The Governments of Europe Part 23

[Footnote 398: Approximately one hundred towns have been so const.i.tuted.]

The Kreistag is the legislative body of the circle. Its members, numbering at least twenty-five, are elected for a term of six years by three Verbande, or colleges, the first being made up of the cities, the second of the large rural taxpayers, the third of a complicated group of rural interests in which the smaller taxpayers and delegates of the communal a.s.semblies preponderate.[399] The Kreistag is a body of substantial importance. It chooses, directly or indirectly, all the elective officials of the circle, of the district, and of the province; it creates local officers and regulates their functions; it enacts legislation of a local nature; and it votes the taxes required for both its own and the provincial administration.

[Footnote 399: For a fuller statement of the electoral system see Lowell, Governments and Parties, I., 325.]

*292. The Commune.*--The smallest of Prussian governmental units (p. 272) is the Gemeinde, or commune.[400] Of communes there are two distinct types, the rural (Landgemeinde) and the urban (Stadtgemeinde). The governments of the rural communes (some 36,000 in number) are so varied that any general description of them is virtually impossible.

They rest largely upon local custom, though reduced at some points to a reasonable uniformity under regulating statutes such as were enacted for the communes of eight of the twelve provinces in the Landgemeinde-ordnung of 1891.[401] There is invariably an elective Schulze, or chief magistrate. He is a.s.sisted ordinarily by from two to six aldermen (Schoffen) or councillors. And there is generally a governing body (Gemeindevertretung), composed of elected representatives, when there are as many as forty qualified electors,--otherwise the people acting in the capacity of a primary a.s.sembly (Gemeindeversammlung),--for the decision of matters relating to local schools, churches, highways, and similar interests. It is to be observed, however, that most of the rural communes are so small that they have neither the financial resources nor the administrative ability to maintain a government of much virility. Such action as is taken within them is taken almost invariably with the approval of, and under the guidance of, the authorities of the circle, princ.i.p.ally the Landrath.[402]

[Footnote 400: The Amtsbezirk is essentially a judicial district. See p. 243. In the eastern provinces it is utilized also for purposes of police administration.]

[Footnote 401: For an annotated edition of this important instrument see F. Keil, Die Landgemeinde-ordnung (Leipzig, 1890).]

[Footnote 402: On Prussian local government see Lowell, Governments and Parties, I., 308-333; F. J.

Goodnow, Comparative Administrative Law (2d ed., New York, 1903), I., 295-338; and Ashley, Local and Central Government (London, 1906), 125-186, 263-287. Fuller accounts are contained in Schulze, Das preussische Staatsrecht, I., 436-538; K.

Stengel, Organisation der preussischen Verwaltung, 2 vols. (Berlin, 1884); C. Bornhak, Preussisches Staatsrecht, 3 vols. (Freiburg, 1888-1890), and Hue de Grais, Handbuch der Verfa.s.sung und Verwaltung in Preussen, etc. (17th ed., Berlin, 1906). Texts of local government acts are printed in G. Anschutz, Organisations-gesetze der innern Verwaltung in Preussen (Berlin, 1897). The best description in English of Prussian munic.i.p.al government is that in Munro, The Government of European Cities, 109-208.

A good brief sketch is Ashley, Local and Central Government, 153-164. The best account of some length in German is H. Kappleman, Die Verfa.s.sung und Verwaltungsorganisation der preussischen Stadte, in Schriften des Vereins fur Sozialpolitik (Leipzig, 1905-1908), vols. 117-119. Mention may be made of A. Shaw, Munic.i.p.al Government in Continental Europe (New York, 1895), Chaps. 5-6; E.

J. James, Munic.i.p.al Administration in Germany (Chicago, 1901); and Leclerc, La Vie munic.i.p.ale en Prusse, in _Annales de l'ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques_, Oct., 1888. For ample bibliography see Munro, _op. cit._, 389-395.]

