Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 3, 1877

No. 114.
Mr. Davis to Mr. Evarts.

Legation of the United States,
Berlin, April 30, 1877. (Received May 17.)

No. 655.]

Sir: My immediate predecessor, in his No. 221, dated May 6, 1871, transmitted to the Department a copy of the constitution which had been framed for Germany. This document was translated, and was printed in the “Foreign Relations” for 1871. Since that time several amendments have been made to it, which fact seems to make it advisable that a revised translation should be transmitted to the Department. This I now do.

The subjects on which the Imperial Parliament is authorized to legislate are enumerated in article 4, in sixteen divisions. I propose in this dispatch to briefly refer to the more important of the laws which have been already enacted to carry the constitutional provisions into effect, taking the subjects in their order in the instrument.

1. Under the powers conferred by the first clause many important laws have been enacted. Indeed, most of the laws regulating the relations of individuals toward each other, and toward the state (so far as they do not relate to criminal offenses or to judicial proceedings), and the laws for the regulation of trade and commerce and the employment of labor, may be said to be connected with the grants of power under this clause, although most of them flow more directly from the grants under the thirteenth clause. For convenience, and in order to show the general harmony of this class of legislation, as well as its breadth, I group together here some of the measures which should more properly be stated at a later stage among the remarks concerning clause 13.

A uniform age for majority has been prescribed throughout the empire. The contract of marriage must everywhere be made before a civil magistrate. Freedom of worship is guaranteed to all. The law of bills of exchange, of contracts, of bailments, of partnerships, general and special, of joint-stock companies, of bankruptcy, and of interest, has been unified and codified. A commercial code has been enacted, in which the title of merchant has been defined, and rules have been prescribed, in order to determine whom the law will and whom it will not regard as such. It also prescribes what commercial books are to be kept by a merchant, and defines the duties and powers of his various subordinates. The employment of labor is regulated by comprehensive laws. They require certain occupations to be licensed, regulate peddling, and public markets, and trade guilds; tell who is regarded as an assistant, who as an apprentice, who as a master workman, and who as a master, and what are the rights and duties of each; make provisions respecting factory laborers, provide for the examination of seamen on merchant ships, of physicians, of dentists, of veterinary surgeons, of apothecaries, and in fact seem to penetrate into most of the relations of society; even the newspapers do not enjoy immunity, but are subject to a severe press law.

While I have been writing this dispatch the Reichstag has discussed and disposed of a variety of proposals for amending the “Gewerbe Ordnung,” the mere enumeration of which will show how wide is the admitted jurisdiction of the imperial parliament over this class of questions.

I. The conservatives propose to require each operative to have a book in which is to be inscribed the names and places of his employers from time to time, and the period of each employment, and to amend the laws relating to apprentices.

II. The Centrum (ultramontanes) propose to amend by inscribing provisions for the protection of the religious life of laborers, for preserving quiet on Sundays, for the regulation of apprenticeships, for imposing restrictions on the freedom of carrying on trade, for the prevention of the employment of children, for limiting the length of a day’s work by women, for the establishment of trade-courts of arbitration, for the further regulation of trades requiring licenses, and for the regulation of kins and bar-rooms

III. The National Liberals propose to amend the apprentice laws, with a view to provide for continuing the relation between master and apprentice, and also to establish trade-courts of arbitration.

IV. The Fortschritt or Party of Progress propose to amend the apprentice laws by providing for the moral training of apprentices, and also to establish trade-courts of arbitration.

V. The Social Democrats propose extensive amendments in order to prevent the manufacture in penitentiaries of articles for sale, to establish ten hours the legal day’s work for men, and eight hours for women and youth; to prevent the employment of children; to make night and Sunday work illegal; to amend the apprentice laws, and to provide for the appointment of imperial factory inspectors, and for the formation of trade-courts of arbitration.

These various proposals have been referred by the Reichstag to a committee of twenty-one members, to report at a future session. It is certain that not all will be adopted; quite possible that none will be. The fact, however, that they are suggested from such opposite quarters shows how deeply the idea of unity and of the endowment of imperial power and functions upon the national legislature has sunk in the popular heart. No rank of life, no condition of man, whether in relation to his fellow-man or to the State, is free from the influence of such legislation.

The laws which provide for a careful inspection of emigration, and which assume to regulate and control it, are mainly founded upon the powers contained in the same clause. It has already been observed that, as in the case of our own legislation, many laws may fairly claim to be derived from more than one provision of the constitution. Thus the imperial laws relating to domicile and residence may, in one aspect, be regarded as the exercise of the powers derived from the first clause of article 4, and in another aspect as the exercise of the powers derived from the fourteenth clause. So, too, the stringent statute relating to vaccination and other sanitary laws, the despotic power conferred upon the imperial chancery for the suppression of the rinderpest and the destruction of noxious insects, the laws already referred to respecting commerce and trade; respecting physicians, surgeons, veterinary surgeons, dentists, and apothecaries, and other similar statutes, may be traced to more than one grant of authority in the constitution.

2. Customs duties and imposts are collected under imperial laws. Mr. Wheaton, in the first dispatch which he wrote from Berlin, dated June 12, 1835, thus referred, to the Zollverein then in force:

The Prussian commercial confederacy includes a population of more than twenty millions of industrious, active, and intelligent people, speaking the same language, but inhabiting countries various in their climates, soil, and productions, but nearly all richly endowed with the bounties of Providence. It is impossible not to conclude that the formation of this separate union in the bosom of the German Confederation is designed to augment, and must contribute to augment, the political power and influence of Prussia. Prussian custom-house regulations must ultimately be followed by the introduction of the Prussian monetary system, Prussian post-offices and post-roads, Prussian weights and measures. It is also difficult to believe that a power so jealously alive as Austria to its general interests would suffer her ancient rival thus to aggrandize herself in Germany, and prepare the way for the absorption of its smaller states into the Prussian monarchy on some future favorable occasion, if the Austrian cabinet had not received satisfactory assurances of being allowed to assert its supremacy in Italy.

The political causes thus assigned for the course of Austria have passed into history as completely as the causes of the crusades; but the laws and institutions which I am attempting to depict are the legitimate results of influences which attracted the statesmanlike eye of Mr. Wheaton forty years ago, and remain vigorous as ever.

Although the customs taxes are imposed under federal laws, they are collected by state officers, and the collecting state accounts to the empire for the tax. Practically Prussia is much the largest collector.

It will be seen hereafter that this administrative system runs through all German institutions. In all the measures which tend to make Berlin the center of authority for Germany, the legislation is centripetal, or, as a German would say, unifying, and the administration is centrifugal or sectional.

3. A uniform system of weights and measures has been adopted throughout Germany, and an entirely new system of coinage, based upon the old Prussian Vereins thaler and groschen system. Ten pfennigs make a groschen, which, however, as a distinct name for a coin, has disappeared, and the coin is known in the new coinage as ten pfennigs. Ten of these pieces make a mark, of about the value of a quarter of a dollar, and ten marks make a crown. The limited paper circulation which is permitted is issued by the bank of the empire, under imperial law. The executive administration of the mints, like that of the custom, is done by state officials.

4. An imperial bank has been created, which went into effect on the 1st of January, 1876. With it the Bank of Prussia disappeared. Nearly simultaneously with the law for the creation of this institution a general law (Bankgesetz) was passed for the regulation of banking, in execution of the fourth clause in article 4.

5. No patent law has yet been passed.^* The subject is in the hands of a commission, which is expected to make an early report.

6. The protection of copy-right—Imperial laws have been enacted, not only for the protection of literary works, but also for protecting property in works of art and imagination, of photographs, of patterns, and of models.

7. General navigation laws have been passed providing for the registration of vessels, and for the mode of proof of their nationality for the use of the flag, and with such other provisions as are usual and necessary in that class of laws. Provision has also been made for a general consular representation of the empire. The several states of the empire still maintain the right of a consular and diplomatic representation as between themselves. Thus, most of the German powers maintain ministers here, and several maintain consuls at the free ports. Some of them also have reserved the right of a diplomatic representation abroad, which right is of little value, since diplomacy without an army is a shadow without substance. The right of consular representation abroad is in the empire; but, by a singular contradiction, the assent of the local government here is held to be essential for the recognition of a consul in Germany.

8. Communication by land and water.—An imperial railway bureau has been organized, and there has been some legislation respecting traveling by rail and the protection of passengers, and the modes of remedy or compensation in case of injury or loss of life. Imperial military railways are also in the process of construction between Berlin and the French frontier. But the great power conferred by the eighth clause to acquire the roads within the empire, and to work them for its benefit, is still in abeyance.

9. The several subjects referred to in clause nine would seem to belong exclusively to imperial legislation, since, in the absence of a common legislature, they would naturally form the subject of international agreement.

10. The rates of postage and of telegrams are uniform throughout the empire, except that Bavaria and Würtemberg can each within its own limits fix the rates of internal postage. With the exception of these two states, the office is managed and the revenue collected by the postmaster-general. This office is an exception to the general rule of local state administration under imperial law.

11 and 12. Laws have been enacted for the enforcement of foreign judgments. Some provisions have also been made by regulation for the extradition of criminals. As between the different states of Germany, the matters referred to in clauses 11 and 12 are mainly regulated by internal arrangements between the respective states. With foreign states they are, in most cases, regulated by treaties.

13. The thirteenth is a sweeping clause—far more sweeping than the similar provisions in the Constitution of the United States. It authorizes the Reichstag to legislate for Germany respecting (1) the whole civil law, (2) criminal law, and (3) judicial proceedings. The first power embraces much that has already been referred to in the first subdivision in this dispatch; the second authorizes the legislature to unify the classification of offenses and their punishment throughout the empire; and the third conveys a like authority with respect to judicial proceedings of every kind.

With reference to the civil law, I have already referred to the finished codifications of commercial law. Other codes are still in course of preparation. A commission has been charged with the framing of a bill, which, as to real estate, is intended at no distant day to assimilate throughout Germany the laws concerning the tenure and transmission of that species of property. It is also contemplated to enact general provisions respecting the acquisition and distribution of personal property, so that property-holders throughout the empire will come to look upon the federal authority as the guardian of their possessions. Thus, in these important matters, unity of law and of system is already established in a large degree throughout Germany, and active measures are in progress for completing that unity.

The power to establish a uniform system of criminal legislation for the empire has been exercised. The “Strafgesetz,” like several other laws, was in fact worked up by the legislature of the North German Union, and their work was adopted by the empire. The original law has, however, been much amended. My Nos. 258, 274, and 280 refer to an extensive amendment which was made to the law about a year ago.

With this brief sketch of the legislation as to other powers conferred by paragraph 13, we come to consider the laws for the administration of justice. The present system of courts includes a system of commercial courts (Handelsgericht), and there exists at Leipzig a supreme court of this class (Oberhandelsgericht) for the empire. These courts are to be absorbed in the new courts when the new system comes in force, which is not to be later than October 1, 1879. The “Reichsjustizgesetze” include four statutes, which provide a uniform system of proceedings throughout the empire. The “Strafprozessordnung” gives a uniform system of proceedings for the punishment of crimes; the “Civilprozessordnung” a uniform system of proceedings in civil matters; and the “Konkursordnung” a uniform system of bankruptcy. The “Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz” strikes at the root of the conflicting systems of jurisprudence, and establishes throughout Germany a new system, based upon the Hanoverian.

The present mode of administering law throughout Germany is, with some exceptions which I shall notice, not very different in the different states. To explain its practical operations, I will endeavor to describe the Prussian system of administering justice which the new law displaces. It is, in most respects, unlike our own, and unlike the English system on which ours was originally framed. It also bears little resemblance to the French reflex of Roman law, which has been the model of many modifications in our original system.

When I speak of the Prussian system, I mean the one which prevails in most of what is known as Prussia. The modern Prussia is largely a creation by conquest, and there are parts of the kingdom in which the legal systems of the parent monarchy have never taken root. The laws and forms of Prussia proper obtain in the two Prussias, in Brandenburg, in Pomerania, in Posen, in Silesia, in the most of Westphalia, in a part of the Rhine country, and in the two Hohenzollerns. These are the laws and forms to which I refer as Prussian.

The courts in these provinces of Prussia are distinguished from our own courts, and from the courts of most other countries, in three ways:

1st. The bar is not an open bar, accessible to all who acquire the requisite learning and possess the proper moral qualities. On the contrary, it is a small and closely restricted body, much less in number than the court before which it practices. Within the Prussian territory where the system prevails, there are 3,158 judges and 1,106 lawyers.

2d. The bench is not fed from the bar. This would seem to follow from the figures which I have given. Each is a distinct career. Young men enter the one or the other at the commencement of their business lives, and are seldom transferred from one to the other. Official transfers are practically made more often from the bench to the bar than the reverse. This is because both positions are under government control, and the bar is much the more profitable of the two. As an offset to this the judge has a good social position, but the lawyer has no recognized social position among the ruling classes.

3d. The judges are paid in two ways: first, by a small and quite inadequate salary; and, second, by gratuities, which are given by the minister of justice of the day, in order to enable them to meet extraordinary expenses which they may have been obliged to incur personally, or in their families. The amount of the first is graded to the necessities of the cheapest man. The second is intended to equalize the condition of judges by enabling the man who incurs unusually heavy expenses by reason of a large family, or other meritorious cause, to meet them and to enjoy the same freedom as his colleague who does not incur such expenses. To the first sum the judge has a right in every contingency; for the second, he is dependent upon the good-will of the political minister of the day.

The course of preparation for the future judge and the future attorney in these Prussian states is identical. To fit himself for either place the candidate must attend a course of lectures as a student of law in the university, and in order to do that, he must first have graduated at a “gymnasium.” The gymnasium is a public school of the highest character maintained under general and obligatory provisions of law, and superior to many and equal to most American colleges. It takes the pupil at an age when he is fitted to enter on the classics, and it provides for him a systematic course of instruction in classics, history, and the natural sciences. If the pupil passes the rigid examination at its close, he may be fairly regarded as a Bachelor of Arts in the fittest sense of the term.

The student of law attends the university lectures for three years. He then submits himself to an examination, in order to determine whether he is qualified to act as an assistant to the courts, and if he passes the examination he receives an appointment as referendarius. This entitles him to commence practice, but not yet as an attorney. He can only act as an assistant to the courts, or as a clerk in an attorney’s office. He spends four years in this capacity before he is entitled to present himself for the second examination. This passed, he may be called to the bar or the bench. He then inscribes his name on the list of candidates for the career which he may elect, whether as a judge or as an attorney, and he awaits in patience an appointment to the desired place by the minister of justice. He will probably have to wait years for it; but, meanwhile, if he is to be called to the bar he will act as an assistant in the offices of other attorneys, or of the public prosecutors; or, if he is to sit upon the bench, he will serve an apprenticeship as an assistant in the courts. Until he is appointed to a vacancy at the bar he cannot appear in court. When once appointed he takes the title of Eeehtsanwalt, and becomes both barrister and attorney.

If he is made a judge he is first appointed to the lowest court, called, in cities of 50,000 inhabitants, the Stadtgericht, and elsewhere the Kreisgericht. Here he must serve at least four years, when he will be qualified to be promoted to the court of appeals, of which there are twenty-one in those portions of Prussia. The supreme court of Prussia is the highest judicial post. It consists of a president, five vice-presidents, and sixty-two judges, and has no original jurisdiction. To this post a judge can aspire when he has served four years either as a member of a court of appeals, or as a director in a Stadt or Kreisgerieht.

The system which thus obtains in the most of Prussia also prevails, with more or less modifications, in Saxony, Bavaria, and Baden. Würtemberg has an antique system of its own, unlike anything else in Germany. In some parts of the Rhine provinces the forms which were assumed at the time of their connection with France are still preserved. We are now in a position to appreciate the features of the system which the new code is to extend over Germany.

And first, no provision is made respecting the qualifications and mode of appointment of attorneys. For the present this remains a subject of state legislation. The Reichstag could not agree upon a system. The law-reformers, headed by Professor Gneist, wished to follow the example of England and America in an open bar; but the combined influence of the several ministers of justice of the individual states, who were averse to surrender valuable patronage, and of some lawyers in the house, who did not wish to open their close body to competition (although it would be very unjust to make this imputation against them as a class), was too much for the reformers. The subject, however, is not abandoned. The Reichsjustizant is preparing a bill, which will probably be introduced at the next session of the Reichstag. It is understood to be based upon the principle of freedom of the bar,^* with the exception of the Reichsgericht.

The bench, however, throughout Germany, is to be recast in the iron mold of the imperial Justizgesetz. In each state there are to be hereafter Amtsgerichte, Landesgerichte, and Oberlandesgerichte, whose grade ascends in the order thus stated, and whose functions and powers, defined and regulated by imperial law, are to be uniform in all the states. Each state in which there is more than one Oberlandesgericht, with the exception of Saxony (that is, Prussia, Bavaria, Würtemberg, and Baden), can have a supreme court. Saxony does not have this privilege, because the seat of the imperial Reichsgericht is at Leipsig. I am told that Prussia also intends to do away with its supreme court. An imperial supreme court (Reichsgericht) is established, which is to be superior to all these courts on all questions which are properly referable to it. It is also to act as a general appellate court for the states which have no supreme court; and for the great states which have supreme courts it is an appellate court in causes involving imperial rights or the construction of imperial laws, and for judgments in criminal proceedings. The judges of the state courts are to be appointed by state authority; those of the Reichsgericht by the Emperor, on the nomination of the Bundesrath. In passing the bill it was well considered where the power of this nomination should be placed, and it was thought wisest to reserve a power so essentially federal to the body representing the several state sovereignties.

The avenue to the bench under the new law resembles that already described. Few departures from it are essential. The attendance in the university preliminary to the first examination is fixed at three years, of which a year and a half may be spent at a non-German university. Before the second examination can be passed three more years must have been spent in actual service in the courts or in an attorney’s office. The original draught of the bill did not contain these provisions, but left each state free to determine for itself the standard of qualification for its own judges. The change was proposed in the Reichstag. It was resisted on the ground that the constitution does not empower the federal legislature to impose such conditions on the individual states, but the opposition was unsuccessful.

When a candidate passes his first examination in one state he may complete his course and pass his second examination in another state, if he wishes, and when once qualified he may be appointed as a judge in any state without reference to local law respecting qualifications. This overrides all conflicting provisions of Prussian law to which I have alluded.

All judges are to be appointed for life, and are to be removed only for cause. They cannot be transferred from one court to another against their will. If their services are dispensed with, without removal, their pay continues. The salary is fixed, with no contingent fees, but they are to receive gratuities, as Prussian judges do. The reformers attempted, but without success, to prevent the giving gratuities. They also tried, with equal want of success, to prevent the bestowal of decorations on judges. The decoration being an ornament much prized by a German, they reasoned that it might be made a means of influence.

The life-tenure of office and other like provisions were resisted by the advocates of states-rights. The Saxon minister of justice said:

The application and execution of imperial law, when the imperial constitution does not make an exceptional provision, belong to the several states and their officials. The latter are responsible only to their own governments, even when they execute imperial laws. The relation between the sovereign state and its official is cut to the root if the duration of their connection is to be regulated by imperial legislation. If the state is to be no longer independent in regulating the personal service of its own officers, if the state official in his relation to the state is to be severed from state law, if the wishes, the expectations, and even the complaints of an official who is dissatisfied are to be directed to a power and watched by a surveillance outside the state, the consequences of such a state of things cannot be foreseen. The first step of the imperial legislature in this direction is a great infringement of the rights of the several states, which, in the opinion of the Saxon Government, they ought not to surrender.

* * * * * * *

I am of the opinion that if the relation between the state and its judicial officers is severed, little more than the name and the glory remain.

To this Professor Gneist (who was one of the commission by whom the bill was prepared) replied:

If our unity in the German Empire is not to permit us to say to-day, as we have said for a thousand years past, that to a properly constituted court belong certain qualifications essential for the guarantee of its independence, then, gentlemen, let us spare ourselves these laws, for without this guarantee all judiciary laws are worthless.

The house concurred with Professor Gneist by a large majority.

It would be presumptuous in me to attempt to point out to a states-man of your experience the far-reaching influence of such legislation. I permit myself only to refer again to the fact that, while the legislation is centralizing, in so far as the courts are created and the functions of its officers are defined by imperial law, those officers are to be appointed and paid by the executives of the individual states.

14. The imperial army and navy.—There are many constitutional provisions on this subject. Every German, of every rank of life, is liable to perform military duty. In time of peace the army is fixed at 1 per centum of the population, as it was in 1867. The expense of the army is defrayed from the federal chest. It is under the command of the Emperor, to whom an oath of allegiance is taken.

The laws passed in accordance with the provisions of the constitution have further provided that every German, on arriving at the age of eighteen years, is deemed to be under military authority, and cannot emigrate without permission. If he has not volunteered to do military duty before the 1st of January next following the completion of his twentieth year, he must then present himself for active service, which lasts three years. Then he is three years in the reserves and five in the landwehr. His name then stands on the landsturm rolls until he is forty three years of age.

These provisions are varied by conventions prior to the constitution. The result of the conventions and of the imperial laws was stated in my No. 440, to which I beg to refer in case statements more detailed than the following are desired.

The entire army of the empire is required to be organized on the Prussian system, and to be maintained up to the Prussian standard. In order to assure this, the highest army officials have the right to test the contingents from the non-Prussian states, and to correct deviations from the Prussian standard.

The contingents from the two Mecklenburgs, Oldenburg, Hamburg, Lippe, Lübeek, Bremen, Schwarzburg Sonderhausen, Lippe-Schaum-burg, and Waldeck are incorporated in the Prussian contingent, the several sovereigns serving ordinarily as officers in the Prussian army, and reserving to themselves only the right of conferring honorary distinctions. The Thuringian duchies each raises its own contingent, which is registered and numbered in the Prussian army, but remains at home when not actually required for service. When called into imperial service it is officered by the King of Prussia, and is regarded as part of the Prussian army. The grand duchies of Baden and Hesse each maintains an army corps strictly subject to the provisions of the imperial constitution. Practically the King of Prussia, as Emperor, moves Baden officers into Prussia, and vice versa. This cannot be done with Saxony, which enjoys entire freedom in its military organization, subject only to the obligation to pay into the imperial treasury any surplus out of the proportion allowed for its contingent. Every Saxon general is obliged to send a written oath to the Emperor that he will hold his command only in conformity with the Emperor’s orders. The officers of the Würtemberg contingent swear obedience to the Emperor, but their King is not obliged to account to the Emperor for any saving there may be in maintaining his contingent. Bavaria maintains her own army, regulates its rate of expenditure, and retains her own military laws, subject to the obligation to adopt the Prussian system. The military oath of obedience to the Emperor is taken in time of war.

