12,000 voters or less, there were 5 in 1881; 12,000-16,000, 32 ; 16,000-20,000, 79; 20,000-24,000, 142; 24,000-28,000, 91; 28,000-32,000, 26; above 32,000 votes, 22. 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. The following are the Imperial authorities or Secretaries of State, 'Reichsbehörden;' they do not form a Ministry or Cabinet, but act independently of each other, under the general supervision of the Chancellor. 1. 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. 2. Ministry for Foreign Affairs.-Count von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg. 4 3. Imperial Home Office and Representative of the Chancellor. -Herr von Boetticher. 4. Imperial Admiralty.-General von Caprivi 5. Imperial Ministry of Justice,-Dr. von Schelling. 6. Imperial Treasury.-Herr von Burchard. 7. Imperial Post-Office.-Dr. Stephan. 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 as such has eleven 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; and for the Standing Orders. 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, 1880, showed the religious division of the population of the states composing the German Empire as follows:-Protestants, 28,331,152; Roman Catholics, 16,232,651; Christian sects of various denominations, 78,031; Jews, 561,612; other creeds, and with no religion,' 30,615. Expressed in percentages, the proportion of Protestants in the Empire in 1880 was 62.6 per cent.; of Roman Catholics, 35.9 per cent.; of other Christians, 0.2 per cent.; of Jews, 1-2 per cent.; of other creeds, '01 per cent. (For further particulars as to divisions of creeds, see the various States.) 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 of all recruits of the year 1883 only 1.32 per cent. could neither read nor write. In East and West Prussia and in Posen the percentage ranged from 6.5 to 11.81; in most of the other States the number was less than 1 per cent. In Alsace-Lorraine it was only 1.29 per cent. (For further particulars see Prussia, p. 123.) The following table gives the statistics of elementary and higher education in Germany for 1881–82 : : At the elementary schools there are 157 pupils to every 1,000 inhabitants, the largest proportion of any country except Switzerland, which has the same. In Prussia the proportion is 159 per 1,000. There were besides the above in 1883, nine technical high schools, with 4,129 students, and 994 industrial and trade schools, besides many institutions for special studies. There are twenty-one universities in the German Empire. The following table (p. 105) gives the list of statistics for 1884 : : There were besides a certain number of non-matriculated students-zum Besuch der Vorlesungen berechtigt'-the majority of them, namely, 1,230, at the university of Berlin. In four universities, namely Freiburg, Munich, Münster, and Würzburg, the faculties of theology are Roman Catholic; three are mixed, both Protestant and Roman Catholic-Bonn, Breslau, and Tübingen, and the remaining fourteen are Protestant. 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' only for one year; but also for any longer term 'in special cases.' 6 In the year ending March 31, 1882, the revenue was found to be definitely 31,702,0507., and the expenditure 30,625,2671.; in 1882-83 the revenue was 29,405,8447., and expenditure 29,933,7621., for 1883-84 the budget estimate of revenue and ex penditure was 29,527,8317. The following table gives the estimated total revenue (ordinary and extraordinary) and expenditure as approved by the Reichstag, for the financial year ending March 31, 1885: There were, in addition, supplementary credits amounting to 19,246,456 marks-19,092,491 marks for the Navy, and the remainder for the Ministry of the Interior. The contribution of the principal states of the Empire to the revenue for the year was calculated as follows:-Prussia, 39,852,157 mark; Bavaria, 18,327,607 mark; Württemberg, 6,849,478 mark; Baden, 4,615,269 mark; Saxony, 4,337,698 mark; and the Reichsland Alsace-Lorraine, 3,016,617 mark. The Imperial Budget for 1885-6 fixes the revenue and expenditure at 621,196,051 mark, or 31,059,8021., a sum which it is expected will have to be balanced by a loan of more than 44,500,000 mark. On October 1, 1884, the total funded debt amounted to 411,000,000 mark, or 20,550,000l. The whole debt bears interest at 4 per cent. Besides the funded there exists an unfunded debt, represented by Reichs-Kassen scheine,' or Imperial treasure bills, outstanding to the amount of 144,845,570 mark, or 7,242,2781., on April 1, 1884. As a set-off against the debt of the Empire there exist a variety of invested funds, of a total amount of 707,121,769 mark, or 35,356,0881. These funds comprise an 'Invalidenfond' of 525,783,797 mark, or 26,289,1891.; a Festungsbaufond,' of 38,877,623 mark, or 1,943,881.; fund for Parliament buildings, 22,460,354 mark, or 1,123,0177.; and a 'Kriegs-schatz' of 120,000,000 mark, or 6,000,0007. Army and Navy. By the Constitution of April 16, 1871, the Prussian obligation to serve in the army is extended to the whole Empire, it being enacted that' every German is liable to service—and no substitution is allowed.' Every German capable of bearing arms has to be in the standing army for seven years, as a rule from the finished twentieth till the commencing twenty-eighth years of his age. Of the seven years, three must be spent in active service and the remaining four in the army of reserve. After quitting the army of reserve, he has to form part of the Landwehr for another five years. By the Army Bill, the Prussian military legislation is applied to all the states of the Empire. The average annual number of young men actually drawn for the ordinary conditions of service in the army is 160,000; besides 5,000 who enter as volunteers for one year, and 5,000 for the marine. All men capable of bearing arms, who are not either in the Line, the Reserve, or the Landwehr, must belong to the Landsturm, which is divided into two classes, the first class comprising all able-bodied men up to the age of 42, who are not already in the army, and the second including the rest. The first class is organised into 293 Landsturm battalions on the model of the 293 existing Landwehr battalions. The 63rd Article of the Constitution of 1871 enacts 'the whole of the land forces of the Empire shall form a united army, in war and peace under the orders of the Kaiser.' The sovereigns of the principal states have the right to select the lower grades of officers; and the King of Bavaria, by a convention, signed Nov. 23, 1870, has reserved to himself the special privilege of superintending the general administration of that portion of the German army raised within his dominions. But the approval of the Kaiser must be obtained to all appointments, and nothing affecting the superior direction of the troops of any state of the Empire can be done without his consent. It is enacted by Art. 64 of the Constitution of 1871 that 'all German troops are bound to obey unconditionally the orders of the Kaiser, and must swear accordingly the oath of fidelity.' Art. 65 of the Constitution gives the Emperor the right |