708 



PRUSSIA. 



were repeatedly condemned by the courts. ^ He 

 was also elected a member of the Constitutional 

 Assembly, which almost unanimously denounced 

 a proposition made by him as " an odious attack 

 upon the principles of public morality, and an 

 appeal to the worst passions." In January, 

 1849, he undertook to establish the " People's 

 Bank," an institution of gratuitous credit, by 

 means of which he hoped to bring his theory 

 into operation ; but on March 28th he was sen- 

 tenced to three years' imprisonment for illegal 

 publications. He has since written a large num- 

 ber of works in defence of his peculiar views 

 on society. By many of his last pamphlets, 

 for instance, that against the unity of Italy, 

 he gave great offence to the Liberal party. His 

 latest work is entitled La Paix et la Guerre. 

 Since his death, the eminent Parisian and Bel- 

 gian publishers, Lacroix & Co., who had under- 

 taken the posthumous publication of his works 

 for the benefit of his family, have been con- 

 demned to fine and imprisonment for their pub- 

 lication. 



PRUSSIA, a kingdom in Europe. Reigning 

 King, Wilhelm I., born March 22, 1797; suc- 

 ceeded his brother, Friedrich "Wilhelm III., on 

 January 2, 1861. Heir apparent, Prince Fried- 

 rich Wilhelm, born October 18, 1831. 



The present Constitution bears date January 

 31, 1850, but it has been modified by royal 

 decrees of April 30, 1851 ; May 21 and June 5, 

 1852 ; May 7 and May 24, 1853 ; June 10 and 

 October 12, 1854 ; May 30, 1855, and May 15, 

 1857. According to this Constitution the crown 

 is hereditary in the male line only. The King 

 attains his majority upon completing his eigh- 

 teenth year. The Legislative Assembly is com- 

 posed of two houses, the "Herrenhaus" or 

 House of Lords, and the ' " Abgeordneten- 

 haus" or House of Deputies. The fofrner 

 consists of the royal princes ; the heads of a 

 number of noble houses ; delegates from the 

 landowners, universities, and " chapters ; " the 

 burgomasters of cities with more than 50,000 

 inhabitants; and a number of members nomi- 

 nated by the King for life, or for a number of 

 years. The House of Deputies consists of 350 

 members. The mode of election is indirect, 

 one elector being chosen for every 250 souls. 

 Every Prussian who has attained his twenty- 

 fifth year, and who is qualified to vote at muni- 

 cipal elections, has the right of voting ; but the 

 voters of a district are divided into three classes, 

 according to the amount of direct taxes they 

 pay. Those voters who pay the highest taxes, 

 to the amount of one-third of the whole, form 

 the first class ; those who pay the next highest 

 amount, also to the amount of one-third of the 

 whole, form the second ; and all the others the 

 third class. Deputies must have attained the 

 thirtieth year. The executive Government 

 is carried on under the King by a Council of 

 State (' Staatsrath "), embracing all the royal 

 princes, and an unlimited number of members 

 appointed by the King, and a council of minis- 

 ters, divided into nine departments. The min- 



istry, in 1865, consisted of the following mem' 

 hers: Count von Bisrnark-Schonhausen (For- 

 eign Affairs, and Presidency of the Cabinet) ; 

 E. von Bodelschwing-Velmede (Finance) ; A. 

 von Schleinitz (Royal House); Count zu Eu- 

 lenburg (Interior); Gen. von Roon ("War); 

 Count L. Zur Lippe (Justice) ; von Muhler 

 (Public Instruction and Ecclesiastical Affairs) ; 

 von Selchow (Agriculture) ; Count von Itzen- 

 plitz (Commerce). In point of administration, 

 the kingdom is divided into eight provinces, each 

 placed under one " Oberpr&sident " (Governor). 



The area of the kingdom, including the dis- 

 trict of Yahde, which the Government, in 1854, 

 purchased from Oldenburg, is 107,757 English 

 square miles. Adding the duchy of Lauenburg 

 (see LAUENBUEG), which, in accordance with 

 the Convention of Gastein (see GASTEIN), was 

 taken possession of by Prussia in September, 

 1865, the total area of the dominions of the 

 King of Prussia is 108,212 square miles. 



The population, according to the census of 

 1864, was as follows : 



As regards the religion of the inhabitants, 

 11,592,451 are members of the Evangelical 

 Church, 7,115,851 Roman Catholics, 260,751 

 Israelites, 40,111 Dissidents, 1,514 members of 

 the Greek Church. To non-German nationali- 

 ties belong 2,504,179. 



The following towns have a population of 

 more than 50,000 inhabitants (being therefore 

 entitled to be represented through their Burgo- 

 master in the House of Lords) : Berlin, 609,- 

 733 ; Breslau, 156,644 ; Cologne, 117,000; 

 Konigsberg,' 94,827; Magdeburg, 91,028; Dan- 

 zig, 78,131 ; Aix-la-Chapelle, 62,444; Stettin, 

 65,053; Elberfeld, 61,995; Crefeld, 53,397; 

 Barmen, 59,526. 



The revenue in the "Budget " for 1865 was 

 estimated at 150,714,031 thalers, and the ex- 

 penditure at 150,599,164 thalers. Since 1862 

 the House of Deptuties has refused to vote the 

 " Budget," and the estimates have been simply 

 fixed by royal decree. 



The army is composed as follows : 



The Prussian fleet consisted, in 1865, of the 

 following vessels: 37 steamers (246 guns), 8 



