The maritime population liable to service is stated to be 170,000 men; the number of men inscribed on the navy list is 89,000, which number, after deducting men over 40 years, is reduced to about 66,000 men. The approaches to the French coast are to be defended by 344 batteries and 27 forts. Commerce. The sum total of the general commerce of France in 1865 amounted to 7,614,000,000 of francs, of which 3,527,000,000 represented the imports, and 4,087,000,000 the exports. It was a total increase of 285,000,000 over the preceding year. The import from the United States, in 1865, was 106,000,000, the export to the same country 241,000,000. The general commerce of France with its colonies and foreign countries amounted in 1866 to the actual value of 8,126,000,000 francs, an increase of 512,000,000 over the preceding year. The import of 1866 was 3,845,000,000, the export 4,281,000,000. The imports from the United States amounted to 192,000,000, the exports to the United States, 173,000,000. The chief articles of import in 1866 were cereals (44,000,000). The following table shows the value of the principal articles of import and export in 1862 and 1865: The importance of the greatest centers of commerce will be shown by the amount of duty paid in 1865, as follows: Paris 26,000,000 francs, Marseilles 19,000,000 frs., Nantes 19,000,000 frs., Havre 16,000,000 frs., Bordeaux 14,000,000 frs. The official report of Feb. 7, 1867, states the amount of production of coal to have been about 120,000,000 quintals, of cast iron about 13,000,000, (worth 135,000,000 frs.) The most valuable productions of agriculture are officially stated to be as follows: Value. 1865.. Imports. .536,000,000 frs.. .420,000,000 46 Exports. 456,000,000 fre. .502,000,000 66 The number of letters and newspapers sent by the Post Department, was in The length of the telegraph lines was, at the end of 1865, about 19,000 miles; the number of private dispatches nearly 2,500,000. The railroads in France are left to private companies, but superintended, and if necessary, assisted in their operations by the State. They are now almost entirely in the hands of six great companies, which had, in 1867, an aggregate of 7,9894 miles in operation. The expenses of the companies January, 1868, and for finishing conceded lines, exclusive of the State subsidy, were estimated at 7,883,000,000, the largest portion of which falls on the line from Lyons to the Mediterranean Sea. The State subsidies amounted, at the above date, to 984,000,000. The French railroads earned 603,000,000 francs in 1866, and carried 84,000,000 travelers. 1 The Bank of France was established in 1803; the sum of its circulating notes fluctuated, in 1866, between 846,000,000 and 1,029,000,000 francs. The number of authorized Savings Banks in 1865, was 477. The proportionally greatest number of depositors was reached in the departments of the Seine, and of the Seine-et-Marne, where there was one depositor for every 8 inhabitants. The total number of Mutual Aid Societies at the end of 1865, was 5,614, having 54,657 members; their capital had increased, Dec. 31, 1866, to 43,000,000 francs. Colonies. The Colonies are, Martinique, Guadaloupe, Guiana, Réunion, Sénégal, St. Pierre and Miquelon, French Possessions in India, and Algeria. They are subjected to special laws. In 1848, the Provisional Government decreed the total abolition of slavery in the French colonies. Guiana is the chief penal colony of France. 5. GERMANY. History. First organization of Germany into a kingdom by the treaty of Verdun, 843; reign of Carlovingians, until 911; the Saxon dynasty, 919-1024; Franconian dynasty, 1024-1125; the House of Hohenstaufen, 1138-1254; the House of Hapsburg, from 1273, with short intermissions, until the dissolution of the German empire, 1806; establishment of the German Confederation of thirty-nine states in 1815, which existed until 1866. By that time, six states had become extinct. In consequence of the war, Austria was excluded from Germany, Luxemburg was released from all connection with Germany, and five sovereign states, Hanover, Hesse-Cassel Holstein, Nassau, and Frankfort were annexed to Prussia. Of the remainder, twenty-one states north of the River Main, and part of Hesse-Darmstadt, formed, under the leadership of Prussia, the North German Confederation; while four states in South Germany-Bavaria, Wurtemberg, Baden and the greater part of Hesse-Darmstadt are designated by the collective name of South German States. Liechtenstein has no connection with either the North German Confederation or any of the South German States, though statistically it is sometimes classed with South Germany. The Constitution of North Germany was drawn up by the Prussian Government in 1867, and adopted in the same year by a parliament, elected by universal suffrage-at the rate of one member for 100,000 inhabitants. According to this Charter, the states of Prussia, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Oldenburg, Brunswick, Saxe-Weimar, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Saxe-Meiningen, Anhalt, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg, Waldeck, Lippe-Detmold, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Reuss-Schleiz, Reuss-Greiz, Schaumburg-Lippe, Hamburg, Lubeck, and Bremen, have been formed into a Union, for the protection of the territory of the Union and its laws, as well as for the care of the welfare of the German people. Area and Population. The subjoined table gives the area and population of Germany entire, according to the census of 1867: NORTH GERMANY. Names of States. Prussia.. Names of States. 