Under the system and regulation which existed during the war with France, 3.87 per centum of the Prussian group of states-—3.13 of that of Bavaria, 2.762 of that of Saxony and 2.356 of that of Würtemberg were called into active service. Since that time imperial legislation has increased the amount of the available force and the facility for mobilizing it, and has placed it under a central will in Berlin.

It seems hardly necessary to say that the small but efficient navy is a thing of imperial creation. It did not practically exist until the possession of Kiel gave a naval station to Prussia. Its expense is defrayed from the imperial budget, and it is under the Emperor, as Emperor, and not as King of Prussia. Prussia, indeed, attempted, in 1849, to have a navy, and decreed upon paper, in 1852, that a naval station should be made at Wilhelmshafen, but little was done on either the navy or the post until 1871.

15. Surveillance of the medical and verterinary professions; and,

16. The press, associations, &c.—I have already had occasion to refer to the laws enacted under these grants of power, and it is unnecessary to say more about them.

This dispatch would be incomplete without a reference to the executive and administrative machinery of the empire. If this machinery is crude, and to some extent undefined in its functions and purposes, and if the incumbents can scarcely yet be said to deserve the name of ministers, these facts can be fully accounted for by the anomalous position of the latter. The King of Prussia is at once King and Emperor. His Prussian ministers still hold their portfolios in Berlin, and some of them are at once Prussian and imperial officers. The Prussian minister is still, as he has ever been, the personal servant of the sovereign, responsible only to him, and having no responsibility to or for the other ministers. It is quite natural that the imperial system should partake of the nature of the parent system upon which it is formed. But though as yet no imperial ministry exists in the common acceptation of that term, there are executive officers charged with important trusts who may, in time, expand into a responsible constitutional ministry. There are the imperial chancery, with its president and its two directors, and the imperial post and telegraph office, and the imperial office of justice, and the sanitary office, and the office for the administration of the invalid funds. In view of the varied legislation above referred to, it will be seen that these offices (or departments, as we should call them) are already charged with plenty of business.

The federal legislation of Germany during the past ten years, first in the Parliament of North Germany and afterward in the Parliament of the empire, by the diligence with which it has been prosecuted, reminds one of the early legislation of the United States. But here the resemblance ceases; for the subjects with which the German legislators have dealt go far wider in extent and far deeper into the social structure than the subjects which occupied the attention of our early Congresses. I think that even the very imperfect and summary review of their work which I have made justifies me in the conviction that the learned and far-seeing statesmen who are patiently building up the structure of German unity are founding an empire which will be able to resist internal shocks and dissensions, whatever may be its fate when it has to face a military attack from without.

I have, &c.,

J. C. BANCROFT DAVIS.

[Inclosure.—Translation.]

CONSTITUTION OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE.

We, William, by the grace of God German Emperor, King of Prussia, &c., do hereby ordain, in the name of the German Empire, with the consent of the Bundesrath (federal council) and the Reichstag (diet), as follows:

§ 1. Instead of the constitution of the Germanic Confederation, adopted by the North German Union and the Grand Duchies of Baden and Hesse (Bundesgesetzblatt for 1870, p. 627 et seq.), and instead of the treaties concluded with the kingdoms of Bavaria and Würtemberg with regard to their adoption of that constitution, said treaties bearing date November 23 and 25, 1870 (Bundesgesetzblatt of the year 1871, p. 9, et seq., and of the year 1870, p. 654, et seq.) the annexed constitution for the German Empire is adopted.

§ 2. The provisions of article 80 of the constitution of the Germanic Confederation mentioned in section 1^* (Bundesgesetzblatt of the year 1870, p. 647); of part III, section 8, of the treaty with Bavaria of November 23, 1870,^† (Bundesgesetzblatt of the year 1871, p. 21, seq.); and of article 2, No. 6, of the treaty with Würtemberg of November 25, 1870.^‡ (Bundesgesetzblatto of the year 1870, p. 656), in relation to the adoption of the laws of the North German Union in those states, remain in force.

The laws therein referred to are laws of the Empire. Where reference is made in them to the North German Union, its constitution, territory, members, or states, citizenship, constitutional organs, citizens, officers, flag, &c., the German Empire and its respective belongings are to be understood.

The case is the same with regard to such laws of the North German Union as shall hereafter be adopted in any of the aforesaid states.

§ 3. The agreements in the protocol adopted at Versailles on the 15th of November, 1870,^§ (Bundesgesetzblatt for 1870, p. 650); in the negotiations at Berlin, November 25, 1870,^¶ (Bundesgesetzblatt for 1870, p. 657); in the final protocol of November 25, 1870,^** (Bundesgesetzblatt for 1871, p.23, seq.); as well as those under IV of the treaty with Bavaria, of November 25, 1870,^†† shall not be affected by the present law.

In witness, &c.

Done, &c.

CONSTITUTION OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE.

His Majesty the King of Prussia, in the name of the North German Union, His Majesty the King of Bavaria, His Majesty the King of Würtemberg, His Royal Highness, the Grand Duke of Baden, and His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine for those parts of the Grand Duchy of Hesse which are situated south of the Main, conclude an eternal Bund (union) for the protection of the territory of the Union, and of the laws of the same, as well as for the promotion of the welfare of the German people.

This union shall bear the name of the German Empire, and shall have the following constitution:

I.—Territory.

Article 1. The territory of the Union shall consist of the states of Prussia, with Lauenburg, Bavaria, Saxony Würtemberg, Baden, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Saxe-Weimar, Meeklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, Brunswick, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Anhalt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sonders-hausen, Waldeck, Reuss of the elder branch, Reuss of the younger branch, Schauniburg-Lippe, Lippe, Lttbeck, Bremen, and Hamburg.

II.—Legislation of the Empire.

Article 2. Within this territory the Empire shall have the right of legislation according to the provisions of this constitution, and the laws of the Empire shall take precedence of those of each individual state. The laws of the Empire Shall be rendered binding by imperial proclamation, such proclamation to be published in a journal devoted to the publication of the laws of the Empire (Reichsgesetzblatt). If no other period shall be designated in the published law for it to take effect, it shall take effect on the fourteenth day after the day of its publication in the law-journal at Berlin.

Article 3. There is one citizenship for all Germany, and the citizens or subjects of each state of the federation shall be treated in every other state thereof as natives, and shall have the right of becoming permanent residents, of carrying on business, of filling public offices, of acquiring real estate and citizenship of the several states, and may acquire all civil rights on the same conditions as those born in the state, and shall also have the same usage as regards civil prosecutions and the protection of the laws.

No German shall be limited, in the exercise of this privilege, by the authorities of his native state or by the authorities of any other state of the Union.

The regulations governing the care of paupers and their admission into the various municipal or communal organizations are not affected by the principle enunciated in the first paragraph.

In like manner those treaties shall remain in force until further provided which have been concluded between the various states of the Union in relation to the reception of persons who are to be banished, the care of sick, and the burial of deceased citizens.

With regard to the rendering of military service to the various states, the necessary imperial laws will be passed hereafter.

All Germans shall have equal claims upon the protection of the Empire against foreign countries.

Article 4. The following matters shall be under the supervision of the Empire and its legislature:

1. Provisions concerning freedom of trade, domicile and residence; the right of citizenship; the issuing and examination of passports; surveillance of foreigners and of trades and occupations, including insurance, so far as these matters are not already provided for by article 3 of this constitution (in Bavaria, however, exclusive of domestic affairs and matters relating to the settlement of natives of one state in the territory of another); and likewise matters relating to colonization and emigration to foreign countries.

2. Legislation concerning customs-duties and commerce, and such imposts as are to be applied to the uses of the Empire.

3. Regulation of weights, measures, and coinage, together with the emission of funded and unfunded paper-money.

4. Banking regulations in general.

5. Patents for inventions.

6. The protection of copyright.

7. The organization of a general system of protection for German trade in foreign countries,for German navigation, and for the German flag on the high seas; likewise the organization of a general consular representation of the Empire.

8. Railway matters (subject in Bavaria to the provisions of article 46), and the construction of means of communication by land and water for the purposes of home defense and of general commerce.

9. Rafting and navigation upon those waters which are common to several states, and the condition of such waters, as likewise river and other water dues; also navigation signals (light-houses, buoys, beacons, and other day-signals).

10. Postal and telegraphic affairs; but in Bavaria and Würtemberg these shall be subject to the provisions of article 52.

11. Regulations concerning the execution of judicial sentences in civil matters, and the fulfillment of requisitions in general.

12. The authentication of public documents.

13. General legislation regarding the entire civil law, criminal law, and judicial proceedings.

14. The Imperial army and navy.

15. The surveillance of the medical and veterinary professions.

16. The press and associations.

Article 5. The legislative power of the Empire shall be exercised by the Bundesrath and the Reichstag. A majority of the votes of both houses shall be necessary and sufficient for the passage of a law.

When a law is proposed in relation to the army or navy, or to the imposts specified in article 35, the vote of the presiding officer shall decide in case of a difference of opinion in the federal council, if said vote shall be in favor of the retention of the existing arrangements.

III.—The Bundesrath.

Article 6. The Bundesrath shall consist of the representatives of the states of the Union, among whom the votes shall be divided in such a manner that Prussia, including the former votes of Hanover, the electorate of Hesse, Holstein, Nassau, and Frankfort, shall have 17 votes; Bavaria, 6 votes; Saxony, 4 votes; Würtemberg, 4 votes; Baden, 3 votes; Hesse, 3 votes; Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 2 votes; Saxe-Weimar, 1 vote; Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 1 vote;. Oldenburg, 1 vote; Brunswick, 2 votes; Saxe-Meiningen, 1 vote; Saxe-Altenburg, 1 vote; Saxe-Coburg-Gotba, 1 vote; Anhalt, 1 vote; Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, 1 vote; Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, 1 vote; Waldeck, 1 vote; Reuss, elder branch, 1 vote; Reuss, younger branch, 1 vote; Schaumburg-Lippe, 1 vote; Lippe, 1 vote; Lübeck, 1 vote; Bremen, 1 vote; Hamburg, 1 vote; total, 58 votes. Each member of the Union shall have a right to appoint as many delegates to the Bundesrath as it has votes; the total of the votes of each state shall, however, only be cast as a unit.

Article 7. The Bundesrath shall take action upon—

1. The measures to be proposed to the Reichstag and the resolutions passed by the same.

2. The general provisions and regulations necessary for the execution of the laws of the Empire, so far as no other provision is made by said laws.

3. The defects which may be discovered in the execution of the laws of the Empire, or of the provisions and regulations heretofore mentioned. Each member of the Union shall have the right to introduce motions, and it shall be the duty of the presiding officer to submit them for deliberation.

Legislative action shall take place by simple majority, with the exceptions of the provisions in articles 5, 37, and 78. Votes not represented or instructed shall not be counted. In the case of a tie the vote of the presiding officer shall decide.

When legislative action is taken upon a subject which, according to the provisions of this constitution, does not affect the whole Empire, the votes of only those states of the Union shall be counted which shall be interested in the matter in question.

Article 8. The Bundesrath shall appoint from its own members permanent committees—

1. On the army and the fortifications.

2. On naval affairs.

3. On duties and taxes.

4. On commerce and trade.

5. On railroads, post-offices, and telegraphs.

6. On the judiciary.

7. On accounts.

In each of these committees there shall be representatives of at least four states of the Union, beside the presiding officer, and each state shall be entitled to only one vote in the same.

In the committee on the army and fortifications Bavaria shall have a permanent seat; the remaining members of it, as well as the members of the committee on naval affairs, shall be appointed by the Emperor; the members of the other committees shall be elected by the Bundesrath. These committees shall be newly formed at each session of the Bundesrath, i. e., each year, when the retiring members shall again be eligible.

Besides, there shall be appointed in the Bundesrath a committee on foreign affairs, over which Bavaria shall preside, to be composed of the plenipotentiaries of the kingdoms of Bavaria, Saxony, and Würtemberg, and of two plenipotentiaries of the other states of the Empire, who shall be elected annually by the Bundesrath. Clerks shall be placed at the disposal of the committees to perform the necessary work appertaining thereto.

Article 9. Each member of the Bundesrath shall have the right to appear in the Reichstag, and shall be heard there at any time when he shall so request, to represent the views of his government, even when the same shall not have been adopted by the majority of the Bundesrath. No one shall be at the same time a member of the Bundesrath and of the Reichstag.

Article 10. The Emperor shall afford the customary diplomatic protection to the members of the Bundesrath.

IV.— The President.

Article 11. The King of Prussia shall be the President of the Union and shall have the title of German Emperor. The Emperor shall represent the Empire among nations, declare war, and conclude peace in the name of the same, enter into alliances and other conventions with foreign countries, accredit ambassadors and receive them. For a declaration of war in the name of the Empire the consent of the Bundesrath shall be required, except in case of an attack upon the territory of the confederation or its coasts.

So far as treaties with foreign countries refer to matters which, according to article 4, are to be regulated by the legislature of the Empire, the consent of the Bundesrath shall be required for their ratification, and the approval of the Reichstag shall be necessary to render them valid.

Article 12. The Emperor shall have the right to convene the Bundesrath and the Reichstag, and to open, adjourn, and close them.

Article 13. The convocation of the Bundesrath and the Reichstag shall take place annually, and the Bundesrath may be called together for the preparation of business without the Reichstag; the latter, however, shall not be convoked without the Bundesrath.

Article 14. The convocation of the Bundesrath shall take place as soon as demanded by one-third of the number of its votes.

Article 15. The chancellor of the Empire, who shall be appointed by the Emperor shall preside in the Bundesrath, and supervise the conduct of its business.

The chancellor of the Empire shall have the right to delegate in writing the power to represent him to any member of the Bundesrath.

Article 16. The necessary bills shall be laid before the Reichstag in the name of the Emperor, in accordance with the resolutions of the Bundesrath, and they shall be presented to the Reichstag by members of the Bundesrath, or by special commissioners appointed by said Bundesrath.

Article 17. To the Emperor shall belong the right to prepare and publish the laws of the Empire and the surveillance of their execution. The laws and regulations of the Empire shall be published in the name of the Emperor, and require for their validity the signature of the chancellor of the Empire, who thereby assumes the responsibility.

Article 18. The Emperor shall appoint the officers of the Empire, require them to take the oath of allegiance, and dismiss them when necessary.

Officials appointed to an office of the Empire from one of the states of the Union shall enjoy the same rights to which they were entitled in their native states by their official position, provided no other legislative provision shall have been made previously to their entrance into the service of the Empire.

Article 19. If states of the Union shall net fulfill their constitutional duties to the Union, proceedings may be instituted against them by execution. This execution shall be ordered by the Bundesrath, and enforced by the Emperor.

V.—The Reichstag.

Article 20. The members of the Reichstag shall be elected by universal suffrage, and by direct secret ballot.

Until the regulation by law reserved by section 5 of the election law of May 31, 1869,^* (Bundesgesetzblatt, 1869, page 145), 48 delegates shall be elected in Bavaria, 17 in Würtemberg, 14 in Baden, 6 in Hesse, south of the river Main, and the total number of delegates shall be 382.

Article 21. Officials shall not require a leave of absence in order to enter the Reichstag. When a member of the Reichstag accepts a salaried office of the Empire, or a salaried office in one of the states of the Union, or accepts any office of the Empire, or of a state, with which a higher rank or salary is connected, he shall forfeit his seat and vote in the Reichstag, but may recover his place in the same by a new election.

Article 22. The proceedings of the Reichstag shall be public. Truthful reports of the proceedings of the public sessions of the Reichstag shall subject those making them to no responsibility.

Article 23. The Reichstag shall have the right to propose laws within the jurisdiction of the Empire, and to refer petitions addressed to it to the Bundesrath or the chancellor of the Empire.

Article 24. Each legislative period of the Reichstag shall last three years. The Reichstag may be dissolved by a resolution of the Bundesrath, with the consent of the Emperor.

Article 25. In the case of a dissolution of the Reichstag, new elections shall take place within a period of sixty days, and the Reichstag shall reassemble within a period of ninety days after dissolution.

Article 26. Unless by consent of the Reichstag, an adjournment of that body shall not exceed the period of thirty days, and shall not be repeated during the same session without such consent.

Article 27. The Reichstag shall examine into the legality of the election of its members and decide thereon. It shall regulate the mode of transacting business and its own discipline by establishing rules therefor, and elect its president, vice-presidents, and secretaries.

Article 28. The Reichstag shall pass laws by absolute majority. To render the passage of laws valid, the presence of the majority of the legal number of members shall be required.

Article 29. The members of the Reichstag shall be the representatives of the entire people, and shall not be subject to orders and instructions.

Article 30. No member of the Reichstag shall at any time suffer legal or disciplinary prosecution on account of his vote, or on account of utterances made while in the performance of his functions, or be held responsible outside of the Reichstag for his actions.

Article 31. Without the consent of the Reichstag, none of its members shall be prosecuted or arrested during the session for any offense committed except when arrested in the act of committing the offense or in the course of the following day. The same rule shall apply in the case of arrests for debt.

At the request of the Reichstag all legal proceedings instituted against one of its members, and likewise imprisonment, shall be suspended during its session.

Article 32. The members of the Reichstag shall not be allowed to draw any salary or be compensated as such.

VI.— Customs and Commerce.

Article 33. Germany shall form a Customs and Commercial Union (Zollverein), having a common frontier for the collection of duties. Such territories as cannot, by reason of their situation, be suitably embraced within the said frontier, shall be excluded. It shall be lawful to introduce all articles of commerce of a state of the Union into any other state of the Union without paying any duty thereon, except so far as such articles are subject to taxation therein.

Article 34. The Hanseatic towns, Bremen and Hamburg, including a district from their own, as the surrounding territory requisite for such purpose, shall remain free posts outside of the common boundary of the Zollverein, until they shall request to be admitted into the said Union.

Article 35. The Empire shall have the exclusive power to legislate concerning everything relating to the customs, the taxation of salt and tobacco manufactured or raised in the territory of the Union, concerning the taxation of manufactured brandy and beer, and of sugar and sirup prepared from beets or other domestic productions. It shall have exclusive power to legislate concerning the mutual protection of taxes upon articles of consumption levied in the several states of the Empire; against defraudation, as well as concerning the measures which are required, in granting exemption from the payment of duties, for the security of the common customs frontier. In Bavaria, Würtemberg, and Baden, the matter of imposing duties on domestic brandy and beer is reserved for the legislature of each country. The states of the Union shall, however, endeavor to bring about uniform legislation regarding the taxation of these articles.

Article 30. The collection and administration of duties and excises on articles of consumption (article 35) is left to each state of the Union within its own territory, so far as this has been done by each state heretofore.

The Emperor shall supervise the legality of the proceeding, by officials of the Empire, whom he shall designate as adjuncts to the customs or excise offices, and boards of directors of the several states, after hearing the committee of the Bundesrath on customs and revenues.

Notices given by these officials as to defects in the execution of the laws of the Empire (article 35) shall be submitted to the Bundesrath for action.

Article 37. In taking action upon the rules and regulations for the execution of the laws of the Empire, (article 35,) the vote of the presiding officer shall decide whenever he shall pronounce for upholding the existing rule or regulation.

Article 38. The amounts accruing from customs and other revenues designated in article 35 of this constitution, so far as they are subject to legislation by the Reichstag, shall go to the treasury of the Empire. This amount is made up of the total receipts from the customs and other revenues, after deducting therefrom—

1. Tax compensations and reductions in conformity with existing laws or regulations.

2. Reimbursements for taxes duly imposed.

3. The costs for collection and administration, viz:

a. In the department of customs, the costs which are required for the protection and collection of customs on the frontiers and in the frontier districts.

b. In the department of the duty on salt, the costs which are used for the pay of the officers charged with collecting and controlling these duties in the salt-mines.

c. In the department of duties on beet-sugar and tobacco, the compensation which is to be allowed, according to the resolutions of the Bundesrath, to the several state governments for the costs Of the administration of these duties.

d. Fifteen per cent, oft He total receipts in the departments of the other duties.

The territories situated outside of the common customs frontier shall contribute to the expenses of the Empire by paying an aversum (a sum of acquittance).

Bavaria, Würtemberg, and Baden shall not share in the revenues from duties on liquors and beer, which go into the treasury of the Empire, nor in the corresponding portion of the aforesaid aversum.

Article 39. The quarterly statements to be regularly made by the revenue officers of the several states at the end of every quarter, and the final settlements (to be made at the end of the year, and after the closing of the account-books) of the receipts from customs, which have become due in the course of the quarter, or during the fiscal year, and the revenues of the treasury of the Empire, according to article 38, shall be arranged by the boards of directors of the several states, after a previous examination in general summaries, in which every duty is to be shown separately. These summaries shall be transmitted to the committee on accounts of the Bundesrath. The latter provisionally fixes, every three months, taking as a basis these summaries, the amount due to the treasury of the Empire from the treasury of each state, and it shall inform the Bundesrath and the several states of this act; furthermore, it shall submit to the Bundesrath, annually, the final statement of these amounts, with its remarks. The Bundesrath shall act upon the fixing of these amounts.

Article 40. The terms of the customs-union (Zollverein) treaty of July 8, 1867,^* remain in force, so far as they have not been altered by the provisions of this constitution, and as long as they are not altered in the manner designated in articles 7 and 78.

VII.—Railways.

Article 41. Railways which are considered necessary for the defense of Germany or for purposes of general commerce may be built for the account of the Empire by a law of the Empire, even in opposition to the will of those members of the Union through whose territory the railroads run, without detracting from the rights of the sovereign of that country; or private persons may be charged with their construction and receive rights of expropriation. Every existing railway company is bound to permit new railroad lines to be connected with it at the expense of these latter. All laws granting existing railway companies the right of injunction against the building of parallel or competition lines are hereby abolished throughout the Empire, without detriment to rights already acquired. Such right of injunction can henceforth not be granted in concessions to be given hereafter.

Article 42. The governments of the several states bind themselves, in the interest of general commerce, to have the German railways managed as a uniform net-work, and for this purpose to have the lines hereafter to be built constructed and equipped according to a uniform system.

Article 43. Accordingly, as soon as possible, uniform arrangements as to management shall be made, and especially shall uniform regulations be instituted for the police of the railroads. The Empire shall take care that the administrative officers of the railway lines keep the roads always in such a condition as is required for public security, and that they be equipped with the necessary rolling-stock.

Article 44. Railway companies are bound to establish such passenger-trains of suitable velocity as may be required for ordinary travel, and for the establishment of harmonizing schedules of travel; also, to make provision for such freight-trains as may be necessary for commercial purposes, and to establish offices for the direct forwarding of passenger and freight-trains, to be transferred when necessary from one road to another at the customary remuneration.

