Cyclopædia of Political Science, Political Economy, and the Political History of the United States

GERMAN EMPIRE

GERMAN EMPIRE. 1. Area and Population. The geographical position of Germany is almost in the centre of Europe, it being situated between the Slavonic lands of the East, and the Romanic countries of the West and South, and bordering in the north on Denmark, the home of a people who are the kinsfolk of the Germans. At one time the whole country from the Rhone to the eastern banks of the Vistula was tributary to the German king, when he, as emperor of Rome extended his supremacy even over Italy,. Of Poland, which was also tributary to him, the German rulers retained Silesia and Posen, and of Denmark they held Schleswig-Holstein; but all the land in the west, Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Arles, was in the course of time incorporated into France, which succeeded in securing even provinces whose population was chiefly of the Tentonic stock—Elsasa (Alsace) and German Lotharingia (Lorraine), which, however, through the war of 1871, again came under German rule. Others, such as Switzerland and the Netherlands, were, through the space of Westphalia, completely cut off from the empire. The only province which, until the wars of the French revolution, still formed part of the imperial dominion—Belgium—was, by the congress of Vienna, ceded to the Netherlands. For her losses in the west, Germany was partly compensated by an acquisition of territory in the east, where it made some inroads upon the Slavonic population.

—The present territory of the German empire, by the terms of the Treaties between the North German confederation and the South German states (December, 1870), and through the acquisition of Elsass (Alsace) and German Lotharingia (Loraine), embraces all the territory of the German league (Deutsche Bund), excepting Austria, Luxemburg and Liechtenstem, and includes the Prussian provinces—Prussia, Posen and Silesia—and the imperial province or territory of Elsass Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine). It is bounded on the north by the North sea, Denmark and the Baltic; on the east by Russia, Poland and Galicia; on the south by Austria from the Vistula to the take of Constance, and Switzerland; on west by France, Luxemburg, Belgium and the Netherlands. The present area and the population of the different states and principalities of the empire, including Elsass-Lothringen, according to the oeusus of Dec. 1, 1880, are shown in the following table:

As may be seen from the above table, the free towns, Hamburg, Bremen and Lubeck, take the lead as regards the increase of population during the census period. 1875-80; next comes Saxony, while Prussia comes last. As far as the decrease of the population is concerned, it was largest in the imperial province of Elsass-Lothringen. Of the total number of Population given, there were in the empire 22,185,433 males and 23,048,28 females; 275,856 were foreigners. The population of the principal cities having ever 100,000 inhabitants, was, according to the census of 1875 and 1880, respectively, as follows:

—Emigration, which had been on the decline for a short time, mainly owing to the unsettled condition during the civil war, of the United States, which received the largest average number of emigrants, has again been on the increase, especially since 1879. the number of German emigrants during the period 1870-80 was 625,425. Out of every 10,000 emigrants 9,345 went to the United States 22 to Canada, 4 to Central America and Mexico, 13 to the West Indies, 351 to Brazil, 73 to other states of South America, 21 to Africa, 5 to Asia, and 166 to Australia. Taking the census of 1875 as a basis, 13,9 out of every 1,000 emigrated from the German empire. Emigration was at its highest in 1854, when over a quarter of a million persons left Germany; after which it gradually declined till 1862, in which year the number was as low as 27,529; it rose again slowly, with fluctuations, will 1872, when there were 155,595 persons who left for the United States alone. In 1873 the total number was 130,937; in 1874 it was 75,503; in 1875 it declined to 56,289; in 1876, to 37,803; in 1877, to 21,964. In 1878 it again rose to 24,217; in 1879, to 33,327; and in 1880, to 106,190. Of the latter there were 63,778 men and 42,412 women, and about 103,115 emigrated to the United States of America, and 2,119 person to Brazil. In 1881 emigration materially increased again. During the period 1846-80 the total number of emigrants to the United States was over 3,000,000.

—II. Trade and Industry. As a branch of the industries whose province it is to develop the natural resources of a country, agriculture has attained a high state of perfection in Germany. Almost two-thirds of the entire population are engaged in it. The largest crops are returned by the low lands in the province of Prussia, the districts at the foot of the Alps in Bavaria, those at the foot of the mountain range from the upper Oder to the Maas river, the fertile marshes along the North sea, the strips along the Baltic, and those along the rivers and in the valleys.

—On the basis of the statistics taken in 1878, showing the state of agriculture in the empire, the following figures are obtained:

An approximate estimate of the cultivable and uncultivable area is given by the official returns, of the same year, from the states and districts names in the following tables:

The following table shows the principal products during the year 1880:

Comparing the crops of 1880 with the products imported and exported, our table shows the following results regarding the quantities of the principal products:

—The development of the mines is a very ancient branch of German industry, which at present employs a large number of men, and gives a powerful impetus to kindred branches of industry. Thought the precious metals, such as gold and silver, are not very abundant, the production of silver is probably the largest of any country in Europe. The equality of zinc obtained is only second to that of English zinc; lead is found in abundance; copper is also found in large quantities. Iron is found in quantities greatly exceeding those of any other mineral product; especially in Westphalia and the Rhenish provinces. The quantity of hard coal obtained is increasing from year to year, while the yield of salt is also very large. The production of meals and minerals in 1880 shows an increase over that of the year previous, as appears from the following table:

The growth of the iron industry is shown by use following figures:

The number of laborers employed in the manufacture of iron was, in 1878, 135,973; in 1879, 144,534; and in 1880, 163,899.

—The census taken in 1875 regarding the different trades gives the following figures:

—The growth of German commerce was greatly aided by the customs union (Zollverein) organized in 1833, under the lead of Prussia, and which gradually took in all the states of Germany. Through it and the formation, under the constitution, in 1871, of the territory subject to the uniform operation of the customs and excise laws of the empire (Zoll-u-Handelsgebiet), Germany was at last enabled to secure the position it now holds among the commercial nations of the world; a position it could not have achieved without it, divided as it had been from a political and economical point of view. The present union embraces all the states of the empire, with the exception of the free towns of Hamburg and Bremen, and localities which, owing to their geographical position, can not properly be incorporated into it. The free towns are to remain outside the union until they themselves demand admittance. Under the constitution, the powers and the duties of the former Zollverein parliament were vested in the imperial diet, while those of the council were transferred to the Bundesrath, which has three standing committees, namely, on finance, on taxes and customs, and on trade and commerce. All the receipts of the union are paid into a common treasury, and distributed among the several states of the empire in proportion to their respective population. The chief sources of revenue are customs duties, principally on imports, and taxes on spirits, wine, sugar manufactured from beet root, and tobacco. The population of the territory included in the customs union is estimated at 42,337,974, according to the census of 1875.

—The following statement gives the estimated value of the imports and exports in 1880 (figures are given in thousands):

—The following is a statement of the gross receipts on import and excise duties of the empire during the fiscal year 1880-81 (figures given in thousands):

—The merchant marine of Germany numbered, on Jan. 1, 1880, 4,777 vessels, of an aggregate tonnage of 1,171,286. Of these there were 374 steamers, of 196,343 tons. The following is a tabulated statement of the shipping as distributed among the different states:

—The number of sailing vessels and steamers coming to and going from the different ports of the empire in 1880, with tonnage, is shown by the following table:

—The railways of the empire as far as completed on July1, 1881, and open for traffic, had a total length of 33,872 Kilometres, or 21,000 English miles. The policy of the imperial government is to acquire, as soon as practicable, the right of property in all these lines, and place them under its exclusive control and management.

—As regards the telegraph service, we find that the total number of dispatches in the year 1880 was 14,412,598, of which 9,448,128 were inland, and 4,964, 470 foreign. The telegraph lines had, at the end of 1880, a length of 59,961 kilometres.

—The imperial post office carried 575,309,030 letters, 140,981,960 postal cards, 8,463,070 patterns, 104,100,720 stamped wrappers, and 348,973,287 newspapers, in the year 1880. The total receipts of the postoffice(including telegraphic service) in 1880-81, amounted to 136,647,195 mark, and the total expenditure to 120,237,476 mark. The post offices were 7,540 in number, with 5,659 telegraphic stations, at the end of 1880, and 63,413 persons were employed in the service.

—III. Religion and Education. In regard to the constitution and organization of the leading churches in the empire, it must be noticed, that of these churches of Protestant, or Evangelical, are not all alike in the several states. Though Prussia has circuit and provincial synods, it still is in want of a general representative body of the entire church, in which ecclesiastical authority might be completely vested. The supreme executive and administrative authority of the church is represented by the ecclesiastical council. The synodic system may be found in a more perfect form in Bavaria, Saxony, W¨rtemberg, Baden, Hesse, Saxe-Weimar, Oldenburg, Brunswick and Waldeck. In all these states, and in Elsass-Lothringen and the Hanse Towns, the organization and constitution of the church is presbyterial; in most of the other states the consistorial system prevails. The higher clergy are the general superintendents, the superintendents(deacons). and in Elsass-Lothringen the ecclesiastical inspectors. The total number of ministers of Protestant church in the empire is 16,000. The Catholic church has five archbishoprics; Köln and Gnesen-Posen in Prussia; München-Freising and Bamberg in Bavaria, Freiburg in Baden, Würtemberg, Hohenzollern, Hessen-Nassau—twenty bishoprics: Ermland, Kulm, Breslau, Hildesheim, Osnabrück, Münster, Paderborn, Fulda, Limburg and Trier, in Prussia; Augsburg, Passau, Regensburg, Eichstädt, Würzburg and Speyer, in Bavaria; Röttenburg in W¨rtemberg. Mainz in Hesse, Strasburg and Metz in Elsass-Lothringen, and three apostolic vicariates. In the several states of the empire there are, in all about 20,000 priests and more than 800 monastic institutions. The Jesuits and a number of similar orders were, by act of July 4,1872, excluded from the territory of the empire. The Old Catholics have one bishop, who has his seat at Bonn.

