2

ཤ

it

The arr ization province drasia naerme o te leerpes win, or antr Micrting Festa JLOTTING & to the riÆFIK KARBANy. position is Leafiers t we seventeenth ezturn to Interzollern cricized greatly enlarged or Fredrion Villem. Le Freal fizetes, whose fostering are unse te saming on; Ensane. The rear leeror, uteri reign atbating Pow Lice, Leit a count of me and milion maisant His son, Thebod treasure, and 38,000 veil-irilet Toms 7 who put the kingly mwa m is lead at 30nligsong ou 18, 1701. Thie irst Ing of a main low aftwx AA crease the territory er um de Fred Fawr cessor, Friedrich Wilheim . of thalers, or nearly a million af sterling Nagle that domains to the amount of i7g million maleES EN MAAC h na i income of the country w I re-201qda & which i however, had to be spent on the army.

Pomerania to the possessions of the brush lý 67 kg successor, Friedrich II.. aaled

Êརང་གཉ-པ

square miles, with two and a half million share»es Pin &

added Silesia, an area of 14,200 square miles, with one and a quarter million of souls; and this, and the large territory gained in the first partition of Poland, increased Prussia to 74,340 square miles, with more than five and a half millions of inhabitants. Under the reign of Friedrich's successor, Friedrich Wilhelm II., the State was enlarged by the acquisition of the principalities of Anspach and Baireuth, as well as the vast territory acquired in another partition of Poland, which raised its area to the extent of nearly 100,000 square miles, with about nine millions of souls. Under Friedrich Wilhelm III., nearly one-half of this State and population was taken by Napoleon; but the Congress of Vienna not only restored the loss, but added part of the Kingdom of Saxony, the Rhineland, and Swedish Pomerania, moulding Prussia into two separate pieces of territory, of a total area of 106,820 square miles. This was shaped into a compact State of 134, 463 square miles, with a population of 22,769,436, by the war of 1866.

Up to within a recent period, the Kings of Prussia enjoyed the whole income of the State domains, amounting to about a million sterling per annum. By a degree of Jan. 17, 1820, King Friedrich Wilhelm III. fixed the Krondotations at the total sum of 2,573,0983 thalers, which was sanctioned on Jan. 31, 1850, by Art. 59 of the Constitution; remaining, as before, dependent on the revenue derived from domains and forests. The amount of the civil list was fixed by Art. 59 of the Constitution of Jan. 31, 1850; but by law of April 30, 1859, it was raised 500,000 thalers, by law of Jan. 27, 1868, 1,000,000 thalers, and by law of Feb. 20, 1889, a further 3,500,000 marks. At present the total 'Krondotations Rente,' as far as it figures in the budgets, amounts to 15,719,296 marks, or 770,5547. The reigning house is also in possession of a vast amount of private property, comprising castles, forests, and great landed estates in various parts of the kingdom, known as 'Kronfideikommiss- und-Schatullgüter,' the revenue from which mainly serves to defray the expenditure of the court and the members of the royal family.

The Royal Fideikommiss was last regulated by Cabinet Order of Aug. 30, 1843. Besides this the Royal Crown treasure, founded by King Friedrich Wilhelm III., consists of a capital of 6 millions, which has since considerably increased, and also the family Fideikommiss, likewise founded by King Friedrich Wilhelm III., for the benefit of princes born afterwards. It comprises the domains of Flatow, Krojanke, and Frauendorf, as well as the Fideikommiss founded by the late Prince Karl (Glienicke). the Royal House is also entitled to the House Fideikommiss of the Hohen. zollern princes.

Finally,

Dating from King Friedrich I. of Prussia (Elector Friedrich III. of Brandenburg), there have been the following

Constitution and Government.

