The average duration of reign of the above fifty-five Emperors of Germany was seventeen years. Constitution and Government. The Constitution of the Empire bears date April 16, 1871. By its terms, all the states of Germany 'form an eternal union for the protection of the realm and the care of the welfare of the German people' -'schliessen einen ewigen Bund zum Schutze des Bundesgebiets, und zur Pflege der Wohlfahrt des Deutschen Volkes.' The supreme direction of the military and political affairs of the Empire is vested in the King of Prussia, who, as such, bears the title of Deutscher Kaiser. According to Art. 11 of the Constitution, the Kaiser represents the Empire internationally'-'hat das Reich völkerrechtlich zu vertreten'—and can declare war, if defensive, and make peace, as well as enter into treaties with other nations, and appoint and receive ambassadors. To declare war, if not merely defensive, the Kaiser must have the consent of the Bundesrath, or Federal Council, in which body, together with the Reichstag, or Diet of the Realm, are vested the legislative functions of the Empire. The Bundesrath represents the individual states of Germany, and the Reichstag the German nation. The members of the Bundesrath, 59 in number, are appointed by the governments of the individual states for each session, while the members of the Reichstag, 397 in number, are elected by universal suffrage and ballot, for the term of three years. The various states of Germany are represented as follows in the Bundesrath and the Reichstag : The total number of electors to the Reichstag inscribed on the lists was 8,515,041 at the general election of 1874, while the number of actual voters was 5,288,203 at the same election. Both the Bundesrath and the Reichstag meet in annual session, convoked by the Kaiser. The Kaiser has the right to prorogue and dissolve the Reichstag, but the prorogation must not exceed sixty days; while in case of dissolution new elections have to take place within sixty days, and a new session has to open within ninety days. All laws for the Empire must receive the votes of an absolute majority of the Bundesrath and the Reichstag. The Bundesrath is presided over by the Reichskanzler, or Chancellor of the Empire, and the President of the Reichstag is elected by the deputies. The laws of the Empire, passed by the Bundesrath and the Reichstag, to take effect must receive the assent of the Kaiser, and be countersigned when promulgated by the Chancellor of the Empire. The latter, in his capacity as President of the Bundesrath, has the right to be present at the deliberations of the Reichstag. Chancellor of the Empire.-Prince Otto von Bismarck-Schönhausen, born April 1, 1815; studied jurisprudence at Berlin and Göttingen; member of the Constituent Assembly of Prussia, 1848; Minister Plenipotentiary of Prussia at the Diet of Frankfort, 1851–59; Ambassador to the Court of St. Petersburg, 1859-62; Ambassador of Prussia to the Emperor of the French, 1862; Minister of Foreign Affairs, and chief of the Council of Ministers of Prussia, September 23, 1862; Chancellor of the North German Confederation, 1867-70; appointed Chancellor of the Empire, January 19, 1871. as such Acting under the direction of the Chancellor of the Empire, the Bundesrath, in addition to its legislative functions, represents also a supreme administrative and consultative Board, and has seven standing committees, namely for army and naval matters; tariff, excise, and taxes; trade and commerce; railways, posts, and telegraphs; civil and criminal law; financial accounts; and foreign affairs. Each committee consists of representatives of at least four states of the Empire; but the foreign affairs committee includes only the representatives of the kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Würtemberg. Church and Education. The census of December 1, 1871, showed the religious division of the population of all the states composing the German Empire as follows: Protestants, 25,579,709; Roman Catholics, 14,867,463; Christian sects of various denominations, 82,155; and Jews, 512,158. In Prussia, 65 per cent. of the inhabitants were Protestants in 1871, and 33 per cent. Roman Catholics, while in Bavaria 71 per cent. were Roman Catholics, and 27 per cent. Protestants. In the Reichsland of Alsace-Lorraine 80 per cent. of the inhabitants were Roman Catholics and 17 per cent. Protestants. Education is general and compulsory throughout Germany. The laws of Prussia, which provide for the establishment of elementary schools, supported from the local rates, in every town and village, and compel all parents to send their children to these or other schools, exist with slight modifications in all the states of the Empire. It appears, from statistical returns relating to the formation of the united German army, that all recruits of the year 1870 could at least read and write, though in some of the southern states, notably Bavaria, a small number of the young men entering military service were declared of inefficient education, 'mangelhafte Schulbildung.' (For further particulars see Prussia, pp. 118-19.) There are twenty-one universities in the German Empire, all of them, with the exception of one, having four faculties," or divisions of studies, namely theology, jurisprudence, philosophy, and medicine. The following table gives the list, in alphabetical order, of the twenty-one universities, with the numbers of professors and teachers, and that of the students of the various faculties in the summer of 1878: The number of students in the preceding table includes only those matriculated at each university. There were besides the total H above given, a certain number of non-matriculated students-' zum Besuch der Vorlesungen berechtigt'-the vast majority of them, namely, 1,794, at the university of Berlin. Among the matriculated students at the university of Leipzig there were 2,038 foreigners in the summer of 1878. Fourteen of the twenty-one universities of the Empire are Protestant, that is teach only Protestant theology. These Protestant high schools are Berlin, Erlangen, Giessen, Göttingen, Greifswald, Halle, Heidelberg, Jena, Kiel, Königsberg, Leipzig, Marburg, Rostock, and Strassburg. In four universities, namely Freiburg, Munich, Münster, and Würzburg, the faculties of theology are Roman Catholic. The remaining three are mixed, attended by both Protestant and Roman Catholic students of theology, the latter predominating at Bonn and Breslau and the former at Tübingen. Revenue and Expenditure. The common expenditure of the Empire is defrayed, according to Art. 70 of the Constitution, from the revenues arising from customs, certain branches of excise, the profits of the post, and telegraphs. Should the receipts from these various sources of income not be sufficient to cover the expenditure, the individual states of Germany may be assessed to make up the deficit, each state being made contributory in proportion to its population. The common expenditure is to be voted, as a rule'-in der Regel-only for one year; but also for any longer term 'in special cases '-in besondern Fällen. The financial year, formerly coeval with the calendar year, was made to run from the 1st of April to the 31st of March in 1877. The total actual revenue of the Empire in the year ending March 31, 1877, amounted to 661,750,587 mark, or 33,087,5291., and the total actual expenditure to 617,461,855 mark, or 30,873,0927., leaving a surplus of 44,288,732 mark, or 2,214,4377. In the budget estimates for the financial year ending March 31, 1878, the total revenue was set down at 540,608,165 mark, or 27,030,4087., and the expenditure at 540,672,510 mark, or 27,033,625l., leaving a small deficit. The budget accounts of the Empire distinguish between ordinary, or 'continual' (fortdauernde) expenditure, and extraordinary, or 'for once' (einmalige) disbursements. In the budget of the Empire for 1877-78 the sum of 412,824,111 mark, or 20,641,2051., was placed under the head of ordinary, and that of 127,848,399 mark, or 6,392,4191., of extraordinary disbursements. The estimated total ordinary, or 'continual' expenditure for the financial year ending March 31, 1879, was distributed as follows:: Reichskanzler and Imperial Chancery Foreign Department Imperial Army Mark 4,964,233 322,518,283 |