—According to the census of 1875, the different churches and denominations were, as regards the number of their adherents, as follows:

—Popular education in Germany is of the highest order, and in regard to the number of people enjoying an average education, Germany is among the first. Since 1854, until the establishment of the empire, the secular authorities in the Protestant states even indulged in the opinion that the revolutionary and liberal spirit residing in the masses might be kept down by handing the schools over to the absolute control of the clergy. But those who fathered this surrender of the secular character of the people's schools, could not prevent the ultramontanes from taking advantage of the discontent that was aroused among the people, and securing for themselves whatever benefits there were in the reaction of the church against the spirit of liberalism aroused among the masses, as an incident to the revolutionary movement that swept over Germany in 1848. Since the establishment of the German empire under the headship of a state whose population is largely Protestant, the dangers which lay in handing over an instution—which, as the common schools, exercises such a powerful influence on the character of the people—to the exclusive control of the clergy, became even more apparent, and a movement is slowly setting in, which is in favour of placing the educational institutions of the people on a more liberal basis and making them more independent of the authority of the church. The census taken in Prussia in 1871 also paid some attention to education. There were, in Prussia, 16,008,417 persons over ten years of age who could read and write; of 296,084 persons over ten years, the educational condition was not stated; while 2,258,490 persons, or 12 per cent, over ten years, were reported as without any education. The proportion in the several provinces is somewhat different, as the following table shows:

In the other states the same fluctuations were noticeable, though in some the period of reaction was of shorter duration than in Prussia, in consequence of which the schools in states like Saxony, Baden, Brunswick and Würtemberg outstripped the rest. The number of the common or primary schools in the empire is estimated at about 60,000, in which about six millions of pupils are instructed. To every thousand inhabitants there are 150 pupils. The total number of teachers, male and female, is calculated at 75,000. As connecting schools between those of the lower grade and the higher grade, are the intermediate schools. Those of the higher grade are divided into so called real schulen and gymnasia. The real schulen, which are again divided into those of the first and of the second grade, and into the so-called higher citizens' schools—bürger-Schulen—furnish the rudiments of the technical arts and sciences. In 1874 there were 106 real schulen, 42 of the second grade, and 107bürger-Schulen, with 82,000 pupils. The course of the gymnasia embraces the sciences and arts, and prepares the pupils for public service, and for admission to the universities. In 1874 they were 333 in number(183 Evangelical, 57 Catholic, and 93 mixed), besides 170 progymnasia and Latin schools, having, in all, 108,000 pupils. For the education of primary school teachers there are 156 seminaries, of which 110 are Evangelical and 41 Catholic. Then there are quite a number of theological seminaries, both Protestant and Catholic. The universities have principally four faculties: the theological, the law, the medical, and philosophical. The oldest university in the German empire is the university of Heildelberg(1386); the youngest, that of Strasburg(1872). There are in all, including the academy of Münster, twenty-one universities, of which ten are in Prussia, three in Bavaria, one in Saxony, one in Würtemberg, two in Baden, one in Elsass-Lothringen, one in Hesse, one in Thüringa, and one in Mecklenburg. The number of students averages 20,000; the number of professors, 1,800. In addition to all these schools there are a number of polytechnic, commercial, military and agricultural schools, colleges of music, and naval academies. Education in the primary schools is made general and compulsary throughout the empire, which is certainly the most effective means of securing an average education to the largest number of people.

—IV. Army and Navy. As one of the results of the war of 1866, the military organization of Prussia was introduced into the armies of all the North German states; after the establishment of the German empire in 1871, it was adopted by all the states in South Germany. The leading provisions were either incorporated in the constitution and in the act of May 2, 1874, concerning the organization of the military, or they were adopted as part of the laws of the empire. Added to these are the acts passed in 1874 concerning the control of the troops not on active duty and relating to the organization of the landsturm; also the act of May 6, 1880, increasing the imperial army on the peace footing. The military forces of the empire are composed of the army, the navy and the landsturm; the army is divided into regular troops and the militia, the navy into the fleet of war and the marines. In the regular army and the fleet, all those who are liable to military service are disciplined and prepared for active duty. These bodies are always ready for service, while the militia and the marines are only called out in case of actual war, and the landsturm is employed only on the defensive in case of the country should require it. By article 57 of the constitution the obligation to serve in the army is made general; it provides that "every German shall be liable to service, and no substitution is allowed." Under article 59 of the constitution, every German capable of bearing arms has, as a rule, to be in the standing army for seven years, from his twentieth till the commencement of his twenty-eighth year. Of the seven years three must be spent in active service, and the remaining four in reserve duty; he is obliged to join thelandwehr or militia for another five years. The service of the landsturm takes in all those capable of bearing arms, from seventeen to forty-two years of age, who are not otherwise on military duty. The German army, as at present organized, numbers about 1,800,000 men. The 63d article of the constitution provides that the whole of the land forces of the empire shall form a consolidated army, which in war and peace shall be under the command of the emperor. The sovereigns of the principal states have the right to select the lower grades of officers; and by the stipulation of Nov.23,1871, the king of Bavaria has reserved the privilege of superintending the general administration of that portion of the consolidated army raised within his dominions. Yet the emperor must approve of all appointments made, and nothing which may affect the superior direction of the troops of any state of the empire can be done without his consent. By article 64 all German troops are bound to obey unconditionally the orders of the emperor, and must take the oath of fidelity. Article 65 invests the emperor with power to order the erection of fortresses in any part of the empire, and by article 68 he has the power, in case the public order and safety are threatened, to declare any country or district in a state of siege.

—The army of the German empire, as constituted in October, 1879, consists of 150 regiments of infantry, including the guards, 20 battalions of jäger, or riflemen; 93 regiments of cavalry; 49 regiments of artillery; 20 battalions of engineers, including a railway regiment, and 18 battalions of military train. The following shows the strength and organization of the imperial army on a peace footing:

The strength and organizaation of the imperial army on the war footing is as follows:

In the above statement are not included the troops of the field reserve, organized in 1876, numbering about 250,000 men, and those of the landsturm. The calculation is that, with the addition of the landsturm, Germany may place in the field at any time two and a half millions of armed men without drawing upon the last reserves. For military purposes, the empire is divided into seventeen districts, each represented by one army corps. The guards, taken from Prussia and Elsass Lothringen(Alsace-Lorraine) do not belong to any special division.

—The fortress system of Germany has, since the Franco-German war, been remodeled; a number of old fortified places, which were considered useless, have been abolished; many new ones have been constructed, and others enlarged. The empire is divided into nine fortress districts, which are, together with the fortified places contained in them as follows:

Districts.	Fortresses.
1. Königsberg...	Königsberg, Maricuburg, Dirschau, Memel, Pillau
2. Danzig...	Danzig, Thorn, Kolberg, Stralsund, Swinemflüde.
3. Posen...	Posen, Glogen, Neisse, Glatz;
4. Berlin...	Küstrin, Magdebnrg, Spandan, Konigstein, Torgau
5. Mainz...	Mainz, Rastatt, Strasburg, Ulm, NeuBreisach.
6. Metz...	Metz, Diedenbofen, Saarlonis, Bitsch.
7. Köln...	Köln, Koblenz, Ehrenbrentotein, Dümseldorf, Wesel.
8. Altona...	Sounderburg, Döppel, Travemouth, Friedrichsort, Emsmouth, Krel, Elhemouth, Wessermouth, Wilherlmahaven.
9. München...	Ingolstadt, Germersherm.

—So far as the navy is concerned, rapid progress has been made for the last ten years. The fleet of war at the command of the empire consisted at the close of 1881, of twenty-two ironclads, including three not completed, fifty-nine other steamers, and four sailing vessels. The following gives a detailed list of them:

—According to a plan proposed by the imperial government in 1873, and by the diet, the German navy is to be largely increased. By March 31,1883, the date set for the completion of the reforms in the navy, Germany will in all probability have a floating armament of eight ironclad frigates, six ironclad corvettes, one monitor, thirteen gunboats also ironclad, twenty wooden corvettes, six dispatch boats, nine other large and nine small gunboats, two artillery ships, three sailing brigs and twenty torpedo boats. At the close of 1880 the German navy was manned by 5,189 seamen and officered by one admiral, one vice-admiral, three rear admirals, fifteen captains and 401 lieutenants. There were, besides 1,297 marines; artillery, numbering 458 men; in all 7,365 officers and men. The sailors of the fleet and marines are raised by conscription from the seafaring population, which on this account is exempt from other military service. The seafaring population, of Germany is estimated at 80,000, of whom 48,000 are employed in the inland merchant navy, and about 6,000 in foreign navies. There are three ports of war, at Kiel and Danzig on the Baltic, and at Wilhelmshaven in the bay of Jade on the North sea.

