PRUSSIA. 



197 



Pnuni*. 



Army. 



arming, MS stated above, from the royal domains, is de- 

 voted principally to the service of the state, the ex- 

 pence of the royal household not exceeding the com- 

 pur.itivdy trifling sum of ,200,000 annually. 



The following list, which shows the revenue pro- 

 ciitrril in each province, calculated in gulden, (equal 

 to about two shillings British,) exhibits also their rela- 

 tive resources and opulence. 





Silesia, 



Saxony, 



llranilenburg, 



Juliers, Cluves, Berg, 



Westphalia, 



Kast Prussia, 



Lower Rhine, 



West Prussia, 



Posen, 



Pomerania, 



13,500,000 

 10,41 7,000 



9.000,000 



8,670,000 



6,413,100 



H, 1 00,000 



7,01)0,000 

 i.OOO 



:u 00,000 



3,01)0,000 



74*968,000 Gulden, 



or 

 7,520,000 Sterling, 



The Prussian monarchs, though they have uniform- 

 ly kept a strong military force, have been distinguished 

 for economy in the management of the revenue. The 

 father of Frederick the Great, with a revenue of only 

 .1,200,000, left at his death, which took place in 1740, 

 a well-replenished treasury, and a standing army of 

 76,000 men. And Frederick the Great himself, not- 

 withstanding his expensive wars, and the extensive 

 national improvements which he effected, at his death, 

 in 1785, left 7,000,000 in cash. This sum the im- 

 provident habits of his successor not only soon dis- 

 pelled, but he accumulated considerable debt. The 

 present king, on his accession, (1797) used every me- 

 thod to redeem the debt which his father had be- 

 queathed to him ; and wnild, ere now, have been suc- 

 cessful, had it not been for the rupture of 1806 with 

 Bonaparte, and the subsequent hostilities in which he 

 was engaged, and which the battle of Waterloo (1815) 

 brought to a happy and splendid termination. The 

 debt of Prussia is calculated to be about ,26,000,000, 

 part of which (6,000,000,) is a loan from Britain. 

 Of the currency of Prussia, about a seventh part for- 

 merly consisted of paper money, which has of late near- 

 ly disappeared, almost every thing being transacted by 

 gold and silver coin. 



The government of Prussia is more of a military de- 

 scription than perhaps any other on the Continent. 

 This object has been uniformly the policy of the suc- 

 cessive sovereigns ; and at this moment, in a time of 

 profound peace, the support of the military establish- 

 ment requires more than the half of the whole revenue 

 of the kingdom. The bravery and superior discipline 

 of the Prussian army were celebrated even before the 

 time of the great Frederick, under whose reign it at- 

 tained to a degree of perfection in these respects alto- 

 gether unrivalled. His present majesty, in regard to 

 the army, is distinguished by the same spirit and views 

 which animated his predecessors. During the late 

 war, the number of Prussian troops exceeded 200,000 

 men, who, though not always victorious, exhibited on 

 various occasions, particularly on the field of Waterloo, 

 a display of military skill, and an ardour of bravery, 

 that gained them the admiration of the world. The 

 present number of troops on the peace establishment 

 is about 160,000, exclusive of two species of militia, 

 denominated the Landwehr and the Landsturm, the 

 former, which consists of men between twenty-five 



and forty year* of age, it exercised but one Jay in the 

 year in t ce, but in war it become* a dispoca- 



ble force, liable to be marched wherever its service* 

 may seem necessary ; the latter, which consols of ill 

 males above forty years of age capable of bearing arm*, 

 is called out only on occasions of emergency; and then 

 its duty ia merely domestic, in maintaining internal 

 tranquillity. The regular army is levied by a con- 

 scription, compelling every young man, when twenty 

 years of age, to serve for a limited time. Almost all 

 the males of the kingdom, it is thus evident, are either 

 in the army, or are liable to be called out in cases of 

 danger or alarm ; a state of preparation which the long 

 and open frontier of the kingdom probably renders ne- 

 cessary, particularly as it is environed by the great 

 military powers of Russia, Austria, and France. There 

 are, as stated under the head of literary institutions, 

 good military schools indifferent parts of the kingdom, 

 particularly at Berlin, Konigsburg, Breslau, and Stolpe, 

 in I'omerania. The acquisition of Dantzick, and other 

 ports on the shores of the Baltic, may perhaps in time 

 render Prussia i maritime power : but at present she 

 has no navy, all her attention and pride having hither- 

 to been placed in her land forces. The greatest por- 

 tion of the kingdom forms a part of the Germanic 

 Confederation, and maintains a stipulated number of 

 troops, (79,234, in time of war,) for its defence. 



The government, as hinted above, is a military des- Govera- 

 potism ; and though, like all northern nations, it once mem. 

 possessed a representative body, under the name of 

 States, yet this body has been long unknown, the peo- 

 ple having no voice or influence in any of the affairs of 

 the nation. In some particular provinces, indeed, the 

 States exist as in ancient times ; but they seldom as- 

 semble, and they enjoy no legislative or executive au- 

 thority, scarcely even dare make representations to the 

 monarch ; their authority and inquiry being confined 

 exclusively to the regulation and management of the 

 debts and expences of their respective districts. The 

 people have of late, however, been awakened to a num- 

 ber of abuses, and to the necessity of electing a repre- 

 sentative body, as in former times. The expectation 

 of this reform is said to have inspired them with the 

 spirit and patriotism which they displayed in the late 

 memorable conflict with France. These expectations, 

 however, whatever hopes may have been held out, have 

 not yet been adequately fulfilled, though the king has 

 made considerable improvements in the executive branch 

 of the government. The crown is hereditary in the fa- 

 mily of the present reigning monarch, descending to the 

 oldest branch, whether male or female. The age of 

 majority is twenty-one. The present family are Cal- 

 vinists ; but as there is no national religion, there is no 

 legal religion prescribed to the king. The whole exe- 

 cutive and legislative power is vested in the king, 

 without responsibility or control. There is a council 

 of state, to which nominally the administration is en- 

 trusted, consisting of members of the royal family, and 

 of the ministers of foreign affaire, of the finances, of 

 justice, of public instruction, of trade, of the public 

 debt, of police, and of war. But the president of this 

 council, to whom the heads of the different depart- 

 ments are responsible, and make weekly returns, ia 

 directed solely by the king, by whom he is nominated, 

 and is uncontrollable by his colleagues. There are also 

 provincial councils for the transaction of public busi- 

 ness ; namely, the superintendence of the police, the 

 regulation of traffic, the collection of taxes, the admin- 

 istration of the laws, &c. ; at the head of each council. 



