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 f)48

GERMAN EMPIRE : — MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ

death of liis father, September 6, 1860 ; married June 28, 1843, to Augiista, born July 19, 1822, the daughter of the late Duke Adolphus of Cambridge. Offspring : Adolf Fricdrich, born July 22, 1848 ; married April 17, 1877, to Princess Elizabeth of Anhalt, born September 7, 1857, of which union there is offspring : Mary Augusta, born May 8, 1878 ; Jutta, born January 24, 1880 ; Adolf Friedrich, born June 17, 1882 ; and Car] Borwin, born October 10, 1888.

The reigning house of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was founded, in 1701, by Duke Adolf Friedrich, youngest son of Duke Adolf Friedrich I. of Meck- lenburg. There being no law of primogeniture at the time, the Diet was unable to prevent the division of the country, which was protested against by subsequent Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, The Grand-duke is, however, one of the wealthiest of German sovereigns, more than one-half of the countiy being his private property.

Constitution and Finance.

Mecklenburg-Strelitz has, in common with Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a Diet consisting of landowners and town magistrates. The country is divided into two provinces : Stargard, which alone participates in the Constitution, and Ratzeburg, whose special Constitution, framed in 1869, has never been put in force. Of the 48 burgomasters and nearly 800 members of the Ritter- schaft (see Mecklenburg -Schwcr in), 7 burgomasters and over 60 proprietors of Rittergiiter belong to Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

The executive is entirely in the hands of the Grand-duke, and is exercised by him through his Government, at the head of which is a * Minister of State. ' Accounts of public income and expenditure are never made known, and the whole State revenue forms the civil list of the Grand-duke ; the debt is estimated at 6,000,000 marks.

Area, Population, &c.

The area of the country is 2,929 square kilometres, or 1,131 English square miles, the ownership of which territory is divided between the sovereign, the feudal proprietors, and the corporations of certain towns, in the following manner : — 527 square miles belong to the Grand-duke ; 353 to the titled and untitled nobles ; and 117 to the town corporations.

The population on Dec. 1, 1890, was 97,978 ; on Dec. 2, 1895, 101,540. Of the total population in 1895, 50,233 were males, and 51,307 were females, or 102-2 females per 100 males. Marriages, 1896, 748; births, 3,213; deaths, 1,931 ; surplus of births, 1,282. Among the births were 89 (2-8 per cent.) still-born, and 433 (13 '5 per cent.) illegitimate children.

The emigration statistics for eight years are as follows : —

1890

1891

1892

1893

1894

1895

1896

1897

262

198

333

175

45

44

32

16

With the exception of 654 Catholics and 489 Jews (1890), the people arc Protestants. The capital, Neu Strelitz, had 10,343 inhabitants in 1895.

In 1896, 726 persons were convicted, or 98 '5 per 10,000 of population over 12 years of age.