—V. Constitution and Government. The political unity of Germany being an accomplished fact, it is a matter of more than curious interest to know that it required not only the slow process of great events, the combined powers of a successful war and of a diplomacy of the first order, to unite a country which was divided into so many principalities, great and small, as the land over which the Carlovingians and their successors once exercised their mighty sway. At the beginning of and during the eighteenth century, when the political division of Germany was greatest, there were no less than 1,762 rulers, who though by no means equal in influence, dignity and power, occupied each on independent dominion, and who were only loosely kept together in some sort of political union by the imperial power, whose dignity and influence, however, were fast declining. As a consequence of the revolutionary wars of France, the frail fabric of the Holy Roman empire of the German nation fell to pieces, and finally led, Aug.6. 1806, to the abdication of Francis II. as the head of the empire, and the relinquishment by him of its office and dignity. The fall of Napoleon I. brought about, with some slight exceptions, the same territorial and political divisions which Germany enjoyed in 1792; when finally the proceedings at the congress of Vienna resulted in a confederation, Deutsche Bund, which was as little capable of uniting the nation politically, as the empire which had preceded it. It was not till after the successful wars of 1866 and of 1870-71 that Germany realized the sense of political unity and the powers which none but a close political compact could give. The first of these wars, which resulted in shutting out Austria, and leaving the South German states to themselves, had the effect of uniting the other states under the leadership of Prussia, in what became known as the North German confederation,(Nord-Deutsche Bund). The successful issue of the Franco-German war finally led to the establishment of the German empire, which, under the headship of Prussia, includes besides the members of the North German confederation, the South German states and Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine).

—The organic laws of the new empire consist of the constitution, which the German governments agreed on, and which is but a slight modification of the constitution of the North German confederation, the treaties concluded with the South German states for its ratification, and by which to some of these states certain reserved rights were guaranteed, and the military stipulations made with the several states comprising the new confederation. The imperial constitution is dated April 16, 1871. A few amendments were made in 1873. It is composed of seventeen chapters and seventy-eight articles. Chapter one defines the territorial extent or dominion of the new government. The government of the empire, in its broadest sense, is composed of the emperor, (as presiding or executive officer), the imperial chancellor, and the various subordinate executive and administrative officers, the Bundesrath(which see)and the imperial diet or Reichstag, as constituting the legislative and representative powers of the nation. There is no strict division or limitation of powers, as in the constitution of the United States, exercised by the different branches of the government, as will be seen by a reference to the organization and the functions of each of these branches. The Bundesrath is the chief executive and administrative body of the empire; yet, exceeding the ordinary functions of such a body, it has the power of originating, submitting and approving legislative measures, and thus acts as a sort of upper house to the imperial diet (CONSTITUTION, chap. iv.) For a further enumeration of its powers and its organization, see article BUNDESRATH. The imperial diet or Reichstag is composed of representatives elected by universal suffrage and ballot. The Reichstag constitutes, together with the Bundesrath, the legislative branch of the government. Bills or legislative measures originating with the latter, require the approval of the former, in order to become a law. Before the laws thus passed can take effect, they must be assented to by the emperor, and countersigned by the chancellor of the empire. The Reichstag has the power to originate, and, with the advice and consent of the Bundesrath, to enact laws. Petitions sent into the Reichstag may be reoffered to the Bundesrath for further action. The members of the imperial diet, who receive no compensation for their services are elected for three years in the ratio of one representative for every 10,000 inhabitants, according to the last census. A state having less than 100,000 inhabitants, is entitled to one representative. Every German, being twenty-five years of age, has the right to vote in which he may reside. Every German is eligible as a representative to the Reichstag, who is twenty-five years old, and has resided in one of the states of the empire at least one year previous to the election, except he be rendered ineligible for the same reasons that disqualify him as an elector, such as his being under guardianship or because of some legal disability, that he is in bankruptcy, a public pauper, or deprived of the rights of citizenship by the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction. According to the last census the several states are entitled to the following number of representatives: Prussia, 236; Bavaria, 48;Würtemberg, 17; Saxony, 23; Baden, 14; Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 6; Hesse, 9; Oldenburg, Saxe-Weimar, Brunswick, and the free town of Hamburg. 3 each; Saxe-Meiningeu, Anhalt, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, 2 each;Mecklenburg -Strelitz, Saxe-Altenburg, the principalities of Waldeck, Lippe, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Reuss-Schleiz, Schaumburg-Lippe and Reuss-Greiz and the free towns, Lübeck and Bremen, 1 each; Elsass-Lothringen, 15; making, in all, 397 representatives. A dissolution of the imperial diet short of the term of three years for which the members are elected, can only be effected by a resolution of the Bundesrath, and with the advice and consent of the emperor; in which case a new election must take place within sixty days, and the new diet must convene within ninety days, from the dissolution of the old diet. The diet can not, without the consent of its members, be prorogued for a longer period than thirty days, and not oftener than once during any one session. Government officials, who may be elected to the Reichstag, require no leave of absence in order to attend its sessions: yet if a member of the diet be appointed to a public office, or promoted, he must submit to a new election. The members of the Reichstag are, when in session, privileged from arrest, except when seized in the commission of some public offense; any previous proceeding pending against a member may, should the diet so demand it, be stayed during the sessions. Each member may exercise the right of free speech on the floor of the legislative assembly, and can not be held responsible outside the diet for his acts or speeches relating to the proceedings of, or touching any measure pending before that body. The proceedings of the Reichstag are public; each vote requires an absolute majority, a majority of the members duly elected being present. The diet elects its presiding officers and appoints its clerks and committees. (Constitution, chap. v.) Both the imperial diet and the Bundesrath are convoked once a year for the purpose of fixing the public budget.

—The third branch of the government is represented by the executive or presiding officer, the emperor. Though forming the head of a federation composed of independent states or sovereigns, the imperial office and dignity is essentially the embodiment of monarchical traditions. Though, by law, made hereditary in the crown of Prussia, the imperial dignity is, in the opinion of him who exercises it, as much a gift of divine grace as any kingly crown since the days when Charles the Great styled himself Carolus serenissimus Augustus, a Deo coronatus qui per misericordiam Dei rer. And the exercise of the imperial office and its prerogatives is looked upon by the rulers of the empire as of divine right, as much as the royal prerogatives they individually enjoy as rulers of their several dominions. The emperor has the power of appointing and receiving ambassadors, of representing the German empire in its relations with foreign governmetns and in all international affairs, of declaring war,(though without the consent of the Bundesrath only in case of a foreign invasion), and of concluding treaties of peace, of forming alliances and of entering into diplomatic and other treaties with foreign governments.

—Under chapter two of the constitution, the legislative powers of the government are vested in the Reichstag and the Bundesrath. They have power to pass laws defining the right and regulating the change of domicile (excepting as to Bavaria), regulating the rights of citizenship, passports, the police surveillance of resident foreigners, and the trades, as also insurance, colonization and immigration; to raise revenue and regulate commerce, the coinage of money, the issue of currency; to fix the standard of weights and measures, and regulate the banking system; to prescribe the rules for issuing and for the protection of patents and copyrights; to pass laws for the encouragement and protection of German commerce and navigation and for the establishment of a proper consular system, for the control of the railway system, and for the improvement of streams, and the construction of high ways and canals in the interest of trade and commerce, and the regulation of internal navigation; to establish and prescribe rules for the postal and telegraph service (excepting as to Bavaria); to provide for the manner of enforcing in one state judgments and decrees rendered in another state, and for the authentication of public documents; to pass civil and criminal laws of uniform application throughout the empire, and to establish courts of competent jurisdiction for the enforcement and administration of these laws; to organize and prescribe rules governing the military and naval service; to pass sanitary rules and regulations; and to control and regulate the public press and the organization of private societies. Article three of the same chapter provides that the citizens or subjects of each state shall enjoy the rights and immunities of citizens in the several states composing the empire, and shall be in all respects equal before the law throughout the federal dominion. This is a provision somewhat similar to the one contained in the constitution of the United States. Chapter six relates to the tariff and commerce. Under it, the operation of the tariff laws and such as regulate public commerce extends throughout the dominion of the empire, which, to that end, forms a close union: excluded from this union are such districts as are not, on account of their geographical position, fit to be incorporated, while the free cities of Hamburg and Bremen are also excluded, until they move to be incorporated in the union. The revenues provided for by the imperial government are raised and administered by the governments of the individual states; the emperor, through proper officers, sees to it that the provisions of the law in the raising of the revenues are properly observed and carried out by the revenue officers of the different states. Chapter seven gives the control of the railways, except those of Bavaria and Würtemberg, to the imperial government. By virtue of chapter eight the postal and telegraph service is also placed under the control and management of the imperial government. Chapter nine relates to the navy and navigation, giving the chief command of the navy and the appointment of its officers to the king of Prussia. Chapter ten provides that the consular service shall be under the control of the emperor. Who, with the advice of the committee of the Bundesrath on trade and commerce, shall appoint the several consuls. Under chapter eleven the military forces of the empire form one consolidated army, whose commander-in-chief shall be the emperor, and which is to be governed by the rules and regulations established for the organization and discipline of the army of Prussia. Chapter twelve relates to the finances of the empire, and provides that all receipts and expenses shall be fixed by law before the commencement of the next fiscal year. The chancellor is required to submit annually an account of the receipts and expenditures of the empire to the Bundesrath and the Reichstag. In case the revenues raised by the several states are not sufficient to meet the expenses of the government, and as long as the empire does not raise its own revenue, the chancellor has the power to call upon the several states for special contributions in proportion to their population, in order to meet the deficiency. In case of necessity the imperial government may also make loans, and pledge the public credit. Chapter thirteen relates to legal remedies and penalties; it confers on the court of appeals of Lübeck exclusive jurisdiction in cases of treason; all other offenses against the imperial government or any of its public officers are tried by the courts having competent jurisdiction under the laws of the state where the offense may be committed. Controversies between two or more of the states composing the empire, and whose organic laws do not provide for some mode of redress, are to be referred to the Bundesrath for adjudication; in case the Bundesrath in unable to reach a decision, the controversies are to be settled by the legislative powers of the empire. In case a suitor should be without a remedy under the laws of the state in whose courts he may apply for legal redress, he may invoke the aid of the Bundesrath, whose duty it is to compel the government of the particular state to furnish the proper remedy. Chapter fourteen provides that amendments to the constitution may be proposed by either of the legislative bodies; and are declared rejected, if fourteen votes of the Bundesrath are against their adoption. Chapter fifteen contains some general provisions declaring certain laws passed by the North German diet part of the laws of the new empire.

