GERMANY. 



367 



The following table shows the public debt of the several German States (exclusive of war 

 loans) : 



On March 3, 1871, the elections for the first 

 German Reichstag took place. The fear that, 

 under the influence of the military triumphs 

 obtained in the German-French War, the num- 

 ber of the Ultra-conservative deputies might 

 be considerably increased, was not fulfilled. 

 In Prussia, the Conservative and Free Con- 

 servative parties saw their former number of 

 one hundred members reduced to about eighty. 

 Of the eighty-five deputies elected in the 

 South-German States, not one joined the Con- 

 servative and only about ten the Free-Con- 

 servative party. The liberal parties lost like- 

 wise many Prussian districts, no less than 

 eighteen in the Rhine province and Westphalia 

 alone ; and the so-called People's party and the 

 Socialists carried only one district; the only 

 party in Prussia which considerably gained in 

 strength was the Catholic. Instead of the 

 eight deputies which it had had in the North- 

 German Reichstag, it numbered no less than 



thirty-six members among the newly-chosen 

 representatives. In the South-German States, 

 on the other hand, this party was signally de- 

 feated. It elected only two of the fourteen in 

 Baden, one of the seventeen in Wurtemberg, 

 nineteen of the forty-eight in Bavaria, and none 

 in Hesse. The National Liberal party gained 

 in Saxony. This kingdom, which had sent to 

 the Constituent Reichstag of the North-Ger- 

 man Confederation fourteen Conservatives, 

 seven members of the party of Progress, forty 

 Nationals, and two Socialists, was now repre- 

 sented in the first Reichstag of all Germany by 

 seven National Liberals, eight members of the 

 party of Progress, two Socialists, four Conser- 

 vatives, and two others. The Socialists had dis- 

 played an extraordinary activity among the nu- 

 merous working-men; they had had their own 

 candidate in almost every electoral district, and 

 polled in all about fifty thousand votes, out of 

 an aggregate vote of four hundred thousand ; 



