Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/193

 Constitution, Revenue, and Population.

The constitution bears date, Dec. 17, 1820; but was somewhat modified in 1848, and again in 1856. The legislative power is vested, in part, in two Chambers, called the Upper and the Lower House of Representatives. The former is composed of the princes of the reigning family, the heads of a number of noble houses, the Roman Catholic bishop, the chief Protestant superintendent, the Chancellor of the University of Giessen, and a number of life-members, not exceeding ten, nominated by the Grand-duke. The Lower House consists of deputies of noble landowners; 10 deputies of towns; and 34 representatives of villages and rural districts. The members of the Lower House are chosen by an indirect mode of election—the original voters, or 'Urwähler,' first polling the electors, or 'Wahlmänner,' and these, in their turn, the representatives. The Chambers have to meet at least once every three years. On certain occasions, both Houses vote together, as when a proposition of the Government has been accepted by one House and refused by the other, and a final decision is to be arrived at.

The executive is represented by a ministry divided into four departments, namely, the Ministry of the Grand-ducal House, and of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of the Interior; the Ministry of Justice; and the Ministry of Finance.

The budget is granted for the term of three years by the chambers, and the estimates seldom differ much from the actual revenue and expenditure. For the three financial periods from 1860 to 1868 they were as follows:—

Financial Periods

Annual Revenue

Annual Expenditure

1860-62 1863-65 1866-68

Florins 9,096,664 9,292,963 9,497,008

£ 758,055 774,413 791,417

Florins 9,066,796 9,031,835 9,372,962

£ 755,566 752,653 781,080

The public debt amounted, at the commencement of 1867, to 15,245,000 florins, or 1,270,000 £, the greater part of which was incurred for the establishment of a network of State railways.

Although a state of South Germany, the troops of the Grand-duchy are included in the army of the North-German Confederation, forming the third division of the eleventh corps d'armée.

The country is divided into three provinces,—Upper Hesse, Starkenberg, and Rhenish Hesse, the first of which, embracing an area of 1,365 English square miles, with a population, in 1867, of 257,479, forms part of the North-German Confederation, and, being garrisoned by Prussian troops, is only nominally subject to the government of the Grand-duke. Inclusive of Upper Hesse, the area