—At the head of the administrative department of the empire is the chancellor's office, with the several departments, such as form the office of the postmaster-general, those presided over by the general director of the telegraph service, and those having charge of the affairs of Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine). Connected with the chancellor's office are also the statistical bureau, the bureau regulating the right of domicile, and the board of railway managers. The chancellorship and the ministry of foreign affairs are at present held by one and the same person, Prince Bismarck; the ambassadors and consuls of the empire are subject to his order and control. Added to the imperial administration are committees or boards on customs and excise duties, on emigration, on education, and a board of auditors; there was, also, until the establishment, in 1877, of the imperial court of last resort, a court of commerce, located at Leipzig, having original jurisdiction touching matters of trade and commerce.

—The German empire has as yet no so-called federal judiciary, except the imperial court of last resort, established at Leipzig by an imperial act passed March 24, 1877. The civil and criminal jurisdiction of the country is vested in the several state courts. Yet a series of laws passed by the imperial diet in 1877 gave these courts a uniform organization, and uniformity in both their civil and criminal procedure. The first is the law on the organization of the judiciary passed Jan. 27, the second is the code of civil procedure passed Jan. 30, and the third is the code of criminal procedure passed Feb. 1; added to these is the bankruptcy act passed Feb. 10, 1877. All these laws took effect on and from Oct. 1, 1879. A very important step toward consolidating the government and strengthening the feeling of nationality throughout the empire was the passage of the act, Dec. 20, 1873, whereby the whole range of civil and criminal laws was placed within the sphere of the legislative powers of the empire. Aside from their procedure and organization, the state courts constitute the judiciary of the several states whose governments appoint the judges, though their qualifications are fixed by the law of the empire; the government of each state also establishes and defines the judicial districts within its territory, and fixes the rules of practice governing its courts. The imperial court has both original and final jurisdiction in all cases of high treason and treasonable offenses against the government or its head, the emperor, the same jurisdiction, which, by the original draft of the constitution, had been conferred on the supreme court of appeals in Lübeck. Its appellate jurisdiction extends to all cases of appeal properly so called, whereby a new trial and decision, touching both facts and law of such cases as are tried by theschoeffengerichte—courts of inferior criminal jurisdiction, composed of judges learned in the law and two or more laymen—may be obtained, and such cases may be remanded to the supreme court of the particular state where the case originally arose. As a court of last resort it also acts as a court of error; as such it has the power to review the proceedings of the courts in banc(landsgerichte)and of such courts as have trial by jury(schwurgerichte). Either the decisions rendered in such cases are reviewed, or the cases are remanded for further proceedings. Cases arising under the laws of an individual state are remanded to a court of review, composed of five judges of the supreme court of such state. If, however, the cases arise under the laws of the empire, the imperial court does not remand such cases on appeal, but exercises exclusive and final jurisdiction as a court of error.

—The German empire is now composed of twenty-five states or principalities, including the free towns of Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen, having governments of their own, and the imperial province of Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine), which, as such, is placed under the direct control of the government of the empire. Under its constitution, the empire forms a perpetual union of the states for the protection of the realm and the case of the welfare of the German people.

—VI.Finances. As will be seen by a reference to what we have said speaking of the constitution of the empire, the ordinary expenditure of the empire is defrayed from the revenues arising from customs, certain branches of excise, and the profits of the postal and telegraph service. In case the receipts from these various sources of income should not be sufficient to cover the expenditures, the individual states may be assessed to make up the deficit, each state being required to contribute in proportion to its population. The ordinary expenditure is, as a rule, to be voted only for one year, but, in special cases, may be voted for a longer term. The fiscal year, formerly coincident with the calendar year, was made to run from April 1 to March31, in 1877—In the public budget for the fiscal year 1881-2, the total amount of the revenue of the empire was fixed at 592,956,554 mark; the amount of expenditure was the same. By an act dated June 27, 1881, an additional appropriation was made, amounting to 395,846 mark, 365,000 mark of which were set down for extraordinary (eiumalige) expenditure, which are to be either taken from surplus funds, or raised by special contributions on the part of each state. The revenues consist of:

	Mark
Customs and excise duties...	333,490,150
Stamps on cards...	11,100,000
Stamps on negotiable instruments...	6,106,900
Statistical fees...	300,000
Profits of posts and telegraphs...	18,697,115
Profits of railways...	11,039,400
Profits of government printing office...	1,061,520
Imperial bank...	1,303,430
Various receipts of the administration...	5,813,501
From the invalid fund of the empire...	31,071,344
Surplus of former years...	6,529,730
Interests of imperial funds...	3,842,605
Extraordinary supply...	67,108,306
State contributions...	103,288,523
Total...	592,936,554

The customs and excise duties exceed those of the previous year by twenty-eight million mark. Contributions from such provinces as are not included in the tariff union, amount to 6,790,540 mark, exceeding those of the previous year by 389,940 mark. The receipts of the postal and telegraph service are estimated at 137,721,760 mark (four million more than those of the previous year), and the ordinary or continual expenses at 119,024,605 mark. The receipts of the railways are fixed at 37,635,000 mark (one and a fourth million more than those of the year before), and the expenses at 26,595,60 mark.

—The extraordinary contributions, besides the special contributions of the states, serve to balance the accounts of the budget. As will be seen from the table on next page, the extraordinary or special expenditures are estimated at about 81 1/8million mark; of these,14½ million are raised by state contributions, while the balance is to come partly from the imperial funds, partly from loans.

—The state contributions as estimated exceed by 21½ million mark those of the previous year. They are levied upon the several states as follows:

	Mark
Prussia...	52,501,405
Bavaria...	20,149,588
Saxony...	5,624,998
Würlemberg...	7,281,433
Baden...	5,185,452
Hease...	1,806,698
Mecklenburg-Schwerin...	1,129,489
Saxe-Weimar...	597,434
Mecklenburg-Strelitz...	195,125
Oldemburg...	651,238
Brannsch weig...	667,304
Saxe-Memingen...	396,669
Saxe-Altenburg...	297,448
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...	372,4 9
Anhalt...	435,502
Schwarzburg-Sonkershausen...	137,625
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt...	136,379
Waldeck...	111,648
Reuse-Greiz...	95,823
Reuss-Schleiz...	188,285
Schaumburg-Lippe...	67,575
Lippe...	229,843
Lübeck...	116,070
Breman...	290,016
Hamburg...	792,588
Elass-Lothringen...	3,810,854

These are, however, to be somewhat revised by the government in the course of the year on the basis of the census of 1880.

—The expenditures are distributed as follows:

Barring the surplus of previous years and the state contributions, the resources of the empire have been increased about twenty-eight million mark, owing to the increase in the amount of customs and excise duties. The draft of the public budget for 1882-3 estimates the receipts and expenditures at 607,234,771 mark. Of the expenditures, those that are extraordinary or special are fixed at 72,093,979, and 534,140,792 mark is the amount of those which are ordinary or continual. The fiscal year 1880-81 resulted in a deficiency of twelve million mark, which must be made up. In order to balance the receipts and expenditures, the state contributions are calculated at 115,712,740 mark, an increase, therefore, of more than twelve million mark. the fiscal year 1881-2 is expected to yield a surplus of fifteen million mark.

—At the time of the establishment of the German empire, it had, as such, no public debt. The public debt has been created in recent years. On Feb. 1, 1881, the total funded debt amounted to 251,000,000 mark; added to which is a new debt of 102,540,088 mark, contracted in virtue or certain acts passed March 28 and May 24, 1881. The whole debt bears interest at 4 per cent. Besides the funded debt, there is an unfunded debt represented by reichs-kassenschine, or imperial treasury notes, to the amount of 155,785,540 mark, outstanding on April 1, 1881. As offsetting this debt, there are a number of invested funds, amounting in all to 865,487,928 mark. Among these funds are the invalid fund of 546,418,885 mark, the fund for the erection of fortresses, amounting to 64,913,470 mark, and a war fund of 120,000,000 mark.

