K.I 



under GKKMAXV, Vol. V. p. 17C. In 1896 there 

 weiv in Prussia :Mi,(N elementary schools, with 

 82,20(1 teacher> ami .V-'.'Ki.vjii ],upils. The manage- 

 ment of the elementary national schools is in tlie 

 hamU of the local communities ; l.nt the state 

 appoints the teachers, ami in |>nrt pays their 

 salaries, the reniainder being supplied by the 

 public. In addition to the libraries of the several 

 universities there is the Royal Library at Berlin, 

 with 800,000 volumes and" alxint 10,000 MSS. 

 Among the numerous scientilic, artistic, and 

 literary schools and societies of Prussia the follow- 

 in.i: are some of the more distinguished : the 

 Academy of Arte, founded in 1700 ; the Royal 

 Museum of Arts; the Academy of Sciences; the 

 Natural History, Geographical, and Polytechnic 

 Societies of Iterlin ; tne Antiquarian Society of 

 Stettin ; the Breslau Natural History and Histori- 

 cal Societies ; &c. 



Justice. Till lately the Code Kapolfon was in 

 force in the Rhenish provinces, and in Hither- 

 Pomerania the common German law ; but in other 

 po'ts of the kingdom the Prussian code, compiled 

 under Frederick the Great's direction, was followed. 

 A new penal code was promulgated in 1850, by 

 which all pre-existing seigniorial, municipal, or 

 ecclesiastical rights of decreeing punishments were 

 unconditionally abrogated. A partial codification 

 was brought about in 1862, and in I860 a code of 

 commercial law valid for the North German Con- 

 federation. Since the establishment of the empire 

 imperial law has precedence of that peculiar to the 

 various states in a large number of subjects. 

 Universal criminal and commercial codes are now 

 in force for the whole empire, and a universal civil 

 code has been prepared. A common judicature 

 bill for the empire was passed in 1879. Prussia 

 has sixteen Oberlandes-gerichtt or provincial courts, 

 one or more in each province. Connected with 

 that sitting at Berlin is the Privy-council of 

 Justice, which has jurisdiction over the royal 

 family and the princely houses of Ilohenzollern. 

 The supreme tribunal of the empire has been estab- 

 lished, not at Berlin, but at Leipzig, in Saxony. 



Army, Nam/, <tc. In 1899 the strength of the, 

 Prussian army on a j>eace footing, according to 

 official returns, numbered 453,000, of whom 53,000 

 were cavalry and 04,000 artillery. The army con- 

 sists of the regular troops and the Landwehr (q.v.), 

 and in time of war an extra force can be called up 

 under the title of the landsturm. Every able-bodied 

 male Prussian is liable to be called upon to serve 

 between twenty and thirty-nine years of age (see 

 GERMANY). Clergymen of the "Roman Catholic 

 and Evangelical churches and indisjH'nsable sup- 

 porters of families are exempt. Great care is 

 bestowed on the education anil military training of 

 officers and men ; and, liesides numerous admirable 

 academies, there are several good schools of opera- 

 tive and veterinary surgery, &c. connected with 

 the educational department of the army. The 

 navy of the new German empire is the navy of 

 Pnissia. See GERMANY. 



t'otutitution, <kc. Prussia was an absolute 

 monarchy till the crisis of 1848, when the decided 

 movement in favour of liberal views compelled the 

 king to convoke a national assembly, and submit 

 to the establishment of a constitutional form of 

 government, which has been repeatedly modified. 

