400 



GERMANY. 



BO secure that they may realize their freedom and its 

 benefits, and of it they should be encouraged and 

 stimulated to make benefit. To this end the courts 

 must be opened to them, and they must be allowed 

 in the assertion and defence therein of the rights in 

 civil and criminal cases, the testimony of their own 

 race. As essential to their well-being, they should 

 be guarded on tne 9 ne hand against the crafty machi- 

 nations of the designing, and on the other against 

 the fatal delusion of social and political equality. 



The condition of the State institutions, both 

 charitable and educational, was represented as 

 greatly depressed, and requiring the fostering 

 care of the Legislature. The obligations of the 

 State are comparatively small, and her future 

 resources will be abundant. 



On December 19th a despatch was sent to 

 the Provisional Governor from the President, 

 authorizing him to remit the conduct of the 

 State affairs to the constitutional authorities. 

 At the same time another despatch was sent to 

 Gov. Jenkins, informing him of the instructions 

 to the Provisional Governor, and tendering to 

 the former the cooperation of the Federal Gov- 

 ernment, if necessary, in the discharge of his 

 duties. Gov. Jenkins replied as follows : 



MlLLEDGEYILLE, GeO., DeC. 22. 



Eon. W. IT. Seward : 



I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 

 your telegram of the 19th inst., together with a copy 

 of a communication to his Excellency James John- 

 son, Provisional Governor of Georgia. Be pleased 

 to tender to his Excellency the President my grateful 

 return for his recognition of the position in which 

 the people of Georgia have placed me, and assure 

 him of my_ fixed purpose to observe and obey as well 

 the Constitution of the United States as the Consti- 

 tution of the State of Georgia. Express to him, also, 

 my thanks for the offered cooperation of the Govern- 

 ment of the United States in effecting the earliest 

 restoration and permanent prosperity of the State. 

 Upon this cooperation our people build earnest hopes 

 of a speedy return to their suspended relations with 

 the other States of Jhe Union. 

 I have the honor to be, 



Very respectfullv, vour ob't servant, 

 CHARLES J. JENKINS, Governor of Georgia. 



The Legislature subsequently passed a resolu- 

 tion regulating contracts with freedmen, and 

 another regulating the mode of taking their 

 testimony. This latter act makes free persons 

 of color competent witnesses in civil cases where 

 like persons are defendant, and in criminal cases 

 where the offence is against the property or 

 persons of freedmen. It provides also that 

 where freedmen are the plaintiff and defend- 

 ant, they may make and file any affidavit now 

 allowed to citizens, which shall have the -same 

 force as if they were whites. 



N". 0. Barnwell was elected Secretary of 

 State ; John Jones, State Treasurer ; and J. A. 

 Burns, Comptroller General. On the 15th of 

 December the Legislature adjourned to the 15th 

 of January, 1866. 



GERMANY, a Confederation of sovereign 

 and independent States in Central Europe. 

 The object of the Confederacy, according to the 

 first article of the Federal Constitution, is "the 

 preservation of the internal and external secu- 

 rity of Germany, and the independence and in- 



violability of the various German States." Tho 

 organ and representative of the Confederation 

 is the Federal Diet, consisting of plenipoten- 

 tiaries of the several German States, and per- 

 manently located in the free city of Frankfort- 

 on-the-Main. The administrative Government 

 of the Federal Diet is constituted in two forms : 

 1st, as a General Assembly or Plenum, in which 

 every member of the Confederation has, at least, 

 one vote, and the larger States have two, three, 

 or four votes each ; and 2d, the Minor Council^ 

 or Committee of Confederation, in which the 

 eleven largest States cast one vote each, while six 

 votes are given to the smaller States, a number of 

 them combined having a joint vote. The Gen- 

 eral Assembly decides on war and peace, on 

 the admission of new members, on any changes 

 in the fundamental laws or organic institutions; 

 but in all other cases the Minor Council is com- 

 petent to act both as legislature and executive. 

 The presidency of the Federal Diet is perma- 

 nently vested in Austria. 



The present members of the German Con- 

 federation, the titles of the sovereigns, the popu- 

 lation, according to the latest census, the num- 

 ber of votes cast by each member in the General 

 Assembly (Plenum), and their rank in the Minor 

 Council, may be seen by reference to AXNUAL 

 CYCLOPAEDIA, 1863, page 449. 



The Federal army consists of 531,281 infantry, 

 92,300 cavalry, 59,485 artillery, and 12,979 pio- 

 neers. 



In consequence of the separation of the 

 duchies of Holstein and Lanenburg from Den- 

 mark, the King of Denmark has ceased to be 

 a member of the German Confederation. As 

 the fate of Holstein was at the close of 1865 

 not definitely decided, its vote at the Fed- 

 eral Diet was suspended. There are still three 

 sovereigns members of the Confederacy who 

 have possessions outside of the limits of Ger- 

 many: namely, the Emperor of Austria, and 

 the Kings of Prussia and Holland. 



In the proceedings of the Federal Diet of 

 Frankfort there has been for several years a 

 marked alienation between the majority of the 

 minor States, headed by Bavaria on the one 

 hand, and Austria and Prussia on the other. 

 The Government of Prussia being charged with 

 the design of undermining and destroying the 

 sovereignty of all the minor States, and of an- 

 nexing those of northern Germany to Prussia, 

 and those of southern Germany to Austria, it 

 ,was the aim of Bavaria and the other minor 

 States to vindicate and to strengthen the au- 

 thority of the Federal Diet. During 1864 and 

 1865, it was especially the Schleswig-Holstein 

 question which furnished constant material to 

 this litigation. On December 1, 1864, Austria 

 and Prussia proposed to the Diet that the " Fed- 

 eral execution " in the Elbe duchies should be 

 terminated, and the troops of Saxe and Hanover 

 be withdrawn. Bavaria proposed to refer this 

 motion to the committee, but the Diet decided 

 to take a vote upon it in one of the next ses- 

 sions. Austria, by a circular, dated December 



