chiefs of the mediatised princely houses, recognised by the Congress of Vienna, to the number of sixteen in Prussia; thirdly, the heads of the territorial nobility formed by the king, and numbering some fifty members; fourthly, a number of life peers, chosen by the king among the class of rich landowners, great manufacturers, and 'national celebrities;' fifthly, eight titled noblemen elected in the eight provinces of Prussia by the resident landowners of all degrees; sixthly, the representatives of the universities, the heads of chapters,' and the burgomasters of towns with above fifty thousand inhabitants; and, seventhly, an unlimited number of members nominated by the king for life, or for a more or less limited period.

The second Chamber consists of 350 members. Every Prussian who has attained his twenty-fifth year, and is qualified to vote for the municipal elections of his place of domicile, is eligible to vote as indirect elector. Persons who are entitled to vote for municipal elections in several parishes, can only exercise the right of indirect elector, or 'urwähler,' in one. One direct elector, or 'wahlmann,' is. elected from every complete number of 250 souls. The indirect electors are divided into three classes, according to the respective amount of direct taxes paid by each; arranged in such manner, that each category pays one-third of the whole amount of direct taxes levied on the whole. The first category consist of all electors who pay the highest taxes to the amount of one-third of the whole. The second, of those who pay the next highest amount down to the limits of the second third. The third of all the lowest taxed, who, together, complete the last class. Each class may be divided into several electoral circles, none of which must, however, exceed 500 'urwähler.' Direct electors may be nominated in each division of the circle from the number of persons entitled to vote indirectly, without regard to special divisions. The representatives are chosen by the direct electors. The legislative period of the second Chamber is limited to three years. Every Prussian is eligible to be a member of the second Chamber who has accomplished his thirtieth year, who has not forfeited the enjoyment of full civic rights through judicial sentence, and who has paid taxes during three years to the State. The Chamber must be re-elected within six months of the expiration of their legislative period, or after being dissolved. In either case former members are re-eligible. The Chambers are to be regularly convoked by the king during the month of November; and in extraordinary session, as often as circumstances may require. The opening and closing of the Chambers must take place by the king in person, or by a minister appointed by him. Both Chambers are to be convoked, opened, adjourned, and prorogued simultaneously. Each Chamber has to prove the qualification of its members, and to decide thereon. Both Chambers regulate their order of

business and discipline, and elect their own presidents, vice-presidents, and secretaries. Functionaries do not require leave of absence to sit in the Chamber. When a member accepts paid functions, or a higher office connected with increased salary, he vacates his seat and vote in the Chamber, and can only recover the same by a new election. No one can be member of both Chambers. The sittings of both Chambers are public. Each Chamber, at the proposition of the president or of ten members, may proceed to secret deliberation. Neither Chamber can adopt a resolution when the legal majority of its members is not present. Each Chamber has a right to present addresses to the king. No one can deliver a petition or address to the Chambers, or to either of them in person. Each Chamber can refer documents addressed to it to the ministers, and demand explanations relative to complaints contained therein. Each Chamber has the right to appoint commissions of investigation of facts for their own information. The members of both Chambers are held to be representatives of the whole population. They vote according to their free conviction, and are not bound by prescriptions or instructions. They cannot be called to account, either for their votes, or for opinions uttered by them in the Chambers. No member of the Chambers can, without its assent, be submitted to examination or arrest for any proceeding entailing penalties, unless seized in the act, or within twenty-four hours of the same. Similar proceedings are necessary in case of arrest for debt. All criminal proceedings against members of the Chambers, and all examination or civil arrest, must be suspended during the session, should the Chamber whom it may concern so demand. Members of the second Chamber receive travelling expenses and diet money from the State, according to a scale fixed by law amounting to three dollars, or nine shillings, per day. Refusal of the same is not allowed.

