The charters of medieval provinces formed the basis of the Belgian Constitution, which, with the exception of the Dutch, is the most ancient written constitution still in force on the Continent. The makers of this most excellently devised code of fundamental laws decreed that as an independent state Belgium should be a constitutional, representative and hereditary Government, and that a King should rule, supported by a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives elected by the people. The ministries of War; Interior; Finance; Foreign Affairs, Science and Art; Justice; Agriculture and Public Works; Railways; Marine, Posts and Telegraphs; Industry and Labor; Colonies are appointed to act for the King in relation to his subjects. Though a majority of the seven and a half millions of people adhere to the Roman Catholic Church, there is no State religion. The chief political parties are the Catholic, the Liberal, the Socialist, and the Catholic-Democrat. Originally, only those men of the monarchy that owned a certain amount of property had the vote. Since 1894, every male citizen twenty-five years of age has been permitted to vote if he has lived at least a year in the same commune. As a result, the number of the enfranchised has increased ten-fold. By the “plural-voting system,” extra votes are allowed to heads of families, to tax-payers who receive a stipulated sum from Belgian sources, and to certain men of learning. The limit of votes that can be cast by one man is three. The clergy, professional men and peasant landowners have a voting advantage over the laboring class, many of whose members belong to the Socialist Party. The political affiliations of the Belgian people very intimately affect their daily lives. As an English writer observes, “Politics enter into almost every phase of social activity and philanthropic effort. Thus in one town there will be a Catholic, a Liberal, and a Socialist trade union, a Catholic, a Liberal, and a Socialist co-operative bakery, a Catholic, a Liberal, and a Socialist thrift society, each catering for similar people, but each confining its attention to members of its own political party. The separation extends to cafés, gymnasiums, choral, temperance and literary societies; indeed it cuts right through life. It often happens that one of the parties in a particular town is not strong enough to maintain an organization. In such cases its members must dispense with its benefits or leave their party in order to enjoy them elsewhere.” In a village near Bruges the writer knew an adherent of the Liberal Party who for days suffered grave need of a physician because the only one of his own political leanings was absent from town on a vacation. A Socialist blacksmith has only Socialist horses to shoe; the flour of a Catholic miller is baked only in ovens owned by a Catholic.