Constitution and Government.
According to the charter of 1831, Belgium is 'a constitutional, representative, and hereditary monarchy.' The legislative power is vested in the King, the Chamber of Representatives, and the Senate. The royal succession is in the direct male line in the order of primogeniture. The king's person is declared sacred; and his ministers are held responsible for the acts of the Government. No act of the king can have effect unless countersigned by one of his ministers, who thus becomes responsible for it. The king convokes, prorogues, and dissolves the Chambers, and makes rules and orders necessary for the execution of the laws; but he has no power to suspend, or dispense with the execution of the laws themselves. He nominates to civil and military offices, and commands the sea and land forces. He declares war, and concludes treaties of peace, of alliance, and of commerce, communicating the same to the Chambers as far as may be consistent with the interest and safety of the State. Those treaties which may be injurious to the State, or to the individual interests of the people, can only have effect after obtaining the sanction of the Chambers. No surrender, exchange, or addition of territory can be made except when authorised by a law passed by the Chambers. In no case can the secret articles of a treaty be destructive or contrary to the public clauses. The king sanctions and promulgates the laws. He has the power of remitting or reducing the punishment pronounced by the judges, except in the case of his ministers, to whom he can extend pardon only at the request of one of the Chambers. He has the power of coining money according to law, and also of conferring titles of nobility, but without the power of attaching to them any privileges. In default of male heirs, the king may nominate his successor with the consent of the Chambers. On the death of the king, the Chambers assemble without convocation, at latest on the tenth day after his decease. From the date of the king's death to the administration of the oath to his successor, or to the regent, the constitutional powers of the king are exercised in the name of the people, by the ministers assembled in council, and on their own responsibility. The regency can only be conferred upon one person, and no change in the constitution can be made during the regency. The successor to the throne or the regent can only enter upon his duties after having taken an oath in presence of the assembled Chambers to observe the laws and the constitution, to maintain the independence of the nations and the integrity of its territory. If the successor be under eighteen years of age, which is declared to be the age of majority, the two Chambers meet together for the purpose of nomi-