 The national representative Inxly consists of two 

 bodies : ( 1 ) an upper chamber (Herrenhaus, or 

 ' House of Lords '), which is now composed of the 

 princes of the royal family who are of age, the 

 chiefs of the mediatised princely houses recognised 

 by the Congress of Vienna, numbering sixteen 

 in Prussia, the heads of the territorial^ nobility 

 (about fifty), life-peers chosen by the king from 

 the class of rich landowners, manufacturers, and 



' national celebrities,' a titled representative chosen 

 by all landowners in each of the Prussian provinces, 

 representatives of the universities, the burgo- 

 masters of all towns having more than 50,000 

 inhabitant.*, and an indefinite numlx-i of meml>ers 

 appointed by the king for life or for a limited 

 peiiml; (2) a lower chamber (AbgeordnetenfUnu, 

 or 'Cumber of Deputies'), composed of 4IVJ mem- 

 bers, 352 for the old kingdom and SO for the pro- 

 vinces annexed in IStiT. KVI-M Pinssian who has 

 attained his twenty fifth year, and who has a 

 municipal vote, has also a parliamentary vote, but 

 not a direct one. Out of every 250 Uneuhler, or 

 electors in the first instance, is chosen a Wuhl- 

 mann, or direct elector. This is the man who, 

 strictly speaking, votes for a memlx-rof parliament. 

 Representative* are elected for five years, and each 

 receives twenty marks per diem, the refusal of 

 which is illegal. In addition to this general house 

 of assembly there are representative ladies for the 

 provinces, communes, and circles, which debate 

 and legislate in regard to local matters within 

 their several departments. The executive council 

 of state is composed of eleven ministers appoint .-d 

 by the king, and holding office without reference 

 to the comparative strength of political parties. 

 The president of the council has a salary of 2700, 

 each of the other ministers receives 1800. By the 

 modified constitution of 1850 all exclusive privi- 

 leges arising from titles or station are abrogated, 

 and perfect equality in the eye of the law fully 

 recognised ; lil>erty of the subject guaranteed in 

 regard to religions persuasion, the right to hold 

 meetings unarmed within closed doors, and liecome 

 members of societies ; immunity from domiciliary 

 visits, and inviolability of letters, &c. The mon- 

 archy is hereditary in the male line. The sovereign 

 and royal family must profess the evangelical con- 

 fession of faith. The king, who is not responsible 

 for the measures of his government, ami whose 

 decrees require the counter signatures of his 

 ministers, exercises the executive power, nominates 

 and dismisses the ministry, summons and dissolves 

 the chambers, orders the promulgation of the laws, 

 is commander-in-chief of the forces, has the right of 

 proclaiming peace and war, granting reprieves, \c. 

 He Itears the titles of King of Prussia. Markgraf of 

 Brandenburg, Sovereign-duke of Silesia, Prince of 

 Orange, Grand-duke of Pomerania and the Lower 

 Rhine, Inwides a host of lesser titles. The title 

 'German Emperor," by which he is now best 

 known, is not, of course, a Prussian dignity. The 

 eldest son of the king l>ears the title, of Crown- 

 prince. The ordinary royal residences are the 

 palaces at Berlin, Potsdam, and Charlottcnhurg. 

 The royal domains were ceded to the state by 

 Frederick-William III. in 1820, on condition of a 

 rental of 2J million tlmlers beinjj; paid first from 

 them for the king and his family, which, how- 

 ever, has lieen increased in 1859, 1868, and 1889 by 

 means of a Kroiidotatiim ('crown-allowance') to 

 770,550. 



In the year iN'.'s '.in the budget -estimate of the 

 receipts was -J. ls7..YJ7,:m marks (S.V->0,li:i|,r>l7), 

 just balanced by the expenditure. The total 

 national debt, bearing interest was (i,4S.">.'2-J-J,()(K) 

 marks ( 81,54:t,4S2,s:J), or about $48'50per head of 

 the population. The direct taxes are an income- 

 tax, land-tax, house-tnx, cla*s-tx, and trading- 

 tax, and amount to about 5s. 6d. per head. The 

 income-tax yields about Is. 5d. per head of the 

 population. 



Population. Races. About seven-eighths of the 

 imputation of Prussia are Germans. Of the Slavonic 

 trilMW the most numerous are Polos, niimlrering 2J 

 millions. In Brandenburg and Silesia there are 

 about 85,000 Wends ; in East Prussia, upwards of 

 150,000 Lithuanians; Western Prussia has rather 



