Rittergut 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 debt is estimated at 6,000,000 mark, or 300,0097. The population, which, according to the census of December 1, 1880, numbered 100,269 (49,161 males, 51,108 females), was decreasing steadily, through emigration, previous to 1875, although there is a less density than in any other State of the German Empire, only 100 inhabitants living on the square mile. Between the census period, 1871-75, the decrease of population was at the rate of 0.35 per cent. per annum, while during the previous period, 1867–71, the decrease was at the rate of 0.46 per annum. During 1875-80 there has been an increase at the rate of 0.94 per cent. per annum. Marriages, 1881, 736; births, 3,250; deaths, 2,130; surplus, 1,111. Among the births were 111, or 3.42 per cent. still-born, and 486, or 14.95 per cent. illegitimate children. Emigrants, 1881, 778; 1882, 894. The area of the country is 1,130 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 Grandduke; 353 to the titled and untitled nobles, and 117 to the town corporations. With the exception of 294 Catholics and 458 Jews (1880), the people are Protestants. The capital, Neu Strelitz, had 9,407 inhabitants in 1880. In the two Mecklenburgs were 262 miles of railway in 1883. XII. SAXE-MEININGEN. (HERZOGTHUM SACHSEN-MEININGEN.) Reigning Duke. Georg II., 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; married, in second nuptials, October 23, 1858, to Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, born July 7, 1839, who died February 10, 1872; married, in third nuptials, March 18, 1863, to Ellen Franz, Countess von Heldburg. Children of the Duke. I. Prince Bernhard, born April 1, 1851; married Feb. 18, 1878, to Princess Charlotte, eldest daughter of Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince Imperial of Germany and Crown Prince of Prussia; offspring of the union is a daughter, Feodora, born May 12, 1879. II. Princess Marie Elizabeth, born September 23, 1853. IV. Prince Friedrich, born October 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 Gustaf Adolf 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 394,286 mark, or 19,714., paid out of the produce of the State domains. Constitution, Revenue, and Population. The charter of the duchy bears date August 23, 1829, and is supplemented by the laws of 1870 and 1873. It provides for a legislative organisation, consisting of one Chamber of twenty-four representatives. Eight of these are elected by the most highly taxed inhabitants; sixteen by all other inhabitants. The Chamber meets every three years, and new elections take place every six. A small property qualification is requisite to become a member. The budget estimates for each of the three financial years 1884-86 stated the revenue at 5,001,670 mark, or 250,0831., and the expenditure at 4,443,170 mark, or 222,1581. Nearly one-half of the revenue is drawn from State domains, formerly belonging to the ducal family. The chief items of expenditure are the interest of the public debt, and the expenses for the administration of the State. The debt, on January 1, 1883, amounted to 12,940,817 mark, or 647,0401., exclusive of a state guarantee on 8,000,000 mark, or 400,000l., employed in the construction of a line of railway through the duchy. Most of the debt is covered by productive State capital. The area of the duchy extends over 933 English square miles, with a population, according to the census of Dec. 1, 1880, of 207,075 inhabitants (101,418 males, 105,657 females). During the four years 1871-75 the population increased at the rate of 0.80 per cent. per annum, while during the preceding four years, 1867-71, the increase was at the rate of 0.88 per cent. per annum; from 1875 to 1880, it was at the rate of 1.25 per cent. per annum. Marriages, 1881, 1,587; births, 7,513; deaths, 4,844; surplus, 2,669. Included in the births are 289, or 3.85 per cent., still-born, and 861, or 1146 per cent., illegitimate children. Emigrants, 1881, 593; 1882, 575. The capital, Meiningen, had 11,227 inhabitants in 1880. The vast majority of the inhabitants of the duchy are Protestants, there being 2,273 Catholics and 1,627 Jews. There were 124 miles of railway in 1883. XIII. ANHALT. (HERZOGTHUM ANHALT.) Reigning Duke. Friedrich, born April 29, 1831, the son of Duke Leopold of Anhalt and of Princess Friederike of Prussia. Succeeded to the throne at the death of his father, May 22, 1871; married, April 22, 1854, to Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg, born April 17, 1838. Children of the Duke. I. Prince Leopold, born July 18, 1855. II. Prince Friedrich, born August 19, 1856. III. Princess Elisabeth, born September 7, 1857; married April 17, 1877, to the hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. IV. Prince Eduard, born April 18, 1861. V. Prince Aribert, born June 18, 1864. VI. Princess Alexandra, born April 4, 1868. The Dukes of Anhalt trace their origin to Bernhard, son of the celebrated Albert the Bear, Margrave of Brandenburg, who died in 1211. The family, in the course of time, split into numerous branches, now reduced to the present line. At the establishment of the Germanic Confederation, in 1815, there were three reigning Dukes of Anhalt, namely of Anhalt-Cöthen, Anhalt-Bernburg, and AnhaltDessau. The first of these lines became extinct in 1847, and the second on August 19, 1863, leaving the former house of AnhaltDessau the sole heir of the family territory. In 1806, the Princes of Anhalt took the title of Dukes, on joining the Confederation of the Rhine. The Duke of Anhalt has a civil list of 580,000 mark, or 29,000l., including the allowances to the younger members of the house. The family has, besides, very large private estates in Saxony, Eastern Prussia, and the Crimea, embracing an area of more than 200 square miles. Constitution, Revenue, and