the two sons of the latter, who became the founders of the lines of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Brunswick-Lüneburg, the former of which is represented at present in the ducal house of Brunswick, while the latter is merged in the royal family of Great Britain.

The Duke of Brunswick is one of the wealthiest of German sovereigns, being in possession of immense private estates, including the principality of Oels, in Silesia, and large domains in the district of Glatz, in Prussia. It is believed that the Duke has bequeathed the whole of these estates to the Emperor of Austria. The Duke's civil list, amounting to 220,722 thalers, or 33,1087., is not set down in the budget, being paid out of a special fund, the 'Kammercasse,' the revenues of which are derived from the State domains. The ex-duke, Charles, residing chiefly at Paris, has also a large private income, amounting, it is stated, to above 200,000l. per

annum.

Constitution, Revenue, and Population.

The Constitution of Brunswick bears date October 12, 1832, but was modified by the fundamental law of November 22, 1851. The legislative power is vested in one Chamber, consisting of forty-three members. Of these, nine are elected by the highest-taxed landed proprietors; ten by the magistrates of the chief towns; three by the Protestant clergy; ten by the inhabitants of towns, and eleven by those of rural districts. The Chamber meets every three years, and the deputies hold their mandate for two sessions. The executive is represented by a responsible Ministry, consisting of two departments, namely, the Ministry of State and of Foreign Affairs; and the Ministry of the Interior.

The budget was formerly voted for the period of three years, but since 1867, in conformity with the constitution of the North-German Confederation. For the year 1869 the estimates of revenue were 2,480,000 thalers, or 372,000l., with an expenditure of the same amount. The public debt of the duchy, at the commencement of 1869, was 15,368,750 thalers, or 2,305,3131., four-fifths of which sum was contracted for the establishment of railways.

The duchy has an area of 1,526 square miles, with a population of 302,792 inhabitants, according to the Zollverein census of 1867. Nearly the whole of the inhabitants in 1867 were members of the Lutheran Church, the exception being 1,676 Calvinists; 3,775 Roman Catholics; 216 members of other Christian sects, and 1,107 Jews. The latter enjoy civil and religious equality.

Reigning Sovereign and Family.

Karl Alexander, Grand-duke of Saxe-Weimar, born June 24, 1818, the son of Grand-duke Charles Frederick and of Grand-duchess Marie, daughter of the late Czar Paul I. of Russia. Succeeded his father, July 8, 1853; married, October 8, 1842, to Sophie, born April 8, 1824, daughter of the late King Willem II. of the Netherlands. Issue of the union are:-1. Prince Karl August, heirapparent, born July 31, 1844. 2. Princess Marie, born January 20, 1849. 3. Princess Elisabeth, born February 28, 1854.

Sisters of the Grand-duke.-1. Princess Marie, born February 3, 1808; married, May 26, 1827, to Prince Karl of Prussia. 2. Princess Augusta, born September 30, 1811; married, June 11, 1829, to Prince Wilhelm, now King Wilhelm I. of Prussia.

Cousins of the Grand-duke.-1. Prince Eduard, born October 11, 1823, the son of the late Duke Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, brother of Grand-duke Karl Friederich; entered the British army as ensign, June 1, 1841; captain, May 19, 1846; major, June 20, 1854; lieutenant-colonel in the Grenadier Guards and aide-de-camp to the Queen, May 18, 1855; married, November 27, 1851, to Lady Augusta Catherine, born January 14, 1827, the daughter of the late Charles Gordon-Lennox, Duke of Richmond. 2. Prince Hermann, born August 4, 1825, brother of the preceding; married, June 17, 1851, to Princess Augusta, born October 4, 1826, youngest daughter of King Wilhelm I. of Würtemberg. Issue of the union are one daughter and four sons. 3. Prince Gustav, born June 28, 1827, brother of the preceding; major-general in the Austrian army. 4. Princess Amalia, born May 20, 1830; married, May 19, 1853, to Prince Henry of Orange-Nassau, brother of King Willem III. of the Netherlands.

The family of the Grand-duke stands at the head of the Ernestine or elder line of the princely houses of Saxony, which include SaxeMeiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, while the younger, or Albertine line, is represented by the Kings of Saxony. Saxe-Weimar was formed into an independent duchy towards the end of the sixteenth century, when Elector Johann Wilhelm of Saxony divided his territory between his two sons, Friedrich Wilhelm and Johann, giving the former Saxe-Altenburg and the latter SaxeWeimar. At the Congress of Vienna a considerable increase of territory, together with the title of Grand-duke, was awarded to

Duke Karl August, patron of German literature, and friend of Göthe and Schiller.

The Grand-duke has a large private fortune, part of which he obtained in dowry with his consort, Princess Sophie of the Netherlands. He has also a civil list of 280,000 thalers, or 42,000l., amounting to about one-sixth of the revenues of Saxe-Weimar.

Constitution, Revenue, and Population.

