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cial training. For military and naval education: Ecole Supérieure de Guerre, Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole Speciale Militaire de St. Cyr, Ecole Supérieure de la Marine, Ecole Navale de Brest, etc.; for civil services and industry: Ecole des Mines, Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées, Ecole Centrale des Artes et Manufactures, Ecole Superieure des Hautes Etudes commerciales, Conservatoire des Artes et Metiers.

for most purposes, as part of France proper. The department has representatives of all the Ministries, and is placed under a Prefect, nominated by Government, and having wide and undefined functions. He is assisted by a Prefectorial Council, an administrative body, whose advice he may take without being bound to follow it. The Prefect is a representative of the Executive, and, as such, supervises the execution of the laws, issues police regulations, supplies information on mat- Elementary schools existed before the Revolution in ters which concern the department, nominates subor- the towns and in many of the rural parishes of France, dinate officials, and has under his control all officials of but little was done for the advancement of education the State. There is a sub-Prefect in every arrondisse-till near the first quarter of this century. In 1833 a ment, except capitals of departments and the depart- law was passed requiring every commune to maintain ment of the Seine. at least one primary school, every town one higher primary school, and every department one primary normal school. A law of 1850 obliged every commune with a population of 800 (extended in 1867 to communes with a population of 500) to have a school for girls. Since 1878 elementary education has advanced rapidly; many schools have been built, the number of teachers and pupils has increased (until 1889), and the standard of was made free, and in 1882, obligatory for children from 6 to 13 years of age. In 1886 the system of education was reorganized, and it was ordained that all public schools should be under the charge of laymen. In 1892 there were only 50 communes which had no primary school, public or private.

The unit of local Government is the commune, the size and population of which vary very much. There are 36,170 communes, and new ones cannot be created otherwise than by law. Most of them (31,610) have less than 1,500 inhabitants, and 18.054 have even less than 500; while 117 communes only have more than 20,000 inhabitants. The local affairs of the commune are under a Municipal Council, composed of from 10 to 36 mem-education has been raised. In 1881 primary instruction bers, elected by universal suffrage, and by the scrutin de liste for 4 years by Frenchmen after 21 years and 6 months' residence; but each act of the Council must receive the approval of the Prefect, while many must be submitted to the Council General, or even to the President of the Republic, before becoming lawful. Even the commune's quota of direct taxation is settled by persons (rêpartiteurs) chosen by the Prefect from among the lists of candidates drawn up by the Municipal Council.

Each Municipal Council elects a Mayor, who is both the representative of the commune and the agent of the central government. He is the head of the local police and, with his assistants, acts under the orders of the Prefect.

In Paris the Municipal Council is composed of 80 members; each of the 20 arrondissements into which the city is subdivided has its own Mayor. The place of the Mayor of Paris is taken by the Prefect of the Seine, and, in part, by the Prefect of Police. Lyons has an elected Mayor, but the control of the police is vested in the Prefect of the department of the Rhone.

The next unit is the canton (2,899 in France), which is composed of an average of 12 communes, although some of the largest communes are, on the contrary, divided into several cantons. It is a seat of a justice of the peace, but is not an administrative unit.

The district, or arrondissement (362 in France), has an elected conseil d'arrondisement, with as many members as there are cantons, its chief function being to allot among the communes their respective parts in the direct taxes assigned to each arrondissement by the Council General. That body stands under the control of the sub-Prefect. A varying number of arrondissements form a department, which has its conseil général renewed by universal suffrage.

Religion. All religions are equal by law, and any sect which numbers 100,000 adherents is entitled to a grant; but at present only the Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Jews have State allowances.

