on April 1, 1883, of which 295,543,587 mark bore interest at 4 per cent., and most of the balance 4. For April 1, 1884, the debt is estimated to amount to 421,570,000 mark, or 21,078,5007. The sinking fund for 1883-4 amounts to 2,360,000 mark.

The debt of the kingdom, here enumerated, is divided into two portions, namely, the general debt and the railway debt. The latter, forming by far the largest portion of the total, amounted to 372,360,000 mark, or 18,618,0007. in the year 1883-4.

The total debt amounts to about 10l. per head of population, and the interest for 1883-4 to 8s. 8d. per head; but as the net income of the railways, all expenses deducted, and making allowance for wear and tear, amounted to between 12,841,600 mark, or 642,0807., in 1883-4, it covers about two-thirds of the interest of the whole public debt.

The total contingent of Württemberg to the Imperial army in 1883-4 is 773 officers, 18,815 men, and 3,443 horses.

Area and Population.

Württemberg has an area of 354 German, or 7,675 English square miles, with 1,971,118 inhabitants-951,600 males, and 1,019,518 females-at the enumeration of December 1, 1875. The kingdom is divided into four Kreise, or circles, the area of which, in English square miles, and number of inhabitants, were as follows at the two enumerations of December 1, 1875, and December 1, 1880:

The increase of population between the two census periods, amounting on the whole to only 0.93 per cent. per annum, varied greatly in the four circles of the kingdom. It was, as will be seen, proportionately largest in the Neckar circle, and least in the Danube. The total increase in the kingdom during the 35 years from 1841 to 1880 was very slight, and at one period, from 1849 to 1855, there was a decline of population. There were in 1881 in Württemberg 12,294 marriages, 79,729 births, and 57,313 deaths, the excess of births over deaths being 22,416. The births included 2,926 still-born, or 3.67 of the total number, and 16,694 illegitimate children, or 12.85 per cent. of the total. Emigration, chiefly

L

directed to the United States of America, has drawn off large numbers of the people. In the five years from 1873 to 1877, the total number of emigrants was 10,039. But the emigration here, as in other parts of Germany, greatly declined during the period, falling from 4,651 in 1873, to 1,032 in 1877. Emigrants in 1880, 8,692; in 1881, 11,470; and in 1882, 7,667; in the twelve years 1871-82, 51,258.

The kingdom has but seven towns with more than sixteen thousand inhabitants, namely Stuttgart, the capital, which had 117,303; Ulm, fortress and principal military establishment, which had 32,773; Heilbronn, which had 24,446; Esslingen, which had 20,758; Reutlingen, 16,609; Cannstadt, 16,205; and Ludwigsburg, 16,100 inhabitants at the census of December 1, 1880. The population, following generally agricultural pursuits, including extensive cultivation of the vine, is dispersed over a great many villages and small boroughs.

Of the total area three-fifths is under culture and three-tenths under forest.

Württemberg has 973 miles of railway, all belonging to the State. British Minister.-Sir H. P. T. Barron, Bart., C.M.G.

IV. SAXONY.

(KÖNIGREICH SACHSEN.)
Reigning King.

Albert I., born April 23, 1828, eldest son of King Johann I. and of Queen Amalie, daughter of King Maximilian I. of Bavaria. Educated for the military career, and entered the army of Saxony, 1846, and of Prussia, 1867. Commander of a German corps d'armée in the war against France, 1870-71. Nominated FieldMarshal in the German army, 1871. Succeeded to the throne, at the death of his father, October 29, 1873. Married June 18, 1853, to Queen Caroline, born Aug. 5, 1833, daughter of Prince Gustav of Vasa.

Sister and Brother of the King.

I. Princess Elisabeth, born Feb. 4, 1830; married, in 1850, to Prince Ferdinand of Sardinia; widow, Feb. 10, 1855; married, in second nuptials, Oct. 10, 1856, to the Marchese Rapallo, of Florence.

II. Prince Georg, Duke of Saxony, born August 8, 1832; married May 11, 1859, to Infanta Maria, born July 21, 1843, daughter of King Ferdinand of Portugal. Offspring of the union are six children:-1. Princess Mathilda, born March 19, 1863. 2. Prince Friedrich August, born May 25, 1865. 3. Princess Marie, born May

5.

31, 1867. 4. Prince Johann Georg, born July 11, 1869. Prince Maximilian, born November 17, 1870. 6. Prince Albert, born February 25, 1875.

The royal house of Saxony counts among the oldest reigning families in Europe. It gave an emperor to Germany as early as the beginning of the tenth century; but the house subsequently spread into numerous branches, the elder of which, called the Ernestine line, is represented at this moment by the ducal families of Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, and SaxeWeimar, while the younger, the Albertine line, lives in the rulers of the kingdom of Saxony.

King Albert I. has a civil list of 2,940,000 mark, or 147,000l. per annum. Exclusive of this sum are the appanages, or dotations of the princes and princesses, amounting to 320,414 mark, or 16,0201. a year. The formerly royal domains, consisting chiefly in extensive forests, became, in 1830, the property of the State.

Constitution and Government.

