The founding of the National Council of French Women (_Conseil national des femmes française_) has aided the woman's rights movement considerably. Stimulated by the progress made in other countries, the French women have systematically begun their work. They have organized two sections in the provinces (Touraine and Normandy); they have promoted the organization of women into trade-unions; they have studied the marriage laws; and have organized a woman's suffrage department. Since 1907 the woman's magazine, _La Française_, published weekly, has done effective work for the cause. The place of publication (49 rue Laffite, Paris) is also a public meeting place for the leaders of the woman's rights movements. _La Française_ arouses interest in the cause of woman's rights among women teachers and office clerks in the provinces. Recently the management of the magazine has been converted to the cause of woman's suffrage. In the spring of 1909 the French Woman's Suffrage Society (_Union française pour le souffrage des femmes_) was organized under the presidency of Madame Schmall (a native of England). Madame Schmall is also to be regarded as the originator of the law of July 13, 1907, which pertains to the earnings of the wife. The _Union_ has joined the International Woman's Suffrage Alliance. In the House of Deputies there is a group in favor of woman's rights. The French woman's rights movement seems to be spreading rapidly. Émile de Morsier organized the French movement favoring the abolition of the official regulation of prostitution. Through this movement an extraparliamentary commission (1903-1907) was induced to recognize the evil of the existing official regulation of prostitution. This is the first step toward abolition. BELGIUM Total population: 6,815,054. Women: 3,416,057. Men: 3,398,997. Federation of Belgian Women's Clubs. Woman's Suffrage League. It is very difficult for the woman's rights movement to thrive in Belgium. Not that the movement is unnecessary there; on the contrary, the legal status of woman is regulated by the Code Napoleon, hence there is decided need for reform. The number of women exceeds that of the men; hence part of the girls cannot marry. Industry is highly developed. The question of wages is a vital question for women laborers. Accordingly there are reasons enough for instituting an organized woman's rights movement in Belgium. But every agitation for this purpose is hampered by the following social factors: Catholicism (Belgium is 99 per cent Catholic), Clericalism in Parliament, and the indifference of the rich bourgeoisie. The woman's rights movement has very few adherents in the third estate, and it is exactly the women of this estate that ought to be the natural supporters of the movement. In the fourth estate, in which there are a great many Socialists, the woman's rights movement is identical with Socialism.