MINISTERS OF STATE.-Dr. Schurig, Herr von Metzsch, Herr von der Planitz, Herr von Seydewitz, and Herr von Watzdorf. The Kingdom of Saxony is one of the four comprised in the German Empire. Legislative functions repose in the King and Parliament jointly, the latter consisting of two Chambers, the Upper, of hereditary and appointed members; the Lower of thirty-seven Deputies of towns and forty-five representatives of rural communes. The executive is in the King and the Ministers. Although the great majority of the inhabitants are Protestant, the reigning family are Roman Catholics. Public instruction follows the scheme of compulsory education common to the Empire. The University of Leipzig is one of he largest in Germany. Justice is administered in one Oberlandesgericht, seven Landgerichte, and 107 Amtsgerichte. At Leipzig is the Imperial Reichsgericht. The budget estimate for 1900 and for 1901 was $18,436,202, the expenditure balancing it. There was also an extraordinary revenue and expenditure of $22,556,637. The public debt amounted in 1901 to $175,433,490. Industry.-Textile manufactures form the leading branch of industry in this, the busiest of all German States. Mining and mettalurgy are important, and the State is highly cultivated. The present form of Parliament, divided into two Houses, the Lords and the Commons, dates from the middle of the fourteenth century. The House of Commons consists of 670 members, elected by popular vote, about one-sixth of the population being electors. All elections for members of Parliament must be by secret vote by ballot, an act being passed annually to this effect. The House of Lords consists of peers who hold their seats by hereditary rights, by creation of the Sovereign, by virtue of office (English Bishops); by election for life (Irish Peers); and by election for the term of Parliament (Scottish Peers). There were 592 names on the roll of the House in 1901. No one under twenty-one years of age can be a member of Parliament. All clergymen of the Church of England, ministers of the Church of Scotland, and Roman Catholic clergymen are disqualified; all government contractors, all sheriffs and returning officers are disqualified both from voting or sitting as members. No English or Scottish peer can be elected to the House of Commons, but non-representative Irish peers are eligible. The Speaker of the House of Lords is the Lord High Chancellor of England, Hardings Stanley, Earl of Halsbury; Chairman of Committees, the Earl of Morley: Deputy Speakers, the Earl of Cork and Orrery, and the Earl de Montalt. The princes of the royal blood are George Frederick Ernest Albert, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall and York; Arthur William Patrick Albert, Duke of Connaught; Leopold Charles Edward George, Duke of Albany: George William Frederick Charles, Duke of Cambridge. The Archbishop of Canterbury is Frederick Temple, D. D., and of York, William Dalrymple Maclagan, D. D. Following is a list of Dukes of England: 1874 Westminster. Family Name J. D. S. Campbell, K. T. (Sc. D., Argyll), b. '45, s. Henry A. W. Fitz Roy Somerset, b. 1847, s. 1899, m. Ernest Augustus W. A. G. F.. K. G. (Ir. Earl, Spencer Compton Cavendish, K. G., b. 1833, S. Alexander William George Duff, K. T. (Irish Earl, b. 1821, s. Heir Appar. or Presumpt. Ld. Archd. Campbell, b. '46 Percy Seymour Douglas- Henry George Percy, K. G., b. 1846, s. 1899, m. Charles H. Gordon-Lennox, K. G. (Scot. Duke, Len- John Jas. Robt. Manners, K. G., b. 1818. s. 1888, w.. Arthur Charles Wellesley (Irish Earl, Mornington), Lord Edmund Talbot, b. '55 Marq. of Titchfield, b. 1893 Earl of March, b. 1845 Marq. of Stafford, b. 1888 Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, b. 1879, s. 1899, m.. Ld. A. H. Grosvenor, b. '60 COLONIAL POSSESSIONS.-The British possessions are world-wide. It has tritely been said that the sun never sets upon them. They exist on every continent and in all climates and latitudes. British colonies are of three types: 1. The Crown colonies, entirely controlled by the home government; 2. Those having "representative" institutions, in which case the Crown retains only a right to veto legislation, although the home government retains the control of the public officers; 3. Those having "responsible" government, in which the Crown has only the veto and the home government can appoint the governor, but has no control over any public officer. Exclusive of India. British expenditure on the colonies amounts to about $10,000,000 annually. Gibraltar and Malta are the European possessions of the empire. The Rock of Gibraltar, which is a Crown colony. is a naval base and military foothold of great strategic importance. In 1900 the expenditure on this port, $309,060, was almost equalled by the revenue, $307,000. Malta is an island in the Mediterranean, about sixty miles from Sicily. It is one of the most important ports of