Instruction.- Public education in France is entirely under the supervision of the Government. The highest schools, or facultés de l'Etat," are now often designated by the name of universities. There are 15 "facultés des lettres," one in each academy (except Chambéry) at Paris, Aix, Besançon, Bordeaux, Caen, Clermont, Dijon, Lille, Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier, Nancy, Poitiers, Rennes, and Toulouse. At all of these, except Aix, are also "facultés des sciences," besides one at Marseilles (instead of Aix, belonging to the same academy). There arealso 2" facultés" of Protestant theology, 13" facultés de droit," and 7 “ facultés de médecine et pharmacie," 19 superior or preparatory schools of pharmacy, and 8 schools of law, science, or letters. In January, 1898, there were 137 students of Protestant theology; 9,371 of law; 7,426 of medicine; 3,544 of sciences; 3,404 of letters; and 4,661 at superior and preparatory schools of pharmacy, etc.; total, 28,543 students. To the support of the facultés " the sum of 12,496,911 francs was set down in the budget of 1899. The Roman Catholic theological "facultés were suppressed in 1885. Catholic" facultés" or "écoles libres" exist on certain conditions as private establishments. The "Collège de France," "Muséum d'histoire naturelle," "Ecole pratique des hautes études," "Ecole des chartes," etc., are public establishments for highest education. The" Ecofe libre des Sciences politiques" is a private establishment.

There are many other public establishments for spe

Colonies and Dependencies.

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Justice. The Courts of First Instance in France are act also as judges of Police Courts, where all petty offenses are disposed of. In criminal cases the Police Correctional Courts pronounce upon all graver cases of misdemeanour (délits), including cases involving imprisonment up to 5 years. They have no jury, and consist of 3 judges belonging to the civil tribunals. In all general cases, the preliminary inquiry is made in secrecy by an examining magistrate (juge d'instruction), who, acting under the public ministry (Procureur), may dismiss the case or send it for trial. The Court of Assizes is assisted by 12 jurors, who decide by simple majority on the fact with respect to crimes involving a severe penalty. The highest courts are the 26 Courts of Appeal, composed each of one President and 4 Councilors for all criminal cases which have been tried without a jury, and by one Court of Cassation which sits at Paris, and is composed of a first President, 3 Presidents of Sections, and 45 Councilors, for all criminal cases tried by jury. For civil cases there is, under the Justice of Peace, in each arrondissement, a civil tribunal of first instance, then the Appeal Courts and Courts of Cassation. For commercial cases there are Tribunals of Commerce and Councils of experts (prud'hommes).

those of the Justices of Peace who try civil cases and

All Judges are nominated by the President of the Republic. They can be removed only by a decision of the Court of Cassation constituted as the Conseil Supérieur

of the magistracy.

GERMAN EMPIRE.

The present German Empire is essentially different from the Holy Roman Empire which came to an end in 1806. But though Austria, the most important factor in the earlier Empire, is not a member of the present, a brief historical summary, including both, is for convenience inserted here. The imperial throne, after the extinction of the Carlovingian line, was filled by election, though with a tendency towards the hereditary principle of succession. At first the Emperor was chosen by the vote of all the Princes and Peers of the Reich; but the mode came to be changed in the fourteenth century, when a limited number of Princes, fixed at seven for a time, and afterwards enlarged to eight (nine from 1692 to 1777), assumed the privilege of disposing of the crown, and, their right being acknowledged, were called Electors. With the overthrow of the old Empire by the Emperor Napoleon, in 1806, the Electoral dignity virtually ceased, although the title of Elector was retained sixty years longer by the sovereigns of Hesse-Cassel, the last of them dethroned in 1866 by Prussia. The election of Wilhelm I., King of Prussia, as the German Emperor (1871) was by vote of the Reichstag of the North German Confederation, on the initiative of all the reigning Princes of Germany. The imperial dignity is hereditary in the House of Hohenzollern, and follows the law of primogeniture.

