Acting under the direction of the Chancellor of the Empire, the Bundesrat represents also a supreme administrative and consultative board, and as such has twelve standing committees namely, for army and fortifications; for naval matters; tariff, excise, and taxes; trade and commerce; railways, posts, and telegraphs; civil and criminal law; financial accounts; foreign affairs; for Alsace-Lorraine ; for the Constitution; for the Standing orders; and for railway tariffs. Fach committee consists of representatives of at least four States of the Empire; but the foreign affairs committee includes only the representatives of Bavaria, Saxony, Württemberg, and two other represen. tatives to be elected every year. Area and Population. I. PROGRESS AND PRESENT CONDITION. The following table gives the area and population of the twenty-five States of Germany in the order of their magnitude, and of the Reichsland of Alsace-Lorraine, as returned at the census of Dec. 1, 1900: The population of the lands now included in the German Empire (without Heligoland) was 24,831,396 in 1816, and 31,589,547 in 1837, showing an average annual increase of nearly 1.3 per cent. The following table shows the actual increase in population at various periods, with the annual rate of increase per cent. The small increase in 1867-71 is explained by the intervention of the war with France. The increase of population during 1895-1900 was greatest in Lübeck, Bremen, Hamburg, Saxony, Prussia, and Baden; and least in Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Waldeck. The number of inhabited houses in 1900 was 6,232,114, and of households 12,260,012 (in 1895, 11,256,150). Of the total population in 1895, 50.2 per cent., in 1890 470 per cent., in 1900, 54.3 per cent., lived in towns of 2,000 inhabitants and above. Of every 100 inhabitants there lived in— With respect to conjugal condition, the following was the distribution in 1900: According to the occupation-census of June 14, 1895, the population of Germany was divided as in the table below. Of the total, 22,913,683 were actually engaged in the various occupations. 598,153 Prussia. 11,113,794 261,302 12,196,352 3,585,430 658,896 1,671,827 2,002,714 31 490,315 164,815 12,153 110,731 125,559 2,070,662 171,112 13,682 94,319 112,785 1,719,238 Total Empire 18,068,663 432,644 20, 253, 241 5,966,846 886,807 2,835,014 3,327,069 51,770, 284 In 1900 the population speaking German numbered 51,883,131; Gerinan and a foreign language, 252,918 (including Polish, 169,634; Wendish, 23,779; Masurian, 10,898; French, 9,356; Lithuanian, 9, 214; Czech, 8,506; Cassubian, 1,652; Moravian, 1,861); those speaking only a language other than German, 4,231,129 (Polish, 3,086,489; French, 211,679; Masurian, 142,049; Danish, 141,061; Lithuanian, 106,305; Cassubian, 100, 213; Wendish, 93,032; Dutch, 80,361; Italian, 65,961; Moravian, 64,382; Czech, 43,016; Frisian, 20,677; English, 20, 217; Walloon, 11,841). On December 1, 1900, Germany contained 778,698 subjects of foreign powers, as follows: Subjects of: Belgium Denmark France 20,482 Great Britain and Ireland 16,173 Italy 69,760 United States 17,848 Luxemburg Netherlands 88,053 Austria-Hungary Russia and Finland Sweden In 1895 the number of foreign subjects was 486,190. In 1900 the number of foreign-born residents was 829,629, besides 131 born at sea; in 1890, 508,595, besides 29 born at sea. II. MOVEMENT OF THE POPULATION. The following table shows the movement of the population of the Empire during five years : The still-births in 1902 were 3.1 per cent., and the illegitimate births, 8·5 per cent. of the total number of births. Of the children born in 1902, 1,074,310 were boys, and 1,015,103 girls. In the various German States in 1902 the movement of population was as follows: The following table shows the annual number of German emigrants for five years: 1 In 1899 from French ports there sailed 654 German emigrants whose destination cannot be shown. 3 Of whom 1,386 to Great Britain. 5 Of whom 1,181 to Great Britain. 2 Of whom 1,608 to Great Britain. 4 Of whom 1,168 to Great Britain. From the various German States in 1903 the number of emigrants was as follows: In 1903, 10,975 emigrants sailed from Hamburg; 16,639 from Bremen ; 5,457 from Antwerp; 660 from Havre, Cherbourg, or Boulogne; 2,568 from Rotterdam, and 11 from Amsterdam. III. PRINCIPAL TOWNS. German towns are officially distinguished as large towns (with 100,000 inhabitants and upwards); medium towns (20,000-100,000 inhabitants): small towns (5,000-20,000 inhabitants), and country towns (2,000- 5,000inhabitants). In 1900, only 1 town had over 1,000,000 inhabitants; 8 others over 250,000; 24 others over 100,000; 40 between 50,000 and 100,000; and |