Article 45. The Empire shall have control over the tariff of fares. The same shall endeavor to cause—

1. Uniform regulations to be speedily introduced on all German railway lines.

2. The tariff to be reduced and made uniform as far as possible, and particularly to cause a reduction of the tariff for the transport of coal, coke, wood, minerals, stone, salt, crude iron, manure, and similar articles for long distances, as demanded by the interests of agriculture and industry, and to introduce a one-penny tariff as soon as practicable.

Article 46. In case of distress, especially in case of an extraordinary rise in the price of provisions, it shall be the duty of the railway companies to adopt temporarily a low special tariff, to be fixed by the Emperor, on motion of the competent committee of the Bundesrath, for the forwarding of grain, flour, vegetables, and potatoes. This tariff shall, however, not be less than the lowest rate for raw produce existing on the said line.

The foregoing provisions, and those of articles 42 to 45, shall not apply to Bavaria.

The imperial government has, however, the power also with regard to Bavaria, to establish, by way of legislation, uniform rules for the construction and equipment of such railways as may be of importance for the defense of the country.

Article 47. The managers of all railways shall be required to obey, without hesitation, requisitions made by the authorities of the Empire for the use of their roads for the defense of Germany. Particularly shall the military and all material of war be forwarded at uniform reduced rates.

VIII.—Mails and Telegrams.

Article 48. The mails and telegraphs shall be organized and managed as government institutions throughout the German Empire. The legislation of the Empire in regard to postal and telegraphic affairs provided for in article 4, does not extend to those matters whose regulation is left to the managerial arrangement, according to the principles which have controlled the North German administration of mails and telegraphs.

Article 49. The receipts from mails and telegraphs are a joint affair throughout the Empire. The expenses shall be paid from the general receipts. The surplus goes into the treasury of the Empire (Section XII).

Article 50. The Emperor has the supreme supervision of the administration of mails and telegraphs. The authorities appointed by him are in duty bound and authorized to see that uniformity be established and maintained in the organization of the administration and in the transaction of business, as also in regard to the qualifications of employés.

The Emperor shall have the power to make general administrative regulations, and also exclusively to regulate the relations which are to exist between the post and telegraph offices of Germany and those of other countries.

It shall be the duty of all officers of the post-office and telegraph department to obey imperial orders. This obligation shall be included in their oath of office.

The appointment of superior officers (such as directors, counselors, and superintendents), as they shall be required for the administration of the mails and telegraphs, in the various districts, also the appointment of officers of the posts and telegraphs (such as inspectors or comptrollers), acting for the aforesaid authorities in the several districts in the capacity of supervisors, shall be made by the Emperor for the whole territory of the German Empire, and these officers shall take the oath of office to him. The governments of the several states shall be informed in due time, by means of imperial confirmation and official publication of the aforementioned appointments so far as they may relate to their territories. Other officers required by the department of mails and telegraphs, as also all officers to be employed at the various stations, and for technical purposes, and hence officiating at the actual centers of communication, &c., shall be appointed by the respective governments of the states.

Where there is no independent administration of inland mails or telegraphs, the terms of the various treaties are to be enforced.

Article 51. In assigning the surplus of the post-office department to the treasury of the Empire for general purposes (Article 49), the following proceeding is to be observed in consideration of the difference which has heretofore existed in the clear receipts of the post-office departments of the several territories, for the purpose of securing a suitable equalization during the period of transition below-named.

Of the post-office surplus which accumulated in the several mail-districts during the five years from 1861 to 1865, an average yearly surplus shall be computed, and the share which every separate mail-district has had in the surplus resulting therefrom for the whole territory of the Empire shall be fixed upon by a percentage.

In accordance with the proportion thus made, the several states shall be credited on the account of their other contributions to the expenses of the Empire with their quota accruing from the postal surplus in the Empire for a period of eight years subsequent to their entrance into the post-office department of the Empire. At the end of the said eight years this distinction shall cease, and any surplus in the post-office department shall go, without division, into the treasury of the Empire, according to the principle enunciated in article 49.

Of the quota of the post-office department surplus resulting during the aforementioned period of eight years in favor of the Hanseatic towns, one-half shall every year be placed at the disposal of the Emperor, for the purpose of providing for the establishment of uniform postal arrangements in the Hanseatic towns.

Article 52. The stipulations of the foregoing articles 48 to 51 do not apply to Bavaria and Würtemberg. In their stead the following stipulation shall be valid for these two states of the Union:

The Empire alone is authorized to legislate upon the privileges of the post-office and telegraph departments, on the legal position of both institutions toward the public, upon the franking privilege and rates of postage, and upon the establishment of rates for telegraphic correspondence, exclusive, however, of managerial arrangements, and the fixing of tariffs for internal communication within Bavaria and Würtemberg.

In the same manner the Empire shall regulate postal and telegraphic communication with foreign countries, excepting the immediate communication of Bavaria and Würtemberg, with their neighboring states, not belonging to the Empire, in regard to which regulation, the stipulation in article 49 of the postal treaty of November 23, 1867,^* remains in force.

Bavaria and Würtemberg shall not share in the postal and telegraphic receipts which belong to the treasury of the Empire.

IX.—Marine and Navigation.

Article 53. The navy of the Empire is a united one, under the supreme command of the Emperor. The Emperor is charged with its organization and formation, and he shall appoint the officers and officials of the navy, and in his name these and the seamen are to be sworn in. The harbor of Kiel and the harbor of the Jade are imperial war harbors. The expenditure s required for the establishment and maintenance of the navy and the institutions connected therewith shall be defrayed from the treasury of the Empire.

All sea-faring men of the Empire, including machinists and hands employed in shipbuilding, are exempt from service in the army, but obliged to serve in the imperial navy.

The apportionment of men to supply the wants of the navy shall be made according to the actual s a-faring population, and the quota furnished in accordance herewith by each state shall be credited to the army account.

Article 54. The merchant-vessels of all the states of the Union shall form a united commercial marine.

The Empire shall determine the process for ascertaining the tonnage of sea-going vessels, shall regulate the issuing of tonnage-certificates and sea-letters, and shall fix the conditions to which a permit for commanding a sea-going vessel shall be subject.

The merchant-vessels of ail the states of the Union shall be admitted on an equal footing to the harbors and to all natural and artificial water-courses of the several states of the Union, and shall receive the same usage therein.

The duties which shall be collected from sea-going vessels or levied upon their freights, for the use of naval institutions in the harbors, shall not exceed the amount required for the maintenance and ordinary repair of these institutions.

On all natural water-courses duties are only to be levied for the use of special establishments which serve for facilitating commercial intercourse. These duties, as well as the duties for navigating such artificial channels which are property of the state, are not to exceed the amount required for the maintenance and ordinary repair of the institutions and establishments. These rules apply to rafting, so far as it is carried on upon navigable water-courses.

The levying of other or higher duties upon foreign vessels or their freights than those which are paid by the vessels of the several states or their freights does not belong to the various states but to the Empire.

Article 55. The flag of the war and merchant navy shall be black, white, and red.

X.—Consular affairs.

Article 56. The Emperor shall have the supervision of all consular affairs of the German Empire, and he shall appoint consuls, after hearing the committee of the Bundesrath on commerce and traffic.

No new state consulates are to be established within the jurisdiction of the German consuls. German consuls shall perform the functions of state consuls for the states of the Union not represented in their district. All the now existing state consulates shall be abolished, as soon as the organization of the German consulates shall be completed, in such a manner that the representation of the separate interests of all the states of the Union shall be recognized by the Bundesrath as secured by the German consulates.

XI.—Military affairs of the Empire.

Article 57. Every German is subject to military duty, and in the discharge of this duty no substitute can be accepted.

Article 58. The costs and the burden of all the military affairs of the Empire are to be borne equally by all the several states and their subjects, and no privileges to, or onerous distinctions between, the several states or classes are admissible. Where an equal distribution of the burdens cannot be effected in natura without prejudice to the public welfare, affairs shall be equalized by legislation in accordance with the principles of justice.

Article 59. Every German capable of bearing arms shall serve for seven years in the standing army, ordinarily from the end of his twentieth to the beginning of his twenty-eighth year: the first three years in the army of the field, the last four years in the reserve; during the next five years he shall belong to the Landwehr. In those states of the Union in which, heretofore, a longer term of service than twelve years was required by law the gradual reduction of the required time of service shall take place in such a manner as is compatible with the interests and the war footing of the army of the Empire.

As regards the emigration of men belonging to the reserve, only those provisions shall be in force which apply to the emigration of members of the Landwehr.

Article 60. The strength of the German army in time of peace shall be, until the 31st December, 1871, one per cent, of the population of 1867, and shall be furnished by the several states of the Union in proportion to their population. In future the strength of the army in time of peace shall be fixed by legislation.

Article 61. After the publication of this constitution the entire Prussian military legislation shall be introduced without delay throughout the Empire, as well the statutes themselves as the regulations, instructions, and ordinances issued for their execution, explanation, or completion; thus, in particular, the military penal code of April 3, 1845; the military penal code of procedure of April 3, 1845; the ordinance concerning the courts of honor of July 20, 1843; the regulations with respect to recruiting, time of service, matters relating to the service and subsistence, to the quartering of troops, claims for damages, mobilizing, &c., for times of peace and war. Orders for the attendance of the military upon religious services are, however, excluded. When a uniform organization of the German army shall have been established, a comprehensive military law for the Empire shall be submitted to the Reichstag and the Bundesrath for their action in accordance with the constitution.

Article 62. For the purpose of defraying the expenses of the whole German army, and the institutions connected therewith, the sum of 225 thalers shall be placed at the disposal of the Emperor until the 31st of December, 1871, for each man in the army on the peace footing, according to article 60. (See section XII.)

After the 31st of December, 1871, the payment of these contributions of the several states to the imperial treasury must be continued. The strength of the army in time of peace, which has been temporarily fixed in article 60, shall be taken as a basis for calculating these amounts until it shall be altered by a law of the Empire. The expenditure of this sum for the whole army of the Empire and its establishments, shall be determined by a budget law.

In determining the budget of military expenditures, the lawfully-established organization of the imperial army, in accordance with this constitution, shall be taken as a basis.

Article 63. The total land-force of the Empire shall form one army, which, in war and in peace, shall be under the command of the Emperor. The regiments, &c, throughout the whole German army shall bear continuous numbers. The principal colors and the cut of the garments of the royal Prussian army shall serve as a pattern for the rest of the army. It is left to commanders of contingent forces to choose the external badges, cockades, &c.

It shall be the duty and the right of the Emperor to take care that throughout the German army all divisions be kept full and well equipped, and that unity be established and maintained in regard to organization and formation, equipment and command in the training of the men, as well as in the qualification of the officers. For this purpose the Emperor shall be authorized to satisfy himself at any time of the condition of the several contingents, and to provide remedies for existing defects.

The Emperor shall determine the strength, composition, and division of the contingents of the imperial army, and also the organization of the Landwehr, and he shall have the right to designate garrisons within the territory of the Union, as also to call any portion of the army into active service.

In order to maintain the necessary unity in the care, arming, and equipment of all troops, of the German army, all orders hereafter to be issued for the Prussian army shall be communicated in due form to the commanders of the remaining contingents, for their observance, by the committee on the army and fortifications, provided for in article 8, No. 1.

Article 64. All German troops are bound implicitly to obey the orders of the Emperor. This obligation shall be included in the military oath. The commander-in-chief of a contingent, as well as all officers commanding troops of more than one contingent, and all commanders of fortresses, shall be appointed by the Emperor. The officers appointed by the Emperor shall take the military oath to him. The appointment of generals, or of officers performing the duties of generals in a contingent force, shall be in each case subject to the approval of the Emperor. The Emperor has the right with regard to the transfer of officers, with or without promotion, to positions which are to be filled in the service of the Empire, be it in the Prussian army or in other contingents, to select from the officers of all the contingents of the army of the Empire.

Article 65. The right to build fortresses within the territory of the Empire shall belong to the Emperor, who, according to section XII, shall ask for the appropriation of the necessary means required for that purpose, if not already included in the regular appropriation.

Article 66. If not otherwise stipulated, the princes of the Empire and the senates shall appoint the officers of their respective contingents, subject to the restriction of article 64. They are the chiefs of all the troops belonging to their respective territories, and are entitled to the honors connected therewith. They shall have especially the right to hold inspections at any time, and receive, besides the regular reports and announcements of changes for publication, timely information of all promotions and appointments concerning their respective contingents. They shall also have the right to employ, for police purposes, not only their own troops but all other contingents of the army of the Empire which are stationed in their respective territories.

Article 67. The unexpended portion of the military appropriation shall, under no circumstances, fall to the share of a single government, but at all times to the treasury of the Empire.

Article 68. The Emperor shall have the power, if the public security of the Empire demands it, to declare martial law in any part thereof; until the publication of a law regulating the grounds, the form of announcement, and the effects of such a declaration, the provisions of the Prussian law of June 4, 1851,^* shall be substituted therefor. (Laws of 1851, page 451.)

Addition to section XI.

The provisions contained in this section shall go into effect in Bavaria as provided for in the treaty of alliance of November 23, 1870^† (Bundesgesetzblatt, 1871, page 99, under III, section 5); in Würtemberg, as provided for in the military convention of November 21–25, 1870,^‡ (Bundesgesetzblatt, 1870, page 658).

XII.—Finances of the Empire.

Article 69. All receipts and expenditures of the Empire shall be estimated yearly, and included in the budget of the Empire. The latter shall be fixed by law before the beginning of the fiscal year, according to the following principles:

Article 70. In primo, the surplus of the previous year, as well as the customs duties, the common excise duties, and the revenues derived from the postal and telegraph service, shall be applied to the defrayal of all general expenditures. In so far as these expenditures are not covered by the receipts, they shall be raised, as long as no taxes of the Empire shall have been established, by assessing the several states of the Empire according to their population, the amount of the assessment to be fixed by the chancellor of the Empire in accordance with the budget agreed upon.

Article 71. The general expenditures shall be, as a rule, granted for one year; they may, however, in special cases be granted for a longer period. During the period of transition fixed in article 60, the financial estimate, properly classified, of the expenditures of the army shall be laid before the Bundesrath and the Reichstag solely for their information.

Article 72. An annual report of the expenditure of all the receipts of the Empire shall be rendered to the Bundesrath and the Reichstag, for the purpose of discharge, through the chancellor of the Empire.

Article 73. In cases of extraordinary requirements, the Empire may contract a loan or assume a guarantee by means of legislative enactment.

Addition to section XII.

Articles 69 and 71 apply to the expenditures for the Bavarian army only, according to the provisions of the addition to section XI of the treaty of November 23,1870; and article 72 only so far as is required to inform the Bundesrath and the Reichstag of the assignment to Bavaria of the required sum for the Bavarian army.

XIII.—Settlement of disputes and modes of punishment.

Article 74. Every attempt against the existence, the integrity, the security, or the constitution of the German Empire; finally, any offense committed against the Bundesrath, the Reichstag, a member of the Bundesrath or of the Reichstag, a magistrate or public official of the Empire, while in the execution of his duty or with reference to his official position, by word, writing, printing, signs, or caricatures, shall be judicially investigated, and, upon conviction, punished in the several states of the Empire according to the laws therein existing, or which shall hereafter exist in the same, according to which laws a similar offense against any one of the states of the Empire, its constitution, legislature, members of its legislature, authorities or officials is to be judged.

Article 75. For those offenses, specified in article 74, against the German Empire, which, if committed against one of the states thereof, would be deemed high treason, the superior court of appeals of the three free Hanseatic towns at Lübeck shall be the competent deciding tribunal in the first and last resort. More definite provisions as to the competency and the proceedings of the superior court of appeals shall be adopted by the legislature of the Empire. Until the passage of an imperial law the existing competency of the courts in the respective states of the Empire, and the provisions relative to the proceedings of those courts, shall remain in force.

Article 76. Disputes between the different states of the Union, so far as they are not of a private nature, and, therefore, to be decided by the competent courts, shall be settled by the Bundesrath at the request of one of the parties. Disputes relating to constitutional matters in those of the states of the Union whose constitution contains no provision for the settlement of such differences shall be adjusted by the Bundesrath at the request of one of the parties, or, if this cannot be done, they shall be settled by the legislative power of the Empire.

Article 77. If in one of the states of the Union justice shall be denied, and no sufficient relief can be procured by legal measures, it shall be the duty of the Bundesrath to receive substantiated complaints concerning denial or restriction of justice, which are to be judged according to the constitution and the existing laws of the respective states of the Union, and thereupon to obtain judicial relief from the government of the Union in the matter which shall have given rise to the complaint.

XIV.—General provisions.

Amendments to the constitution shall be made by legislative enactment. They shall be considered as rejected when fourteen votes are cast against them in the Bundesrath. The provisions of the constitution of the Empire by which fixed rights of individual states of the Union are established in their relation to the whole, shall only be altered with the consent of that state which is immediately concerned.

Appendix No. 1.

Article 80 of the constitution of the German Union, as adopted by the North German Union and the Grand Duchies of Baden and of Hesse and by Rhine.

XV.—Transitional provision.

Article 80. The laws enacted in the North German Union, which are hereafter noted, are hereby declared to be laws of the German Union, and as such are to be carried into effect from the specified dates throughout the whole territory of the Union, with the understanding that wherever in these laws of the North German Union the constitution, territory, members, or states, rights of native or naturalized citizens, constitutional organs, dependents, officers, flag, &c., are mentioned, the German Union and its corresponding functions are to be understood,—as follows:

I. —From the day when the present constitution goes into effect:

1. The law concerning passports, of the 12th October, 1867.

2. The law concerning the nationality of merchant-vessels and their right to carry the flag of the Union, of the 25th October, 1867.

3. The law concerning liberty to emigrate without being taxed for so doing, of the 1st November, 1867.

4. The law concerning the organization of the consulates of the Union as well as the rights and duties of the consuls of the Union, of the 8th November, 1867.

5. The law concerning the obligation to military duty, of the 9th November, 1867.

6. The law concerning stipulated rates of interest, of the 14th November, 1837.

7. The law concerning the abolishment of police limitations to the contraction of marriage, of the 4th May, 1868.

8. The law concerning the abolishment of imprisonment for debt, of the 29th May, 1868.

9. The law concerning the granting of pensions and aid for life to officers and higher military officials of the former army of Schleswig-Holstein, as well as to their widows and orphans, of the 14th June, 1868.

10. The law concerning the position of the trades-unions and guilds under private law, of the 4th July, 1868.

11. The law concerning weights and measures for the North German Union, of the 17th August, 1868.

12. The law concerning measures against the cattle-plague, of the 7th April, 1869.

13. The election law for the Reichstag of the North German Union, of the 31st May, 1869.

14. The law concerning the bonds to be given by officials of the Union, of the 2d June, 1869.

15. The law concerning the introduction of the general ordinance of the Nuremberg Supplement respecting promissory-notes, and of the general German trade laws, as laws of the Union, of the 5th June, 1869.

16. The law concerning revenue-stamps on notes and drafts in the North German Union, of the 10th June, 1869.

17. The law concerning the establishment of a supreme court for matters of trade, of the 12th June, 1869.

18. The law concerning attachment of wages for work or service, of the 21st June, 1869.

19. The laws concerning the granting of legal assistance (aid of counsel), of the 21st June, 1869.

20. The law concerning the equality of the religious beliefs, in the relations of citizens to the town and to the state, of the 3d July, 1869.

21. The law concerning the granting of pensions and aid for life to military men of lower rank of the former army of Schleswig-Holstein, as well as to their widows and orphans, of the 3d March, 1870.

22. The law concerning ‘the abolishment of double taxes, of the 13th May, 1870.

23. The law concerning dues on rafting, of the 1st June, 1870.

24. The law concerning the attainment and loss of citizenship of the Union and of the state, of the 1st June, 1870.

25. The law concerning the copyright of literary work, pictures, musical compositions, and dramatical productions, of the 11th June, 1870.

26. The law concerning limited stock companies and ordinary stock companies, of the 11th June, 1870.

27. The law concerning the issue of paper money, of the 16th June, 1870.

28. The law concerning the right of consuls of the Union to solemnize marriages, &c, of the 4th May, 1870.

II. —On and after the 1st January, 1872, without relation to their former operation in the territory of the North German Union:

1. The law concerning the issue of bank-notes, of the 27th March, 1870, except in Hesse, south of the Main.

2. The law concerning the introduction of the penal code for the North German Union, of the 31st May, 1870.

3. The penal code of the North German Union, of the 31st May, 1870; and,

4. The laws concerning the postal ordinances of the North German Union, of the 2d November, 1867; concerning the postal taxes in the territory of the North German Union, of the 4th November, 1867; concerning the introduction of telegraph-stamps, of the 16th May, 1869; and concerning the franking privileges in the territory of the North German Union of the 5th June, 1869.

In Hesse, south of the Main, shall be introduced, as laws of the Union, from the day when this constitution goes into effect:

The law concerning the closing and limiting of public gambling establishments, of the 1st July, 1868;

The law concerning the introduction of telegraph-stamps, of the 16th May, 1869;

The trade regulations of the North German Union, of the 21st June, 1869;

The law concerning the introduction of the penal code for the North German Union, of the 31st May, 1870; and,

The penal code of the North German Union, of the 31st May, 1870.

From the 1st July, 1871, the law concerning the determination of the domicile where aid may be obtained (by paupers), of the 6th June, 1870.

The law concerning the stamp-tax tax on drafts and promissory-notes of the 10th June, 1869, shall be introduced in the Hohenzollern country from the day of the adoption of this constitution.

It belongs to the legislation of the Union to declare what remaining laws enacted by the North German Union shall be laws’ of the German Union, in so far as these laws relate to functions which constitutionally belong to the legislation of the German Union.

Appendix No. 2.

Part III, § 8 of the treaty with Bavaria, concluded at Versailles Nov. 23, 1870.

§ 8.—The transitional provision of the article now numbered 79 of the constitution, which appears under Chap. II, § 26, of this treaty, is applicable to Bavaria Only as regards the electoral law of May 31, 1869, for the Reichstag of the North German Union. This is on account of the time that has elapsed, and the necessity of many changes of other laws and regulations connected with the subject of the legislation of the Union.

As to the rest, the declaration that the laws enacted in the North German Union have become laws of the Union for the Kingdom of Bavaria, so far as these laws refer to matters which, according to the constitution, are subject to the legislation of the German Union, is reserved for the legislature of that Union.

Appendix No. 3.

Art. 2, par. 6 of the treaty with Würtemberg of Nov. 25, 1870.

(6) To article 80 of the constitution.

The introduction of the following-named laws of the North German Union shall take place for Würtemberg, instead of those fixed in article 80, from the following dates:

I. From July 1, 1871: (1) The law of November 14, 1867, concerning interest fixed by agreement. (2) The law of June 12, 1869, concerning the creation of a supreme court of commerce and trade.