The Constitution of the Empire bears date April 16, 1871. By its terms, all the States of Germany "form an eternal union for the protection of the realm and the care of the welfare of the German people." The supreme direction of the military and political affairs of the Empire is vested in the King of Prussia, who, in

this capacity, bears the title of Deutscher Kaiser. According to Art. 11 of the Constitution, the Emperor represents the Empire internationally," and can declare war, if defensive, and make peace, as well as enter into treaties with other nations, and appoint and receive ambassadors. But when treaties relate to matters regulated by imperial legislation, and when war is not merely defensive, the Kaiser must have the consent of the Bundesrath, or Federal Council, in which body, together with the Reichstag, or Diet of the realm, are vested the legislative functions of the Empire. The Emperor has no veto on laws passed by these bodies. The Bundesrath represents the individual States of Germany, and the Reichstag the German nation. The 58 members of the Bundesrath are appointed by the Governments of the individual States for each session, while the members of the Reichstag, 397 in number (about one for every 131,604 inhabitants), are elected by universal suffrage and ballot for the term of five years. By the law of March 19, 1888, which came into force in 1890, the duration of the legislative period is five years.

Both the Bundesrath and the Reichstag meet in annual session, convoked by the Emperor. The Emperor has the right to prorogue and dissolve, after a vote by the Bundesrath, the Reichstag. Without consent of the Reichstag the prorogation may not exceed thirty days; while in case of dissolution new elections must take place within sixty days, and a new session must open within ninety days. All laws for the Empire must receive the votes of an absolute majority of the Bundesrath and the Reichstag. The Bundesrath is presided over by the Reichskanzler, or Chancellor of the Empire, and the President of the Reichstag is elected by the deputies.

The laws of the Empire, passed by the Bundesrath and the Reichstag, to take effect must be promulgated by the Emperor, and the promulgation, like all other official acts of the Emperor, requires the counter-signature of the Chancellor of the Empire. All the members of the Bundesrath have the right to be present at the deliberations of the Reichstag.

The following are the imperial authorities or Secretaries of State: they do not form a Ministry or Cabinet, but act independently of each other, under the general supervision of the Chancellor.

1. Chancellor of the Empire. 2. Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 3. Imperial Home Office and Representative of the Chancellor."

4. Imperial Admiralty.

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5. Imperial Ministry of Justice. 6. Imperial Treasury.

7. Imperial Post Office. 8. Imperial Railways. 9. Imperial Exchequer. 10. Imperial Invalid Fund. 11. Imperial Bank.

12. Imperial Debt Commission.

Acting under the direction of the Chancellor of the Empire, the Bundesrath represents also

nical schools, Polytechnica, normal schools, seminaries, and the universities.

There are 21 universities in the German Empire, besides the Lyceum Hosianum at Braunsberg (9 teachers and about forty students), which has only faculties of theology (Roman Catholic) and philosophy.

The following table gives the number of teachers for the summer half-year, 1898, and the number of students for the winter half-year, 1897-98.

Breslau

a supreme administrative and consultive board, Universities
and as such has twelve standing committees
namely, for army and fortifications; for naval
matters; tariff, excise, and taxes; trade and
commerce; railways, posts, and telegraphs; Bonn..
civil and criminal law; financial accounts; Erlangen
foreign affairs; for Alsace-Lorraine; for the Freiburg.
Constitution; for the standing orders;
for railway tariffs. Each committee consists
of representatives of at least four States of the
Empire; but the foreign affairs committee Jena..
includes only the representatives of Bavaria,
Saxony, Würtemberg, and two other repre-
sentatives to be elected every year.

and

Religion. The Constitution provides for entire liberty of conscience and for complete social equality among all religious confessions. The relation between Church and State varies in different parts of the Empire. The order of the Jesuits is interdicted in all parts of Germany, and all convents and religious orders, except those engaged in nursing the sick and purely contemplative orders, have been suppressed. There are five Roman Catholic archbishops, and twenty bishoprics. The "Old Catholics" have a bishop at Bonn. The various creeds were distributed as follows at the last religious census, 1895:-

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69.2

29.9

Giessen. Göttingen. Greifswald

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Berlin...

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Halle Heidelberg.

Kiel..

Königsberg 113
Leipzig
Marburg..
München
Münster.