In their governmental arrangements the urban communes exhibit more uniformity than do the rural, though occasionally among them there is wide variation. The usual organs comprise (1) the Stadtrath, (p. 273) an executive body consisting of a burgomaster and a number of a.s.sistants, elected for six, nine, or twelve years, or even for life, and (2) the Stadtverordnete, or munic.i.p.al council, chosen for from three to six years, as a rule by an electorate identical with that which returns the members of the lower branch of the Prussian Landtag.

CHAPTER XIV (p. 274)

THE MINOR GERMAN STATES--ALSACE-LORRAINE

*293. Essential Similarity of Political Inst.i.tutions.*--The preponderance of Prussia among the twenty-five states comprised within the German Empire is such as to lend the governmental system of that kingdom an interest and an importance which attaches to the political arrangements of no one of the remaining members of the federation. No description of German governments would be adequate, none the less, which should ignore wholly the minor states. A number of these states, especially Bavaria, Baden, Wurttemberg, and Saxony, are of considerable size, and the populations which are governed within them approximate, or exceed, the populations of certain wholly independent European nations, as Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, and several of the states of the southeast. It would be unnecessary, however, even were it possible, to describe in this place twenty-five substantially independent German governmental systems. Despite no inconsiderable variation, there are many fundamental features which they, or the majority of them, possess in common. All save three--Hamburg, Bremen, and Lubeck--are monarchies. All save two--Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz--have written const.i.tutions[403] and elective legislative chambers. In every one of the monarchies the total lack of anything in the nature of ministerial responsibility to a parliamentary body leaves the way open for the maintenance of vigorous and independent royal authority, and it is not too much to say that in all of them, as is pre-eminently true in Prussia, the principle of autocracy lies at the root of both the organization and the methods of government. Local governmental arrangements and systems of administration of justice have been copied, in most instances, from Prussia. It will suffice to speak very briefly, first of a few of the more important monarchies, and subsequently of the city-state republics.

[Footnote 403: The texts of these const.i.tutions, in the form in which they existed in 1884, are printed in Stoerk, Handbuch der deutschen Verfa.s.sungen.

Even in the Mecklenburgs there are certain written instruments by which the curiously mediaeval system of government there prevailing is in a measure regulated.]

I. THE MORE IMPORTANT MONARCHIES (p. 275)

*294. Bavaria: Crown and Ministry.*--After Prussia, the most important of the German states, in point both of area and of population, is the kingdom of Bavaria. The const.i.tution at present in operation in Bavaria was promulgated May 26, 1818, though it has undergone no slight modification through the process of amendment since that date.[404] The original instrument replaced a fundamental law of May, 1808, devised by the king of Bavaria in imitation of the const.i.tution given some months before by Napoleon to the kingdom of Westphalia; and even the present frame of government bears unmistakable evidence of French influence. The functions and prerogatives of king and ministers are substantially what they are in Prussia.[405] In addition to the Ministry of State, consisting of the seven heads of departments, there is an advisory Staatsrath, or Council of State, comprising, besides the ministers, one prince of the royal blood and eight other members.

In accordance with royal proclamation important acts of the government require the countersignature of all of the ministers. This, of itself, does not imply any larger measure of ministerial subordination than exists elsewhere in German governments, but it is worth observing that during a prolonged period, especially after 1869, there was persistent effort on the part of the Clericals to inject into the Bavarian system the principle of ministerial responsibility in the parliamentary sense of the phrase, and that although the attempt was by no means wholly successful, it is true that in Bavaria the ministers occupy in practice a somewhat less independent position than in other German monarchies. The device of interpellation, for example, not only exists in theory; it means something, as elsewhere in Germany it does not, in actual operation. If a minister will not answer an interpellation that is addressed to him, he is obliged by law at least to give reasons for his refusal.[406]

[Footnote 404: Among amendments the most notable have been that of March 9, 1828, relating to the composition of the upper legislative chamber; those of June 4, 1848, and March 21, 1881, by which was modified the composition of the lower house; and that of April 8, 1906, whereby direct elections were subst.i.tuted for indirect.]