II. From January 1, 1872: (1) The law of June 21, 1869, concerning the attachment of wages due for labor or service. (2) The law of June 16, 1870, concerning the issue of paper money.

The introduction of the law of April 7, 1869, concerning measures to be adopted against the cattle-plague as a law of the Union, is reserved for the legislation of the Union as regards Würtemberg. The same is in force with the limitation implied by the above provision Under No. 4, which limitation has reference to the postal and telegraph laws mentioned in article 80, under II, No. 4.

The law of July 1, 1868, concerning the closing and limitation of the public gambling establishments, shall be introduced as a law of the Union in Würtemberg on the day. when the constitution of the Union goes into force.

Appendix No. 4.

Protocol concerning the agreement between the North German Union, Baden, and Hesse, in respect to the establishment of a German Union, and the adoption of the constitution of the Union. Done at Versailles, November 15, 1870.

After His Majesty the King of Prussia, in the name of the North German Union, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Baden, and His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine had agreed to enter into negotiations concerning the establishment of a German Union, and had fully empowered for this purpose the following:

His Majesty the King of Prussia, in the name of the North German Union: the chancellor of the North German Union, president of the cabinet and minister of foreign affairs, Count Otto von Bismarck-Schönhausen; the royal Saxon minister of state for the finances and of foreign affairs, Richard, Baron von Friesen; and the president of the chancery of the Union, the minister of state, Martin Frederick Rudolph Delbruck; His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Baden: the president of the cabinet and minister of state for the interior, Dr. Julius Jolly; and the president of the ministry of the grand ducal house and of foreign affairs, Rudolf von Freydorf;

His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine: the president of the cabinet aud minister of the grand ducal house as well as of foreign affairs and of the interior, actual privy counselor, Baron Reinhard von Dalwigk zu Lichtenfels; and the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, privy counsellor of legation, Karl Hoffman, —

These plenipotentiaries met in Versailles; and after their respective powers had been read and recognized, agreed on the subjoined constitution of the German Union. They further agree that this constitution, together with restrictions hereinafter to be mentioned, shall go into force on the 1st January, 1871, and give mutual assurance that they shall immediately be laid before the legislative bodies of the North German Union, of Baden, and of Hesse, for their acceptance, and afterward shall be ratified during the course of the month of December. The exchange of ratifications shall take place in Berlin.

In consideration of the great difficulties interposed by the advanced period of the year and the duration of the war, together with the fact that in several states the expenditure for the military of the German Union for the year 1871 has already been fixed, it is agreed that the community of expenditure for the army shall begin with the 1st January, 1872. Up to that time, therefore, the amount of the common taxes mentioned in article 35 shall not be paid over to the treasury of the Union, but to the treasuries of Baden and Hesse, to the latter with respect to the share due to South Hesse; and the shares of these states due to the treasury of the Union shall be collected by “matriculation-dues,” (Matrikularbeiträge) the fixing of which shall be the duty of the Imperial Reichstag which is to meet next year.

The regulations of articles 49–52 of the constitution of the Union shall go into effect for Baden on the 1st January, 1872, so that time may be granted for the regulation and transfer by the state commission of the posts and telegraphs to the Union commission.

For the rest also the following declarations, made in the course of the discussion, were set down in the present protocol:

It was agreed—

1. With reference to article 18 of the constitution, that in the rights belonging to an official in the sense of the second section of this article, those rights are not included which belong to his surviving family as regards pensions or assistance.

2. With reference to articles 35 and 38 of the constitution, that the transitory duties to be raised in the future, in accordance with the Zolverein treaties, on brandy and beer, are to be viewed in the same light as those imposed on the manufacture of these beverages.

3. With reference to article 38 of the constitution, that while the present taxation of beer continues in Hesse, only that portion of the Hesse beer-tax which corresponds to the amount of the North German brewing malt-tax shall flow into the treasury of the Union.

4. With reference to Section VIII of the constitution, that the treaties by which the relations of postal and telegraphic affairs in Hesse toward the North German Union are governed are not changed by the constitution of the Union. In particular matters remain unchanged as regards payments for damage to public roads, as well as for damage to bridges and thoroughfares and other means of communication; further, with regard to compensation for the use of state and private railroads, and with regard to the right of free transmission of matter in South Hesse, as at present established, until the end of the year 1875. From January 1, 1876, the payments of tolls on turnpike-roads cease. What the status is to be as regards compensation for conveying the mails on railroads, as well as with regard to the South Hesse privileges of free transmission subsequent to January, 1, 1876, is to be the subject of later agreement. The indemnification for tolls on roads, bridges, and other ways of communication will also be paid to the grand ducal Hesse government after January 1, 1876; the latter undertakes, however, in future, to compensate those to whom compensation is due in the same manner as heretofore.

5. With reference to article 52 of the constitution, the Baden representative remarked that the financial result of the management of the posts and telegraphs of the Union, as it had heretofore turned out and as estimated by the Union budget for 1871, gave no v assurance, notwithstanding the provision of article 52, that the portion of the revenues accruing to Baden from these sources would even approximately reach the revenue which it at present derives from its own management, amounting to the average sum of 130,000 reichsthalers. They therefore considered it proper that Baden should be protected by a particular agreement from a deficit that would so sensibly affect its revenues.

Although on the part of others this anxiety of the Baden Government could not be pronounced as well founded, it was yet agreed that if in the course of the transition period the portion ascertained to be the portion of Baden according to a per cent calculation of the post surpluses accruing in the Union in one year should not reach the sum of 100,000 reichs thalers, the sum wanting to this amount should he credited to Baden against its matricular dues. Such an accounting shall, however, not be held in a year during which warlike events take place in which the Union takes part.

6. With reference to article 56 of the constitution, the representatives of the North German Union, upon being questioned by the Baden representative, remarked that the President of the Union had already, after hearing the proper committee of the Bundesrath, established Union consulates, even when such establishment at a particular place was in the interest of only one of the states of the Union. In this connection, they also stated that the same course would be pursued in future.

7. With reference to article 62 of the constitution, it was agreed that the payment under this article by Baden of its contributions should begin with the first day of that month which followed the return of the Baden troops from a war to a peace footing.

8. With reference to article 78 of the constitution, it was pronounced on all sides to be a matter of course that those provisions of the constitution by which certain rights of particular states of the Union in their relations to the whole are established could only be altered with the consent of the state concerned.

9. With reference to article 80 of the constitution, the representatives were a unit in the matter of the law concerning the establishment of a supreme tribunal for commercial affairs, of July 12 of the previous year, as regards the point that a proper augmentation should be made to the number of the members of this tribunal by a supplement to the estimate for the same for 1871.

It was further generally understood that, among the laws made in the North German Union, concerning which it is reserved to the German Union to declare them to be laws of the German Union, the law of July 21 of the current year, concerning the extraordinary demand for money on the part of the military and marine management, was not one; and also that the law of May 31, of the current year, concerning the St. Gotthard Railway, would not be declared a law of the German Union, without a change being made in its provisions.

This protocol has been read, approved, and executed by the representatives named herein in a single copy, which is to be deposited in the archives of the chancery of the Union at Berlin.

v. BISMARCK

. [l. s.]

JOLLY

. [l. s.]

v. DALWIGK

. [l. s.]

v. FRIESEN

. [l. s.]

v. FREYDORF

. [l. s.]

HOFMANN

. [l. s.]

DELBRÜCK

. [l. s.]

The exchange of ratifications took place in Berlin.

Appendix No. 5.

Agreement for the accession of Würtemberg to the constitution of the German Empire.

(Negotiated at Berlin November 25, 1870.)

In signing the treaty concluded this day, concerning the accession of Würtemberg to the constitution of the German Union, adopted by the North German Union, Baden, and Hesse, the undersigned plenipotentiaries have agreed upon the following points:

1. The agreements made in the protocol dated Versailles, November 15,1870, between the plenipotentiaries of the North German Union, Baden, and Hesse, and the declarations made by the plenipotentiaries of the North German Union—

(a) With regard to the time when the constitution is to go into operation;

(b) With regard to the time when the cost of maintaining the army of the country-shall be shared in common;

(c) To article 18 of the constitution;

(d) To articles 35 and 38 of the constitution;

(e) To article 56 of the constitution;

(f) To article 62 of the constitution;

(g) To article 78 of the constitution; and

(h) To article 80 of the constitution,

Are also applicable to Würtemberg.

2. To article 45 of the constitution, it was agreed that upon the railways of Würtemberg, in matters of construction, business, and trade, not all the articles of transport mentioned in this article can be raised to the one-penny rate.

3. As to article 2, No. 4, of this day’s treaty, the understanding was reached that the extension of the provisions concerning postal privileges to the internal trade of shall depend upon the consent of Würtemberg, so far as these provisions give the mails privileges which do not belong to them in Würtemberg according to existing legislation.

Read, approved, and signed.

• v. FRIESEN.
• HOFMANN.
• DELBRÜCK.
• v. FREYDORF.
• MIT TNACHT.
• TÜRCKHEIM.
• v. SUCKOW.

Appendix No. 6.

Concluding protocol to the treaty concerning the accession of Bavaria to the constitution of the German Union. Done at Versailles, Nov. 23, 1870.

When the treaty concerning the conclusion of a constitutional alliance between His Majesty the King of Prussia, in the name Of the North German Union, and His Majesty the King of Bavaria was subscribed, the undersigned plenipotentiaries agreed further concerning the following conventional additions and explanations:

I.

At the suggestion of the royal Bavarian plenipotentiary, it was agreed by the royal Prussian plenipotentiary that, inasmuch as the legislative power of the Union concerning domicile and settlement is not extended to Bavaria, the legislature of the Union has no power to regulate matters connected with marriage with binding force for Bavaria, and that, consequently, the law of 4th May, 1868, promulgated for the North German Union, concerning police limitations to the contraction of marriage, does not belong to those which could come into operation in Bavaria.

II.

It was agreed by the royal Prussian plenipotentiary that the power of the Union to legislate concerning state citizenship should be understood as comprising the power to regulate citizenship of both the Union and the state and to carry out the principle of the political equality of all religious confessions; and that this legislative power shall not extend to the question under what conditions any person should be allowed the exercise of political rights in any single state.

III.

The undersigned plenipotentiaries agree that, considering the exception to the legislative power of the Union, made under section 1, the Gotha treaty of the 15th July, 1851, concerning mutual reception of banished and homeless persons, as well as the so-called Eisenach convention of the 11th July, 1853, concerning the care of sick and the burying of dead subjects, shall continue in force in so far as affects the relation of Bavaria to the other countries of the Union.

It was determined upon as a conventional regulation, considering the peculiar relations of the insurance of real estate, and of the close connection of the same with the mortgage-system, that if the legislation of the Union should busy itself with the insurance of real estate, the regulations determined upon by the Union can only be carried in to effect in Bavaria with the agreement of the Bavarian Government.

V.

The royal Prussian plenipotentiary gave the assurance that in the preparation of a draught for a general German civil code, Bavaria shall be properly represented.

VI.

It was consented to by the royal Prussian plenipotentiary as an undisputed fact that, as concerns the matters referred to the Union for legislation, the laws and regulations which now have force in the respective states shall remain in operation until the Union shall have settled upon binding rules.

VII.

The royal Prussian plenipotentiary explained that His Majesty the King of Prussia, by reason of the presiding powers vested in him, the King of Bavaria agreeing thereto, will grant powers to the royal Bavarian envoys to the courts to which they are accredited, to take the place of the envoys of the Union in cases where the latter are prevented from attending to their duties. The royal Bavarian plenipotentiary, while accepting this explanation, added that the Bavarian envoys would be instructed to lend their aid to the envoys of the Union in all cases where it would tend to further the general interests of Germany.

VIII.

In consideration of the services rendered by the Bavarian Government in putting its legations at the disposition of the Union, as mentioned in § VII, and in consideration of the circumstance that in those places where Bavarian legations exist the representation of Bavarian interests is not a part of the duty of the envoys of the Union, the Union undertakes that, in fixing the expenses for the diplomatic service, a proper allowance shall be made to Bavaria. The extent of this allowance remains for the present unfixed.

IX.

The royal Prussian plenipotentiary acknowledged it as a right of the Bavarian Government that, in case Prussia should be prevented therefrom, its representative should preside in the Bundesrath.

X.

It was agreed with reference to articles 35 and 38 of the constitution of the Union that the tratosition-taxes further to be levied according to the regulations of the Zollverein treaties on brandy and beer should be regarded in the same light as the taxes levied on the manufacture of these drinks.

XI.

It was agreed that at the ratification of postal and telegraphic treaties with states outside of the German Union for the guarding of the interests of particular states, representatives of the states of the Union bordering on the foreign countries should be consulted, and that it is permitted to the single states of the Union to make treaties with other countries concerning postal and telegraphic affairs in so far as they relate entirely to traffic on their own borders.

XII.

It was agreed with reference to article 56 of the constitution of the Union that each state of the Union has the right to receive foreign consuls, and to grant them exequaturs for its territory.

The assurance was further given that consuls would be appointed by the Union in those cases where the interests of but a single state seemed to require it.

XIII.

It was further agreed that the law of the 21st July of this year, concerning the extraordinary demand for money for the army and navy departments, does not belong to those laws of the North German Union, the declaration of which to be laws of the German Union is left to the legislation of the Union; and that the law of the 31st. May of this year, concerning the St. Gotthard Railway, could not, without a change in its contents, be declared a law of the Union.

XIV.

In consideration of the provisions concerning the army and having especial reference to the fortications, contained in Part III, § 5, (of the Bavarian treaty), it was further agreed as follows:

1. Bavaria is to receive, in perfect condition, the fortresses Ingolstadt and Germersheim, as well as the fortress of New Ulm, and those which are in the future to be erected at the common cost on Bavarian territory.

2. Such newly-built fortresses become, as regards their immovable effects, the exclusive property of Bavaria. Their movable effects, however, are the common property of the Union, As concerns the latter, the agreement of the 6th July, 1869, remains for the present in force, and it is also binding as regards the movable effects of the former Union fortresses of Mayence, Rastatt, and Ulm.

3. The fortress of Landau shall be razed immediately at the close of the present war. The equipments of this place, in so far as they are common property, shall be disposed of according to the principles upon which the agreement of the 6th July, 1869, rest.

4. Those matters of the Bavarian war regulations which are not mentioned in the treaty of to-day, or in this protocol, to wit, the nomenclature of the regiments, the uniforming, garrisoning, educating of soldiers, &c, are not affected thereby.

The right of the Bavarian officers to participate in the advantages of institutions for the higher military or technical education of officers is to remain as a subject for special consideration.

XV.

If, in consequence of the lack of proper material, an error shall have arisen in the establishment of the literal sense of the constitution of the Union, Part I, articles 1 to 26, the contracting parties reserve to themselves the right of correcting them.

XVI.

The declarations of this concluding protocol are binding in the same degree as thorn of the treaty of to-day concerning the conclusion of a conventional alliance, and shall be ratified together with the same.

Done at Versailles, 23d November, 1870.

v. BISMARCK

. [l. s]

BRAY STEINBURG

. [l. s.]

Frh. v. PRANKH

.

v. LUTZ

. [l. s.]

Appendix No. 7.

Part IV of the treaty with Bavaria, concluded at Versailles Nov. 23, 1870.

Since, in view of the great difficulties which the lapse of time and the continuance of the war place in the way of preparing a budget for this year for the military expenses of the German Union for the year 1871, and also in the way of determining the amounts to be expended by Bavaria on its army, the provisions under III, § 5, of this treaty, do not take effect until January 1,1872, the amount yielded by the general taxes for the year 1871, referred to in article 35, will not go into the treasury of the Union, but remain in that of Bavaria, but Bavaria’s share of the expenses of the Union shall be raised by taxes collected for that purpose.

Appendix No. 8.

The electoral law for the Reichstag (Diet) of the North German Union, enacted May 31, 1869.

We, Wilhelm, by the grace of God King of Prussia, &c., with the consent of the Bundesrath and the Reichstag, ordain as follows, in the name of the North German Union:

§ 1.

Every North German who has attained the age of twenty-five years is an elector for the Reichstag of the North German Union m that state of the Union where he resides,

§ 2.

Soldiers of the army and navy are not entitled to vote during their term of service.

§ 3.

The following parties are excluded from the privilege of voting:

1. Persons who have been put under guardianship or curatorship (kuratel).

2. Persons against whom proceedings in court are had as bankrupts, viz, during the time of such proceedings.

3. Persons who are receiving support as paupers or have received such support in the year last preceding the election.

4. Persons who by a judicial decree have been deprived of the full enjoyment of their civil rights, until such time as they are reinstated in those rights. If they have been deprived of the full enjoyment of their civil rights in consequence of political misdemeanors or crimes, they shall be reinstated in their right to vote as soon as they have been pardoned or served out their time of punishment.

§ 4.

Every North German who has attained the age of twenty-five years, and has been a subject of a state of the Union for at least one year, is eligible within the whole territory of the Union as a deputy, provided he be not deprived of the privilege of voting by the regulations of § 3.

§ 5.

In every state of the Union one deputy shall be elected for about every 100,000 souls, according to the census returns which served as a basis for the elections to the Reichstag which framed the constitution. A surplus of at least 50,000 souls of the total population of a state of the union shall be counted as equal to 100,000 souls. In that state of the union whose population is less than 100,000 souls one deputy shall be elected. Hence it follows that the number of deputies is 297, and that Prussia is entitled to 235, Saxony to 23, Hesse 3, Mecklenburg-Schwerin 6, Saxe-Weimar 3, Mecklenburg-Strelitz 1, Oldenburg 3, Brunswick 3, Saxe-Meiningen 2, Saxe-Altenburg 1, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha 2, Anhalt 2, Schwarzbnrg-Rudolstadt 1, Schwarzburg-Sonders-hausen 1, Waldeck 1, Reuss, elder line 1, Reuss, younger line 1, Schaumburg-Lippe 1, Lippe 1, Lauenburg”1, Liibeck 1, Bremen 1, Hamburg 3. The law shall provide for an increase of the number of deputies in consequence of increased population.

§ 6.

Every deputy shall be elected in a distinct electoral district. Every such district shall be divided into smaller precincts for the purpose of depositing votes. These latter precincts shall, if possible, be identical with the town communities, unless a subdivision becomes necessary with densely populated town communities.

The electoral districts, as well as the electoral precincts, must have their limits well defined and be rounded off as much as feasible.

A law of the Union shall prescribe the limits of the electoral districts. Until then the present electoral districts are to remain, with the exception of those which at present are not locally limited and rounded off as coterminous districts. These must be formed according to the regulation of the third paragraph for the purpose of the next general elections.

§ 7.

Whoever wishes to vote in an electoral district must reside in the same at the time of the election; the same regulation applies to the case where the community is divided into several electoral districts. No one is permitted to vote in more than one place.

§ 8.

In every district lists are to be prepared, in which the persons entitled to vote shall be recorded, with their Christian name, family name, age, occupation, and residence., These lists are to be open for the inspection of every one at least four weeks before the day of election, and a public announcement of this is to be made, and of the time until which protests will be heard. Protests against the lists are to be addressed to the authority which has made the announcement within eight days after the lists have been opened, and are to be settled within the next fourteen days, when the lists are to be closed. Only those whose names are recorded in the lists shall be entitled to take part in the election.

In the case of occasional new elections which may take place within one year after the last general election there shall be no necessity for the exhibition and presentation of the election-list.

§ 9.

The act of the election, as well as the examination of the result thereof, shall be public.

The offices of chairman, assistant, and secretary acting for the purpose of obtaining returns in the electoral districts shall be honorary posts, without remuneration, and can only be filled by persons who are not in the immediate service of the state.

§ 10.

The right to vote shall be exercised by the voter in person, by depositing a covered ballot, without signature, in the urn. The ballots must be of white paper, and must not be marked in any way.

§ 11.

The ballots must be printed or inscribed, outside of the polling-place, with the name of the candidate.

§ 12.

The election shall be direct. It shall take place by absolute majority of all votes deposited in an electoral district. If an absolute majority does not result, an election shall take place among the two candidates who have received the largest number of votes. In cases where candidates have received an equal number of votes, lots shall be drawn.

§ 13.

The presiding officers of the electoral district only shall decide by a majority of their members as to the validity or non-validity of the ballots, their decision being subject to an examination by the Reichstag.

The invalidated ballots are to be transmitted, together with the minutes of the election, for the purpose of examination by the Reichstag. The chairman of the returning board shall keep those ballots found valid under seal until the Reichstag has finally declared the validity of the election.

§ 14.

The general elections shall take place within the whole territory of the Union on a day determined upon by the President of the Union.

§ 15.

The Bundesrath shall regulate the procedure at the election, in so far as it has not been determined by this present law, by one system of election-rules, which are to be valid for the whole territory of the Union. The same can only be modified with the consent of the Reichstag.

§ 16.

The expenses for the printed blanks of the minutes of the election and for the inquiries into the results of the election in the electoral districts shall be borne by the states of the Union; all the other expenses of the election shall be borne by the communities.

§ 17.

Those entitled to vote shall have the privilege to form associations for the purpose of consulting on matters relative to the Reichstag elections, and to call and attend unarmed public meetings in closed localities.

The clauses of the civil laws in relation to the announcements of the meetings and associations and as to the surveillance of the same remain in force.

§ 18.

The present law shall be put in force at the first new election of the Reichstag fating place after its announcement. At the same period all other election-laws as to the Reichstag shall become null and void.

In witness whereof our own signature and the seal of the Union are hereunto affixed.

Done at Castle Babelsberg, May 31, 1869.

[l. s.]

WILHELM

.

Count v. BISMARCK-SCHÖNHAUSEN.

Appendix No. 9.

Treaty between the North German Union, Bavaria, Würtemberg, Baden, and Hesse, relative to the continuation of the Zollverein and Commercial Union. Concluded at Berlin, July 8. 1867.

His Majesty the King of Prussia in the name of the North German Union, His Majesty the King of Bavaria, His Majesty the King of Würtemberg, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Baden, and His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine for the parts of the Grand Duchy not belonging to the North German Union, with the view to securing the continuance of the German Zollverein and Commercial Union, and to extending the provisions thereof suitable to the present requirements, have caused negotiations to be commenced, and appointed as plenipotentiaries, viz:

His Majesty the King of Prussia: his excellency the Privy Councillor Johaun Friedrich von Pommer Esche; his excellency the Ministerial Director Alexander Max von Philipsborn; and his excellency the Ministerial Director Martin Friedrich Rudolph Delbruck;

And of the other members of the North German Union:

His Majesty the King of Saxony: his excellency the Privy Fiscal Councillor Julius Hans von Thümmel;

His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine: his excellency the Privy Chief Customs Councillor Ludwig Wilhelm Ewald.

