PRUSSIA. 



627 



Thalm. 



Brought forward 154,608,80 



a. Ministry l S|;it.- 68,117 



I ' "Jiistii-0 18,296,900 



ft. " "Interior 910.025 



6. " "Agriculture 968,969 



7. " (> \V orBhlp, luntructlon, and Medi- 

 cal Affairs 120,471 



From the Ilouenzolloru districts 168,614 



Grand Total of revouuo 160,964,471 



The expenditures summed up as follows : 



The gross proceeds of taxes collected by the 

 JJorth-German Confederation, the net propor- 



tion of which for Prussia figures in the budget 

 of revenue under the head of indirect taxes, 

 amounted to 48,847,328 thalers, as follows: 

 Import duties, 17,680,840 thalers; tax on beet- 

 sugar, 7,228,680 thalers; salt-tax, 6,722,510 

 thalers; liquor-tax, 10,184,040 thalers; malt- 

 tax. 1,929,500 thalers; tobacco-tax, 104,578 

 thalers; stamp-duty, 547,200 thalers. The 

 amount expended for interest on the railroad 

 debt, and for amortization of the same, con- 

 sisted of 10,223,511 thalers; expenditure for 

 administration of railroads, 21,891,900 thalers; 

 total, 82,115,411 thalers. The contribution to 

 the expenditures of the North-German Con- 

 federation amounted to 18,851,468 thalers; 

 payment of pensions, 4,843,657 thalers, and 

 amount of postage on official documents, 719,- 

 565 thalers. The interest-bearing public debt 

 amounted to 431,563,292 thalers; the non- 

 interest-bearing debt to 20,953,932 thalers; 

 making a total of 452,517,224 thalers. The 

 amount required for interest and commission 

 was estimated at 17,422,821 thalers; for amor- 

 tization, 8,666,141 thalers; for rents, 435,721 

 thalers; for expenditure on the non-interest- 

 bearing debt, 6,000 thalers ; for administration, 

 117,916 thalers; for interest and amortization 

 of the Hohenzollern debt, 11,439 thalers ; total 

 amount required, 26,660,039 thalers. 



(For the statistics of the army and navy, 

 merchant-navy, and commerce, see GERMANY.) 



The movement of shipping in the various 

 Prussian ports was, 1869, as follows: 



Total number of vessels entered, 48,782, to- 

 gether of 1,700,107 lasts ; total number of ves- 

 sels cleared, 50,121, together of 1,698,861 lasts. 

 One last = 4,000 pounds. 



During the Peace Conference at Vienna, on 

 October 80, 1864, the grand-duchy of Lauen- 

 burg was ceded by Denmark to Austria and 

 Prussia. By the Treaty of Gastein, in '1865, 

 the grand-duchy was transferred to Prussia, in 

 consideration of a sum of indemnification paid 

 to Austria. The King of Prussia took posses- 

 sion of the country on September 15, 1865, 

 assuming the title of Duke of Lauenburg. 

 Area, 453 square miles; population, in 1867, 

 49,978. Revenue, according to the budget for 

 1870, 375,000 thalers; expenditures, 884,000 

 thalers. 



During the regular session of the Diet, in 

 January and February, the financial question 

 formed the principal point for discussion and 

 deliberation. Considerable animosity was ex- 

 cited by the 'fact that the late Minister of Fi- 

 nance had charged the budget with an item of 

 720,000 thalers for interest on a loan which 

 the Diet had authorized to be contracted in 



five successive years in equal instalments, the 

 annual interest on which would have amount- 

 ed to 120,000 thalers. The minister, in order 

 to meet pressing demands on the exchequer, 

 had contracted the entire loan at once, thus 

 creating a claim against the financial depart- 

 ment of 600,000 thalers above the sum which 

 had been authorized by the Diet. After a very 

 excited debate on the question at issue, the Diet 

 demanded an explanation of the unwarrant- 

 able act, when M. Camphausen, Minister of 

 Finance and successor to M. Von der Heydt, 

 was forced to admit that the regular course 

 had been abandoned in this instance in order 

 to meet the most pressing exigencies. When 

 pressed to a final decision of the matter, the 

 Diet rejected the proposition of the Govern- 

 ment by an overwhelming majority. Meeting 

 with similar proofs of a decided spirit of oppo- 

 sition, the Government at last submitted a prop- 

 osition to adjourn. This was objected to by 

 the upper branch of the Legislature, when tne 

 Government resorted to the extreme measure 

 of closing the Diet, on the 12th of February. 

 The closing speech from the throne contained 



