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 WURTEMBERG 743 years, or oftener if necessary, consists of two chambers. The upper chamber (Kammer der Standesherreri) is composed of the princes of the royal family, the principal nobles, the rep- resentatives of domains which possessed a vote in the diet of the old German empire, and life members nominated by the king, not ex- ceeding one third of the whole house. In 1874 the upper chamber had 45 members, of whom 9 were appointed for life. The second chamber (Kammer der Abgeordneteri) in 1874 consisted of 13 chosen representatives of the nobility and landed proprietors, 7 of the large towns, 63 of small towns and rural districts, the 6 superintendents general of the Evangel- ical church, the Roman Catholic bishop and two other representatives of the Roman Cath- olic clergy, and the chancellor of the univer- sity of Tubingen ; total, 93. Members of the upper chamber must be of age ; those of the lower chamber must be 30 years old. The latter are chosen for six years. The king ap- points the presidents of both chambers, in the upper chamber without restriction, and in the lower from among three members pro- posed by that body. When not in session the diet is represented by a committee of 12 members, consisting of the presidents of the two chambers, and two members of the upper and eight of the lower chamber. A court of state (Staatsgerichtshof), composed of a president and 12 members, six of whom are- appointed by the king and six elected by the chambers conjointly, watches over the integ- rity of the constitution. In the federal coun- cil of Germany Wurtemberg has four votes, and to the Reichstag it sends (1876) 17 depu- ties. Education is compulsory. The school age extends from the 6th to the 14th year, and there must be a public school in every com- munity of 30 families. Illiteracy is almost un- known. After completing the course in the public school, those who do not enter a higher institution are bound to attend on Sundays the reviewing school ( Wiederholungsschule). There are 8 gymnasia, 8 lyceums or other institutions having the rank of a gymnasium, 75 progym- nasia and Latin schools, 73 Rcalscliulen, 10 Oberrealschulen, and 523 agricultural, 314 drawing, and 1,441 industrial schools. The university of Tubingen and the polytechnic school of Stuttgart are celebrated institutions, especially the former. The Evangelical Prot- estant church was formed in 1823, by a union of the Lutheran and Reformed churches. At its head are six superintendents general, who bear the title of prelate. The territory is di- vided into 49 deaneries and 908 parishes, with 1,008 clergymen. The Roman Catholics have a bishop at Rottenburg, 655 parishes, and 914 priests. In 1875 there was only one Old Cath- olic congregation, with 102 members. The rev- enue for 1875-'6 was estimated at 24,440,736 florins, and the expenditures at 25,883,268. The deficit was covered by a surplus from former years. A balance of 4,771,079 florins remained on hand from the share of Wurtem- berg in the war indemnity of France, most of which is to be set aside for the exigencies of 1876-'7. The public debt in 1876 was $70,- 000,000, including about $53,000,000 for rail- ways. The 13th army corps of the German empire consists of Wurtemberg troops, inclu- ding in times of war 62,898 men and 102 pieces of artillery. Wurtemberg was anciently in- cluded in Swabia. (See SWABIA.) The found- er of the reigning dynasty was Ulric, count of Wurtemberg (died in 1265), whose possessions only included the districts bordering on the Neckar and extending to the Black Forest. His successors Ulric II. and Eberhard made large additions to the county by conquest. In 1495 Eberhard V. was created duke of Wur- temberg by the emperor Maximilian at the diet of Worms. Protestantism was introduced about 1540 under Ulric VI., who had been ex- pelled by the Swabian league of free cities, but restored by his son Christopher. (See CHBIS- TOPHEE.) The latter more firmly established the new faith. During the wars of the French revolution the country was at different times the theatre of conflict between the contending armies, and in 1801 the last duke of Wurtem- berg, Frederick II., was obliged to cede Mont- beliard to France. For this he received an extension of territory, including several im- perial cities. He was also created an elector of the empire in 1803. Three years later he assumed the title of king of Wurtemberg as Frederick I. (see FREDERICK I., vol. vii., p. 463), joining the Rhenish confederation under the protectorate of Napoleon, and established a uniform system of government and perfect religious equality throughout the kingdom. After the battle of Leipsic in 1813, Frederick joined the allies against Napoleon. He died in 1816, and was succeeded by William I., who died in 1864. (See WILLIAM I., vol. xvi., p. 634.) The present king is Charles I., born in 1823. In 1849, during which year Stuttgart was for a short time the seat of the German rump parliament (see GERMANY, vol. vii., p. 755), the constitution was liberalized. After the victory of Prussia over Austria in 1866, Wurtemberg, which had sided with the latter, allied itself with the victorious power by a special military treaty. In February, 1 military conferences were held in Stuttgart to promote a greater conformity of the army organization of the South German states with that of Prussia. During the period preceding the French war, Wurtemberg as well as Ba- varia was unwilling to make any further con- cessions on the question of union; but the outbreak of the war finally settled that ques- tion. On Nov. 25, 1870, Wurtemberg signed the treaty concluded between the Isortn man confederation, Baden, and Hesse, concern- ing the establishment of a German confeder- ation. It took a conspicuous part in the war. and toward the close of the same year assent to the proposition of the king of Bavaria t<