The present Constitution of Prussia was drawn up by the Government of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV., with the co-operation of a Constituent Assembly, sitting August-December 1849, and was proclaimed Jan. 31, 1850; but subsequently modified by royal decrees of April 30, 1851; May 21 and June 5, 1852 May 7 and 24, 1853; June 10, 1854; May 30, 1855; April 14 and 30, 1856; May 18, 1857; May 17, 1867; March 27, 1872; April 5, 1873; June 18, 1875; Feb. 19, 1879; and May 27, 1888. These fundamental laws vest the executive and part of the legislative authority in a king, who attains his majority upon accomplishing his eighteenth year. The crown is hereditary in the male line, according to primogeniture. In the exercise of the government, the king is assisted by a council of ministers, appointed by royal decree. The legislative authority the king shares with a representative assembly, the Landtag, composed of two Chambers, the first called the 'Herrenhaus,' or House of Lords, and the second the Abgeordnetenhaus,' or Chamber of Deputies. The assent of the king and both Chambers is requisite for all laws. Financial projects and estimates must first be submitted to the Abgeordnetenhaus, and be either accepted or rejected en bloc by the Herrenhaus. The right of proposing laws is vested in the Government and in each of the Chambers.

The Herrenhaus, according to the original draft of the Constitution, was to consist of adult princes of the royal family, and of the heads of Prussian houses deriving directly from the former Empire, as well as of those heads of families that, by royal ordinance, should be appointed to seats and votes in the Chamber, according to the rights of primogeniture and lineal descent. Besides these hereditary members, there were to be ninety deputies directly elected by electoral districts, consisting of a number of electors who pay the highest taxes to the State; and, in addition, other thirty members elected by the members of the municipal councils of large towns. This original composition of the House of Lords' was greatly modified by the royal decree of Oct. 12, 1854, which brought into life the Herrenhaus in its present form. It is composed of, first, the princes of the royal family who are of age, including the scions of the formerly sovereign families of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; secondly, the chiefs of the mediatised princely houses, recognised by the Congress of Vienna, to the number of sixteen in Prussia; thirdly, the heads of the territorial nobility formed by the king, and numbering some fifty members; fourthly, a number of life-peers, chosen by the king from among the rich landowners, great manufacturers, and national celebrities'; fifthly, eight titled noblemen elected in the eight older provinces of Prussia by the resident landowners of all degrees; sixthly, the representatives of the universities, the heads of 'chapters,' and the burgomasters of towns with above fifty thousand inhabitants; and seventhly, an unlimited number of members nominated by the king for life, or for a more or less restricted period.

The Abgeordnetenhaus consists of 433 members-352 for the old kingdom,

80 added in 1867 to represent the newly-annexed provinces, and 1 in 1876 for Lauenburg; the proportion to the population is now (1895) 1 to every 73,569. Every Prussian who has attained his twenty-fifth year, and is qualified to vote for the municipal elections of his place of domicile, is eligible to vote as indirect elector. Persons who are entitled to vote for municipal elections in several parishes can only exercise the right of indirect elector, or Urwähler,' in one. One direct elector, or Wahlmann,' is elected from every complete number of 250 souls. The indirect electors are divided into three classes, according to the respective amount of direct taxes paid by each; arranged in such manner that each category pays one-third of the whole amount of direct taxes levied on the whole. The first category consist of all electors who pay the highest taxes to the amount of one-third of the whole; the second, of those who pay the next highest amount down to the limits of the second third; the third of all the lowest taxed, who, together, complete the last class. Direct electors may be nominated in each division of the circle from the number of persons entitled to vote indirectly, without regard to special divisions. The representatives are chosen by the direct electors. The legislative period of the Abgeordnetenhaus is limited to five years. Every Prussian is eligible to be a member of the second Chamber who has completed his thirtieth year, who has not forfeited the enjoyment of full civic rights through a judicial sentence, and who has paid taxes during three years to the State. The Chamber must be re-elected within six months of the expiration of their legislative period, or after being dissolved. In either case former members are re-eligible. The Landtag is to be regularly convoked by the king during the month of November; and in extraordinary session, as often as circumstances may require. The opening and closing of the Landtag must take place by the king in person, or by a minister appointed by him. Both Chambers are to be convoked, opened, adjourned, and prorogued simultaneously. Each Chamber has to prove the qualification of its members, and to decide thereon. Both Chambers regulate their order of business and discipline, and elect their own presidents, vice-presidents, and secretaries. Functionaries do not require leave of absence to sit in the Chamber. When a member. accepts paid functions, or a higher office connected with increased salary, he vacates his seat and vote in the Chamber, and can only recover the same by a new election. No one can be a member of both Chambers. The sittings of both Chambers are public. Each Chamber, at the proposition of the president or of ten members, may proceed to secret deliberation. Neither Chamber can adopt a resolution when the legal majority of its members is not present. Each Chamber has a right to present addresses to the king. No one can deliver a petition or address to the Chambers, or to either of them, in person. Each Chamber can refer documents addressed to it to the ministers, and demand explanations relative to complaints. contained therein. Each Chamber has the right to appoint commissions of investigation of facts for its own information. The members of both Chambers are held to be representatives of the whole population. They vote according to their free conviction, and are not bound by prescriptions or instructions. They cannot be called to account, either for their votes or for opinions uttered by them in the Chambers. No member of the Chambers can, without its assent, be submitted to examination or arrest for any proceeding entailing penalties, unless seized in the act, or within twenty-four hours of the same. All criminal proceedings against members of the Chambers, and all examination and civil arrest, must be suspended during the session, should the Chamber whom it may concern so demand,