call in the world, being the base of supplies for the Mediterranean fleet. The Government is modifiedly representative, the Governor being assisted by a Council of six official and thirteen elected members. Italian is the official legal language, but public English schools are provided. The revenue of about $1,783,790 nearly meets the expenditure. In a group of four are Aden, Perim, Sokotra and the Kuria Muria Islands. Aden is a peninsula about 100 miles east of Bah-el-Mandeb, on the coast of Arabia. Perim is at the entrance to the Red Sea, and is a small settlement on an island. Aden, being an important coaling station on the eastern route, is strongly fortified. The two are governed by a Political Resident. Attached to them are Sokotra, off the coast of Africa, and the Kuria Muria Islands, off the coast of Arabia. The Bahrein Islands, the largest of which is Bahrein, lie in the Persian Gulf, twenty miles off the Arabian coast. The chief occupation is pearl fishing, while the donkeys and the reed mats of Bahrein are famous. Dates and sail cloth are also produced. A Political Resident governs. British North Borneo consists of the northern part of the Island of Borneo. It is leased to the British North Borneo Company, under whose jurisdiction it is. Labuan, a Crown colony island, about six miles northwest, is also leased to it. The laws follow the Indian codes and the local ordinances. The expenditure exceeds the revenue by nearly $1,000,000. Ceylon is an important colony, having representative government. The religions are mainly Eastern, Buddhists, Hindoos and Mohammedans. Public education is attempted. The revenue and expenditure are about equal; the public debt is on account of public works. The commerce is considerable, and imports and exports are about equal. The Maldine Islands, 500 miles west, although governed by a hereditary Sultan, pay yearly tribute to Ceylon. Cyprus, forty-one miles from Syria, and the third largest of Mediterranean islands, is administered by a British High Commissioner, under a treaty with Turkey. It is essentially an agricultural country. Hong Kong, an island off the southeast coast of China, at the mouth of the Canton River, and Wei-HaiWei, in the Chinese Province of Shang Lung, are the British footholds in China. They are Crown colonies and strongly fortified. The Indian Empire is, by far, Britain's most important Asiatic possession. Prior to 1858 British India proper was under the jurisdiction of the East India Company. Now it is governed in the name of the King, who is styled Emperor of India, and, in England, through the Secretary of State for India, assisted by a Council of ten members appointed by the Secretary. The executive authority in India vests with the Governor-General in Council. Since 1858 the Governor-General has been Viceroy, is appointed by the Crown, and holds, usually, for five years. Administratively, India is divided into eight great provinces, each with an English head. The chief religion is that of the Hindoos (over 75 per cent), and the Mohammedans (over 22 per cent). Justice is administered in a system of courts of a mixed English and native character. Budget estimates for 1902 put the total revenue for India at $541,439,000, and the expenditure at $536,257,250. The external India trade in 1901 amounted to $752,356,752 imports, and $609,954,050 exports. Dependent on India are the two border States of Baluchistan, in south central Asia, and Sikin, a State in the Himalyas, south of Thibet proper. Feudatory, also, are the Andaman and the Nicobar Islands, in the Bay of Bengal, and the Laccadive Islands, off the west coast of Malabar. The Straits Settlements, comprising Singapore, Penang, Malacca, the Cocos Islands and Christmas Island, situated in the Malay Archipelago, form a Crown colony. The Federated Malay States of Perak, Negri, Pehang, Sembitan and Selangor, forming a large portion of the Malay Peninsula, are under British protection. Their trade is valuable, and the revenue, which in 1900 was $15,609,807, overbalances the expenditure of $12,728,900. British African possessions may be classed as those in East, West, South and Central Africa, and all others. British East Africa includes the East Africa Protectorate (from the Umba to the Juba River and inland to the borders of Uganda), and the Uganda Protectorate (over the Kingdom of Uganda), on the mainland, and the Zanzibar Protectorate over the Islands of Zanzibar. Pemba and others of smaller area. The first two protectorates are directly under the Foreign Office, the last is governed by it through the ruling Arabic Sultan or Seyyid. The West African Colonies, all of which are Crown colonies, include the Gold Coast (along the Gulf of Guinea Coast, between German Togoland and the French Ivory Coast), Lagos (Lagos Island and 140 miles of coast between Dahomey and Southern Nigeria), Gambia (at the mouth of the Gambia River), and