—In regard to the monetary system of the empire, on Jan. 1, 1872, a law for the uniformity of coinage throughout the empire, passed by the imperial diet, was published, under which law, the standard of value is gold. The same law provided for the substitution of the mark, of 100 pfennig, as the general coin, to commence on Jan. 10, 1875. There are gold five-mark, ten-mark and twenty-mark pieces, the first called halbe-krone(half-crown), the second krone, and the third doppel-krone(double crown).

—VII.History. On July 19, 1870, France followed up its threatening and daring attitude toward Prussia by a declaration of war. Contrary to the expectations of the French monarch and his advisers, not only the South German states took up the causes of Prussia, but the people throughout the land were willing to flock to the banner of the Prussian monarch, in order to resent the insult which in their opinion he had received; and to settle the old issue, which, since the days of Andernach, divided the French and the Germans, and which, later on, had been formulated in the literature of the two nations as the contest between the spirit of the Germanic races on the one hand, and that of Latin races on the other.

—In spite of a small body of opponents in southern Germany, who were either jealous of the supremacy of the Hohenzollern, or, for some other reason, opposed to the unity of the German states, the large body of the people was unanimous in encouraging the government to insist on the observance of the terms, which called for an alliance between the South German states and the North German confederation; and in hastening the general uprising of the nation against its traditional foe. The unity of the German people, on which, for generations, the aspirations of its patriots and poets had been centered, seemed to have become at once an accomplished fact. With the masses of the German people that unity soon became the leading idea of that short but memorable war, which taxed all the material and intellectual resources of the two nations.

—With the fall of the French capital the war came to a close, resulting in the acceptance by the French of all the conditions imposed upon them, of which conditions the surrender of Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine) was hailed by the conquering nation as the only rational means of settling the traditional disputes flowing from the territorial division of the kingdom of Ludwig (Louis) the Pious.

—The enthusiasm in which the German people indulged over their glorious achievements in the field, soon deepened into the feeling that they were again a nation, not only bound together by the ties of blood, but also, a nation worthy of a common government, in which the traditions of the empire might be perpetuated, and the liberties of the people safely lodged. The call of the people for such a government, one which might realize their aspirations toward unity, became so imperative that the South Germ an states could no longer resist it. It has become quite evident that their safety, no less than that of the rest of Germany, depended upon the consolidation of the different German branches, into which the nation was divided, and that, in the defeat of its traditional foe on the other side of the Rhine, a most powerful enemy to all attempts at uniting the Germans politically had been defeated. The principal difficulties lay in the way of deciding upon some form of government, which, while satisfying the desire of the people for unity, was calculated to infringe as little as possible upon the relative independence of the individual states, especially those of South Germany, and upon the sovereignty which they had hitherto enjoyed in the regulation of their internal affairs. Baden was the first state which raised the question, on Sept. 2. 1870, of consolidating the German states into a more perfect and permanent political union. Bavaria followed, by proposing a conference in which this question should be discussed. On Sept. 21, Delbrück, the chancellor of the North German confederation, went, at the request of Count Bismarck, from Ferrières, where the Prussians had their headquarters, to Munich, to receive the propositions of the South German states in regard to the matter. In these conferences, however, in which the head of the judicial department of Würtemberg, Minister Mittnacht, took part, the claims of Bavaria were of such a nature that no agreement was arrived at. Bismarck then invited the South German governments, except Bavaria, to send plenipotentiaries to Versailles, with a view to a conference to be held there, the attendance on which was left optional with Bavaria. In the several conferences held at that place during the month of October, and at which the South German states were represented by two plenipotentiaries each, and the North German confederation by ministers Delbrück, Roon and Friessen, the negotiations resulted, on Nov. 15, in an agreement with Hesse and Bade, by which they accepted the constitution of the North German confederation, after some slight changes had been made in it concerning the administration and control of the postal department and the railroads, and the regulation of the revenue. In regard to the military condition of Hesse a special stipulation was made; a conference held on Nov. 25 regulated those of Baden, whose military quota became part of the German, that is, Prussian, army. The treaty was finally ratified on Dec. 16 and 19 respectively by the two chambers of Baden and on Dec. 20 and 29 by those of Hesse. On Nov. 23 the treaty was signed by Bavaria, after it had secured some special privileges. Bavaria retained its right to be represented at foreign governments by its own ambassadors: the control and regulation of its military, its postal and telegraph service, and its railroads; and the right to pass certain revenue laws and laws defining and regulating the right of domicile. Bavaria secured, in addition, a permanent seat in the committee of the Bundesrath on the army and fortifications. The Bundesrath was to have a committee on foreign affairs, consisting of representatives of the kingdoms of Bavaria, Saxony and Würtemberg, the chairmanship of which was conceded to Bavaria. In this committee any amendment of the constitution might be defeated by a veto of the fourteen members of which the committee was to be composed. Though the national party was of the opinion that the terms of this compact recognized the independence of the several states to a greater extent than was just, it met, on grounds quite opposite to this, with a powerful opposition in the Bavarian chamber of deputies, and was not ratified until Jan. 21, 1871; whereas the federal council had ratified it on Dec. 30 of the year previous.

—The treaty with Würtemberg was concluded on Nov. 25, 1870. Its provisions were in the main similar to those contained the treaty with Baden, with the exception that Würtemberg retained the right to regulate its postal and telegraph service within its own territory and as far as it extended into the territory of adjoining states. At the same time a stipulation was entered into by Prussia and Würtemberg, according to which the military forces of Würtemberg were to be united into one corps, and form, as such, an integral part of the consolidated army. The newly elected chamber of deputies finally ratified the treaty on Dec. 23, while the upper chamber sanctioned it on Dec. 29. Official notice of the ratification of the treaties with Baden, Hesse and Würtemberg was given in Berhn on Dec. 3, 1870, and that of the treaty with Bavaria on Jan. 29, 1871, after the diet of the North German confederation, which had convened in Berlin, Nov 24, had sanctioned it on Dec. 9, 1870. In the meantime the king of Bavaria suggested that the title of German emperor should be given to the head of the new confederation, and thus the splendor and dignity of imperial office be revived. The federal diet issued an address to king of Prussia, expressing a similar desire, which was presented to him at Versailles by President Simson, heading a delegation of thirty members of the North German diet, on Dec. 18,1870. Whereupon, on Jan. 18, 1871, the king of Prussia, Wilhelm 1., was, on motion of the princes and representatives of the free cities of Germany, assembled at Versailles, invested with the hereditary dignity and accepted the office of German emperor. Thus, after Germany's traditional foe, who was bent upon destroying the integrity of the German nation, had been defeated, and the people of Germany were once more united, it was natural that they should connect in thought their present great achievement with the glories of the past, and indulge in the illusion that the imperial office of Charles the Great and the empire of Otto I. had been revived. Intense as the enthusiasm of the people was over the results of the war, they hailed with equal delight the assurance of a peaceful policy, which the first proclamation of the new emperor of the Germans gave to his people. After referring to the constitution of the North German confederation, in which provision had been made for a revival of the imperial dignity, the emperor said that he considered it his duty to accept that dignity; that, in doing so, he was mindful of the duty to protect with that fidelity which was a national characteristic of the German people, the prerogatives of the German empire and the countries composing it; to maintain the peace, and to defend, with the aid of the combined powers of the nation, the independence of Germany. In conclusion, the emperor trusted that he and those to whom the imperial crown would be handed down, might forever add to the power and dignity of its dominion, not by military conquests, but by increasing the blessings of peace, thus promoting the general welfare, freedom and civilization of the nation.

—The proclamation was issued from the headquarters at Versailles on Jan. 17, 1871. The acceptance of the imperial office had the effect of changing the name by which the union of the German states was henceforth to be known; the designation Deutsches Bund was now changed into Deutsches Reich. Thus the German league, or, more strictly speaking, the North German confederation, ceased, and the German empire took its place. The great gain made by the Germans, through the successful conclusion of war, was in a great measure due to the fact that they had carried on the war without foreign aid, and has persistently rejected all foreign intervention in securing the terms of peace finally agreed upon. There had been no want of a disposition on the part of some of European powers to interfere. Among the European powers the czar of Russia was the only one who was decidedly in favor of the Germans. Italy and Austria sympathized with France. Denmark likewise hoped for the success of the French arms. England, at first, showed some indignation at the policy of the French government which aimed at a disturbance of the peace of Europe. Subsequently, however, the French were furnished with arms and ammunition from British soil, and active aid, which was not interfered with by the English government until Bismarck remonstrated against it.

—On March 17, 1871, William I., now emperor of Germany, returned to Berlin. On March 21 the first imperial diet convened. The elections had turned a majority decidedly in favor of the new order of things, and in support of a national policy; yet among the 382 members of that body, there were 60 ultramontanes, who formed a persistent opposition to this policy. The address of the emperor pointed at the great achievement which had hitherto been the object of the people's aspirations: the unity of Germany, permanent protection against foreign invasion, a uniform system of laws, and an equal administration of justice throughout the land. Simson was elected president of the diet. The address to the crown, prepared by Lasker, was approved by a large majority, despite the objections of the clerical party. A proposition, submitted on April 1 by Reichensperger, in the interest of this party, which, among other things, advocated the freedom of the press, the right of establishing private associations, and the independence of the church, was rejected on April 4 by a vote of 223 against 54. The assembly also decided that its members should receive no compensation for their attendance and services. On April 14 the constitution of the German empire was adopted, only seven voting against it.