Rostock..
Strassburg.
Tübingen...
Würzburg...

In four universities, namely, Freiburg, München, Münster, and Würzburg, the faculties of theology are Roman Catholic; three are mixed, both Protestant and Roman Catholic- Bonn, Breslau, and Tübingen; and the remaining fourteen are Protestant.

Justice. In terms of Judicature Acts in 1877 and Per Cent. of Pop. 1879 a uniform system of law courts was adopted throughout the Empire not later than January 1, 1879, though with the exception of the Reichsgericht, all courts are directly subject to the Government of the special State in which they exercise jurisdiction, and not to the Imperial Government. The appointment of the judges is also a State and not an Imperial function. The Empire enjoys uniform codes of commercial and criminal law, and the civil code of August 18, 1896, will come into force on January 1, 1900.

0.36 0.57 0.004

Instruction.-Education is general and compulsory throughout Germany. The laws of Prussia, which provide for the establishment of elementary schools (Volksschulen), supported from the local rates, in every town and village, and compel all parents to send their children to these or other schools, have been adopted, with slight modifications, in all the States of the Empire. The school age is from six to fourteen. The system of secondary education is also practically homogeneous. Above the elementary schools rank the middle schools of the towns, the Bürgerschulen and Höhere Bürgerschulen, which fit their pupils for business life. Children of the working classes may continue their education at the Fortbildungs-Schulen or continuation schools, which are open in the evening or other convenient time. The Gymnasia are the most fully developed classical schools, preparing pupils in a nine years' course for the universities and the learned professions. The Progymnasia differ from these only in not having the highest classes. In the Realgymnasia, Latin, but not Greek is taught, and what are usually termed "modern subjects" have more time devoted to them. Realprogymnasia have a similiar course, but have no class corresponding to the highest class in the preceding. In the Oberrealschulen and Realschulen Latin is wholly displaced in favor of modern languages. In 1897, 1,048 secondary schools (including 56 private schools), also 181 public Lehrer-Seminare and 32 public Fachschulen: total 1,261 institutions, possessed the right of granting certificates to pupils, entitling them to serve in the army as one-year volunteers. The teachers in German schools are required to hold a Government certificate, and to have undergone a year's probation. Higher schools for girls are called Höhere Töchterschulen. Besides these there are numerous Gewerbeschulen or tech

The lowest courts of first instance are the Amtsgerichte, each with a single judge, competent to try petty civil and criminal cases. There was on January 1, 1897, 1,926 Amtsgerichte in the Empire, or one for every 27,144 inhabitants. The Landgerichte exercise a revising jurisdiction over the Amtsgerichte, and also a more extensive original jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases, divorce cases, etc. In the criminal chamber five judges sit, and a majority of four votes is required for a conviction. Jury courts (Schwurgerichte) are also held periodically, in which three judges preside; the jury are twelve in number. There are 172 Landgerichte in the Empire, or one for every 303,953 of the population. The first court of second instance is the Oberlandesgericht. In its criminal senate, which also has an original jurisdiction in serious cases, the number of the judges is seven. There are twenty-eight such courts in the Empire. The total number of judges on the bench in all the courts above mentioned is 7,634. Bavaria alone there is an Oberste Landesgericht, with eighteen judges, with a revising jurisdiction over the Bavarian Oberlandesgerichte. The supreme court is the Reichsgericht, which sits at Leipzig. The judges, eighty-four in number, are appointed by the Emperor on the advice of the Bundesrath. The court exercises an appellate jurisdiction over all inferior courts, and also an original jurisdiction in cases of treason. It has four criminal and six civil senates.

In

Foreign Dependencies.- Germany has declared her protection over various areas or spheres of influence in Africa, in China, and in the Western Pacific. The following is a list of the various foreign regions at present (1899) under the protection or influence of Germany, the estimates given being necessarily vague:

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• Exclusive of the Bay with an area of about 200 square miles, and the neutral zone with an area of about 2,500 square miles, and population of 1,200,000. GREECE.

successors must be members of the Greek Orthodox Church.