[Footnote 405: The crown is hereditary in the house of Wittelbach, by which it was acquired as early as 1180. From 1886, the king, Otto I., being insane, the powers of the sovereign were exercised by the prince regent Luitpold, until his death December 12, 1912.]

[Footnote 406: Lowell, Governments and Parties, I., 338.]

*295. The Bavarian Landtag.*--The Landtag of Bavaria consists of two chambers. The upper, designated officially as the Kammer der Reichsrate ("chamber of the council of the Empire"), is composed of princes (p. 276) of the royal family, crown dignitaries, high ecclesiastics, hereditary n.o.bles, and life members appointed by the crown--in all, some eighty-five to ninety persons. The lower chamber, or Abgeordnetenkammer, consists of 163 members. By law of 1881 the cla.s.s system of voting in Bavaria was replaced by an equal suffrage extended to all males paying a direct tax. Elections continued to be indirect until 1906, when provision was made for elections by direct and secret ballot.[407]

Deputies are chosen for a term of six years and are apportioned in such a manner that, normally, there is one for every 38,000 people.

Every male inhabitant is ent.i.tled to vote who at the time of the election has completed his twenty-fifth year, has been a Bavarian citizen during at least one year, and has paid to the state a direct tax during at least the same period. The Landtag must be summoned not less frequently than once every three years.[408] The budget is made up on a two-year basis, so that sessions are held, in point of fact, biennially.

[Footnote 407: Gra.s.sman, Die bayerische Landtagswahlgesetz vom 8 April, 1906, in Jahrbuch des Oeffentlichen Rechts der Gegenwart, I., 242. A law of April 15, 1908, introduced the principle of proportional representation in Bavarian munic.i.p.al elections.]

[Footnote 408: M. von Seydel, Das Staatsrecht des Konigreichs Bayern, (Freiburg, 1888), in Marquardsen's Handbuch; E. Junod, La Baviere et l'Empire allemande, in _Annales de l'ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques_, Apr. 15, 1892.]

*296. Saxony: Crown and Ministry.*--Third among the states of the Empire in population, though fifth in area, is the kingdom of Saxony. The present Saxon const.i.tution was promulgated September 4, 1831, under the influence of the revolutionary movements of 1830. By it a monarchy governed under a mediaeval system of estates was converted into a monarchy governed, at least nominally, under a modern representative regime. In point of fact, however, the inauguration of const.i.tutionalism tempered the actual authority of the monarch very slightly. The king is still in every sense the supreme authority within the state.[409] He appoints and dismisses ministers at will, issues ordinances with the force of law, and exercises far-reaching control over the processes of legislation. Upon the failure of the chambers to vote supplies which are held to be essential, he may even collect and expend revenues for a year on no authority apart from his own. For purposes of administrative supervision there are ministers of War, Finance, Justice, Foreign Affairs, the Interior, and Education, and the ministers collectively comprise a Gesammt-Ministerium, or ministry of state. Measures of the crown are countersigned by a minister; but there is no means by which a minister may be forced out of office against the will of the (p. 277) king by a hostile legislative chamber.

[Footnote 409: The crown is hereditary in the Albertine line of the house of Wettin, with reversion to the Ernestine line, of which the duke of Saxe-Weimar is now the head. The present sovereign is Frederick August III.]

*297. The Saxon Legislative Chambers.*--The Saxon legislature (Standeversammlung) consists of two houses. The upper, designated simply as the First Chamber, is a composite body consisting of forty-six members, in addition to a variable number of adult princes of the royal house. The members.h.i.+p comprises, princ.i.p.ally, (1) important prelates; (2) certain university officials; (3) proprietors of great estates, twelve elected and ten appointed by the crown for life: (4) the first magistrates of Dresden and Leipzig; (5) six burgomasters of other cities, designated by the king; and (6) five n.o.bles named for life by free choice of the king. The lower house consists of ninety-one deputies, of whom forty-three are elected by the towns and forty-eight by the rural communes. At one time members were chosen by direct secret ballot under a general and equal suffrage based upon a small tax qualification. Fear of socialism led, however, to the adoption, in 1896, of a new system under which the tax qualification was retained, indirect elections were subst.i.tuted for direct and public voting for the secret ballot, and a three-cla.s.s scheme was brought into operation which threw political preponderance into the hands of the well-to-do scarcely less effectively than does the three-cla.s.s arrangement in Prussia.