The present Constitution of Saxony dates from Sept. 4, 1831; but has undergone alterations and modifications by the laws of March 31, 1849; May 5, 1851; November 26, 1860; October 19, 1861; December 3, 1868; and October 12, 1874. According to the terms of the Constitution, the crown is hereditary in the male line; but, at the extinction of the latter, also in the female line. The sovereign comes of age at the completed eighteenth year, and, during his minority, the nearest heir to the throne takes the regency. In the hands of the king is the sole executive power, which he exercises through responsible ministers. The legislature is jointly in the king and Parliament, the latter consisting of two chambers. The Upper Chamber comprises the princes of the blood royal; the proprietors of eight baronial domains; twelve deputies elected by the owners of other nobiliar estates; ten noble proprietors and five other members without restriction nominated by the king for life; the burgomasters of eight towns; and the superintendents and deputies of five collegiate institutions, of the university of Leipzig, and of the Roman Catholic chapter of St. Peter at Bautzen. The Lower Chamber is made up of thirty-five deputies of towns and forty-five representatives of rural communes. The qualification for a seat in the Upper House, as well as the right of election to the same, is the possession of a landed estate worth at least 3,000 mark a year; which qualification, however, is not required by the ex officio deputies of chapters and universities. To be a member of the Lower House, no fixed income is required; and electors are all men above twenty-five years of age who pay taxes, or contribute in any way to the public burdens. A salary is attached to the per

formance of the legislative functions; the members of both housesbeing allowed 12s. per day during the sittings of Parliament. Both Houses have the right to make propositions for new laws, the bills for which, however, must come from the ministry. No taxes can be made, levied, or altered without the sanction of both Chambers.

The executive is in the king and a Council of Ministers, consisting of five members, namely, the President of the Council, who is also Minister of War and of Foreign Affairs, the Ministers of the Interior and the Royal House, of Justice, of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs, and of Finance.

Church and Education.

Although the royal family profess the Roman Catholic religion, the vast majority of the inhabitants are Protestants. At the census of December 1, 1880, the population of Saxony was composed of 2,885,622 Protestants; 73,009 Catholics; 7,317 other Christian sects; 6,518 Jews; 339 unclassified, or without religion.' The clergy are chiefly paid out of local rates and from endowments, the budget contribution of the State to the department of ecclesiastical affairs amounting to but 9,650l., chiefly spent in administrative salaries. The government of the Protestant Church is entrusted to the Landes-Consistorium, or National Consistory, In 1881 there were 3,989 elementary and preparatory schools, besides 76 high and technical schools, the total number of pupils being 603,054. Public education has reached the highest point in Saxony, every child, without exception, partaking of its benefits. tendance at school, or under properly qualified teachers, is compulsory, and the system of elementary and other education is similar to that of most other German States, the total sum allotted in the budget of 1882-83 for education was 250,000l., of which 80,5411. was for elementary education.

At

The kingdom has the second largest university in Germany, that of Leipzig, founded in 1409, and attended, on the average of recent years, by nearly three thousand students. (See Germany, p. 106.)

Revenue and Expenditure.

In the

The financial period extends over a term of two years. financial accounts, both the revenue and expenditure are divided into ordinary' and extraordinary,' the latter representing disbursements for public works. The ordinary revenue for each of the two years 1883 and 1884 was returned at 69,981,530 mark, or 3,499,0767., and was balanced by the expenditure. About onehalf of the total revenue of the years 1883 and 1884 was derived

from domains, forests, and state railways. The total direct taxes in 1883 and 1884 amounted to 899,975l., or 6s. per head of population. The revenue from railways alone amounted to 1,357,8907. The chief branch of expenditure is that of interest and sinking fund of the public debt, amounting to 30,902,317 mark, or 1,045,1157., for the years 1882 and 1883.

The public debt amounted, on January 1, 1883, to 663,482,550 mark, or 33,174,1277. The debt was incurred almost entirely for the establishment and purchase of a network of railways and telegraphs, and the promotion of other works of public utility.

The total capital invested in State railways in 1882 was 580,823,950 marks, or 29,041,1977.

The total income of all classes of the population in 1881 was estimated at 55,574,7051.

Saxony furnishes to the Imperial Army 1883-4, 1,122 officers, 27,606 men, and 5,133 horses.

Area and Population.

Saxony has an area of 272 German, or 6,777 English square miles, with a population of 2,972,805-comprising 1,445,330 males, and 1,527,475 females-at the census of December 1, 1880. The kingdom is divided into four government districts, called KreisHauptmannschaften, the area of which, in English square miles, and population, was as follows at each of the two enumerations of December 1, 1875, and December 1, 1880:

At the census of December 3, 1867, the population numbered 2,426,300. The increase in the four years 1867-71 was 129,944, being at the rate of 1:30 per cent. per annum. The increase of population during the four years 1871-75 was at the rate of 1.92 per cent. per annum ; and in the five years 1875-80 1.48 per annum. The increase was nearly thrice as large in the towns as in the rural districts of the kingdom.

Besides the German population, Saxony has 51,410 Wends, most of them in the district of Bautzen. The number of marriages in Saxony in 1881 was 25,881; births, 129,932; deaths, 88,472,