Sierra Leone (between French Guinea and the Republic of Liberia). The South African Colonies are those of the Cape of Good Hope and Natal (including the Province of Zululand). These are both partly Crown, partly Representative colonies. They are two of the most important commercially. The Central Colonies are important, including the Orange River Colony (prior to 1900 the Orange Free State), ruled by a Lieutenant-Governor under the Governor who is placed over it, and the Transvaal Colony (prior to 1900 the Transvaal Free State); Rhodesla (divided by the River Zambezi into Northern and Southern Rhodesia), which is governed by the British South Africa Company, assisted by a Government Executive Council, appointed; the little colony of Basutoland, northeast of Cape Colony, under its Commissioner, and the Central Africa Protectorate (on the southern and western shores of Lake Nyassa), under the government of a Foreign Office Commissioner. Other British colonies in Africa are the Somaliland Protectorate (running west of Zeyla from Lahadu to Bandar Ziyada); Nigeria (comprising Lagos, Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria); the Bechuanaland Protectorate (between the Molopo River and the Zambezi, and between the South African Republic and Matabeleland, on the east, and German Southwest Africa on the west), and the Island Colonies. These latter include Ascension Island, 700 miles northwest of St. Helena; St. Helena, 1,200 miles west of the West Coast (including administratively, the Tristan da Cunha group, midway to South America); Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, 500 miles east of Madagascar, and the Seychelles and dependent groups adjacent. Bermuda, a colony with representative government, consists of a group of 360 small islands, east of the North Carolina coast, about 580 miles. The climate is delightful and salubrious, and they are principally known as Summer resorts. The revenue and expenditure-about $200,620 in 1900-nearly equal each other. The exports for the same year were $468,845, the imports. $1.985,680. In the South Atlantic, about 300 miles east of Magellan Straits, are the Falkland Islands, a Crown colony. The revenue and expenditure are about equal, being in 1900 about $78,000. The imports for 1901-02 were $334.740, and the exports. $557,695, most of which went to Great Britain. It is espe British Guiana is ruled by a Governor, assisted by a Court of Policy and a combined court. cially valuable for its rich deposits of gold; diamonds are also extensively exported. In 1901 the expenditure and revenue each amounted to about $2.527,460. The imports were $6,967,645, and the exports were $10,342.430. British Honduras is a Crown colony in the Caribbean Sea. 660 miles west from Jamaica. It is principally noted for its hardwoods and mahogany. The revenue ($298,500) more than pays for the expenditure. comes mainly from customs and excise taxes. It The islands in the British West Indies include the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, the largest and most important, Trinidad, and the Leeward and Windward groups. Each of these colonial units is governed by a Governor, assisted by a Legislative and an Executive Council. Jamaica is the military, political and commercial centre for the entire group. In 1900 the total expenditure, for all of the West Indian possessions, was $10,585.855. This was more than offset by a revenue of $10,669,825. The imports were $33,697,825, and the exports $31,801,720. The chief British possessions in Australasia are the Australian colonies, the six States of which form the Australian Commonwealth. The executive power, vested in the British King, is exercised by his GovernorGeneral. The legislative power vests in him and the Federal Parliament, of a Senate and House of Representatives. The total Federal revenue amounts to over $51,500,000, and the combined expenditure to less than $47,000,000. New South Wales is the most important of the States and sends twenty-six Representatives to the House: Victoria comes next with twenty-three; then Queensland with nine; South Australia with seven, and West Australia and Tasmania each with five. Religious toleration is universal in the States, and there is no State religion or State aid of religion in any, except in Tasmania, where financial support is given impartially to all. The judicial system, which is similar throughout, is closely patterned after that of the usual State systems in this country. Sydney, which is the headquarters of the British Australian fleet, is a first-class port, and the centre of defence. The southeastern part of the Island of New Guinea is a British possession. It is, at present, a dependency to the Commonwealth, although its final relation to it has not been yet established. In New Zealand, next to Australia, the most important of the Australian colonies, the Government is represented by a