The sovereigns participating in the Thüringian Zollverein and Commercial Union besides His Majesty the King of Prussia, viz:

His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimer-Eisenach, His Highness the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, His Highness the Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, His Highness the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, His Serenity the Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, His Serenity the Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, His Serenity the Prince of Reuss, elder line, and His Serenity the Prince of Reuss, younger line: the Grand Ducal Saxon Privy Councillor Gustav Thon;

His Highness the Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg: his Minister Resident at the Royal Prussian Court, Privy Councillor Dr. Friedrich August von Liebe;

His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Oldenburg: his excellency the Minister Resident of the Duke of Brunswick, Privy Councillor Dr. Friedrich August von Liebe;

Furthermore, His Majesty the King of Bavaria: his excellency the Ministerial Councillor Wilhelm Weber and his excellency the Chief Customs Councillor George Ludwig Carl Gerbig;

His Majesty the King of Würtemberg: his excellency the Chamberlain, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Royal Prussian Court, Privy Councillor of Legation, Friedrich Heinrich Carl Baron von Spitzeuiberg; and his excellency the Fiscal Councillor Carl Victor Riecke;

His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Baden: his excellency the Minister of the Treasury and President of the Department of State, Carl Mathy;

His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine for the parts of the Grand Duchy not belonging to the North German Union: his excellency the Privy Chief Customs Councillor Ludwig Wilhelm Ewald;

By which Plenipotentiaries the following treaty has been concluded, subject to ratification:

Article I.

The contracting parties maintain until the last day of December, 1877, the union, entered into for the purpose of establishing a joint system of customs and commerce, and based upon the treaty for the continuance of the Zollverein and Commercial Union of 16th May, 1865.

Until that date the Zollverein treaties of the 22d and 30th March, and 11th May, 1833; of 12th May and 10th December, 1835; of 2d January, 1836; of 8th May, 19th October, and 13th November, 1841; of 4th April, 1853; and of 16th May, 1865, remain in force, together with the separate articles between the contracting parties belonging thereto, in so far as they still remained in force and are not modified by the following articles.

With these restrictions, and subject to the agreement of article 6, the stipulations of the aforesaid treaties are also applied to those states and territories belonging to the North German Union which, as yet, do not participate in the Zollverein and Commercial Union.

Article II.

Those states or territories remain incorporated in the general Zollverein which have joined the customs and commercial systems of the contracting parties, or one of them, with consideration of their particular circumstances, based upon the treaties of adhesion.

Article III.

The following has been agreed upon in regard to the community of legislation and the executive arrangements:

§ 1. Within the territories of the contracting parties there shall be uniform laws on duties of importation and exportation, as well as on transit; but those modifications shall be admissible which result as necessary from the peculiarity of the general legislation of every participating state, or from local interests, without prejudicing the common object. Especially as regards the re venue-tariff concerning certain articles less adapted for general trade, such deviations from the fixed rates of collection, which appear to be especially desirable for separate states, shall not be out of order when they do not injuriously affect the general interests of the Zollverein.

No duties shall be collected on goods in transit, and the arrangements which have been made as to transit-duties in the treaties named in Article I, shall become void.

§ 2. The joint customs-tariff shall be prepared in two principal sections, according to the thirty-thaler standard, and fifty-two and a half florins standard determined by the monetary treaty of 24th January, 1857.

The hundred-weight (quintal of 50 kilograms) existing as the generally accepted measure of the country in all states of the Zollverein, except the kingdom of Bavaria, shall constitute the unity for the joint customs measurement. Therefore, all declarations, weighing, and levying of duties on articles taxed by weight shall exclusively be made according to that scale.

§ 3. Corresponding laws on the taxation of the salt and’ beet-sugar manufactured within the limits of the Zollverein shall govern within the territories of the contracting parties.

The contracting parties have agreed that when the manufacture of sugar or sirup made from other domestic products than beets—for instance, from starch—should become very extensive in the Zollverein, this manufacture also would have to be subjected in all the states thereof to a corresponding taxation according to the principles agreed upon for the taxation of beet-sugar.

§ 4. Tobacco cultivated or manufactured within the limits of the Zollverein shall be subject to a corresponding taxation.

§ 5. Corresponding measures for the protection of the common tariff system against smuggling and against evasion of internal-revenue taxes, shall be instituted in the territories of the contracting parties.

§ 6. The supervision of the duties referred to in sections 1, 3, and 4 hereof, and the organization of the authorities requisite for that purpose, shall be put on an equal footing in all countries of the whole Zollverein, the existing especial conditions being considered.

§ 7. In accordance with the foregoing agreement the contracting parties shall bring into effect—

• The customs-law;
• The customs-regulations;
• The customs-tariff;
• The principles regulating the customs penal law, as such have been agreed upon be-, tween them; and furthermore,
• The agreement for the collection of a duty on salt, of May 8 of this year;
• The agreement for taxing beet-sugar, of 16th May, 1865;
• The customs-treaty, of 11th May, 1833.
• The general duty on importation mentioned in the common laws and regulations is to be understood as a tariff-rate of 15 groschen or 52½ kreuzers.

Article IV.

No import, export, or transit duties shall be levied on the common frontiers of the contracting parties, and all free-circulating articles may be imported from one territory into the other, with the exception of such domestic products on which no common taxes have been imposed within the territory of the contracting parties, in accordance with article V.

There shall be no intermission in the freedom of commerce and exchange of products between the contracting parties even in the event that on extraordinary occurrences, more particularly on the outbreak of a war, one of them should see fit to prohibit, during the continuance of such occurrences, the exportation into foreign countries of certain products or manufactures having free domestic circulation. In such an event, steps shall be taken that all the contracting parties prohibit exports in a like manner. If, however, one or the other of the contracting parties should not find it to its interest to issue such a prohibitory law, that party or those parties which shall find it necessary to issue such a law, shall have authority to extend said law to the territory of the party not joining.

The contracting parties grant to each other authority to take the necessary defensive measures against dangerous contagious diseases of persons and of cattle. In the relation of one country of the Zollverein to another, however, no arrangements more onerous shall be made than, under the same circumstances, would affect the interior commerce of the state which adopts them.

Article V.

The contracting parties shall endeavor to bring about the medium of treaties corresponding legislation as regards the collecting of revenues on products taxed in the interior, partly at the time of their production or preparation, partly at the time of consumption, not subject to the regulations of sections 3 and 4 of article III, Until the time when this object shall have been obtained, the following principles shall be made use of in regard to the aforesaid taxes and to the trade in such amides among the states of the Zollverein for the prevention of such injuries and losses which might result from diversity of their domestic tax systems, and particularly from the inequality of the tax-rates, as well for the producers as for the revenues of the several states of the Zollverein.

I.—Concerning foreign products.

No other duty of any kind, either for account of the state or for account of communes or corporations, shall be levied upon any products upon which more than 15 groschen (52½ kreuzer) import-duties per hundred-weight are imposed, and of which it is proven, according to the manner prescribed in the customs regulations, either that they have undergone the custom-house treatment at a collection office of the Zolverein as foreign importations or transit goods, or are still subject to the same; but, as concerns goods of importation, such inland customs are reserved which in a state of the Zollverein are uniformly imposed upon their further refinement, or upon other manufactures of such products, without distinction of their origin in foreign countries, in separate states, or in the whole territory of the Zollverein.

Among such taxes shall be named, for the present, those on manufactured brandy, beer, and Vinegar, and also the tax on flour and butchered cattle, to which, therefore, foreign cereals, malt, and cattle are subject, in the same manner as those of the interior and of foreign countries.

In those states in which the domestic duties on liquors are ordered in such a way that they are collected on storing the latter, or are charged to the parties liable, the regulation of exempting foreign products from internal duties takes place in such a way that the first storage of taxed foreign liquors, i. e., that which immediately follows upon its direct importation from abroad, on its transportation from public or private warehouses, shall be free from all inland duties. This rule shall apply also to cases where the collection of an internal tax on liquors takes place for account of communities and corporations.

Foreign products which are entered free or not taxed more than 15 groschen (52½ kreuzer) are subject to the following conditions, under No. II:

II.—Concerning products of the several states and of the whole Zollverein.

§ 1. No inland duties shall be collected, either for account of the state or for account of communities or corporations, on articles produced within the Zollverein, which are on transit through a state thereof, to be carried into another state or to foreign countries.

§ 2. It shall be optional with the contracting parties to maintain, to modify, or to remove the domestic duties to which products, at the time of their production, manufacture, or consumption are liable, or to levy new duties of this kind; but such duties shall, for the present, only be levied upon the following productions of the several states and of the whole Zollverein, viz: Upon brandy, beer, vinegar, malt, wine, must, cider (fruit-wine), flour and other products of the mill, also pastry, beef, prepared meats, and lard.

For brandy, beer, and wine the following rates shall be regarded as the utmost limits, to which the said products shall be taxed for account of the state within the Zollverein, viz:

(a) For brandy containing 50 per cent, of alcohol, according to the Tralles scale, 10 thalers per Ohm of 120 Prussian quarts.

(b) For beer, 1 thaler 15 silbergroschen per Ohm of 120 Prussian quarts.

(c) For wine, viz:

(aa) When the duty is collected according to the value of the wine, 1½ thalers per Zollverein-hundredweight (5 thalers per Ohm of 120 quarts, Prussian).

(bb) When the duty is collected without regard to the value of the wine, 25 groschen per Zollverein-hundred weight (2 thalers 23½ groschen per Ohm of 120 Prussian quarts.)

(cc) When the duty is collected according to a classification of the vineyards, no limitation shall be considered necessary.

Certain rates shall also be fixed, as far as necessary, for the other products, subject to a domestic duty, which amount shall not be exceeded in determining the duty.

§ 3. As to all the taxes that are collected in the territory of the states of the Zollverein, according to the requirements of section 2, a mutual uniformity of procedure shall take place, so that the products of another state of the union shall under no consideration be taxed with a higher or more burdensome rate than domestic products (of the taxing State) or the products of other states of the Zollverein. In conformity with this resolution the following was adopted:

(a) States of the Zollverein which do not collect internal revenue from their own domestic products shall also not tax the same products imported from other states of the union.

(b) Where internal revenues are collected according to the value of the merchandise, not only the very same rates of customs shall be indiscriminately used as well on domestic products as on products imported from other states of the Zollverein, but also the domestic product shall not be more favored in estimating its value than that from other states of the Zollverein.

(c) Those states in which internal revenue is collected from an article of consumption at the time of its purchase or sale or consumption shall, in an equal manner, demand these duties on productions of the same kind coming from other states of the Zollverein.

(d) Those states which have imposed internal revenue taxes on the production or preparation of an article of consumption may also collect the full legal amount on the importation of this article from other states of the union.

(e) The North German Union shall not collect transit duty on wine-must produced in the other states of the Zollverein, nor shall such a duty be collected from those states which may, during the continuance of this treaty, subject the production of wine to a domestic revenue tax.

(f) In so far as there exists an understanding between the several states of the Zollverein as to equal duty regulations, these states shall be regarded as a unit as respects the privilege to collect the respective taxes indiscriminately from products imported from other states of the Zollverein.

§ 4. Those states which have imposed an internal tax upon the purchase or sale, consumption, production, or preparation of any article may, when said article is exported to other states of the Zollverein, leave this tax uncollected, or refund the legal amount of the same, either in whole or in part. With regard to the exercise of this privilege the following has been agreed upon:

(a) A reimbursement shall take place only in case a drawback is granted in the state in question, and not exceeding the amount of such drawback.

(b) The different governments will take especial care that in no case more than the amount of tax really paid be returned, and that this return do not partake of the nature and effect of an export-bounty.

(c) Exemption from the obligation to pay taxes shall not take place and the taxes shall not be refunded until it shall have been shown that the taxed productions in the neighboring state of the Zollverein, or in the country of destination, have entered in the manner agreed upon among the different states.

(d) Exemption from the payment of the internal tax on brandy used for the making of vinegar shall not be granted, and, excepting in case of the exportation of the vinegar to a foreign country, this tax shall not be refunded.

§ 5. It has been specially agreed what amounts, suited to the present state of legislation in the states of the Zollverein, may be collected and refunded according to the provisions of sections 3 and 4 of this article. If alterations shall be subsequently made in the existing rates of taxes on state products, the government concerned shall inform the federal council of the Zollverein (article VIII), and with this information it shall send proof that the amounts which, in consequence of the alterations made or proposed, are to be collected on productions of the countries of the Zollverein, and to be refunded on the exportation of the taxed articles, are according to the principles agreed upon.

When the transit duty on beer is collected according to Zollverein weight, the hundred-weight of 50 kilograms shall remain the standard for its collection.

§ 6. The collection of state taxes on the productions of the countries of the Zollverein which are subject to them shall take place in the state of their destination, unless this is done, by special arrangement, either at places of collection on the frontier or in the state whence they are sent for the account of the state entitled to the tax. The ordinances necessary to secure the collection of the taxes, in so far as they relate to the routes to be followed in sending goods from one state of the Zollverein to another, shall be prepared in such a manner as to obstruct trade as little as possible, and only by mutual agreement, and if the territory of a third state is to be crossed, it shall be done only with the consent of that state.

Where state taxes are levied ad valorem, attention will be paid (in view of the products sent over from other states of the Zollverein) to arrangements for inspection, according to which the value shall be settled first in the place of destination, thereby avoiding time-consuming examinations on the frontiers or on the way between the place whence the goods are sent and that to which they are sent, such examinations being annoying to trade.

§ 7. The collection of taxes for the account of communes or corporations, either by additions to the state taxes or independently, shall only be allowed on articles intended for local consumption, and the general principle expressed in section 3 of this article in reference to uniformity of treatment of the productions of other states of the Zollverein shall be enforced, as in the case of state taxes.

The following articles are, in general, to be considered as intended for local consumption, on which, according to this section, the collection of a tax shall be allowed for the account of communes or corporations alone: beer, vinegar, malt, cider, and products subject to the grinding and slaughter tax; also fuel, provisions, arid forage.

On wine the levy of a tax of the aforesaid kind shall only be admissible in those parts of the Zollverein which belong to the wine-producing counties, properly so called.

Where, in any particular place in the states belonging to the Zollverein, the collection of a tax on brandy for the account of communes or corporations now takes place, or, according to present legislation, cannot be refused, such a state of things will be allowed to exist as an exception.

The taxes on wine and brandy, however, which are levied for the account of communes or corporations, likewise that on beer, shall be subject to the limitation that the tax on brandy, taken together with the state tax, shall not exceed the maximum rate of 10 thalers per Ohm, which is fixed in section 2 of this article, and that on wine and beer shall not exceed the rate of 20 per cent, of the maximum rates therein fixed for state taxes. Exceptions to this shall only be admissible in case individual communes or corporations already impose a higher tax, in which case such tax may be continued.

If taxes should be anywhere levied on other than the aforementioned articles, the collection of such taxes maybe temporarily continued, but the governments of the countries in which such places are situated will endeavor to abolish such taxes at the first opportunity. With regard to the success of efforts made in this direction, reports shall, from time to time, be made to the federal council of the Zollverein.

Taxes for the account of communes or corporations may, when the taxed articles are sent to other states of the Zollverein, be refunded either in whole or in part, as the state taxes are, provided such reimbursement takes place on the occasion of the transit of the taxed articles to other places in the same country.

§ 8. The governments of the several states shall make a full report to the federal council of the Zollverein:

(a) Concerning all alterations hereafter to be made of their laws and ordinances with regard to the state taxes mentioned in section 2 of this article.

(b) And with regard to the communal taxes, etc., concerning the alterations made respecting those who are authorized to collect them, the places, articles, amount, and the manner of collection.

Article VI.

The provisions of articles III, IV, and V, and those of articles X to XX, and XXII, are for the present not applicable:

1. To the following-named states and portions of the North German Union:

(a) In Prussia, to the villages of. Dreuikow, Porep, and Sukow, the colony and the hereditary farm-land of Grosz-Menow, the manors and villages of Zettemin and Peenwerder, Duckow, Rottmannshagen, Rützenfelde, Karlsruh, and Pinnow, the sea-port town of Geestemünde, Fort Wilhelm in Bremerhaven, the islands (in the Elbe) of Altenwerder, Krusenbusch, Finkenwerder, Finkenwerderblumensand, Kattwieck, Hohenschaar, Overhacken, Neuhof, and Wilhelmsburg, the bailiwick of Kirchwerder and the village of Aumund.

(b) To the Grand Duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the former with the exception of Rossow, Netzeband and Schönberg, which are surrounded by Prussia.

(c) In Oldenburg, to the sea-port town of Brake.

(d) To the Duchy of Lauenburg.

(e) To the Hanseatic towns of Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg, together with a suitable portion of the surrounding country.

2. To the following-named portions of Baden: The island of Reichenau, the town of Büsingen, the Bittenharter-Hof, the towns of Jestetten and Flachshof, Gunzenrieder-Hof and Rutehof, Lottstetten and Balm, Dietenberg, Nack, Locherhof, and Volkenbach, Dettighofen and Hauserhof, Altenburg, Baltersweil, Berwangen, and Albführenhof, near Weisweil.

As soon as the reasons shall no longer exist, which prevent the enforcement of this treaty in any of the states and portions of territory mentioned under the foregoing No. 1, the President of the North German Union shall notify the governments of the contracting other parties. The federal council of the Zollverein shall then fix the date when the provisions of articles III to V and X to XX shall take effect in that state or portion of territory.

Article VII.

The laws concerning the matters specified in article III, as well as the measures required in the excepted localities (article VI) for the security of the customs frontier, shall be executed by the federal council of the Zollverein as the common organ of the governments and by the customs-parliament (Zollparlament) as the common representative of the population. Uniformity of the resolutions of the majority of both bodies shall berequired for a law of the Zollverein; their competency shall not extend to other than the matters above referred to.

The promulgation of the laws of the Zollverein in the territories of the contracting parties shall take place according to the usages which are there customary.

Article VIII.

The following agreement is made as to the organization and competency of the federal council of the Zollverein:

§ 1. The council shall consist of the representatives of the members of the North German Union and of the South German states.

In the council—

	Votes.		Votes.
Prussia has	17	Anhalt	1
Bavaria	6	Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt	1
Saxony	4	Schwarzburg-Sondershausen	1
Würtemberg	4	Waldeck	1
Baden	3	Reuss older line	1
Hesse	3	Reuss younger line	1
Mecklenburg-Strelitz	2	Schaumburg-Lippe	1
Saxe-Weimar	1	Lippe	1
Mecklenburg-Strelitz	1	Lübeck	1
Oldenburg	1	Bremen	1
Brunswick	2	Hamburg	1
Saxe-Meiningen	1
Saxe-Altenburg	1	Total	58
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha	1

§ 2. Each state of the Zollverein may nominate for the council therof as many plenipotentiaries as it has votes; the total number of votes, however, to which a state is entitled can only be cast as a unit. Votes which are not represented or are not according to instructions, shall not be counted.

§ 3. The council shall appoint from among its members permanent committees:

1. On duty and taxes.

2. On trade and commerce.

3. On accounts.

In each one of these committees at least four states of the Zollverein shall be represented besides the chairman, and each state represented therein shall be entitled to only one vote. The members of the committees shall be elected by the council. The composition of these committees shall be renewed for each session of the council, i. e. each year; the outgoing members being again eligible. Such officials as may be required for the performance of the necessary work shall be placed at the disposal of the committees.

§ 4. Each member of the council shall have the right to appear in the customs-parliament, and upon his request he shall be heard there for the purpose of representing the views of his government, even if they have not been adopted by the majority of the council. No person shall, at the same time, be a member of the council and of the customs-parliament.

§ 5.

§ 5. It shall be the duty of the president to afford to the members of the council the customary diplomatic protection.

§ 6. The presidency shall belong to the Crown of Prussia, which, in the execution of the same, shall have the right to agree, in the name of the contracting parties, to treaties of commerce and navigation.

For the conclusion of these treaties, by which the stipulations of the existing treaty shall in no manner be infringed upon, the consent of the council shall be necessary, and for their validity the approval of the customs-parliament.

§ 7. The presidency shall have the right to convoke, to open, to adjourn, and to close the council.

§ 8. The convocation of the council takes place annually. The customs-parliament shall not be convened without the council.

§ 9. The convocation of the council must take place as soon as it shall be demanded by one-third of the number of votes.

§ 10. The right to preside in the council and to conduct its business shall belong to the representative of Prussia designated for that purpose. He shall have the right to be represented in the management of its affairs by any other member of the council by means of substitution in writing.

§ 11. The presidency shall lay, in accordance with the resolutions of the council, the necessary bills before the customs-parliament, where they are supported by members of the council or by commissioners especially appointed by the latter.

§ 12. There shall be submitted to the council for its action:

1. The lawful regulations under the provisions of article VII, which are to be laid before the customs-parliament or have been adopted by the same, inclusive of the treaties of commerce and navigation.

2. The administrative directions and arrangements necessary for the execution of the mutual legislation. (Article VII.)

3. Defects which may present themselves in the execution of the mutual legislation. (Article VII.)

4. The final adjustment of the proceeds of the duties laid before it by the committee on accounts and of the taxes designated in article III, sections 3 and 4.

Each proposition made by one of the states of the Zollverein respecting the subjects in 1 to 3, and by a controlling official respecting those in 3 (article XX), shall be subject to joint action. In case of a difference of opinion, the vote of the president decides on subjects mentioned in 1 and 2, when it is in favor of the maintenance of the existing regulations and arrangements; in all other cases the majority of votes shall decide, and in case of a tie the vote of the president.

Article IX.

On the subject of the organization and power of the customs-parliament, the following was agreed to:

§ 1. The customs-parliament (Zollparlament) shall be composed of the members of the Parliament of the North German Union and the delegates from the South German states, who shall be elected by universal suffrage, direct vote and secret ballot, in accordance with the law under which the elections for the first Parliament of the North German Union took place.

The right to determine citizenship shall be reserved to the legislature of the South German states, by which the eligibility of deputies to the customs-parliament is regulated.

§ 2. Officials require no leave of absence to become members of the customs-parliament.

In case a member of the customs-parliament accepts in one of the states of the Zollverein a salaried government office, or enters upon the duties of an office in the service of the government, he shall lose his seat and vote in the customs-parliament, and he can recover his seat therein only by a new election.

§ 3. The proceedings of the customs-parliament shall be public.

Truthful reports of the proceedings of the public sessions of the customs-parliament shall not be subject to any responsibility.

§ 4. The customs-parliament shall have the right, within the limits of the subjects designated in article VII, to propose laws and to refer petitions addressed to it to the federal council of the Zollverein, i. e., to its president.

§ 5. The convocation, opening, adjournment, and closing of the customs-parliament shall take place through the president. The convocation does not occur at regular periods, but only when legislative necessity renders it expedient, or when it is requested by one-third of the votes of the federal council.