The executive government is carried on, under the king, by an irresponsible Staatsrath,' or Council of State, and a nominally responsible council of ministers. The former consists of all the princes of the royal family who are above eighteen years of age, and of an unlimited number of servants of the state' appointed by the sovereign. The Council of Ministers, or Cabinet, is divided into nine departments, which are:

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1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.-Count Otto von BismarkSchönhausen, born in 1813, the son of a landowner in the province of Saxony; studied jurisprudence at Berlin and Göttingen; elected member of the Constituent Assembly, 1848; Minister Plenipotentiary at the Diet of Frankfort, 1851-59; Ambassador to the Court of St. Petersburg, 1859-62; Ambassador to the Emperor of the French, May 1862; appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, and chief of the Cabinet, September 28, 1862.

2. The Ministry of Finance.-Ernest von Bodelschwingh-Velmede, born November 26, 1794, at Velmede, near Hamm, Westphalia; studied jurisprudence at Berlin and Göttingen; entered the army as volunteer, 1813, and, receiving a severe wound in the breast, retired in 1815; employé in the Ministry of the Interior, 1820-25; President of the Government of the Rhine Province, 1834-42; Minister of Finance, April 5, 1842; Minister of the Interior, July 13, 1844 to March 18, 1848; elected Member of the Second Chamber of the Constituent Assembly, 1849; appointed Minister of Finance, September 28, 1862.

3. The Ministry of the Royal House.-Baron Alexander von Schleinitz, born 1807; entered the diplomatic career, and appointed Councillor in the Department of Foreign Affairs, 1832; Ambassador at the Court of Hanover; Envoy Extraordinary to conclude the peace with Denmark, June 1849; Minister of Foreign Affairs, July 29, 1849, to September 26, 1850, and November 6, 1858, to October 12, 1861; appointed Minister of the Royal House, October 12, 1861.

4. The Ministry of War and of the Navy.-General Freiherr von Roon, appointed Minister of War, December 5, 1859, and of the Marine, April 16, 1861.

5. The Ministry of the Interior.-Privy Councillor Count zu Eulenburg, born 1827; nominated Chief of the Prussian Expedition to China and Japan, and Ambassador at the Court of Pekin, June 2, 1860; appointed Minister of the Interior, December 9, 1862.

6. The Ministry of Justice.-Count Leopold zur Lippe, appointed Minister of Justice, March 18, 1862.

7. The Ministry of Public Instruction and Ecclesiastical Affairs.Herr von Mühler, appointed Minister, March 18, 1862.

8. The Ministry of Agriculture.-Privy Councillor von Selchow, appointed Minister of Agriculture, December 9, 1862.

9. The Ministry of Commerce.-Count Henry von Itzenplitz, Minister of Agriculture, March 18, 1862; appointed Minister of Commerce, December 9, 1862.

Each of the eight provinces of the kingdom is placed under the superintendence of an Ober-präsident,' or governor, who has a salary of 6,000 thalers, or 8571. Each province has also a military commandant, a superior court of justice, a director of taxes, and a consistory, all appointed by the king. The last is divided into three sections one having the superintendence of schools, another of ecclesiastical affairs, and another of the public health. The provinces are subdivided into regencies or counties, and these again into 'kreise,' or circles, and the latter into 'gemeinden,' or parishes. Each regency has a president and an administrative board or council; and the further subdivisions have also their local authorities. The municipal

organisation of the towns is more complicated than that of the communes. The principal functionaries are all elective; but the elections must be confirmed by the king or the authorities. The system of law principally in force in the eastern states of the Prussian monarchy is embodied in a well-digested code entitled 'Landrecht für die Preussischen Staaten,' which received the royal sanction in 1791, and became law in 1794; but it is occasionally modified by custom; and Polish, Swedish, and German laws are still in force in certain parts of the monarchy. The Rhenish provinces follow, with some exceptions, the rules laid down in the 'Code Napoléon.' The primary proceedings in judicial matters take place before local courts established in the circles and towns; thence they may be carried before the provincial courts, or oberlandes gerichte;' and in the last resort before the supreme tribunals at Berlin. The judges are independent of the Government. Juries are employed in the Rhenish provinces, but not in the other parts of the monarchy.