—Of more than ordinary interest were the debates touching the state of Elsass-Lothringen. The government submitted a bill which provided for a permanent incorporation of this province with the German empire; but that the constitution of the empire was not to take effect in the province before Jan. 1, 1874; until then its affairs were to be administered be the emperor, with the advice of the Bundesrath. From different quarters the desire was expressed that the province should be united with Prussia; yet on June 3 the bill, with some amendments changing the date of which it was to take effect from Jan. 1, 1874, to Jan. 1, 1873, was passed by a large majority. On June 15 the session was closed, and on the day following the German troops entered and marched through the streets of Berlin in commemoration of the recent events which resulted in the establishment of national unity and a central government as a fit representative of the common bond which again united the German people.

—The next session of the imperial diet commenced Oct. 16. The principal business of this session was the passage on Nov. 6 of a bill providing for the establishment of a war fund to the amount of 40,000,000 thalers; the adoption of a military budget, for which the gross sum of 90,373,275 thalers was voted; the granting of a subsidy to the St. Gothard railway, amounting to 10,000,000 francs; then the enactment of the law regulating the coinage of the empire, which established the mark as the general coin. Lasker's bill, which proposed to extend the legislative and political powers of the empire both in criminal and civil matters, was not finally acted upon by the diet, partly owing to the opposition it received from certain political factions and from the majority of the Bundesrath. The bitter struggle between church and state, to which the dogma concerning the infallibility of the pope gave rise, was foreshadowed in this session of the diet, when von Lutz., the Bavarian minister, submitted the bill, which had been approved by the Bundesrath, providing that any minister or other member of the clergy, who while officiating in that capacity, either in a church or elsewhere, should discuss the affairs of state in a manner calculated to disturb the public peace, should be punished by imprisonment for two years. The leaders of the clerical party, Windthorst, Reichensperger, Mallinckrodt and others, rose with great indignation, and protested against a bill which they deemed so hostile to the best interests of the empire and the rights of the Catholic church. In spite of this protest the bill was passed on Nov. 28. The diet finally adjourned on Dec. 1, 1871. A further step toward political unity and a centralized government was taken by the total or partial abolition, on the part of the smaller states, of their embassies or foreign legations. In 1872 the clerical contest assumed a more threatening character. It was principally in Prussia that, in consequence of the indulgence shown by the government, the Catholic clergy became aggressive. The conduct of the clergy, which received a new impulse by the heated discussions concerning the dogma of infallibility, gave sore offense to the government, and aroused its latent energy to resist the aggressive policy of the church. On Dec. 14, 1871, a bill was submitted in the Prussian chamber of deputies, which provided that the control and superintendence of all public and private schools should be handed over to the government. This bill was passed by both chambers on Feb. 13, and March 8, 1872. But it was not only in Prussia that this doctrine, which insisted upon a revival of the idea that the religious behests issued from the see of Rome should be received by the Christian world as a finality, disturbed the public peace and divided the people; in Bavaria, too, the religious contest assumed a threatening aspect. There the advocates of this dogma were arrayed not only against the liberals, but also against those of their own church, who, like Doellinger and his followers, calling themselves Old Catholics, opposed the dogma of infallibility as an innovation, which was neither warranted by the faith of the primitive Christians nor supported by the ancient traditions of the church. As the contest seemed to spread all over Germany, it soon became evident that, if its baneful influence were checked by governmental interference, it could successfully be done only by some action taken by the imperial diet. The imperial government still tried to observe a conciliatory policy toward the pontiff at Rome; in March, 1872, Bismarck submitted the proposition to the pope, according to the terms of which the latter was to accredit Cardinal Hohenlohe, a zealous Catholic, though unfriendly to the Jesuits, as ambassador of the imperial government to the see of Rome. The decided manner in which this proposition was rejected by Pius IX. indicated that no agreement between the papacy and the empire could be arrived at. In the session which commended on April 8, the attention of the imperial diet was first called to the question whether the budget should provide for the retention of the embassy at Rome; at the suggestion of Bismarck it was retained. The struggle, however, between the different parties, to which church issues had given prominence, began when the two bills against the Jesuits camp up for discussion on May 15 and 16. One was introduced by Gneist, the other by Wagner-Marquardsen, both aiming at limiting the powers and checking the spread of this order. After an excited discussion, the bill introduced by Wagner-Marquardsen, which was more stringent in its provisions, was passed by a vote of 205 against 84. The action of the Bundesrath, whereby some of the most stringent provisions were modified, so as to make the supervision by the police not mandatory but directory, led to further discussions, which resulted in the bringing in of a new bill, providing that the order of Jesuits and similar orders as well as congregations should be excluded from the German empire, and their future settlement within it prohibited; that those existing were to disband within six months; that such members as were foreigners were to be banished the realm, while the natives might be confined to certain districts. This bill passed the diet by a vote of 181 against 93 on June 19, and was unanimously approved by the Bundesrath on June 25; it went into operation on July 4. In some of the German states—Bavaria, Saxony, Würtemberg and Baden—the Jesuits were not permitted to reside. In Prussia, however, their numbers had increased considerably during the last fifty years, especially in the Rhenish province, in Westphalia and in Posen, in Elsass-Lothringen, too, they formed no insignificant body. On the taking effect of the law in question, the monasteries were closed in the course of the summer, though not without causing disturbance, with required that interference of the military. Among the nobility, those of the Rhenish province and of Westphalia showed a good deal of sympathy for the Roman pontiff. In consequence of a resolution adopted by the Bundesrath on May 13, 1873, orders, such as that of the Redemptorists, the Lazarists, etc., came within the operation of the law. The Catholic bishops were greatly agitated by this action of the Bundesrath; they held a conference at Fulda, which lasted from Sept. 18 to Sept. 20, and resulted in the issuing by the assembled prelates of a memorial wherein they discussed the state of the Catholic church in the German empire, and declared open war against the imperial government. They announced a set of principles touching the freedom of the church and the independence of the clergy, which could hardly fall seriously to affect the sovereignty and independence of the government. The contest between the clergy and the government had now assumed alarming proportions. The gain of the Old Catholic party in the number of its adherents, while it added to the opposition against the aggressive policy of the Catholic church, intensified the struggle, and did much to give the contest the character of a war of principles, rather than that of a struggle for power. The government now earnestly commenced to assert its authority, and the conflicts between the refractory bishops—Krementz in Frauenburg, Ledochowski in Posen, and others—and the public authority, showed that each of the contending parties was determined to carry the struggle to the bitter end. The pope expressed great indignation at the coercive measures employed by the imperial government against the bishops. The language employed by the pope when delivering his address on June 25, showed that the demands of the church and the interests of the state, as a system of public and private forces governed by law, were absolutely at war with each other. In his allocution of Dec. 23, the pope showed himself even more implacable, in consequence of which the Prussian legate at Rome took leave. Thus the Culturkampf, the struggle for civilization, as the foemen who were arrayed against Rome were pleased to term it, was inaugurated, and formed one of the most important factors in the development of the new empire. As against this formidable contest, which engrossed not only the attention of the government, but of the people at large, the other proceedings of the imperial diet, though important in themselves, gave no cause of serious disagreement. The more important measures discussed were the appropriations for the navy, the distribution of the French war contribution, the duties on salt and brewers' materials, the prolongation of the "dictatorship" in Elsass-Lothringen to Jan. 1, 1874, the exclusive control of the Luxemburg railroads by the imperial government, the revision of the military code, and Lasker's bill providing for the establishment by the imperial government of courts of original jurisdiction, which was again approved by the diet but still awaited the action of the Bundesrath.

—The position of the South German states toward the empire still gave proof that they were not equally willing to assist the government in the promotion of its national policy. Baden had made the greatest concessions. In making civil marriage obligatory it had done even more than was expected. Hesse also had early changed its policy in favor of national unity. In Würtemberg, the proposition submitted by the democratic faction to the assembly, touching the "reserved rights"—that each particular change in the treaty of Nov. 25, 1870, should require the consent of the Landtag—was, in February, 1872, owing to the strenuous opposition of Minister Mittnacht, defeated by a vote of 60 against 29. A similar proposition introduced about the same time in the chamber of deputies in Bavaria met with the same fate. Some doubt, however, as to the policy of the Bavarian government was caused, when, in 1872, Count Hegnenberg-Dux, the prime minister, whose attitude toward the empire was of a friendly nature, having died, the king commissioned one of the most uncompromising opponents of the empire and a friend of the ultramontanes, von Gasser, to form a new cabinet. As the latter could not find the proper men willing to enter the new cabinet in support of his views, the uneasiness which had taken hold of those in favor of a national policy and who were friends of the empire, was removed, when von Pfritzchner, the minister of finance, was appointed president of the cabinet, and as such took charge of the foreign affairs of the government. This attempt on the part of the Bavarian government to yield to a policy unfriendly to the empire was all the more astonishing, as the meeting of the three emperors, William of Germany, Alexander II. of Russia and Francis Joseph of Austria, which took place about the same time at Berlin, although it did not result in a formal alliance, indicated that the three emperors meant to pursue a uniform policy, that Russia and Austria were willing to recognize the establishment of the German empire as a fact not in conflict with their own interests, and that they approved of the national policy of the German government; all of which did much to check the renewed warlike spirit on the part of France.