The Constitution of Greece, adopted October 29, 1864, vests the whole legislative power in a single chamber, called the Boulé, consisting of 207 representatives, elected by manhood suffrage for the term of four years. Representatives must be at least 30 years of age, and electors 21. The elections take place by ballot, and each candidate must be put in nomination by the requisition of at least one thirtieth of the voters of an electoral district. At the election of 1881 there were 460,163 voters on the list, being 1 voter in every 4.3 of the pop

Greece, a province of the Turkish Empire since the commencement of the 16th century, gained its independence in the insurrection of 1821-29, and by the Protocol of London, of February 3, 1830, was declared a kingdom, under the protection of Great Britain, France, and Russia. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg having declined the crown of Greece, on the ground that the boundaries proposed were insufficient, and especially excluded the island of Crete, it was offered to, and accepted by, Prince Otto of Bavaria, who ascended the throne January 25, 1833, being under the age of eighteen. He was expelled from the King-ulation; the number who voted was 306,957, dom, after a reign of 29 years, in October, 1862, which event was followed by the election, under the directing guidance of the three protecting Powers, of the present sovereign.

The King, according to Art. 49 of the Constitution of 1864, attains his majority upon completing his eighteenth year. Before he ascends the throne, he must take the oath to the Constitution in the presence of the ministers, the sacred synod, the deputies then in the metropolis, and the higher officials of the realm. Within two months at the most the King must convoke the Legislature. If the successor to the throne is either a minor or absent at the time of the King's decease, and no Regent has been appointed, the Legislative Chamber has to assemble of its own accord within ten days after the occurrence of that event. The constitutional royal authority in this case has to be exercised by the ministerial council, until the choice of a Regent, or the arrival of the successor to the throne. The present sovereign is allowed, by special exception, to adhere to the religion in which he was educated, the Protestant Lutheran faith, but his heirs and

or 66 per cent. of the voters. The Boulé must meet annually for not less than three, nor more than six, months. No sitting is valid unless at least one half of the members of the Assembly are present, and no bill can pass into law without an absolute majority of members. Every measure, before being adopted, must be discussed and voted, article by article, thrice, and on three separate days. But the Legislative Assembly has no power to alter the Constitution itself; particular provisions may be reviewed after the lapse of ten years, with the exception of "fundamental principles." The Chamber of Deputies, unless specially convoked at an earlier date, for extraordinary occasions, must meet on November 1 (old style) of every year. The deputies are paid 2,000 old drachmai (equal to 1,800 new drachmai, or 721.) each per session; for an extra session the allowance varies according to its length from 201. to 721.

The Ministry is as follows:

President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Minister of Interior, Worship, and Instruction.

Minister of Marine.

Minister of War.

Minister of Finance.
Minister of Justice.

benefit of the nation, or, finally, should pay taxes to the annual amount of 3,000 lire, or 1207. In 1897, there were 372 senators. By the electoral law of March 28, 1895, electors

The Ministers of Finance and Justice are for deputies to the Lower House are all citinot members of the Cabinet.

Religion. The great majority of the inhabitants of the Kingdom are adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church. Before the census of 1889 there were 1,902,800 belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church; 14,677 other Christians, mainly Roman Catholics; 5,792 Jews; and 24,165 Mohammedans. By the terms of the Constitution of 1864, the Greek Orthodox Church is declared the religion of the State, but complete toleration and liberty of worship is guaranteed to all other sects. Nominally, the Greek clergy owe allegiance to the Patriarch of Constantinople, though he now exercises no governing authority; he is elected by the votes of the bishops and optimates subject to the Sultan; his jurisdiction extends over Thrace and other countries, including Bosnia, as well as the greater part of Asia Minor. The real ecclesiastical authority, formerly exercised by him in Greece, was annulled by the resolutions of a National Synod, held at Nauplia in 1833, which vested the government of the Orthodox Church, within the limits of the Kingdom, in a permanent council, called the Holy Synod, consisting of the Metropolitan of Athens and four archbishops and bishops, who must during their year of office reside at the seat of the executive. The Orthodox Church has nine archbishops and eight bishops in Northern Greece; six archbishops and six bishops in the Peloponnesus; one archbishop and five bishops in the islands of the Greek Archipelago; and five archbishops and ten bishops in the Ionian Islands. There are 161 monasteries and nunneries, with Instruction. All children between the ages of five and twelve years must attend school, but the law is not well enforced in country districts. Of the army re

