15 



to the injury of the best interests of Germany. The organi- 

 zation of the Customs-Union gave Prussia an opportunity to 

 extend her system of taxation into some of the neighboring 

 States. On March 30, 1833, an agreement was made with 

 Saxony, and on May 10th with the Thuringian States, which 

 resulted in a uniform system of taxation of alcohol. Up to 

 1 si ill the Alcohol-Tax- Union (Brennsteuerverein) consisted 

 of these three States alone: Prussia, Saxony and Thuringia. 

 On January 1, 1866, Brunswick joined. In 1867, Oldenburg 

 took the same step, and Wiesbaden, Cassel, Hanover and 

 Schleswig-Holstein were incorporated through annexation to 

 Prussia. In 1868, the former Electorate of Hesse, the grand 

 duchies of Mecklenburg- Schwerin and-Strelitz, the duchy of 

 Launeburg, Lubeck, and parts of Hamburg, joined. In 1869, 

 the grand duchy of Hesse; in 1872, the Hohenzollern Lands, 

 and in 1874, Alsace-Lorraine completed the Union. With the 

 formation of the North-German Bund, and later of the Em- 

 pire, the product of the tax was made common, and only 

 Bavaria, Baden and Wurternberg retained independent sys- 

 tems of taxation. In 1887, they also joined the Union and 

 the taxation of spirits became imperial in character. 



(b.) Saxony, Thuringia and the Remaining 

 States. 



Taking Prussia as typical of North Germany, a very brief 

 mention of the conditions prevailing in the other States will 

 suffice. The kingdom of Saxony, as the largest and most im- 

 portant, will be considered first. 



Though a considerable portion of Saxony is mountainous 

 and ill-suited to agriculture, still the northern and eastern 

 parts, near Leipsic, are very fertile and highly cultivated. 

 Here the grain and the potatoes are produced that maintain 

 numerous country stills, together with some very large estab- 

 lishments in Dresden, Leipsic and other cities. 



Up to 1833, through the influence of the old excise system, 

 distilling remained in a very primitive, undeveloped condi- 

 tion, as compared with Prussia, but the introduction of the 

 new tax on December 4, 1833, had a most beneficial effect, 

 and in a short time in the place of the ill-equipped distilleries 



