GOVERNMENT AND LAW. 



95 



Justice. The Courts of First Instance in France are 



Correctional Courts pronounce upon all graver cases of 

 misdemeanour (rf^tte), including cases involving impris- 

 onment up to 5 years. They have no jury, and consistof 

 3 judges belonging to the civil tribunals, in all general 

 cases, the preliminary inquiry is made in secrecy 

 by an examining magistrate (juge d' instruction), who, 

 acting under the public ministry (Procitreur), may dis- 

 miss the case or send it for triaf. The Court of Assizes 

 is assisted by 12 jurors, who decide by simple majority 

 on the fact with respect to crimes involving a severe 

 penalty. The aighestcourtsare the 26 Courtsof Appeal, 

 composed each of one President and 4 Councilors for 

 all criminal cases which have been tried without a jury, 

 and by one Court of Cassation which sits at Paris, arid 

 is composed of a first President, 3 Presidents of Sec- 

 tions, and 45 Councilors, for all criminal cases tried by 

 jury. 



For civil cases there is, under the Justice of Peace, in 

 each arrondissement, a civil tribunal of first instance, 

 then the Appeal Courts and Courts of Cassation. For 

 commercial cases there are Tribunals of Commerce and 

 Councils of experts (prwl homines). 



AllJudges are nominated by the President of the Re- 

 public. They can be removed only by a decision of the 

 Court of Cassation constituted as the Conseil Suptrieur 

 of the magistracy. 



GERMAN EMPIRE. 



The present German Empire is essentially 

 different from the Holy Roman Empire which 

 came to an end in 1806. But though Austria, 

 the most important factor in the earlier Empire, 

 is not a member of the present, a brief histor- 

 ical summary, including both, is for conven- 

 ience inserted here. The imperial throne, 

 after the extinction of the Carlovingian line, 

 was filled by election, though with a tendency 

 towards the hereditary principle of succession. 

 At first the Emperor was chosen by the vote of 

 all the Princes and Peers of the Reich ; but the 

 mode came to be changed in the fourteenth 

 century, when a limited number of Princes, 

 fixed at seven for a time, and afterwards en- 

 larged to eight (nine from 1692 to 1777), 

 assumed the privilege of disposing of the 

 crown, and, their right being acknowledged, 

 were called Electors. With the overthrow of 

 the old Empire by the Emperor Napoleon, in 

 1806, the Electoral dignity virtually ceased, 

 although the title of Elector was retained sixty 

 years longer by the sovereigns of Hesse-Cassel, 

 the last of them dethroned in 1866 by Prussia. 

 The election of Wilhelm I., King of Prussia, 

 as the German Emperor (1871) was by vote of 

 the Reichstag of the North German Confeder- 

 ation, on the initiative of all the reigning 

 Princes of Germany. The imperial dignity is 

 hereditary in the House of Hohenzollern, and 

 follows the law of primogeniture. 



The Constitution of the Empire bears date 

 April 16, 1871. By its terms, all the States of 

 Germany ' ' form an eternal union for the pro- 

 tection of the realm and the care of the welfare 

 of the German people." The supreme direction 

 of the military and political affairs of the Em- 

 pire is vested in the King of Prussia, who, in 



this capacity, bears the title of Deutscher Kaiser. 

 According to Art. 11 of the Constitution, "the 

 Emperor represents the Empire internation- 

 ally," and can declare war, if defensive, and 

 make peace, as well as enter into treaties with 

 other nations, and appoint and receive ambas- 

 sadors. But when treaties relate to matters 

 regulated by imperial legislation, and when 

 war is not merely defensive, the Kaiser must 

 have the consent of the Bundesrath, or Federal 

 Council, in which body, together with the 

 Reichstag, or Diet of the realm, are vested the 

 legislative functions of the Empire. The 

 Emperor has no veto on laws passed by these 

 bodies. The Bundesrath represents the indi- 

 vidual States of Germany, and the Reichstag 

 the German nation. The 58 members of the 

 Bundesrath are appointed by the Governments 

 of the individual States for each session, while 

 the members of the Reichstag, 397 in number 

 (about one for every 131,604 inhabitants), are 

 elected by universal suffrage and ballot for the 

 term of five years. By the law of March 19, 

 1888, which came into force in 1890, the dura- 

 tion of the legislative period is five years. 



Both the Bundesrath and the Reichstag 

 meet in annual session, convoked by the Em- 

 peror. The Emperor has the right to prorogue 

 and dissolve, after a vote by the Bundesrath, 

 the Reichstag. Without consent of the Reichs- 

 tag the prorogation may not exceed thirty 

 days ; while in case of dissolution new elec- 

 tions must take place within sixty days, and a 

 new session must opeW within ninety days. 

 All laws for the Empire must receive the votes 

 of an absolute majority of the Bundesrath and 

 the Reichstag. The Bundesrath is presided 

 over by the Reichskanzler, or Chancellor of 

 the Empire, and the President of the Reichs- 

 tag is elected by the deputies. 



The laws of the Empire, passed by the 

 Bundesrath and the Reichstag, to take effect 

 must be promulgated by the Emperor, and the 

 promulgation, like all other official acts of the 

 Emperor, requires the counter-signature of 

 the Chancellor of the Empire. All the mem- 

 bers of the Bundesrath have the right to be 

 present at the deliberations of the Reichstag. 



The followirg are the imperial authorities 

 or Secretaries of State : they do not form a 

 Ministry or Cabinet, but act independently of 

 each other, under the general supervision of 

 the Chancellor. 



1. Chancellor of the Empire. 



2. Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 



3. Imperial Home Office and "Representative 

 >f the Chancellor." 



4- Imperial A dmirally. 



5. Imperial Ministry of Justice, 



6. Imperial Treasury. 



