Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/930

 574

GERMAN EMPIRE

sents the Empire internationally,' and can declare war, if defensive, and make peace, as well as enter into treaties with other nations, and appoint and receive ambassadors. But when treaties relate to matters regulated by imperial legislation, and when war is not merely defensive, the Kaiser must have the consent of the Bnndesrath, or Federal Council, in which body, together with the Keichstag, or Diet of the Realm, are vested the legislative functions of the Empire. The Emperor has no veto on laws passed by these bodies. The Bundesrath represents the individual States of Germany, and the Reichstag the German nation. The 58 members of the Bundesrath are appointed by the Governments of the individual States for each session, while the members of the Reichstag, 397 in number (about one for every 131,604 inhabitants), are elected by universal suffrage and ballot, for the term of five years. By the law of March 19, 1888, which came into force in 1890, the duration of the legis- lative period is five years. The various States of Germany are a-epresented as follows in the Bundesrath and the Reichstag : —

Number of

Number of

states of the Emiiire

Members in

Deputies in

Bundesrath

Reichstag

Kingdom of Prussia

' 17

236

,, ,, Bavaria ....

6

48

,, ,, Saxony ....

4

23

,, ,, Wlirttemberg

' 4

17

Grand-Duchy of Baden

i 3

14

.,, ,, Hesse

3

9

,, ,, Mecklenbiu'g-Schwerin

2

6

,, ,, Saxe- Weimar.

3

,, ,, Mecklenburg-Strelitz

1

,, ,, Oldenburg

3

Duchy of Brunswick

3

,, ,, Saxe-Meiningen

2

,, ,, Saxc-Altenburg

1

,, ,, Saxc-Coburg-Gotha.

2

,, ,, Anhalt ....

•>

Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershause

n

1

,, ,, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

1

,, ,, Waldeck.

1

,, , , Rcuss Aelterer Linie.

1

,, ,, Reuss Jungerer Linie

1

,, ,, Schaumburg- Lippe.

1

,, Lippe

1

Free town of Lfibeck

1

,, ,, ,, Bremen

1

,, ,, Hamburg.

3

, Rcichsland of Alsace-Lorraine.

58

15

1 Total

•

397