The constitution of the Grand-duchy was granted May 5, 1816; but slightly altered by the law of October 15, 1849. According to this charter the legislative power is vested in a House of Parliament represented by one Chamber. It is composed of 31 members, of whom ten are chosen by the proprietors of nobiliar estates; ten by the towns; ten others by the inhabitants of rural districts, and one by the Senate of the University of Jena. At the general election, which takes place every seventh year, not only the representatives themselves are chosen, but likewise a substitute for every member, who has to take his place in case of illness, death, or prolonged absence. The ten members for the nobility are elected directly by all proprietors of Rittergüter, or noble estates; even ladies being allowed to vote. In the representation of towns and rural districts the mode of election is indirect. The whole body of voters choose a certain number of delegates, in the proportion of one to every fifty houses, and these deputies elect the member for the place. The Chamber meets every three years, and a standing committee of nine members continues to sit during the adjournment.

The executive, acting under the orders of the Grand-duke, but responsible to the representatives of the country, is divided into three departments, which are, the Ministry of the Grand-ducal House, of the Interior, and of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Finance; and the Ministry of Justice and of Ecclesiastical Affairs..

The budget is granted by the Chamber for a period of three years. That from 1863 to 1865 comprised an annual income of 1,658,668 thalers, or 248,8087., and an annual expenditure of 1,654,558 thalers, or 248,1897., leaving a surplus of 4,110 thalers, or 6191., for the year. Estimates for the period 1866-68 were based upon annnal receipts of 1,730,131 thalers, and annual disbursements of 1,700,088 thalers, leaving a yearly surplus of 30,043 thalers. The public debt amounted to 4,560,000 thalers, or 648,000l., on January 1, 1869.

The Grand-duchy has an area of 1,421 English square miles, with a population of 283,044 at the census of December 3, 1867.

There was, at that date, the following religious division of the inhabitants :-Protestants, 269,007; Roman Catholics, 9,927; Greek Catholics, 48; Mennonites, 2; other Christian sects, 43; Jews, 1,129.

VII. MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ.

(GROSSHERZOGTHUM MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ.)

Reigning Sovereign.

Friedrich Wilhelm I., Grand-duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, born Oct. 17, 1819, the son of Grand-duke Georg and of Princess Marie of Hesse-Cassel; succeeded to the throne at the death of his father, Sept. 6, 1860; married, June 24, 1843, to Augusta, born July 19, 1822, the daughter of the late Duke Adolphus of Cambridge. Offspring of the union is Prince Adolf Friedrich, heirapparent, born July 22, 1848.

The reigning house of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was founded, in 1701, by Duke Adolf Friedrich, youngest son of Duke Adolf Friedrich II. of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. There being no law of primogeniture at the time, the Diet was unable to prevent the division of the country, which was protested against by subsequent Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The Congress of Vienna permitted Duke Karl Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Strelitz to adopt the title of Grand-duke, notwithstanding the exceedingly limited extent of his territory. He is, however, one of the wealthiest of German sovereigns, more than one-half of the country being his own private property. A territory of seven square miles, with 10,000 souls, which was added to the newly created Grand-duchy in 1815, was sold by the late Grand-duke Georg to Prussia, on May 21, 1819, for the sum of 1,000,000 thalers, or 100 thalers per soul.' It is calculated that the income of the Grand-ducal family amounts at present to at least 230,000l. a year.

Constitution, Revenue, and Population.

The country is divided into two separate provinces, the first of which, Stargard, has a Diet composed of landowners, while the second, Ratzeburg, has no representative institutions whatever. The Stargard Diet periodically joins the legislative assembly of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Only the possession of a Rittergut, or knight's estate, gives right to a seat in the Diet, to which neither the towns

nor rural populations send any deputies. There are sixty-two such proprietors in the province of Stargard, only a small number of whom, however, choose to take their seats.

The executive is entirely in the hands of the Grand-duke, and is exercised by him through one 'Minister of State,' which appointment, however, has at times been vacant for several years. Accounts of public income and expenditure are never made known, and the whole state revenue forms the civil-list of the Grand-duke.

The population, which, according to the census of 1867, numbered 98,770, is decreasing steadily, a strong tide of emigration having carried off nearly 8,000 inhabitants in a course of eight years. The area of the country is 997 English square miles, the ownership of which territory is divided between the sovereign, the feudal proprietors, and the corporations of certain towns, in the following manner :-527 square miles belong to the Grand-duke; 353 to the titled and untitled nobles, and 117 to the town corporations. Nearly one-fourth of the Grand-ducal property consists of forest lands.

VIII. SAXE-MEININGEN.

(HERZOGTHUM SACHSEN-MEININGEN.)

Reigning Sovereign.

Georg II., Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, born April 2, 1826, the son of Duke Bernhard I. Succeeded, on the abdication of his father, September 20, 1866. Married, May 18, 1850, to Princess Charlotte of Prussia, who died March 30, 1855. Offspring of this union are a son and a daughter:-Bernhard, born April 1, 1851; and Marie Elizabeth, born September 23, 1853. Married, in second nuptials, October 23, 1858, to Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, born July 7, 1839. Offspring of this second marriage are two sons, Ernst, born September 27, 1859, and Friedrich, born Oct. 12, 1861.

The line of Saxe-Meiningen was founded by Duke Bernhard, third son of Ernst I. of Saxony, surnamed the Pious, the friend and companion in arms of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. The duchy was only one-third its present size up to the year 1826, when, by the extinction of the ancient family of Saxe-Gotha, the territories of Hildburghausen and Saalfeld fell to the present duke. He has a civil list of 225,000 florins, or 18,7501., paid out of the produce of the State domains.