Members of the Abgeordnetenhaus receive and must accept travelling expenses and diet money from the State, according to a scale fixed by law, amounting to 15 marks, or 15 shillings, per day.

The executive govenment is carried on by a Staatsministerium, or Ministry of State, the members of which are appointed by the king, and hold office at his pleasure. The Staatsministerium is divided into nine departments, as follows:

1. President of the Council of Ministers, Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Imperial Chancellor-Graf von Bülow.

2. Minister of State, and Minister of Finance-Freiherr von Rheinbaben, born 1855; appointed May, 1901. (Minister since 1895.)

3. Minister of State and Minister of Public Works.-Von Budde, born 1851; appointed June, 1902.

4. Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs, Instruction, and Medical Affairs.— Dr. Studt, born 1838; appointed September, 1899.

5. Minister of Agriculture, Domains, and Forests.-Von Podbielski, born February 26, 1844; appointed May 1901.

6. Minister of Justice.-Dr. Schönstedt, born January 6, 1833; appointed September, 1899.

7. Minister for Interior.-Freiherr von Hammerstein, born 1842; appointed May 1901.

8. Minister of Commerce and Industry.—Möller, born August 10, 1840 ; appointed 1901.

9. Minister of State and Minister of War.-General von Einem, surnamed von Rothmaler, born January 1, 1853; appointed August 14, 1903.

Imperial Secretary of State for the Interior.-Dr. Graf von PosadowskyWehner, born 1845; appointed Minister (without portfolio), September 1, 1893. State Secretary of the Foreign Office.-Graf von Bülow, born 1849; Minister since October 28, 1897. Imperial State Secretary of the Naval Office. von Tirpitz, born 1849; Minister since March 29, 1898.

The salary of the President of the Council is 54,000 marks, and that of each of the other ministers 36,000 marks.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

Each of the provinces of the Kingdom is placed under the superintendence of an 'Oberpräsident,' or governor, who has a salary of 21,000 marks. Each province has also a superior court of justice, a director of indirect taxes, and a consistory, all appointed by the king. The provinces are subdivided into Regierungsbezirke, or counties, and these again into 'Kreise' or circles, and the latter into Amtsbezirke or Burgermeistereien, these again into towns and Gemeinden or Gutsbezirke. Each county has a president and an administrative board or council; and the further subdivisions have also their local authorities. The councils and principal functionaries of the towns and communes (Gemeinden) are all elective, the system of voting being that of the three-class franchise, which secures the predominance of the wealthier electors. The principal officials must, moreover, be confirmed by the Government. The local councils deal with such matters as primary instruction, poor-relief, road-making, police, and local finance.

Area and Population.

I. PROGRESS AND PRESENT CONDITION.

The following table exhibits the area and population of the whole and of each of the 14 provinces on December 2, 1895, and on December 1, 1900.