352 



GERMANY. 



the population, and had made the revenue fall 

 below the estimates, thus necessitating, in spite 

 of every economy, increased taxation. A re- 

 vised income-tax would, therefore, be proposed 

 as a simplification and readjustment of the 

 present direct taxes. The absorption of the 

 private railways by the state lines had been 

 effected, new lines had been constructed, and 

 two others were now proposed. On October 

 30th, the Minister of Finance, Herr von Kon- 

 neritz, in giving an exhibit of the financial 

 condition of the country, stated that the bal- 

 ance of 9,000,000 marks of the preceding year 

 were, in this year, replaced by a deficit of the 

 same amount. 



The Diet of Wurtemberg was opened on 

 February 6th by the King in person. In his 

 speech from the throne, he announced impor- 

 tant changes in the organization of the com- 

 munes to be proposed by the Government, as 

 well as propositions to secure the execution of 

 the imperial laws. The second Chamber unan- 

 imously reflected Herr Holder as its president. 

 It adjourned, however, before the end of the 

 month. 



A change occurred in the Government of 

 the Grand-Duchy of Hesse during 1877. The 

 Grand-Duke Louis III. died on June 13th, and 

 was succeeded by his nephew, Louis IV., who 

 is married to Princess Alice of England. 



On August 7th the Emperor William met 

 Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria at Ischl. 

 This meeting was said to have had no political 

 significance, although the two Emperors, in all 

 probability, held conversations on the question 

 of the day the Russo-Turkish War. (See 



AuSTEO-HtTNGAEIAN MoNAEOHY.) 



On July 1st the Imperial Patent Ofiice was 

 organized ; and, on July 7th, it announced its 

 organization to the patent offices of the foreign 

 Powers. 



On May 1st Emperor William set out on a 

 visit to the new province of Alsace-Lorraine. 

 He was everywhere received with great dem- 

 onstrations of joy and respect, particularly in 

 the Lower Alsace, in and around Strasburg, 

 where the population is chiefly German. But 

 even in Metz and its vicinity, where the French 

 element predominates, his presence was con- 

 sidered to have had a favorable influence, 

 although the population showed a greater re- 

 serve in receiving him. 



January 1, 1877, was the 70th anniversary 

 of the entrance of Emperor William into the 

 Prussian army. On this occasion he held a 

 reception of all the commanding officers of the 

 army. It was after the disastrous battle of 

 Jena, when the troops of Prussia had been 

 driven to the easternmost confines of the king- 

 dom, that King Frederick William III. ap- 



JtETZ, ALSACE-LORRAINE. 



pointed his ten-year-old son to a military posi- 

 tion. 



On January 27th, Prince Frederick William, 

 the eldest son of the Crown-Prince, was de- 

 clared of age, having completethhis eighteenth 

 year. The occasion was celebrated very quietly, 

 owing to the death of Princess Charles, the 

 sister of the Empress. 



On February 25th Prince William, the pre- 

 sumptive heir to the throne of Wurtemberg, 

 was married to the Princess Marie of Waldeck- 

 Pyrmont. 



On September 8th an international exhibi- 

 tion of articles connected with the leather in- 

 dustry was opened in Berlin. The United 

 States Consul-General at that city, in a report 