Population. The duchy has a Constitution, proclaimed September 17, 1859, and modified by decrees of September 17, 1863 and February 13, 1872, which give legislative power to a Diet composed of 36 members, of whom ten are representatives of the nobility and great landowners, two of the highest taxed inhabitants belonging to the mercantile and industrial classes, fourteen of the other inhabitants of towns, and ten of the rural districts. The executive power is entirely in the hands of the duke, who governs through a Minister of State. The budget estimates for the financial year 1883-84 stated the public income and expenditure at 18,920,400 mark, or 946,0201. More than a third of the revenue is derived from State property, and the rest chiefly from indirect taxes. The largest item in the expenditure is the civil list of the ducal house. The public debt amounted, on June 30, 1882, to 4,379,766 mark, or 218,9881., more than covered by productive investments. The duchy comprises an area of 869 English square miles, with a population of 232,592 (115,079 males and 117,513 females), according to the census of December 1, 1880. In the four years, 1871-75, the increase of population was at the rate of 1.23 per cent. per annum, while during the preceding four years, 1867-71, the increase was at the rate of 0.80 per cent. per annum; from 1875 to 1880 it was at the rate of 17 per cent. per annum. Marriages, 1881, 1,948; births, 9,017; deaths, 5,675; surplus, 3,342. Among the births are 362, or 4 per cent. still-born, and 861, or 9.55 per cent. illegitimate, children. Emigrants, 1881, 368; 1882, 257. The capital, Dessau, had 23,266 inhabitants in 1880. Nearly the whole of the inhabitants belong to the reformed Protestant Church, there being 4,541 Catholics and 1,752 Jews. XIV. SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA. (HERZOGTHUM SACHSEN-COBURG-GOTHA.) Reigning Duke. Ernst II., born June 21, 1818, the son of Duke Ernst I. of SaxeSaalfeld-Coburg and of Princess Louise of Saxe-Altenburg. Studied philosophy and political economy at the University of Bonn, 183436; entered into the military service of Saxony, 1836; travelled in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Northern Africa, 1838-40. Succeeded to the throne, at the death of his father, Jan. 29, 1844. Married, May 3, 1842, to Princess Alexandrine, born Dec. 6, 1820, the daughter of the late Grand-duke Leopold of Baden. The Duke being childless, the heir-apparent is his nephew, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, born Aug. 6, 1844, the son of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and of Victoria, Queen of Great Britain. The immediate ancestor of the reigning family of Saxe-CoburgGotha, formerly called Saxe-Saalfeld-Coburg, and previously SaxeCoburg, was Prince Albrecht, second son of Duke Ernst, surnamed the Pious, who died in 1699. A dispute about his heritage lasted through three generations, and was only settled, towards the end of the eighteenth century, by a re-distribution of the territories of the Saxon princes. A new division took place in 1826, on the extinction of the line of Saxe-Gotha, and it was then that the house of Saxe-SaalfeldCoburg exchanged its name for that of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The family is in possession of a large private fortune, accumulated chiefly by Duke Ernst I. of Saxe-Saalfeld-Coburg, whom the Congress of Vienna made a present of the principality of Lichtenberg, in return for his services as commander of the fifth corps d'armée in the year 1813. This principality he sold, Sept. 22, 1834, to the King of Prussia, for a sum of two million thaler, and other advantages. Besides a vast private income, Duke Ernst II. has a comparatively large civil list. It is paid out of the revenue of the domains, and amounts to 100,000 thaler, or 15,000l., at a minimum, and more in case these estates produce above 134,079 thaler, or 20,112l. a year. proprietorship of these domains, which, according to the decision of the highest legal authorities in Germany, belong to the State and not to the reigning family, gave rise for a time to animated disputes between the Government and the legislature of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. A compromise was finally arrived at, by the terms of which the reigning Duke has a civil list of 100,000 thaler out of the income of the domains, and the surplus of 34,079 thaler is paid into the public exchequer, while the rest is divided between the Duke and the State. Constitution, Revenue, and Population. The The Staatsgrundgesetz, or fundamental law of the duchy, proclaimed May 3, 1852, vests the legislative power in two separate assemblies, one for the province of Coburg and the other for the province of Gotha. The Coburg Chamber consists of eleven, and that for Gotha of nineteen members, chosen in as many electoral divisions, by the indirect vote of all the inhabitants. Every man above the age of twenty-five, who pays taxes, has a vote, and any citizen above thirty may be elected a deputy. New elections take place every four years. The two assemblies meet separately every year, and every second year they unite into one Chamber, to which the Coburg Diet deputes seven, and that of Gotha fourteen members. The United Parliament meets alternately at the town of Coburg and at Gotha. The budget is voted for the term of four years for Gotha and six years for Coburg, and in the financial accounts a distinction is made between Crown-revenue, derived from the domains, and Staterevenue. In recent years the Crown-revenue produced an annual surplus of about 36,000l., divided in the proportion above mentioned between the Duke and the public exchequer. In the budget estimates for 1879-85, the Crown-revenue for Coburg was set down at 445,900 mark, or 22,2951., and expenditure at 201,400 mark, |