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 27, 1860; and October 19, 1861. 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 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 twenty deputies of landed proprietors; twenty-five of towns and city corporations; twenty-five of peasants and cominunes; and ten representatives of commerce and manufacturing industry. 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 performance of the legislative functions; the members of the Upper House being allowed 20 mark, or one pound a day, during the sittings of Parliament, and the deputies to the Second Chamber 10 mark, or 10s. 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, the Ministers of the Interior, 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, 1875, the population of Saxony was composed of 2,664,341 Lutherans; 73,349 Roman Catholics; 1,876 German' Catholics; 15,660 members of other Christian sects; and 5,360 Jews. 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 85,593 thalers, or about 12,8301., chiefly spent in administrative salaries. The government of the Protestant Church is entrusted to the Landes-Consistorium, or National Consistory, presided over by the Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs; while the Roman Catholic congregations are under the supervision of a Papal delegate. Public education has reached the highest point in Saxony, every child, without exception, partaking of its benefits. By a law of June 6, 1835, attendance at school, or under properly qualified teachers, was made compulsory. 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. 97.) 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 income from State domains and disbursements for public works. The ordinary revenue for each of the two years 1880 and 1881 was returned at 63,759,587 mark, or 3,187,9791., and was balanced by the expenditure. The extraordinary revenue for each of the two years 1880 and 1881, likewise balanced by the expenditure, was returned at 1,091,200 mark, or 54,5601. More than one-half of the total revenue of the years 1880 and 1881 was derived from domains and state railways. The chief branch of expenditure is that of interest and sinking fund of the public debt, amounting to 30,096,363 mark, or 1,504,8187., for the years 1880 and 1881. The public debt amounted, at the end of 1878, to 593,312,626 mark, or 29,665,6317., the liabilities being made up as follows:- 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 debt had risen on January 1, 1881, to 669,583,425 mark, or 33,479,1717. Area and Population. Saxony has an area of 272 geographical, 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, The increase of being at the rate of 1.30 per cent. per annum. 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 1.54 per annum. The increase was nearly thrice as large in the towns as in the rural districts of the kingdom. Saxony has a comparatively large town population. There were, at the census of December 1, 1880, nine towns with a population of more than 20,000, namely: The population of Leipzig is vastly increased during the period of the great annual fairs, at New Year, Easter, and Michaelmas, notably that of Easter, which bring together merchants from all parts of the civilised world. Leipzig is also the centre of the German, and to some extent European, trade in productions of the printing press. V. BADEN. (GROSSHERZOGTHUM BADEN.) Reigning Grand-duke. Friedrich I., born September 9, 1826, second son of Grand-duke Leopold I., and of Princess Sophie of Sweden. Ascended the throne of Baden at the death of his father, April 24, 1852. Married, September 20, 1856, to Grand-duchess Louise, born December 3, 1838, the daughter of King Wilhelm I. of Prussia. Children of the Grand-duke. I. Friedrich Wilhelm, born July 9, 1857. III. Ludwig, born June 12, 1865. Brothers and Sisters of the Grand-duke. I. Princess Alexandrine, born December 6, 1820; married, May 3, 1842, to Duke Ernst of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. II. Prince Wilhelm, born December 18, 1829; married, February 11, 1863, to Princess Maria Romanovska, born October 16, 1841, daughter of the late Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg. Offspring of the union are two children:-1. Princess Marie, born July 26, 1865. 2. Prince Maximilian, born July 10, 1867. III. Prince Karl, born March 9, 1832; married, May 17, 1871, to Rosalie von Beust, elevated Countess von Rhena, born June 10, 1845. IV. Princess Marie, born November 20, 1834; married, Sept. 11, 1858, to Prince Ernst of Leiningen. V. Princess Cecilia, born Sept. 20, 1839; married, Aug. 28, 1857, to Grand-duke Michael of Russia (see page 364). The title of Grand-duke was given by Napoleon I. to Margrave Karl Friedrich of Baden in 1806, on the occasion of the alliance of the heir-apparent of Baden with Stephanie Beauharnais. The very extensive landed property formerly belonging to the reigning family, and valued at about 50 million florins, or 4, 166, 6667., has been made over to the State, and the Grand-duke is in the receipt of a civil list of 1,498,635 mark, or 74,9317., which includes the allowances made to the princes and princesses. Constitution and Revenue. The Constitution of Baden vests the executive power in the Grand-duke, and the legislative authority in a House of Parliament composed of two Chambers. The Upper Chamber comprises the princes of the reigning line who are of age; the heads of ten noble families; the proprietors of hereditary landed estates worth 500,000 mark, or 25,000.; the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Freiburg; the superintendent of the Protestant Church; two deputies of Universities; and eight members nominated by the Grand-duke, without regard to rank or birth. The Second Chamber is composed of 63 representatives of the people, 22 of which are elected by burgesses of towns, and 41 by the inhabitants of rural districts. Every citizen not convicted of crime, nor receiving parish relief, has a vote in the elections. To be a deputy, it is necessary to possess tax-paying property to the amount of 16,000 mark, or 800l.; or to hold a public office with a salary of not less than 2,500 mark, or 1257. The elections are indirect; the citizens nominating the Wahlmänner, or deputy-electors, and the latter the representatives. members of the Second Chamber are elected for eight years. Chambers have to be called together at least once every two years. The The The executive is composed of five departments, headed by the 'Private Cabinet of the Grand-duke,' which office is filled by the chief of the cabinet. The ministers are individually and collectively responsible for their actions. The budget estimates of revenue for the year 1881 amounted to 39,224,080 mark, or 1,961,2047., while the expenditure was calculated at 37,615,513 mark, or 1,880,7751. A great part of the revenue is derived from direct taxes, including a land tax-Grundsteuer-and an income tax. About one-fourth of the receipts come from the produce of crown lands, forests, and mines, and one-sixth from customs and miscellaneous sources. Nearly all the railways of Baden are the property of the State, giving a dividend, on the capital expended, of above 6 per cent. The accounts of the income and expenditure of the State railways, as well as of the Post-office and steam navigation on the Lake of Constance, are not entered in the general budget, but form a special fund. The receipts of the state railways in the year 1881 (exclusive of sinking fund) were estimated at 37,445,079 mark, or 1,872,254l., and the disbursements to 25,563,631 mark, or 1,278,1811., leaving a surplus of 11,881,448 mark, or 594,0721. The public debt is divided into two parts, the first called the General debt, and the second the Railway debt. The General debt amounted, at the commencement of 1881, to 38,264,638 mark or 1,913,2317., and the Railway debt, at the same date, to 335,063,057 mark, or 167,531,5281. There was added to the Rail |