GERMANY. 



the steamers 389, of 142,818 tons, to Baltic and 737, 

 of 747,142 tons, to North Sea ports. The number 

 of sailors was 40,805. Of the sailing vessels 496, 

 and of the steamers 1,119 were constructed entirely 

 of iron or steel. There were 29 sailing vessels and 

 968 steamers over 2,000 tons, 218 sailing vessels and 

 185 steamers between 1,000 and 2,000 tons, 114 sail- 

 ing vessels and 'J:>1 strainers between 500 and 1,000 

 toot, 414 sailing vessels and 309 steamers between 

 100 and 500 tons, and 1,777 sailing vessels and 133 

 strainers under 100 tons. 



Communications. There were 28,882 miles of 

 railroads in operation or. Jan. 1, 1897. of which 26,- 

 ;."> miles were owned by the imperial and state 

 nmients and 183 miles of private lines were 

 o|>erated by the Government, while 2,634 miles re- 

 mained in the hands of companies. There were, 

 besides. 1.942 miles of private railroads not open to 

 public traffic. The capital expenditure on the state 

 railroads was 11,481.738.000 marks. The total re- 

 ceipts in 1H96 were 1.504,375,000 marks. Expenses, 

 856,722,000 marks. There were 592,333.000 passen- 

 gers transported during the year, paying 405,973,- 



000 marks, and 248,055,000 tons of freight, paying 

 984.103,000 marks. 



The number of letters that passed through the 

 imju'rial post office and the separate post offices of 

 Havana and Wti item berg in 1896 was 1,395,405,590; 

 of postal cards, 509,534,530 ; of printed inclosures, 

 668,296.280 : of samples, 41,262,690 ; of newspapers, 

 1.126,816,947. The amount of money sent was 22,- 

 600,006,382 marks. The receipts from the post of- 

 fice and telegraph service were 339,792,074 marks ; 

 expenses, 308,134,429 marks. There were 72,220 

 miles of telegraph lines, with 282,949 miles of wire, 

 in the imperial postal territory ; 8,961 miles of lines, 

 with 28,961 miles of wire, in Bavaria; and 3,189 

 miles of line, with 8,915 miles of wire, in Wurtem- 

 berg; total, 84,370 miles of line and 320,825 miles 

 of wire. The telegrams forwarded numbered 24,- 

 540.795 internal. 9,811,642 foreign in the Reiclis- 

 postgebiet, 2,098,822 internal and 559.873 foreign in 

 Bavaria, and 1,184,220 internal, and 196,872 foreign 

 in WQrtemberg; total, 27,823,837 internal and 10,- 

 568,387 foreign. 



Colonies. The colonial Empire of Germany 

 dates only from 1884. Shores of Africa and islands 

 of the Pacific not yet claimed by European powers 

 began to be occupied and declared German protec- 

 torates with the object of obtaining new fields for 

 the growing foreign commerce of Germany and col- 

 onies in which German emigrants would remain 

 loyal subjects instead of becoming American citi- 

 zens. The regions in Africa taken under German 

 protection between 1884 and 1890 have a total area 



1 >f U20.920 square miles and a native population es- 

 timated at Ki.200.000. (See CAPE COLONY AND SOUTH 

 AFRICA, EAST AFRICA, and WKST AFRICA.) In the 

 Pacific t he part of southeastern New Guinea to which 

 t tie name of Kaiser Wilhelmsland was given, and 

 the Bismarck Archipelago, previously known as New 

 Britain, were proclaimed German protectorates in 

 1885, and in the following year the Northern Solo- 

 mon Islands and the Marshall Islands. 



Kaiser Wilhelmsland, including Long Island, 

 Dampier Island, etc., has a total area of about 70,- 

 000 square miles, with a population estimated at 

 110,000. Cotton and tobacco are planted, and 

 horses, cattle, and goats have been introduced. The 

 cocoanut palms are well taken care of. Areca and 

 sago palms, baml>oos, and ebony and other cabinet 

 woods abound in the forests. Besides copra, trepang 

 and mother-of-pearl are bartered by the natives for 

 trade goods. Gold was discovered in 1897 in the 

 Bismarck mountains. The revenue for 1897 was 

 estimated at 93,000 marks, and expenditure at 273,- 

 000 marks. 