Church and Education.

The royal family belongs to the Reformed or Calvinist faith; but all denominations of Christians enjoy the same privileges, and are equally eligible to places of trust or emolument. In 1861, the population consisted of 11,273,730 Protestants, 6,867,574 Catholics, 13,718 Mennonites, 14,166 other Christian sects, and 252,592 Jews. The Protestants predominate largely in Brandenburg, Pomerania, Saxony, and Eastern Prussia; while the Catholics predominate in the Rhine province and Westphalia, in the regency of Oppeln, in Silesia, and in Posen. When Silesia was acquired by Prussia, the mass of the population were Catholics; but at present the Protestants form the majority in the two most important provinces, the regencies of Breslau and Liegnitz.

The Protestant Church is governed by consistories,' or boards. appointed by Government, one for each province. There are also synods in most circles and provinces, but no general synod has yet been held. The constitution of the Catholic Church differs in the various provinces. In the Rhenish provinces it is fixed by the concordat entered into between the Government and Pope Pius VII. But in every other part of the monarchy, the Crown has reserved to itself a control over the election of bishops and priests. In the entire kingdom, there are 5,740 ordained Protestant clergymen, and 140 assistant ministers, besides 3,510 Catholic priests, and 2,033 vicars, chaplains, and curates; so that the proportion of Catholic clergymen rather exceeds that of Protestants. The incomes of the clergy differ greatly. The higher Catholic clergy are paid by the State, the archbishop of Breslau receiving 1,700l. a-year, and the other bishops

about 1,1351. The incomes of the parochial clergy, of both sects, mostly arise from endowments. In general, Government does not guarantee the stipend either of Protestant or Catholic clergymen ; but in some parishes the clergy enjoy a public provision from the State. This is peculiarly the case in the Rhenish provinces, in virtue of the concordat with Rome. Proselytism, or the attempting to induce a person to change religion, whether by force or by persuasion, is prohibited by law.

The 15th to 19th articles of the constitution of 1850 provide as follows regarding religious affairs:-The Evangelic and Roman Catholic Church, as well as all other religious associations, regulate and administer their affairs independently, and remain in possession and enjoyment of their establishments, foundations, and funds destined for religious, educational, and charitable purposes. Intercourse between religious associations and their superiors is unimpeded. The publication of ecclesiastical ordinances is only subject to such restrictions as affect all other publications. But all nominations to, proposals for, elections and confirmations of, and possessions of ecclesiastical functions, independent of the State, and not arising from special patronage or legal titles, are abolished. The introduction of civil marriage in Prussia took place according to a special law, appended to the constitution of 1850, which also regulated the management of the civil registers.

The system of public education in force in Prussia is held to be a more perfect one than any other on the continent of Europe. The main feature of it is that attendance at school is enforced by law. Every child, whether male or female, rich or poor, must attend a public school from the age of five years complete, till such time as the clergyman of the parish affirms that the child has acquired all the education prescribed by law for an individual in its station: generally speaking, the school time extends from six to fourteen years complete. Should a child not attend, its parents or guardians must satisfy the public authorities that it is receiving an appropriate education at home or in a private seminary. The school fees are exceedingly moderate; and the children of poor persons who are unable to pay them, are instructed gratuitously at the public expense. According to the constitution of 1850, everyone is at liberty to teach, .or to form establishments for instruction, provided he can prove to the competent authorities his moral, scientific, and technical qualifications. All private and public establishments for instruction and education are placed under the superintendence of authorities appointed by the State; and all public teachers have the rights and obligations of servants of the State. Confessional relations are taken into consideration in organising public schools for the people. Religious instruction in schools for the people is administered by the various