GERMANY. 



271 



poorer quarters of the cities gradually, and to pro- 

 mote cooperative building associations. The esti- 

 mate of the cost of a canal connecting the Rhine, 

 the Weser, and the Elbe was 260,800,000 marks, 

 of a waterway for vessels from Stettin to Berlin 

 at 41,500,000 marks, of a canal connecting the 

 upper Weichsel with the Warthe and Netze at 

 22,600,000 marks, of a canal from the upper Spree 

 into Silesia at 4,100,000 marks. For improving 

 the lower Oder the Government would provide 

 41,000,000 marks of the cost, for the lower Havel 

 9,700,000 marks, and for the Spree 9,300,000 

 marks. The canals in the east were intended as 

 compensation to the landowners in the stronghold 

 of agrarianism to secure their consent to the 

 Elbe Canal, which would benefit the industries of 

 the western provinces of Prussia. The Conserva- 

 tives feared, however, that any improvement in 

 means of communication would endanger the 

 market for their produce, and resented the pro- 

 posal for spending large sums for any other object 

 than the benefit of agriculture. The Catholics of 

 Silesia joined the gentry of East Prussia in op- 

 posing the bill, fearing the competition of West- 

 phalian and Rhenish manufactures with the in- 

 dustrial products of their province and of English 

 coal with the Silesian. The opponents of the Elbe 

 Canal were willing to accept the compensation, the 

 canals in the east that would cost 120,000,000 

 marks, but would not pass the Government bill as 

 a whole, and on May 3 Count von Billow as Min- 

 ister-President declared the session closed. A 

 ministerial crisis was the result of the failure of 

 the ministers to carry through the Government 

 project. Dr. von Miquel had to give up the vice- 

 presidency of the Council and the Ministry of 

 Finance, Baron von Hammerstein-Loxten the 

 Ministry of Agriculture, Herr Brefeld the Ministry 

 of Commerce. The new appointments were an- 

 nounced on May 6. Theodor Moller became Min- 

 ister of Commerce; Gen. von Podbielski resigned 

 the imperial Post-Office, in which he was suc- 

 ceeded by Herr Kiiitke, one of his subordinates, 

 to become Prussian Minister of Agriculture; 

 Baron von Hammerstein was made Minister of the 

 Interior, Baron von Rheinbaben being transferred 

 to the Ministry of Finance. No new Vice-Presi- 

 dent of the Council was appointed, as Count von 

 Billow resolved to preside over the ministry in 

 person. 



During the vacation of the Reichstag the sched- 

 ules of the new tariff bill were arranged with the 

 federated governments. It stipulated that in con- 

 cluding commercial treaties the duties on cereals 

 should not be less than 50 marks a ton for rye, 

 55 marks for wheat, 50 marks for oats, and 30 

 marks for barley. The duties in force were 35 

 marks for rye and wheat, 28 marks for oats, and 

 20 marks for barley. The maximum or autonom- 

 ous scale of duties to be applied to countries hav- 

 ing no commercial treaties with Germany were 

 only 10 marks higher than the minimum scale. 

 The duties on other agricultural products were 

 increased greatly, in some cases trebled. The 

 duty on cattle was raised from 9 marks to 25 

 marks a head; on meat, from 200 to 300 marks a 

 ton. Russia, even more seriously than the United 

 States, was affected by the new grain duties, as 

 was Hungary, and the latter as severely also by 

 the duties on animals. The Bismarckian maxim 

 that political alliances are compatible with 

 strained commercial relations was called in ques- 

 tion in Austria-Hungary. The unpopularity of 

 the proposed tariff in Germany was made mani- 

 fest by a remarkable increase of the Socialist vote 

 in the elections to fill vacancies in the Reichstag. 