2,423,401 Lippe-Detmold. Mecklenburg-Schwerin. 5,190. 560,618 Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt....374. 75.074 Oldenburg. 2,469. Brunswick. 1,425. 303,401 Reuss-Greiz. Saxe-Weimar. Reuss-Schleiz.. Schaumburg-Lippe. Saxe-Meiningen... 956. 180.335 Hamburg Anhalt. Lubeck.. Adding Luxemburg, (199.958 inhabitants), which still is a part of the German Zollverein, the population would be 38,721,858. Total of Hesse-Darmstadt, 2,970 sq. miles and 823,138 inhabitants. The population of Germany, in 1818, was estimated to be 30,157,638; it had increased, in 1865, to 46,412,000, or 54 per cent. If we deduct the population of German Austria, Limburg and Hesse-Darms'dt (So. part)...1,690 Inhabitants. 565.659 Luxemburg-nearly 10,000,000-and add the population of the provinces of Prussia and Posen, as well as of Schleswig, which did not belong to the German Confederation before 1866, but now, being part of the North German Confederation, belong to Germany-about 3,000,000-we have a population, which in 1818, in the present area of Germany amounted to 23,000,000, and which has since increased to about 38,000,000, or about 64 per cent. The greatest increase took place in Bremen, 103 per cent.; Saxony, 85 per cent.; and Reuss, elder line, 80 per cent. There were, in 1864, 18,096,608 females, and 17,783,255 males, a difference of 313,383, the difference in France being, in 1866, only 38,876. No European country, except Ireland, has lost so much by emigration as Germany. The emigration exceeded that of Ireland in the middle of the last decade. The following table shows the number of emigrants in the six years given: 1847.. 1851. .109,531 ..112,547 1852.. 162,301 1854. .157,180 1857. .241,931 .115,976 Education. There are twenty-three Universities in Germany, viz: Nine in Prussia, (Ber lin, Bonn, Breslau, Halle, Greifswalde, Königsburg, Göttingen, Marburg and Kiel); three in Bavaria, (Munich, Würzburg, Erlangen); two in Baden, (Heidelberg and Freiburg); one in Saxony, (Leipsic); one in Würtemberg, (Tübingen); one in the Saxon Duchies, (Jena); one in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, (Giessen); one in Mecklenburg, (Rostock). There are six Polytechnical Institutions, and the Mining Academy at Freiburg. The Zollverein (Customs Union). The German Zollverein began in 1828, by a Customs Union between Prussia aud the Grand Duchy of Hesse, and the Duchy of Anhalt. It now embraces all the German countries. It is to continue until the end of December, 1877. A Federal Customs Council and Parliament has been instituted. In the former, Prussia has 17 votes, Bavaria 6, Saxony and Wurtemberg 4 each, Baden and Hesse 3 each, Schwerin and Brunswick 2 each, Weimar, Strelitz, Oldenburg, Meiningen, Altenburg, Gotha, Anhalt, Rudolstadt, Sondershausen, Waldeck, Reuss elder and younger line, Schaumburg-Lippe, Hamburg, Bremen, and Lubek, 1 each; total, 58 votes. The Customs Parliament is formed of the members of the North German Parliament, and of delegates of the South German States by universal and direct election. The total Revenue of the Zollverein rose from 23,000,000 thalers in 1848, to 31,000,000 thalers in 1866. The Zollverein exported cotton goods, in 1864, to the amount of 35,941 quintals. The beetsugar manufacture in the territory of the Zollverein, in 1865-66 consumed 43,500,000 quintals of beets. There were, in 1864, 1,744 foundries, producing 37,000,000 quintals, of 118,000,000 thalers value. The 4,788 mines, in the same year, wrought by 191,000 workingmen, yielded 580,000,000 quintals, of 54,000,000 thalers value. There are, excluding the mills, nearly 180,000 manufacturing establishments in the Zollverein. There were, in 1865, 280,476 depòsitors in German Life Insurance companies, representing a capital of 278,000,000 thalers; there were in the same year, about 1,500 Mutual Aid (credit) societies, consisting of 350,000 members. The Merchant Navy of the North German Confederation consisted, in the beginning of 1868, of 4,407 sea-going vessels, of 1,345,268 tons, and of 5,479 river and coasting vessels, of 115,359 tons. It was manned by 33,800 men. There entered the ports of the Zollverein, în 1865, 18,832 sailing vessels and 1,639 steamers; cleared, 18,552 sailing vessels and 1,645 steamers. NORTH GERMANY. Government. The