The public debt of Württemberg more than doubled within the last twenty years, owing to the establishment of the railways of the kingdom, nearly the whole of which are State property. The capital of the public debt was estimated to amount to 424,051,519 marks, or 21,202,576l., on April 1, 1887, of which the bulk bears interest at 4 per cent., and most of the balance 42.

The debt of the kingdom is divided into two portions-namely, the general debt and the railway debt. The latter, forming by far the largest portion of the total, amounted to 379,627,533 marks, or 18,981,3771. on April 1, 1886.

The total debt amounts to about 101. 13s. per head of the population, and the charge for 1887-88 to 19,942,933 marks (997,1467.), or about 10s. per head. The net income of the railways, all expenses deducted, amounts to 13,458,730 marks, or 672,936l., covering, therefore, 67 per cent. of the charge of the whole public debt, but not the entire charge of the railway debt alone, which amounts to 15,619,064 marks, or 780,9531. The maintenance of the railway, therefore, involves a net charge on the Treasury of 2,371,560 marks, or 118,5781., for the present year.

The total strength of the Württemberg corps d'armée (the 13th of Germany) is on the peace footing 20,691 men and 64 guns.

Area and Population.

Württemberg has an area of 19,503 square kilometres, or 7,530 English square miles, with 1,995,185 inhabitants-960,810 males, and 1,034,375 females-at the census of December 1, 1885. The kingdom is divided into four provinces (Kreise), 64 districts (Oberamts), and 1,912 communes (Gemeinde).

The following table shows the area and population:

The increase of population between 1880 and 1885, amounting on the whole to only 0.24 per cent. per annum, varied greatly in the four circles of the kingdom. Between 1880 and 1885 there was an increase of 16,486 in the Neckar circle, but a decrease of 2,528 in the Tagstkreis. The total increase in the kingdom during the 45 years from 1841 to 1885 was very slight, and at one period,

from 1849 to 1855, there was a decline of population.

There were

in 1885 in Württemberg 13,264 marriages, 74,532 births, and 55,798 deaths, the excess of births over deaths being 18,734. The births included 2,766 still-born, or 3.71 per cent. of the total number, and 7,338 illegitimate children, or 9.85 per cent. of the total. Emigration, chiefly directed to the United States of America, has drawn off large numbers of the people. In the five years from 1873 to 1877 the total number of emigrants was 10,039. But the emigration here, as in other parts of Germany, greatly declined during the period, falling from 4,651 in 1873 to 1,032 in 1877. Emigrants in 1881, 11,470; in 1883, 9,792; in 1884, 7,797; in 1885, 5,104; and in 1886, 3,717.

:

The population (1885) of the eight largest towns is as follows:

Of the total area three-fifths are under culture and three-tenths under forest. There were, altogether, on June 5, 1882, 308,118 agricultural tenements, each cultivated by one household, maintaining a population of 927,282, of whom 389,110 were actively engaged on the farms. Of these farms 110,086 were less than 1 hectare (2 47 acres) each; 172,412 ranged from 1 to less than 10 hectares, 25,479 from 10 to less than 100 hectares; while the farms of 100 hectares and upwards numbered 141.

Württemberg has 991 miles of railway, of which 960 miles belong to the State.

British Minister.-Sir Henry Barron, Bart., C.M.G.

IV. SAXONY.

(KÖNIGREICH SACHSEN.)

Reigning King.

Albert I., born April 23, 1828, eldest son of King Johann I. and of Queen Amalie, daughter of King Maximilian I. of Bavaria. Educated for the military career, and entered the army of Saxony, 1846, and of Prussia, 1867. Commander of the German Army of the Meuse in the war against France, 1870-71. Nominated FieldMarshal in the German army, 1871. Succeeded to the throne, at the death of his father, October 29, 1873. Married June 18, 1853, to Queen Caroline, born Aug. 5, 1833, daughter of Prince Gustav of Vasa.

Sister and Brother of the King.

I. Princess Elisabeth, born Feb. 4, 1830; married, in 1850, to Prince Ferdinand of Sardinia; widow, Feb. 10, 1855; married, in second nuptials, Oct. 10, 1856, to the Marchese Rapallo, of Florence; widow, Nov. 27, 1883.

II. Prince Georg, Duke of Saxony, born August 8, 1832; married May 11, 1859, to Infanta Maria, born July 21, 1843 (died February 5, 1884), daughter of King Ferdinand of Portugal. Offspring of the union are six children:-1. Princess Mathilda, born March 19, 1863. 2. Prince Friedrich August, born May 25, 1865. 3. Princess Marie Josefa, born May 31, 1867; married October 2, 1886, to Archduke Otto of Austria. 4. Prince Johann Georg, born July 11, 1869. 5. Prince Maximilian, born November 17, 1870. 6. Prince Albert, born February 25, 1875.

The royal house of Saxony counts among the oldest reigning families in Europe. It gave an emperor to Germany as early as the beginning of the tenth century; but the house subsequently spread into numerous branches, the elder of which, called the Ernestine line, is represented at this moment by the ducal families of Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, and SaxeWeimar, while the younger, the Albertine line, lives in the rulers of the kingdom of Saxony.