§ 6. The deputies from the South German States shall be elected for three years. After the expiration of that time new elections shall be held. The first elections shall take place as soon as the present treaty shall have been carried into execution.

§ 7. For the dissolution of the customs-parliament, a resolution to that effect of the federal council shall be requisite and the assent of the president. In case of dissolution, the voters shall be assembled within a period of sixty days thereafter, and the customs-parliament within ninety days after dissolution.

The dissolution of the North German Parliament shall not render new elections in the South German states necessary.

§ 8. Without the consent of the customs-parliament, its adjournment shall not exceed a period of sixty days, and shall not be repeated during the same session.

§ 9. The customs-parliament shall examine the legitimacy of the election of its members and decide thereon, provided this has not already been done previous to its assembling in cases of members belonging to the North German Parliament. It shall regulate independently the mode of transacting business and matters of discipline by its own rules, and also elect independently a president, vice-president, and clerk.

§ 10. The customs-parliament shall decide by an absolute majority of votes. To make a resolution valid, the presence of a majority of the lawful number of members shall be deemed necessary.

§ 11. The members of the customs-parliament shall be the representatives of the whole people, and they shall not be bound by commissions and instructions.

§ 12. No member of the customs-parliament shall at any time be prosecuted on account of his vote or utterances made in the execution of his functions or otherwise called to account outside of the assembly.

§ 13. Without the consent of the customs-parliament no member thereof shall, during the period of its session, be subjected to an examination for a punishable offense, or be imprisoned, except when apprehended in the act or on the day next following. A similar consent shall be necessary in the case of arrest for debt.

At the request of the customs-parliament all judicial proceedings against a member shall be suspended during the period of its session, as well as every arrest for the purpose of investigation.

§ 14. The members of the customs-parliament shall not be allowed to draw any salary or be compensated as such.

Article X.

The proceeds of the duties on imports and exports, of the tax on salt and beet-root sugar, in those districts of the contracting parties which are subject to joint legislation, (article III), including those states or districts mentioned in article II, are in common. This mutual participation shall extend to the proceeds of the tax on tobacco, as soon as the provisions of section 4 of article III shall have been carried into execution.

The following shall be excluded from the mutual participation and shall remain re-served for the use of the individual state governments, if special treaties between different states do not provide otherwise:

1. The taxes which are collected in the interior of each state on domestic productions, inclusive of the duties exacted according to article Von productions of the states of the Zollverein of the Same kind.

2. Water-tolls.

3. Taxes on public highways, tolls on pavements, dams, bridges, ferries, canals, locks, harbor-dues, as well as charges for weighing and warehousing, or similar exactions of whatever kind.

4. Fines for violations of the laws relating to tolls and taxes, and confiscations, which, excepting the shares of the informers, are left to each state government in its territory.

Article XI.

The proceeds of the taxes received in common shall be divided among the contracting parties, including the states and districts mentioned in article II, in proportion to the population of the districts which are subject to joint legislation. (Article III.)

These proceeds consist of the entire revenue receipts, after deducting—

1. Reimbursements and reductions of taxes based upon the laws or general regulations.

2. Reimbursements for illegal exactions.

3. Costs of collecting taxes and of superintendence, viz:

(a) The expenses in the import and export duties which the protection and collection of the duties on the borders adjoining foreign countries and within the border districts render indispensable. (Article 30 Of the treaties of the 22d and 30th of March and 11th of May, 1833, as well as of the 12th of May, 1835; article 18 of the treaties of the 10th of December, 1835, and 2d of January, 1836; article 29 of the treaty of 19 th of October, 1841; article 30 of the treaties of the 4th of April, 1853, and 16th of May, 1865; and article XVI of the treaty of this date.)

(b) The expenses in connection with the tax on salt caused by the payment of salary to the officials in the salt mines charged with the collection and control of that tax. (Article 3 of the agreement of the 8th of May, 1867.)

(c) Reimbursements in connection with the tax on beet-root sugar, which are to be granted to the individual states of the Zollverein according to the existing treaties for the expenses incurred in the supervision of this tax. (Article 2 of the agreement of the 16th of May, 1865.)

A census of the districts of the contracting parties shall be taken every three years, and the returns thereof laid before the federal council.

Article XII.

The silver coins of the states of the Zollverein corresponding to the monetary convention of the 24th of January, 1857 (with the exception of small money), shall be receivable at all tax-offices of the Zollverein; four thalers being equal to seven florins as fixed by said convention. Respecting the acceptance of gold coins at the tax-offices, the provisions of the monetary convention relating to the acceptance of these coins shall remain in force.

Article XIII.

Privileges to trades-people in the collection of duties, when such privileges not in accordance with the laws on the subject, must be borne by that government which grants them. As to the limits within which such concessions are to be granted, the existing agreements shall be applicable.

Privileges in respect of duties on machinery and parts of machinery shall likewise not be granted on privats account.

Article XIV.

In accordance with the object of the Zollverein to advance and facilitate commercial intercourse, special privileges in respect to duties derived from certain fairs, especially drawbacks, shall not be extended where at present they still exist in the several states; but they shall be limited, as far as possible, under proper consideration of the industries of the places where fairs are held which have hitherto been favored, as well as their commercial relations with foreign countries, and said privileges shall, as soon as practicable, be entirely suspended, and new ones shall under no circumstances be granted without general assent.

Article XV.

Articles imported for the use of the courts of the high sovereigns and their royal fam ilies, or for the use of the ambassadors, envoys, and chargés d’affaires, &c., accredited to their courts, shall not be exempted from the exaction of duties as fixed by the schedule of the tariff, and if drawbacks have been given therefor they shall not be charged to the common account. Neither shall reimbursements be taken into account which are to be paid in one or the other state to former states of the empire, or to communes or private individuals, on account of discontinued rights to exact duties, or suspended privileges. On the contrary, each state shall have the privilege to allow certain articles to be imported and exported on free permits without the exaction of duties. Such articles, however, shall be treated in conformity with the customs laws, and entered in special registers, which are to be kept like the ordinary registers, and the duties which would have been exacted thereon shall be charged in the next adjustment of the revenues to the state by which the free permits were issued.

Article XVI.

With reference to the expenses of the collection and administration of the duties on imports and exports, the following principles shall be observed:

1. No mutual participation therein shall be allowed, in the absence of other special agreement. On the contrary, each government shall assume all expenses of collection and administration which may occur in its territory, whether they are caused by the establishment and maintenance of chief or branch custom-houses, of custom-houses in the interior, salt-mine tax-offices and warehouses, and the directions of the customs, or by the maintenance of the officials employed in the customs service, and the pensions to be paid to the latter, or finally by any other wants arising out of the administration of the customs.

2. With reference, however, to that part of the expenses required on the borders adjoining foreign countries or within the border districts belonging to the same, for the authorities charged with the collection, supervision, and control of the customs duties and the custom house guards, an agreement shall be made respecting the aggregate sums which shall be deducted, in accordance with the provisions of article XI, from the annual gross receipts derived from duties and charged in common.

3. In determining the necessary expenses in states where the collection of special taxes is connected with the collection of duties, only that portion of the salaries and official outlays of the revenue officers shall be taken into account which is equal to the ratio of their duties performed in connection with the revenues to those of their office in general.

4. The subject of equalizing, as nearly as possible, the salaries of the officials employed in the revenue and inspectors’ offices, as well as those employed in the offices of the directors of revenues, shall also be taken into consideration.

It shall be obligatory on the states of the Zollverein to be responsible for the faithful performance of the duties of the officials and employés appointed by them, and for the safety of the funds and the conveyance of moneys, that any deficiencies in the revenues caused by the dishonesty of officials or the embezzlement of moneys already paid in, shall, in the division of the revenues, be charged to, and borne by, that government by which the official was appointed or by which the funds were collected.

In consideration of the fact that the expenses of maintaining the custom-houses in the interior of a state, or the supervision of salt-mines, are borne by each state of the Zollverein, it shall be optional with each of them to establish such number of offices within their territory as they may deem proper, so that, with reference to their competency and appointment of officials, no other restrictions shall take place than those which are allowed by the customs regulations of the Zollverein and the existing instructions and agreements.

The entire official correspondence on the subject of revenue matters between the authorities and officials of the states of the Zollverein, within the limits thereof, shall be conveyed free of postage in all mails, and, to secure such free postage, the correspondence shall contain on the outside envelope or wrapper the words, “On the customs service.”

Article XVII.

The quarterly extracts to be produced at the expiration of each quarter by the revenue authorities, aud the settlements to be made at the end of each year, and the closing of the books respecting the revenues received during the quarter or the fiscal year from the common taxes, shall, after examination, be consolidated in a principal report by the supervising authorities, in which every item of revenue shall be accounted for separately, and these reports shall be transmitted to the committee on accounts. (Article VIII, § 3.) In addition, said committee shall receive, on or before the last day of March, a general statement of the revenues received from the tax on beet-root sugar, and or the expenses to be charged for the supervision of this tax, embracing the period of four months, ending on the last day of December of the preceding year, and, on or before the 10th day of November, a statement embracing the period of eight months ending on the last day of August.

Upon the basis of these general statements the committee on accounts shall prepare between the contracting parties a temporary settlement of the revenues and the tax on salt every three months, and of the tax on beet-root sugar in the months of April and November of each year, which shall be sent to the central finance offices of the contracting parties, and arrangements shall at the same time be made to cover any deficit of the one or the other party in its revenue receipts by reimbursement on the part of those parties who have received a surplus in the revenue receipts. Reimbursements, which are to be rendered upon the basis of the settlement of the tax on beet-root sugar for the four months commencing on the, first of September and ending on the last of December, shall be due on the 1st of September of the following year.

In order that those of the contracting parties who may have occasion to be reimbursed from the treasuries of other governments for the purpose of covering their deficits in the revenue receipts may receive each time their dues as soon as possible, a plan of division shall, at the same time with every quarterly settlement, be laid down by the committee on accounts, in which the amounts shall be set aside in round sums which some of the contracting parties are to receive for the purpose indicated from the treasury of another party, and the treasury designated by which the reimbursement is to be made. According to this plan of division, which is to be transmitted with each settlement to the central finance offices, action shall be taken and the necessary orders for its execution shall be given, if no important objections to it exist, in which case they shall be communicated to the federal council without delay. The reimbursement shall not be held back on account of claims which have no connection with the settlement of the revenue receipts.

On the occasion of the transmission of the above-named plan of division, the committee shall state what proceedings were observed in its preparation according to the wishes of the contracting parties, expressed in advance, and to what extent their express approval of any proposition can be definitely accepted.

The committee shall submit the annual statement of accounts, with their remarks, to the federal council for final decision.

Article XVIII.

The right of pardon and the right of commutation of sentence shall be reserved to every state of the union within its territory. The periodical reports of the pardons granted shall be communicated to the federal council of the Zollverein.

Article XIX.

The collection and administration of common taxes (article X) is left to each state of the Zollverein within its territory, in the same manner as it has exercised the right heretofore. Therefore, the officers and employés shall also hereafter be appointed by the local governments, in each of those states, for the collection and supervision of customs of local and district places which, according to special stipulations and uniform provisions, shall be designated, occupied, and instructed. In each of these states of the Zollverein, with the exception of the Thüringian territory, the discharge of the duties of the local and district authorities, as well as the execution of the common tax laws in general, is transferred to one or, if necessary, to several boards of customs, which are subordinate to the administration of the respective states.

The organization of the boards of customs and the regulation of their business transactions is left to the separate state authorities; but their sphere of operation can only be limited by an instruction of the federal council of the Zollverein; unless otherwise stipulated by the present convention or in the common customs laws.

In the Thüringian united territory the common inspector-general, in connection with the federal council and with the customs authorities of the other states of the Zollverein, performs the functions of a board of customs.

Article XX.

The president shall be charged with the observance of legal forms in the collection and administration of the common taxes. To this end, after hearing the committee for customs and taxes of the federal council (article VIII, § 3), the presidency shall appoint the principal board of customs on the frontiers as well as in the interior (principal tax offices with warehouses), and also the directing board of officers of the Zollverein.

The comptrollers who are attached to the principal offices shall take notice of all the transactions of the principal and the secondary offices in regard to the custody of the frontier and the procedure for the collection of duties and taxes, and see that lawful proceedings are observed and also the correction of whatever defects may occur, but for the rest shall desist from any other controlling action. Their official functions and their authority shall be regulated by an instruction. The authorized inspectors attached to the board of direction shall procure full information in regard to all the management of affairs which relate to the present convention of the Zollverein. Their business relation shall be more precisely defined in a separate instruction, based upon unlimited truthfulness on the part of the managers, in relation to all the matters of the corporation and the facilitation of all means by which reports on the subject can be obtained; while, on the other hand, their attention should be called in all candor to dispose of in a suitable manner all occurring delays and differences in opinions.

The ministers or the high functionaries of the states of the Zollverein shall, moreover, communicate, upon demand, to the federal council all desired information in regard to mutual transactions.

The salaries and all other expenditures of the comptrollers of the Zollverein and of the authorized agents are defrayed by the union.

Article XXI.

The contracting parties shall only issue patents for inventions and for privileges in accordance with the established principles of the agreement of September 21, 1842. Should one of them desire, daring the period of the present convention, to recede from this obligation, it shall then announce its withdrawal to the other contracting parties three months beforehand. This withdrawal, however, shall not extend to the provision under No. Ill of the said agreement, or to the obligation to treat the subjects of the other contracting parties in regard to the granting of patents, as also in regard to the protection of established rights, in the same manner as their own subjects.

Article XXII.

Turnpike-tolls, or other taxes existing in their stead, as well as moneys for paving, dike-taxes, bridge-toll, and ferriage, or under whatever name such taxes may exist, whether the collection be for the account of the state or of a private individual entitled to such taxes, and especially when it is made for a commune, shall be retained or newly introduced on turnpikes, as well as on unpaved roads, which form a direct means of communication between the coterminious states of the Zollverein, and where more extensive commerce and traveling take place, only in such an amount as is sufficient for the usual expenses of repair and maintenance.

The turnpike-tolls as specified in the Prussian tariff of turnpike-tolls of the year 1828, shall be considered as the highest rate, and in future shall not be exceeded in the territories of the contracting parties; with the sole exception of turnpike-toll on such turnpikes as may be built by corporations or by private individuals or stock companies, and when the turnpikes are branch roads or are only used for the local traffic and connection of separate districts and neighboring places with larger cities or with the main commercial roads.

By the stipulated obligations entered upon in regard to the rate of turnpike-tolls, Oldenburg is bound not to increase the present turnpike-toll rates.

The special collection of gate-money and money for paving, shall, on turnpikes where these still exist, be abolished, according to the aforesaid regulation; the paving of the districts shall be thus included in the whole extent of the turnpike, so that only the turnpike-tolls shall be collected, according to the common tariff.

Article XXIII.

Waterage and also river navigation dues, including those which are levied upon vessels (receipt dues) shall also in future, on such rivers where the stipulations of the Vienna congress or of special state conventions are also applicable, be paid b the navigation, according to those provisions; provided no special arrangement is or shall be agreed upon.

Upon other rivers, to which neither the acts of the Vienna congress nor of the state conventions are applicable, the waterage and river dues are collected according to the special regulations of the respective governments. These dues, however) shall not exceed the amount of ¼ groschen per Zollverein-hundredweight or 1 kreutzer, per Bavarian hundredweight per mile. On all these rivers each state of the Zollverein shall treat the merchandises and vessels belonging to persons of other states thereof, and particularly those of inland navigation, on an equal footing with its own.

Article XXIV.

Staple rights and sale rights in the territories of the contracting parties shall also in future be inadmissible.

No person shall be compelled to load or unload, except in cases where the general customs laws or the ship’s regulations admit or prescribe the same.

Article XXV.

Canal, sluice, bridge, ferry, harbor, weighing, elevator, and Warehouse duties and expenses for the operation of contrivances, which are designed to facilitate traffic, shall only be collected in compliance with the existing regulations thereon, and, with exception of the duties collected from navigators of artificial water-channels which are not the property of the State, shall not exceed what is necessary for maintenance and the usual repairs. All these dues shall be collected by the officials in all the states of the Zollverein in an impartial manner, regardless of the future consumption of the goods. Should it become necessary to resort to weighing, in order to determine the customs, or, in general, a customs regulation, no exaction of fees shall be made therefor.

Article XXVI.

The contracting parties shall co-operate, by adopting uniform laws, with the view of promoting industry by granting the privilege to subjects of one state to obtain work and carry, on business in another state.

There shall be no other tax imposed upon subjects of the states of the Zollverein who carry on business or industry or who seek work in the territory of another state, than one equal to that to which its own citizens in a similar occupation are subjected. Also, all merchants, manufacturers, and other tradesmen, who can prove that they have paid for carrying on their business the lawful taxes to the state of the Zollverein where they reside, when making purchases, either in person or through their employed travelers, or soliciting orders by samples carried with them, shall not be obliged to pay any further taxes in the other states of the union. Also, the subjects of one state of the Zollverein, in visiting the markets and fairs of another state thereof for commercial purposes and for the sale of their own products and manufactures, shall be treated in those states in the same manner as their own subjects.

Article XXVII.

The contracting parties shall co-operate for the purpose of effecting for the progress of reciprocal commerce and industry a uniformity in the system of measures, and, as far as may be necessary, in the system of weights of their territories.

Article XXVIII.

The sea-ports of the states of the North German Union shall be opened to the commerce of the other contracting parties on payment of the same dues as those levied upon their own citizens. The consuls of the one or the other of the contracting parties who are stationed at foreign sea-ports and at other commercial places shall also be requested to use their good offices in such cases in behalf of the subjects of the other states of the Zollverein.

Article XXIX.

The present convention shall take effect on the 1st of January, 1868. In case, on the 1st of January, 1876, no notice of revocation on either part shall be given, by the contracting parties, the treaty shall be considered as extended for twelve years longer, and so on every twelve years. It shall at once be submitted to the contracting parties for ratification; and the exchange of the ratifications shall take place at Berlin not later than the 31st of October of the current year.

Done at Berlin, July 8, 1867.

v. POMMER ESCHE

. [l. s.]

v. PHIL1PSBORN

. [l. s.]

DELBRUOK

. [l. s.]

WEBER

. [l. s.]

GERBIG

. [l. s.]

v. THÜMMEL

. [l. s.]

v. SPITZEMBERG

. [l. s.]

RIECKE

. [l. s.]

MATHY

. [l. s.]

EWALD

. [l. s.]

THON

. [l. s.]

v. LIEBE

. [l. s.]

The ratifications of the above treaty have been exchanged at Berlin.

final protocol to the customs-union treaty.

(Negotiated at Berlin July 8, 1867.)

The undersigned have met this day in order to sign, after another joint reading, the treaty entered into with the high authority of their sovereigns relative to the continuation of the customs and commercial union, on which occasion the following additional declarations, resolutions, and explanatory remarks, prior to closing the negotiation, were adopted in a final protocol to that end.

1.—To article I of the treaty.

1. The agreement which is made, in article I of the treaty in reference to the efficacy of the treaties mentioned therein, shall be also applicable to those particular stipulations and agreements which are included in the requisite protocols of those treaties, as also in general to all the agreements entered into for furthering the internal development of The Zollverein.

2. By the stipulation in this article, in view of the particular situation existing in Schleswig-Holstein, no present action shall be taken with regard to the establishment therein of the proposed customs organization.

2.—To article III, § 7, of the treaty.

It has been agreed upon that as an exception to the principle hitherto, adhered to in the execution of the requirements of § 43 of the customs-law, pig-iron and old cast iron, made use of by iron-founderies, iron-mills, and rolling-mills whose manufactures are exported to foreign countries, or which are used for the construction of vessels, shall be exempted from duty, under conditions which are more definitely stated in Appendix A.

3.—To article IV of the treaty.

It is understood that the stipulation in article IV, which excludes the continuance of the prohibition of the importation of playing-cards, now existing in the several states of the Zollverein, does not impede the privilege of the administration thereof to levy a stamp-duty on imported playing-cards coming from within the state or from other states, or coming from abroad into the Zollverein. The latter shall not impose a higher tax upon foreign playing-cards than on those manufactured in the country where the duty is collected. Playing cards which are shipped from one state of the Zollverein to another, in which a stamp-duty is collected, whether they remain there or are merely intransitû, shall be subject to the requirement of a transit receipt.

4—To article V, No. 11, §§ 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the treaty.

The stipulations contained in article I of the treaty of the 16th of May, 1865, under No. II, §§ 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7, respecting the tobacco internal revenue, are therefore not cited in the treaty of to-day’s date, because they will be disposed of so soon as the appropriate resolutions of article III, § 4, of the treaty of this day’s date shall be acted upon. They remain, therefore, until that time in full force.

5.—To article V, § 5, of the treaty.

An abstract of the rates which are collected in those states of the Zollverein where internal taxes are imposed upon the production and manufacture of certain products, and which receive a drawback on the re-exportation of such products to other states of the said union, will be found in Appendix B.

6.—To article VI of the treaty.

For the states hitherto belonging to the Zollverein, those regulations remain intact which relate at present to facilitating the traffic of remote parts of the country with the main parts of the union.

7.—To article VIII, § 3, of the treaty.

The amount placed at the disposal of the committees for salaries of officers shall be divided between the North German Union and the South German states in the proportion which the duties and taxes accruing to the treasury of the former hold to the shares received by the latter from the taxes to be divided equally, according to article X of the treaty.

8.—To article VIII, § 6, of the treaty.

Prussia, without detriment to her exceptional power to conclude, on behalf of the Zollverein, treaties of commerce and navigation, shall invite the adjoining states of the union to participate in treaties with Austria and Switzerland, and in the final negotiations. In the event of an agreement not being reached, it shall nevertheless remain intact, according to the provisions of § 6.

9.—To article VIII, § 6, of the treaty.

1. The functions which, according to the resolutions, regulations, and agreements cited in the present protocol, of § 1, are transmitted to the general conference, shall pass over to the federal council of the Zollverein.

2. It is agreed upon that the federal council of the Zollverein shall also dispose of all those matters appertaining to its sphere of business which had their origin before the 1st January of the coming year, and which could not have been acted upon, in conformity with the treaty made.

10.—To article XII of the treaty.

In order to avoid disadvantages, which, by the renewed stipulations of this date in article XII of this treaty, the reciprocal adoption of silver coin for payments at all the custom-houses might cause, by reason of the existing differences of the coin valuation, it is resolved that,

(a) The payments due to other states of the Zollverein for settlements of general tax receipts, and when they cannot be paid to that state in coin received by the customhouse, or in the coin of the latter having an exact valuation with that of the former, shall be paid only in thalers of the Zollverein (article 8 of the coinage treaty of the 24th January, 1857), or in whole thalers or gulden pieces, but not in fractions thereof.