following are the main features of the new Constitution of North Germany: The legislative power is exercised by a Federal Council and a Parliament. They control the customs, commercial legislation, coining of money, weights and measures, banking questions, questions relating to the rights of natives and aliens, patents for inventions, protection of German trade, railways and roads, postal and telegraphic services, navigation of rivers, common law procedure, commercial law, and the laws upon change. The Federal Council forms the representation of the various governments. Its votes are divided thus: Prussia, 17, Saxony, 4, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 2, Brunswick, 2; all other states, 1 each, making a total of 43 votes. The Presidency of the Federation belongs to the Prussian crown. The King of Prussia acts on behalf of the Federation in its intercourse with foreign states; he declares war or concludes peace, and he appoints the embassadors. The Federal Council is presided over by a Chancellor of the Federation, appointed by the King of Prussia. This Council and the Parliament assemble every year. The Parliament is elected by universal and direct suffrage, for three years, and in case of dissolution, a new election must take place within 60 days. The naval forces of the Northern and Baltic seas are placed under the supreme command of Prussia. Every NorthGerman is liable to service, and no substitution is allowed. The strength of the Federal army on the peace footing, is settled upon the basis of one per cent. of the population. All the troops form one army, under the command of the King of Prussia. Changes in the Constitution can only be voted in Parliament and the Federal Council by a two-thirds majority. The Charter provides, finally, that negotiations shall be entered into with the Southern States, to arrive at a settlement of new relations, and, if possible to complete the union between the northern and southern divisions of the German Empire. The Federal Chancellor is Count of BismarckSchönhausen, President of the Prussian Ministry, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Finances. The following is a summary of the Federal budget for 1868: Customs and Taxes on consumption by the Zollverein. .47,192,110 thalers. by Federal States not belonging to the Zollverein. 2,296,570 Postal and Newspaper Administration.. 2,421,762 Telegraphs 275,000 66 Sundries.. Stipulated Contributions. Total.. 66 .72,158,243 Of these stipulated contributions, Prussia's share is nearly 17,000,000, that of Saxony, a little over 1,500,000. Army and Navy. The North-German Army consists of 13 army corps (1 garde and 12 line), embracing 27 divisions, or 54 infantry and 28 cavalry brigades, or 118 infantry regiments, 18 chasseur battalions, 76 regiments of cavalry, 13 regiments of field artillery and 10 regiments of artillery of fortifications, 13 battalions of pioneers, and 13 battalions of train. Of infantry troops, Prussia furnishes 97, and Saxony 9 regiments. The "Landwehr" consists of 207 battalions and 16 divisions of chasseurs, 64 squadrons of cavalry, 10 regiments of artillery-altogether, in peace, 12,974, and in war, 260,254 men. The reserve troops, when mobilized, amount to 180,672 men. Total of troops on peace footing, 319,286 men; on war footing, 972,434 men. The Navy of North Germany consists of 5 iron-clad frigates, 9 corvettes, 8 first-class gunboats, 14 screw gunboats, 6 sailing vessels, and smaller vessels (see Prussia)—altogether of 87 ships, mounting 549 guns. PRUSSIA. Capital, Berlin. Area, 135,806 square miles. Population, 24,043,296. Provinces. The official census, held in the states of the Zollverein, Dec. 3, 1867, gives the following table of the population of Prussia proper, and of the newly acquired territories: According to the census of 1861, there were in the old Prussian Monarchy, 2,480,609 inhabitants not belonging to the German race, or speaking the German language in daily and familiar conversation. Disregarding the distinction between High and Low German, there are as many as ten different languages spoken in the old Kingdom. 15,718,600 Prussians speak German as their native tongue; 1,913,880 speak Polish (in the provinces of Prussia, Posen and Silesia); 233,341 speak Massuric (near Gumbinnen and Königsburg); 7,652 speak Kassubic (near Marienwerder, Königsbreg and Cöslin); 136,990 speak Lithuanian (in the districts of Gumbinnen The province of Franconia consists of the districts of Cassel and Wiesbaden, and embraces the former states of Hesse-Cassel, Nassau and Frankfort. and Königsberg); 414 speak old Kurish (in the districts of Gumbinnen and Königsberg); 82,232 speak Wendish (in the provinces of Prussia and Silesia); 10,317 speak Bohemian (in Silesia); 48,554 speak Moravian (in the district of Oppeln); 10,502 speak Walloon (in the neighborhood of Aix-la-Chapelle). The average density of the population was, in 1867, about 142 per English square mile, it being highest in the manufacturing district of Dusseldorf. The number of families was 3,613,856. There was 1 deaf and dumb person to every 1,211, and 1 blind in 1,731 of the population of Prussia. About 9,000,000 of the population of the old Kingdom are engaged in agriculture. The chief cities of Prussia have the following population, according to the last census: .79,649 (1864) Barmen Frankf't on the Main 78,245 Stettin Berlin.. Breslau. 