was the dominant state until 1866. Then the North German Confederation, with Prussia as the leading state, was organized, and Austria betook herself to the work of forming a new union with various nationalities of Southeastern Europe. When, in 1870, war broke out between France and Prussia, all the German states not in the North German Confederation united for protection against Napoleon III., with their northern neighbors and brethren. This was done January 18, 1871, in the Palace of Versailles, whither William I., King of Prussia, had come in the course of the Franco-Prussian

war.

The German Empire consists of a confederation (see p. 13) of four kingdoms, six grand duchies, seven principalities, three free towns, and the Reichsland (imperial domain) of Alsace-Lorraine. The leading state is Prussia, whose king is the hereditary president of the confederation-the Emperor of the empire. As King of Prussia the Emperor occupies a hereditary throne; but as Emperor proper he simply occupies a hereditary office. The Government of the empire is of the form of a limited monarchy.

21. The Executive.-The principal executive function is to represent the empire in its international relations. The Emperor (Kaiser) can declare war, if defensive, as well as enter into certain treaties with other nations, and appoint and receive ambassadors. When a war is not defensive the Emperor must have the consent of the upper branch of the legislative department. The states, too, may send ambassadors to, and make treaties with, foreign countries; but the dealings must not affect any of the interests of the empire.

22. The Legislative Department.-The legislative functions are vested in the Bundesrath (Federal Council) and the Reichstag (Diet of the Realm). The Emperor has no veto on the laws passed by these bodies. The legislative department is the sovereign power. It can amend the constitution without submitting the amendments either to the people or to the governments of the states; but it cannot deprive a state of any of its rights guaranteed to it by the Constitution, unless such state gives its consent.

23. The Bundesrath.-The Bundesrath represents the individual states. It consists of fifty-eight members, appointed by the governments of the states for each session. The members are in reality diplomatic agents accredited to the Emperor. The larger states have the most members. Prussia has seventeen, while seventeen of the smaller states have each one member; but each state has only one vote. The Imperial Chancellor (see p. 143), who must be one of Prussia's seventeen members, presides. In case of a tie, his vote is decisive; that is, Prussia wins in case of a tie. The Bundesrath is legislative, executive, and judicial in its functions. Although it may originate bills, it confines itself mostly to approval or disapproval of the measures of the Reichstag. Any member of the Bundesrath may express his views on the floor of the Reichstag. As an executive body the Bundesrath has a general oversight of the administration of the laws of the Empire. It has a voice in the nomination of the most important officers and in the making of certain treaties. Its judicial functions are mostly incidental to its administrative work; but it may also settle disputes of the Empire with a state or disputes between states

and it will hear cases on appeal from an individual in a dispute with a state.

24. The Reichstag.-This body represents the German people. It consists of 397 members (of which number Prussia returns 236), elected by universal suffrage and secret ballot, for a term of five years; but the Reichstag may at any time be dissolved by the Emperor, with the consent of the Bundesrath (provided Prussia concurs in the assent), in which case he must order a new election within sixty days. He may also adjourn the Reichstag once during any session, but not for more than thirty days. Members must be at least twenty-five years old, which is also the voting age. They receive no compensation but may hold some other salaried office under the Empire or one of the states.

25. The Imperial Chancellor.-There is no Cabinet or Ministry of the Empire. There are imperial officials, appointed by the Emperor, but they act independently of each other, under the general supervision of the Imperial Chancellor, also appointed by the Emperor. The Chancellor is the Emperor's proxy, as it were, responsible to him and not to the Reichstag. The Emperor may remove him at pleasure; but need not do so on account of an adverse vote in the Reichstag. However, the Chancellor owes it to the Reichstag to give them an account of the administration of the laws; and they may criticise him by votes or otherwise, which right they exercise freely. As president of the Bundesrath the Imperial Chancellor is simply a Prussian, not an imperial official. He represents there, not the Emperor but the King of Prussia. The imperial officials in charge of separate administrative departments number eleven; they are all

under the direction of the Chancellor. Besides them there are twelve standing committees in the Bundesrath that act under the supervision of the Chancellor.

26. The Judiciary.—The Empire uses the state courts as its judiciary, except that there is at the head of the **ate system, the Imperial Court, as the supreme court of appeal. The state governments determine the state districts and appoint the judges, but the Empire fixes the qualifications of the judges and the rules of the courts.

27. Local Government.-Owing to the fact that the German Empire is a confederation of states, old and new, with a variety of governments, from that of kingdoms to that of free cities, local government is not at all uniform. It may be said, however, that it is the imperial policy to secure uniformity. Germany is rapidly becoming a homogeneous nation.

RUSSIA

28. The Empire of all the Russias.-The Russian Empire consists of Russia proper, Poland, Finland, Siberia, Caucasus, and Central Asia. The Empire is divided into seventy-nine governments, eighteen provinces, and one section. At the head of each is a governor, the representative of the Czar. Their combined jurisdiction covers more than one-seventh of the land surface of the earth. The Empire does not consist of confederated states, but mostly of conquered states (see p. 13). Though the Government was an absolute monarchy until 1905, all power having been in the Czar, yet his will was more or less limited by the will of the people. Their habits and customs and their settled rights and privileges could not

safely be ignored. His officials, too, had to be reckoned with when he promulgated a law.

29. The Government.-The Government of the Russian Empire is now a limited hereditary monarchy. The legislative power by various ukases (decrees) of the Czar, the first issued August 20, 1905, is to be exercised by a bicameral Parliament. The Council of the Empire (see p. 145) is to be the upper house, but half of its members will hereafter be elected-some by the land-owning nobility, some by the clergy, some by the Academy of Sciences, others by the universities, and still others by the Chambers of Industry and Commerce. The lower house, or national assembly, is called the Duma. Its members, 450 in number, are elected by a popular vote. Its first session began May 10, 1906. The ministers (see p. 146) may be questioned as to their acts and policies in either chamber, as in the German Empire (see p. 143), but they are responsible to the Czar alone and not to the Parliament, as in England and France (see pp. 134 and 139). Any bill passed by the two houses may be vetoed by the Czar. Though the Parliament must meet once a year, the Czar reserves the right to convoke and dissolve the body at any time.

Notwithstanding these ukases of the Czar concerning a limited monarchy, there is much uncertainty as to what the future Government of Russia will be like.

30. The National Boards.-According to the plan of government under the absolute rule of the Czar, the national affairs of the Russian Empire are entrusted to four great boards, possessing separate functions. The first is the Council of the Empire, consisting of about 100 members, exclusive of the ministers, who have a seat