(b) The fractional parts of thalers received in those states of the Zollverein which reckon in guldens, and on the other hand fractional parts of guldens received in those states which reckon in thalers, when the receiving state cannot dispose of them by due payments resulting from settlements, shall on demand be exchanged at the nearest treasury office of the state of the union whose stamp they bear, for whole thalers or gulden, respectively, and no expense shall accrue to the state making the exchange.

11.—To article XIII of the treaty.

The statement annexed under C contains those amounts which shall be allowed as a maximum for drawback on newly-built vessels whose iron parts cannot be specially proven.

12.—To article XIV of the treaty.

The articles enumerated in No. 6 f, 2 and 3, No. 10 c, No. 12 g, No. 19 a and b, No. 21 a 1, No. 27 b, c, d, and e, No. 31 c, No. 35 b and c, No. 38 b, c, and d, and No. 40 b and c, of the second part of the tariff of the Zollverein, which was in force until the 1st July, 1869, shall in future be exempt from the payment of duty, notwithstanding the fact that they are now taxed with lower rates according to the tariff of customs existing at present, than the minimum rates established in § 3 of the regulations of December 4, 1833, governing the Leipsig fair, and similar rules governing the fairs of other places.

13.—To article XVI of the treaty.

In respect to the particularly unfavorable proportion which exists between the length of the taxable frontier of the duchy of Oldenburg on the one hand and its area and population on the other, Oldenburg shall in future be exceptionally allowed an addition to its aggregate sum, the amount not exceeding 4,500 thalers.

14.—To article XXVIII of the treaty of April 4, 1853.

In conformity with the resolution in No. 13 of the final protocol of May 16, 1865, a special board of direction shall be established in Oldenburg.

15.—To article XX of the treaty.

1. Prussia, in exercise of the power incumbent upon her according to article XX of the treaty of this day, shall admit also officers from the other states of the Zollverein, in conformity with the wishes of the respective authorities.

2. As a foundation for the instruction cited in this article, which shall determine the sphere of business operation of the agents attached to the board of direction of the states of the Zollverein, it is resolved that such agent shall be entitled to exercise the following functions:

(a) He can be present at all the sessions of the board of direction. Every resolution or directions passed by that body or the presiding officer in regard to the management of the general taxes, by which the subordinate authorities have to be governed, shall be submitted to him when he is present in a draught form for his consideration before it is executed, and cannot be acted upon without his approval thereof.

(b) The agent cannot refuse or delay his approval of the resolutions; he is, however, allowed in granting the same, when he apprehends that the execution of the resolutions will prove disadvantageous to the Zollverein, to note down his dissenting views on the draught and to demand that the board of direction shall at least, in issuing the decree, communicate with its superior department relative to the resolution in question.

(c) If the latter shall fail to procure immediate redress, or the departments and the superior revenue authorities of the respective states shall not, in the mean time, have come to an understanding through correspondence, recourse shall be taken to the federal council of the Zollverein, in order that the difference and any eventual claims of the Zollverein for damages against that government whose authorities have given rise to the same may be decided.

(d) The agent has also the privilege of making inquiries into the frontier service and into, the functions of inspectors stationed along the line of the custom-houses, and into the management of the collection of duties and revenues in the territory where he is accredited, in which purpose he may be assisted by officers appointed to this end. The agent is, however, at such inspections, unauthorized to give orders to the revenue officers or to the excisemen, or to issue regulations in regard to the management of business, but shall rather make a motion to the respective board of direction for a speedy removal of the deficiencies discovered by him.

(e) The special agent, as well as every member of the board of direction, has the power to inspect the documents, the books, the accounts, and the register of these officials as also of the revenue and custom-house authorities.

(f) He may examine the accounts on general taxes and make remonstrances against the same, but shall not, however, stop the keeping and receiving thereof, and shall also not prevent the superior official authorities from passing a decision upon the remonstrances made by the keeper of the accounts. Should he find the decision not conducive to the interests of the Zollverein, he shall bring the subject in question to the notice of the federal council.

16.—To article XXII of the treaty.

In regard to the treaty on turnpikes in the kingdom of Saxony, and in the countries belonging to the Thüringian union, where miles are equal in length to those of Saxony, it shall remain intact, according to the agreement entered into in the final protocol of the treaties of the 30th of March and the 11th of May, 1833.

17.—To article XXVI of the treaty.

It has been also agreed that tradesmen and travelers, as specified in the third paragraph of article XXVI, shall not in future carry with them merchandise for sale, but may themselves convey the goods purchased to the place of destination.

The form which is to be used for certificates of trade-licenses is appended under D.

All the plenipotentiaries mutually give to one another assurance, that, as occurred with previous treaties of the Zollverein, their governments, in ratifying the treaty, will also consider the amendments contained in the present protocol as approved and binding, without any further official ratification of the latter. The sole original treaty shall then be signed and sealed by the plenipotentiaries, and deposited and preserved for the whole Zollverein in the royal Prussian state vaults for secret archives; and copies, after being duly certified by the Prussian authorities, shall at once be delivered to the plenipotentiaries and the various governments of the Zollverein.

It finally being shown that the ratification of the treaty for the North German Union had to be made by the President only, and that as had already occurred in preceding similar cases, such a form of ratification could be chosen by which the subject of the latter should be sufficiently designated without a complete insertion of the articles of the treaty, after the present protocol was duly read, one copy thereof was signed, and, together with the original treaty, taken charge of by the royal Prussian plenipotentiaries, on the condition that certified copies should be immediately furnished to the remaining plenipotentiaries, and the original transmitted to the royal secret state archives.

• v. POMMER ESCHE.
• v. PHILIPSBORN.
• DELBRÜCK.
• WEBER.
• GERBIG.
• v. THÜMMEL.
• v. SPITZEMBERG.
• RIECKE.
• MATHY.
• EWALD.
• THON.
• v. LIEBE.

Appendix No. 9.—Continued.

A.—Annex to No. 2 of the final protocol.

1. The privilege is allowed only to manufacturers who have committed no offense as regards observance of the customs laws.

2. The use of a private warehouse for foreign unmanufactured iron of all kinds and old iron shall be allowed to manufacturers, and to this the authorities shall have the right of entrance. Manufacturers to whom such privilege is granted shall furnish a secure and closed place of deposit for the purpose at their own expense. The general provisions with regard to private warehouses, to which the customs authorities have access, are also applicable to this warehouse.

The iron may also be deposited in a public warehouse.

3. An account shall be kept for each manufacturer, showing the amount of foreign iron imported and warehoused, and the kinds and amount of the goods manufactured therefrom, and exported, deposited in a public warehouse, or used for domestic shipbuilding.

4. When iron is to be removed from the warehouse to be manufactured for foreign countries or for ship-building, the manufacturer shall give previous notice thereof, in writing, to the proper department of customs or taxes, stating what goods are to be manufactured therefrom.

The amount notified shall be delivered from the warehouse, and the delivery marked on the notice and registered in the account.

5. A copy of the warehouse account shall be furnished when the exportation, the deposit in a public warehouse, or the use for ship-building of the articles manufactured from the iron delivered, has been certified. This shall be done according to the weight of these articles.

6. At the close of each quarter the customs-duty shall be paid; this shall be equal to the difference between the weight of the quantity notified from the warehouse during the last quarter but one, and the weight of the quantity copied from the warehouse account in the course of the last quarter. If the latter quantity is greater than the former, the difference shall be reckoned at the close of the next quarter.

7. Inventories of stock on hand shall be made as the customs authorities may think best, but an inventory of all the stock shall be made at least once a year.

8. Manufacturers must keep their books so that it may be seen without any special difficulty what kind of goods have Been manufactured and what material has been used for that purpose. The officers whose duty it is to examine these books shall at all times be permitted to have access to them. It shall also be the duty of manufacturers to show all their books and correspondence, if this is requested by the principal officer, in order to show whose orders they are executing, and whether they are using domestic crude iron or wrought iron, and, if so, to what extent.

9. The customs authorities may also, if they think proper, order supervision to be exercised in other respects, but they shall especially cause the work done by the factories to be carefully inspected. The officers charged with this duty shall be admitted to every part of the factory at all hours of the day or night, so long as work is performed in the factory.

10. The customs authorities may at any time withdraw the privilege. It shall always be withdrawn when a manufacturer has incurred a fine on account of fraud, and it may also be withdrawn when a book-keeper or workman employed in the factory has been punished with a fine for offenses committed by him in the interest of the manufacturer.

11. Manufacturers shall be subjected to a fine (said fine to be fixed by the controlling board), not exceeding 100 thalers, in all cases in which they shall not obey customs-ordinances issued by the proper authorities; this they shall do under penalty of the withdrawal of the privilege in the event of their continued refusal to obey.

Appendix No. 9.—Continued.

B.—Annex to No. 5 of the final protocol.

Statement of the rates of taxes which, in those stales of the Zollverein wherein internal taxes are levied upon the production or preparation of certain commodities, shall be collected upon similar commodities produced in other states of the Zollverein.

Number	States of the Zollverein in which the tax is collected.	Basis for the collection.		Rate of taxation in—					Remember on the refunding of taxes in exportation to other states of the Zollverein or to foreign countries.
				Thalers			Florins
	I.—On leaf-tobacco and manufactured tobacco.			Thlr.	sgr.	pf.	Fl.	kr.
1	Prussia (not including the Hohenzollerns). Also in close union with Prussia (according to the dates of the treaties): (a) In Schwarzburg Sondershausen: “die Unterherrschat’t.” (b) In Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt: “die Unterherrschaft.” (c) In the Grand-Duchy of Saxony: the districts of All-stedt and Oldisleben. (d) Anhalt. (e) The Principality of Lippe. (f) In Mecklenburg-Schwerin: the towns of Rossow, Netzeband,and Schöneberg. (g) In Saxe-Coburg-Gotha: Volkenrode. (h) In Oldenburg: the Principality of Birkenfeld. (i) Waldeck and Pyrmout. (k) Schaumburg-Lippe. (l) The zone dependent on Bremen.	}	Cwt (Zollzentner)	0	20	0	1	10	{	In Hohenzollern a tax in transitû is not collected on tobacco in leaf and manufactured tobacco.
2	Saxony.
3	Thüringian Union. Thereto belong, in addition to the Prussian portions as signed to it: (a) The Grand-Duchy of Saxony, exclusive of the districts of Ostheim and All-stedt, with Oldisleben, but inclusive of the town of Melper, which belongs to the district of Ostheim. (b) The Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. (c) The Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg. (d) The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, exclusive of the districts of Königsberg and Volkenrode. (e) The sovereign Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. (f) The sovereign Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. (g) The Principality of Reuss—elder line. (h) The Principality of Reuss—younger line.
4	Brunswick.
5	Oldenburg, exclusive of the Principality of Birkenfeld and including the zone dependent on Bremen.
6	Luxemburg.
	Remark.—The transit-tax the above-mentioned states of the Zollverein to be paid on leaf-tobacco and manufactured tobacco is a general one, and is divided. Trade in tobacco is carried on free between these states.
	II.—On beer.
1a	Prussia (exclusive of the Hohenzollerns). Also the countries above mentioned with Prussia under I from a to l, and the countries in close union with Prussia.	Cwt			7	6		26¼	When 6 cwt. and upward are exported 3 sgr. per gross cwt.are refunded.
1b	Principalities of Hohenzollern	Eimer (of Wurtemberg) = 2.13915 ohms Prussian:
		(a)	Brown beer	1	4	33/7	2	0	In exportation the following amounts are refunded pereimer of Würtemberg: (a) brown summer-beer, 1 fl. 30kr.; (b) brown winter-beer, 1 fl. 12 kr.; and (c) for white beer, 54 kr.
		(b)	White beer		22	10 2/7	1	20
2	Saxony	}	Cwt		7	6		26¼	{	Saxony as at 1a. In the Prussian territories assigned to the Thüringian union, as at la. In the Duchy of Cburg, in exportation, 12 kreuzers per eimer are refunded from that part of the State tax which is devoted to communal purposes. Brunswick as at 1a.
3	Thüringian Union, (as at I 3)
4	Brunswick
5	Oldenburg, (as at I 5)
6	Luxemberg
	Remark.—The tax to be paid on beer in transitû in the states above named at 1a, 2 up to 6, is a general one, and is divided. Between these states of the union commerce in beer is free.
7	Bavaria, to the right of the Rhine, and closely connected with Bavaria: (a) The Grand Ducal Sax on district of Ostheim, exlusive of the town of Melper. (b) The district of Königsberg, belonging to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg Gotha.	Eimer, (Bavarian) =0 497932 ohms Prussian.			17	1 5/7	1	0	The amount refunded on beer exported from the principal countries of Bavaria is 40 kreuzers per Bavarian eimer.
8	Würtemberg	Eimer (of Würtemberg) = 2.13915 ohms Prussian:
		(a)	Brown beer	1	21	51/7	3	0	The malt-tax collected is determined in every case, for exported beer, according to the quantity of malt used, and the amount of tax to be refunded is fixed in accordance therewith.
		(b)	White beer	1	4	33/7	2	0
9	Baden	Ohm (of Baden) = 1.091673 ohms Prussians.			22	3 3/7	1	18	In the exportation of beer produced in the Grand Duchy of Baden. 1 fl. 5 kr. per ohm of Baden are refunded.
10	Hesse	Ohm (Grand Duchy of Hesse) = 1.164451 ohms Prussian.			28	6 6/7	1	40	In the exportation of 20 maass and upward 1 fl. 5 kr. is refunded per Grand Ducal Hessian ohms.
	III.—On brandy.
1a	Prussia (exclusive of the principalities of Hohenzollern). Also the above-mentioned countries and parts of countries at I from a to l, which are closely connected with Prussia.	Ohm (Prussian with 50 per cent. Alcohol according to Tralles.)		6	0	0	10	30	In exportation 11 silberpfennigs are refunded on each quart at 50 per cent. Alcohol according to Trallers.
	In the former Electorate of Hesse (exclusive of the Kreis of Schmalkalden and the country of Schaumburg) are collected up to July 1.	do		4	0	0	7	0	Up to July 1, 1868, 8 silberpfennigs per quart at 50 per cent. Alcohol according to Tralles.
1b	Principalities of Hohenzollern, so far as they formerly belonged to Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.	Eimer (of Würtemberg.)		1	12	10 2/7	2	30
2	Saxony	}	Ohm (Prussia), 50 per cent. alcohol, according to Tralles.	{ 6 0 0			10	30	As at 1a
3	Thüringian unions (as at I 3)
4	Brunswick
5	Oldenburg (as at I 5)
6	Luxemburg
	Remark.—The tax to be paid on brandy in transit in the above-mentioned states of the union, &c., at 1a, 2 to 6, is a general one, and is divided. Between these states the trade in brandy is free.
7	Bavaria, to the right of the Rhine. Also, the portions of country belonging to other states of the union, mentioned under II 7.	Eimer (Bavarian).		1	0	0	1	45
8	Würtemberg	Eimer (of Würtemberg), with 50 per cent, alcohol, according to Tralles.		2	8	6 6/7	4	0
9	Baden	Ohm (of Baden):
		(a)	Brandy		28	6 6/7	1	40	In the exportation of at least 50 maass of brandy 36 kr. are refunded per ohm of Baden, and on spirits of wine 1 fl 10 kr.
		(b)	Spirits of wine	1	21	5 1/7	3	0
10	Hesse	Ohm (Grand Duchy of Hesse), with 50 per cent. alcohol, according to Tralles.		5	4	3 3/7	9	0	In the exportation of 20 maass and upward, 6 fl are allowed on the grand ducal Hessian ohm, at 50 per cent. alcohol, according to Tralles.
	IV.—On bruised malt.
1	Bavaria, on the right of the Rhine. Also, the above-mentioned portions of other Prussian, states of the Zollverein, mentioned with Bavaria, under II 7.	Metzen (Bavarian) = 0.674283 scheffel Prussian			14	3 3/7		50
2	Würtemberg	Simri (of Wurtemberg) = 0.403069 scheffel Prussian:
		(a)	Bruised dried malt.		6	3 3/7	0	22
		(b)	Crushed undried malt.		2	6 6/7		9

Appendix No. 9—Continued.

C.—Annex to No. 11 of the final protocol.

Notice concerning the maximum amount of duties to be refunded to builders of sea-going vessels, according to their capacity, for the component parts of iron that cannot be specially shown.

Capacity of the vessels in Lasts of 4,000 pounds each.	Amount per Last.			Difference per Last.
	Thl.	Sgr.	Pf.
For a vessel of 50 lasts or less	1	11	0	20/25
For a vessel of 75 lasts	1	9	4	20/25
For a vessel of 100 lasts	1	7	8	18/25
For a vessel of 125 lasts	1	6	2	17/25
For a vessel of 150 lasts	1	4	9	5/25
For a vessel of 175 lasts	1	4	4	5/25
For a vessel of 200 lasts	1	3	11	5/25
For a vessel of 225 lasts	1	3	6	5/25
For a vessel of 250 lasts	1	3	1	5/25
For a vessel of 275 lasts	1	2	8	5/25
For a vessel of 300 lasts	1	2	3	5/25
For a vessel of 325 lasts	1	1	10	5/25
For a vessel of 350 lasts	1	1	5	5/25
For a vessel of 375 lasts	1	1	0	5/25
For a vessel of 400 lasts	1	0	7	5/25
For a vessel of 425 lasts	1	0	2	5/25
For a vessel of 450 lasts		29	9	5/25
For a vessel of 475 lasts		29	4	4/25
For a vessel of 500 lasts		29	0	4/25
For a vessel of 525 lasts		28	8	4/25
For a vessel of 550 lasts		28	4	4/25
For a vessel of 575 lasts		28	0	4/25
For a vessel of 600 lasts		27	8	4/25
For a vessel of 625 lasts		27	4	4/25
For a vessel of 650 lasts		27	0	4/25
For a vessel of 675 lasts		26	8	4/25
For a vessel of 700 lasts		26	4	4/25
For a vessel of 725 lasts		26	0	4/25
For a vessel of 750 lasts		25	8	4/25
For a vessel of 775 lasts		25	4	4/25
For a vessel of 800 lasts		25	0	4/25
For a vessel of 825 lasts		24	8	4/25
For a vessel of 850 lasts		24	4	4/25

Remarks.—1. The above rates are adopted for iron-bottomed vessels, and a deduction is made of 5 silbergroschen per last in the case of copper-bottomed vessels, when the copper used therefor has been delivered duty free.

2. For vessels whose capacity is a number of lasts coming between any two of the numbers given in the above table, the amount per last is to be calculated proportionally with the aid of the differences. For instance, since between the capacity of 125 and 150 lasts the difference per last amounts to ½ 7/5 of a pfennig, the amount to be refunded is calculated for a vessel of 132 lasts at 7 + ½ 7/5 pfennige = = 5 pfennige less per last than for one of 125 lasts, consequently at 1 thaler 5 silbergroschen 9 pfennige. In this calculation fractions of a pfennig, when the fraction exceeds are to be reckoned as whole pfennige; otherwise no account is to be made of them.

Appendix No. 9—Continued.

D.— Annex to No. 17 of the final protocol.

Business license.

Good for the year [stamp with the arms and name of the country] 1800 and sixty-eight.

N, residing in N N, who purposes to solicit orders in the territory of the Zollverein, and to purchase goods for the account of his own drug-house and of the drug-house of N N, in which he is employed as clerk, also of the houses named below, is hereby notified, for his business legitimation before the authorities of the other states of the Zollverein, that the lawful taxes must be paid for carrying on the business of the aforesaid house (houses) in this country. He can only take with him samples of the goods which he wishes to order, and can only take purchased goods for the purpose of forwarding them to their place of destination. He is also prohibited from soliciting orders or making purchases for any save the aforesaid house (houses).

In soliciting orders or in purchasing goods he must observe the regulations in force in each state of the Zollverein.

(Place, date, signature, and stamp of the issuing office.)

Personal description and signature of the traveler.

Appendix No. 10.

Article 49 of the treaty of alliance of the North German Union, of November 23, 1867.

Relations to foreign postal territories.

Article 49.

Transmission, in connection with foreign postal territories, is regulated according to postal treaties with the foreign powers concerned, and according to agreements with foreign transportation companies.

In the conclusion of postal treaties with foreign powers, when two or more of the parties to the present treaty have direct postal relations with one and the same foreign state, or desire to enter into such relations, that postal administration which proposes to conclude a new treaty shall give notice of its intention to the other postal administrations, with a view to bringing about an understanding with regard to the harmonious action to be taken towards the foreign country and to the promotion of the existing common interests of the German postal system.

In cases where such an understanding has been reached, the postal administrations concerned will endeavor to bring about the conclusion of the new treaties in common, and one of the contracting parties may, to this effect, appoint another as its plenipotentiary.

In all cases care shall be taken by the treaties, in order that the facilities afforded to the postal communication of the foreign country concerned, with the territory of the contracting German postal administration, shall be extended in the same manner and on the same conditions to the correspondence conveyed in parcels of other German postal territories with the foreign country concerned.

The acceptance of the provisions contained in the treaties with foreign countries shall be obligatory upon all the parties to the present treaty, provided that no rates of postage are fixed lower than the German postage. In case it becomes necessary to adopt lower rates, it shall be optional with the several postal administrations whether they will become parties to the provisions of the treaty in question.

Appendix No. 11.

Prussian law relating to the state of siege, dated June 4, 1851.

We, Frederick William, by the grace of God, King of Prussia, &c, &c, hereby ordain, with the approval of the chambers, as follows:

§ 1.

In case of war, every commandant of a fortress is authorized to declare the fortress under his command, with the district belonging thereto, in provinces threatened or partially occupied by the enemy, to be in a state of siege for purposes of defense, and a commanding general is authorized to do the same as regards the district of the army corps or single portions thereof.

§ 2.

Also in case of a tumult or riot, when the public safety is in imminent danger, a state of siege may be declared, either in time of war or peace.

The declaration of a state of siege shall be made by the ministry of state, but, in urgent cases, it may be made for special districts, provisionally and subject to the immediate confirmation or disapproval of said ministry, by the principal military commandant in the same, at the suggestion of the principal executive officer of the provincial subdistrict; but, when there is danger in delay, even without such suggestion.

In fortresses, a provisional declaration of a state of siege shall be issue! by the commanding officer of the fortress.

§ 3.

The declaration of a state of siege shall be announced, without delay, by the sound of drum or trumpet, and also by notifying the authorities of the commune, by handbills posted in public places, and by publication in the newspapers. The raising of the state of siege shall be brought to public notice by informing the communal authorities and by advertising in the newspapers.

§ 4.

When a state of siege is declared the executive power goes into the hands of the military commandant. Civil and communal authorities must obey the orders and injunctions of the military commandant.

Military commandants shall be personally responsible for their orders.

§ 5.