The Bismarck Archipelago comprises the islands 

 once known as New Britain, New Ireland, and the 

 Duke of York Islands, together with New Hanover, 

 Admiralty, Anchorite, Hermit, and other islands. 

 The total area is about 20,000 square miles ; popu- 

 lation, 188,000. The exports are copra and cocoa- 

 nut fiber. 



Bougainville, Choiseul, and Isabel are the prin- 

 cipal islands in the part of the Solomon Islands be- 

 longing to Germany, the area of which is about 

 9,000 square miles, 'with 89,000 population. The 

 chief exports are sandalwood and tortoise shell. 



The administration as well as the trade of Kaiser 

 Wilhelmsland, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the 

 Solomon Islands, *has been given over to the German 

 New Guinea Company, which has three steamers 

 and numerous sailing vessels. There were 164 Eu- 

 ropeans, of whom 97 were Germans, residing in the 

 protectorate of Kaiser Wilhelmsland and the Bis- 

 marck Archipelago in 1896. 



The Marshall Islands are under an Imperial Com- 

 missioner. Their aggregate area is 150 square miles, 

 with 13,000 population, including 58 whites, of whom 

 45 are Germans. They are coral islands on which 

 the cocoanut palm grows luxuriantly. In 1897 the 

 export of copra was 2,362 tons. 



Session of the Reichstag. The session of the 

 Reichstag was closed on May 6. The discussion of 

 the navy bill took up a large part of the time. After 

 the new Foreign Minister, Herr Von Biilow, an- 

 nounced the occupation of Kiauchau, its passage 

 was assured. The bill presented a programme of 

 construction extending over six years, which will 

 so enlarge the navy as to enable it to prevent a 

 blockade by attacking the enemies on the seas, the. 

 theory that the coasts can defend themselves hav- 

 ing been abandoned. It fixed the maximum and 

 the minimum strength of the navy. The auto- 

 matic replacement of vessels was provided for at 

 the end of their probable period of efficiency 

 twenty-five years for battle ships, twenty years for 

 large cruisers, and fifteen years for small ones it 

 being stipulated that their lives can be prolonged 

 by the decision of the Federal Council or shortened 

 by the decision of the Reichstag. The manner of 

 raising money for the increased expenditure was 

 much discussed. The Government estimated that 

 the ordinary revenue would be sufficient each year. 

 In case it should not, the Clericals and other parties 

 proposed special taxes that would fall only on the 

 rich. The Government in the end carried a clause 

 declaring that the additional sum required should 

 not be defrayed by means of increasing indirect 

 taxation on articles consumed by the masses. The 

 acceptance of this declaration was secured by giv- 

 ing an additional pledge that the burden of any new- 

 taxes required should be laid on the strongest, 

 shoulders. The bill was passed on March 28, a par' 

 of the Clericals, including the Poles and tho 

 Guelphs, voting against it, with the Radical Left, 

 the Social Democrats, the South German Demo- 

 crats, and a few Anti-Semites. 



The long-promised bill for the reform of military 

 judicial procedure was passed without much dis- 

 cussion, except on the right of accused persons to 

 have civil counsel, which was denied, and on th<) 

 question of a separate military supreme court for 

 Bavaria, which was left in abeyance, to be settled 

 by negotiation. It is left to the Emperor to decide 

 in each case whether the procedure be public or 

 whether reasons of state demand a secret trial. 



Elections to the Reichstag. The legislative 

 period of the Reichstag, which was elected on June 

 15, 1893, expired on June 15, 1898, and the general 

 election took place on June 16. As the once powei- 

 ful Liberal party was split up into dwindling fac- 

 tions at war with each other, little interest was 