King Albert I. has a civil list of 2,940,000 marks, or 147,0002. per annum. Exclusive of this sum are the appanages, or dotations of the princes and princesses, amounting to 320,414 marks, or 16,0201. a year. The formerly royal domains, consisting chiefly in extensive forests, became, in 1830, the property of the State.

Constitution and Government.

The present Constitution of Saxony dates from Sept. 4, 1831; but has undergone alterations and modifications by the laws of March 31, 1849; May 5, 1851; November 26, 1860; October 19, 1861; December 3, 1868; and October 12, 1874. According to the terms of the Constitution, the crown is hereditary in the male line; but, at the extinction of the latter, also in the female line. The sovereign comes of age at the completed eighteenth year, and, during his minority, the nearest heir to the throne takes the In the hands of the king is the sole executive power, which he exercises through responsible ministers. The legislature is jointly in the king and Parliament, the latter consisting of two chambers. The Upper Chamber comprises the princes of the blood royal; the proprietors of mediatised domains, now held by five owners; twelve deputies elected by the owners of other nobiliar estates; ten noble proprietors and five other members without re

regency.

striction nominated by the king for life; the burgomasters of eight towns; and the superintendents and deputies of five collegiate institutions, of the university of Leipzig, and of the Roman Catholic chapter of St. Peter at Bautzen. The Lower Chamber is made up of thirty-five deputies of towns and forty-five representatives of rural communes. The qualification for a seat in the Upper House, as well as the right of election to the same, is the possession of a landed estate worth at least 3,000 marks a year; which qualification, however, is not required by the ex officio deputies of chapters and universities. To be a member of the Lower House, no fixed income is required; and electors are all men above twenty-five years of age who pay 3 marks annual land tax or other direct contribution, or who own land with a dwelling-house. A salary is attached to the performance of the legislative functions; the members of both houses being allowed 12s. per day during the sittings of Parliament, with journey money. Both Houses have the right to make propositions for new laws. No taxes can be made, levied, or altered without the sanction of both Chambers.

The executive is in the king and a Council of Ministers, namely, the Ministers of Justice, of Finance, of the Interior and the Royal House, of War, of Foreign Affairs, of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs.

Church and Education.

Although the royal family profess the Roman Catholic religion, the vast majority of the inhabitants are Protestants. At the census of December 1, 1885, the population of Saxony was composed of 3,075,654 Protestants; 86,952 Roman Catholics; 5,189 other Christian sects; 1,786 Dissenters; 7,755 Jews; 4,667 unclassified, or 'without religion.' The clergy are chiefly paid out of local rates and from endowments, the budget contribution of the State to the department of ecclesiastical affairs amounting to but 9,6507., chiefly spent in administrative salaries. The government of the Protestant Church is entrusted to the Landes-Consistorium, or National Consistory. At the end of 1884 there were in Saxony 2,154 public Protestant and 38 Roman Catholic common schools (Volksschulen), and 1,891 advanced common schools (Fortbildungsschulen), or altogether 4,046 common schools, with a total attendance of 599,470. In addition there were 1 polytechnic at Dresden, 2 Landesschulen, 16 Gymnasia, 11 Real-gymnasia, 20 Real-schulen, 19 seminaries, and 2 High girls' schools-altogether 71 educational establishments, with a total attendance of 15,374, exclusive of the university and a large number of industrial, commercial, agricultural, musical, and art institutes.

The kingdom has the second largest university in Germany, that of

Leipzig, founded in 1409, and attended, on the average of recent years, by three thousand matriculated students. (See Germany, p. 106.)

Revenue and Expenditure.

The financial period extends over a term of two years. In the financial accounts, both the revenue and expenditure are divided into' ordinary' and' extraordinary,' the latter representing disbursements for public works. The Budget estimate for each of the two years 1885-86 and 1886-87 was 74,865,542 marks, and was balanced by the expenditure; there was also an extraordinary revenue and expenditure of 27,603,690 marks. More than one-half of the total revenue is derived from domains, forests, and State railways. The total direct taxes in 1886 and 1887 amounted to 19,461,300 marks, or 6s. 1d. per head of population. The net revenue from railways alone amounted to 28,043,383 marks. The chief branch of expenditure is that of interest and sinking fund of the public debt, amounting to 30,520,951 marks for the years 1886 and 1887.

The public debt amounted in 1887 to 644,061,400 marks. The debt was incurred almost entirely for the establishment and purchase of a network of railways and telegraphs, and the promotion of other works of public utility.

The total capital invested in State railways in 1885 was 595,351,857 marks, or 29,767,5937.

The total income of all classes of the population in 1881 was estimated at 55,574,7051.

Saxony furnishes to the Imperial Army (1887) 1,261 officers, 31,810 men, and 5,369 horses.

Area and Population.

Saxony has an area of 14,992 square kilomètres, or 5,795 English square miles, with a population of 3,182,003 (1,542,405 males and 1,639,598 females) at the census of December 1, 1885. The kingdom is divided into four government districts, called KreisHauptmannschaften, the area of which, in English square miles, and population, was as follows at each of the enumerations of December 1, 1875; December 1, 1880; and December 1, 1885: