Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/743

Rh WtJBTEMBEKG 701 horses commands a good deal of attention from Government, which maintains several stud-farms. Cattle, bred for export, are reared mainly in the Jagst and Danube divisions, sheep on and near the Alb. Salt and iron are the only minerals of industrial importance found in Wurtemberg, and both are worked almost entirely by Government. There are h ve Government salt-works (the chief of which are Friedrichshall and Wilhelmsgliick), employing together 425 hands. In 1879-80 970,084 tons of salt were produced, two- thirds by mining. The salt industry only began to be of import ance at the beginning of the present century. The iron industry on the other hand is of great antiquity, though it is much hampered by the entire absence of coal mines in Wurtemberg. The chief fuel used in smelting the iron is wood or charcoal. Iron is mined at Neuenburg, Freiulenstetten, and, to a very limited extent, in the Black Forest. In 1877-80 15,546 tons of ore were raised by 110 miners, yielding about 33 per cent, of raw metal. Cement, gypsum, grindstones, millstones, building-stones, &c., are also found. The annual value of the minerals of all kinds raised in &quot;Wiirtemberg has been roughly estimated at about 350,000. Until the close of the Napoleonic wars, Wiirtemberg was almost exclusively an agricultural and bucolic country ; but since that period it has turned its attention to trade and manufactures, and perhaps now stands second only to Saxony among the German states in commercial and industrial activity. The want of coal is naturally a serious drawback, but it is to a certain extent com pensated by the abundant water-power. The textile industry is carried on in most of its branches. Wool, from both domestic and foreign sources, is woven at Esslingen, Goppingeu, and other towns in Lower Swabia ; cotton is manufactured in Goppiugen and Esslingen, and linen in Upper Swabia. Lace-making also flourishes in the last-r.amed district, as a rural house-industry. The silk industry of Wurtemberg, which employs about 1100 hands, though not very extensive in itself, is the most important silk industry in Germany. Ravensburg claims to have possessed the earliest paper-mill in Germany ; paper-making is still important in that town and at Heidenheim, Heilbronn, Goppingen, and other places in Lower Swabia. Government owns six iron foundries and puddling works, the most important of which is at Wasseralfingen, where over 1000 hands are employed. The locomotive engines of Essliugen enjoy a wide reputation ; ami agricultural and other machinery, boilers, and tools of various kinds are also manufactured and exported by various towns. The organs of Ludwigsburg are well known ; bell-founding is carried on at Stuttgart, Reutlingen, and Cannstatt ; beetroot sugar and beer are considerable items in the list of annual produce ; wine has been already mentioned. The manufacture of chemicals at Stuttgart, Heilbronn, &c., is important. Trade has prospered since Wu rtemberg joined the North German Customs Union in 1834. The leading trading towns are lieilbronn, Stuttgart, Ulm, and Friedrichshafen. Cattle, horses, sheep, agricultural produce, timber, salt, and various manufactured goods are the chief exports ; coal, hops, steel goods of various kinds, eggs, and poultry are among the chief imports. The book- trade of Stuttgart is very extensive ; that town has been called the Leipsic of southern Germany. In 1887 991 miles of railway were open for traffic in Wurtemberg. With the insignificant exception of two private lines, together no more than 31 miles long, all the railways are in the hands of the state. The Neckar, the Schussen, and the Lake of Constance are all navigable for boats ; the Danube begins to be navigable at Ulm. The roads of Wurtemberg are fairly good ; the oldest are Roman. Wiirtemberg, like Bavaria, retained the control of its own postal and telegraph system on the foundation of the new German empire. In 1885 there were 1750 miles of telegraph wires in the kingdom. In 1885 the population of Wurtemberg was 1,995,168, or one twenty-third of the total population of Germany on one twenty- eighth of its area. The average per square mile is 264 9. The following table shows the distribution of the population among the administrative districts, and their religion. The Neckar divi sion contains most large towns. Division. Population. Area in Square Miles. Inhabitants per Square Mile. Protestants in 1880. Roman Catholics in 1880. Neckar Black Forest Ja^st. .. 639,470 475,299 405,034 1285 1843 1984 497-6 257-8 204-1 562,700 351,144 280 374 53,026 119,750 122 987 Danube 475,365 2419 196-5 170,362 294,527 The people of the north-west belong to the Alemauuic stock, those of the north-east to the Franconian, and those of the centre and south to the Swabian. According to the occupation census of 1882, the following were the numbers of those (including their families and dependants) engaged in the various departments of work: in agriculture, forestry, &c., 942,924; in mining and industrial pursuits, 674,081 ; in trade and commerce, 143,258 ; in domestic and other service, 11,254; in professions, 95,712 ; &quot;no returns,&quot; 90,240. In 1886 there were 3717 emigrants; in 1881 there were 11,470. In 1885 there were 15 towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants, viz., Stuttgart (125,906), Ulm (33,610), Heilbronn (27,758), Ess lingen (20,864), Cannstatt or Canstatt (18,031), Reutlingen (17,319), Ludwigsburg (16,201), Gmund (15,321), Tubingen (12,551), Gop pingen (12,102), and Ravensburg (11,482). About two-thirds of the population arc Protestant. In 1880, Religion, when the total population was 1,971,118, there were 1,364,580 Protestants, 590,290 Roman Catholics, 13,331 Jews, 2817 of other Christian sects, and 98 &quot;others.&quot; The Protestant church is con trolled (under the minister of religion and education) by a consis tory and a synod, the latter being made up of the consistory and six general superintendents or &quot; prelates&quot; from six principal towns. But no laws are made or altered without the consent of a repre sentative council, including both lay and clerical members. The Roman Catholic church is subject to the bishop of Rottenburg, in the archdiocese of Freiburg. Politically it is under a Roman Catholic council, appointed by Government. The Jews also since 1828 have been subject to a state-appointed council. Wurtemberg is one of the best educated countries of Europe. Educa- School attendance is compulsory on children from seven to fourteen tion. years of age, and young people from fourteen to eighteen must either attend the schools on Sunday or some other educational establishment. Every community of at least 30 families must have a school. The different churches attend to the schools of their own confession. There is a university at Tubingen, and a polytechnic school at Stuttgart. Technical schools of various kinds are estab lished in many of the towns, in addition to a thorough equipment of gymnasia, commercial schools, seminaries, &c. The conservatory of music at Stuttgart enjoys a high reputation. Wiirtemberg is a constitutional monarchy and a member of the Consti- German empire, with 4 votes in the federal council and 17 in the tution. imperial diet. The constitution rests on a law of 1819, amended in 1868 and 1874. The crown is hereditary, and conveys the simple title of king of Wurtemberg. The king receives a civil list of 90,670, and the &quot;apanages&quot; of the crown amount to 14,900 more. The legislature is bi-cameral. The upper chamber (Standesherrcn) is composed of adult princes of the blood, heads of noble families from the rank of count (Graf) upwards, representa tives of territories (Standesherrschaften) which possessed votes in the old German diet, and of life members nominated by the king. The number of this last class must not exceed one-third of the house. The lower house (Abgeordneteu-Haus) has 93 members, viz., 13 noble landowners, elected by their peers (Ritterschaft), the 6 Protestant &quot;prelates,&quot; the Roman Catholic bishop, and 2 other official Roman Catholic members, the chancellor of the university of Tubingen, 7 representatives from the chief towns, and 63 repre sentatives from country districts. The king appoints the president of the upper chamber ; since 1874 the lower chamber has elected its own chairman. Members are elected for six years by ballot ; the suffrage is enjoyed by all male citizens. With the exception of the royal princes and the life-members of the upper house that reside in Stuttgart, the members of both houses receive a daily payment of 9m. 41pf. (9s. 5d.) each. The highest executive is in the hands of a ministry of state (Staatsministerium), consisting of six ministers and the privy coun cil, the members of which are nominated by the king. There are ministers of justice, war, finance, home affairs, religion and edu cation, and foreign affairs, railways, and the royal household. The legal system is framed in imitation of that of the German empire. The judges of the supreme court for impeachments of ministers, &c., named the Staatsgerichtshof, are partly elected by the chambers and partly appointed by the king. The country is divided into four administrative &quot;circles,&quot; subdivided into 64 &quot; Oberamter, &quot; each of which is under an &quot; Oberamtmann,&quot; assisted by an &quot;Amtsver- sammlung &quot; or local council. At the head of each of the four large divisions is a &quot;Regierung.&quot; The oflicial finance period of Wiirtemberg embraces two years. Finance. For 1885-87 the budget showed an annual income of 2,811,921, balanced by the expenditure, which included a payment of 2500 to a reserve fund. The chief sources of income were taxes (1,392,893, including 691,773 of direct taxes), and public domains and monopolies (1,095,336, including 662,385 from railways and 72,741 from post and telegraphs). The chief expenditure was on the interest (875,525) and sinking fund (122,873) of the public debt. This debt amounted in 1887 to 21,202,570, of which by far the greater proportion (18,966,700) was incurred for constructing and buying railways. Most of it bears interest at 4 per cent. In terms of the convention of 1870 the troops of Wurtemberg Army, form the 13th army corps in the imperial German army. They include 8 regiments of infantry, 4 of cavalry, and 2 of field artillery, kc. By the army law of March 11, 1887, the peace strength of the army was fixed at 773 officers, 18,815 men, and 64 cannon. The town of Ulm is one of the strongest fortresses in Germany.