702,437 (1867) ..166,744 .126.203 Magdeburg...103,981 Hanover.. Elberfeld 73,602 (1867) Crefeld.. Aix-la-Chapelle......67,923 .64,865 (1867) ......64.732 ..53,837 ....53,383 (1864) Reigning Sovereign and Family. WILLIAM I., King of Prussia, born March 22, 1797, second son of King Frederick William III. and Princess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; took part in the campaigns of 1813 and 1815 against France; Commander-in-Chief of the Prussian troops against the revolutionary army of Baden, June 1849; appointed Regent of the Kingdom during the mental illness of his brother, King Frederick William IV., Oct. 9, 1858; ascended the throne at the death of his brother, Jan. 2, 1861; married June 11, 1829, to Augusta, born Sept. 30, 1811, daughter of the late Grand-Duke Charles Frederick, of Saxe-Weimar. Children: 1. Prince Frederick William, heir-apparent, born Oct. 18, 1831; 2. Princess Louise, born Dec. 3, 1838, married to the Grand Duke of Baden. Frederick III., of the family of Hohenzollern, was elevated to the rank of a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1273, and received the Burgraviate of Nuremberg in flef. His greatgrandson, Frederick VI., was invested by Emperor Sigismund, in 1411, with the province of. Brandenburg, and obtained the rank of Elector in 1417. Margrave Albert of Hohenzollern was, in 1511, elected to the post of Grand-Master of the Teutonic Knights, owners of the large province of Prussia, and he declared himself afterwards hereditary prince. The early extinction of Albert's line brought the province of Prussia to the Electors of Brandenburg. The "Great Elector," Frederick William, dying in 1688, left a country of one and a half million people, a vast treasure, and 38,000 well-drilled troops to his son Frederick I., who declared himself king, at Konigsberg, 1701. His successor, Frederick William I., added part of Pomerania to his possessions. His son, Frederick II., "the Great," added Silesia and gained a large territory in the first partition of Poland. Another partition of Poland increased the territory under Frederick William II., to nearly 100,000 square miles, with about nine millions of people. By the Congress of Vienna, Prussia was increased by parts of the kingdom of Saxony, the Rhine lands, and Swedish Pomerania. The war of 1866 shaped Prussia into a compact State of 135,806 square miles, and a population of 24,043,296, by the acquisition of Lauenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse, Frankfort and Nassau. Dating from Elector Frederick II. of Brandenburg, who called himself King Frederick I. of Prussia, there have been the following sovereigns of the House of Hohenzollern: Frederick I., 1701; Frederick William I., 1713; Frederick II. the Great, 1740; Frederick William II., 1786; Frederick William III., 1797; Frederick William IV., 1840; William I., 1861. Government. The present constitution, granted by King Frederick William IV., in consequence of the revolutionary events of 1848, has been repeatedly and considerably modified. It vests the executive and part of the legislative authority in the King, whose crown is hereditary in the male line only. In the exercise of the Government, the King is assisted by a council of ministers, appointed and dismissed by himself. He shares the legislative authority with a representative assembly, composed of two Chambers, the "Herrenhaus" (House of Lords), and the "Abgeordnetenhaus" (Chamber of Deputies). The assent of the King and both Chambers is requisite for all laws. Financial projects must first be submitted to the second Chamber. The right of proposing laws is vested in the King and in both Chambers. The Upper Chamber is composed of the princes of the royal family; the chiefs of the media tised princely houses (16); the heads of the territorial nobility formed by the King (about 50); a number of life peers, chosen by the King from among the rich land-owners, great manufacturers, and "national celebrities;" eight titled noblemen elected in the 8 provinces of Prussia by the resident land-owners of all degrees; the representatives of the universities, the heads of "chapters," and the mayors of towns with above 50,000 inhabitants; an unlimited number of members nominated by the King for life or for a certain period. The second Chamber consists of 432 members. Every Prussian who has attained his 25th year, and is qualified to vote for the municipal elections of his place of domicile, is eligible to vote as indirect elector. The |