(i HUM ANY. 



Mfi 



yield of this tax is estimated at from 85,000,000 

 io :;(i,(K)0.000 marks. Not only di<l I>r. .Migm-l 

 insit that the property tax was advisable, but 

 declared it absolutely necessary to enable him to 

 carry out his last scheme of reform, which is 

 that of a radical change of the system of local 

 taxation. By this last measure the state relin- 

 quishes in the communes the whole of the direct 

 taxes heretofore levied on real property, which 

 yielded an annual revenue of 102,000,000 marks. 

 This source of revenue is in future to be sub- 

 jected only to local taxation as the requirements 

 of local expenditures may appear. As a return 

 for this concession the state will retain the 

 whole amount of the surplus accruing to Prus- 

 sia from the imperial duties on grain and cattle 

 about 45,000,000 marks which was formerly 

 in part granted in aid of the communes. This 

 whole system of taxation reform in Prussia, 

 when fully developed, is regarded as the most 

 equitable and just mode of taxation in Europe. 



A bill was introduced and passed which had 

 in view a reform of the election laws. The elec- 

 toral system in Prussia is of a highly plutocratic 

 type. There are three distinct classes of electors 

 in each district, as many of the largest taxpay- 

 ers as together pay one third of the total amount 

 of direct taxes forming the first class, as many 

 of the smaller taxpayers as together pay the 

 second third forming the second class, and the 

 smallest taxpayers who together pay the remain- 

 ing third of direct taxes forming the third class. 

 These three groups each have an equal number 

 of votes in returning the representatives of the 

 district, who in turn elect the member of the 

 Diet. The new bill does not by any means in- 

 tend to abolish this, as Prince Bismarck called 

 it, " most miserable of all electoral systems," but 

 only introduced certain modifications which be- 

 came necessary in view of the financial reforms. 

 The only alterations made in the former system 

 are that the contributions of the first, second, 

 and third classes shall in future stand in the 

 proportion of 5, 4, and 3. Instead of making 

 only the direct state taxes the basis for the divi- 

 sion of the three classes, the communal and pro- 

 vincial taxes will be included. A fictitious con- 

 tribution is to be ascribed to every person who 

 does not pay any income tax to the state, so that 

 those persons w'ho are not assessed will form the 

 third class, and consequently five ninths of the 

 total amount of direct taxation will fall on the 

 first, and four ninths on the second class. 



General elections were held on Oct. 31, 1893, 

 for the lower house of the Prussian Diet. The 

 elections went off quietly, the only parties carry- 

 ing on an active campaign were the Conservative 

 and the Radicals. The Conservatives made a 

 strong propaganda on the ground of agrarian 

 interests, and received the full support of the 

 Agrarian League. The split in the Radical 

 party showed itself to be as fatal in this election 

 as it had been in the elections for the Reichstag. 

 The final results show comparatively small 

 changes. The Conservatives carried 148 seats, 

 against 125 in the former Diet ; the Free Con- 

 servatives, 62, against 66 ; the National Liberals, 

 88, against 87; the Ultramontane Center, 94, 

 against 99; the Radicals, 20, against 29: the 

 Poles, 18, against 15 ; the Danes, 2 ; and 1 mem- 

 ber belongs to no party. 



The Army Bill. The all-absorbing question 



iu (iei-man politics during the first half of the 

 year lH!i;t consisted of the parliamentary strug- 

 gle against the Army bill. The Government, 

 considering an increase of the military forces 

 necessary, introduced a bill into the Reichstag 

 increasing the peace footing of the army from 

 -:: men to a yearly average of 492,068 men. 

 This increase on its face would not seem to be 

 very important, but inasmuch as in the new 

 peace effective noncommissioned officers and 

 the one-year volunteers are excluded from its 

 list and, furthermore, taking into account the 

 reduction of the time of active service from three 

 to two years the actual number of recruits every 

 year demanded by the new bill was nearly 83.000. 

 The additional expense for carrying the proposed 

 plans into effect was estimated at 69,000,000 

 marks annually. The Government, in offering 

 the two-year service for the former three-year 

 active service, was unwilling, however, to make 

 this provision legally binding, but wanted to 

 make it optional with the Government to dismiss 

 such men as it might think proficient in military 

 drill after two years with the colors, and retain 

 those for a third year who through bad behavior 

 or inefficiency were not entitled to dismissal. 



At the first reading of the bill it became ap- 

 parent that the measure was opposed by con- 

 siderable forces in the Reichstag. The only 

 parties which pledged their support to the bill 

 were the two branches of the Conservative party, 

 and even these parties were dissatisfied with the 

 bill on account of the two-year service clause. 

 The National Liberals, the Radicals, the Social 

 Democrats, and other smaller factions opposed 

 the bill. The numerically strongest party by 

 far in the Reichstag the Centrum or Clerical 

 party did not commit itself either way at the 

 first reading, but the speeches of the leaders of 

 the party showed that the sentiment was strongly 

 against the measure. In spite of this strong 

 opposition, the Government hoped to secure a 

 majority for the bill, and pointed out and urged 

 the necessity for the increase of the military 

 forces in order to put the army on an equal foot- 

 ing with that of France, which under existing 

 circumstances was numerically stronger. The 

 Opposition insisted that the people were unable 

 to stand the increased taxation, and that the 

 present taxes were already unbearable. The bill 

 was referred to a committee, and discussed in 

 detail and at length. Chancellor von Caprivi 

 defended his measure heroically, and declared 

 that the Government would not recede from its 

 position, and would not agree to any compromise. 

 Several compromises were offered, of which the 

 most important were the one advanced by Dr. 

 von Benningsen. the leader of the National Lib- 

 erals, who offered to increase the army by 48,000 

 men, but insisted on the positive adoption of the 

 two-year service clause ; the other compromise 

 offered originated with Eugen Richter, the leader 

 of the Radicals, who offered to leave the army at 

 its present strength, with the term of active 

 service legally fixed at two years. Both com- 

 promises were rejected. Dr. von Benningsen's 

 offer was rejected mainly because the National 

 Liberals did not hold the balance of power, and 

 even had his offer been accepted it would not 

 have reconciled the Centrum, which held the 