 The duty on maize was increased from 14 to 40 



marks; on buckwheat, from 20 f. ( , ?, : ,, ri beans, 

 from 15 to 40. Clover-seed, \\hul i> n-ce be- 

 fore, had to pay a duty of 50 m.i.rks, These 

 duties made negotiations with tin: United ,-'ia.te 

 more difficult, and so also did tli<' i,.r," ; ,,f <; 

 marks a quintal on packed apples and ot h , ; 

 and higher duties on dried fruit and ,,M hml. 

 margarin, bacon, butter, and cheese. The 

 on horses was adjusted so as to produce |n \><'T 

 cent, ad valorem. In the new tariff ship-build jti<r 

 materials were exempted from duty. Coal re- 

 mains free. For oil-seeds a drawback was allowed 

 on the export of oils. The duty of 2 marks on 

 eggs was trebled, to the detriment of both of Ger- 

 many's military allies, who were affected also by 

 the uniform duty of 24 marks on wines, some of 

 which paid only 6 marks under the old tariff. 

 Fish were made free of duty for the encourage- 

 ment of German fishermen, except carp, on which 

 a high rate is charged. The imposition of a duty 

 on geese and feathers was another cause for Rus- 

 sian complaints. A prohibitive duty was placed 

 on starch sugar, previously free, and as the com- 

 plement to the saccharin bill an enormous duty 

 was imposed on artificial sweet stuffs. Commer- 

 cial fertilizers were made duty free. The rates, 

 on timber were greatly increased, and to the dis- 

 may of the tanners a duty was imposed on im- 

 ported bark. The chemical industries, which here- 

 tofore have had no tariff protection and needed 

 none, obtained duties on phosphorus, tartar, and 

 various other products. The duty on pig iron 

 was not altered, but duties on iron manufactures 

 were made higher, and that on bicycles was in- 

 creased over sixfold, a blow at American competi- 

 tion. The bill imposed on the Government exten- 

 sive powers of reprisal to be used as a means of 

 bringing to terms powers unwilling to accept the 

 minimum tariff. The Federal Council is empow- 

 ered to impose additional duties upon goods im- 

 ported from countries which treat German goods 

 less favorably than those of other countries up to 

 double the tariff rates or to the full value of the 

 goods imported, and free goods may be taxed up 

 to half their value. 



Dependencies. The possessions of Germany 

 over the seas comprise about 930,760 square miles. 

 in Africa, containing an estimated population of 

 14,200,000 (see EAST AFRICA, SOUTH AFRICA,. 

 and WEST AFRICA) ; the harbor and district of 

 Kiauchau Bay, in China, with a land area of 200 

 square miles and 60,000 inhabitants; and in the 

 Pacific Ocean, Kaiser Wilhelm's Land in New 

 Guinea, having an area of 70,000 square miles and 

 110,000 inhabitants, the Bismarck Archipelago, 

 with an area of 20,000 square miles and 188,000 

 inhabitants, and the Solomon Islands, with an 

 area of 4,200 square miles and 45,000 inhabitants,, 

 all three protectorates under the administration 

 of an Imperial Governor, R. von Bennigsen, wha 

 resides at Friedrich Wilhelmshafen; the Marshall 

 Islands, with the Brown and Providence groups,, 

 having an area of 150 square miles and 13,000 in- 

 habitants, administered by a commissioner, Herr 

 Brandeis; the Caroline, Palaos, and Marianne 

 Islands, obtained from Spain in 1899, having a 

 total area of 560 square miles and 40,000 inhabit- 

 ants, administered by Dr. Hahl as Vice-Go vernor; 

 and the Savaii and Upolu in the Samoan group 

 (see SAMOA). 



Kiauchau has a permanent garrison of 1,500 

 marines and artillerists. A neutral zone 30 miles 

 broad, about 2,500 square miles in area, is policed 

 by German troops, and the exploitation of the 

 Wiehsien and Pashan coal-mines, to be connected 

 with Kiauchau by railroad, has been reserved for 

 German capital. The Imperial Government ir> 



