THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



7. Imperial Post (]!<(>.. 



8. Imperial Railways. 

 0. Imperial Exchequer. 



10. Imperial Invalid Fund. 



11. Imperial Bank. 



12. Imperial Debt Commission. 



Acting under the direction of the Chancellor 

 of the Empire, the Bundesrath represents also 

 a supreme administrative and consultive board 

 and as such has twelve standing committees 

 namely, for army and fortifications ; for nava 

 matters ; tariff, excise, and taxes ; trade anc 

 commerce ; railways, posts, and telegraphs 

 civil and criminal law ; financial accounts 

 foreign affairs ; for Alsace-Lorraine ; for thi 

 Constitution ; for the standing orders ; anc 

 for railway tariffs. Each committee consists 

 of representatives of at least four States of th< 

 Empire ; but the foreign affairs committe< 

 includes only the representatives of Bavaria 

 Saxony, Wiirtemberg, and two other repre- 

 sentatives to be elected every year. 



Religion. The Constitution provides for entire 

 liberty of conscience and for complete social equality 

 among all religious confessions. The relation between 

 Church and State varies in different parts of the Em 

 pire. The order of the Jesuits is interdicted in al 

 parts of Germany, and all convents and religious orders, 

 except those engaged in nursing the sick and purely 

 contemplative orders, have been suppressed. There are 

 five Roman 'Catholic archbishops, and twenty bishop- 

 rics. The " Old Catholics " have a bishop at Bonn. 



The various creeds were distributed as follows at the 

 last religious census, 1895: 



nical schools. Polytechnics, normal schools, seminaries 

 and the universities. 



There are 21 universities in the German Empire, be- 

 sides the Lyceum Hosianum at J5raimsl.org <:t teacher* 

 and about forty students), which has only faculties of 

 theology (Roman Catholic) and philosophy. 



The following table gives the number of teacher^ |.,r 

 the summer half-year, 1808, and the number of studem - 

 for the winter half-year, 1897-98. 



Instruction. Education is general and compulsory 

 throughout Germany. The laws of Prussia, which pro- 

 vide for the establishment of elementary schools( Volks- 

 schulen), supported from the local rates, in every town 

 and village, and compel all parents to send their chil- 

 dren to these or other schools, have been adopted, wi Mi 

 slight modifications, in all the States of the Empire. 

 The school age is from six to fourteen. The system of 

 secondary education is also practically homogeneous. 

 Above the elementary schools rank the middle schools of 

 the towns, theJiiirgerschulen and Hohere Biirrjerschulen, 

 whiehfitthcirpupils for businesslife. Children of the 

 working classes may continue their education at the 

 FortMldungs- Schulen or continuation schools, -which 

 are open in the evening or other convenient time. The 

 Gymnasia are the most fully developed classical 

 .schools, preparing pupils in a nine years' course for the 

 universities and the learned professions. The Progwn- 

 nasia differ from these only in not having the high- 

 est classes. In the Realgymna&ta, Latin, but not Greek 

 is taught, and what are usually termed " modern sub- 

 jects " have more time devoted to them. Jtealproffym- 

 nosialiavea similiar course, but have no class corre- 

 sponding to the highest class in the preceding. In the 

 Oberreafschulcn and Realschulen Latin is wholly dis- 

 placed in favor of modern languages. In 1897, 1,048 

 secondary schools (including 56 private schools), also 

 181 public Lehrer-Seminnre and 32 public FachsctrnJen : 

 total 1,261 institutions, possessed the right of granting 

 certificates to pupils, entitling thorn to serve in the 

 army as one-year volunteers. The teachers in German 

 schools are required to hold a Government certificate, 

 and to have undergone a year's probation. Higher 

 schools for girls are called Hohere Tochterschidcn. Be- 

 9Jdes these there are numerous G&werbeschulen or tech- 



In four universities, namely, Freiburg, Miinchen, 

 Miinster, and Wiirzburg, the faculties of theology are 

 Roman Catholic ; three are mixed, both Protestant and 

 Roman Catholic Bonn, Breslau, and Tubingen: and 

 the remaining fourteen are Protestant. 



Justice. In terms of Judicature Acts in 1877 and 

 1879 a uniform system of law courts was adopted 

 throughout the Empire not later than January 1, 1879, 

 though with the exception of the Reichflgericht, all 

 courts are directly subject to the Government of the 

 special State in which they exercise jurisdiction, and 

 not to the Imperial Government. The appointment of 

 the judges is also a State and not an Imperial function. 

 The Empire enjoys uniform codes of commercial and 

 :rimlnal law, and the civil code of August 18, 1890. will 

 ome into force on January 1, 1900. 

 The lowest courts of first instance are the Amtsge- 

 ichlf, each with a single judge, competent to try petty 

 ivilancl criminal cases. There was uu January 1, 1897, 

 1,926 Atntsgerichtein the Empire, or one f or every 27,- 

 .44 inhabitants. The Landge.ricMe exercise a revising 

 urisdiction over the Amtsgerichte, and also a more ex- 

 ensive original jurisdiction in both civil and criminal 

 :ases, divorce cases, etc. In the criminal chamber five 

 udgessit, arid a majority of four votes is required for 

 IP conviction. Jury courts (Scliwurgerichte) are 1 also 

 leld periodically, in which three judges preside; the 

 ury are twelve in number. There are 172 Landgerichte 

 ntlie Empire, or one for every 303, 953 of the popula- 

 ion. The first court of second instance Is theOfrertondc*- 

 '< r'u'lit. In its criminal senate, which also has an 

 iriginal jurisdiction in serious cases, the number of 

 ho judges is seven. There are twenty-eight such courts 

 n the Empire. The total number of judges on the 

 jench in all the courts above mentioned is 7.634. In 

 Bavaria alone there is an Oberste Landesgericht, with 

 ighteen judges, with a revising jurisdiction over the 

 !a varian 'Oberlandesgerichte. The supreme court is the 

 tcic/tfiffi-rirltf, which sits at Leipzig. The judges, 

 ighty-four in number, arc appointed by tae Emperor 

 n the advice of the Bundesrath. The 'court exercises 

 n appellate jurisdiction over all inferior courts, and 

 Iso an original jurisdiction in cases of treason. It has 

 our criminal arid six civil senates. 

 Foreign Dependencies. Germany has declared 

 ier protection over various areas or spheres of influ- 

 ncein Africa, in China, and in the Western Pacific, 

 'he following is a list of the various foreign regions at 

 . resent (1899) under the protection or influence of Ger- 

 many, the estimates given being necessarily vague ; 