Governor, the executive head for the Crown, who, with the General Assembly of two Chambers, forms the legislative power. There is no State Church; there is a system of free public primary education. The total revenue for 1901 was $27.912,510, which was about $500.000 more than the expenditure. The imports in 1901 were about $53,350,000, and the exports about $66,200,000. The islands of the Fiji group in the Western Pacific, are governed for the Crown by a Governor, who is the executive head, and sits with the Legislative Council. The islands pay for themselves, the revenue in 1900 being $557.845, while the expenditure was $500.120. In the Pacific Islands, Tonga or the Friendly Islands group, while nominally neutral, are through preponderance of interests, practically a British colony. A protectorate was proclaimed over the kingdom May 19, 1900. Totals 8,735,034 318,421,072 $652,082,225 $626,726,165 $1,357,485,375 $1,325,654,955 $2,921,791,375 Colonial Representatives.-The British representatives in the colonies and protectorates are: India. Lord Curzon of Kedleston, Viceroy and Governor-General; Madras, Lord Ampthill; Bombay, Lord Northcote; Bengal, Sir John Woodburn; Northwest Province, Sir Anthony P. MacDonald: Punjab, Sir W. M. Young; Burmah, Sir F. W. R. Fryer; Ceylon, Colonel Rt. Hon. Sir J. W. Ridgeway; Straits Settlement. Sir Frank A. Swettenham: Hong Kong, Sir Henry Arthur Blake; Boreno, Hugh C. Clifford; Sarawak, H. H. Sir Charles Johnson Brooke, Raja. Dominion of Canada.-Earl of Minto, Governor-General; Newfoundland, Sir Cavendish Boyle. Africa South Africa, Lord Milner, High Commissioner: Cape Colony, Hon. Sir. W. F. Hely-Hutchinson; Basutoland, Sir Godfrey Yeatman Lagden; Bechuanaland, Major H. J. Goold-Adams; Transvaal and Orange River, Lord Milner: Natal, Colonel Sir H. E. McCallum: Rhodesia, Sir Michael J. Clarke; Gambia, Sir George C. Denton; Gold Coast. Major Matthew Nathan; Sierra Leon, Sir Charles A. King-Harman; Lagos, Sir William McGregor; Southern Nigeria, Sir R. D. R. Moore: Northern Nigeria, Brig.-Gen. Sir F. D. Lugard; Somaliland, Lieut.-Col. J. H. Sadler; East Africa Protectorate, Sir C. N. E. Elliot; Unganda, Sir H. H. Johnston; Witu, A. S. Rogers; Zanzibar, Sir C. N. E. Elliot; British Central Africa, Alfred Sharpe. Commonwealth of Australia.-New South Wales, Earl Beauchamp; Victoria, Colonel Sir George Sydenham Clarke: South Australia. Lord Tennyson; Queensland. Lord Lamington; Tasmania, Sir Arthur E. Haveloch; Western Australia. Captain Hon. Sir Arthur Lawley; New Zealand, Earl Ranpurly. British West Indies.-Jamaica, Sir A. W. L. Hemming: Bahama, Sir Gilbert T. Carter: Leeward Isles, Sir Henry M. Jackson: Windward Isles, Sir Robert B. Llewelyn; Barbados, Sir Frederick M. Hodgson; Trinidad and Tobago, Sir Cornelius A. Moloney. Miscellaneous Islands and Protectorates.-Bermuda, General Sir George Digby Barker: Gibraltar, General Sir G. S. White; Malta, General Sir F. Wallace Grenfell: St. Helena, Robert A. Sterndale; Cyprus, Sir W. F. Haynes Smith; Fiji, Sir George T. M. O'Brien; British Guiana, Sir J. A. Swettenham: British New Guiana, George Ruthven Le Hunte; British Honduras. Colonel Sir David Wilson: Mauritius, Sir Charles Bruce: Seychelles, E. B. Sweet-Escott; Ascension, Captain G. N. A. Pollard; Falkland, William Grey-Wilson: Pacific Islands, Sir G. T. M. O'Brien. Events in 1902.-The present year has been an eventful one for Great Britain, seeing the close of the South African war, with British success-a complete vindication of the war policy of the British Ministry at that time; the coronation of King Edward, after the ceremonies had been postponed on account of an illnes which threatened to end fatally for the King; great changes in the Cabinet, including the voluntary retirement of Lord Salisbury as Premier and the succession of the Hon. Arthur James Balfour to that important post. English politics has undergone a change, Lord Rosebery, the long-time leader of the Liberal party, having split from it, claiming that the Irish demanded too much, among other things an inde pendent Parliament in Dublin. The "National" Liberal faction is led by Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman, while Lord Rosebery has organized the new "Liberal League." Not less worthy of record is the so-called American invasion of the English business world, the most striking features of which have been the bifter war for supremacy in the tobacco trade waged by the American and the British tobacco monopolies; the securing of franchises for and commencement of work on probably the greatest system of underground railways ever projected-the work of an American financierCharles Tyson Yerkes-and, greatest of all, the consolidation of the leading British shipping interests into the ship merger, consummated by the work of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, and familiarly known as the American Ship Trust. |