-officio member ; superior control is exercised by the Amtmand, the rural dean, and the bishop, under the Minister for Church and Education. The instruction in primary schools is gratuitous. Secondary public schools are provided in towns, in which moderate school fees are paid. There are 13 public grammar schools. Nearly all schools are day-schools. There are only two public schools which, though on a much smaller scale, resemble the great English schools, namely, those of Sorb and Herlufsholm, both founded by private munificence. Private schools are mostly more or less under public control. The number of children in Danish schools was, in 1898, 364,091, of whom 307,633 were in municipal schools, 6838 in grammar schools, and 49,620 in other schools, including infant schools, &c. The University, Copenhagen, which was founded in 1479, has 53 professors, besides a varying number of lecturers. Connected with it are an observatory, museums of national history, a botanical garden, various collections and laboratories, as well as a good library. The matriculations average 350 a year. Amongst the numerous other institutions for the furtherance of science and training of various kinds may be mentioned the large polytechnic schools ; the High School for Agriculture and Veterinary Art, with 22 professors, besides lecturers ; the Royal Library (500,000 vols., 20,000 MSS.); the Royal Society of Sciences ; the Museum of Northern Antiquities ; the Society of Northern Antiquaries, &c. &c. The art museums of Denmark are not considerable, except the Museum of Thorvaldsen, but much is done to provide first-rate training in the fine arts and their application to industry. The Royal Academy of Arts has 7 professors, besides assistant teachers, and its schools are frequented by about 200 students annually. Finally, it may be mentioned that comparatively much money is available from public funds and regular parliamentary grants for furthering science and arts by temporary subventions to students, authors, artists, and others of insufficient means, in order to enable them to carry out particular works, to profit by foreign travel, &c. The following is a summary of the items of expendi- Finance. ture in the Danish Budget for 1900-01 :— Civil List . . . • Kr. 1,000,000 or £55,555 Appanages to the Royal Family .... 203,200 „ 11,289 Parliament (payment of members, &c.) . . • 200.000 „ 11,111 Council of State (pay of Minis6,612 ters, &c.) ... 119,016 ,, Interest on Public Debt . 7,059,300 ,, 392,183 Reduction of Debt . . 1,802,731 ,, 100,152 Pensions .... 3,349,540 „ 186,086 Army .... 11,022,419 „ 612,357 Navy 7,787,310 ,, 432,629 Civil Service . . • 26,957,512 ,, 1,497,639 4,254 Iceland, annual grant . . 76,564 „ Public Works (new railways, &c.) .... 10,370,907 ,, 576,161 Loans and Advances . . 2,229,950 „ 123,886 Kr.72,178,449
£4,009,914
The items of estimated actual revenue for 1900-01 were as follow : Kr. 33,176,000 or £1,843,111 Customs 9,170,000 „ 509,444 Excise and Beer Tax 10,577,500 ,, 587,639 Land and House Tax 3,550,000 ,, 197,222 Stamps Carry forward Kr.56,473,500 £3,137,416