—The fourth session of the imperial diet commenced March 12, 1873. The address of the crown suggested various measures touching the protection of the German empire, the extension of its powers, and the requirements of trade and commerce and other interstate relations; and with a tone of assurance referred to the friendly relations of the empire with neighboring governments as a circumstance which would certainly give Germany the support of these powers, should France ever avail herself of the first opportunity to gratify her desire for revenge. The comparative strength of the different parties represented in the imperial diet was as follows: the national liberal party had 115, the German imperial party 34, the liberal imperial party 30, the conservatives 50, the progressists 45, the centre 66 and the Poles 13 representatives; 23 members belonged to no party. Simson was chosen president. The bill introduced by Lasker, providing for the extension of the legislative and judicial powers of the empire so as to cover all civil and criminal matters, was adopted on April 3 by a decided majority, and its approval by the Bundesrath was promised by Minister Delbrück; the diet was also advised that the Bundesrath contemplated a civil code of uniform operation throughout the empire. The bill for the establishment of a general office superintending and regulating the railroad system of the empire was likewise passed. The same disposition was made of the bill granting the members of the imperial parliament compensation. The bill by which civil marriage was to be made obligatory on persons engaging in matrimony, as well as the different measures introduced for the surveillance of the public press, were not finally acted upon. The postal treaty with Italy was approved May 28; an amendment to the postal treaty with Persia, June 21. An amendment to the revenue law was passed June 25, whereby the duty on iron, steel, etc., was in some instances wholly abolished, in some reduced, Jan. 1, 1877, being fixed as the date of its total abolition. The coinage bill, passed June 24, definitely fixed the mark as the unit, and provided, among other things, for the withdrawal of all paper money heretofore issued by Jan. 1, 1876, and the issue of paper money by the imperial government, in regard to which a special bill, regulating the details of the matter, was to be submitted by the government to the diet at its next session. The special stipulations agreed upon with France, on June 29, 1872, and March 15, 1873, respectively, were also approved by the diet, which in doing so acknowledged the skill and wisdom displayed by Bismarck in obtaining from France the concessions embodied in these stipulations. The last stipulation provided that France should pay the entire war indemnity by Sept. 5, 1873, and that, in consequence, the German troops should commence on July 1 to evacuate the four departments, still held by them, and the fortress Belfort; that until the payment of the last installment Verdun should remain under the control of the German troops; the last installment being paid, Verdun was to be evacuated and the German troops withdrawn from French soil within fourteen days. The bill whereby the German constitution became operative in Elsass-Lothringen, and which was passed June 18, provided that the Military rule to which it had been subjected should cease on Jan. 1, 1874; and, furthermore, that these imperial provinces were to be represented in the diet by fifteen delegates. Yet this bill, as well as the discussion of the report concerning the legislation and administration in Elsass-Lothringen, was not allowed to pass without giving the ultramontanes and democrats a chance to complain of the tendency they supposed in these proceedings to curtail the civil and religious freedom of the citizens in these provinces. The further discussions of this subject came to a close in the diet at last, when it adjourned June 25.

—In Elsass Lothringen, whose administration was in charge of the chancellor of the empire, the sentiment of the inhabitants, which was not at all friendly to the new rule, was constantly kept alive by the encouragement it received from the ultramontanes and the French. Against all the influences which were brought to bear upon the inhabitants of these provinces to resist the German rule, and to set up the traditions of a few centuries, which had made them subjects of the government of France, against the fact that the stock and body of the people shared with their new rulers the same national origin, the government of the German empire, with singular firmness and energy, followed up its policy of drawing the political union between these estranged provinces and the rest of Germany closer, and of coercing the inhabitants of Elsass-Lothringen into a patriotic sentiment in favor of their German kinsfolk on the other side of the Rhine. Rapp, the vicar general of Strasburg, at the head of a committee whose object was to offer decided opposition to the new rule, was, on March 17, banished from the provinces; Lauth, the mayor of Strasburg, who had officially declared himself in favor of the restoration of French rule, was deposed April 7; and the board of councilmen, who had protested against this action of the German government, was suspended for two years; the superintendent of police was invested with the powers until then exercised by the mayor and the municipal council. In regard to the management of the schools, the government provided that it should be in the hands of its own officers; that the examination and appointment of teachers, the organization of the schools and the course of study should be determined by the government; that such schools as did not conform to the regulations laid down by the government were to be closed; and that from and after Oct. 1, in those districts whose population was German, no language but the German should be taught. At the election of members to the district and circuit councils, the clericals and all those governed by French sympathies, desired that either none but such as favored the opposition to and "protested" against German rule should be chosen, or that no election should take place. Yet the elections, especially in Lower Alsace, turned out more in favor of the government than was anticipated. Gradually a third party was organizing against those parties which were opposed to Germany, and adopted the name of the Alsacian party, whose spokesman was the Alsacian Journal. The members of this party, though recognizing the existing condition of things, were determined to remain Alsacians; they were not willing to cut loose from the traditions which had made them for centurries independent of their kinsfolk on the other side of the Rhine; their aim was to promote the political development and the industrial interests of their own country.

—On Sept. 5 the last installment of the war indemnity was paid by France; on Sept. 8 the Germans commenced to evacuate Verdun, and on Sept. 16 the German troops crossed the borders of France.

—The line of policy observed by the Prussian government in its struggle with the ultramontanes, which was in the main defined by the four laws introduced by the Prussian diet and passed in May, 1873, regulating the conduct of the church, was a very important factor and exercised the greatest influence upon the political and religious condition of the German empire. There arose a general opposition in all parts of the empire to the claims of the Roman pontiff, claims which were calculated not only to offend the dignity of the temporal government, but also to seriously disturb its relations with its subjects, who might set their fidelity to the church above their allegiance to their government. The orders of the Redemptorists, of the Lazarists, of the Priests of the Holy Ghost and of the Society of the Holy Heart of Jesus, associations similar to the order of the Jesuits, were, by virtue of a resolution passed by the Bundesrath, dissolved by the imperial chancellor on May 20. Pius IX., in order to secure more favorable terms to the Catholic clergy, appealed, in a letter dated Aug. 7, to the emperor himself. The answer of the emperor, dated Sept. 3, charged the Catholic clergy with being the cause of all the difficulties and disturbances, and of refusing to yield, as the constitution and the laws required, obedience to the public authorities. The publication of these communications had the effect of making the emperor the recipient of a large number of addresses from all parts of Germany and from abroad, warmly approving the position he had taken, and encouraging the government to persist in the course it had adopted in opposition to the rebellious tendencies of the Catholic clergy. The meeting which took place about this time between the emperor and the czar of Russia at Ems, and the one between the former and the emperor of Austria, was followed by a visit, which Victor Emanuel, king of Italy, paid to the emperor at Berlin; the king had come in company with two of his ministers, and remained two days. All these events seemed to indicate that the temporal powers were agreed, if not openly to oppose, at least to discourage the overreaching policy of the clergy. The fact that Lasker's bill, which had been passed by the imperial diet, and which extended the authority and powers of the government of the empire so as to give it complete jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters, and enable it directly to control the conduct of its citizens throughout its territory—the fact that this bill was, on Dec. 12, approved by the Bundesrath by a vote of 54 against 4, did much to strengthen the position of the general government in the difficulties and disturbances the clergy had caused, and to lend the opposition to clerical pretensions the strong aid of the government throughout the empire. The movement inaugurated by the advocates of Old Catholicism gained in strength. In the convocation held by them at Köln on June 4, Reinkens was elected bishop. Having been ordained in his new dignity by Bishop Heykamp at Rotterdam, Aug. 11, Reinkens took the required oath before Minister Falk, and was at once confirmed in his office as Catholic bishop by the Prussian government. A few months later, on Nov. 9, Prince Bismarck was re-appointed prime minister, and again set about to shape the home policy of the Prussian government. At the election of delegates to the Prussian Landtag, which took place on Nov. 4, the conservative party lost fifty-nine members, whereas the clericals and the national liberals gamed in strength. In this connection we may mention the fact, as one of more than ordinary significance, that within a few months a bill was submitted in the Prussian Landtag, by which civil marriage was made obligatory on persons engaging in matrimony; that the chamber of deputies in Bavaria and in Würtemberg approved Lasker's bill, which had passed both the imperial diet and the Bundesrath; and that in the lower house of deputies in Hesse certain bills were introduced, which placed the management of the schools and the organization of the church on a more liberal basis, and which were more particularly intended to free in a great measure the former from the control of the latter. The principle also, which seems to have been tacitly agreed to and acted upon by most of the German governments, that a change or amendment of the imperial constitution did not require the express approval of the diets or representative bodies of the several states comprising the German empire, but might take effect after having been passed by the imperial diet and having received the approval of the representatives of the several governments in the Bundesrath, was now insisted upon as a uniform rule, when, contrary to the established practice, the representatives of Saxony in the Bundesrath, pending the adoption of Lasker's bill, hesitated to cast their vote before being expressly authorized by the Landtag of that principality to do so.

