GERMANY. 



417 



, revenue accruing to Prussia from the new 

 tariff was made applicable, by a bill introduced 

 by the Clericals and accepted by the ministry 

 iii return for clerical support of the protective 

 duties on agricultural products, to the expenses 

 of the local bodies. One third of the share of 

 Prussia in the grain and cattle duties is as- 

 ! signed to the circles in proportion to their 

 population, and the remaining two thirds in 

 proportion to the amount of land and house 

 taxes collected. Another important act, op- 

 posed by the Center party, was the bill to pen- 

 sion school-teachers, thus placing them on an 

 i equal footing with other officials. Every 

 teacher who has served ten years is entitled, 

 if incapacitated from any cause, to a pension 

 for life equal to one fourth of his salary, and 

 to one-sixtieth more for each additional year 

 of service. At sixty -five he is at liberty to re- 

 tire on a pension without proof of disability. 



State Lotteries. For many years the question 

 of abolishing the state lottery was brought up 

 frequently in the Prussian Diet. In 1867 a 

 resolution in favor of its speedy abolition was 

 adopted. The suppression of all lotteries was 

 proposed in the Reichstag in 1869, but rejected 

 on the ground that it was beyond the powers 

 of the Central Government. Since that period, 

 the minor states that have lotteries have en- 

 larged them threefold, and on Feb. 11, 1885, 

 'a motion to double the operations of the Prus- 

 sian lottery was before the Landtag and was 

 negatived by a bare majority of 155 to 150 

 \rotes. The Prussian Government issues 95,000 

 lottery-tickets a year, of the total value of 13,- 

 ; 728,000 marks, and derives a net revenue from 

 the institution of 3,944,800 marks. The Royal 

 Saxon lottery turns over 18,135,000 marks, 

 yielding 4,645,570 net profit to the state; the 

 Brunswick lottery 10,402,000 marks, yielding 

 1,169,000 marks; the Hamburg lottery 9,620,- 

 100 marks, yielding 1,454,000 marks; the 

 Mecklenburg- Sen werin lottery 1,831,506 marks, 

 yielding 439,560 marks for two drawings. 

 Each of these states holds its lottery-game 

 ;\vice a year. The total sum of the chances 

 <old in all five each year is 112,804,860 marks, 

 Deluding the imperial stamp duty of 5,371,660 

 iiarks. Besides the state lotteries a great num- 

 >er of private lotteries are authorized for re- 

 igious and charitable purposes. These always 

 rield exorbitant profits, and frequently cloak 

 schemes of swindling and private greed. 

 i Beginning of the Session of 1885->86. The 

 Reichstag was opened Nov. 19. The Govern- 

 nent asked for an increase in the army and 

 iiavy estimates, to be devoted to pensions, 

 vhich would require the return in the form of 

 "natricular contributions of a part of the in- 

 reased revenue of the states proceeding from 

 i he new tariff and the stamp duties. To satisfy 

 heir financial wants, it purposed introducing 

 )ills for a sugar-tax, deferred hitherto on ac- 

 I'ount of the depressed state of agriculture, and 

 "A tax on spirits. A bill for the extension of 

 'he accident-insurance law, which went into 

 VOL. xxv. 27 A 



force Oct. 1, to agricultural and' forest laborers, 

 was promised ; also a measure for the relief of 

 officials and soldiers in case of accidents. 



The North Sea Canal. The project of a canal 

 to connect the Baltic with the Elbe and the 

 German Ocean, which has been under the con- 

 sideration of the Prussian Government since 

 1865, was another feature in the programme 

 of the Government. It will cost about 156,- 

 000,000 marks, of which Prussia offers to con- 

 tribute 50,000,000. It will be strongly forti- 

 fied. The bill for the construction of the canal 

 was unanimously approved by the Bundesrath. 

 The North Sea and the Baltic are already con- 

 nected by the Eider Canal, which accommo- 

 dates only small vessels and coats a great deal 

 to maintain; also by the ancient Steckenitz 

 Canal. The project in favor with the authori- 

 ties is to dig a canal from Kiel Bay southwest- 

 ward to Brunsbtittel, at the mouth of the Elbe, 

 50 miles. This would prevent the Scandinavian 

 powers from forming a hostile combination 

 that could shut up the German Baltic fleet, as 

 they now have the power of doing ; it would 

 also save the 500 German lives that are lost, 

 and the $2,500,000 worth of property wrecked 

 annually, in the Cattegat and Skager-Rack, and 

 would tend to the commercial development of 

 the districts skirting the Baltic, and especially 

 of the port of Kiel. Its utility will be vastly 

 enhanced if means can be invented to keep it 

 clear of ice, which otherwise will stop traffic 

 for four months of the year. 



Socialism. A treaty for the extradition of 

 political offenders was concluded between 

 Prussia and Russia Jan. 13, 1885. Prince 

 Bismarck presented a bill in the Reichstag to 

 extend the provisions of the treaty to the 

 whole of Germany, but there was such an 

 outcry against it that the measure was never 

 debated. A treaty containing the same pro- 

 visions had been signed on behalf of the Im- 

 perial Government. Assaults on officials, and 

 even insults, verbal or published in the press, 

 were made extraditable offenses. An attempt 

 was made to induce the individual states to 

 adopt this law. The several states made the 

 same treaty arrangements with Russia that 

 Prussia had. The Bavarian ministry intro- 

 duced a bill to give effect to the treaty, but 

 this effort to override the Reichstag found no 

 favor with the Diet. In this matter Prince 

 Bismarck did not mind the flagrant transgres- 

 sion of the spirit of the Constitution, according 

 to which the Emperor represents Germany in 

 her international relations, though an inde- 

 pendent attempt of any of the states to deal 

 with a foreign power would be sure to meet 

 with his reprobation. 



In the evening of January 13 Herr Rumpff, 

 the head of the police force of Frankfort-on- 

 the-Main, who had been chiefly instrumental 

 in the discovery of the Niederwald plot, and 

 was exceedingly active in combating the An- 

 archists, was murdered in front of his house. 

 He had rendered himself obnoxious by the 