After prolonged agitation the reactionary measure of 1896 was replaced by a comprehensive electoral law of May 5, 1909 by which direct and secret voting was re-established and the interests of property were sought to be safeguarded by a newly devised system of plural votes. As the law now stands (1) all males who have attained the age of twenty-five and who pay direct taxes are ent.i.tled to one vote; (2) men owning two hectares of land, or paying a tax upon an annual income of 1,250, 1,400, or 1,600 marks, according, respectively, as such income is drawn from land, public office, or general sources, and men who have pa.s.sed certain examinations, are ent.i.tled to two votes; (3) voters paying taxes yearly, as above, upon an income of 1,600, 1,900, or 2,200 marks, or who possess four hectares of land, or who as teachers, engineers, artists, or writers earn an income of 1,900 marks, possess three votes; (4) persons paying a tax, as above, on an income of 2,200, 2,500, or 2,800 marks, or owning eight hectares of land, have four votes; and (5) every person belonging to the first, second, or third of these cla.s.ses is allotted an additional vote when he attains the age of fifty, the total number of votes possessed by one elector never exceeding four. Curiously enough, at the first elections held under this law, in October, 1909, the socialists, (p. 278) who previously were represented by but a single member, gained twenty-five seats, or upwards of a third of the entire number. The chambers must be summoned by the king at least once in two years. Both may propose measures, but in practice leaders.h.i.+p in the business of legislation is left very largely to the king and ministry.[410]

[Footnote 410: O. Mayer, Das Staatsrecht des Konigreichs Sachsen (Tubingen, 1909).]

*298. Wurttemberg: Crown and Ministry.*--The const.i.tution of the kingdom of Wurttemberg was promulgated, following prolonged political controversy, September 25, 1819. At the head of the state is the king, whose powers are in some respects even larger than those belonging to other German sovereigns.[411] It is required that all political acts, except the bestowing of t.i.tles of n.o.bility, shall be performed only with the sanction in writing of a minister; but, by reason of the king's absolute control of the ministry, this const.i.tutes no invasion of the crown's essential prerogative. Of ministers there are six.

These collectively comprise the Ministry of State, and they, together with certain appointive councillors, likewise const.i.tute the Geheimerrath, or Privy Council, which the sovereign consults at pleasure.

[Footnote 411: The reigning sovereign is William II.]

*299. The a.s.sembly of Estates: Proportional Representation.*--The legislative body of Wurttemberg is known as the Standeversammlung, or a.s.sembly of Estates. The upper chamber,--the Standesherren, or House of Lords,--consists of princes of the royal family; other princes, under varying conditions; knights; ecclesiastical dignitaries; and members appointed by the crown, in part according to stipulated conditions and in part without reference to any necessary consideration of birth, wealth, or religious affiliation. The Abgeordnetenhaus, or House of Deputies, consists of ninety-two members chosen for a term of six years, as follows: one from each of the administrative divisions (Oberamtsbezirke); six from Stuttgart and one from each of six other important towns; nine from the Neckar and Jagst circle; and eight from the Black Forest and Danube circle. Election is by direct and secret ballot, on a basis of universal suffrage for males over twenty-five years of age. By const.i.tutional amendment of July 16, 1906, there was introduced a scheme of proportional representation under which the six deputies of Stuttgart and the seventeen of the Neckar and Jagst and the Black Forest and Danube circles are distributed among the several political groups in approximate proportion to the numerical strength attained by these groups at the polls. This system, an innovation in Germany, was tested in the elections of December, 1906, and January, 1907, and was by most persons adjudged satisfactory.[412]

[Footnote 412: J. Fontaine, La representation proportionnelle en Wurttemberg, in _Revue Politique et Parlementaire_, Jan., 1911; ibid., La representation proportionnelle en Wurttemberg (Paris, 1909).]