2,620 monks and 485 nuns.

cruits 30 per cent. are illiterate, and 15 per cent. can read only.

There are (1892) 2,745 primary schools, 295 secondary schools, and a university. The total number of teachers is 3,680, and of pupils, 139,385, of whom 22,100 are females. There are 2 agricultural schools in Greece with, together, 51 pupils. In 1895 an industrial and commercial school, with 40 teachers, was opened at Piraus to give instruction in the industries relating to wine, spirits, beer, soap, perfumes, dairy-keeping, cattle and silkworm rearing, and in the duties of commercial clerks. In 1895 the University of Athens had 2,987 students, of whom 967 studied medicine, 1,327 law, 516 philosophy, 51 theology, 124 chemistry. Of the total number 604 were from abroad, chiefly from Turkey.

ITALY.

zens over twenty-one years of age who can read and write and who possess one or other of the following qualifications: they must have reached a certain standard in elementary education; or must pay not less than 19.80 lire in direct (including provincial) taxation; or, if peasant farmers, must pay annually at least 500 lire of rent, or be managers, with a share in the profits, of farms on which direct (including provincial) taxes of not less than 80 lire are paid; or, being occupants of lodgings, shops, etc., in towns, pay an annual rent ranging from 150 lire in communes of 2,500 inhabitants to 400 lire in communes of 150,000 inhabitants. Non-commissioned officers and men in the army have no vote while under arms. Members of academies, professors, persons who have served their country under arms for two years, and numerous other classes are qualified to vote by their position. The number of deputies is 508, or 1 to every 57,000 of the population (census 1881). In 1896 the number of enrolled electors was 2,120,909, exclusive of the electors temporarily disfranchised on account of military service (39,029 in 1895).

At the general election in March, 1897, the number of those who voted was 1,241,486, or 58.5 per cent. of those who had the right to vote. For electoral purposes the whole of the Kingdom is divided into 508 electoral colleges or districts, and these again into several sections.

No deputy can be returned to Parliament unless he has obtained a number of votes greater than one sixth of the total number of inscribed electors, and than half the votes given. A deputy must be thirty ex-years old, and have the requisites demanded by the electoral law. Incapable of being elected are all salaried Government officials, as well as all persons ordained for the priesthood and filling clerical charges, or receiving pay from the State. Officers in the army and navy, ministers, under-secretaries of State, and various other classes of functionaries high in office, may be elected, but their number must never be more than forty, not including the ministers and the under-secretaries of State. Neither senators nor deputies receive any salary or other indemnity, but are allowed to travel free throughout Italy by rail or steamer.

The present Constitution of Italy is an pansion of the "Statuto fondamentale del Regno," granted on March 4, 1848, by King Charles Albert to his Sardinian subjects. According to this charter, the executive power of the State belongs exclusively to the Sovereign, and is exercised by him through responsible ministers; while the legislative authority rests conjointly in the King and Parliament, the latter consisting of two Chambers--an upper one, the Senato, and a lower one, called the "Camera de Deputati." The Senate is composed of the princes of the royal house who are of age, and of an unlimited number of members, above forty years old, who are nominated by the King for life; a condition of the nomination being that the person should either fill a high office, or have acquired fame in science, literature, or any other pursuit tending to the

The duration of Parliament is five years; but the King has the power to dissolve the Lower House at any time, being bound only to order new elections, and convoke a new meeting within four months. It is incumbent upon

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