Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/561

* PEITSSIA. 491 PBITSSIA. 000.000: and in 1901, 6,603,000,000. A great part of the debt, hewever, has been incurred for productive enterprises, such as railwairs, mines, and domains, which have furnished their own means of liquidation. The service of the debt, in- cluding interest and amortization charges, amounted to nearlv 27.3.000.000 marks in 1901, or about §68,000,000. K«™°°« "^r^**" Surplus 1875 1B85 971.6 812.6 1.441.5 1.376.4 2.26".6 2.116.9 2,472.3 1 2.472.3 159 65.1 U95 1900 143.7 PoprXATiox. The population of the Kingdom in 1900 was 34.472.509, distributed among the provinces as follows: PHOVIXCES ' Area in 6q. miles Popula- tion, 1890 Popula- tion, 1900 14.2S2 9,854 25 15.381 U,S28 U,184 15.568 9,750 7,340 14,869 7.803 6.000 10,423 441 1,938.663 1 996 626 1.4:J3,&^1 1.563.658 B'Tlin 1.578,794 1K88R48 2..541.7S3 3 108 .554 1,520.KK9 liaiS.'C Posen Sflesia 1.751.612 4.224,458 2,580,010 1.219,.523 2,278.-361 2.428.661 1,664,426 4.710.391 66.085 1.RS7.275 4.6«><.S.57 2.S.32.616 Sihlcsnig-Holsteln. H-^DOVfT 1,3S7.968 2..590.9S9 3.187.777 1.89T.981 6,759.798 0C.78O Total 134.548 29,957,367 31,472.509 The greatest increase of population was in the industrial provinces of Westphalia, the Rhine Province. Brandenburg, and .Silesia, where the iron and textile works have multiplied. The ef- fect of industrial development on the growth and distribution of the population may be also seen from the changes in the proportion of urban and rural population. In 1S90. 51.5 per cent, lived in tillages, and 4S.5 per cent, in towns and cities of more than 2000 population. In 1000 the rural population comprised but 44.4 per cent, of the total. Berlin is the capital, ranking third in population among the cities of Europe. The seven largest cities after Berlin, with a population ex- ceeding 200.000. are Breslau. Cologne. Frankfort, Hanover. Magdeburg. Diisseldorf. and Stettin. See Gebmaxy, paragraph on Population. For Religion. Education", Charities, see the article Germant. For .EMT and Xavt, see the articles Abmtes and yAiES. Go^-EBXJIEXT. The present Constitution of Prussia is a written instrument and one of the products of the revolutionary events of 1S48. It was promulgated by the King in 1850 and has since been modified by varioiis royal decrees. It prescribes a number of limitations in behalf of in- dividual liberty upon the power of the Govern- ment. It may be amended by the King and the I..egislature according to the ordinary processes of legislation, except that the resolution for amendment must be twice passed by the Cham- bers, an interval of three weeks intervening be- tween the two votes. The executive power is vested in the King, who attains his majority at eighteen, and whose crown is hereditary according to the principle of agnatic Vol." XVI.— 32. lineal primogenial succession. He is irresponsi- ble and exercises his powers through ministers, who must countersign all his official acts and who thereby assume responsibility for them. Their responsibility, however, is not to the Legislature, but to the King, who appoints and dismisses them without regard to the wishes of the Legislature. They are entitled to seats in either Chamber and may participate actively in the debates, but can vot« only in the House in which they have a seat. They do not resign upon an adverse vote, for the parliamentary or cabinet system of government does not exist in Prussia. The number of minis- ters as well as their duties is regulated by the King. At present there are nine. Xone of them acts as Prime Minister with authority over the others, although the ilinister of Foreign Affairs, as chairman of the Council of Ministers, is called the Minister president. Their responsibility is not collective, and each conducts his own depart- ment independently of the others. However, they meet occasionally as a Stantsministerium for the consideration of matters of general concern, for the discussion of proposed legislation, for the preparation of ordinances to meet temporary ex- igencies during the adjournment of the Legisla- ture, etc. The legislative power is vested in the King and a bicameral legi.slature (Landtag), the two Chambers having substantial equality of powers in legislation. The House of Peers ( Uerrenhaxis ) consists of three hereditary groups : ( 1 ) Adult princes of the royal blood : ( 2 ) princes of media- tized houses: (31 territorial nobles, and the fol- lowing non-hereditary elements : ( 1 ) Life peers, ajjpointed by the King from among certain Avealthy and distinguished persons: (2) eight noblemen elected by certain Prussian land- owners ; ( 3 ) representatives of the univer- sities, of evangelical bodies, and of certain cities: and (4) an unlimited number of worthies appointed by the King for any term he pleases. The total niunber of members at present is alwut 300. of whom about two-thirds are representa- tives of large land-o«Tiing classes. The House of Representatives {Abfieordnetmhaus) is com- posed of 433 members, elected for a term of five, year* by indirect vote. For the purpose of election the countr>- is divided into districts, in each of which usually one member is chosen by the three- class system. Under this arrangement of each district the voters (all Prussians twenty-five years of age and qualified to vote in the municipal elections) are divided into three classes accord- ing to the amount of taxes they pay : the largest tax-payers, who together pay one-third of the taxes, constituting the first class; the next high- est taxpayers, who together pay another third, forming the second class; and the remaining tax- payers forming the third class. Each class of voters then chooses an equal number of electors, who then assemble and choose the representative. Thus it is seen that the moneyed class have a most decided advantage. One elector is chosen from about 2.50 of the population and representa- tives are distributed on the basis of one for about 75.000 inhabitants. The qualifications (or mem- bership in the House of Representatives are the completion of the thirtieth year, the full enjoy- ment of civil rights, and the pavment of all taxes assessed for the three years previous. The Par- liament i- regularly convoked by the King c.nch year in Xovember and in special session at such