The remaining sixty-nine representatives are chosen still in (p. 279) single member districts. Prior to the amendment of 1906, the chamber was made up of seventy members chosen popularly and of twenty-three who sat as representatives of privileged or corporate interests--thirteen chosen by the landowning n.o.bility, nine dignitaries of the Protestant and Catholic churches, together with the Chancellor of the University of Tubingen.[413]

[Footnote 413: G. Combes de Lestrade, Monarchies de l'Empire allemand, 181; L. Gaupp, Das Staatsrecht des Konigreichs Wurttemberg (Freiburg and Tubingen, 1884), in Marquardsen's Handbuch; W. Bazille, Das Staats-und Verwaltungsrecht des Konigreichs Wurttemberg (Hanover, 1908), in Bibliothek des Oeffentlichen Rechts der Gegenwart. The monograph of Gaupp, revised by him in 1895 and by K. Goz in 1904, has been re-issued as essentially a new volume by Goz (Tubingen, 1908).]

*300. The Government of Baden.*--In July, 1808, a const.i.tutional edict was promulgated in Baden in imitation of the fundamental law which Napoleon in the previous year had bestowed upon the kingdom of Westphalia. August 22, 1818, this instrument was replaced by the const.i.tution at present in operation. Executive power is vested in the grand-duke, with the customary provision for ministerial countersignature. Legislative power is shared by the monarch with a Landstande of two houses. Under a liberalizing law of August 24, 1904, the upper chamber consists of princes of the reigning family, n.o.bles occupying hereditary seats, members appointed for four years by the grand-duke, and representatives of a variety of ecclesiastical, educational, and other corporate interests. The lower house is composed of seventy-three representatives elected for four years (twenty-four by the towns and forty-nine by the rural districts) by male citizens over twenty-five years of age. Direct election was subst.i.tuted for indirect in 1904. Half of the members.h.i.+p of the lower chamber is renewed every two years. In Baden there has been rather more progress than in the majority of German states toward liberal and responsible government.[414]

[Footnote 414: Lowell, Governments and Parties, I., 345; K. Schenkel, Das Staatsrecht des Grossherzogthums Baden (Freiburg and Tubingen, 1884), in Marquardsen's Handbuch.]

II. THE LESSER MONARCHIES AND THE CITY REPUBLICS

*301. Monarchical Variations.*--With relatively unimportant exceptions, the governments of the remaining seventeen German monarchies exhibit features substantially similar to those of the governments that (p. 280) have been described. In each of the states, except the two grand-duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, there is a written const.i.tution, promulgated, in most instances, during the second or third quarter of the nineteenth century.[415] Executive power in each is vested in the monarch; legislative power in the monarch and a Landtag, or a.s.sembly. The a.s.sembly consists ordinarily of a single chamber, varying in members.h.i.+p from twelve to forty-eight; and in most instances the members are chosen, at least in part, on a basis of manhood suffrage. In some states, as the princ.i.p.ality of Lippe, the three-cla.s.s electoral system prevails; and elections are still very commonly indirect. The trend toward liberalism is, however, all but universal, and within recent years numbers of important changes, e.g., the subst.i.tution of direct for indirect elections in Oldenburg and in Saxe-Weimar in 1909, have been brought about. In the curiously intertwined grand-duchies of Mecklenburg the common Landtag remains a typically mediaeval a.s.semblage of estates, based, in the main, on the tenure of land.[416]

[Footnote 415: The dates of the original promulgation of const.i.tutions at present in operation are: Saxe-Weimar, 1816; Hesse, 1820; Saxe-Meiningen, 1829; Saxe-Altenburg, 1832; Brunswick, 1832; Lippe, 1836; Oldenburg, 1852; Waldeck, 1852; Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, 1852; Reuss Jungerer Linie, 1852 and 1856; Schwartzburg-Rudolstadt, 1854; Schwartzburg-Sonderhausen, 1857; Anhalt, 1859; Reuss alterer Linie, 1867; and Schaumburg-Lippe, 1868.]