—The elections to the next imperial diet, which took place on Jan. 10, 1874, except in Elsass-Lothringen, where they were held Feb. 1, were held under great popular excitement, to which the issues pending between the different political factions had given rise. The clericals were very hopeful of success, and the result of the elections showed that they had gained in strength, especially as against the conservatives in Bavaria and some Prussian districts; the social democrats carried their candidates in nine electoral districts. Yet, as the diet was finally made up, the clericals, who numbered 101, were opposed by 155 members of the national liberal party, while the 135 members, who were opposed to the policy and government of the empire, had to make a stand against the imposing array of 240 representatives, including the progressists, who supported that policy; the conservative party, which had been reduced to twenty members, stood entirely outside of the working forces of the diet, and carried no appreciable influence. In Elsass-Lothringen, the election resulted in the return of ten clericals, including the bishops of Strasburg and of Metz, and of five members from the faction whose policy consisted in protesting against the administration of Elsass-Lothringen by the imperial government. The diet was now in session. At its opening on Feb. 5 the address of the crown mentioned several measures, which the government proposed to submit to that body, such as a bill concerning the press and a bill for the regulation of trade. On Feb. 16 the fifteen deputies from Elsass-Lothringen appeared in the bails of the assembly, and at once surprised the members of the diet by the propositions they submitted. One of these propositions was, that the population of Elsass-Lothringen should, at that late day, have the right of passing upon the question, whether they were willing to give their assent to the incorporation of that province into the German empire. This measure, however, was voted down by a decided majority, without even being made the subject of discussion. The next proposition asked for the repeal of the law which invested the head of the administration of that province with certain dictatorial powers, including the right to call upon the military in case the public peace and safety required it. This proposition was taken up and discussed March 3, but was finally rejected by a vote of 196 against 138. On Feb. 14 the postal treaty between the government of the empire and Brazil was ratified, and on the 16th of the same month the extradition treaty with Switzerland. The bill by which vaccination was made compulsory was passed on March 16, but not without giving both the social democrats and the ultramontanes an opportunity to protest against and oppose it as a measure infringing upon the personal rights and liberties of the citizen. A bill providing for the establishment of a board of health was also passed on the same day. On April 24 a law was enacted, providing for the issuing of treasury notes to the amount of 120,000,000 mark, which were to take the place of the paper money issued by the several states, all of which was to be retired by Jan. 1, 1876. Several amendments to the law regulating the different trades, especially the one which made a breach of contract punishable as a criminal offense, were, Feb. 19, on the first hearing, most vigorously opposed by the members of the social democratic party; being referred to a committee, it did not reach a second reading during this session. The act regulating the press, which had been amended in many respects by the committee to which it had been referred on the first reading, was again taken up. After meeting with the united opposition of the social democrats and the clericals, which was principally directed against the right of seizure and the responsibility of the press, it was finally passed by a decided majority on April 19, although a motion to extend its operation also to Elsass-Lothringen was lost. Another source of discomfiture for the clericals was the bill making civil marriage obligatory, which was finally adopted on March 28. Yet this did not deter them from making a vigorous fight against the passage of the act prohibiting the unlawful or unauthorized exercise of clerical offices, and which provided that a violation of its provisions should be punishable by imprisoning the offender, by loss of citizenship, and by banishment from the territory of the empire. This act, which was in the first place directed against those Prussian clergymen who still refused obedience to the existing laws, was finally passed on April 25 by a vote of 214 against 108. Yet the measure which met with the most general opposition from different factions of the diet, was the army bill. It fixed, in the first place, the numerical strength of the army in times of peace at 401,659 men. In the opposition to this provision, not only the factions whose policy was directed against the government of the empire as inconsistent with the ancient dignity and independence of the several German states, especially of the South German states, but all members with democratic proclivities of the progressist party and the left wing of the national liberals, headed by Lasker, were united. Among those who thus made a stand against the law were also the social democrats and the ultramontanes, who seemed, queerly enough, always ready to join hands in the effort to obstruct the policy of the imperial government. When the bill was at its first reading, Feb. 16, von Moltke insisted upon its passage, and defended its provisions as essential to the safety and peace of the empire. It was finally referred to a committee; it was two months before they were ready to refer it back. In spite of the great opposition the army bill had met with in this diet, public opinion seemed to agree with the views of von Moltke, that the safety and integrity of the empire required the adoption of some measure calculated to secure a ready and efficient military service in case of need, and in the end prevailed upon the committee to report in favor of the bill in a somewhat modified form. It passed to a second reading, April 13-17, despite the fight made on it by the social democrats, the ultramontanes and a certain faction of the progressist party, by a vote of 224 against 148, and it at last became a law, April 20, by a vote of 214 against 123. On April 26, 1874, the diet closed its first session of that year.

—The spirit of opposition and hatred against the imperial government shown by the ultramontanes in and out of the legislative assemblies was certainly the occasion, if not the direct cause, which prompted, July 18, Kullmann, of Magdeburg, in the attempt to assassinate Prince Bismarck at Kissingen. The culprit was speedily seized, tried at Würzburg by a jury, and on Oct. 30 sentenced to imprisonment for a term of fourteen years, and to loss of citizenship for ten years, besides being put under police surveillance. A prosecution of more political importance than this, was that against Count von Arnim, who had been recalled from the embassy at Paris owing to some political differences between him and Prince Bismarck. The count was tried and convicted on the charge of having taken from the archives of the embassy certain political documents of great importance, which he refused to give up; he was, Dec. 19, sentenced to imprisonment for three months, from which sentence the accused took an appeal. The action of the chancellor in bringing the refractory diplomat to what he conceived to be speedy justice, and the reading in the course of the trial of certain documents which, among other things, bore witness to the skillful diplomacy displayed by the chancellor in his relations with the French government, could not fail to add to the distinction he had already won as Germany's foremost statesman. The last session of the diet of that year, which convened Oct. 29, 1874, was principally occupied in fixing the various items of the general budget for the year 1875, which, after being fully discussed and considered, was adopted in the shape submitted, Dec. 18. The postal treaties with Chili and Peru were approved Nov. 4, that with Berne, Nov. 30, and, on Dec. 9, a resolution was adopted, which declared in favor of popular representation in all the states composing the empire. A proposition for the establishment of a legislative assembly for Elsass-Lothringen, supported by the ultramontanes and opposed by Bismarck, was submitted by the deputies of that province, but no final action was taken. The diet again met in the following year, in a short session, which extended from Jan. 7, 1875, to Jan. 30. Parts of the principal business of this session were the extradition treaty with Belgium, which was approved on January 22; the act regulating the publishing and taking effect of the general laws of the empire, which was passed January 14; and the banking act, which made the imperial bank of the leading institution in the banking system of the empire, which was passed January 30. The most important feature in the proceedings of this session, and which aroused the most general interest, was the final passage of the law making civil marriage obligatory throughout the territory of the empire; it also contained a provision whereby any member of the Catholic clergy or order might contract a lawful marriage. The law was passed, after meeting with the most stubborn opposition, from the ultramontanes, on January 25.

—The event which most engaged public attention during the interval which marked the close of this session of the imperial diet and the opening of the next, was the publishing of the papal encyclica on Feb. 5, 1875, in which the laws passed by the Prussian diet against the Catholic clergy were declared invalid and of no binding force on the church. The excitement produced by this further evidence of papal defiance, again ran very high, and called out the full strength of the liberal element in support of the government in its contest against the uncompromising and defiant attitude of the church. The efforts of the ultramontanes were directed not only toward defeating the policy of the government in the legislative assemblies, but also toward enlisting the co-operation of the Catholic powers of Europe in the formation of a great and powerful alliance against Germany. But Bismarck was not weary, and the bold stand he took against the enemies of his government showed that he was ready to accept the issue of war, if war his opponents meant. This had the effect of quieting, for the time, the aggressive tendencies of the ultramontanes, and of causing England and Russia to raise a voice in the interest of European peace.

—When the diet met again, on Oct. 27, 1875, the address of the crown invited the consideration of the assembly to the following measures: the new money standard of the empire, which was to be in force on and from Jan. 1, 1876; an increase of the tax on brewing material; an act providing for a stamp tax on negotiable instruments and other evidences of money transactions; an act for regulating the copyright of works of all; and, finally, the adoption of a new criminal code. The low condition of trade and commerce, noticeable throughout the country about this time, was pointed out, but not without being characterized as only temporary in its nature. The address finally called attention to the fact that the public peace was no longer threatened, but firmly established throughout the country. In the debates on the public budget the principal question was concerning the means of raising the eighteen millions required to meet the expenditures of the government. The government was in favor of meeting the deficit by an increase of the tax on malt, a stamp tax on negotiable instruments, etc; while the majority of the diet were in favor of meeting the present want by curtailing the appropriations for the army and reducing them to a more economical basis. Though Bismarck advocated the imposition of an increased indirect tax on certain articles, such as beer, coffee, tobacco, brandy, sugar and petroleum, the bills taxing brewing material and imposing a stamp duty on negotiable instruments, etc., were rejected Dec. 16, and the budget was finally agreed upon, in a shape which met the views of the majority of the diet and in opposition to those held by the government, on Dec. 16, after which the diet adjourned without taking any action on the bill providing for the adoption of a criminal code. The principal features of this bill were the provisions of more than ordinary stringency directed against the unruly element of the population, whose actions were likely to be turned to political account; the provisions imposing certain penalties for the official misconduct of members of foreign legations, for encouraging offenses against foreign governments, for abusing the privileges