GERMANY. 



321 



ion. On May 12th the German Federal Council 

 lopteda resolution declaring receipts for post- 

 Ice orders and remittances liable to a stamp- 

 luty, thus reversing the previous vote which 



to the resignation of Prince Bismarck. 

 On April 20th an International Fishery Ex- 

 ibition was opened at Berlin by the Crown 

 fince of Germany. The ceremony was at- 

 tended by Prince Frederick Charles, several 

 Ministers of State, and many of the principal 

 functionaries of the empire and members of 

 the Federal Council and the Reichstag. Nearly 

 all the members of the foreign diplomatic body 

 were also present. The Prussian Minister of 

 Agriculture, Dr. Lucius, addressed the Crown 

 Prince on the origin and aims of the Exhibi- 

 tion. The German Fishery Society, called into 

 existence by his Highness, had in 1873 inau- 

 gurated a display of native achievements in 

 the piscatorial art; and, encouraged by the 

 success of their endeavors, the committee had 

 now ventured on a bolder flight, and invited 

 the participation of all nations in the scheme. 

 In doing this they had an eye no less to the 

 economical than to the scientific side of the 

 question. He gratefully acknowledged that 

 the Fishery Society had met with the most 

 obliging support, not only in Germany itself 

 but in nearly all the neighboring countries and 

 even in the farthermost zones of the earth. 

 From the Baltic and the German Ocean, the 

 ice-bound seas of the North, from the coasts 

 of Holland and England, from the Switzer 

 lakes, from the exhaustless riches of the Medi- 

 terranean, from the Volga and the Black Sea, 

 from North and South America, from the 

 coasts of the far East, from India, China, Ja- 

 pan, and the Malay Archipelago, the fauna of 

 the waters had been brought in rare and won- 

 derful profusion, with an endless variety of 

 pearls, shells, and corals. Alluding then to 

 the innumerable kinds of instruments and de- 

 vices for catching, curing, and rearing fish 

 sent for exhibition, the Minister wound up 

 with an eloquent peroration on the profit de- 

 rivable from such an international competition, 

 and trusted that, among other things, it might 

 result in gradually directing the attention of 

 all classes of the population in Germany to 

 fish-products as the cheapest article of food. 

 Sections of the Exhibition were allotted to Ger- 

 many, England, America (North and South), 

 Italy, Holland, Russia, Denmark, Norway and 

 Sweden, China, and Japan, and each of these 

 Governments, with the exception of England, 

 gave a government grant in connection with 

 the competition of their fishing industries, 

 sending one or two commissioners to Berlin 

 to look after their interests. An idea of the 

 extent and variety of the Exhibition may be 

 obtained from the enumeration of the various 

 classes, which comprised aquatic animals: fish- 

 ing gear, craft, tackle, and machinery; pisci- 

 culture ; appliances for keeping and conveying 

 fish ; the preparation and preservation of fish ; 

 fishermen's dwellings and costumes ; physico- 

 VOL. xx. 21 A 



chemical researches ; the history and the lit- 

 erature of fishing. The prizes awarded to the 

 various exhibitors in the Fishery Exhibition at 

 Berlin were distributed on June 17th by the 

 Crown Prince. To the United States, which 

 sent a fine national collection of piscatorisil arti- 

 cles, a large share of honor fell, Professor Spen- 

 cer Baird, of Washington, having also received 

 the first honorary prize offered by the empire. 



An exhibition of manufactures, agriculture, 

 forestry, and the fine arts, was opened at Diis- 

 seldorf on May 9th. It was the largest ever 

 held in Germany, and the products exhibited 

 were of exclusively German origin. The open- 

 ing ceremony was conducted by the Crown 

 Prince of Germany. The entire Exhibition 

 was divided into twenty-two groups, includ- 

 ing agriculture with forestry, mines, smelt- 

 ing machinery, metallic industry, chemical 

 products, alimentary products, earthen w are 

 and glass, timber and wood-work, small wares, 

 textile industries, ready-made clothing, leather 

 and India-rubber goods, paper manufactures, 

 polygraphic trades, scientific instruments, musi- 

 cal instruments, building and engineering, edu- 

 cational books and appliances, and modern art 

 industry, as well as a valuable collection of ob- 

 jects of old art industry, and finally one of the 

 greatest exhibitions of modern paintings ever 

 held in Germany or Austria. The number of 

 exhibitors was altogether about four thousand. 

 The building cost $200,000, and this sum did 

 not include the eighty annexes, the construction 

 of which was defrayed by the exhibitors them- 

 selves. Krupp's annex was among the more 

 striking curiosities of the Exhibition ; near it 

 an immense one-hundred-ton gun, with all the 

 late improvements, attracted crowds of visitors. 



The relations of Germany to all foreign coun- 

 tries were of a friendly nature. The alliance 

 with Austria did not only remain undisturbed 

 throughout the year, but was greatly strength- 

 ened. The meeting of the Emperors of the 

 two countries at Ischl, on August 10th, was 

 generally believed to have been highly satis- 

 factory. Nearly all the political parties of 

 Germany were agreed in regarding a close al- 

 liance with Austria as most profitable for the 

 interests of Germany, In the further develop- 

 ment of the Eastern question (see EASTEKN 

 QUESTION) Germany took a leading part, and 

 the supplementary conference of the great 

 powers, which was to settle the remaining 

 difficulties of Turkey with Montenegro and 

 Greece, again met at Berlin. The German am- 

 bassador at Constantinople, Count Hatzfeld, 

 acquired by the successful management of diffi- 

 cult negotiations the reputation of a diplo- 

 matist of consummate ability. The commer- 

 cial treaties with Austria, Switzerland, and Bel- 

 gium were renewed until June 30, 1881. 



The German military manoeuvres which took 

 place in August were of the most imposing char- 

 acter. They were visited by Crown Prince Ru- 

 dolph of Austria, the King and Queen of the Hel- 

 lenes, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke and 