[Footnote 416: Repeated attempts to bring about a modernization of the Mecklenburg const.i.tutional system have failed. Several times the liberal elements in the Reichstag have carried a proposal that to the Imperial const.i.tution there should be added a clause requiring that in every state of the Empire there shall be an a.s.sembly representative of the whole people. On the ground that such an amendment would comprise an admission that the const.i.tutions of the states are subject to revision at the hand of the Empire, the Bundesrath has invariably rejected the proposal. In 1907 the grand-duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin inaugurated a movement for political reform, and in 1908 there was drafted a const.i.tution providing for the establishment of a Landtag whose members should be chosen in part by the landed, industrial, professional, and official cla.s.ses and in part by manhood suffrage. Late in 1909 the Ritterschaft (i.e., the estate comprising owners of knights'

fees) rejected the proposal, as, indeed, it had rejected similar ones on earlier occasions.]

*302. Hamburg.*--The three free cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lubeck are survivals of the ancient Hanseatic League. All have republican forms of government, differing in only minor details. The const.i.tution of Hamburg came into operation January 1, 1861, and was revised in 1879 and in 1906. The princ.i.p.al organs of government are the Senate and the Burgerschaft, or House of Burgesses. The Senate consists of eighteen members elected for life by the House of Burgesses, but in accordance with an indirect method so devised that the Senate itself exercises a preponderating influence in the elections. A senator (p. 281) is privileged to retire, if he so desires, at the end of a six-year period, or at the age of seventy. Of the eighteen, half must have studied finance or law, while of the remaining nine at least seven must belong to the cla.s.s of merchants. The House of Burgesses is composed of 160 members, elected for six years by voters whose qualifications are based upon property, taxpaying, or position. An electoral law of March 5, 1906, introduced the principle of proportional representation, but failed to break the dominance of the well-to-do cla.s.ses in the chamber. Half of the members.h.i.+p is renewed triennially. The service is unpaid and, under ordinary circ.u.mstances, compulsory.

The larger portion of the executive authority is vested in the Senate.

After the fas.h.i.+on of the prince of a monarchical state, this body appoints officials, designates and instructs the delegate in the Bundesrath, issues ordinances, and supervises administration.[417] One senator is placed at the head of each of the nine executive departments. In matters of legislation the powers of the Senate and of the Burgerschaft are concurrent. Both bodies possess the right of legislative initiative, and all laws, treaties, and fiscal arrangements must receive the a.s.sent of both. The lower chamber elects and maintains a Burgerausschuss, or Committee of the Burgesses, consisting of twenty-five members, whose business it is to watch over the proceedings of the Senate and the administration of the laws. The sessions of both Senate and Burgerschaft are irregular but frequent.

*303. Lubeck and Bremen.*--The government of Lubeck rests upon a const.i.tution proclaimed December 30, 1848, but revised in later years upon a number of occasions. The system is essentially similar to that in operation in Hamburg, the princ.i.p.al differences being that in Lubeck the full members.h.i.+p of the Burgerschaft (120) is elected by the citizens directly and that the Burgerausschuss, of thirty members, performs larger and more independent functions. The const.i.tution of Bremen dates from March 5, 1849, but was revised in 1854, 1875, and three times subsequently. As in Lubeck, the Burgerschaft, of 150 members, is elected by all of the citizens, but under a cla.s.s system according to which citizens who have studied at a university return fourteen members; the merchants, forty; the mechanics and manufacturers, twenty; and all other citizens who have taken the burgher oath, the remaining seventy-six. The Senate consists of fourteen members.

[Footnote 417: The presiding officer of the Senate is a burgomaster, chosen for one year by the senators from their own number. The burgomaster as such, however, possesses no administrative power.]