If, when a state of siege is declared, it is thought advisable to declare articles 5, 6, 7, 27, 23, 29, 30, and 36, of the constitution, or any part thereof, to be not in force for any time and in any district, the provisions of such suspension of force must be expressly stated in the proclamation which declares a state of siege to exist, or it must be announced in a special order, to be promulgated in the same form (§ 3).

The suspension of the aforesaid articles, or one of the same, is only admissible for the district which is declared to be in a state of siege and only for the duration of the state of siege.

§ 7.

Military persons, during a state of siege, are subject to the laws issued for such state. Sections 8 and 9 of this ordinance are also applicable to them.

§ 7.

In the places or districts declared to be in a state of siege the commanding officer of the garrison (in fortresses the commandant) shall have military jurisdiction over all military persons belonging to the garrison. He shall also have the right to confirm sentences pronounced against such persons by court-martial. Only sentences of death in time of peace are an exception to this; such sentences must be confirmed by the commanding general of the province.

With regard to the execution of lower jurisdiction, the provisions of the military penal code remain unchanged.

§ 8.

Any person who is guilty of an intentional arson, or of intentionally causing an inundation, or of attacking or resisting the armed force or representatives of the civil or military authorities with open force and with arms or dangerous instruments, shall be punished with death. If there are any mitigating circumstances, the guilty party may be sentenced to imprisonment for ten or twenty years, instead of to death.

§ 9.

Any person guilty of the following offenses in a place or district declared to be in a state of siege shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, provided the existing laws do not fix a longer period.

(a) Spreading false reports as to the number, line of march, or alleged victories of the enemy or of the rioters, when such reports are calculated to mislead the civil or military authorities; or

(b) Violating any order issued in the interest of public safety on the declaration of a state of siege or during the same, or inciting to such violation; or

(c) Inciting to riot, to resistance by force, to the liberation of a prisoner, or to other offenses provided for in § 8, even if unsuccessfully; or

(d) Seeking to persuade soldiers to commit acts of insubordination or offenses against military discipline and order.

§ 10.

If courts-martial are formed during the suspension of article 7 of the constitution, they shall have jurisdiction in cases of high treason, treason, murder, riot, forcible resistance, destruction of railways and telegraphs, rescue of prisoners, mutiny, robbery, pillage, extortion, tampering with soldiers, and the crimes and offenses provided for in sections 8 and 9, if all the aforesaid crimes and offenses have been committed subsequently to the declaration and promulgation of the state of siege, or are continued thereafter.

Crimes and offenses against the internal and external safety of the state (articles 75 to 108 of the Rhenish penal code) are to be considered as high treason and treason-felony within the jurisdiction of the Rhenish court of appeals at Cologne, until the adoption of a penal code for the entire monarchy.

In case article 7 of the constitution has not been declared suspended by the ministry of state, the execution of the sentence, in cases tried by court-martial shall be postponed in time of peace until the suspension has been approved by the ministry of state.

§ 11.

Courts-martial shall consist of five members, two of which shall be civil judicial officers, designated by the president of the civil court of the place, and three shall be officers appointed by the military commandant of the place. The rank of the officers shall be at least that of captain; if there are not enough officers of so high a grade, the number shall be made up from officers of the next grade.

If there is not a sufficient number of civil judicial officers in a fortress surrounded by the enemy, such number shall be completed by the military commandant from the members of the parish representation (Gemeindevertretung). If there is no civil judicial officer in the fortress, an auditor shall always be a civil member of the court-martial.

The number of courts-martial shall be in proportion to the requirements when an entire province, or a part thereof, has been declared to be in a state of siege, and the jurisdiction of each of these courts shall be fixed in such cases by the commanding general.

§ 12.

A judicial officer shall preside over the sessions of the courts-martial.

The presiding officer shall, before the court begins its business, administer an oath to the officers designated as members, and to those civil members, if any, who have no judicial character, whereby they shall bind themselves to fulfill the duties of their office conscientiously and impartially, according to law.

The military commander who appoints the military members of the court-martial shall appoint an associate judge, or, in default thereof, an officer, as reporter. It shall be the duty of the reporter to see that the law be properly executed, and to promote the elicitation of the truth. He shall have no vote.

A civil officer shall be appointed by the presiding officer of the court-martial to keep the minutes of its proceedings, and the oath shall be administered to him by said presiding officer.

§ 13.

The following provisions are to regulate the proceedings before the courts-martial:

1. The proceedings shall be conducted orally and publicly; but, if the court deems that it is required by the public welfare, they may be conducted in private; the court, in this case, to announce its decision by public proclamation.

2. The accused may have the benefit of counsel. If he selects none one must be appointed for him by the presiding officer of the court, provided crimes or offenses are here concerned, for which, according to the common penal law, a severer punishment is inflicted than imprisonment not exceeding one year.

3. The reporter shall state, in presence of the accused, the crimes with which he is charged.

The accused shall be summoned to give an account of the same, and further evidence shall then be taken.

The reporter shall then be heard concerning the results of the depositions and the enforcement of the law, and finally the accused and his counsel shall be heard.

The sentence shall be pronounced after immediate secret deliberation of the court, a majority agreeing, and immediately made known to the accused.

4. The court shall determine the legal punishment to be inflicted, or shall acquit the accused, or shall refer his case to the ordinary judge.

The accused, if acquitted, shall be at once released. The case shall be referred to the ordinary judge when the court-martial does not consider itself competent; it shall in that case issue in its sentence special provisions as to the continuance or discontinuance of the arrest.

5. The sentence, which shall mention the day on which the proceedings take place, and shall contain the names of the judges, the statement of the accused regarding his accusation, mention of the taking of the evidence and the decision concerning the question of fact and the point of law, as also the law upon which the sentence is based, shall be signed by all the judges and the clerk of the court.

6. From the sentences of a court-martial there is no appeal. Sentences of death, however, require the confirmation of the military commandant referred to in 7, and, in time of peace, that of the commanding general of the province.

7. All punishments, excepting the death penalty, shall take effect within twenty-four hours after the announcement of the sentence, and when the penalty is death it shall be executed within the same space of time after the confirmation of the sentence.

8. Death shall be inflicted by shooting. If any sentences of death shall remain unexecuted when the state of siege is at an end, this penalty shall be changed by the ordinary judge into that which, had the state of siege not existed, would have been the lawful consequence of the offense of which the prisoner shall have been convicted by the court-martial.

§ 14.

The authority of courts-martial shall cease simultaneously with the close of the state of siege.

§ 15.

When the state of siege is at an end all the sentences pronounced by the court-martial, together with the statements of the grounds therefor and minutes of proceedings, and likewise the cases still pending, shall be handed over to the ordinary courts. These shall pronounce sentence according to the ordinary penal laws in the cases which have not yet been decided by the court-martial, and only in the cases of $ 9 shall they decide according to the penal provisions therein contained.

§ 16.

Even when a state of siege has not been declared articles 5, 6, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 36 of the constitution, or any one of the same, may, in case of war or riot, when danger to the public safety is imminent, be declared not in force by the ministry of state.

§ 17.

With regard to the declaration of a state of siege, as likewise of every suspension occurring, either together with the same or in the case of the suspension provided for in § 16, even of one of the articles of the constitution mentioned in sections 5 and 16, a report must be made to the chambers immediately or at their next meeting.

§ 18.

All provisions at variance with this law are hereby repealed.

This law shall take the place of the ordinance of May 10, 1849, and of the declaration of July 4, 1849. (Laws, pp. 165 and 250.)

Done on the Potsdam and Magdeburg Railway, June 4, 1851.

FREDERICK WILLIAM

, [l. s.]

v. Manteuffel.

v. d. Heydt.

v. Rabe.

Simons.

v. Stockhausen.

v. Raumer.

v. Westphalen.

Appendix No. 12.

[November 30, 1870]

Part III, § 5, of the treaty with Bavaria, of November 23, 1870.

§ 5.

As to articles 57 to 68 of the constitution of the (German) Union, article 57 is applicable to the kingdom of Bavaria; article 58 is likewise applicable to the kingdom of Bavaria. The latter article, however, contains the following addition for Bavaria:

“The obligation contained in this article will be fulfilled by Bavaria by defraying exclusively and alone the expenses and burdens of its military establishment, those of the fortresses within its territory, and those of other fortifications.”

Article 59 and article 60 are legally applicable to Bavaria.

Articles 61 to 68 are not applicable to Bavaria.

In their stead the following provisions shall be operative:—

“I. Bavaria shall retain its military laws, together with the instructions for their execution, ordinances, elucidations, &c, until the constitutional decision of the matters to be referred to the law-making power, and until an understanding is reached as regards the introduction of the laws and other provisions hereto relating which were enacted before Bavaria entered the Union.

“II. Bavaria pledges itself to raise, for its contingent and the arrangements thereto appertaining, an amount equal to that raised by the other parts of Germany for the army of the Union, according to the numerical force.

“This amount shall be placed in the budget of the Union in one sum for the royal Bavarian contingent. Its expenditure shall be regulated by special lists, the preparation of which shall be left to Bavaria.

“Those items shall serve as a standard for this purpose which are inserted in the several titles for the rest of the army of the Union.

“III. The Bavarian army shall form an independent constituent part of the German army of the Union, having its own management, under the military authority of His Majesty the King of Bavaria; in war and when mobilization commences, under the command of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union.

“As to organization, formation, improvement, dues, and mobilization, Bavaria will establish perfect harmony with the regulations existing for the army of the Union.

“As to arming and equipment, as well as indications of rank, the Royal Bavarian Government reserves to itself the establishment of entire harmony with the army of the Union.

“It shall be the duty and the right of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union to convince himself, by inspection, of the agreement in organization, formation, &c, and of the fullness and efficiency of the Bavarian contingent, and be shall communicate with His Majesty the King of Bavaria as to the method and result of these inspections.

“The order for the mobilization of the Bavarian contingent, or any part thereof, shall be issued by His Majety the King of Bavaria, at the instance of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union.

“For the sake of constant mutual information in the military relations created by this provision, the military plenipotentiaries at Berlin and Munich shall be apprised by their respective ministers of war of such orders as may be issued.

“IV. It shall be the duty of the Bavarian troops to render unconditional obedience, in time of war, to the orders of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union. This obligation is comprised in the oath of enlistment.

“V. The establishment of new fortresses in the territory of Bavaria, in the interest of the defense of all Germany, will be granted by Bavaria by special agreement.

“The expense of building and equipping such establishments in its territory shall be shared by Bavaria in proportion to the number of its population with the other states of the German Union; likewise extra amounts that may be allowed by the Union for other defensive establishments.

“VI. The premises on which the territory of the Union, or any part thereof, may be declared to be in a state of war by reason of the public safety being threatened, the form of the proclamation, and the effects of such a declaration, shall be determined by a law of the Union.

“VII. The foregoing provisions shall go into operation January 1, 1872.”

Appendix No. 13.

Military convention between the North German Union and Würtemberg, dated Versailles, Berlin, November 21st, 25th, 1870.

His Majesty the King of Prussia, in the name of the North German Union, and His Majesty the King of Würtemberg, with a view to adapting to the peculiar conditions of the Kingdom of Würtemberg the provisions of the constitution of the German Union, by them adopted, concerning the military affairs of the Union, have caused negotiations to be commenced, and have appointed plenipotentiaries as follows:

His Majesty the King of Prussia; his minister of state, war, and marine, General Albrecht von Roon; and His Majesty the King of Würtemberg; his minister of war, Lieu ten ant-General Albert von Suckow:—by which plenipotentiaries, their respective full powers having been found to be in good and due form, the following military convention has been adopted:

Article 1.

The troops of Würtemberg, as a part of the army of the German Union, shall form an independent army corps, according to the annexed schedule, together with the proper number of relief and garrison troops, according to Prussian rules, in case of mobilization or preparation for war.

Article 2.

The new organization of the troops of Würtemberg herein provided for shall be finished on a footing of peace in three years after the order for the return from the present state of war.

Article 3.

From the time of this return, beginning on a day to be hereafter appointed, the troops of Würtemberg shall form the fourteenth army corps of the German Union, with their own flags and standards, and the divisions, brigades, regiments, and independent battalions of the army corps shall receive their proper current number in the army of the German Union in addition to their Würtemberg number.

Article 4.

The placing of the royal troops of Würtemberg under the command of His Majesty the King of Prussia, as commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union, shall also begin on a day to be fixed hereafter, and the military oath of allegiance shall, when it refers to this, read as follows: “That I will faithfully serve His Majesty the King during my time of service, will obey the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union and the military laws, and will always demean myself as a brave and honorable soldier: So help me God.”

Article 5.

The appointment, promotion, transfer, &c., of the officers and employés of the royal array corps of Würtemberg shall be done by his Majesty the King of Würtemberg, that of the chief officer of the army corps with the sanction of his Majesty the King of Prussia as commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union. His Majesty the King of Würtemberg shall enjoy, as commander of his troops, the honors and rights which belong to him, and shall exercise the corresponding judicial functions, together with the right of ratification and pardon in the case of officers and soldiers against whom sentence has been pronounced, and this right shall take precedence of the privileges of the commander of the army corps and of those of the royal ministry of war of Würtemberg.

Article 6.

Without prejudice to the rights to dispose of all troops of the Union, and their distribution, which belong to the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union according to the constitution, tire army corps of Würtemberg shall be maintained in its organization in time of peace and shall be distributed in its own country; an order of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union and the distribution of other German bodies of troops in the kingdom of Würtemberg shall take place, in time of peace, only with the sanction of his Majesty the King of Würtemberg, provided the object is not to garrison South German or West German forts.

Article 7.

With regard to the appointment of commandants for forts situated in the kingdom of Würtemberg, which, according to article 64 of the constitution, is to be made by the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union, and also with regard to the privilege which likewise belongs to him, of establishing new forts in the kingdom, the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union will first come to an understanding with the King of Würtemberg; likewise when the said commander-in-chief desires to select for appointment an officer from the army corps of Würtemberg.

As a basis for these appointments, reports of the conduct ad qualifications of the officers of the army corps of Würtemberg, from the staff officer upward, shall be annually prepared, according to the Prussian system, and laid before His Majesty the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union.

Article 8.

For the promotion of uniformity in the training and service of the troops, certain officers of Würtemberg shall, by mutual agreement, be transferred for from one to two years to the Prussian army, and Prussian officers shall, in like manner, be transferred to the army corps of Würtemberg,

With regard to the transfer of individual officers from the service of Würtemberg to that of Prussia, or vice versa, a special arrangement shall in each case be made.

Article 9.

The commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union, who, according to article 63, has at all times the right to convince himself, by inspection, of the condition of the several contingents, will inspect the troops of Würtemberg at least once a year in person, or cause them to be inspected, in garrison or on maneuvers, by persons of whose appointment as inspectors His Majesty the King of Würtemberg shall be previously notified.

Information of any abuses that may be observed at such inspections shall be communicated by the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union to the King of Würtemberg, who will take measures to remedy them and report the measures adopted to the commander-in-chief aforesaid.

Article 10.

For the organization of the army corps of Würtemberg, so long as there is no law of the Union to the contrary, the now-existing Prussian regulations shall be observed.

In accordance herewith, in the kingdom of Würtemberg, besides the North German law of November 9, 1867, concerning the obligation to perform military service, together with the supplementary military instruction of March 26, 1868, belonging thereto, all Prussian regulations concerning drill and other matters, instructions and rescripts shall be enforced, especially the ordinance concerning courts of honor, which bears date of July 20, 1843, the provisions, both for war and peace, concerning drafting, time of service, care of the sick and wounded, mobilization, &c., concerning the filling of vacant officers’ positions, and concerning the system of military education and training.

The following are excepted, in the arrangements of the array corps of Würtemberg, from community with those of the Prussian army: The military liturgy, the military penal code, and military judicial proceedings in penal cases, as well as the provisions concerning the quartering of troops and payment for damage done to landed property, with regard to which the laws and regulations now in force shall remain so until the enactment of others by the legislative body of the Union.

The marks distinguishing rank and the denominations and mode of administration are the same in the army corps of Würtemberg as in the Prussian army. Directions for the clothing of the army corps of Würtemberg shall be given by his Majesty the King of Würtemberg, and the condition of the army of the Union shall be considered, so far as possible, when this is done.

Article 11.

In case of a war, the control of the telegraphs, so far as they are adapted to military purposes, shall, throughout its entire duration, be under the control of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union.

The royal government of Würtemberg will make proper arrangements in time of peace in conformity with those of the North German Union; and especially during the construction of telegraphic lines, will take care to organize a field-telegraphic service corresponding to the military strength of its army corps.

Article 12.

From the sum to be placed by Würtemberg, according to article 62, at the disposal of the Union (Bundesverfassung), the Government of Würtemberg shall pay, according to the budget of the Union, the expense of the maintenance of the royal army corps of Würtemberg, including new purchases, buildings, establishments, &c., to be managed by itself, and likewise Würteinberg’s part of the expenses for the requirements of the army of the Union, such as central management, fortifications, support of the military educational establishments, including military schools and establishments for the education and training of surgeons, commissions for examination, scientific and technical institutions for the benefit, of the army, the battalion of instruction, the school of rifle and artillery practice, the military riding-school, the central gymnastic establishment, and the grand staff. Such amounts as, with a full performance of the required duties toward the Union, it may be possible to save shall be at the disposal of Würtemberg.

The army corps of Würtemberg shall participate in the general arrangements, and shall be proportionably represented on the general staff.

Article 13.

The payment of the quota which is to be contributed by Würtemberg, according to article 62 of the constitution of the Union, shall begin on the first day of the month following the order for the return of the troops of Würtemberg from a war footing. The army corps of Würtemberg, however, shall not appear in the budget until January 1, 1872.

During the period of transition (three years) provided for in article 2, the consideration of the new organization to be made within this period shall be authoritative, both as regards the amounts to be brought into juxtaposition and the admissibility of the reciprocal transfer of specific expenditures and the transfer of items of expenditure under the same general head from one year to the other.

Article 14.

Re-enforcements of the troops of Würtemberg by recall of men on furlough, and also the arrangement of the same upon a war footing, and finally their mobilization, shall be dependent upon the orders of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union. Such orders must be strictly obeyed at all times. The expense occasioned hereby shall be borne by the treasury of the Union, but the treasury of Würtemberg shall advance the necessary money, so far as the funds which it may have on hand will permit.

Article 15.

For the definition of the relations, as regards service, of the army corps of Würtemberg to the army of the German Union, there shall be a direct correspondence between the Prussian ministry and that of Würtemberg, and the latter shall thus receive all the regulations, provisions, &c., in force at the time, or which may subsequently be issued, that it may duly execute them.

The royal government of Würtemberg shall also be constantly represented in tne committee of the Bundesrath for the army and the fortresses.

Article 16.

The present convention shall, after approval, be ratified by the legislative bodies, and the ratifications shall be exchanged simultaneously with the declarations concerning the ratification of the constitution of the German Union, which has this day been adopted.

In testimony whereof the plenipotentiaries have executed and sealed this convention in duplicate.

Done at Headquarters Versailles, November 21, 1870./Berlin, November 25, 1870.

von ROON

. [l. s.

von SUCKOW

. [l. s.]

The exchange of ratifications took place at Berlin.

Peace footing of the royal army-corps of Würtemberg.

One general command.

Two division commands.

Four infantry brigade commands.

Two cavalry brigade commands.

One artillery brigade command.

Eight infantry regiments, of three battalions each.

Four cavalry regiments, of five squadrons each.

One field artillery regiment, with three unmounted companies, having four batteries each.

One garrison artillery detachment, with four garrison companies.

One pioneer battalion.

One train battalion.

Sixteen Landwehr district commands.

The administrations corresponding to the foregoing.

War footing of the royal army-corps of Würtemberg.

I. Field troops:

(a) Command authorities: One general command (together with field gendarmerie detachment and staff-guard); two infantry division commands; two cavalry brigade commands; one command of the reserve artillery.

(b) Infantry: The regiments containing three battalions each.

(c) Cavalry: The regiments containing four squadrons each.

(d) Artillery: The detachment staffs existing in peace; the batteries, with six pieces; also a column detachment, consisting of the staff, four infantry columns, and four artillery ammunition trains.

(e) Pioneers, three independent companies, with light field bridge-train, engineer column, and ponton column.

(f) Trains: Staff of the train-battalion; five provision columns; three sanitary detachments, including companies for carrying the sick; one horse-depot; one field-bakery column; one squadron, for accompanying trains; wagon-train columns (about five, of eighty teams each).

(g) Administrations.

1. The intendancies, as follows: The corps intendancy; three division intendancies (one for each of the two infantry divisions; one for a reserve artillery).

2. The war fund of the corps.

3. The field provision offices, as follows: One chief field provision office; three field provision offices (one for each of the two infantry divisions—one for the reserve artillery); one field-bakery office.

4. The directing medical personnel.

5. Twelve field-hospitals.

6. The hospital-reserve personnel.

7. One hospital-reserve depot.

8. The field-post thus: one field-post office; four field-post expeditions, of which latter two are for the two infantry divisions, one for the reserve, (cavalry and artillery); the fourth is mainly attached to the field-post, and, in case of necessity, is transferred to the advanced guard.

9. The paymasters’ department.

10. The clergy.

II. Stationary authorities: one deputy general command, four deputy infantry brigade commands, one inspector of the reserve squadrons, one command of the stationary artillery, one stationary intendancy, one deputy chief corps-surgeon.

III. Substitutionary troops: eight substitutionary battalions; four substitutionary squadrons; one substitutionary artillery detainment, with two batteries, having six guns each; one substitutionary pioneer company; one substitutionary train detachment.

IV. Garrison troops: sixteen Landwehr battalions; one or two garrison cavalry regiments; three reserve foot-batteries, with six guns each; eight fortress artillery companies, with the necessary detachment staffs; three fortress pioneer companies.

All the troops on a war and peace footing, according to the Prussian schedule, as regards strength. Hereafter, when the number of men to be called into service in time of peace exceeds the constitutional rate per cent, of the amount of population, the necessary modifications shall be reserved for special measures.

1. Note.—Since this dispatch was written, a general patent law for the empire has been enacted.
2. Note.—The bill introduced since the date of this dispatch does not contemplates free bar.
3. See appendix No. 1 to this inclosure, p. 203.
4. See appendix No. 2, p. 205.
5. See appendix No. 3, p. 205.
6. See appendix No. 4, p. 205.
7. See appendix No. 5, p. 207.
8. See appendix No. 6, p. 203.
9. See appendix No. 7, p. 210.
10. See appendix No. 8, p. 210.
11. See Appendix No. 9, p. 212.
12. See Appendix No. 10, p. 233.
13. See Appendix No. 11, p. 233.
14. See Appendix No. 12, p. 236.
15. See Appendix No. 13, p. 237.